How Much Extra Cash? Have the Dining Plan!

[crelange]

I don't think you will spend $100 per day on food if you are on the dining plan, do you? We are going for a week and I was thinking we may spend $500 tops on any additional food we need, tips and any gifts we buy. Am I way off base?

Also, I was not planning on bringing much cash. Wouldn't it be better to just charge it to our room and pay it with a credit card when we check out?

Chris

 

[deacondarlin]

This thread is making me feel MUCH better I was concerned because DH (28) and I (24) had only budgeted around $250 in extra spending money. We already have refillable mugs (yes, I know you're not supposed to use them, but my parents went in June and told us to take them....yes, I understand there are some people that think I'm an awful person...I'm highly aware of the chastisments to come, please don't fuss at me!) and aren't much on souviners, and have the free dining plan. My dad offered to drive us to the airport and pick us up (my little car is MUCH better on gas than his truck, so he'll use it for the week), and we're using Magical Express all the way....and now I think we'll be fine! *Whew*

 

[scrapperjill]

Locker use also...I think they're around $5 a day. Not that everyone would need a locker...but if think you might...Were going and planning on getting a locker for our DD MNSSHP costume...I'd hate to tote it around the park ALL day long....

The last thing I read about strollers...listed the stroller rentals at around $7per day. I think you also get a buck or two back at the end of the day if you return it.

 

[icebaby]

add about $2-5/day depending on room size and amount of people in the room. . .

 

[justplaingoofy]

just saw under magically speakings newsletter that they have added Fantasmic and candlelite to the dining plan

 

[MUFFYCAT]

We had the dining plan last month. There is so much food in the plan you can't eat it all. I doubt you will be buying extra snacks.
Our cash expenses were:
drinks, sunglasses (we forgot at home), extra film, photopass, water from Walmart for the frig in the hotel room, cab to & from airport at home,
alcohol drinks usually at dinner (about $10.00 each night)
We charged our car rental and any souvenir or shirts we bought at the stores.
It was the first time we came home with half the money we arrived with.
We stayed concierge and had breakfast at the hotel each day.

For 9 days we spend about $450.00 which includes $120.00 for the cab at home.

 

[madge]

I think strollers are $10/single and $18/double per day.

 

[WendyMichaelJohn]

Wow, we have MUCH less set aside for spending, and we're not even on the dining plan. We'll have a full breakfast in the room (in a villa.) I consider that part of our regular grocery budget because we'd be eating the same breakfast at home.

We'll also make a second meal, either late lunch, late dinner, snacks in the villa.

So we plan on one meal a day at the parks, plus two snacks. We don't plan on any sit downs except for one character breakfast. So we've budgeted that dh and I will have the most expensive counter service meal each time ($10 each) plus a drink and a snack each day (we'll also have snacks in our bag just in case) and a kids meal and a snack and drink for each child each day. That puts us at about $55 each day for food. We are using MME each way. So we have $385 for food. Each child has $50 for souvies and dh and I will almost certainly limit ourselves to one simple item. So our total for our 10 day trip is approximately $500. That's including food. We'll have an extra $500 just in case.

To the person who thought it might be better to charge to your room rather than just use cash: if you've got cash, use it, if you don't plan on paying that card off right away. Who wants to pay finance charges on a Mickey bar?

Shel

 

[HayGan]

To the person who thought it might be better to charge to your room rather than just use cash: if you've got cash, use it, if you don't plan on paying that card off right away. Who wants to pay finance charges on a Mickey bar?

Shel

I believe that they meant that it is easier to carry around your room key and use that to charge things in the park than carrying around a bunch of cash. You can settle your bill at the resort with the cash/travelers checks/credit cards when you check out. Or I believe that you can give the resort (you are staying at) cash to use as a credit throughout the park. It doesn't necessarily mean that you are charging to a credit card your

 

[disgram]

We look forward to our trips and we save as much as we can leading up to them. These trips are our one big splurge every other year. When we go, we want to enjoy ourselves. We are getting the dining plan for our next trip but even without it, we would have enough money to go and enjoy. We will be buying whatever we want because all of us have saved for the opertunity (sp) to do so. We will have an emergancy fund but other than that,,we go to enjoy ourselves. I hope to have 2000$ to spend by August. My DD will have close to 500$ to spend. What isn't spent, comes home and goes into the jar for the next trip. We are not rich by any means, and we stay at the moderates because we like them, but we love WDW and I just don't see why anyone would want to skimp on this particular vacation. We want our DD to have great and wonderful memories of these times and being told NO all the time just doesn't fit in there. Are we wrong??????
Sorry this is so long.

 

[BethR]

I don't know exactly how much we will bring, but we tend to be on the lower end when it comes to cash.

I want to get some 5's and 1's for additional tipping, if warranted. And for tolls, etc. Perhaps for a food cart or two that does not take credit cards.

Almost everything else I will use a credit card for. (We pay it off entirely when the bill is due.) For Dole Whips and souveniers - whatever else we need - at the parks or at Wal-Mart. I find that so much easier than worrying about how much cash to carry. And then I am accumulating points for our NEXT trip!

 

[HayGan]

We look forward to our trips and we save as much as we can leading up to them. These trips are our one big splurge every other year. When we go, we want to enjoy ourselves. We are getting the dining plan for our next trip but even without it, we would have enough money to go and enjoy. We will be buying whatever we want because all of us have saved for the opertunity (sp) to do so. We will have an emergancy fund but other than that,,we go to enjoy ourselves. I hope to have 2000$ to spend by August. My DD will have close to 500$ to spend. What isn't spent, comes home and goes into the jar for the next trip. We are not rich by any means, and we stay at the moderates because we like them, but we love WDW and I just don't see why anyone would want to skimp on this particular vacation. We want our DD to have great and wonderful memories of these times and being told NO all the time just doesn't fit in there. Are we wrong??????

Personally, I can't imagine saying yes or allowing my kids to purchase every single thing that they see and want to buy. We would end up with alot of expensive junk that would get thrown in a corner or drawer. But if that is what you like to do then by all means go for it! Disney is a huge expense for many families. It takes alot of saving just to afford the trip itself let alone all the merchandise that is in your face while you are in the parks. I certainly feel that you can have a wonderful vacation filled with wonderful memories and not a ton of souvineers. Most people have budgets that they need to follow and I don't see any reason to question anyone for having to travel that way.

 

[rocky41102]

We just got back from Disney and had the dining plan. Including tips, alcohol, and souvenirs, we spent about $125 out of pocket. We were there for 5 nights and it was just the 2 of us. However, we didn't buy the refillable mugs-no point since we would have only used it for coffee and we had a coffeemaker in the room. We used disney transportation so there was no car rental or other fees. Also, we did not buy any extra food because we ate so much from the dining plan we weren't hungry at all any other time. We brought snack food and breakfast type food with us.

Also, we were told tips for the Magical Express drivers were included in the service and paid by Disney-same with the restaurant servers. We left tips for mousekeeping each day.

 

[WendyMichaelJohn]

Personally, I can't imagine saying yes or allowing my kids to purchase every single thing that they see and want to buy. We would end up with alot of expensive junk that would get thrown in a corner or drawer. But if that is what you like to do then by all means go for it! Disney is a huge expense for many families. It takes alot of saving just to afford the trip itself let alone all the merchandise that is in your face while you are in the parks. I certainly feel that you can have a wonderful vacation filled with wonderful memories and not a ton of souvineers. Most people have budgets that they need to follow and I don't see any reason to question anyone for having to travel that way.

I agree with the pp. First, we wouldn't have to be constantly saying "no" because my dd doesn't ask a lot. She's just used to not being indulged. And even if we do have to say no at times, no big deal. I'm her mom at home and I'm her mom on vacation, so she's still subject to rules and restrictions, one of those being that she can't have everything she wants. She just has to accept that vacation is not a fantasy world where mom's rules at home suddenly don't apply.

The perk of this is that the vacation doesn't become a big spending trip for her. It's about the rides, about being together, etc. Just because we limit ourselves doesn't mean that we won't have a good time. We're still at WDW. Plus, I agree about the stuff ending up in a throw-out pile. I don't buy dd everything she'd like because I ask myself, "Will this end up unused or in the garage sale bin?" She tends to have um, tacky taste, so she likes the shiniest, flashiest, and most often junkiest things she sees. Too much junk for too much money. When she's limited in her spending, she makes much wiser choices. (She's 4, but she is actually pretty responsible in her piggy bank spending, lol!)

Again, it is your vacation. Enjoy it as you wish! If you're meeting your financial obligations, saving for your dd's future and you can afford to splurge, then do so. We just know that if we wanted to, we could spend $5000 in one week there. But for us, we would rather put it to other use.

Shel

 

[stschaefer]

Refillable mugs: $11.99/piece
collectors popcorn bucket for kids - $3.95
Dole Whip - $4
Snacks in Epcot bakeries - $2-$5
photos from rides - $14-$18/piece
photopass - wait till you get home
occasional glass from dinner - $5-8
pictures from Chef Mickey - $14-$25
box of potato head Disney pieces at DTD - $21
mickey ears - $8
autograph books - $7

All depends on what you want out of it. If no souveniers and stick to the snacks you could theoretically get by with no out of pocket. Enjoy your trip!!!

 

[deadhedjen]

We look forward to our trips and we save as much as we can leading up to them. These trips are our one big splurge every other year. When we go, we want to enjoy ourselves. We are getting the dining plan for our next trip but even without it, we would have enough money to go and enjoy. We will be buying whatever we want because all of us have saved for the opertunity (sp) to do so. We will have an emergancy fund but other than that,,we go to enjoy ourselves. I hope to have 2000$ to spend by August. My DD will have close to 500$ to spend. What isn't spent, comes home and goes into the jar for the next trip. We are not rich by any means, and we stay at the moderates because we like them, but we love WDW and I just don't see why anyone would want to skimp on this particular vacation. We want our DD to have great and wonderful memories of these times and being told NO all the time just doesn't fit in there. Are we wrong??????
Sorry this is so long.

What works for one family may not necessarily work for all families. We all save up what we can reasonably afford to spend and leave a little room for the "extras". If you are able to have $2500 to spend on souvies then more power to you. But to say that those who can't let their kids have unlimited spending, or have to tell their kids "NO" won't have "wonderful memories" is kind of harsh IMHO.

I've told my kids "no" plenty while we were at Disney. Actually I say "no, maybe next time". They still have a wonderful time and have plenty of "wonderful memories" from our trip. Our Disney scrapbook gets dragged out so many times during the rest of the year with all 4 kids piled together on the couch re-living their stay there. It is why we go back time and again.

And not once have I ever heard from any of my 4 kids "do you remember when mommy said "no" we couldn't have that". Instead I hear them say "I remember going on Tower of Terror over and over...remember you got us all those fast passes mom???" And "remember when Stitch took my hat mom?", and remember this mom, remember that mom.....

Jennifer.

 

[disgram]

Sorry If I gave the impression that my DD never hears the word NO...She will have her OWN money and can spend it any way that she wants. She is very mature for her 13 years, is very careful how she spends her money because she is the one that has saved it. I do not just give it to her.
I agree that it takes alot to save for these trips and when we go, we want to eat where we want and do the things that we want. That is why we save to go. We don't take many trips thru out the year between our trips to WDW. This year I have had 4 days at my son's. That is the extent of my vacation. But now next year, I will be at my favorite place and I want to have fun!! What money is left over will be put away for the next trip with my Granddaughters in 2008 at Christmas time. They will have a good trip and so will I.

 

[WendyMichaelJohn]

Sorry If I gave the impression that my DD never hears the word NO...She will have her OWN money and can spend it any way that she wants. She is very mature for her 13 years, is very careful how she spends her money because she is the one that has saved it. I do not just give it to her.
I agree that it takes alot to save for these trips and when we go, we want to eat where we want and do the things that we want. That is why we save to go. We don't take many trips thru out the year between our trips to WDW. This year I have had 4 days at my son's. That is the extent of my vacation. But now next year, I will be at my favorite place and I want to have fun!! What money is left over will be put away for the next trip with my Granddaughters in 2008 at Christmas time. They will have a good trip and so will I.

I think some families may only spend $150 on souvenirs and still feel like they had fun and got everything they wanted. As for food, we love food, but we are people who don't eat out much, so even counter service is a bit of a treat. We're ride lovers at heart, so we don't really like to spend a lot of time in full-service restaurants. So for us to spend $2500, we would really probably actually have to work at it. So a full, splurging vacation to us just costs a bit less. We do however like interior hallways and monorail/boat transportation, so we're staying deluxe. It's all a matter of priorities. We could have gone full moderate or value and had more to spend on food and souvenirs, but that's not where our priorities are for our trip.

I think it is really an individual thing.


As for saying "no," what I meant is that saying "no" to dd on the trip won't be a memories-killer because she just isn't phased by it. So having to tell her no just won't affect her memories of the trip in the least.

JMO

Shel

 

[justplaingoofy]

can someone please tell me what these dole whips are, and where to get them? Sounds like I need to have one...
My usual "must have" is an icecream cookie sandwich at Main St. Bakery! Chocolate chip cookies with vanilla ice cream... yumm

 

[stschaefer]

Dole Whip is a sweet combination of pineapple and ice cream - come in ice cream or float with pineapple juice. Find it across from Swiss Family Robinson Tree house. First place I had one was at Dole Plantation in Hawaii and was great!!!