How much spending money?

[Jessie]

After you've paid for your resort package (which may or may not include dining - feel free to note that ;)) how much do you set aside or end up spending on food, souvenirs, other expenses?

[rpayton]

The first couple times we went we took about $500 to eat (we stay for 7 days, and it's 2 adults and 1 child) and about $300 for souvies. We finally got wise the last time we went and purchased the DDP (totally worth it if you make dining plans before you go). The next trip (in Oct 2010) we are getting the DDP again so we don't have to worry about carrying extra cash for meals, this way we know our meals are paid for. Now we did take some extra cash the last time we went to get small snack things while in the park so we wouldn't burn up our snack allowance with our DDP. If you set yourself up an allowance for meals and souvies and stick to it you should be fine.

[DizneyRox]

Decide on food before you go. Depends on how you eat, etc.

Honeslty, I haven't found much worth buying for souvies, so, MAYBE $100 per person. With that, we would come home with money left over. Not sure what your other expenses would be. maybe tips, etc. Again, all depends on how you roll...

[Disney4us2]

On our last visit we had the dining plan(at that time it still incuded appy and tip). I brought about $800 in Disney gift cards. I brought one or two with me, keeping the others in the safe. I did come back with some money left on the cards..... We were on a bit of a shopping spree:cloud9:

[Jessie]

Decide on food before you go. Depends on how you eat, etc.

Honeslty, I haven't found much worth buying for souvies, so, MAYBE $100 per person. With that, we would come home with money left over. Not sure what your other expenses would be. maybe tips, etc. Again, all depends on how you roll...

I think I just anticipate with three kids and one super excited 5 year old (at the time)...plus my own excitement :blush:, I might be getting quite a few.

[IrishMickey]

at least 100 dollars a day, if your grocery stores have gift cards,you can start buying them in small increments, it really adds up, plus then it is paid in advance. We always have a little cash for extra things (snacks, balloons, what have you). and I agree that it is nice to have the dining plan:number1:

[akaDisneyDreamer]

My daughter's and I are planning on $250-$300 each for our upcoming trip. We'll put that in the bank and tie a credit card to our room key, to avoid carrying around all that cash, then when we get home we pay off the card with the money we already set aside for it. We like to buy souvies, such as tee shirts, mugs, xmas ornaments and picture frames and snacks like the most delicious cotton candy ever (and you can't get that with your DDP snack) and then you need money for tips even when using the DDP, which we are. It all depends on your spending habits, the stuff in the shops aren't cheap but we love shopping there!

[mom2morgan]

Well, first time we went we spent about $500 just on souvenirs. Each time we spend less, since those things that looks so "must have" when we're there don't looks so great when we get home ;-) There's only so many formal occasions that call for Disney dishes, after all! But I digress. I have a friend who did something brilliant when she went. She gave each kid $5 per day to spend as they wished - her son bought little stuff and candy, and her daughter saved up all week and bought ears and a jewellery box. It saved all the constant begging!

[vicster]

We take around $500.00 cash (just my husband and I). Although we have the dining plan we prefer to pay for tips and anything else with cash. We're staying 7 days and we usually come home with money left over.

[faline]

. She gave each kid $5 per day to spend as they wished - her son bought little stuff and candy, and her daughter saved up all week and bought ears and a jewellery box. It saved all the constant begging!

We did something similar when our daughter was growing up. We'd throw change in a large piggy bank and that would become our daughter's spending money for the trip. She knew ahead of time exactly how much money she would have and that, once it was all spent, there would be no more. She became a great little shopper and really weighed how, where, and on what, she would spend her money!

[disneykid@hrt]

We usually spend about $300-400 on souvies. I, however, do have a shopping problem. (Also a habit of spoiling my :princess: ) I like to have $1000 for a week long trip (Two adults and a 2 year old)- this is no dining plan, money for souvenirs, a few cocktails here and there, a couple sit-down meals. Last trip we spent a bit more than that, but luckily had saved up $350 in Disney Gift Cards. We even received Rainforest Cafe Gift Cards that we used at T-Rex at the Build-a-Dino.

We also take snacks, bottled water, pops, and breakfast foods with us for the room. :mickey:

[finaldynasty]

As a previous poster stated, as the years go by (and the economy tanks) the need to buy everything has waned. We use to spend $800-900 with our first few trips with 2 adults and 2 young children. Last year with 2 adults, 2 school age children, and 1 preschooler and the DDP we only spent 350 on tips and souviners. We would have spent less, but my DW could not resist buying the pictures offered at Chef Mickey, Ohana, and Epcot!

[KylesMom]

We would have spent less, but my DW could not resist buying the pictures offered at Chef Mickey, Ohana, and Epcot! It's funny, because I was going to comment on not forgetting things like a few memorable shirts and the resort photos. My favorite shirt in my closet is one I bought at DHS during Star Wars Weekends in 2005!

Somehow, too, Disney's Days of Christmas eats up our souvenir budget quickly since we always get a customized ornament each year to hang on the tree (other holiday stuff, too), as well as a collage frame and scrapbook from World of Disney.

DS (12) has taken his own Disney Dollars, gift cards & money the last several years to spend as he chooses. Over that timespan, it's been a great learning experience for him to select what items he wants to spend with his hard-earned (or gift) money.

We tend to each choose one item per day, and therefore, we budget a bit more than many folks. However, it's better to over-budget than to go with an unrealistic expectation that you're only going to spend $15 a day on souvenirs and such. :spend:

[ASweetLov]

Usually its just my fiance and I. We dont get the dining plan since we dont eat much(well me more than him). I bring snacks and breakfast items for him from home, and we try to eat between 3 and 4 to make it like lunch/dinner with a few other snacks bought in the parks( like churros and mickey bars :tasty: ) We only eat at about 2 restaurants the whole time we are there and our other meals are at the food court in our resort. Yes I must get some souvies and before I go on my trip I write down ideas on what to get friends and family and myself and I have my fiance do the same. So approximately we each bring about $400 with us. I would bring the left over money home with me but since my fiance always decides to pay for my meals(he only gets himself a key chain or mug as souvenier) I go on a mimi shopping spree at my resorts shop before leaving for the airport :thumbsup:

***You can use disney store giftcards in WDW? If so on what?

Thanks!

[brownie]

We've budgeted $70 a person per day for food and $200 per person for the trip for souvenirs in the past. We don't bring a lot of cash with us, though, We'll charge to the room wherever we can and use our Disney VISA where we can't. Everything will end up on our Disney VISA in the end (need to start earning those points for the next trip!)

[forever a child]

***You can use disney store giftcards in WDW? If so on what?

Thanks!

Basically anything; food, resort costs, shopping. There are a few exceptions but I think overall where ever you can charge to your room key or use a Credit card you can use a Disney gift card too.:mickey:

[forever a child]

After you've paid for your resort package (which may or may not include dining - feel free to note that ;)) how much do you set aside or end up spending on food, souvenirs, other expenses?

On our recent trip I budgeted $500 for 7 night stay for food for DD (age 15 and big eater) and myself. That did not include the bottled water, bottled soda, snacks and breakfast foods that we ship to Resort. We had planned on 2 Table service for the week, breakfasts in room each morning and the rest of meals being QS and a snack budget was in that figure as well.

What actually happened is that we did eat all of our breakfasts in the room each morning. I never bought coffee, bottled water or even a resort mug. We at a four table serves (one walk in at Sci Fi where we shared a meal appetizer, shake and coke and one walk in at Rainforest Cafe at AK because were going to Pirates and Pals later that evening...we skipped a big QS meal and shared appetizers before we headed to P&P which serves snacks and drinks and we were not even that hungry for those, LOL). The rest of our meals were quick service. We bought all the snacks we wanted, Bought a huge Mickey Rice crispy for the trip home and I still had $50 left from our original budget. We often split things like a salad or whatever if we were not that hungry or got whatever we felt like. I felt very happy with our budget and planning.

The Souvenir budget was that I spend $85 for the professional portraits for us (mine). DD brought about $200 and spend $100 and I bought DD another $30 worth of stuff from me. So I guess we spend $205 total for the 2 of us. Next time I plan on taking $100-200 for myself depending on what I have. It will be Christmas and I would like to splurge on myself.:D

[DizneyRox]

Disney Store Gift Cards are NOT usable at WDW. Disney Gift Cards are. Both are available at DisneyStore.com...

Just to clear that up...

[Fastpasssteve]

I've been on several trips to WDW, so I've whittled-down my souvenier list over the last few years. That is all negotiable, anyway. They are extra items not neccessary for life.

Now, food, on the other hand...I'm a person that loves to eat and eat well. (I set three alarm clocks to make sure I don't miss a meal! lol!) There are a couple web sites that maintain up-to-date menus for ALL the WDW restaurants. Check them out. Take an honest look at what you would want to order. Calculate the cost of your meal, then add tip. Then add them up to calculate a week's meals. For those who are first timers, this might be a worthwhile exercise...especially if you don't like $$$ surprises once you arrive.

[Seasonscraps]

For two adults we spend about:

$100 on incidentals for the whole trip (tips, groceries, gas, taxis to other resorts)
$20ish on souvenirs
$150/day for food & drinks. It's usually less but we may do a really expensive dinner one night or spend a long afternoon at the pool :marg:

We don't use the meal plan.

[LVT]

10 days $1500 for 3 adults. We mainly spent on food. Very little on stuff. We ate well and lost weight. I love WDW.

[finaldynasty]

Last year with 3 DKs and 2 adults we spent $700 on souveniors and tips. We were on the dining plan so food was taken care of, and we spent freely because of that!

[Plex]

On food I'd estimate around $50 per day per person on average. If you're going heavy on TS meals, then it could be more. DDP will run you $47 per day per person (I think?) plus tips.

Souvenirs aren't actually all that expensive I don't think, depending on what you're buying.

On our last trip we did DDP and about $150 per person in souvenirs per person. With tips and extras we probably spent around $55-60 a day on food. The previous trip I averages around $40-45 on food and even less on souvenirs.

Keep in mind also that there really aren't too many 'other expenses' at WDW! If you stay on property your transportation is taken care of, you have free TV in your room, and there aren't any attractions (other than some of the special tours) that cost you any additional money. You might have to grab a poncho or umbrella unexpectedly, or maybe a stroller or ECV rental, but otherwise everything should be taken care of!

Disney keeps things pretty reasonably priced. Most of Disney Dining is actually cheaper the restaurants in our area! If you plan out your meals in advance you can really have a great time on the cheap! If you're really frugal, I think you could pull off $30 per day per person without much trouble.Just keep in mind that WDW has some of the best dining in the world, and if you go on the cheap you're going to be missing out on a lot of that!

[eeyorepoohfan]

:mickey:My DH and I (it's just the two of us) have to go on a super tight budget, otherwise no WDW!!! But trust me, we did not deprive ourselves. :thumbsup: At home, we are very frugal eaters, but still enjoy eating out, so we just translated that planning into our WDW dining! There are some great sites out there with up to date menus (they include prices too). I looked at all of these before leaving. It showed me all of the different types of food available at Quick Service restaurants. Not just burgers and fries! I did look at the cost of Table Service, but my DH and I couldn't justify it for us, since we never spend that much on a nice meal at home! One day we will, just not in the budget right now! We found that many places we could easily share a meal. :eat:We packed a lot of snacks before leaving home to eat while waiting in lines. However, we still bought lots of Disney snacks (at least one a day!!) with lots of ice cream involved :bar:(including Ghirradelli) and a stop at the French Pastry shop (YUMMY Napoleon):tasty:!!!! We took $333 (yes, I know a strange amount, but we had been saving our change and that's what we ended up with!) for food, no dining plan. We came home with about $60. So that means we spent about $275 for food and two small souvies (a bandana for our dog :puppy: and a window decal). We spent about $70-80 on souvies of picture frames :photo: and a number of ornaments :ornament:. So for my DH and I for 6 days we could easily get by with about $400-450 for our trip.

[#1disneyfan]

We almost always take advantage of the DDP. My DH likes a sit down meal once a day, if even just to take time out and relax. We also have been taking advantage of using a nearby grocery delivery service for things like water, powerade, breakfast items and snacks. We usually go in the heat of the summer so the water and powerade and that little fridge become a life and wallet saver! For tips and souvenirs we budget about $50/day, and of course the occasional mickey bar or minnie pop!

[AmandaChan]

at least 100 dollars a day, if your grocery stores have gift cards,you can start buying them in small increments, it really adds up, plus then it is paid in advance.

That is a really good idea. I wonder if our local stores has Disney Gift cards. Does anyone know if you can use gift cards at the restaurants???

[dinahvixen]

We have a family of 4 and did do the dining plan (free, though, it was a promo). For our last trip we spent about 200 bucks over 4 days including additional food items and a couple souvie. Our money saving philosophy is that our pictures are our main take home item.

I am so happy to see so many people bring their own breakfast! We usually travel with a lot of our own food on road trips and I thought we were unusual!