Realistic Food Budget for Five Days with 5 people?

[igrsod]

$1,250 - $1,500.

$50/day per person for counter service. Add another $20/ per person for any sit down meals.

I would agree with this estimate. That's what we budget for our vacations... pretty much what we spend give or take.

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

Totally understand, as I said we're on the far extreme end of the spectrum. But even a simple thing like packing pb&j, some fruit and a snack could save you a bunch.

I know we're a bit odd, but to the best I can figure our food budget is roughly $5-$7/person per day.

That’s a brilliant way to plan a trip. Not only to be able to stay longer but also after a few days I start longing for simple food. I looked at GFs Bloody Mary two days ago and thought, what crazy person thinks a Bloody Mary needs bacon, a prawn, an olive and a stick of celery? Disney sometimes less is more!
I have found that Boathouse is really good at preparing a simple grilled fish if that is your stomach’s desire. I hope that you have a fabulous trip.

 

[Judique]

That’s a brilliant way to plan a trip. Not only to be able to stay longer but also after a few days I start longing for simple food. I looked at GFs Bloody Mary two days ago and thought, what crazy person thinks a Bloody Mary needs bacon, a prawn, an olive and a stick of celery? Disney sometimes less is more!
I have found that Boathouse is really good at preparing a simple grilled fish if that is your stomach’s desire. I hope that you have a fabulous trip.

That would be lunch for me. Hold half the alcohol.

 

[leebee]

We often share a QS meal at lunch time. Portions are always generous, and unless you are a huge eater, something like 1/4 chicken with 1/4 slab ribs with slaw, beans, and corn bread really will feed two- if not sure, get a side with it. We also find that we don't eat as much at meal time at Disney as we do at home; not as hungry in the heat/humidity, often somewhat filled from water consumption, and of course we snack at Disney, which we wouldn't do at home, so that keeps us partially filled, too. We usually bring stuff from home for easy in-room breakfasts, share a QS for lunch, then each have our own TS at dinner. One thing that kills my budget is that we like to have a glass of wine/mixed drink (or two) with dinner, and alcohol is hugely expensive at Disney; figure $10-$15 per drink. This past trip DH and I tried sharing a glass of wine with dinner (or sharing two glasses) and found that this worked pretty well in helping to cut that cost a bit.

I usually figure $15 per QS meal and $50 per TS (or lounge) meal- we don't do apps or dessert usually- and then add 25% for tax and tip. Close enough... although I do think we spend more than that with the adult beverages. Sometime I'm going to get a Target REdCard and buy discounted Disney gift cards before we leave to help with the costs (if I don't have enough VISA rewards saved up).

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

We often share a QS meal at lunch time. Portions are always generous, and unless you are a huge eater, something like 1/4 chicken with 1/4 slab ribs with slaw, beans, and corn bread really will feed two- if not sure, get a side with it. We also find that we don't eat as much at meal time at Disney as we do at home; not as hungry in the heat/humidity, often somewhat filled from water consumption, and of course we snack at Disney, which we wouldn't do at home, so that keeps us partially filled, too. We usually bring stuff from home for easy in-room breakfasts, share a QS for lunch, then each have our own TS at dinner. One thing that kills my budget is that we like to have a glass of wine/mixed drink (or two) with dinner, and alcohol is hugely expensive at Disney; figure $10-$15 per drink. This past trip DH and I tried sharing a glass of wine with dinner (or sharing two glasses) and found that this worked pretty well in helping to cut that cost a bit.

I usually figure $15 per QS meal and $50 per TS (or lounge) meal- we don't do apps or dessert usually- and then add 25% for tax and tip. Close enough... although I do think we spend more than that with the adult beverages. Sometime I'm going to get a Target REdCard and buy discounted Disney gift cards before we leave to help with the costs (if I don't have enough VISA rewards saved up).

‘This past trip DH and I tried sharing a glass of wine with dinner’
...... and you stayed married?!!!

 

[mom2rose&john]

I used allears . net dining menus for setting a budget and then increased it by 10% for a buffer. By the end of our 6 night trip we didn't go over our budget and we certainly didn't starve ourselves. We had a light breakfast in our room but did eat CS 2 mornings, bought the refillable resort mug, 2 counter service per day and 1-2 snacks per day and ate one sit down at Via Napoli Ristorante. Our food budget was approximately $1200 for four adults, 2 of us are light eaters and would share snacks a few CS meals.

 

[wed100105]

I'm debating all of this currently for our spring break trip. We're staying offsite so buying the dining plan isn't an option for us, and it's interesting to think about paying OOP vs dining plan (which we've done for the past few years staying in DVC rooms and still felt that we came out ahead).

Sometimes we're ready for a relaxing evening back in the room. A jar of spaghetti sauce, noodles, a veggie, some really good bread, and a bottle of wine can cost less than $25 for our family of five. It doesn't take much effort on my part, and it's a $200-250 savings on what we spend at some TS meals. Ultimately you have to just play around with what you are willing to spend. My son loves popcorn so reusing our popcorn bucket for refills is a pretty decent deal and filling snack. We'll bring our own water/refill for free in the park and juice boxes for the kids.

For this trip, I used the dining plan calculator and estimated $1500 for 6 nights, 6 days for 3 Disney adults and 2 kids. (We arrive at 10:30 the first night). I hope to come home with quite a bit of money left over. If there is a Disney Visa discount at the restaurant, I'll use it. If not, I have Disney gift cards saved with anywhere from a 5%-18% savings.