advice on how much money to bring?

[Tiggerlovr9000]

Just got done making our last payment on our May trip to celebrate our 25th anniversary. There will be 5 of us. Myself,dh,ds 21, dd 19 and dd 16. We are staying offsite at a hotel with a free buffet breakfast. I know, its a drag to be offsite but just couldn't swing the funds with 5 of us. Will pay for all kids meals and dd 16's souvenirs. Also have to budget my dh and ds to spend a day at Space Center. We have all tickets to WDW with plus options also tickets to seaworld. How much money would you bring? I was thinking $200 a day. Thanks in advance.

[BigRedDad]

$200 per day for meals, souvenirs, no breakfast, for 5 people is not too much of a stretch. I think it may be fine.

[disneydeb]

It has been my experience that I spend more than I thnk I will.

[gardenia]

Surely you don't mean cash?!? I usually bring less than $200 for the whole trip and use plastic for everything I can. I end up with cash left over at the end of the trip, and I have an itemized bill of everything I spent at the end of the month. I just don't think it's safe or prudent to travel with tons of cash.

[Tiggerlovr9000]

No, I was thinking travelers checks.

[crazypoohbear]

If you can swing it I would bring about $500.00 more than you think you need. Leave that amount in the safe at the hotel. that way you have it if you need it. If you dont' need it great!
Counter service meals at the parks will run you about $10.00 per person, per meal. (this is a bit high for a safety net)
If you are eating at a sit down go online and figure out that price. plus tip.

[Tygger7]

Originally Posted by crazypoohbear

If you can swing it I would bring about $500.00 more than you think you need. Leave that amount in the safe at the hotel. that way you have it if you need it. If you dont' need it great!
Counter service meals at the parks will run you about $10.00 per person, per meal. (this is a bit high for a safety net)
If you are eating at a sit down go online and figure out that price. plus tip.

Personally, if you can swing it, budget $300 per day. When we went in 2006 (me, DH, DD13, DD's friend13) we never ate a CS meal for under $65 for the 4 of us. Depending on what your plannig to buy for souvenirs, you can still expect to spend $10 for even a small item, and t-shirts are around $20. I would rather have money left over than to run short and have to figure out how to make it through the rest of the vacation.

[Tiggerlovr9000]

Thanks everyone. I will use your advice and build a little safety net. We will only be eating lunch at CS in the parks. I am driving my family nuts because I want to have left yesterday. Only 67 more days.

[PetefromRI]

We've found that 50.00 per adult per day works for us.We don't buy ANY souveniers and we budget an extra 50.00 for cocktails and smoothies for the two of us.We only do C.S. except for maybe 1 or 2 buffets like O'Hana's and Cape May and we do just fine.We always carry plastic just in case,so we don't feel so restricted,or in case we get stuck in FLA for a couple extra days.My wife carries some cash but we also use the debit card instead of carrying lots of money.I just get cash from the ATM in the hotel lobby in the morning.

[adoptionislove]

Thank god there is a VISA Debit Card!!!

We usually bring some cash to leave in the safe. We still have the debit and credit card just in case!

[WriteDisney]

I would take whatever you budget for a day and double it .... I always end up needing more despite how much I budget.. a safety net is a great idea

[King Triton]

I stayed offsite too last trip. Seriously, I wouldn't bring much cash. You can use plastic just about everywhere, even for parking and ice cream.

I always just charge everything to a cash rewards credit card that I always pay promptly...that way I even get a little back.

If you're not comfortable with a credit card, the earlier suggestion of a Visa check card (or equivalent) is good. Its just so much more convenient than carrying cash.

[Brian]

For us, there's just two of us and we stay on site. So, keep that in mind as your situation is different. That being said, we used credit cards (or charge back to the room) for everything. The only real times that I think we needed cash on our last trip was for tipping, an occasional trip to the vending machine in our hotel, and an occasional vendor cart that wouldn't take credit cards or the room key. We take about $100 in cash between the two of us and end up bringing some home. Worst case scenario, there are ATMs all over the place. Our new bank's policy is that they reimburse ATM fees. Based on this, I might take even less money this year as I won't be worried about using an ATM if I have to.

[playdead88]

i agree 300$ a day sounds about right - we are a family of 4 - we eat CS most of the time and have groceries delivered to cut back on breakfast $ - we usually spend around 50$ per meal as a family - no matter how much money you bring its gonna go so just make a budget and try to stick to it

[King Triton]

Its soundling like people are spending $200-$500 a day, which I can see. What I can't see or understand is, if it is a 10 day trip, that people would, in this day and age, actually bring $2000-$5000 cash with them.

Plastic is taken virtually everywhere, and if you're fortunate enough to stay onsite, your key to the world is all you should need. If you don't like the idea of paying a credit card when you get home, just get a debit card. (You can even get a "Disney Gift Card" onsite once you arrive, if you're spending all your time on property)

You can also do the Travelers Check route, but they slow everyone down.

Finally, if you do insist on cash, and I don't see why, just bring a little and hit the ATM's to replenish.

The days of carrying cash around are quickly becoming obsolete...