Hi, Maura! Budgeting for food is a really difficult question, and it is best answered by first determining how much your little ones eat, and where you can feed them. When I start looking at what I want to budget for meals, I go to
www.allears.net and click on to the dining page to browse the menus. The site lists table service and counter service restaurants and snack locations, and there is a pretty accurate listing of menu items and prices at each location.
For example, I might know the day I go to Magic Kingdom, I'm going to give the kids breakfast in the room . Breakfast won't cost me anything that day. I know we're going to get a snack from Aloha Isle, and that will be about $3 each. We'll do an early dinner at Crystal Palace, which will be $30 for each adult, and $14 for kids. At bedtime, I'll have snacks back at the hotel that I've brought from home or purchased down there, and the whole day for food has cost me about $40 for each grown up and less than $20 for each kid. That's with snacks and juice boxes that I bring with me.
I think if you are going to plan to have some meals back in the room, you are probably safe with about $40 - $50 per day per adult, and $20 - $30 per day per child (less for the two little ones, especially because if you go to the buffet restaurants, they are free). Some days you spend a little more, some days you come out a little less. Better to be safe and over estimate, then you can use the surplus to order pizza the day you get home and don't want to cook after a great vacation!