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Budgeting for Meals at Walt Disney World

You can't ignore the fact that a Disney World vacation is expensive. Even 'cheap' things can feel like a burden on your wallet. One of the biggest mistakes when planning is not giving yourself enough wiggle room in your wallet for meals. A lowballed budget will feel you sticker shocked. Too strict of a budget will make your trip more stressful.

Food options and prices widely vary at WDW. There are four categories dining options at WDW fall under:

  • Quick Service
  • Table Service
  • Signature Dining Experiences
  • Character Dining

What about the Dining Plan?

I'll give you my thoughts short and sweet: The Disney Dining Plan is a bad value. It is indeed nice if you want one less thing to think about while on vacation; but it's simply a bad value now. The refreshed plans for 2024 and beyond only provide one snack credit per night along with a significant price increase from the previous incarnation of the plan in early 2020 ($78 vs $94 a night for adults for the regular plan).

Quick Service

The most basic food options available, you'll walk up to a counter and receive your food. While most places will serve your standard theme park hamburgers and hot dogs, you can find some really good out-of-the-box quick service places, especially at Epcot and Animal Kingdom.

  • Breakfast
    • Children: $9
    • Adults: $15
  • Lunch & Dinner
    • Children: $9
    • Adults: $20

Table Service

A more traditional style restaurant with hosts & waiters, you'll find anything and everything at the table service restaurants. Some are very ho-hum and may leave you scratching your head why you paid that much, while others will tempt you to order another dish. An Advanced Dining Reservation (abbreviated as ADR) is recommended, as walk-up availability can often be scare (or not available at all). If you can't find one, let me search automatically for you! Some table service locations will serve the same menu for lunch and dinner, while others will have differing menus (in both portion sizes and prices). You'll also find several buffets that still have waiters to take your drink orders and make sure everything is ok. Remember: tip is not included in these budgets. The recommended tip is at least 18% of the pre-discounted total (you'll find tip pre-calculated on your receipt at most restaurants around WDW).

  • Breakfast
    • Children: $15
    • Adults: $25
  • Lunch
    • Children: $20
    • Adults: $40 for 2 courses, $50 for 3 courses
  • Dinner
    • Children: $20
    • Adults: $50 for 2 courses, $60 for 3 courses

Signature Dining Experiences

These are the cream-of-the-crop restaurants at WDW. Everything from the service to the food is top notch. Some places are expensive and others are really expensive: like $295/person expensive (Victoria's & Albert's at the Grand Floridian). It comes without saying, a reservation is a must, but you can find bars/lounges at many that will accept walk-ins and serve the full menu. There is also a dress code (basically not looking like you just hopped out of the pool) and some may have very stringent dress requirements.

  • Children: $30
  • Adults: at least $75 for 2 courses, $90 for 3 courses

Character Dining

It wouldn't be Disney without the characters and this can be one of the best ways to see the characters. Your wallet may skip a heartbeat, but compared to meet and greets in the parks where you're rushed along, getting some more one-on-one time right at your table is worth it to many.

  • Breakfast
    • Children: $30
    • Adults: $45
  • Lunch & Dinner
    • Children: $38
    • Adults: $60

Daily Walt Disney World Dining Budget Examples

For all these budgets I assume the following:

  • Quick Service:
    • 1 entree
    • 1 non-alcoholic beverage
  • Table Service
    • 1 appetizer (adults only)
    • 1 entree
    • 1 non-alcoholic beverage

Keep in mind prices at Walt Disney World vary. You may come in well under budget at some places, and over at others. These budgets also don't include snacks, which will usually run you around $5-8/item. Alcohol usually runs $8-12 per glass of beer or wine, and $15 a cocktail. Desserts run $5-8 at quick service locations and $8-12 at table service locations.

Example 1: All Quick Service Meals

  • Adults
    • Quick Service Breakfast: $15
    • Quick Service Lunch: $20
    • Quick Service Dinner: $20
    • Total/day/adult: $55 ($40 if skipping breakfast)
  • Children
    • Quick Service Breakfast: $9
    • Quick Service Lunch: $9
    • Quick Service Dinner: $9
    • Total/day/child: $27 ($18 if skipping breakfast)

Example 2: Quick Service Breakfast & Lunch, Table Service Dinner

  • Adults
    • Quick Service Breakfast: $15
    • Quick Service Lunch: $20
    • Table Service Dinner: $50
    • Total/day/adult: $85 ($70 if skipping breakfast)
  • Children
    • Quick Service Breakfast: $9
    • Quick Service Lunch: $9
    • Table Service Dinner: $20
    • Total/day/child: $38 ($29 if skipping breakfast)

Example 3: All Table Service Meals

  • Adults
    • Table Service Breakfast: $25
    • Table Service Lunch: $40
    • Table Service Dinner: $50
    • Total/day/adult: $120 ($90 if skipping breakfast)
  • Children
    • Table Service Breakfast: $15
    • Table Service Lunch: $20
    • Table Service Dinner: $20
    • Total/day/child: $55 ($40 if skipping breakfast)