Spending money

[CMLDisney12]

I Know this very personal and individual but I'm clueless as to how much spending $ we should plan on bringing. 4 of us, 2 boys 10&12. 10 days, 6 of them on a hopper,1 day at sea world and 2 down days. We have the quick service plus dining plan. Just trying to get a feel for how much we should have. I know that we can get most of the Disney type of souvenirs here at the dis. store and online so we've already told the boys we aren't buying a lot of souveniers so I'm not sure what else we would be spending money on?

 

[DizneyNutz]

I Know this very personal and individual but I'm clueless as to how much spending $ we should plan on bringing. 4 of us, 2 boys 10&12. 10 days, 6 of them on a hopper,1 day at sea world and 2 down days. We have the quick service plus dining plan. Just trying to get a feel for how much we should have. I know that we can get most of the Disney type of souvenirs here at the dis. store and online so we've already told the boys we aren't buying a lot of souveniers so I'm not sure what else we would be spending money on?

You don't have to spend money at WDW to have a good time. Once you have your reservations and tickets it it up to you as individuals as to how much you spend. A bottle of water in the parks runs about 2.00 but you are allowed to bring your own if you so choose to do so. It is up to you as individuals as to how much you will need for spending money. Can you walk around without buying Mickey bars or popcorn? You see what I am getting at. Go and have a great time.

 

[mwmom]

I'm not sure if I can answer that easily since it depends on your spending habits, but I can tell you that my mom, DD and I went last Thanksgiving and I had a gift card for $400 (thanks to Disney Visa points). I spent almost all of that, but much of it was on DD's dress that we bought there, shoes to go with it, etc. and other souvenirs such as a Christmas ornaments, etc. Honestly, not sure what else I spent it on!

We were on regular dining and had snack entitlements like you will have with the QS plan. We did not spend any extra money on food...what we got for the day on the plan was plenty for us! We did have to pay for tips at TS meals, but you won't need tip money if you are on QS. If you have a car, you would need tips for valet.

That being said, if you aren't buying souvenirs, you shouldn't need much!

 

[ppony]

We always spend more than a grand because A: we only go every few years B: we ALL wear Disney clothes quite often C: we have Disney-fied a lot of our home and D: our autistic son has a HUGE fetish for lights, spinny toys and now, Mickey Mouse. So we always find things we like and believe it or not, very little of what we buy turns out to be junk. In addition to what kind of things you like to buy generally, how often you visit IMO, can impact it quite a bit. If this is your first visit, pln for quite a bit more than you expect. It's not hard to shop at WDW and some of us love it! Shirts often run about $25 each. So plan on that if you each want a few. Pins generally cost between $7 and $15 (more or less). Bags are fun to get. I love having lost of Disney bags for whatever reason. Scrapbooking supplies are not as plentiful as I wish they were but they are a must too, especially for grandma back home. And then there are treats and such. Mickey bars, etc. Each day, our stroller looks like a pack animal w/ bags hanging off of both sides. So far, the slight weight of my youngest son hasn't been offset by the "load" but watch it fall over when he gets out of the stroller.

In addition, I also find the Disney Stores can't compare to what you find at WDW. It's a fun place to go, but we rarely fund things we buy at the retail stores, we find a little more online lately, but the lion share really is in the parks. For US anyway.

 

[stindall]

In addition to what kind of things you like to buy generally, how often you visit IMO, can impact it quite a bit.

Not true. We don't go that often and we hardly ever buy anything. If you want something, think about it for a while and purchase it later in the day if you still want it. For us it's all about the snacks! Take a look @ Park merch sites and places that show prices for snacks and get a general idea of what you might be looking to spend.

 

[ppony]

Not true. We don't go that often and we hardly ever buy anything. If you want something, think about it for a while and purchase it later in the day if you still want it. For us it's all about the snacks! Take a look @ Park merch sites and places that show prices for snacks and get a general idea of what you might be looking to spend.

Did you catch the part about where I said "CAN"??

 

[stindall]

Did you catch the part about where I said "CAN"??

yes I did. No need to be rude.

 

[ppony]

yes I did. No need to be rude.

You said it wasn't true which was taking my comment and twisting it. Not that it wasn't the case for you in your experience. It's what I've experienced as well as observed having read many of these threads over the last 15 years. I felt that was rude. Some people just want to argue and don't actually read people's statements. Good for you that you don't spend much. I actually wish we didn't! We just love it so much. Peace?

 

[AshleyD1983]

We were on the regular dining plan and spent about $100 per day while we were there. We bought some souvenirs, 2 or 3 meals out of pocket, and little random stuff here and there. All things considered I think $100 per day is a safe estimate. Of course it depends on your spending habits and personal preferences.

 

[My3Princez]

Our last trip, we were there for 8 days on the quick service dining plan. Family of 4, sons 6 and 8. We had a $200 gift card and spent that plus $20. That's it.
Depends on what your budget is, and what your spending habits are.

 

[magrudersmakes3]

We always budget and take $200/day. We normally stay between 5-7 days.

For our meals, we do not do the dining plan. We usually have breakfast in our room as we like to eat a little better at least once a day. We do one nice sit down meal a day and grab something either in the parks or at our hotel for one meal.

We always come home with souvenirs - sweatshirts, shirts and of course our daughter always finds a toy she absolutely has to have

 

[TandLMommy28]

We do $100 per person. We aren't big shoppers. My kids plan to spend most of theirs at the Lego store. I imagine I'll only spend about $20 of mine. I'm just not a souvenir person.

You need money for tips. And laundry if you feel like doing it (I like to. I'm weird). Other than that... You really don't need to spend money if you have the dining plan.

 

[wahoostampingirl]

We typically spend a lot and we go every year. The kids save their money and have anywhere from $50 to $100 to spend over the course of a week. I buy them a T-shirt or another souvie each trip. I buy myself a few t-shirts, a Christmas ornament, a couple of pins and usually a bag of some sort. I've also bought kitchen items, jewelry, shoes, water bottle holders, notepads, food items like candy etc... on different trips. My haul usually ends of being $200 or so over the course of the week. My dh spends almost nothing. He might buy a shirt, pin or hat while we're there or he might not.

My suggestion for the kids is that if they see something they like, let them think about it for the day. If they still want it when we're getting ready to leave, then we make the purchase. We also try not to shop until the end of the day. That way we're not carrying around a lot of stuff all day.

Other than the souvenirs, we spend money on eating and parking since we generally stay off-site.

 

[JennyDrake]

You can look up menus, etc. on line. PLan on ~$3 per soft drink/water/poweraid and ~$5 per snack (ice cream, popcorn), $25-30 per T-shirt. As PPers have said, it depends upon what souvenirs you want, how many, etc.

 

[disfan4life1]

Like others have said it all depends on what you want to spend. Our family of 4 has been there and spent very little.. Had free dining and bought no souvenirs. . But if we were planning on shopping I usually allowed $100 pp. Anything they wanted..food,toys, clothes... They had to buy. Of course I always found that one tshirt that I would just have to buy them that didn't come out of their money. More often than not we all come home with money left over.

 

[wendywoo]

We are in the DP and will be there 10 nights with CL access. Our 3 kids each have a $100 gift cards and we will take $500 for tips and spending money. We have never been to Disney and hope this will be enough.

 

[usd2bmd]

This is IMO a very personal decision. Posting this question will get you answers from "I spend nothing while I am there" to (like me) " I spend a ton". I love Walt Disney World and we save to be able to go so that while i am there I do not have to contemplate my purchases. if I want something I buy it..

I have been known to spend over $1000 while we are there. You know what you will likely buy on vacation,
'Someof your choices are t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, toys, picture frames, photo albums, scrapbooks and supplies, music, jewlery, housewares.
The list really goes on. If you haven't been before it will be easy to spend a ton...

have fun.

 

[Beamer97]

When we went it 2007, I think we spent 300.00 and that included the bbb... We brought a costume . Most of the stuff we bought was for other people. I do not like junk laying around my house, and I am not a big character shirt fan, so we don't buy a whole or. Tinker bell comes every night and leaves the kids something. This year it's pjs, perry the plat and Mickey and perry t shirts . Tink will stop at our house the night before we leave and leave a giftcards for each child. I am only puttif 25.00 on it, once they use that up, they will get more... But last year it took my dd until the 10th day of her 12 day trip to buy something.... Tie socks in Japan! (toe). This year it's a surprise as well as last time. My kids at usually so happy to just be there they are not into shooing. Dd is 12, ds 6.

If you just enjoy being there and stop to smell the roses, it doesn't cost any extra.

 

[ppony]

I have been known to spend over $1000 while we are there. You know what you will likely buy on vacation,
'Someof your choices are t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, toys, picture frames, photo albums, scrapbooks and supplies, music, jewlery, housewares.
The list really goes on. If you haven't been before it will be easy to spend a ton...

That sounds just like us and our "shopping list". It's SO easy to think there's a hole in your wallet because it goes SO FAST! But we enjoy our little touches of Disney all over the house. And none of it is junk!

 

[ammag]

I have no experience yet but this is our plan (and budget is definitely in play) our 5 yr old saved $125, I put it on a card for her to use as she wishes on aything, but when its gone its gone. We will pay for most snacks but not all for her. The only thing I want is a bead for my chamilia bracelet, and DH will most likely not want anything. Our son is only 1, we will get him a stuffed animal and both kids get mickey ears from us! I maybe tempted to buy more things but will keep an eye on cost especially since my camers JUST broke 2 months before trip