Paying OOP

[Dyanna]

We are going in Oct & already have our reservations for dining. We will be paying each meal OOP (out of pocket). How many do this? What is the average you spend on each meal, app, entree', dessert & drink.

[mook3y]

We are going in Oct & already have our reservations for dining. We will be paying each meal OOP (out of pocket). How many do this? What is the average you spend on each meal, app, entree', dessert & drink.

I would suggest going to info central and looking at the menu's of the restaurants you have reservations for. You will find pricing for most items.

[BelleLovesTheBeast]

This will be our first trip not having to pay OOP. We paid about $20 at CS and about $60 or so at TS. At TS it varies depending on where you eat and what you order. I would say the average is 60 - 80. We like to choose buffets and family style restaurants that way we spend less and max amounts of food. For example, Biergarten is $26 a personal and everything but alcohol is included. Hope this helps.

[SAHDad]

For quick service, we average about $10 per adult, and about $5 per child. At some places it is less; eg, my wife and her sister would order the 1/2 chicken and split it.

For table service, it's probably about $25-$35 per adult, and $15 or so per child. Buffets are less (and we do those a lot, since it's easier on the toddler), but we also generally avoid the appetizer. If you want to add appetizer, budget another $10, and about $5 for each alcoholic drink. You might be over, you might be under, but you'd probably be in the ballpark.

If you look around, you can find full menus, including prices. Check to make sure that they are from this year, when possible.

And don't forget to budget for tax and tip!

[#1donaldfan]

CS meals fam of 5, one child.....about 55 /60
TS 120ish up depending
That question is more of a "what's right for you" kinda thing.....we may eat salad and you eat lobster......???? Check each menu and you'll get a very close guestimate on each place and meal........good luck....

[martinfamily5]

We alway pay OOP. We have breakfast in our room (cereal, poptarts, breakfast bars), a TS lunch we budget $80-$100 for. We don't get appitizers or desert and usually DD17 and I split a meal. And we are usually very full. We usually have an afternoon snack and then and evening snack. We have always thought that for us the dining plan was a waist of money because that is just way to much food for us.

[RockChalkKimball]

As others have stated, alot has to do with how you eat in your normal life. We rarely eat breakfast, so I just keep cereal bars handy if someone needs a snack. That alone saves us alot of money. There are 4 of us and we often order only 2 entrees and maybe a side or two. There is more than enough to share, even at CS. We also love the snacks, so we try eat lighter at meals and snack the rest of the day. No matter what, I am never hungry. Thank goodness I average 5 miles a day so I can burn some off!

[Vinny]

We are going in Oct & already have our reservations for dining. We will be paying each meal OOP (out of pocket). How many do this? What is the average you spend on each meal, app, entree', dessert & drink.

We have always paid for food out of pocket. While we have thought about using the DDP on prior trips, we just don't like the idea of being tied to a ADR every day. For breakfast we usually eat at the resort food court or a restaurant just off WDW property.

We typically have lunch in the parks at counter service restaurants like Pecos Bills, Columbia Harbor House, Flame Tree BBQ and so on. We budget about $10-$15 for lunch/adult.

Dinner usually follows the pattern of lunch for us. Although on recent trips we have booked some ADR's for Ohana, Hollywood Brown Derby and Cape May that have cost more than counter service places. We budget about $15-$30 for dinner/adult depending on where we are eating.

Take a look at the menus of the places you think you might want to eat(under the Info Central tab). The prices will give you a general idea of how much to budget.

Hope this helps. Have a good trip!!

[PAYROLL PRINCESS]

If you want to add appetizer, budget another $10, and about $5 for each alcoholic drink.

wow, I want to drink with you. My drinks were about $8+ each!

[Natazu]

We have done several trips out of pocket for meals. I hate to get into what we spend because everyone has different dining habits.
Looking at the menus on info central (http://www.intercot.com/infocentral/dining/menus/default.asp) is a good idea. The pricing is pretty close, maybe add 5% for inflation. Another good idea (if you have an annual pass) is the Disney Dining Experience card which allows a 20% discount at sit-down restaurants including alcohol.

[RALPH]

We pay OOP and use the AP Disney Dining card which gets us 20% off of most meals. Works for us the way we eat.

[mudpuppysmom]

We have done several trips out of pocket for meals. I hate to get into what we spend because everyone has different dining habits.
Looking at the menus on info central (http://www.intercot.com/infocentral/dining/menus/default.asp) is a good idea. The pricing is pretty close, maybe add 5% for inflation. Another good idea (if you have an annual pass) is the Disney Dining Experience card which allows a 20% discount at sit-down restaurants including alcohol.

Yeah, I was going to say this same thing......if I actually sat down and thought about what we spend on meals......I might think twice about some of them, but we work hard and deserve it is what DH tells me!!!

Now, when DH is along for the trip our meal budget is out the window......he enjoys wine tasting and tries alot of different wines with his meals; me -- I'm basically good with water most of the time (with an ocassional Lapu Lapu and margarita in Mexico!!). DS and I eat on the fly when we are hungry....we eat breakfast most of the time in our room, lunch is CS and sometimes we eat dinner CS too. We also throw in buffets here and there along with signature meals, so we really run the gamut.

So, the meal thing really is what you and your family trends are. You might not want to sit down for a TS every day, so one day may be less expensive than another. If you go to a signature restaurant it is going to be more expensive than a buffet, so try to decide where you want to eat and then check out the menus to get a better idea then like Jym said, add 5% for inflation.....

Have fun picking and choosing your meals!

[MsMin]

I budget 10 for a CS for adults. It helps to go to the buffets if you want to save on dining.
We had the ddp but our bill averaged 80 per person @ Coral Reef last Dec. and alcohol was separate. When we dined w/o DDP we didn't order as much and shared some stuff and we averaged 50 per person.
We are not doing the DDP this Oct due to the F&W
It's a quick trip so we don't want to spend all our time in the restaurants- this time it will be at the Kiosks;)

[SAHDad]

wow, I want to drink with you. My drinks were about $8+ each!
Most of my drinking at WDW is in the World Showcase, and IIRC, the beers of the world are all about $5-$6. I probably should have noted that cocktails are more expensive, and $8 sounds about right.