WDW budget for family of five About This Page:

[mom23k9s]

I'm trying to help my brother out, but I'm stumped. DH and I are DINKs and don't budget for WDW. We have a set amount of savings taken out of our checks all the time so when we decide to plan a trip, the money's there and we just spend whatever. All that said:

My brother is trying to plan a food and souvenir (sp?) budget for our December trip (7 days) and has no idea how much money to save. They are a family of five; kids are 6, 8, and 10. The kids will have $100 or so of their own spending money for snacks and toys (and Grandma and DAunt me will probably treat them to stuff), but DB and DSiL will take care of meals. We'll do a lot of CS meals probably, cause we don't like to take the time for a big sit-down meal and CS is less expensive. We will be doing a grocery store run for breakfast things and snacks and maybe some lunchmeat. Considering all of this, is $1000 enough, do ya think? DSiL is very creatively frugal, too. Thanks in advance for the help. DSiL has never been on a "real" vacation and it's been a long time for DB too. So they really have no idea!

[CinderAbby]

That works out roughly to 125 to 150 a day. I would think that's enough, especially doing CS. With kids those ages, I can see getting an adult meal and splitting it for them instead of 3 kids meals. You don't have to go and spend an arm and a leg, but it is easy enough to do. You can also refer your brother to Allears.net for them to check out the menus so they have an idea of the meal prices.

[lukeandbrookesmom]

Seems reasonable Don't underestimate the value of some TS restaurants though. A good buffet can get them a lot of food for a good price. I agree with Darlene - check out allears.net.

[Colexis Mom]

Sounds good to me

[HiddenMickey]

I think that $1000 sounds good. Remember to tell them that portions are often large at CS (and TS for that matter) and the sharing meals between the family can really help with the budget. We often get 2-3 meals for our family of four and find it enough.

[Joanne929]

I think $1000 sounds ok for food (CS) and souvenirs for their family, considering the kids ages. I agree too, maybe think about a character meal/buffet - the breakfasts are much less expensive but same atmosphere.

[IdahoDisneyMom]

Something else to consider is that at age 10 kids are considered adults at Disney. Restaurants (TS) and tickets will be at a higher price for that kiddo than the other 2. We did the DDP this past fall, but will not do it (or as many TS restaurants) when we go next Christmas. DD will be 10yo, and eats like a bird. When we do go to TS I'll probably split meals with her or see if there's an appetizer she can have for her meal. We'll probably be doing a lot of CS.

[stefffe]

counter service ..for us....averaged about $30 when we actually sat down and ate.....mostly we snacked around...ordering one plate and splitting it....so we would not be too full and not abl to enjoy the parks.

we did a lot of offsite eating this trip.....which made a huge difference.....its so much cheaper to eat offsite.....

[ilovedisney247]

I would make a spreadsheet with the cost of each meal you are planning for each day and figure out exactly how much meals are going to cost. Don't forget to factor in tax! (and tip for TS meals!) Then I would budget in some extra money for unexpected snacks and beverages!

[eff051102]

I think $1000 would be fine or even $1200 just to be on the safe side. If
they come home with money left over....than they are ahead of the game. I
always like to have some extra just in case and with kids that age runing
around seeing all the treats available, you might need the extra money.