Dining on a budget

[mom2aprincenprincess]

I have a family of five going to the world in July. I opted to book with the Sun and Fun deal rather than the free dining offer because it saved me money up front. Now I am having second thoughts. We will be staying 5 nights, and 4 park days. There is an entire day that we won’t even be on property due to a martial arts tournament. The difference in cost is just over $800 more with the quick service plan free dining, vs the fun and sun with 25% off the room and no dining. Is it possible to eat for less than $800 for 3 adults and 2 children in a 5 night stay, and 4 park days???? Not sure if I’m actually saving money

 

[firefly_ris]

For us it would be -- but it depends on what kind of eaters you and your kids are. My kids all eat like birds and can split a lot of stuff (and still manage to not finish it)... also depends on what types of places you want to eat, how much alcohol you intend to buy, etc.... If your kids are older, or big eaters, maybe not? This is the least helpful post ever, but I think there are a few different determining factors that will vary by family.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

There are Disney Dining Calculators out there (try searching for exactly that) where you can put in the restaurants, # of people, etc and it will calculate everything out for you. You can do it yourself but I find the way it is laid out on the calculators to be helpful as it tells you OOP costs versus each type of dining plan.

 

[wendlle]

There are Disney Dining Calculators out there (try searching for exactly that) where you can put in the restaurants, # of people, etc and it will calculate everything out for you. You can do it yourself but I find the way it is laid out on the calculators to be helpful as it tells you OOP costs versus each type of dining plan.

I second this. Just google Disney dining plan calculator. They are fantastic, I've never once been better off with the dining plan. We always pay out of pocket. and yes you can eat for less than $800 for that amount of time, we stay for 3 weeks and spend between $1500 and $2000 and that's with snacks etc

 

[mom2aprincenprincess]

I second this. Just google Disney dining plan calculator. They are fantastic, I've never once been better off with the dining plan. We always pay out of pocket. and yes you can eat for less than $800 for that amount of time, we stay for 3 weeks and spend between $1500 and $2000 and that's with snacks etc

My main problem is that I am not familiar with all of the eateries in the parks and what they serve, and cost.

 

[firefly_ris]

My main problem is that I am not familiar with all of the eateries in the parks and what they serve, and cost.

So, when you're bored and have time on your hands....

https://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningmain.cfm

You can view all quick service and table service locations there, plus view the menus and costs -- they are kept pretty up to date. You can also view that info right on Disney's site as well: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/ -- Theirs can sometimes be a little slower/more cumbersome but both should have good info. Of course it's hard to predict every little thing every person in your family will order but could give you a general idea on the scope you're looking at.

 

[wendlle]

I use allears.net
Lists every restaurant and their menus and prices
You’ll get an idea of where you’d like to eat and be able to work out the rough costings

 

[Micharlotte]

This is exactly why I love having the dining plan. I’d rather know my costs up front and not have to worry about it while I’m there. Also, the cost of food and exchange rate (fromCanadian) just makes me sick. We had several table service meals last year for 4 adults that were over $300! After exchange that’s an insane amount of money and I’d rather not think of it while I’m trying to enjoy my holiday. I also don’t want to worry about constantly having to say no to my daughter when she wants a snack.

 

[Mikey15]

$800 is a lot of money to spend, even for 3A/2C/5N. People on DisBoards seem to all have different perspectives on it though:

1. Peace of mind: I want to enjoy my vacation and not think about budgeting while I’m already there
2. Maximizing the meal plan: I want to play a game while I’m there and get the most expensive meal item, with alcohol or specialty to drink, and get the most bang for my snack credits (this tends to go more with table service than the quick serve plan though)
or
3. We can budget better than that: $50/day/adult for quick serve is too much money. Most meals are big enough that my wife and I can split, and many “snacks” we’d supplement with don’t count for snack credits. We also get ice waters instead of pop for health/taste/refreshment and don’t necessarily feel like a beer or wine with every meal just to “maximize our credits.” We can also bring granola bars into the park and make use of grocery items to save on morning spend.

If you haven’t guessed yet, I lean towards #3.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I use allears.net
Lists every restaurant and their menus and prices

As does the wdwinfo.com (DIS sponsor/owner) site. Plus this one is more interactive.

 

[powellrj]

With the martial arts tournament will you be off-site? That would be even more time you wouldn’t be using the dining plan. We eat much cheaper off-site than on. Have you thought about buying gift cards to pay for your meals? That way you can can save a little if you buy your gift cards at Target using your red card.

 

[mom2aprincenprincess]

With the martial arts tournament will you be off-site? That would be even more time you wouldn’t be using the dining plan. We eat much cheaper off-site than on. Have you thought about buying gift cards to pay for your meals? That way you can can save a little if you buy your gift cards at Target using your red card.

This isn’t a bad idea. I have thought about the target red card, but didn’t feel like 5% was really that much of a savings.

 

[mom2aprincenprincess]

I just realized that the extra $800 I would be spending if I changed my package to the free dining package will also give us park hoppers. Currently we don’t have the park hopper option on our tickets. I have been struggling to decide between AK and Epcot, because we have 4 day tickets and we all want to spend two days in MK.

 

[SteveH]

So if you go to the main Disney World page you can drill down to see each menu of each restaurant and price out meals that you think your family would eat. You can do this for your resort as well. If you do that for one day you'll have a good idea what your looking to spend for the 3 days in the park. With that you can made a good decision on what's best for you. We explore the menus mostly to see the prices as well as if there is something that my wife and I would both enjoy eating.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/

 

[Brett Wyman]

Family of four who doesn't really budget what we eat. Kids are young(5+2) so we don't do too many TS(sit down meals) because they won't make it through them. Exception is character meals, we do 1-2 per trip usually. We usually stay 6 nights 7 days 5 days in park. We almost always spend right around $1000 on food and souvenirs (kids get one toy under 20 each day/don't judge!). We almost always order the 2 year old his own meal unless we are at buffet or family style. I know that doesn't help much, but I'm saying it because I KNOW we could come in much cheaper if we tried, so that may give some perspective.

 

[ClapYourHands]

I think it depends on how you eat. Most kid meals at Disney run between $5 (breakfast ) and $8 or $9, with most in the $6-$7 range. Most adult QS locations charge $10-$20 per meal, with most closer to the middle. Unless you're planning to eat TS (which wouldn't be covered under the free dining plan unless you're in a deluxe resort), it will be easy to stay under $800 for two meals per day. Especially if you'll be offsite one day for the tournament, I think it would be a waste to essentially pre-pay for a meal you won't be onsite to eat.

I just realized that the extra $800 I would be spending if I changed my package to the free dining package will also give us park hoppers. Currently we don’t have the park hopper option on our tickets. I have been struggling to decide between AK and Epcot, because we have 4 day tickets and we all want to spend two days in MK.

Have you looked at the difference between a 4-day ticket and a 5-day ticket? I looked at Undercover Tourist's prices for July, and the difference between a 4-day base ticket and a 5-day base ticket is about $15 each. So unless the tournament is going literally all day into the night, you can probably make it to one of the parks. At minimum Epcot will be open until 9, and perhaps longer if it's an EMH night. I'd plan for AK to be a park day, and Epcot to be the evening after the tournament. Maybe you won't get to do WS this trip, but you can make a good dent in some of the FW rides in just a couple of hours.

This isn’t a bad idea. I have thought about the target red card, but didn’t feel like 5% was really that much of a savings.

You can use the Disney gift cards to pay for all aspects of your stay, including your room and tickets. 5% doesn't seem like a lot, but if your vacation is $3,000, that's a savings of $150. You can also take a look at the Disney Gift Card thread for ways to get gift cards at a greater discount.

 

[mom2aprincenprincess]

Are adults allowed to eat off the kids menu?

 

[kaytieeldr]

Typically, yes. Some restaurants may refuse, some may charge adult pricing and give you adult size portions, most will probably charge you menu price for standard portion.

Not possible at buffets, dinner shows including CRT, aycte meals, fixed price meals.

 

[ClapYourHands]

Are adults allowed to eat off the kids menu?

Yes. I can't speak for all TS restaurants, but at QS, you're just going up to the cashier and telling him or her what you want; it's not like there's a waiter who knows which dish is going to which customer.

I ordered off the kids' menu in places (like Sutuli Canteen at AK), but we also discovered that splitting an adult meal often gave as much or more food than 2 kids meals. When I was there this fall with my 8 and 10 year old sons who are pretty big eaters, we'd order two adult meals, and that would be more than enough for the three of us.

 

[unrequited23]

You can use the Disney gift cards to pay for all aspects of your stay, including your room and tickets. 5% doesn't seem like a lot, but if your vacation is $3,000, that's a savings of $150. You can also take a look at the Disney Gift Card thread for ways to get gift cards at a greater discount.

I've found that saving money on Disney trips seem to involve making several choices that save some money, but when combined the savings are a nice chunk of change. It's all about how much time/effort you are willing to put in. We booked a room only discount, but when our local grocery store offered double fuel perks on all gift card purchases I took the money from our Disney jar, deposited it in the bank, then purchased $1500 in gift cards from the store using a rewards credit card. Then I called into the automated line to make a phone payment on my room balance. So for less than 30 minutes of hassle, I earned 3 free tanks of gas (about $110) and $30 CC rewards.

Also, when comparing your prices remember the dining plan does not include tax and tip.