how much do you budget for dining during your trip? What are the dynamics of your group? How do you like to eat?
We are a family of 5. I start with $100/day total - $20 per person -then I add for special meals. And I could easily cut that in half we if cut out our TS meals. We eat REALLY well at Disney. I start stocking up on non-perishables a couple months ahead of time so I can take advantage of coupons and sales and spread the cost out a little. Then when we get in town, we do the rest of our shopping at the Super Target off Osceola. We pack water and snacks for the park.
Generally, we eat out at least once a day but we avoid reservations during our preferred park hours. Four of us can easily share 2 QS meals. If we're very hungry we might add an extra side or grab some Chip and Dale trail mix. The spicy one is soooo good. My youngest has autism and is very picky, so I always bring his food. It's enough to fill us but not stuff us so we are ready to keep going.
Our next trip is looking something like this, we'll probably add
10 days including travel, 7 park days, TS includes tip
2 adult dinners out, probably Boma $300
Tusker House breakfast $130
Sci Fi apps and shakes $80
5 QS lunches @ $40 rounded up for sodas or extra sides $200
Snack/spending money $100
1 Delivery/take out from town 50
Groceries at Target $200
Total of $1,060 or about $106 per day.
And then I probably spend $150 or so on pre-shopping and picnic foods we pack for the drive down from VA. But that is spent from our regular weekly grocery money so I don't include it in my vacation budgeting.
At Sci Fi, we haven't cared for their entrees but we LOVE the experience so we get apps and tip generously so the server doesn't lose out on a lower check
We have tried the dining plan before and we have NEVER saved money with it, even when we did a lot of character meals. We actually end up feeling tied down to too many TS reservations. Last time we used a plan we really lost out bad, so we won't do that again unless it's free.
We start with our budget, eat what we want when we want, and we generally come home with money still in the vacation account.