What do you spend daily on your DVC stay?

[dianeschlicht]

Diane,

How big is your family? How are you only spending that a day? If you are eating out at a QS and TS each day.

Just the 5 of us at a QS is around $50 and $138.00 for a dinner at Chef Mickey's. That is not including our 5 snacks we have, which is usually between $20-$25 a day.

I feel it pretty much is a wash for us. We would be spending it either way. I like the convienence of the DDP not having to carry tons and tons of cash around. Plus the fact that I am not cooking while on vacation. I don't like to cook when I am home.

First of all, no need to carry "tons and tons of cash" around. We use either the room charge or a credit card, just as we would at home. Our tickets average out to about $13/day with the AP discount and the number of days we use a year. Then we eat breakfast in the villa and one meal at a table service each day. Sometimes it's a signature, and on those days the cost is a bit more, but on other days it's a bit less. Our average per person per day including meals and park tickets is around 50-75. I did NOT figure in rental car in there, since we always get a car no matter where we go. It's an expense similar to our own car expenses at home, so I consider that a wash. I guess for us the savings is in that we really don't eat three full meals a day. In the room breakfast and one sit down is about it for us, and on the days we don't do a table service, our meal is often at some place like Flame Tree BBQ, or something like that where it is plenty of food to last us the day. We aren't big eaters I guess.

Just wanted to add that when we tracked our dining expenses a couple of trips in a row, we did so to determine if the DDP was a good deal for us. It wasn't. First of all, we NEVER eat much counter service...Flame Tree and Starring Rolls is about it along that line. Secondly, we prefer to have appetizers to desserts. That doesn't fit well either with the dining plan. When we used the dining plan, we found we spent nearly $200 more than when we ate the same way without it. We ended up wasting all those QS credits and could have used more TS ones. THen with not getting appetizers....nope, didn't like it. I did forget to figure in teh cost of the TIW card in my daily total, but in the long run, if you average that over 30 days, it's not a significant added cost.

 

[jodifla]

Let's see, for a week, 3 people:
$120 in groceries
$600 in meals on property; 3 dinners, 5 lunches (est.)
$75 in Kids clubs
$25 in souvenirs
$20 mini golf & arcade


We have TIW card and annual or Florida passes.

We eat breakfasts and about half of the dinners in the room. We go enough that we don't spend a lot once we get there.

 

[dmoore22]

I don't spend anything! I just use this magic plastic card that was sprinkled with pixie dust. All they want is my signature. Then I give the piece of paper to my DW and I don't give it a second thought.

Actually we averaged about $45/day for the 5 of us. Between the TIW/DVC/AP/and Disney Visa discounts we were able to keep the costs manageable. Of course I'm not averaging in the costs for the AP since we manage to get multiple trips out of them. I am including the Disney dollars we accumulate using the Disney Visa.

 

[dismedvc]

Now that I listed all of that, I don't want to know what we really spend per day.

Hope your husband does not see your post. wdrl could figure it out to the last decimal place.

 

[robinb]

We spend about $125 per day not counting park passes for our family of three "Disney Adults". We eat breakfast in the room, one counter service and a table service per day plus adult beverages.

 

[dismedvc]

For a family of 4 we probably spend about $200 to $250 a day on food ($50+ per person), plus the cost of the park passes and the DVC room. We do tend to splurge on dinning, but even so I think it is less expensive than the DDP when you factor in drinks and tips. GMO

We typically have bagels and coffee in the room for breakfast, a quick service meal (actually more of a snack) for lunch, and then a nice sit down dinner. I strongly recommend Kona's, Narcoossees, and the Blue Zoo. California Grill is great, but I think you can do just as well for less, expecially if you are staying at BLT and can go to the TOTW lounge if you want to see wishes from a roof top.

P.S. Hi, PP and fellow cheesehead robinb

 

[anna08]

I was just boasting to my husband when I came home from a last week's 3 night trip to AKV kidani (me and 2 children) that I only spent $140!! That does not include AP's or the food I packed (a bag of mini-bagels for bfast and tuna melts, 2 cans tuna, a box of success rice, a box of poptarts and some ziploc bags with snacks). We ate CS meal x 3 days and Boma for bfast once. All the rest of the meals were using kitchen and some creativity...I felt like I was a contestant in a quickfire competition on Top Chef with some of the creations I made using only the foods available in the market. I have found that there are CS options that fill us up at lunch so we can eat a light dinner in the room.
I have become very budget minded this year having purchased our DVC last year and have changed how we do the WDW. We take our own refillable water bottles, buy ice cream pints from the market to share when we get back to room for dessert, use the refillable mugs (the three I purchased were forty $ of the 140 I spent!). I buy and secretly stow away Disney toys/trinkets from home that suddenly appear when we're at WDW to avoid paying full price there. I hate being tied down to ADRs (they rarely ever happen at the right time) so we fortunately avoid the really big table service costs. I really don't feel like we had anything but a great time there - and maybe, just maybe, I can buy more points with the money we saved!!

 

[LaurenT]

With our tickets (we get 10 day non-exp with park hop and water park - so, some days we just do water park or disney quest - we get 10 of those - so a 10 day is actually 20 days - but let's assume we do both on some days - I'll just figure daily park entrance at $40), then most breakfasts are in the room, quick on the go lunch, and then a higher end or signature dinner -add in a snack or two and souvenir - I'm gonna say $400/day for a family of 3 including the tickets.

 

[Crystal_27]

We have to buy APs and the DDP upon check-in, but, discounting the large cost of those items, we will likely spend about $50-75 per day for our family of 3, which amounts to tips and "gimmies." We really don't spend a lot outside of food, and we make our DD get her souveniers the last day so she can make sure to get what she really really wants so we're not shelling out money at every turn. It seems to work well for us.

 

[Anal Annie]

NOT counting airfare or park tickets (we have AP's) it depends on how many TS meals we do (usually 3 or 4 during a full week). I think we're pretty frugal.

We are a family of 3. We eat breakfasts in the villa. Mostly eat CS meals...we avg. probably about $35 now for each CS meal for the 3 of us (if we're not somewhere where DH gets a beer). For a TS meal I'll just round that to about $100 for each meal (we're not the type to order the most expensive entrees or a lot of appetizers, desserts or drinks). DS still orders from the kids menu a lot too or sometimes he'll order an appetizer as his meal - he's just not a big eater. We do minimal shopping...we usually each get a new shirt or watch or a souvie of some sort. A few new pins for DS... We use DME so no rental car. Grocery delivery for breakfast items, soda, beer & water...

I would say for a full week we average out to about $175 / day ($1,200 for a full week). This would be for meals, groceries and souvies.

 

[photobob]

I'm not really sure how much we spend daily. I do know that a trip we are planning for the week after Thanksgiving my DW and I are going to see how little we can spend on a DVC trip! We will have to buy AP's for the two of us, but we are planning on getting three trips out of them. Our usual MO is snack bfast in the villa, a TS or CS lunch and a lite dinner in the villa.

While WDW is an expensive trip if you study menus you can make it more affordable with out scrimping a great deal. I am one of those who needs to make it as affordable as possible, DVC is an extravagance for us.

 

[alldiz]

Geez....after I pay airfare, park tickets and disney dining plan.....LOL....too much. Maybe 75 a day after that Ahem...big chunk is on booze
Kerri

 

[DenLo]

Hope your husband does not see your post. wdrl could figure it out to the last decimal place.

You are so right there. But that doesn't mean I have to look at the figures.

 

[keishashadow]

Our costs for 3 adults (based upon 'old' DP rate, too lazy to look it up for this year). We're not breakfast eaters, do an early lunch then dinner.

$840 - 7 days of DP
$30 - soda
$10 - water/milk
$10 - beer
$90 - misc, souvies, etc.; usually don't spend it unless something new
$300 - boat rental, tours; again - usually don't bother
$180 - party tix (if MNSSHP or MVMCP)

approx $200 day, w/o boat rentals/party tix, closer to $140; which i consider to be very reasonableespecially when i don't have to cook

 

[hsmamato2]

about 150.00 per day on average- this includes cost of groceries for the 2 weeks,tix into parks,and average cost with cs lunch and dinners. oh,4 people-all 'adults' (disney adults,haha) so approx 37.00 per person per day including parks! woohoo! (my kids save and buy their own souvies)
I'm showing this thread to dh next time he gets started about overspending....;-)

 

[rynosmom]

family of 4 with 2 being teenagers and we budget $1000 for a 6 day trip. We normally do 3 TS during our stay with 1 being at Ohana.....gotta love all you can eat with 2 teenage boys. We eat breakfast in the room and usually involves cereal & english muffins that we bring from home. We purchase mugs at the beginning of our trip to save purchasing drinks while at our resort. Luckly my kids are past the stage of wanting everything they see in the gift shop so we save there......

 

[cpdwiz]

We were just talking about this...So, we are driving down...figuring on about $500 TOTAL cost for fuel and food...We are staying at HHI, both there and back, so thats free...Then SSR 1BR for the 8 nights...Tickets are all paid...So, we figured for the 3 of us (Jakes first time) about $400 a day for food and everything else....

 

[DisMomme]

I'd venture to say we spend a lot. This trip we are going down with both sets of parents and our crew of 4...8 total. 5 nights.

We have APs so I won't add that expense in.

Groceries - $200
wishes cruise - $300 (our splurge this trip)
1 TS Lunch w/our gathering- $150-200
1 TS Lunch for 4 w/a co-worker I'm meeting there - $100
3 CS Lunches for 4 - 160

We will eat breakfast and dinner in the room every day. We don't buy souveniers and the kids have their own spending money.

It breaks down to about 175-200 / day

That's not too bad considering 1 TS and meals in the room are for 8 people.

We leave next week. I'll add it up and update when we get back.

(the poolside cocktails, weather permitting, may blow the above budget )

 

[RCharnay]

I'd venture to say we spend a lot. This trip we are going down with both sets of parents and our crew of 4...8 total. 5 nights.
We have APs so I won't add that expense in.

Groceries - $200wishes cruise - $300 (our splurge this trip)
1 TS Lunch w/our gathering- $150-200
1 TS Lunch for 4 w/a co-worker I'm meeting there - $100
3 CS Lunches for 4 - 160

We will eat breakfast and dinner in the room every day. We don't buy souveniers and the kids have their own spending money.

I'm amazed you can feed 8 people two meals a day for 5 days on $200. Especially without having a pantry to dip into. Good for you!

 

[DisMomme]

I'm amazed you can feed 8 people two meals a day for 5 days on $200. Especially without having a pantry to dip into. Good for you!

Thanks

Here is my food budget
3 cases water $15
Sodas - $4
Cereal - $10
Bread 2 loaves- $2
Milk 2 Gal - $4

dinner 1-Chicken stir fry dinner- $25 (inc. chickenbreast,sauce,veges & rice)
dinner 2-Steak tips - $20
Veges - $10
dinner 3-Spaghetti dinner - $10
dinners 4&5-Sandwiches (for days we have TS meals) - $25
Salads - $10
Salad dressings $5
total $140

+-$60 for snacks to bring to the parks
Coffee (brought from home)
Oatmeal (brought from home)
Microwave popcorn (brought from home)

Am I overlooking anything? I honestly think I estimated high on most of the items. I will add it all up when we get back & see how we did.