Eating on $100 a day?

[rockinmom]

So we are heading to WDW in April, me and my son. 5 days, trying to stay under $500 total for food, including 3 meals a day and snacks. Thinking quick service dining is probably the way to go realistically though we do have 2 ADR's scheduled, one for Tusker House for lunch and another for Sci Fi for lunch. My son is a teen and eats a decent amount but mostly lives on burgers and pizza, though he will eat other items. He isnt super adventurous but isnt super picky either. I like good food so pretty much anywhere the food is good, I am game. Also doing 3 days at Universal and could use some help with budgeting for food there too. All suggestions are appreciated. TIA

 

[Tonyz]

50 bucks a person is probably doable if you stick with quick-services and two table services. Figure a quick breakfast of like a danish or something, 15 for lunch and dinner, and then 10 bucks for snacks every day.

Magic Kingdom - Sleepy Hollow for great chicken and waffle sandwiches. Pecos Bills has good burgers. Colombian Harbor House for decent seafood.

Epcot - Sunshine Seasons has everything. Tangerine Cafe in Morocco has killer lamb if he's willing to try that. Good sandwiches at the France bakery.

Disney Springs - D-Luxe Burger and Earl of Sandwich are both great and fairly cheap.

 

[disneyvoice]

Just a suggestion - I also have a teenage boy but none of us are breakfast eaters. We have found that we save time and money by continuing to skip breakfast while at WDW (we bring a few protein bars along in case someone is just starving) and then we eat eat lunch at right around 11:00. If you are doing QS you will beat the crowds as well. So we typically end up eating only two meals a day and maybe a snack. If you are really wanting to save some money this strategy might be helpful.

 

[Jennasis]

We typically spend around $70/day average for DH and I. I always budget for $100/day but we ALWAYS come home with money left (we brought $700 and only spent $200).

We eat breakfast in our room. We bring cereal and buy a half gallon of milk to keep in the fridge, or we will bring breakfast foods like danish etc.

We split meals occasionally (counter serve typically). But never because of PRICE. We split because it's all we feel like eating.

At USO, do not eat in the parks. The food is garbage (except for the Harry Potter restaurants and MAYBE Springfield). Eat at Citywalk.

 

[Micca]

Sounds a bit low to me--3 meals for 2 AND snacks (presumably once or twice per day?) You might take a look at some menus on line, get an idea of what you might order and you can create a budget--don't forget to plus it up for tax & tips.

 

[goofyintoronto]

You can save on cost by asking for ice water to drink instead of pop. You'd be surprised how quickly pop adds up....I was at a restaurant with my son the other day, $3.50 each for pop! Not worth it. I'd rather save that $3.50 and put it towards a more expensive entree. Or if youre trying to budget, thats $3.50 x 2 in your pocket.

 

[Linkura]

QSD except for 2 ADRs and forgoing soft drinks as mentioned by PP should be fine. If you aren't a huge eater yourself, you may want to order kids' meals instead of full meals. The kids' meals even include a drink. The teen son might need to get adult meals, though, I know how it is at that age.

 

[sharonabe]

So we are heading to WDW in April, me and my son. 5 days, trying to stay under $500 total for food, including 3 meals a day and snacks. Thinking quick service dining is probably the way to go realistically though we do have 2 ADR's scheduled, one for Tusker House for lunch and another for Sci Fi for lunch. My son is a teen and eats a decent amount but mostly lives on burgers and pizza, though he will eat other items. He isnt super adventurous but isnt super picky either. I like good food so pretty much anywhere the food is good, I am game. Also doing 3 days at Universal and could use some help with budgeting for food there too. All suggestions are appreciated. TIA

Buy the refillable popcorn bucket! The $1.50 for refills can't be beat, and it's a filling snack. You have to carry your popcorn bucket around, but it's not that much of a hassle. Either put it in a drawstring backpack or take a carabiner and clip it to a belt loop or purse strap.

Our family paid OOP for 5 days back in Nov, ate two TS meals as a family and DH and I also did a TS for date night. Everything else QS. If my boys (14 and 17) wanted a snack, we said, "Yes!" We brought cereal bars and lunchable type things for breakfast in the room. Ended up averaging $38 per person, per day. We do drink water with our meals, so as others have said, those sodas can add up.

 

[gopack]

There is a thread on the Universal Studios Forum under the Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure that has lots of great information about dining in those parks. There are some fun sit down restaurants like Mythos and Finnegans but the best values will be at counter services. The Bumblebeeman Taco truck has decent food and Lard Lads Doughnuts has a delicious giant pink donut. Also, don’t forget a frozen butter beer, it is terrific.

 

[TotallyTink]

I think it's possible if you are careful. I am also budgeting a max of $100/day for food for my upcoming trip with my daughter. Consider bringing some breakfast food from home. I've packed cereal, bagels, and granola bars in the past. You can buy a milk and some cream cheese at the food court and you are good to go. Eating breakfast in the room frees up some funds for us to get snacks during the day. We have one character breakfast (Bon Voyage Adventure) planned on our "off" day from the parks, but I made a late reservation at 11:20 (to allow us to sleep in that day) so it will really be our lunch. We also have ressies for Skipper's Canteen and 50s Prime Time. We plan to order free ice water at many meals instead of soda. I've also heard that you can ask for sides to be removed from your QS meals if they don't appeal to you and you can save a couple bucks.

 

[DisneyHardin]

You will have to be careful about what you order in order to stay at $500 for the days especially with feeding a teenage boy. Your Tusker House meal will be about $100 after tip, so that is your entire budget for that day.

I think it can be done, as people have suggested above about only ordering water for drinks, maybe skipping breakfast in lieu of an early lunch, etc.

 

[happymommy]

When it's just me and my youngest, we don't spend much on dining. We also share many meals, as the portions are pretty huge a lot of places. For instance, at Yak & Yeti Local Foods in the Animal Kingdom, we almost always get an order of Honey Chicken to share, plus a side of fried rice (and sometimes an egg roll). If we order all of that, we still don't finish it all!

We rarely do table service meals for the 2 of us, but Sci Fi is one he loves. Their sandwiches cost barely more than counter service ones, and are huge.

I suggest looking over menus (allears.net has them to easily look over). I see no reason that you can't stick with that budget.

 

[momof2gr8kids]

I think you'll be fine if you bring some breakfast items to eat in the room. Pack some cereal, protein bars, fruit, etc. for a quick exit in the morning and bring your own waterbottle or energy drinks into the park, or get free ice water.

Not sure if you'll be in Disney Springs but Blaze Pizza is a very affordable option, as is Earl of Sandwich. Not sure where you are staying, but a couple of the resorts (POR and I forget where else) have a make your own pasta that is very large and affordable.

Some of the lounges have some decent appetizers that could be a meal (The Tambu Lounge at Poly - Nachos and a couple other apps would make a meal. Nice break from MK.) Epcot world showcase you could share a few CS meals at different countries.

It's usually the drinks and snacks that add to the cost. Last trip my dh and I couldn't handle eating too much crap, so we'd pull out an apple while the kids grabbed more ice cream from somewhere! Neither of us are pop drinkers either, so that helped keep the costs down in the parks.

 

[Sarahlynn34]

We just returned from WDW and since we were not on the dining plan, I ordered kids meals at several restaurants. For me it was more about portion control, but it had a positive effect on our budget too. You can check out online menus ahead of time. I know allears.net has them. Kids meals at WDW have come a long way past chicken nuggets and cheeseburgers. I had a turkey sandwich on whole grain pita bread, the roasted pork kids meal at BOG (very good I thought), a kids bowl from the QS in Pandora (again, very good), and kids nachos at Pecos Bill in MK that quickly became a much bigger meal after a trip to the toppings bar. Most come with 2 sides, usually one fruit and one veg (a bag of grapes or baby carrots, applesauce) but you can get them with fries. A small bottle of water was always a drink option for kids meals as well. I was even allowed to order a kids meal at Teppan Edo (table service in Japan). The savings at table service will be more substantial - for me $14.50 vs $26. I didn't feel hungry because we like to pick up snacks to share throughout the day as well. For breakfast, I placed an order from Amazon Prime Now and we ate in the room before heading out to the park - we ate breakfast for 6 days (family of 4) for under $40 that way.

 

[happymommy]

I agree about kids' meals too. My youngest ordered them for years, and I used to do that too. The portions are just enough, and when it's very hot outside I can't stomach a lot of food at one time.

 

[SanderMC]

With 2 table service meals included in that budget there only way I see you being able to keep it under $500 is if you bring breakfast items with you.

I did some rough calculations and here's what I come up with.
$121 - Tusker House lunch (Assuming no ROL Dining package and a 20% tip)
$38 - Sci Fi - I used All Ears for pricing. Took 2 of the cheapest meals at $15 a piece. Water to drink and a 20% tip.
$270 - Lunch and Dinner for the both of you at $15 a piece for quick service.
$50 - 1 snack a day for each of you at $5 a piece
$479 - Total

That would leave you with $20 to either get a couple more snacks or something else at Sci Fi.
I'm not sure how you would do this if you need to include breakfast in this total especially having a teen boy.

 

[Wohjen]

You will also be there during Flower and Garden at Epcot too. I haven’t been during this time but am planning my budget for our May trip. At first my thought was we could save some when at Epcot because the food kiosks look to have reasonable priced options. I read between $4 and $8 (I’m not sure if the portion sizes would be enough for a teen boy, lol) after my daughter and I started looking at all the food options, we decided to budget more money since it all looked fabulous!

 

[happymommy]

The little bites at the kiosks add up quickly, and are basically a tasting. I'd budget more if you want to try them, which I would do since you're there! Also alcoholic beverages add up fast! First day a couple years ago, we easily spent $100 on drinks at Epcot throughout the day for 2 adults.

 

[hakepb]

I’d strongly consider ViaNapoli . A large pepperoni or picante (sausage) pizza is $33.
To satisfy a huge teen appetite, you could go all-out with a $39 1/2 meter mezzo metro Margherita (“plain” cheese pizza with basil leaves you can remove)

 

[Princess_Lisa]

$50/day for 3 meals and snacks in park is going to be difficult. A few options --

1. Breakfast at McDonald's (All-Star Resorts), a Late AYCTE Lunch, and bring your own snacks
2. AYCTE Breakfast at Whispering Canyon, bring your own snacks, and an early QS Dinner
3. The cheapest QS you can find. 3 meals will still probably cost more than $50, especially with snacks.