How much do you budget per child for souvenirs?

[KELLY]

Hi
My DD is 20 months what she wili have is 85.00 in Disney Dollars some from grandparents so from us. We will also give her are Disney Visa rewards card around 40.00. But with that I will buy her a sweat shirt and t-shirt so there goes 50.00. DSS is 16 and I will give him 100.00 and buy his t-shirt and sweatshirt. Persoanlly 100.00 doesn't go far in Disney and DSS will spend some of his in the arcade. I don't pay for extra's we are on the Disney Dining Plan.

KELLY

 

[mom2my3kids]

We are not into souvenirs either, last year my kids brought their own money. They saved all year plus birthday money, each had around 150.00. They spent every dime of it. This year we plan on giving them 50.00 each and then what money they have saved. This is for the whole trip, we have the dining plan so we won't need much money for food.

 

[ilovejack02]

We don't really budget spending money. Our DDs (at last trip) were 5yo and 2.5yo. We were there for 6 nights. We told them they could get one souvenier a day, normally after dinner. It kept them occupied in the evening as well while waiting for parades/fireworks. In addition, we had a shopping 1/2 day at downtown disney where we all got stuff. Not really sure what we spent there.

I have no budget set in mind either, I do have things I want to get. Mickey Ears and a Mickey wizard hat and Disney shirt for DS4. I dont like figurines and Disney house decorations so that wont be an issue for us. I do however like magnets lol. Im sure Ill buy a cpl of those. I prob wont buy stuffed animals in the park, but pick up a few to bring with us at the disney store. I also have three whirly light up toys for the nighttime parades put away, but if there is a special one I might get him one at the park. I also plan on getting DS something at the Lego store and Im sure ill hit the scrapbook store like a mad woman.

 

[ndeelou]

My kids went to DisneyLand (without me) nearly twenty years ago and I sent maybe a hundred dollars to my sister for whatever they needed for the week. I think the deal was I would fly them out and she would take care of them. (They were eight and six) On the last day, they had spent NONE of "their money" on ANY THING!!. She refused to send them home with nothing. So my daughter agreed to buy a five dollar shell at the gift shop (not even one that said"Disney and Ariel wasn't born then, but dd was a shell collector) And my son didn't want to part with *any* money, but finally agreed to squish ONE penny, grand total still 51c. She gave up and paid for the t shirts herself.

I just got back from my first trip, no kids, no husband. And made my own penny collection, still a bargain at 51c(but those quarters are heavy to carry around..)and even tho I had said I wasn't going down the slippery slope of pin trading, my friend gave me a few as a gift and the rest is history...... (I wouldn't suggest that as a bargain unless you preshop on Ebay as all cast members were anxious to trade and it was fun to talk to people from everywhere!)

The Orlando Super walmart was the best walmart anywhere and has an enormous Disney selection of t shirts and keychains and pajamas and cute tote bags for 4.99. beach towels under ten dollars. So a lot of shopping could be done there if you have a car. Also there is a Disney Store in the big outlet mall that has discounted logo merchandise including the light up toys (ten rather than fifteen if you have to have one)

I took glow bracelets from the dollar store(six for a dollar) I had found fifteen for a dollar around fourth of july so keep an eye out. At the parades I shared and even had to give one to the kid whose dad bought the light toy (the one with the strings but couldn't read the directions in the dark before Fantasmic started. LOL. Also with a bracelet on or waving a stick not many people had , it was easy to find each other in the group( and to conduct the music!)

Our Disney Professionals even drank from the water fountains, but I splurged on drinks when my frozen water bottle was dry.

Have a great trip!

Betsy

 

[disneynewbee]

We have been to WDW twice as a family for two wks each. On our first trip everyone got $50 a day to spend including me and dh so that's $700 a piece for the trip. This was the first trip ever for me and our two daughters only dh had ever been when he was a kid so that trip was special. Although seeing how much we spent here in writing makes me think I might be insane. I did make the kids buy any snacks they wanted out of that money. We did their three meals and all drinks. By our second trip we had 3 daughters and everyone got $30 a day so that's $420 a piece for the trip. We enjoy shopping and browsing the stores and don't need a fancy resort so we stay at the values and use the extra money for spending. Our next trip will be in 2008 we will probably be getting a pool home since we will probably add one more to the family and if we do it will cost a little more so I'm going to probably just give each of them $300 for the whole trip but we'll see, dh tends to spoil them and probably won't be happy with that.

 

[buzz5985]

My DS 10 gets a $5/week allowance plus DH gives him $1 for bringing up the trash barrels on trash day. Our deal with him is - any money from his allowance/gifts etc. that he puts in the bank, we match. He puts in $50 - we match him $50. He hates to spend his own money. But - if he is begging for a toy at Target for example - I will tell him I will lend him the money until he gets home and his usual answer is - I'm not going to waste my money on that junk. LOL

Last trip he brought about $50. He has had the same autograph book, penny book, since his first trip, that we take. The only things he bought last trip was a shark tooth necklace, and a wooden rifle that he has wanted for 3 years.

Janis

 

[katefuller]

Wow, the first few posts had me really thinking I was the "mean mother on the block" as my kids like to say and a title of which I am very proud But thankfully I kept reading to find out, yeah, I'm not the only one who limits their kids' spending. I've done spending money several different ways, but my kids have NEVER had more than $100 each for spending regardless of the length of the visit (longest was 11 days) and most often a lot less, and almost always whatever they managed to save themselves.

My favorite way to handle souveniers which I've done on several trips but not so much now that they are older: the deal is if you behave at the park (which has never really been a problem) and don't ask for souveniers at every gift store, Tinkerball or Mickey Mouse or whoever their favorite character was on that given trip, would leave a gift under their pillow each night. I would purchase souveniers such as autograph book, trading pins, tshirt, beach towels, stuffed animals, sippy cups, etc. from Disney Store or disney.com prior to our trip, have them wrapped and ready to go according to what day we were going to what park. For example, the first night there they might get the autograph book because they would need it the next day. If the first day was at AK, I might leave a AK tshirt for them. The night before Epcot, a passport is a great gift... I was then able to pick out the gifts I felt they "needed" and pay 1/4 of the price for alot of things. I have to say that my kids always found this much more satisfying and loved the surprise. THey spent many dinners talking about what they might find when they got back to the room -- the enjoyed the suspense and surprise element. And, when necessary, I always had the "don't forget that you need to be good (or eat all your dinner or...)" to lean on. THey were always allowed to go into the gift shops and I would keep an eye on what they seemed to really, really want and make sure they got this the last night as a special surprise or I'd just let them pick something out occasionally for being such good kids.

Either way, and this is only my opinion here so no flames please but a trip to Disney itself should be enough and it is good for kids to know limits and understand that even $10/day or $50/trip is alot of money to be spent on things wanted, not needed.

Have a great trip whatever you decide.

Great although have the character of their choice bring gifts for mommy and daddy so they behave. When we went to DL Paris in 2013, my dad kept wasting our money on souvenirs even though characters were watching and bringing gifts for the kids to the room. If Tinkerbell or Mickey bring mommy and daddy gifts that may encourage the parents to behave

 

[NYCgrrl]

Taking a 6 y/o who has never been to WDW before this coming December. We will be there for 2 weeks and when asked by her mother I suggested $100.00 for the length of the stay. I’m not much of a souvenir buyer so let’s hope I’m right.

 

[focusondisney]

Great although have the character of their choice bring gifts for mommy and daddy so they behave. When we went to DL Paris in 2013, my dad kept wasting our money on souvenirs even though characters were watching and bringing gifts for the kids to the room. If Tinkerbell or Mickey bring mommy and daddy gifts that may encourage the parents to behave

Doubt the poster you quoted will be taking your advice. Their post and this thread are from 2007, 17 years ago.

 

[MrsPete]

Our souvenir budget is zero. Yep, ZERO. It's been the same since our kids were quite small, and they didn't complain. Specific reasons we made this choice:
- Souvenirs never seem to be treasured; instead, they end up in the next yard sale.
- Our kids understood from a young age they took more trips (not just Disney) than any of their friends. They understood that skipping shopping is one reason they got to take all those trips.
- When shopping's on the agenda, kids can shift their attention from the experience to shopping. It can eat up the day in a negative way. I saw this constantly supervising church groups and scout trips -- for example, kids who'd hurry through a cool museum so they could reach the gift shop at the end.
- No one likes carrying the bags.
- We're spending so much on tickets -- we don't want to waste it shopping.
- When it came to Disney trips, we often bought several tee-shirts, etc. from eBay before the trip. The kids were always happy with that.

 

[tinkerbellandpeterpan]

I don't really do souvenirs. Unless it's a Christmas ornament from a place we have never been before. I don't understand people who spend all this time shopping at Disney springs. What on Earth are you buying? It feels like a complete waste of vacation time to me. I understand that may be where they get their enjoyment and what I enjoy might feel like a waste of time to them so it's all relative. My parents weren't big on souvenirs either so that may be why I feel that way. We maybe got a t shirt sometimes, but they were more focused on having fun experiences which I really appreciate.

 

[reddog21]

We don't budget for souvenirs, we generally get whatever we want within reason.

 

[jo-jo]

Doubt the poster you quoted will be taking your advice. Their post and this thread are from 2007, 17 years ago.

I don't think people have noticed yet.

 

[focusondisney]

I don't think people have noticed yet.

I guess not.

 

[PatsGirl]

Doubt the poster you quoted will be taking your advice. Their post and this thread are from 2007, 17 years ago.

LOL, but I got pinged and was like wtheck? Yes my children are now D27 and S34 but I'm planning to take my new grandbaby for her third birthday October 2026. In the meantime, myself and daughter are headed back the week before Thanksgiving, a trip long overdue! So I'm back on the boards gathering information