Spend per day at the parks

[Robbie Cottam]

This is where the dinning plan was really nice….

as others have said it all going to depend on you…..

first define full day are we talking 8 hours or open to close….

open to close is a lot more because you are going to have another 80 to 250 dollars meal…

my “full day“ is in The park is less than 4 hours…. Because I’m on vacation and will be back in a few months

in 4 hours my son and I mights spend 20 dollars or 200…

my wife and her kids 3 hours is about 50 bucks of snacks, ice cream and soda

you can plan head
…
define you normal day, and check out menus

since the dinning plan used to be about 100 per day per person, I think that number is about right

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

This is a total game-changer. I have faint memories from the mid 1990s (last time I went; also when I worked there) that outside food was diligently policed and a total no-no. Also, that no coolers were permitted.

But this news means we can strategically lower costs (by bringing snacks & beverages).

So I don’t know if there was a period of time in the 80s and 90s that no coolers were allowed but we always brought snacks. Not a cooler but we’d bring in a few granola bars etc since my parents would make us. we do bring snacks on occasion but not as much as when my kids were younger. It’s super easy to fill a backpack with uncrustables, snacks and frozen water bottles for kids.

 

[WingandPrayer]

So I don’t know if there was a period of time in the 80s and 90s that no coolers were allowed but we always brought snacks. Not a cooler but we’d bring in a few granola bars etc since my parents would make us. we do bring snacks on occasion but not as much as when my kids were younger. It’s super easy to fill a backpack with uncrustables, snacks and frozen water bottles for kids.

I'm pretty sure we were asked to peak into people's bags at the turnstiles and tell them to toss out anything that looked like food or drink (exceptions were made only for baby food and the kids had to be in diapers).

In any case, this is great news and means that we'll save on snacks and be sure to have a comfortable and leisurely dinner.

 

[TAnsley]

Thanks everybody for this, it’s all very helpful.
We had around $250 a day for the family in mind but may well rethink it.
I’ll have a look at the website for meal costs and work something out!
We want to really enjoy our trip but equally we don’t have an endless pool of pennies so it’s finding a balance

We do about $250 per day for food for 4-5, but now my youngest is older and eats more. So for 5 about $300 per day. Breakfast we do off property or in our condo or room a lot. About $25-$55 for all of us. Lunch or Dinner is counter service or table service, 1 of each. Last trip we got everything done early almost every day and ate outside the parks. That saved a LOT of money. Lunch was usually a sitdown those days, we made reservations in advance. For a typical counter service meal probably about $75 total, for table service more like $130-160, used to be much less but prices have gone up. We don't get too many snacks but off/on, and some drinks but not a lot outside of meals. We also budget between $200-$400 for the entire trip for souvenirs and extra snacks, regardless of the length of the trip. Because my kids are older now, ages 15-24, 3 of them, we haven't done an all 5 of us together trip since 2018, but we are doing one to Universal at the end of October. If you are budget-minded you can do $250 a day or under, especially if you eat one meal off property, then I'd say $200. If you like to splurge then $300-$450, but for us, any full-service meal is splurging!

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

This is a total game-changer. I have faint memories from the mid 1990s (last time I went; also when I worked there) that outside food was diligently policed and a total no-no. Also, that no coolers were permitted.

But this news means we can strategically lower costs (by bringing snacks & beverages).

Definitely!! Our family has no strong feelings about the Florida water taste that some people dislike, so we bring a couple water bottles and refill with the free ice water throughout the day. We had a whole section of the park bag for granola bars, crackers, fruit, and the leftover bagels that didn't get eaten from breakfast. I wasn't opposed to buying snacks, but it's nice to be able to just break out a bar while you're waiting in line instead of having to take time to go purchase something.

 

[robinb]

Our average is $150 per day for 2 people plus about $125 in groceries/beer/wine for breakfast and snacks in the room over 7-10 days. We usually eat QS but eat a TS 3-4 times over a 7-10 day vacation. We do buy some stuff (like ears and coffee mugs) but not a lot. So, maybe $225 per day since you don’t drink?