Help with souvenier budget for kids;)

[crusoe2]

We've tried handling the souvie money several different ways over the years. I agree with the folks who said to take into consideration what your kids like and how they shop. What has worked best for us is a combination of some of the things I've seen mentioned. We set an overall budget for the trip and divide that amount by the number of days we'll be there. The daily amount is all we take into the parks with us and it's generally enough to get one big thing or a few small items like pins and such. If there is money left over at the end of the day, we put it in the envelope for the next day. This arrangement worked really well for keeping DD within her budget. The only downside is that she wants to souvie shop everyday rather than waiting till the end of the trip so we tend to spend more time in the gift shops than DH would like. Sometimes even more time in there than I would like and I like to shop.

As for how much money to budget - again, that really depends on what your kids like. When DS was younger he never met a stuffed animal he didn't like. So $10 a day wouldn't have been enough. Some of DD's fave things have been the little Polly Pocket-size princess dolls that cost about $12 a set. So even for her $10 a day wouldn't have been enough. We generally try to make sure she has about $20 a day. That's a lot over the course of a 7 or 8 day trip but it's much easier to budget a little extra for souvies than to deal with her trying to decide what to buy when she doesn't have enough money to get what she REALLY wants.

 

[racechick8293]

I've been trying to promote the value of saving to my children (and myself) lately, so that factored heavily into my plans. We do live 90 minutes from WDW and now have seasonal passes, visiting 1-2 weekends/month, so my spending plans may be a bit different from the norm.

On first trip with DD (4) in December, it was the first time I had been to WDW in years. For the most part, she was so mesmerized by the rides and shows that she didn't seem to notice the gift shops very often. However, I had prepurchased some t-shirts and novelties before the trip, and took 1-2 into the parks with me each day. If she decided she wanted to buy something, I told her that Mickey had given me a special gift for her, and brought out something from the backpack. Other than the Pick a Pearl in Epcot, she didn't get any souveniers at the parks.

On the second trip, she noticed some of the shops a bit more. She bought a stuffed Lotso bear in HS, on the condition that it was the only item she would get for the day. We went to DD on our last day, and she was allowed to choose one other item- the catch was that she had to make sure it was the one she wanted, so she went to the stores, then we had lunch, and she decided on her item.

I had read in one of the WDW planning guides that nearly every item available at the parks is also available at DD, and IMHO, it was true. If at all possible, I'm going to try to use the strategy of waiting till the end of the trip before making purchases again.

Also, for those who have posted about their children earning or saving the money, I totally agree.

 

[rogers803]

I use to give the kids money to play with during our trips but I also brought extras from home that I had purchased from a local Disney outlet store.( We drove down so the gifts were easy to hide.) When the family would leave the room I would sneak back to the room and put out the toys or animals with notes. It was a lot of fun and I did it for years.It also saved me a bundle.

 

[dougsmom98]

We always just tell the kids they are allowed to buy one thing. When they were little we kind of had a limit - set in our own minds - of $25 but if came to $26 or $27 and we thought it was worth it, we would let them get it. If it came to less money - that was great too. Now that they are older, we set a limit - again in our minds - of about $50. That is for something tangible to take home. We go to Goofy's Candy Company a couple times on the trip and they are allowed to get some candy and we pay for that too. I don't like giving them a set amount of money to spend because then they buy things for the sake of using up the money and I don't think that is a good habit for them to get into. We also don't have a ton of room to take things home because we fly and only use carry on luggage.

 

[Reddy]

We waited until the last to buy "things" to take home
then they can make a list all of the other days & think about it
there was a store at downtown Disney that seemed to have everything in it
when you get off the POC then you want that t-shirt but same for splash Mt.
waiting you can really decide if you want that or not without the ride to influcent you

 

[Shleedogg]

If this is your only trip for awhile, I would give them more.

Kids t-shirts are $15ish (for my 2 yr old), onesies are the same price. T-shirts for grown ups are around $25, sweatshirts $50.

The large (16" I think - standard size) plush toys are $25.

I think Mickey ears are also around $15.

Stuff is really expensive and adds up quickly. If this was a once a year trip then I'd say it was more than enough. I personally would up it to at least $100, if not $150.

 

[SoonerSarah]

We are going in March and my girls are still adding to their Disney Jars. The baby, who obviously could care less, has around $60 in her jar. The older two have about $190 in their jars. However, $100 in each of their jars is for BBB. Daddy got a $100 bill for his birthday, which they thought was really cool, and since we were going to be doing the full package at BBB, we decided to put $100 in each of their jars so they can pay that, and we will pay the rest.

We won't be going back for quite a few years and my girls love Princesses, Toy Story, Star Wars, Phinneas & Ferb, honestly, they love all things Disney. And they have a Grandma that loves Disney as well, and spoils them, so I know they are going to be seeing a lot of things that they want to buy.

Oh, and their money has come from birthday, Christmas, Grandma saving coins (she has always done this, I take the coins to the bank and split it up). They have gotten a bit of money from us for extra chores.

 

[danicaw]

We went last Aug and decided to take all our souvenir money in the form of Disney Gift cards. Each kid had $50. We ordered the gift cards online from Disney through the gift card site and each kid picked the art/character they wanted on the card. It worked great. Our kids are younger and that seemed like the right amount.
It was interesting to see how different they were in how they spent it, but it worked great. Receipts tell you how much is left, so we always knew.

http://www.disneygiftcard.com/home/

This was the first trip we didn't go over budget on souvenirs
We plan to do this again for our next trip.
Oh, we adults took gift cards too but for a bit more $

 

[Mom2Ben02]

Wow, you guys have great ideas.

I wasn't even THINKING about how long to pick things out - a LOT. That is a great point.

I LOVE the idea of taking pics and buying the last day at DTD. However, will we be able to find everything there? I would hate to have DD fall in love with something from AK and we not be able to get it, kwim? I KNOW DS8 will want the build-your-own lightsaber...I assume that will only be found in HS, correct?

While I would love to make them work for the money, and get some slave labor for the money I planned to give them anyway , the trip is a surprise.

We do have a bunch pre-bought. Light up stuff, pins, lanyards, autograph books, epcot passporters, mickey ears. I even bought leis for our Ohana dinner and beads, since we'll be there over Mardi Gras. We have DDP, so I am hoping the snack credits will cover the candy/treat gimmies

 

[gillenkl]

I LOVE the idea of taking pics and buying the last day at DTD. However, will we be able to find everything there? I would hate to have DD fall in love with something from AK and we not be able to get it, kwim? I KNOW DS8 will want the build-your-own lightsaber...I assume that will only be found in HS, correct?

We usually go to all the parks more than once (we are there 10 days with hoppers) and being a planner I plan what days we will be at what park so I know what day is our last day at a park as we near the end of our trip. Certain things are park specific and I think you have to get it when you see it - JMHO. Lightsaber - the CM at HS couldn't even figure out how to make them We ended up getting ours at DTD (forget which store) and we had 2 CMs - the first one, again, didn't know how to make them but the 2nd CM figured it out. Watch putting them together and picking pieces because it adds up $$$

 

[Shleedogg]

Wow, you guys have great ideas.

I wasn't even THINKING about how long to pick things out - a LOT. That is a great point.

I LOVE the idea of taking pics and buying the last day at DTD. However, will we be able to find everything there? I would hate to have DD fall in love with something from AK and we not be able to get it, kwim? I KNOW DS8 will want the build-your-own lightsaber...I assume that will only be found in HS, correct?

While I would love to make them work for the money, and get some slave labor for the money I planned to give them anyway , the trip is a surprise.

We do have a bunch pre-bought. Light up stuff, pins, lanyards, autograph books, epcot passporters, mickey ears. I even bought leis for our Ohana dinner and beads, since we'll be there over Mardi Gras. We have DDP, so I am hoping the snack credits will cover the candy/treat gimmies

As of Sept, they were definitely available at DTD at Once Upon A Toy. We did the Potato Head and My Little Pony box for DD. I kept suggesting DH do a lightsabre for himself; he's a huge Star Wars fan.

 

[cwilc]

These tips are great! We are taking our girls ages 9 & 7 for their first real visit (we went when oldest was 2 and youngest was 6 weeks) in March. We have been on a family budget using the Dave Ramsey plan for 3 years and have had the girls on their own budget for about 2 years. They are pretty good at handling money, but I'm afraid of the assault on their senses when they see all that Disney has to offer. We are considering giving each of them $20/day and then allowing them to take money out of their savings accounts as well.
We are staying off property, and plan to make a few trips to Walmart/Publix while we are there. I am hoping that they find souvenirs at these places where their money will go farther.

 

[cwilc]

As of Sept, they were definitely available at DTD at Once Upon A Toy. We did the Potato Head and My Little Pony box for DD. I kept suggesting DH do a lightsabre for himself; he's a huge Star Wars fan.

What is the My Little Pony box and where do you find it?? DD7 loves MLP.

 

[SoonerSarah]

I don't think that 4 days in Disney is going to be enough for us. I really, really wish we could spend more time there! I think we could honestly spend an entire day in DTD, the whole family loves Star Wars and DH and BIL love legos and what is this MLP thing? Oh and the Potato as well...ack!

 

[racechick8293]

I LOVE the idea of taking pics and buying the last day at DTD. However, will we be able to find everything there? I would hate to have DD fall in love with something from AK and we not be able to get it, kwim? I KNOW DS8 will want the build-your-own lightsaber...I assume that will only be found in HS, correct?

I believe the toy store in DTD is called Once Upon a Toy Store- right across from Earl of Sandwich, at the end of the Marketplace. We were there about 2 weeks ago, and they had the build a lightsaber. I believe it was about $20 for single and $22 for double.

 

[racechick8293]

These tips are great! We are taking our girls ages 9 & 7 for their first real visit (we went when oldest was 2 and youngest was 6 weeks) in March. We have been on a family budget using the Dave Ramsey plan for 3 years and have had the girls on their own budget for about 2 years. They are pretty good at handling money, but I'm afraid of the assault on their senses when they see all that Disney has to offer. We are considering giving each of them $20/day and then allowing them to take money out of their savings accounts as well.
We are staying off property, and plan to make a few trips to Walmart/Publix while we are there. I am hoping that they find souvenirs at these places where their money will go farther.

There's a SuperTarget around mile 4 on 192 and a Walmart on 535 about 2 miles north of 192 that both have a good selection of Disney merchandise. I haven't checked, but it's a safe bet that Publix would also have some as well. There's one at the intersection of 535 and 192, and I'm sure there are more in the area as well.

 

[Shleedogg]

What is the My Little Pony box and where do you find it?? DD7 loves MLP.

You fill a box with as many my My Little Ponies and accessories as you can for $20, as long as the box closes. We had a great CM actually load the box for me. She was able to fit in all 4 ponies plus every single outfit and accessory, there was an outfit and accessory set for each princess.

I read here, not long after our trip, that they got rid of it. They packed whatever they had left into boxes and sent them to the $10 and under store in DTD. That's going to be our first trip this time.

 

[mousebymarriage]

What works for us is each child has an envelope with their money in it (I hold the envelopes so they don't get misplaced). Each child has $100-$150(sometimes more) in their envelope ,this money is from birthday, chores etc.. They know that they can spend their money however and whenever they want but, when it's gone, it's gone! So if they choose to blow all of their money on the first day then they are done buying souvineers for the rest of the trip. We having been doing this since they were very little and it works great. They are very careful about what they purchase since it's their money and they are really good at budgeting, plus I haven't had to buy them souvineers in years.
My kids are DD14 and DS9. We usually spend 7 days in Disney.

 

[nuts4wdw]

Here's what worked for us last trip. 3 boys ages 9, 7, and 4 . We printed off coupons for each park or place and each coupon was good for up to 25 dollars. We would let the boys use the coupons at the end of the day, that way I didn't end up carrying a stuffed animal all day (leaving it in the stroller is a bad idea, have had some toys taken from the stroller parking area). This prevented them from loosing money and they knew that they would get something from each park, we also did one for the h20 (which they didn't use), and downtown disney. So it equaled about $100 each for the trip. Like other pp, we would adjust that amount, if they wanted something for 30 dollars then they only had 20 the next park. Worked for us, once they knew the routine!