Starting to freak out a little here!

[mommy2_3]

Ok so we got the good news with our van, but i still needed to spend some money on it for an oil change, power steering fluid, this fix a leak stuff, new wiper blades, an air filter, coolant and a new tire. of course im happy i didnt need to spend $1000 but along with that and a few unexpected things that came up, it put a little dent in our fund. we do not having a dining plan. we did have about $800 for food and sounivers. then $500 for gas. i didnt want to take any out of my gas fund. so now we are only at $450 for food and sounivers. please tell me that will be enough. there are 3 adults and 4 children. 1 adult is paying for all her things. i have a 6, 5, 3, and 2yr old. this is what i have figured out.

me and my DH will each get a meal and share with our younger 2 (since they dont eat very much and more than anything pick)

my older 2 can share a meal

we will be bringing water and pop into the parks. dr. pepper for my DH and just getting a cup of ice for his pop. i am also bringing those flavoring packets for when we want something other than water.

we are bringing snacks also. just little things to munch on.

we are eating breakfast in the room, except for one time. we are doing Chef Mickey.

we are thinking about leaving the park and going to eat at like McDonalds or somewhere cheap.

im hoping with these plans we can eat really cheap. and then the last night there (since we are leaving very early in the morning), we are going to let the kids pick out something.

 

[livndisney]

Ok so we got the good news with our van, but i still needed to spend some money on it for an oil change, power steering fluid, this fix a leak stuff, new wiper blades, an air filter, coolant and a new tire. of course im happy i didnt need to spend $1000 but along with that and a few unexpected things that came up, it put a little dent in our fund. we do not having a dining plan. we did have about $800 for food and sounivers. then $500 for gas. i didnt want to take any out of my gas fund. so now we are only at $450 for food and sounivers. please tell me that will be enough. there are 3 adults and 4 children. 1 adult is paying for all her things. i have a 6, 5, 3, and 2yr old. this is what i have figured out.

me and my DH will each get a meal and share with our younger 2 (since they dont eat very much and more than anything pick)

my older 2 can share a meal

we will be bringing water and pop into the parks. dr. pepper for my DH and just getting a cup of ice for his pop. i am also bringing those flavoring packets for when we want something other than water.

we are bringing snacks also. just little things to munch on.

we are eating breakfast in the room, except for one time. we are doing Chef Mickey.

we are thinking about leaving the park and going to eat at like McDonalds or somewhere cheap.

im hoping with these plans we can eat really cheap. and then the last night there (since we are leaving very early in the morning), we are going to let the kids pick out something.

Not sure where you are staying-but the Mc Donalds near WDW are "higher priced" Mcdonalds. The one near Allstar is comparable price wise to All Star food court. The one on 535 is higher as well. There are also several that are Bistro Mcdonalds.

When you say your two older kids will share a meal- do you mean share an adult meal or a kids meal? Some of the kids meals are quite small.

Your breakfast at Chef Mickey is going to take a big chunk out of your budget.

2 adults 66.02
3 children 53.30 119.32 + 18% gratuity 21.48 =140.80 approx.


From allears: adult price range: $33.01; Child (ages 3-9) price range: $18.10

How many meals are you planning to need to pay for?

 

[descovy]

Seems to me those auto items fall under "maintenance" and not "vacation." You need an oil change, replace blades, etc., etc., whether you go on vacation or not. So I wouldn't penalize the vacation fund for routine car maintenance.

However, if routine car maintenance is really deemed a vacation expense in your eyes (and subtracts from money available) then I suppose you could apply the same rules to your weekly grocery, gas, entertainment budget at home.

Simply add into the vacation budget the money you would have used at home for groceries and gas and weekly expenditures.

 

[tar heel]

Kill the Chef Mickey's plan, please. It's Golden Corral food at inflated prices. You don't need to do it to see characters -- they're all over the place. I've been to WDW 12 times, and we've done three character meals. They're fun, but they're not important if you barely have money for food. Chef Mickey's was my least favorite of the three, too.

 

[MamaJessie]

I may have missed it, how many days is the 450 for? I agree with pp - if I was concerned about my food budget I would drop CM for sure.

Have fun!! Our first trip we didn't do any character meals, ate cereal in the room every morning and went back to the hotel for our midday break and some PB&Js and just bought dinner. It was an awesome trip.

 

[Keli]

We always eat breakfast in the room and then carry so many food items into the parks that we don't need to eat counter service (although we'll buy snacks too, lol!) then we eat one meal out a day, usually off property. Cheapest way to keep food budget down IMHO and most convenient for the type of touring my family likes to do in the parks, doesn't take much time to eat, we hate losing park time in a restaurant! LOL

 

[mommy2_3]

I may have missed it, how many days is the 450 for? I agree with pp - if I was concerned about my food budget I would drop CM for sure.

Have fun!! Our first trip we didn't do any character meals, ate cereal in the room every morning and went back to the hotel for our midday break and some PB&Js and just bought dinner. It was an awesome trip.

its for 6 days.

 

[mommy2_3]

Not sure where you are staying-but the Mc Donalds near WDW are "higher priced" Mcdonalds. The one near Allstar is comparable price wise to All Star food court. The one on 535 is higher as well. There are also several that are Bistro Mcdonalds.

When you say your two older kids will share a meal- do you mean share an adult meal or a kids meal? Some of the kids meals are quite small.

Your breakfast at Chef Mickey is going to take a big chunk out of your budget.

2 adults 66.02
3 children 53.30 119.32 + 18% gratuity 21.48 =140.80 approx.


From allears: adult price range: $33.01; Child (ages 3-9) price range: $18.10

How many meals are you planning to need to pay for?

with my older ones, it will matter how hungry they are when we eat. if it helps we will have our own car. that kinda sucks about McDonalds though. is there are cheaper than the parks places to eat around the area?

 

[brertoad]

Earl of Sandwich is the cheapest place to eat, sandwiches and salads are $5.99 each, unless you prefer sticking with McDonalds, Wendys, Burger King, etc, there are locations off property. There is a Publix grocery store near Celebration, you can buy a family size fried chicken or rotisserie chicken and sides, sodas, etc.

The Boardwalk pizza window has cheese, pepperoni, or veggie (spinach, garlic, mushroom) pizzas, but this is also more expensive than what you would pay at a local pizza place off property.

I agree, skip Chef Mickey's, it's really expensive.

There is a great place for character photos in Storybook Circus at MK. It's awesomea and doesn't cost extra, just get in line and wait until you guys are up.

 

[mommy2_3]

ok i am going to take off Chef Mickey. maybe next time. i dont know when next time will be, hopefully sooner rather than later lol! my family has had one hell of a year last year. loosing our youngest daughter then having a cancer scare. yeah, we need this vacation. i talked with my BFF and she is going to help us out if we need it.

 

[vnuzz]

This is our first time to WDW too so I'm afraid I don't have any advice to share

I just wanted to say that I hope you and your family have a truly magical trip. Sounds like you all need and deserve it x

 

[cm8]

ok i am going to take off Chef Mickey. maybe next time. i dont know when next time will be, hopefully sooner rather than later lol! my family has had one hell of a year last year. loosing our youngest daughter then having a cancer scare. yeah, we need this vacation. i talked with my BFF and she is going to help us out if we need it.

We went to Chef Mickey's for the first time ever in March, the food was awful I saw older children as well as adults using their hands to pick things off of the desserts ( the chocolate decorations ). They then had the the nerve to leave what they did not want behind. If money is tight for you, I'd hate to have you use so much of your budget on CM's. I am so sorry for the loss of your DD I pray you all have a great time

 

[momof2gr8kids]

I may have missed it, but where are you staying? If it's offsite in a condo you can save money by eating your breakfast and dinner there.

If you are onsite, since you are driving from home you can bring stuff for breakfasts and grab stuff from the grocery stores (like roasted chicken, etc.) to have for suppers, lunch meat for sandwiches, etc.

Your kids will probably have more fun splashing around the pool area and eating something simple for dinner than being cooped up in a restaurant anyways.

Check the Orlando Attractions threat - there are always some ideas of good offsite cheap restaurants on there. (Like Sweet Tomatoes)

If you bring stuff from home, you will be fine! Enjoy!

 

[MamaJessie]

with my older ones, it will matter how hungry they are when we eat. if it helps we will have our own car. that kinda sucks about McDonalds though. is there are cheaper than the parks places to eat around the area?

Oh definitely. It is only a few minutes to i-drive and you can find plenty of dinner deals. Cici's pizza is a bargain, plenty of fast food, a lot of buffet coupons are available... check out the Orlando attractions section here on the dis, a good place for help with restaurants in the area.

 

[MamaJessie]

Restaurant . com has a voucher for Giordano for a $10 certificate for $4.

 

[Marionnette]

its for 6 days.

3 Adults
4 Children
6 Days
$450 for food and souvenirs

Chef Mickey's is definitely a no-go because you need to conserve your food money as much as possible. In addition to the prices that another poster quoted for you, there are also gratuities to be considered. You're talking about feeding your family on $75/day (or less if you want to have souvenir money!). Table service of any kind is not going to fit into your budget.

There are a lot of packable meals that you can buy the ingredients for at a grocery store. Resign yourself to the fact that eating out is not going to be part of your daily experience at Disney this year. Even one quick service meal in the parks is going to eat up most of your daily food budget. Most QS meals run in the range of $8-$10 each. You can find menus and prices here:
http://allears.net/menu/menus.htm

Some suggestions for packable lunches (assuming that you take an insulated cooler into the parks):

• Hummus and pita bread
• Hard-boiled eggs.
• Cheese, crackers and salami
• Pouches of tuna salad (they don't need refrigeration) and bread (in a Tupperware container so it doesn't get smashed)
• Fruits, raw vegetables
• Frozen Gogurt tubes
• Tortillas spread with pesto and rolled up with lettuce, tomato and turkey (or any other combo of luncheon meats and non-perishable spreads)

I would discourage you from heading back to your room or offsite to eat. You will spend too much time traveling around instead of enjoying the parks. And let's face it, the reason that you're making this trip is to enjoy the parks. You paid a lot for your admission tickets, so remember that going outside the parks to eat is going to take a big chunk out of your day. That's time that you could be spending at the attractions.

If you're staying in a family suite, you will have a microwave oven and coffeemaker. Use them to make dinners like a microwavable lasagna with a salad and Italian bread. Or get a rotisserie chicken, a bag of frozen veggies in a steam bag and some of those Uncle Ben's rices that reheat in the microwave in 90 seconds. Don't forget to purchase (or pack) paper plates, bowls, plastic utensils and cups. Bring baggies and plastic wrap from your house so that you can pack your lunches. I think that one sharp knife would be very helpful to bring along.

It's not going to be easy to stretch those dollars. You're going to have to do a lot of the prepping and shopping while you are on vacation and in a limited kitchen. It can be done. It's just going to take quite a bit of effort on your part. Good luck!

 

[Marionnette]

Restaurant . com has a voucher for Giordano for a $10 certificate for $4.

You have to watch the fine print on those restaurant.com certificates. That Giordano's certificate might only cost $4 for $10 worth of food, but it also comes with a minimum $20 purchase. And you cannot use more than one certificate in a single visit. So, the purchaser is basically saving $6 on a $20+ purchase. It's better than no discount at all, but it's not the super deal that it appears to be.

 

[StephMK]

Do you have any way to earn some extra cash or use other parts of your budget for this trip? Did you figure in that you won't be buying groceries or gas at home during the week of your trip? I agree that you aren't missing great food by cancelling CM.

 

[MamaJessie]

You have to watch the fine print on those restaurant.com certificates. That Giordano's certificate might only cost $4 for $10 worth of food, but it also comes with a minimum $20 purchase. And you cannot use more than one certificate in a single visit. So, the purchaser is basically saving $6 on a $20+ purchase. It's better than no discount at all, but it's not the super deal that it appears to be.

I buy restaurant.com vouchers and figured with 7 people they would probably be spending 20 anyway, so a 20-30% discount is a good deal.

Always good to read the fine print though

 

[Trish.Glenn]

When my family first started going to Disney we always took our lunch into the park and ate a very cheap fast food dinner out of the parks. It was fine and the family never did anything different so no one ever complained. It just takes a little extra planning.

I would also suggest to go to the dollar store. Buy some Disney items and glow sticks. I found if I had prizes ready during the trip suvoniers were not such a big deal.

Good luck!!!