How much cash do you bring?

[ChisJo]

Just wondering how much US dollars you take with you to WDW? I can't really remember how much I've taken in the past, but I do know that we use our credit card mostly for purchases. We aren't staying onsite, so we won't be able to charge anything to our room. I don't want to bring too much cash, just enough for things like snacks in the parks, parking, tolls, etc. How much do you think should be enough?

 

[Gigi22]

I like to be able to access about $100 a day in cash, or cash equivalent(s). We usually take about 20% of our US money in cash, the rest in travellers' cheques. We often don't spend all the travellers' cheques, but it is comforting to have them.

 

[bankr63]

Very little. I take whatever was left in my wallet at the end of the last trip (currently about US$40). I charge most of my purchases, but usually grab $100-$150 from an ATM at some point. There are SunTrust ATMs at several Disney parks that only charge a couple of bucks in fees for a withdrawal. Small price for the peace of mind of not having too much cash-on-hand.

 

[sjsjbrook]

We brought $300 for 8 days for 6 of us, and we came back with $20. We went shopping at Target and bought grocery's with cash so if we would've paid with credit we would have had $100 left over.

Of course I won't say what we spent on our credit card

 

[snowangel72]

We take a grand with us. That's for everything...food, snacks, parking, souvenirs, new toys, etc.

 

[Suzanne033]

I buy Disney Dollars and usually have about $100/day for myself,. DH and DD. For all the rest of our purchases I use a credit card.

 

[North7]

We don't take very much with us either as we charge everything back to the room and subsequently to our US$ Mastercard. Most trips we have no more than $500 and ususally come back with $200 or more. If for some reason we need more cash, I just use an ATM and gladly pay the $2 or $3 fee because of a bad experience a few years ago.

I will never use travellers' cheques again. On a trip about 7 years ago, we had taken American Express travellers' cheques with us and had some in the vehicle as we drove to WDW. Once we arrived, we forgot they were in the glove box and they ended up being stolen while we were parked at EPCOT. We notified Disney Security and then filed a police report with an Orange County sheriff's deputy. At that time, American Express was an official sponser of WDW and had an office at the Contempory Resort. We headed over there to make a claim and it was downhill from there.

I won't go into a lot of details, and it wasn't a large sum of money ($600), but it took us 3 days and multiple trips per day to the CR before they refunded the travellors' cheques. The service they show on their television ads is not how it worked out for us. The American Express agents were rude and demeaning to the point that my wife became so upset, she was in tears. A very nice Contempory CM intervened on our behalf and helped the process along. We had everything we needed (copies of the serial numbers, police report) but I think the problem was that the cheques had already been cashed. As everyone knows, Disney Cast Members very rarely, if ever, validate a signature... whethere on a travellers' cheque or when using a credit card.

Anyway, that was our experience and maybe for others who have had TC lost/stolen, their experience was more positive, but because of it, I'll use an ATM if I need cash.

 

[mommytodarlings]

We take all our $$ in cash, don't use credit cards. However, we will usually go to an ATM a few times on our trip depending on the length. We know where the Bank of America ATMs are, so we avoid fees (we bank with Scotia here).
We are driving down, so that includes $ for gas, all gratuities and souvie $. We usually start with about $1500.

 

[dvcdisney]

With being able to charge purchases to the room (food and souvenirs) and use of credit cards (if we venture out of the World), we only bring enough cash for tips - mousekeeping, bell services and possbly gas for car rentals - no more than $100 for a 14 night stay.

 

[aristocat65]

We usually take about $100. We stay onsite though, so we don't pay parking, etc. We use our credit card for everything as we don't really like carrying cash. I just like to have a minimal amount for tips (I usually get a certain portion of what we bring in $1's), Starbucks, etc. I wasn't aware they still had travellers cheques . We used to use those years ago, but I prefer the convenience of a CC (we don't carry a balance). If you get low on cash, you can always buy Disney Dollars with your CC. I've done that before and bought large denominations, used it for a coffee and you get the change in US$.

 

[Suzanne033]

If you get low on cash, you can always buy Disney Dollars with your CC. I've done that before and bought large denominations, used it for a coffee and you get the change in US$.

That's a great idea. I never thought of that. I have always bought Disney Dollars ahead of time at the Disney Store in my area. Where do you buy Disney Dollars at WDW?

 

[DaniB]

We brought some cash. I'm thinking either $400 or $600. But I preferred to charge everything to our room. We have a US account and already had all our money in there. So it was easier to have everything charged to the room, and then paid for with our US Visa.

When we arrived home, we just transferred the money from the US account to the US Visa.

 

[dsneygirl]

Very little. I take whatever was left in my wallet at the end of the last trip (currently about US$40). I charge most of my purchases, but usually grab $100-$150 from an ATM at some point. There are SunTrust ATMs at several Disney parks that only charge a couple of bucks in fees for a withdrawal. Small price for the peace of mind of not having too much cash-on-hand.

Totally agreed. I don't want to carry around all the cash. DH and I each usually have about $100 including lots of $1 for tips and then if we need anymore we use an ATM.

 

[aristocat65]

That's a great idea. I never thought of that. I have always bought Disney Dollars ahead of time at the Disney Store in my area. Where do you buy Disney Dollars at WDW?

You can buy them from Guest Services. I've also heard that they're available at the WDW resorts, but I'm not sure about that.

 

[shann0521]

NONE!!! I have my card, my debit card of course cause if I dont have the money to buy it I dont but I also give my kids Disney Gift Cards for their spending money (part of my savings for spending fund!)