Recent Food Prices & souvenir budget- am I being realistic?

[Happyinwonerland]

My question is do you really want to eat essentially fast food and soda from the resort for 7 days straight? If you are counting on the mug, are you really going to back to a resort to refill every time you're thirsty?

There are 3 of us and for a week trip I always give myself a $1500 food budget. If we spend less, great, but I do not want to be stressing about whether I can afford a TS meal when I want something less fast food-like.

Character meals tend to run us about $100-120 for the 3 of us. QS meals, usually cost $50- $60. Mickey bars, drinks, snacks all add up. You can tell yourself you'll bring all snacks into the parks, but honestly, sometimes the popcorn or the dole whip call to you. Some days it is so darn hot you need a mickey bar. Sometimes you're just sick of eat the same old granola bar and you want that fresh pineapple spear.

If there is any way to up your food budget, I would. I would hate for my family to feel deprived on vacation.

Your souvenir budget sounds fine to me, we aren't big souvenirs people. We like our photos, a Christmas ornament, and DD gets a new set of ears each trip, but that's about it. We maybe spend $50-$100 total on souvenirs.

 

[hsmamato2]

I don't like the mugs.... 18.00 for timed soda refills just seems all wrong... but I don't really drink much soda so there's that.... water is free everywhere on a budget, or you could buy a large soda with each meal,and share some with the kids.... besides the resort mugs are only good at your resort, no parks,etc when you're likely to be thirsty. Personaly you oculd use some of the 2 yo souvie money to add to extra snacks and things, since most 2 yo don't usually ask for $200 worth of merchandise.... and you're bringing a ton of stuff to give anyway

 

[scrapquitler]

I was kind of going off the cost of the qs ddp. I have plans to have breakfast in room every day and eating qs for each meal. For Me, My husband, my 9 year old and my 2 year old I have budgeted $700 for food for 7 days. This includes drinks and snacks

souvenir wise is a bit different. I'm getting memory maker and that (plus a bb8 collecter's mug!) is all I know I'll want. I'm not big on souvenirs from any place. I prefer memories to things and clutter stresses me out. My husband is getting a $170 budget (what I'm getting) and the kids will get whatever they get from their birthdays. My parents and uncles have already stated they'll give them disney gift cards. They'll get at least $200 each. Maybe more. We won't let them have less then $200.

My 2 year old doesn't really NEED much stuff and I'm doing a DIY grand welcome with ton's of stuffed animals, shirts, pjs, Disney themed candy and toys. I've budgeted for this separatly and it's only costing my $100 oop (thank you swagbucks) He'll be enamored with most of that.

Some people say they spend $200 on food each day and can blow through $600 in souvenirs. I read somewhere else that a cup of coffee and 1 soda costs more then the refillable mug. Am I underestimating costs here?

The $100/day is fairly close to what we spent on our trip last month (we are Mom, Dad and 13 yo DS). We did breakfast in the room, several snacks during the day and one or two QS meals per day per person. I sometimes eat a child's meal instead of an adult one, and one of us sometimes just had a snack or side dish instead of a meal. We almost always get the free water and we buy the mugs at the resort.

We spent probably a total of $200 on souvenirs during the trip, including a few incidentals that we forgot at home (Bengay and sunscreen).

 

[Jankam]

Agreeing with what everyone is saying. Last time we had kids ages 3/6/9 and for the five of us we were able to stick to $100 per day which included breakfast in the room (garden grocer), QS lunch, shared snack, and QS dinner. We researched ahead of time to find healthier QS options and that worked well most days. This summer when we go, we plan to budget slightly more for food bc the kids are now 6/9/12, but no more than $125 per day average.

 

[MinnieSweetheart]

Are you trying to stay to that strict budget or are you budgeting so you know you have enough set aside before you get there? If it's the latter, I would say to set aside $125 a day. I would budget $50 per QS meal for your family not including desserts and then $25 for snacks (4 mickey bars is $16)

I recommend everyone bring some of their own snacks, especially if anyone is picky. The snacks (other than ice cream) seem to vary from area to area so you might not be able to get what you want if you're picky.

For souveniers, I think you'll have more than enough. We spend around $50 excluding the memory maker. I don't personally think memory maker as a mom souvenir, that's for the family. So dad gets $30 and reallocate the other $140 for the family.

An additional something you might want to consider, if you are on the have time to save up or reallocate, if you go to Disney again, your character buffets are going to be considerably more expensive b/c DD9 will become an adult and DD2 will no longer be free. I would recommend splurging for one character meal (Tusker House, Minnie's Dine in DHS, or Crystal Palace) while it is less expensive. Next year, if prices hold, the dinners will cost you on average an additional $50.

 

[powellrj]

I would make a grocery run once you get there. Maybe rent a cab or get an uber. Get soft drinks from the grocery and forget the refillable mugs. Unless you have a room close to the food court, it can be quite a walk back and forth just for a drink.

The big chains are about the same price as home. You can get your snacks and breakfast items and even some things to do lunch at the pool a few days. It will really help your grocery budget. You could do trails end if you wanted to do a buffet at a resort and the garden grove for an inexpensive character meal. Those would fill you up for the day and you would just need snacks to fill in.

 

[DnA2010]

As others have said, by bringing in food (we even brought pbj some days for lunch), drinking water instead of pop, and sharing if possible, you should be fine. With $200, perhaps the kids can get their own Mickey bars/snacks

 

[superme80]

One thing that saved us money is we brought our own soda. The little mini bottles about about $3.50 for an 8 pack. Everyone in our family would get one to bring in the park with us. It saved us at least one soda per meal. We shared a lot of treats and snacks, so that brought the cost down for us.

 

[revdisney33]

Another thought.. have you considered the QS dining plan? If you do it, you'd be paying $107 per night for 2 adults & one child (2 yr old is free and can eat off your plates). This is 2 meals per day with drink and dessert, plus one snack and one mug.

You can swap desserts or drinks for side items, like a side of fries or fruit, which the little one may enjoy.

Not sure of your thoughts, but this may give you the freedom to eat what you want, get expensive snacks, and fill your mugs at the food court. You wouldn't worry at all about prices because you've already paid for it.

I agree....we have dine this with free dining but have paid for it also. I like the freedom to know I can have the $19.99 ribs at Flame Tree, onion rings instead of dessert and my drink and not have to worry about the price. I'm on vacation, I don't want to settle on the cheaper meal because of budget. I walk up get what I want and allows you to get what you want, not what is the cheapest. We use the free water throughout the day, our snacks for expensive snacks. If you tend to drink soda, the mug is great. If you eat at the resort, you still get your drink with the plan and we often grab bottled water and use later or in the parks and use the mug with our meal. I always have a couple of cups of coffee in the morning also. One in the food court then one in the room with breakfast we bring.

$100 might be doable, but as others have said....if you do this or that or only do water and share meals...etc. still bring snacks, but have the freedom is more important. I don't go on vacation to save money or lose weight. I don't throw money around, but I hate scrounging and not getting I want. Several QS places are more expensive than others and the plan allows for it.

The souvenir budget seems reasonable. Squashed pennies are great and inexpensive. We usually will only buy something needed or can only get in the parks. Makes it more special.

 

[SugarRush]

There is a food tripe on a UK based disney forum that is entirely based on $100pd dining. If you search dixonsontour $100 you'll find it. I found it useful.There's some offsite dining in it but that might suit?? Not sure if you have a vehicle.

 

[kathy884]

I have found $30 pp per day to be the approximate amount of money we spend on food and snacks when we do a full day at the theme parks. This assumes having breakfast at our condo or hotel before arriving too and a full day with both lunch and dinner (but all counter service). If we bring along our own food and snacks we can significantly reduce this number. If we don't want to bother, this has always been a pretty realistic number for us. This is what I budget, but for me a budget is an approximation of what I will spend and spending being a little over is no big deal. I would recommend that for anyone who doesn't have that flexibility (wants to be sure to be at or under the budget set) to add a 10% cushion.

Usually if it's just two or three or us we don't bother bringing food in. Often, though, we are traveling with an extended family group who would like to keep expenses down. In this case we do big breakfasts at the condo including protein that fills people up, pack a soft sided cooler and cooler back pack with 15 sandwiches, grapes, blueberries (if in season), some cheese cracker snacks, granola bars, and maybe about 10 juice boxes. We find that with the exception of perhaps two or three people purchasing a soft drink that this keeps the entire group satisfied and food spending at zero till about 4 p.m. Than at four or so we will do a counter service meal. About 1/2 of the party automatically just order water with meals which cuts down expenses and there is some entrée sharing, but still typically about seven meals for the party of 10. Then maybe at around 7 or so it's Mickey Bars or some kind of ice cream treat for whoever wants something - usually about six out of the 10. Then after the evening fireworks show, we drive through the Wendy's drive thru and get some dollar burgers, take these back to the condo and supplement with salad and fruit - our own drinks from the grocery store (milk, juice, soda). A strategy like this really cuts down expenses with a large group and it's kind of a fun family project to buy all the stuff for the sandwiches and make them.

Do note too that on these budget minded trips we are typically just doing a theme park every other day. For Disney we bring the food in. At SeaWorld where you can't bring food we find that the meal deal is a pretty good offer. We buy one season pass which gives us free parking and some discounts, etc. too. And at SeaWorld you can get a second theme park day for $15 within a seven day window and a good discount for booking day one online. Our budget trips are Sea World day 1, a Disney park day 3, a second day at SeaWorld day 5, and a resort day with swimming and tennis days 2, a trip to the beach day 4, and another resort day on day 6. Usually on resort days we have one small Orlando adventure like mini golf or maybe even Gatorland for three hours or so.

 

[SunnieRN]

I'm of a mind that with the changes in the dining plan recently, I would purchase the QS plan. Since you budgeted amount is $100/day, and the cost of the dining plan would be $107 you could easily come out ahead.

1) Resort mugs, which if you fill them one time a day, with a soda costing $2.99 - 3.19 you are spending more than the cost of the mug. They are also wonderful souvenirs, I use mine every day for a touch of Disney in my life!

2) Disney does not at this time enforce a difference between child/adult QS credits at MOST restaurants. This could really benefit your family as your children could easily share an adult meal. Also 9 year old children may not be full or satisfied with the kids meals.

3) You can make choices based on what you WANT to eat, vs price. We enjoy Wolfgang Puck Express - Marketside and it would be difficult to fit that into your budget. You can look at menus, find where you'd enjoy eating and not worry about the price.

3) On the dining plan, your allotment for each QS meal is an entree, dessert and a non alcoholic basic drink. You can now also trade your drink and or dessert for any snack item on the menu. I'm not too big on the desserts at most QS locations, but I would love onion rings at FT BBQ, or a different side dish at Tangierine Cafe, etc.

4) We have also found that many meals are easily splittable, so we have often done that and used our extra credit for an adult breakfast the following day, for my grandmunchkins to share.

5) Snacks! Sometimes we use them, sometimes we end up getting things at Karamel Kuche, Goofys Candy Co. Etc to bring home. They all get used and if we bring treats home, it's like an extra souvenir.

6) BOG, is QS at breakfast or lunch and is a great bargain on th dining plan! At both, your drinks are refillable, your food is brought to your table and you can order ahead of time on-line, so it saves you time! This and WGPE are fairly close to a TS meal!

7) Souvenirs should be determined by you as to what is appropriate/inappropriate. We have had trips where we've spent hundreds of dollars each and trips where we don't spend much. My mug and an ornament are usually what I enjoy!

 

[revdisney33]

I'm of a mind that with the changes in the dining plan recently, I would purchase the QS plan. Since you budgeted amount is $100/day, and the cost of the dining plan would be $107 you could easily come out ahead.

1) Resort mugs, which if you fill them one time a day, with a soda costing $2.99 - 3.19 you are spending more than the cost of the mug. They are also wonderful souvenirs, I use mine every day for a touch of Disney in my life!

2) Disney does not at this time enforce a difference between child/adult QS credits at MOST restaurants. This could really benefit your family as your children could easily share an adult meal. Also 9 year old children may not be full or satisfied with the kids meals.

3) You can make choices based on what you WANT to eat, vs price. We enjoy Wolfgang Puck Express - Marketside and it would be difficult to fit that into your budget. You can look at menus, find where you'd enjoy eating and not worry about the price.

3) On the dining plan, your allotment for each QS meal is an entree, dessert and a non alcoholic basic drink. You can now also trade your drink and or dessert for any snack item on the menu. I'm not too big on the desserts at most QS locations, but I would love onion rings at FT BBQ, or a different side dish at Tangierine Cafe, etc.

4) We have also found that many meals are easily splittable, so we have often done that and used our extra credit for an adult breakfast the following day, for my grandmunchkins to share.

5) Snacks! Sometimes we use them, sometimes we end up getting things at Karamel Kuche, Goofys Candy Co. Etc to bring home. They all get used and if we bring treats home, it's like an extra souvenir.

6) BOG, is QS at breakfast or lunch and is a great bargain on th dining plan! At both, your drinks are refillable, your food is brought to your table and you can order ahead of time on-line, so it saves you time! This and WGPE are fairly close to a TS meal!

7) Souvenirs should be determined by you as to what is appropriate/inappropriate. We have had trips where we've spent hundreds of dollars each and trips where we don't spend much. My mug and an ornament are usually what I enjoy!

Much better said than my post.....but right in. Onion rings at FT and I'd the onion soup at BOG instead of dessert.

 

[wishtdream]

We were just at DW in Feb for a quick trip. We found that 4 QS meals often totaled $60 to $70 before the cashier used our credits. We also disliked waiting in the long QS lines just to get a cup of free water. In your position, I would use the QS plan. We always carry small snacks for our youngest child and have even brought in our own uncrustables when she was eating those all the time. We always bring in our own bottled water and our newest trick is to bring a refillable bottle for each of us into the park. The CS meals come with a large fountain drink on the dining plan. These drinks are huge and we cannot finish them in the time it takes to eat a meal. We prefer non-carbonated beverages. We pour the remainder of the beverage in the refillable bottle and take it with us through the park. It is much more convenient than carrying the flimsy paper cups with us and we hate to throw anything away.

 

[NKHarris329]

Totally doable.

At QS locations you can get the Sandwich (Burger whatever) without a side. Often times we found the sides big enough to share.

Many table service meals are big enough to share as well. This may not work for very big eaters, but it does for our family.

Plan to bring snacks and breakfast bar type items. We had Lara Bars, Trail Mix, Nuts, Fruit Snacks, etc. When I snack during the day I don't order everything in sight when I sit down for a meal.

Bring a (large) water bottle for everyone in your family. With our young kids we always went back to the hotel for a nap, so we filled the bottle in the morning, when we returned to our room, and before going back out in the evening. There are also water fountains where you can refill them at the parks, and ice water at QS locations. If you need flavoring, there are lots of options available.


The meal plan might work out to be a good deal for you, but it didn't work with the way our family eats. We didn't always want QC, we split a lot of meals, and we would rather bring our own snacks.