POLL: How much do you spend on food on your WDW vacation?

[Castillo Mom]

Haven't gotten there yet but I'm budgeting about $2,500 for our 9 day stay. We're a family of 5 which includes 3 boys ages 10, 12 and 15 who have very big appetites and are not picky eaters.

 

[DanPadavona]

For a 7 day vacation, 2 adults and 2 five year olds, we spend somewhere between $750-$1000. We try to eat most of our lunches and breakfasts in the room to save on costs and also to save time.

At dinner we like to hit the nice restaurants, though on occasion we will do counter service. Each trip we eat at either the California Grill or Flying Fish, if not both. Those add up fast! We try to get the kids booked with one of the kid care programs during those meals.

 

[dana0069]

ok, i'm new to this board. but...how much does a hamburger and fries cost at wdw???????? we are a family of five, 2 adults, 1 19yr old, and 2 that are 12 and 13. i am budgeting for $700.00 for the week for food, and i thought that was at the high end! i'm reading postd here that 2-3 people are spending between $800. - $12.00 plus..!!!!! what are you people eating????? surely a large pizza can't be more than $20.00 bucks!!! thats awhole meal for all 5 of us. and a hamburger and fries can't cost more than 5-6 dollars...can it???????????
C'mon people this is supposed to be the 'budget board' not the ritz!! what you people are paying for food costs are extremely high end. if things are that expensive, i think i'll stay at home.
sorry to sound pessimistic, but that blows me away...$1200.00 for 3 people for 1 week..!

dana0069

 

[Dreamfinder2]

Ooooh, Dana.

Don't stay at home, but Disney food prices are gonna be similar to resort prices most anywhere, i.e., high!

We figure $11-12 for a counter service meal. There's some tricks; ask for a burger and no fries; get a large soft drink and ask for a courtesy cup and share. Stuff like that.

If you're thinking $20/person per day - say, two fast food meals - you can do it if you're careful budgeting

If you want an accurate picture of what you're up against, check this out:

http://www.allearsnet.com/menu/menus.htm

$1200/3 people/1 week is quite likely, if you figure three sit-down meals a day.

It's like eating at an airport. You're captive. But, IMHO, it's surely not as bad as popcorn and a Coke at a movie theater for $8.

 

[QueenOfCelts]

Originally posted by dana0069
what are you people eating?????

C'mon people this is supposed to be the 'budget board' not the ritz!!

What you people are paying for food costs are extremely high end.

dana0069

We people did not set the prices. We people eat what WDW serves and what we can or want to afford. The OP asked what we spend, not what are ways to save money. If that is the info you would like, please by all means post that question and you will get all sorts of replies and helpful answers I am sure.

Personally I am not willing to eat burgers and fries all day, every day. Either at home or on vacation. Oh and yes, WDW pizza's are about $20-22 and I cannot imagine feeding 2 adults and 3 teens with one.

 

[Belle5]

Actually, Dana, this is NOT the budget board but the restaurant board. Generally, the folks who frequent this board tend to view dining as a big part of their vacation experience. I know for a fact that 5 people can eat just fine at WDW on $700 for the week. Go and have fun! You will likely be dining on counter service food --but from the sound of it that's the kind of food you were expecting anyway. You will probably want to eat breakfast in your room (think pop-tarts) to keep costs down. Ask for your drinks without ice and share them. Better yet--drink tap water. If you stick to the counter service restaurants you shouldn't have to give it another thought. BTW, you might want to do a search (using the SEARCH feature at the bottom of the page) to find out what counter services folks seem to like and to make sure you get a little variety for your money. Burgers and fries would get awfully old after a week-- but WDW offers a variety of counter service foods if you know where to look. ( May I suggest Tusker House in AK when you want something a little healthier.) Have fun planning and welcome to the DIS!

 

[webray]

How much we spend depends on how long we are going to be there and what we are doing while at the world.

We always like to have at least one great meal a day at one of the fine dining establishments.

 

[B'rer Karen]

I average between 30-40 a day for just me. I usually have breakfast in the room, so this includes lunch, dinner, snacks, and bottled water. When I do eat breakfast in the world, I do a character breakfast where I have a lot to eat, skip lunch, and have dinner. I don't necessarily do a sit down restaurant every day, but I do go to at least a few nice restaurants during my trip. Of course for my next trip I expect my cost to be higher since I'll surely be doing more snacking around the World Showcase during the F&W Festival.

 

[murph103]

We budgeted ourselves for $1500 for the week (2 adults, DD15 and DS7) and we spent about $1400. We ate at the CBR food court most mornings, had a couple of character breakfasts, counter service for most lunches and usually sit downs for dinner. The amount we spent also included bottles of water and snacks throughout the week. All in all, we thought we did pretty well.

Yes, Disney food is expensive. But we were on vacation and while we didn't go completely overboard, we ate well and enjoyed ourselves.