Pricing! Please help.

[taramasalata]

hey...i was just wondering how much a day should i set aside for food. this include breakfast, lunch and dinner plus snacks and drinks etc.

we'll probably be staying at a value resort but will usually be having lunch and dinner in the resorts or at downtown disney.

and we're quite young so we dont want anything posh and fancy but maybe go out for a nice meal a couple of nights.

so how much a day dyu think this will cost?

i'm thinking about £15-20. ($27-36)

or dyu think it will be more.


also, any recommendations on where to eat or how to save money on eating will be very welcome.


thanks
x

 

[pooch]

or was your estimate per person? Counter service meals will run about $12 each. Many places give you enough food to split between 2 people. If you want a sit-down dinner, that will run more like $30 per person depending on your tastes, whether or not you order appetizers, desserts or alcoholic beverages, could be more. My guess, and it is only that as we have done the Free Dining Plan that last several visits, would be more like $50 per day per person. That could be high but better to be safe than run out of food money!!

Check the menu section on this site and you can get a feel for what you'd like to eat and where.

 

[SGMCO]

I would suggest the DDP Basic Dining Plan which cost $37.99 USD per person.
It is prepaid so you don't have to worry about how much
each meal will cost.
You will have to be staying onsite and purchase one day tickets
to be able to get the DDP.

It offers:
1 Table Service/ Sit down Restaurant per day
(tip cost is not included)
1 Counter Service meal per day
1 Snack per Day

 

[pat fan]

My first suggestion would be to go to www.allearnet.com and check out the menu's there. They have them for every hotel (values included) and just about every restaurant and snack place on site. It will give you a good idea of where you might like to eat and the prices of things.

Are you planning on renting a car or using a towncar service to get you from the airport to your hotel? Or bringing anything from home, food-wise? We always used to bring those little cereal boxes, granola bars, p.b. and bagels from home. Then we stopped at a grocery store on the way in and grabbed a case of water and some fresh fruit. Our last trip, we used www.gardengrocer.com deliver whatever we wanted to have for breakfast or lunches. We ordered a small thing of p.b. but were able to use the jelly from the food court. Right next to the toaster are those little jelly packs. Now of course, they assume that you bought your bagel/toast from them, but I think I give them enough money to cover a couple packets of jelly! Anyway, having these few items ahead of time saves us a ton of money!

On a typical day we have breakfast in our room. We only have to buy some milk for our cereal as we already have the cereal & fruit. There is a toaster in the food court for anyones use, so you can even toast your bagels for free! I would say doing that, breakfast would be under $5 for our family of 4. We also get the refillable mugs so our morning coffee/tea is free also.

You can get lunch at the food court for under $12 pp, especially if you have the mugs and don't need to be buying drinks.

If you are eating at the parks, you can get a double burger and order an extra bun for like .79 cents and just split the patties between the buns. A lot of places do have meals more than big enough to share. For instance, at Cosmic Rays in the MK you can get a 1/2 chicken meal with mashed potatoes and veggie for $9.09, and let me tell you, and is MORE than enough for 2! They also have a meal that is 1/2 a chicken, B-B-Q ribs, mashed potato and veggie for $13.99.

Again, I would suggest going to www.allearsnet.com and looking at the menus. Just click on dining and then pick the park or hotel you want to see menus for.

BTW, I would never recommend the dining plan. We have run the #'s six ways to Sunday and you can eat MUCH cheaper on your own with a little planning.

 

[Native NYer]

I would look into the dining plan. It may save you a bit of money. Also, as the pp said, try ordering some food for your room. You can have breakfast items delivered and save money that way.

But between meals, snacks, and beverages, I think you'll need more than $36 a day per person.

 

[DiszyDean]

It really depends on your eating habits. If you are primarily thinking about just eating counter service meals with maybe a couple of TS meals, the dining plan does not make a whole lot of sense. If you are light eaters who will probably split meals, the dining plan does not make a whole lot of sense.

However, if you both like to eat a full 3 meals per day and one sit down per day, the dining plan at $39 per day, could make sense.

As has been stated, for the both of you, counter service meals are about $12 per person and sit down meals are about $25 - $30 per person. So, if you ate a light breakfast (lets say $8 per person), a CS lunch ($12 per person), and a TS dinner (lets say $28 per person), plus one snack ($4 per person). You are at about $50 per person per day. That can all be greatly reduced by sharing or doing more counter service meals.

 

[kaytieeldr]

My first suggestion would be to go to

Whereas my first suggestion would be to check out the menus right here http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/disneydining.cfm on the DIS (and my second suggestion might be the link in pat fan's post)

 

[pat fan]

But between meals, snacks, and beverages, I think you'll need more than $36 a day per person

We have always figured $100 a day for food and shopping for our family of 4. That's $25 pp and it has always worked for us. Some days we had $$ left over, some days we used a little more.

This last trip we used our rewards card from our Disney Visa for eating and had to pay for very little food. That's an idea for you if you have time before your trip.

Whereas my first suggestion would be to check out the menus right here http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/disneydining.cfm on the DIS (and my second suggestion might be the link in pat fan's post)

To each their own