$100 for table service for 5 people seems a little tight.
$250 is hard to swallow. We have a picky eater who often eats $2 worth of food at a $30 buffet. It makes me cringe but we still do it for the experience when the budget allows it.
A lot tight, to me. 
I would for sure budget more like $150 for TS
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Ok, how do you quote on here?
@SillySamsMom and @OBNurseNH I guess I just realized that’s because I haven’t planned any TS except the two character meals. I did a look at my spreadsheet and have guesstimates of $120 for Rainforest Cafe, $100 for PrimeTime Cafe, and other than that just lunch estimates. But thank you. It’s hard to know exactly what we’d order or eat…I will keep in mind that TS will be more than I think it should be!
If you highlight someone’s response it will give you the option to quote.
Dining prices are a Disney prices, not home prices.
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How old is your dinosaur aficionado? There is a Dinosaur version of Build a Bear at Disney Springs. It has a themed restaurant and an area where you can ‘build a dinosaur’. It’s called T-Rex, I think. Not cheap, but that might be a treat for that child.
As for the character dinners - skip them and get in line for princesses, if you need autographs. If they’re not princess-crazy, who are you doing it for? There’s plenty of other places to eat and spend money.
If you’re going to be in the park for lunch, remember even their counter service is expensive, but it’s also a lot of food. Consider sharing meals, drinking water (or bringing your own drinks) and supplementing, maybe with your own bags of chips or cookies or fruit.
Groceries will cost you what you’d pay at home. But at home, you have things you need, like salt, pepper and sugar. Think about bringing those things with you (store them in your crock pot for travel), as well as, maybe some of your favourite coffee or a jar of peanut butter.
You could take peanut butter sandwiches to the park one day, instead of purchasing that heavy (and expensive) meal.
Bring your own cereal or whatever you’re having for breakfast. We always ate breakfast in our rental rather than wasting precious RD time getting food.
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This is my go-to for restaurant prices!
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I’m probably not the best person to try to answer this. I typically have a snack for breakfast and TS for lunch and dinner (sometimes signature) every day. I also enjoy my share of “adult beverages”. I budget $100-150/day just for me.
I would say with the combination of your budget and kids, I would skip the signatures.
Portions are usually pretty large; you may be able to save money with sharing (I.e. younger kids eating off of adult plates). For this reason, buffets may not be your best choice (they don’t allow sharing).
Personally, I consider CMs to be a total money grab by Disney; premium prices for mediocre food and a minute or two with a “character”. TH is the one exception; the food is better than average and it’s classic Disney characters instead of a Princesses. Even if I had kids, CMs would be one if the first things I would cut if budget was an issue.
So much is about the specific likes and dislikes of your family - and also what you have available at home. Also, if you had to choose between food quality and theme/experience, which is more important to you. I can give you my personal opinion/review of most TSs in WDW, but if you don’t like German food, it wouldn’t matter how good I say BG is (which it is).
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The dessert parties and character meals and dining packages:
You have to factor in the convenience, and Disney knows this VERY well.
Examples:
Fantasmic dining pkg allows you to not “stress” about holding onto a fastpass for F!, or having to be in the queue for a long time. On busy days, it might be worth it to not stress about having a bad seat and showing up early, especially if you’re going to eat at Hollywood. Again, if you are trying to pack things in to a trip…it can be pretty convenient.
Character meals:
It’s a break, a meal, and also a time saver for greeting characters. The food is, generally speaking, ok. For the price alone, the food is not even close to being worth it. But if the time you can save for the pictures you can get ALONG with the ok food are worth it to you, it might be worth your $. If you are going to Chef Mickey’s only for the food, you are making a big, pricey, mistake.
Dessert parties:
Again, nowhere worth the cost of the treats. Nowhere even close. HOWEVER, jockeying for a spot for the MK fireworks show an hour before, AND then having your view blocked anyway? That really stinks for kids. It happened to me when I was a kid, and you’ll see it happening to other kids when you go.
So, I would say, if the special dining events interest you, if you have a lot of time and a car…try to hop in the car and go offsite for meals that you are planning “out” instead of in park or in resort meals where possible. There are certainly qs places that I think are worth it, but I’d try to get offsite for restaurant meals where it’s warranted, instead of paying up for staying in a park, if time permits.
From what you’ve said…I highly suggest not going to BOG for breakfast. As bad as a money grab some places are, I think BOG breakfast is pretty high on that list. Confession: we did BOG breakfast and split a few meals for a PPO appetite supressant. For what it was, I think it was worth it. We basically paid 50 bucks for a light snack and three rides.
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For your kids, Garden Grill is great. For a date night, consider Jiko or Tiffins- soooo delicious! Via Napoli had really great pizza and was pretty reasonably priced since we split a salad & pizza ($80 for 4 adults & 2 kids).
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This is the longest comment ever!
@PrincipalTinker thanks! And I know food will be expensive, like twice the price or more of an at home meal out. That’s why I’m asking these questions! 
When you’re on a budget and want decent food for your $$ it’s helpful to have people be candid with you about what’s good, what’s not, and if they couldn’t do two expensive things which one they’d pick. I value other people’s preferences and opinions and love the discussion.
@Ariadne my dinosaur kid is 6. She’s the one having the birthday on the trip. Part of the reason we need 2 days in AK is to allow her plenty of time in Dinoland! 
She might love the build-a-dino…thanks! Good word on the basic kitchen supplies…I forget that places don’t have those! I have a list of places with good-sized meals to split. I’m not 100% that we’ll do a character meal…it’s not just about meeting the characters but just about the experience of them interacting with you. So I’m not sold on it. What would you do instead with the money you’d save?
@melcort10 thanks!
@bswan26 I think that I want decent food for not an exorbitant price. I’m a good cook and find that often I don’t want to go out to eat at “regular” restaurants because I feel like I can make better at home for cheaper. So I’m a little picky. BUT, that being said, we’re going to be in Disney World. I know the food is not going to be awesome. I’m ok with that. I’m ok with paying a lot of money for a good experience. I’m ok with paying a lot of money for good food. I just can’t pay a lot of money for every meal we eat out. Because budget. I’m not ok with paying a lot of money for blah food JUST so my kids can interact with characters. Now if the food is alright AND the theming is good then I’ll do it, even though I’m not “getting my money’s worth” on food. I know I won’t be.
TS restaurants I’ve considered are Trattoria al Forno (Bon Voyage character breakfast), Saana, Whispering Canyon, Rainforest Cafe, Restaurant Marrakesh, Primetime Cafe, and Tusker House. All of these (with the exception of Rainforest Cafe, which I just remember as having awesome theming) are ones that reviews seem to indicate have decent food without a crazy (crazier than usual for WDW) price tag. Thoughts on these or others like them? They are also ones where I think we’d find food we liked. I can’t do dairy, so most Italian food is out for me.
@seebee I think you have about sold me on a dessert party. All of our MK days are MVMCP days so we see lower crowds. Except we want to go one day and get to see the fireworks that night. And it’s my kid’s birthday. And it’s our last park day. And it’s a CL7. 
And I’ve been trying to decide if we should just watch them from the Poly or the TTC or even go to a park with a CL3 instead. So I’m thinking that maybe we’ll do this and I’ll not do a birthday cake. And we’ll bring sandwiches for lunch or something. I’ve been hemming and hawing about it because it just seems like so much money for desserts but…I think I’m going to play around and see if I can make it work.
@BoilerMomPharmD thanks for the suggestions! Do you know if Via Napoli has lactose-free cheese, by chance? I’ve heard their pizza is good and planned on the QS version as an option on our EP days…I can’t do dairy so pizza is out for me!
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Unfortunately not sure about the cheese!
Also just saw you mentioned Sanaa- soooo yum! Definitely spring for the bread service, it was so worth it!
Anotherthought is to give each person $20 (or some other amount) to spend on whatever snacks they choose.
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Ok time for my two cents. You want to do Sanaa fine, I would do the restaurant tour it is offered around 4 pm and it is FREE. It’s a tour of Boma, Sanna, or Jiko and they give you samples (free apps the way I look at it.) Also you wanted to go to Rainforest Cafe, this I would switch with T-Rex in DS. They are owned by the same Co. but T-Rex is dinosaur themed. This would make a great Birthday dinner for your 6 year old.
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I keep hearing about this place… What’s your families favorite meals there?
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Just saw this. No, we have a separate, albeit small, budget for souvenirs. I think they’ll each get $30-40.
I never said I wanted to go there. I said I had researched the cost. I only remember 3 TS meals from my many trips to WDW as a kid. Chef Mickey’s, Rainforest Cafe, and Primetime Cafe. For that reason alone I’d investigated those three. But I will check out T-Rex! Thanks!
Thank you! 
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I won’t give specific recommendations, but since we are the food budget kings when it comes to our trips, I’ll give this general advice, which may or may not be news for you.
Since you have already allocated separate money for food in the timeshare, I presume this means you are really trying to, on average, cover one or two meals per day in the parks. Breakfast can easily be had in the timeshare, plus one additional meal, depending on how you spend your day.
For us, we usually start with basic math. 8 park days, and $1200 is $150/day average to spend on food. We usually plan one snack per day, at, on average, $5-6/person. So, $30 in snacks gone. We NEVER buy drinks at the parks (always just get water). Anyhow, that leaves $120/day for food.
If you assume one QS meal per day, we find that using $12/person works for most locations. You can actually spend less than this, easily, by having the younger kids sharing some of the food, or NOT ordering meals, but just the main entree. (Most QS places only give the prices for the entree plus a side, but you can always order the entree without the side and save a few bucks.) Anyhow, this means for a QS, you might spend as much as $60. However, the truth is, we rarely spent that much at QS, even when there were 7 of us. Anyhow, that leaves $60+ left per day for another meal. If you only do a second meal/TS place every other day, that gives you $120 for a TS place, which can be done depending on where you go.
Now, in practice, we usually end up budgeting slightly more than we actually spend. So, I recommend the envelope system. We literally start our vacation out with an envelope for each day of the trip. In each envelope is the food money for each day. Each morning, I’d take the money for that day out the corresponding envelope and stick it in my wallet. Then, we’d head out. At the end of the day, whatever is left over is combined with the next day’s money. By doing this, we start to build up a little extra reserve. After a few days, you’ll find you have enough extra to splurge on someplace nicer. But if you are spending more than you should, you’ll find it motivates you to be more careful, or decide to eat outside the parks to save money.
(At our last trip to Universal, for example, we decided to eat only one meal in the parks, and then on the way home one day we got pizza from Giordanno’s. It was a $40 pizza…absolutely delicious and we weren’t even able to finish it…but it was cheaper to do that than eat in the parks, getting less food that was mediocre at best!)
Personally, I think you can save a lot by eating outside the parks. On days when we wanted to stay to closing, we would purposely NOT arrive at the parks until noon, eating lunch just before we went in. You can feed five of you at Wendy’s with the Four for $4 deal for $20 + tax.
Some trips, when money was especially tight, but we didn’t necessarily want to wait to go into the parks, we would pack sack lunches and bring them in with us. Also, sometimes rather than get a snack in the park, we might instead hold off and get something at Disney Springs later in the evening. Earl of Sandwich, for example, has some really good desserts (cookies/brownies) that are half the price of most of the snacks in the parks.
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Yes, I’m planning on almost all breakfasts (maybe one character breakfast but that’s probably it) and at least 8 dinners in the timeshare. I’m planning on some sack lunches for sure. Also throwing a wrench in our plans is that grandparents are coming and I have no idea what they want to do. Do they want to buy everyone dinner one night? Are they going to buy snacks? Are they only going to pay for themselves? I’ve told hubby that we need to have the awkward money conversation with them, but of course nobody wants to!
I like the envelope idea. I also like the cash back on our credit card. Hmm…
Thanks for the tips!
It only is cash back if, by using the credit card, you don’t find yourself spending more than you otherwise would have by using cash. If you are super strict and won’t be tempted to charge more than you budgeted, then okay!
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To me, the awkward money conversation isn’t necessary. Assume they aren’t going to pay for ANYTHING but themselves and budget accordingly. But then if/when they offer to pay for anything, you end up leaving that money in the envelope which can be rolled into another day, or a souvenir or something. Our last trip I did that. Visited my parents on the way to Universal, and we assumed that we’d pay for those meals ourselves. But in the end, they took us out and provided us a lunch, so that money was moved to the envelope for the next day.
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VI get the cash back on credit cards, you could buy discounted Disney gift cards prior to trip with your Credit Card and then use gift cards for meals, it will also help you budget.
As for Grands, you must have that talk, but start it with something like ‘I have to book meals for Disney, we are budgeting tightly have you thought of what you like to do’. Most of the time you will get an answer which will give you indication if they are planning on treating any part.
Now my suggestions
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Agree with you do breakfast in condo, my only acception if you want some characters would be tusker house like you already mentioned to get both breakfast and lunch or Garden grill. I think both have good food and great character inter action and cool themes
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I second T-Rex for daughters bday meal. I would plan a dinner for this day, eat both breakfast and dinner at condo, do rope drop at park the come back for late lunch, rest pool nap then do Disney springs for bday dinner, or just do DS for your non park day
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to me dessert parties are a luxury (mind you i usually always book) but it is never worth it from a food point of view, more about great viewing area with no crowds. They are all a little different, HS if you have Star Wars fans, EP if you have frozen fans and aren’t using a FPP for that ride, MK for location (garden view). I would read all about them to pick the one that is best for your family, but here after you have the grand parents talk and they ask you what they could offer suggest a dessert party for it would really feel like a gift from them to your family, and then I would do either EP or HS if any of your party partake in alcohol beverages
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I would save my $ for TS dinners but I maybe in the minority here, breakfast in condo, lunch pack or back at condo for swim, an occasional dinner out. I am not a big QS person for I find food not great and no theme to speak of (however my 2 favorites Flametree and Columbia Harbour House) and then you could do lunch at these on days you are cooking dinner in condo. Or just eat around the world with QS appetizers this can get expensive but a fun way to see the worlds
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for TS dinners my favorites are LeCellier in Canada, Monsieur Paul (both expensive but very good in EP), Jiko in AK and Narcoossee’s at Grand Floridian. All of these will really put a ding in your budget but worth it in my opinion
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if looking for something fun (and another one to suggest grands treat) is Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue, fun atmosphere, good family type food and plenty of it. This one you pay in advance so it may help with budgeting if you pay far enough in advance.
I hope this helps. Have a wonderful vacation.
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