What does your food budget look like?

[FlameGirl]

Someone's been drunk DISing.

 

[Midnightred]

For our family of 4, we budget $150-$200 per day for food. I have 2 boys who snack all the time. Also, we usually order beer or mixed drinks at CA and that will really drive the cost up. Our dinner bill at Ariels was $200, and our bill at Blue Bayou was very high. I guess it just depends.

Midnightred

 

[Gisele]

Someone's been drunk DISing.

Lmao!

 

[roflclaw]

For dbf and I, we guess about $100 a day for the both of us. But it depends on what meals we already have planned each day. Prior to our trip we sit down and decide on our "must have" meals/places to eat and I go through the menus and try and decide what I think we would order and price them out. That way I have a guestimate on what each meal might cost.

We normally do one "big" meal each day. Like a sit down or Hungry Bear or something, then snack the rest of the day away.

I always have to have a separate budget for Pooh's Corner lol

 

[mfleeting]

We don't go for 3 weeks but after looking over some menu's I have decided to budget $150 a day. This will be for 3 adults and 2 school age kids who either eat a little or eat a lot depending on the day. This however, is not including our 2 character meals (so I'm actually hoping for $100 those 2 days) and breakfast will just be breakfast bars or something at the hotel. I'm really hoping I come home with some extra money from this budget but some people (the husband) is already making lists of foods to try.

 

[corinne76]

following.
I stupidly didn't even think to make an actual food budget last time. We brought in sandwiches and snacks so really only ate one meal in the park, with some snacks of course. Can't pass up churros!
next trip I want to check out more food places. We did eat at Hungry Bear and Flos for counter service but no actual sit down restaurants.

 

[Indiana Scott]

No budget but I figure it will be about $120 a day for the three of us.

 

[scrapshappen]

We went to DL in August and just last week and between the two times, food prices increased. (I think it was right around labor day). Five years ago, we could easily feed 4 people (2A, 2K) on $100 a day and include a trinket or two at the end of the week in that amount.

Last week, we spent portions of 6 days at the park and spent about $800 on food (including tips at table service). We did Big Thunder Ranch BBQ and the Surf's Up breakfast as well as Carnation Cafe and then did counter service for the rest of our meals. We also had the AP discount so 10% off of full price.

Can you do it cheaper? Of course! If I could just convince my DH and DS that they didn't need a soda at every meal, it would be a lot cheaper. I think I figured we spent about $70 on soda pop alone!

ETA: I went back and counted and we only ate a total of 8 meals over the six days actually at the resort (park or disney hotels). We also did a snack every day though and those add up quickly. That $800 only counted what I paid in Disney GCs so it didn't include a lunch at Earl of Sandwich ($25), dinner at Mi Casa ($30), and dinner at McD's ($20). We had free breakfast at the hotel the first two days too. So the real number is $875 or $145 a day.

 

[5forMickey]

If I could just convince my DH and DS that they didn't need a soda at every meal, it would be a lot cheaper. I think I figured we spent about $70 on soda pop alone!

This is true of my family also. That is why club service at the Hotel works for us, we would spend as much daily on soda's as we do on the club charge. With that, they at least will just drink water in the park cause those drinks add up

 

[JadeDarkstar]

Also forgot to mention we are taking sodas in with us, and some of those mio and crush drink mixs.

 

[Disney127]

We are planning on about $100/day for DD13 and myself. Most of the times, we eat at counter service but have a couple of character meals planned too. My DD loves to snack and she says that DL has the best churros and cotton candy! Since, this is our annual trip, we do indulge in our favorite snacks at the parks.

 

[awdsmama]

What is your budgeted amount per person adult/kid?
What type of restaurants and snacks do you include in that total?

First, I usually get an idea of what park I'm starting in each day (taking into account magic mornings, park hopping etc) and where we will *probably* be around meal times. Then I scope out the menus for places in those areas, or close by, and estimate each meals cost that way. Then, if there are any places I really want to try but haven't made it on the list, I juggle things around a bit to make sure we hit those (like Blue Bayou for lunch or Big Thunder BBQ for dinner).

I find using the menus makes it really easy to budget! And as for snacks, we usually do one park snack a day and then have a snack at the hotel if we go back for break.

We eat breakfast at the hotel/on the way to the park usually - except for 1 character breakfast which is also easy to get a cost on ahead of time.

I've found we don't eat as much at Disneyland as I would expect, we took way too many snacks the first trip!

 

[YukonMommy]

Well on our last trip in Jan 2014 there were 7 of us (Gramma, myself, Hubby and 4 kids (ages 11, 9, 7, 4 at the time) and we averaged $200 a day. We ate brekkies at the hotel, lunch was counter service, supper was sit down. We did 1 character brekkie and 1 night at the BTRBBQ.

**Gramma paid for all the extra treats (candy apples, churros, ice cream, dole whips, starbucks,etc)** or our cost per day would have been more!

We brought our own drinks in through and refilled them at water fountains.

We found that we usually ended up ordering 5 adult meals and shared with the younger kids. Sometimes if fruit trays were available we would get 4 meals and a fruit tray (where we live fresh fruit is very hard to come by in the winter months )

 

[CAFarmerGirl]

For our family of 4 (2 adults, 1 teen boy and a tween girl) I budget 2 counter service meals at $60 ea and I throw in $30 for snacks. So, a total of $150 per day. We usually get water and my dd and I will share meals if we want the same thing, so it does vary...usually we are under that amount. I add more for those days we do the buffets.

 

[Malcon10t]

I budget usually $40 per person per day. (We are all adults.) But I also know when we will be eating at a more expensive place (Club 33, Napa, Steakhouse, Character Meal) and adjust for that.

We are not a "bring food" to the park group. And we prefer table service at least once a day. We generally eat breakfast at the park, and dinner, and snack in the afternoon. We do share at places like Pizza Port/Plaza Inn/Wharf, simply because it is a lot of food, and we like having a variety.

 

[Malcon10t]

We have 75 for flos, and one or two other meals around the parks.

How many are in your party for that $75 to cover? Is that $75 just for Flo's?

 

[WestMom2two]

We don't really budget but instead go with the flow. Some day's we spend as little as $100 on food for a family of 4 and sometime much much more. It all depends on where we want to eat and when. We aren't a 3 meal a day family by any means. Kids are picky and eat breakfast in the room except when we are at a Character meal and my husband and I are good with coffee and a quick breakfast sandwich. For lunch we usually snack because we dont want to stop and dinner is always a sit down. I think our last trip we averaged about $200 a day for a family of 4.

 

[Gisele]

It's also beneficial to hold up a sign on main street (One of a number of great locations) saying will trade F P for churros. Works like a charm every time. Well until security comes along and tears up your sign!
But....it does work until then.
See....what I do is just move to another territory. One of my most favorites is NOS.

See ya real soon!

 

[maizeydaizey]

We just did six days and averaged $175 a day for two adults, 9 & 4 year olds. Some days more and some less.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

3 of us, we will share and spend 30-40 at Flos.
Also have enough for another 10 for pizza hut gift card from a different gift card place.
We will eat breakfast in the room, and one meal sat after race at Ihop, we will at a nice lunch and snack at dinner time. We also will have left overs. Drink water or Pepsi (Disney land has coke, so here is where we save too)
15-20 ihop gift card (sat)
75 Gift card-RFC
50 Gift Card- HOB
25 gift card- tony Roma's
30 gift card- pizza hut
30-40 Disney gift card- Flos
100- snacks (about 7 a day for each of us)
50 each ( stuff)
25-son's b-day gift for more stuff
10- more stuff son's Disney card from his b-day.
(lucky duck will have more for stuff than we will.)
75 for the race cd. (or 40 for 2 photos)