How much $ do you give kids to spend in Disney?

[DonaldDuckFan]

I'm going to Disney the end of december with my two boys, 4 and almost 2. I've decided to come up with a chart for the 4 year old of things that he needs to do every day (like brushing teeth, getting changed, making bed) and then if he does well at the end of the week I was going to give him an allowance of disney dollars to spend while we are in disney. We have about 15 weeks before we go so I was thinking if I give him 2 disney dollars a week he'll have $30 by the time we go. My mom also bought 10 disney dollars for him and is going to give him them throughout the summer so he'll have $40 total. Then while we are there I thought I would take him to Downtown Disney and let him pick out something. Do you think this is a good amount? How much do you usually give your kids?

Thanks, Amy

 

[HRPro]

Hi,

Just got back from WDW. My 5yo DD gets $3 a week for an allowance. We started saving it in January and she also had an opportunity to earn extra money for her trip. Besides gifts and money DGM & DGP gave her, she had about $15/day to spend on a 7 day trip. I told her I would buy the t-shirts, but other items were up to her. She made very wise decisions and even put things back when I reminded her she's have to spend her own money. She came home with money and can't wait to go to the local Disney Store to spend more disney dollars.

Hope this helps

 

[#1 Pocahontas]

I personally think that's a great idea and a good amount. Our DD was given $25 to spend at Disney when she was 2. We looked at everything and she finally decided on getting the Fab Five pvc figurines. Which together cost almost $25!! I did buy her some things that I wanted to get her. Like Tinkerbell shorts and shirt, and a minnie mouse stuffed animal.

This trip I think we will do something similar to what you are doing.

 

[graygables]

I think at that age, that amount sounds reasonable. My DDs each had $150 for our last trip (10 days, including a cruise), but it was birthday money, Christmas money, and money they had earned working for me. I've learned if they have to earn/save it themselves, their purchases are much more well-thought out.

Another thing we do is keep a notebook and keep track of all the things they get excited over, then, towards the end of the trip, if they are still excited (and have the money), then we'll go back and get it. It's amazing how much that "gotta have it" turns to "eh, maybe not" with a few days time.

 

[ChrisKsAngel]

I think that is a reasonable amount of money for that age.

We started planning our trip to Disney (next month! ) a year in advance. I told my DD (age 7) that she should start saving money. In that time, she has not bought a single thing and has saved $250, from birthday money, Christmas money, chores, recital presents, and report cards. Personnally, I think this is a lot of money and depending on what happens when we get to Disney, I may try to covince her to save some.

 

[lovmy2girls]

Our very first trip, 100 each.
Each trip after that 50 each.

I do give in a little but not much over their budget. They would buy everything! Thier favorite words are "CAN I HAVE"

 

[4chitlins]

When we went in Feb. my sister gave each of my children 50 Disney dollars each, and we let them do extra chores and things to earn money for months before we left so they had about 100.00 by the time we got there.

 

[dougsmom98]

I don't think you will need any more than that. Even that amount might be too much. On our first trip our kids were 4, 2, and 2. They didn't ask for one thing the entire trip, and then the second to the last day, we let them pick out one thing from the Winnie the Pooh ride store. The 4 year old picked out a computer read along CD and that was a little less than $20. The twins picked out something in the $10-$15 range. If we hadn't offered to buy them something, they would have been perfectly happy. Even on the last trip, the kids were 7, 5, 5 and 9 months, the older kids didn't really ask for anything. Since they are Star Wars fanatics, we offered to buy them one thing under $30 in the Star Wars store. They all bought light sabers in the $25 range. I try not to give the kids an amount to spend on vacation because then they feel like they need to spend it. I want them to feel like the vacation is special and they don't need to buy things every time. I've seen kids in stores stressing out when they have money burning a hole in their pockets. On the flip side of this however, I know that experts say it is good to let kids learn about saving and spending. We do this, just not on vacation.

 

[Lora]

When my girls were that age, we gave them $10 - 20 each (can't remember if it was birthday $ or allowance). Now (at 8 and 10) they save their own money. We exchange cash to DD throughout the year. I think they had about $40 each last year and one dd came home with change. They're not big spenders and they don't have the "gimmies". Since you asked, my advice would be to start small when they're small and then when they get older put it on them to save their money. I think $20 is plenty for kids that young, but that's just my opinion.

 

[daisyduck123]

I have to confess that we don't give our 2 kids a "set" amount. We just take it "souvenir by souvenir". When they see something they want, we would usually get it for them, unless we thought it was "cheaply" made & would break quickly.

DH & I really couldn't limit what they wanted (and they didn't want much) because the kids saw us spend $200.00 on one souvenir alone...a BIG FIG. So we would have felt silly saying, "No, you can't have that $10.00 souvenir".

 

[froggi]

We gave our dd(9) $75 Disney Dollars to spend.

 

[Hannathy]

We don't give a set amount because we always talk about things when we go places like that is really over priced or junkie etc. My kids rarely ask for anything junkie and prefer to pick one or two nice things. THe last trip my DS picked out a really nice well made wooden rifle from the shop by Indiana Jones $20. Still plays with it almost daily 2 1/2 yrs later. and a few Star Wars people. and my DD got the princess charm bracelet getting a charm at each park and the princesses probably around $30.-35 total. We did buy the replica Buzz gun from the ride which we normally wouldn't have but my DS loved the ride so much and ended up in the highest point range category that we couldn't resist!
I would think if you planned on about 50 per chld they could get a nice souv. or 2.

 

[VAN]

This is what we used to do. Each child got a set amount (I think $30) for the entire trip. If they chose to purchase a clothing item (t-shirt, hat), I would pay for half and they paid for half from their amount. Toys and other useless things they paid for completely out of their own money.

This accomplished a couple of things: We did not have useless, expensive things laying around our house. I did not have to hear "Buy me this, buy me that". They were very careful about what they purchased. I didn't mind paying for part of clothing as that is something practical.

My children, now 20 and 21, still have some of the things displayed in their room that they so carefully picked out. It seems to mean much more to them because the purchase was made with much care and thought.

Fortunately, it was easier to budget for the trips as well. We have been able to keep expenses down and so have been able to go to WDW more often.

 

[Sherrypooh]

My boys are 14 and 15. Still too young to work. They have no other family besides myself (paying for trip) and my ex who never helps with spending money. Each morning they get an envelope with 10.00 each per day. I pay for all meals and such. I have done this for years. They rarely ask for anything as we have been so many times and they have all they really want. I have found this works well for us. Ten is not much, but honestly, what do they have to buy except a few little things for their friends etc. FWIW it has worked well for the last 5 or 6 trips we have made.

sherry

 

[Laurajean1014]

Counting airfare, accomodations, AP passes, **** dining and eating, WDW tours, cabs, souvies, snacks - everything. $1,000 a day.


Ooooops. Sorry, I didn't read the kids part.

We give our son $0. He's 10 and I like to manage his souvies.

 

[Caitsmama]

I don't give her a set amt. (she is five), But, she is saving and bringing some of her own money.. she has been saving change and then got Disney dollars from the Easter Bunny, and i have 10.00 more put away, that she will get probably for halloween before we go. But she probably has about 20.00 saved right now, and she knows what she wants with it ( a sourcerer mickey hat from MGM) , but i like to shop myself, and i like to take a night alone and go to DD and buy stuff for her as a surprise.
But how we worked it last yr, was each day she could get something small (say $10 or under - usally around $5) and then if she was good for the trip, on the last day, i took her out to pick out something special. We went to the boardwalk and she picked out a mulan doll (about $18) and was thrilled with it.

 

[Mariposa]

Last trip, I just managed what DD bought- she didn't really have her own money. This year she's got about $50 saved up and will probably have about $80 by the time the trip rolls around. That gives her right about $10 a day which I think will be about perfect. I may pick her up a couple of things- but they'll be things I want to buy her, not things she's begged for.

 

[pbharris4]

Our first trip we went waaay overboard on souveniers so after that we decided to limit it. DD takes between $100-$150. (we don't do this this yet with our 3 yo DD) We buy a tshirt and 1 souvenier and then anything else she has to buy. Two years ago she took $110 and came back with $70! When it's her own money..she's much more conservative. She saves money she gets from good report cards and her and I go kids online surveys throughout the year.

 

[PRINCESSMOMX3]

My 6 year old is getting 20.00 a day for 8 days. She saved most of it herself from chores. She is also getting the crown package at Bippity Boppity Boutique. Mom and dad buy all food and snacks. But since they are free this year we will have more money to spend on her and her sisters. After all thats what its all about..............

 

[TAKitty]

I gave each boy (12 & 8) $30.00 on a Disney gift card to spend however they wish. Because they are boys they usually don't see that much that they want. There seems to be a lot more princess stuff. Also, we will pay for some additional stuff like tee shirts or small gifts like pens etc.