Disney Dollars for 3.5 yrs old?

[jacksonsmom]

Can someone give me more information about Disney Dollars? Are they the same face value as a $1.00 bill, etc?

I am thinking of buying some for my DS3.5 as his spending money. Can ou use Disney Dollars anywhere in the parks?

Has anyone used the Disney Dollars as ways to keep track of the spending?

I have a limit for my son (excluding meals & drinks) for goodies he wants at the park (balloons, toys, ice cream bars, etc) and I am starting to think the Disney Dollars might be a good way for him to keep track of his money (with alittle help from mom, of course)

 

[Samandmom]

They are dollar for dollar. I did this recently for our April trip, with my 2.5yr old. I was potty training him. So I told him everytime he went potty that I would give him a mickey dollar. He had fun using his own money to buy things.

 

[Jordan's MOM]

I think it's a good idea for a preschooler. They can see how many dollars they have and as they spend them see them disapear. I would get only the $1 ones because he might not be able to understand that a $5 is 5X as much. I would also limit how many he gets each day to keep from overwelming him. I would also carry them myself. Perhaps in a special bag just for them. We have sometimes included snacks in my DS's limit and sometimes not. It does make them think twice about a snack if they are paying for it, but if you buy the snacks, you can have more control over when and how many snacks he get. You need also to decide if you have any control over what he spends his money on or is it totaly up to him, and make this clear to him. I have always had trouble giving my DS total control over his money but i am getting better. They can't learn if they have no money to learn with.The idea of him earning disney dollars is a great one too and we have done this. Great way to get him to break a habit such as a passy or bottle or to stop a bad behavior, or to teach him the value of doing a job for money. Have fun and enjoy the trip.

Jordan's mom

 

[jacksonsmom]

Thank you for your replies.

I think my son would get a kick out of spending his own special money.

I want to set a limit on how much he can spend a day (excluding food) I am just not sure what is a good limit a day.
Also I will let him "save up" his money if there is something that is over the limit that day.

He is 3.5 (will be 4 yrs. old in August) What is a good limit per day that he can spend on goodies he wants?

 

[jjohns]

On our first trip to WDW with the kids (they had turned 4 and 6 just a couple weeks before the trip), my dad had given each $60 in Disney Dollars. We were there for 1 week.

The intent was they could each spend their $60 on anything they wanted, whenever they wanted - but once it was gone, then it was gone!

I will confess that I was pretty dubious that this would work. I was afraid this would quickly turn into an 'I want that, I want that' adventure every time we entered a store. However, kids can surprise you!

In our trip plan, we had included a day at Downtown Disney towards the end of the trip - the intent was they could window-shop during the week and see their options, then actually buy at the end.

Both of them (and DS-4 moreso than DD-6) were very careful with their money. Neither spent all of their money, choosing to save some for next time. Both very carefully weighed their purchase decisions - Mom and Dad helped out with some of the math, but once they understand that a $40 thing would only leave them with $20 and that wasn't enough for 'X', they made their own choices.

In our case, the whole experience went so well this is how we've handled souvenirs for the kids ever since. They make their own choices with a fixed budget, then its gone. There's no point in even asking Mom/Dad for something, since they have their own money! Wonderful!!!

HTH, Jeff

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Ooooh, our trip is kinda far off and our youngest (2) is still in the process of potty training but should have it down pat by then- but I still LOVE that idea of Disney Dollar for going potty (ie: no accidents while there!)

I also wonder where you can and can't use them though. I thought I read that vendors can't accept them and that's where my 2yr old would want to spend them. She's not interested (as of yet) in the stuff in the stores- except maybe princess doll sets and such which are expensive and she has plenty at home already anyway. She would probably rather buy ice creams and popcorn and such- but she can't use Disney Dollars for those, can she?

 

[jjohns]

As I recall, we did use Disney Dollars at one of the carts outside Buzz in MK last time around - DS bought a bookmark and some other stuff.

I don't think I've tried using them at (e.g.) an ice cream cart, but I'm pretty sure they are good anywhere within the parks. There are certainly non-Disney places at Downtown Disney (e.g. the Cirque store doens't participate in the resort delivery, but other stores do) so they probably don't accept the Disney Dollars.

Here's something I found on on AllEars that should help:

http://wdwig.com/aa042803.htm#ques2

Jeff

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Thanks for the link!
That's interesting- maybe I'll just call WDW sometime soon and clarify this for SURE, before purchasing them. The kids are saving allowance also and I'd rather do Disney Dollars than cash.