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

[natenapril]

My kids have only been on one vacation so far. Next year will be there 2nd vacation (my oldest will be 10) so we are splurging a little. We are buying a house the following year in PA so we probably won't get another vacation for 2 years!! I plan on each child( I have 3) having about $300 to buy what they want. But that will need to last all 5 days at WDW, 1 @ Universal, 1 @ IOA, and 1 @ Sea World.

 

[hollyb]

We were going to give them a set amount at first. Then DH and I agreed this being thier first visit, let them get what they want. We are bringing $500 just for fun spending. Thats for the 4 of us.

 

[Garden Stater]

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.

well said.

 

[ladyelle]

My kids get to pick one gift each day we visit a park. They spend alot of time trying to find the perfect item. Sometimes it is $2.00 per item and others it may be $10.00. I try to set the limit at $10.00 or so unless it something special. Overall they seem to spend about $50.00 each.

 

[Angela&Kayla]

My DD8 won't get any money from me, but we have already pre-planned several purchases and events (including My Disney Girl Princess Tea, Wishes & Illuminations Cruises, BBB for hair and nails, Cirque, Pal Mickey, a princess costume), not to mention everything we have bought at the Disney Store just to prepare for the trip (swim suits, hats, small toys, backpack) and the glow sticks for Disney and the autograph books we are making.

We did talk about the fact that she could bring her own money to buy other things she wants, as she is always allowed to do, but at her age - we need to discuss every purchase. Otherwise, she would spend $100 on gum or something equally ridiculous!

 

[LuluLovesDisney]

I think it depends on what you want the child to buy- ie. will they be expected to purchase: will you take care of- ice cream, autograph books, drinks, candy, souvenirs for friends, t shirts, etc.? It also depends on your own budget and what you plan on buying. I think someone alluded to this before, but if you buy a lot more than you allow the child to, they will probably have a tantrum. I think it also depends how often you go. If you go once every five years or more, I would probably allow a higher amount than if you go once a year or more, you know?

 

[golden1]

I really like the OPs idea of setting up a chore chart. I think I might do that for my four year old. She has 5.5 months to go so two disney dollars a day is about $50 which I think will be fine.

 

[kaw1218]

My kids are saving their allowances and have been doing chores for my mom and dad, so by the time we go in sept they will each have about $200 each.
I don't really worry about what they buy. My kids are really into the pins.... so almost their entire spending money goes to that. But on previous trips they have had between $50-$80 each.

 

[MinMouse]

Our DDs have always used their own money to go but first trip with both DDs they were 4 and 7 and we went in January (gave it to the family for Christmas). Some extended family knew the plan and gave them Disney Dollars for Christmas. Don't remember exactly how much they had but I would say about $75 each.

Since then we've become Disney fanatics and joined DVC. Kids now have a disney account which they place some money in each week at allowance time (at least .50 but as much as they want to put in). Right before we go to Disney we tally up their money and then double it (No putting in all the money that you can find the week before it must be put in when allowance is given --- got caught on that one the first time!) It may seem like too much but it's our way of rewarding them for saving and putting some of our money into the mix. Very rarely do we add anything after this point. They pretty much make their own purchase decisions along with a little advice from Mom and Dad. On recent WDW/DCL trip they each had about $200 with them. DD8 came home with over $60! DD11 was in the hole! (lost track of how much she had left and charged to DCL room! Fortunately only a few bucks though!)

 

[mum of two pirates]

My boys will be 7 and 9 when we go at the end of the year. In Sept they started the washington mutal saving program at thier school and started putting all thier chore money in. $5. a week. What ever else they put in I would double it. $40. birthday money. Money from auntie and grandma here and there. DS6 started AR reading program in school after christmass and I told them both that for every 100% AR test they got I would give them $1. That cost me $20 each at the end of the year. I did a lot of research on here and found out what kind of things kids were buying and what they cost. I probly have 50 micky head punch outs with toys and the prices on them. I made a budget game that we play like monoply. They get to buy what they want with how much ever money is in thier real savings account. Right now it is over $370 each. This is just sence sept. They will say things like I would like that but it's to much money. I am a very budget minded stay at home mom. I have tought my kids to be cheep. They will say things like my gosh I would never spend that much for that. Or they will see cloths at the store and say $10 for those shorts that crazy Or that is made so junkie I bet it wouldn't last around the corner. I wanted them to know what kind of things they will see and have an idea of what they would like. The 8 yo want to spend $50 on legos. He wants to pick out the sords ect and fill the boxes up. We are on the DDP. So any other snacks they have to pay for sence they brodened the choices from 10 to 10,000. We will be there 11 days and then on the cruise for 7 and I don't want them to come home with $300 worth of junk, So I have started helping them decide what they would like verses throw away junk when we get home. We are going to mexico and they want the hanging chairs. My DS brought them one two years ago, now they want anoughter one. Have a great trip.

 

[dean556]

On our first trip this past may my dd 5 had her b-day money plus we gave her 20.00 sp taotl she had 60.00 to spend. I was really suprized at how well she managed her money,of course I brought her the tinkerbell ears. And Tinkerbell came an saw her every night.(I had little gift bags I put together from the dollar tree). I think this took care of any I wants she might have had. She came home with 18.75 so she put that in her piggy for next year.

 

[DonaldDuckFan]

Thanks for all the replies... Just wanted to say that we are on the DDP, so he will get the snack every day, and I'm sure if he wants anything extra I'll pay for that. I have been getting both DS's little toys and things I've seen at the disney store. We were just in Disney in December 2005 and DS4 (then 3 1/2) didn't really ask for a lot and he isn't really a gotta have that kind of kid. I just thought that it would be nice to let him pick some things out (or one big thing) at the end of the trip to remember it by. I hadn't really planned on going to Disney every year, but it sure is adictive and I'm thinking of surprising oldest DS with a mother/son trip for his 5th birthday. So that would be about 3 trips in 1 1/2 years... We'll see what DH says!!!

Amy

 

[LuvTinkBell]

On our last visit, we had a lot of rain everyday due to Hurricane Wilma getting ready to arrive in Orlando! Our girls did not spend much but I had allotted $50 each.

This trip I think I will do that again, but I normally buy T-shirts, and my 4 yr. old will pick up a pen, suckers, etc, so sometimes we have to help her spend her money!

My 7 yr. old is learning a lot about spending and money and her math facts, we'll see how she is on this trip.

I am wondering how much Cars stuff they will find??? I am also going to sit w/ them and make a list of things they may think they'd like to look for so I know ahead of time if this will be not enough or too much. I am thinking of allowing them to earn extra money from chores to supplement what they are allowed allready!

 

[FSUDisneyGirl]

I think the idea of letting your child pick one thing that you will pay for on the last day is a great idea. That way, you teach them to think through their choices, and they (and you) will end up happy at the end.

If your children have been saving up their own money, though, I think that's great! I think my mom did something like this...we didn't have a lot of money, but I remember buying special snacks/ stuffed animals with my own money and then my mom buying me something on the last day. I think it worked pretty well, and if you set the way it is going to be ahead of time, there should be no arguments from the kids.

 

[mommiepoppins]

I GIVE EACH 25 (4 DD) AND THEY USUALLY SAVE AND EARN MORE. MY DD'S DO NOT NEED MORE JUNK. WE GO YEARLY SO THEY HAVE SUVIES.

 

[munchkin bunchkin]

My DD's ages( 7 and soon to be 6) have $100 each to spend . It's money they have saved from helping around the house and birthdays , doing good in school and such.They are told each day that they can spend so much and when that days amount is gone thats it till the next day!They are also told that they cannot buy "junk " it must be something useful or a souvie, usually they end up with leftover $ so that is then put into their savigs account!

 

[lizardqueen]

I am running into the same questions. This will be the first trip for DD (3) and technically the first trip for DS (1). I don't want to have feel like I am saying "no" to everything. I was thinking that we would probably give them $50 each, plus whatever Grammy and Pop buy them (DH's parents are going with us). I am not a huge "gotta have it" person, but I do turn into one when we are at WDW, so I know how hard it is going to be for DD.

 

[pixiedust247]

Our kids are DD (12) and DS (8). We just returned from our latest trip in June. For the six months prior to the trip we saved our change. Anything from the drier, our pockets, or just found lying around. By the time we left for our trip we had saved $210! Each child was given $105 and the opportunity to take money out of their bank accounts. Both chose to do so...DD really got into the pin collecting so she spent her money on pins and a really nice keepsake bag for the pins. DS didn't buy much...so he came home with most of his!
We are planning to go again in June 2007 and we have already started our change jar savings...since we are further out than this past trip...our goal is $400 in change!

 

[dismom301930]

My two oldest DDs (almost 5 and 6) are earning Disney Dollars for our trip later this year. I think they will each earn about $40-50. (DD2 will be allowed to spend about the same with help from Mom and Dad).
I think this is a good amount for them. They will be able to get one nicer thing or several smaller inexpensive items. I have also already purchased many Disney items on sale that I plan to surprise them with when we are down there. These include T-shirts, socks, PJs, sunglasses, inexpensive jewelry, art supplies, etc.

 

[jordansmomma]

My kids having been saving their $10 a week allowance since January. They have $100 each from birthday money, and then will each have $200 from their allowance. They have stopped saving their allowance now. It was their choice to save all $10, it told them 1/2 but they chose to save all of it. It gives them roughly $30 a day to spend, i am sure they won't but if they want pressed pennies, trading pins, acrade money, or to buy something for their friends, they have already made a list of 2 things to get for their dad, then they have their own money to spend. When their money is gone for that day they arent allowed to have any more until the following day. so hopefully that will help them budget wisely and spend money on things that they really want, not what they see in the spur of the moment.