Rough And Ready Budget

[THE COLONEL]

We intend starting each day off with a buffet and have tentatively pencilled in $20 each day to feed 2 adults and a 6 year old.

For evening meals (again largely buffet based) we have pencilled in $30 (without drinks)

Is this pretty realistic?

We have a number of character meals set up along the way and can accurately guage the cost of those but as I like to have some idea in advance of the other meals I would like your views

 

[BevS97]

is the $30 for onsite or off site meals? for offsite places like Ponderosa etc, then $30 should be ok, but onsite we find we spend closer to $50 or more for dinner and we are also 2 adults and a child.

Quite often we don't get the child a meal if we are in an ala carte place, as she doesn't eat much, so she will just share ours, but in buffets you usually have to pay for them regardless.

Bev

 

[Fantasia Sam]

If you're having buffet breakfast off-site in the Sizzlers and Ponderosa style places then buffet breakfasts can range from $3.99 to $5.99 sometimes depending on location of the restaurant. You can usually pick up coupons to get money off these buffets, we picked them up every time we had a buffet breakfast at the Sizzler.

Again for dinner if you have buffet's off-site then, yup, you can pick the all you can eat ones up for a reasonable price as well - I remember the steak ones at Sizzler costing $8.99 for the steak and then all you can eat buffet - drinks would cost extra.

Obviously on-site buffet breakkies are more expensive and run at approx $18.00 per adult and $9.00 per child and the dinner buffets are on average $24 and $10 (there are cheaper ones). Breakfasts normally include juice and coffee but I think you have to buy the drinks for the dinners.

All above approx prices do not include tips which for buffets I normally give 12-15%.

 

[Mpet]

Breakfast sounds good - if I remember correctly a Sizzlers all you can eat is something like $3.99 for adults and $2.99 for kids (these prices may not be quite right, but not far off). Drinks are extra, but $20 should easily cover the bill (sorry check).

Again, if you go buffet style - Ponderosa, Golden Coral etc, $30 should cover the buffet style menus - Its usually about $10 (average) per adult. Don't forget the discount coupons though!


Maxine

 

[IAN5150]

Were do you pick up the coupons from??

 

[BevS97]

Ian they are literally everywhere - the lobby of your hotel and the entrance of every restaurant will have stands with books of coupons that you can pick up.

We always pick them up but we are hopeless at remembering to use them!

Bev

 

[IAN5150]

OOHHHHHHHHHH Them!!! Weve picked them up but you get sick of looking through them Dont you!! Thanks Bev

 

[Muppet]

We ate all over the place but if somewhere had coupon we used it and saved abot $30 for 2 adults over 2 weeks. Golden Corral has the BEST buffet. All you can eat steak now.

 

[steve_rob]

You want to know how sad you can get?

My DW always wake up at about 4am on the first day I'm in Orlando. She calls it jet lag, but I say it's just her being too exicted to get back to sleep (like a little kid) !

So while I'm still dozing, what she does at this time is go down to the hotel lobby and pick ALL the coupon books she can find, take them back up to the room and start snipping.

Sad I know, but I'll give her credit - we normally end up saving about $60 in two weeks just on restuarants alone. And plus, it keeps her occupied until it's 6am, and then it's time for us normal people to wake up and have breakfast!

 

[Mpet]

Sad? Never!

This is one of my first tasks on arrival in Orlando - Pick up goodies from Publix and as many different coupon books/tourist guides as
I can find. Tear out the coupons (I never seem to have scissors) and were ready to eat LOL


Maxine

 

[UKAnnie]

First time me and family went to Orlando, my coupon snipping became a standing joke. They never seemed to want to eat at the places I had coupons for! Everyone would just dissolve into laughter every time I got dozens of these little coupons out to sort through. I gave up in the end! (Though I did manage to produce some at one or two places - I feel the savings are very worthwhile). Mum and her coupons has gone into the family history now. Family have long flown the nest but sometimes when we're all together someone will say .....do you remember mum and her coupons in Florida???? It sets everyone off!

Ann

 

[SpottyDog]

Sounds good to me, Colonel. Eatin 'all yer can eat' to supplement the parks and resorts 'specialty meals' is the only way we can manage the spendin money without havin an adverse affect on the beer budget . And they're no-nonsense, save-time , fun too.