We did it again! Family of 4 eats for $75 a day. Read all about it, plus reviews!

[Aimeedyan]

I think it is great that the family is eating and saving money but it shouldn't be at the expense of the waitstaff.

I would be more impressed if the family ate on $90 a day (still fairly good, esp considering the amount of snacks they had) and tipped the waitstaff correctly.

 

[slug]

I think the OP's information is pretty interesting. I actually wish there were more reports like this.

And the OP's tips may have been lower than the average 15% tip, but she didn't "stiff" any of the waitstaff. They all got some tip.

And this is coming from a former waiter and bartender. It's all part of the job. They even off.

However, to those who said that tipping is optional, etc: That may technically be true, but in reality, waitresses aren't paid minimum wage. The law allows for them to be paid BELOW minimum wage because they are in an industry that functions on tipping. Restaurants (everywhere) have lower operating expenses in that area and that translates to lower prices on the menu. If waitresses weren't tipped, then the restaurant would have to pay them more hourly which would translate to higher prices on the menu for the consumer. So while it may be optional, it's also all relative.

 

[hentob]

The irony of what you just said is that in many posts I have posted something and gotten slammed for it. And in some places posted my opinion and told to shut up. If you all want to be jerks to some people and nice to others fine. But all I see is this person getting slammed for they way they choose to tip. And being in that position before I'm willing to defend them.

I really don't think I "slammed" anyone or was being a "jerk" My opinion just differed from yours.

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

If you want to eat out and can only leave a 10 percent tip then thats all you can leave. You cant tell someone they should not eat out then.

I do believe in tipping a person for their service because they work hard and everything but when you dont have a lot i am not going to tell someone they should not take their family out, or in the case of disney (because you have to eat out) not to go or if you do go just eat at counter service.

Some people are really on a tight budget, but still want to take their kids to disney and out to eat every once in a while and feel bad as it is because they cannot leave a 15-20 percent tip. And on top of all that you cant share anything without people coming on these boards critisizing everything.

I am not speaking for the OP but i know there are some in this situation.

My mother God bless her, did not have much but worked 3 jobs to support 4 kids and was not able to really take us out anywhere but when she did she really had to cut corners and we had to share meals ect. She didnt always have to give but took us out maybe not even once a year ( i remember it being on special occasions like graduation). Are you telling me she should not have done this because she just could not afford to leave 5 dollars more.
For you 5 dollars may not be alot but for her it was. when its hard to find 1.50 to get a bus its alot.
You maybe saying why go out then. Now as an adult with my own child i realize she did it for us. And as mothers know you would take your kids out say your not hungry and watch them eat just so they could have that experience.

So please everyone keep your rude comments to your self

You honestly can't see the difference between someone taking their children out to eat once a year, and not being able to leave a good tip, and someone who can afford a multi-day trip to an expensive resort (and yes I include POP and the All Stars expensive by this standards) then complaining that they can't "afford" to leave a tip?

Those of us who can afford to take our children to WDW are very fortunate indeed, for us to basically take food out of other's mouths by not giving them the money they've "earned" is unacceptable. If you can't afford to go to WDW for 5 days and leave decent tips then go for 4?

 

[BeckWhy]

I really don't think I "slammed" anyone or was being a "jerk" My opinion just differed from yours.

Sorry I wasn't refering to anyone... just a generalization. I kinda got fed up with being slammed and this was my big post at the time and so.. yeah..

Anyways.. I just priced my meals from my last trip (yeah I still have my receipts from 2 years go) and it came out to be about $22 a day on average for just me.

 

[renessa]

You know I normally run from debates like this (and pool hopping, mug re-using, room cooking, etc ) but the tipping is getting to me also. I spent a few college years as a waitress...I wonder if OP has ever waited tables. The tips might look differently. The $7.00 tip for excellent service comment (or something to that affect) is outrageous. Unbelievable really. What ever happened to 15% (minimum) for good service. None of this is a bash...but to "brag" about your budget dining adventures and lowball the servers is just wrong. If they ate 7 table service meals (I'm guessing 1 per day) and left an decent tip...the average would have been...something like....$85 per day...and the tipping debate never would have started (and the server wouldn't have wondered what the heck they did wrong????).

disclaimer...none of this is bashing the OP or anyone else.

 

[kokomos]

I cant even believe im getting in on this tipping debate. First I dont try to figure a percentage. I tip and its usually pretty well but it is based on the amount of work done not by the price of my meal
If you go into a resturant and order appetizers , drinks and refill bill comes to 25.00 or go in and order entrees and drinks no refills 50.00 you are basically getting the same service so why should the tip be half as much or twice as much when the server does the same amount of work?
That being said if a server was paid by the hour working at 50s primetime cafe how much do you think the hourly wage should be?


BTW OP i enjoyed your review

 

[tortoni]

Thanks for all the detail in your dining reviews. It's helpful to know which meals can be shared.

 

[calie_j]

Not that I care but her post says total with $7 tip is $55.98. 55.98 minus 7 equals 48.98 which is what I take her actual bill to be and if you add up her listed menu items and add 6.5% tax it comes to that. Multiply 48.98 by .15 is $7.35 So the tip left satisfies the minimum 15% disboard requirement. It was also said in an earlier reply by OP that she tipped in cash and paid for the meal by charging to the room so maybe some of her numbers aren't exactly accurate. Now can we all just get along

Breakfast: In-room
(healthy junk)

Lunch: 50'S PRIMETIME CAFE

1 Kid's mac & cheese $4.99
1 Fried chicken with mashed taters 13.29
1 Pot roast with mashed taters 14.29
1 extra plate FREE!
1 chocolate shake 4.99
1 ice cream soda 3.99
1 root beer 2.25
1 cola 2.19
_________________________________________________
TOTAL WITH $7 TIP! Service was great! $55.98

Dinner: POP

1 Double cheeseburger $5.09
1 extra bun .69
2 bags of chips 3.98
2 pizzas 11.78
_________________________________________________
TOTAL $22.95

Snack: ICE CREAM CART
2 cookie sandwiches $5.00
2 Minnie frozen bars 4.00
_________________________________________________
TOTAL $9.00

FRIDAY'S TOTAL=================================$88.13


REVIEWS:
50's Primetime-Service was great as usual, Cousin Craig wasn't over the top, like some others we saw. I shared with DH and DS2, I got a piece of chicken, pot roast, taters and mac. Everything was excellent. I planned on dessert, but was too full. This meal we actually stuffed ourselves, cause it was sooo good! I tasted DS2's shake and was so jealous, it was the best shake I ever tasted and it's enough for 2, but do you think he shared with me?

Minnie frozen strawberry bars were so good while waiting in the heat for the afternoon parade. I wish I had had more. They're full of strawberries, kind of like a Dole juice bar. Yummy!

 

[ChristusG]

OH. MY. GOODNESS. These DIS boards never cease to amaze me. Why in the world are you people flaming this person? They come on here to try to help people by showing them it *is* possible to eat for a reasonable price at Disney....and they get flamed for tipping, for their eating habits, etc. If you dont like what they ordered, then guess what? Dont order it. If you dont like the the tips they are giving, then guess what? It's really none of your business.

Thank you so much for posting this!! Please ignore the rude people on this board.

 

[ChristusG]

Oh, and about the whole tipping thing.....I guess I just dont see why a waitress should get more money for a $25 steak rather than if they had ordered a $7 hamburger. There is no more work involved in bring it to that person's table.

 

[maggiew]

I'm enjoying reading this but wanted to mention for an extra $25 per day you could do the dining plan.

I'm confused? How do you figure this? It was her, DH, and 2 kids who are considered adults on the dining plan. So, the dining plan would have been $152 per day? About double what she spent????

Thanks OP for your good record keeping! I tried one trip and it was very hard and eventually gave up.

I see your family eats similar to us. We are also a family of 4 (whose kids are "adults" in Disney's eyes). We usually share meals - both Table service and counter service. We usually get 2 meals for the 4 of us plus one dessert to share. But my kids are girls and eat like birds, so maybe that is why. Sometimes DH will get an appetizer if he is particularly hungry. But we also go in the summer when its hot and we just don't feel like eating so much. So I think the sharing works for some other families too. Plus Disney portions are big in my opinion. We usually do one table service per day - similar to yours. We find that if we do a late character breakfast we can do a relatively early counter service and maybe mickey bar during fireworks!!

I say you did a great job and seeing the prices is helpful for many people.

Another interesting thing (and useful) is that they allowed your kids to order kids meals. I was wondering about that in case one of my DDs wanted chicken strips or something.

Maggie

 

[sschro3]

Wow 5 pages for something that should of taken 1. Guess everybody is entitled to their opinion...all 4 pages worth.

 

[Minniespal]

Excellent reviews ~ Thanx for sharing.

 

[gems_smiling]

Thanks for sharing. It was interesting to read how you can get away with only spending a little on food. Don't think our family could do it but good to see that it can be done.

 

[lowie]

Sometimes you are only able to leave what you can. If i dont have lots of money and can only leave like 4-5 dollars i think thats better than leaving noting at all.

sorry, but to me that would be like my boss saying he didn't have enough money to pay me my full pay because his budget wasn't enough. if you can't afford to leave a proper tip then go somewhere else. many servers NEED the money, they don't do that hard work cause they LOVE it.

 

[lowie]

So please everyone keep your rude comments to your self

sorry you think it's rude, but it's other people's opinions, mine included. that's all. it might seem rude to you, but we are all adults here, entitled to our opinions. nobody was nasty, it is, after all, a message board. right?

 

[mgrebenc]

I really appreciate the time you took to note the prices for each item purchased. That will be such a big help to many people.

Mary

 

[Goobergal99]

I really got into this whole tipping debate. You know it's funny b/c I was reading Philadelphia Magazine recently and there was an article stating that we were the biggest tipping region in the country.

My GM was a waitress so my mom always told me that if the service is good make sure you leave a good tip because many of times when my pop had TB and my GM was the only one working, they were depended upon those tips. I admit that I tip really big, if the service is horrible then I don't give much more then 10% but I still tip. If the service is decent I give from 15%-20% and if it is excellent that I will usually tip 25%.

I am not flaming the OP for her choices, but I do see why some ppl are upset about leaving a less then satisfactory tip. As far as the budget goes, I guess it was a pretty good way to save money. However, when we go to Disney, I don't count pennys and I always make sure we have at least $2,000 in spending. Now that we have been using the dining plan, we just spend it on other stuff. We never use that much money (or anywhere near it) However, it is nice to save it up and know it's there in case there is something you decide to do spontaneously. I know that most ppl can't save that kind of money for vacation so I am not insisting that anyone should, however I just can't imagine having to keep track of my spending on vacation, way to stressful IMO.

Please don't flame me for my decision to ahve that ammount of money budgeted for a vacation. We don't stay deluxe and DH and I both make great money, not to mention that we only have one child. I was flamed before for staing how much spending money we allot for DD and truthfully I just disregarded it as jelousy.

 

[jbbt]

MODERATORS - Why do you let this continue? If people want to debate tipping, they should open a tipping thread. Better yet, they should do a search and read the millions of posts already written about it and leave this poor girl alone.

NvBnToWDW - Please ignore the people that have nothing better to do than pick apart your life. Thanks so much for having the courage to post again this year after being criticized last year. I'm sure you won't make that mistake again. We ate very similar to your family our first couple of trips to WDW and loved every minute of it. You might get more understanding on the Budget Board, but it has morphed into a board about all things budget related not just Disney. PLEASE, don't let these nay-sayers taint or steal the magical memories of your vacation.