how much do you spend at disney?

[jessie31383]

So I want to make sure we are taking enough money with us. We do not do credit cards at all. We are planning on taking $3000 with us but we are driving and stopping in Destin for 2 nights. So we are using part of money for our hotel in Destin and gas and so on. So I figure we will have approx. $1500 to use at WDW. We are a family of 4 and staying 5 days. We did the dining plan. We are planning on paying for 1 meal out of pocket and we are doing the boutique for both girls but doing the cheapest package as I already bought their dresses. Do you think we will have enough or do I really need to try to take more and if so how much? I don't think we want to go overboard but I don't want to worry about having enough to buy something if the girls want it. It is our first trip and I don't know that we will ever go back. We also have the disney debit card to give discounts.

So how much have you spent while there on average?

 

[DvF Diva]

I think you have enough money, though I don't know the price of basic package at BBB.

For comparison:
We stay in the villas and eat our breakfasts there, as well as keep our villas stocked with snacks and water to take to the parks.
We pay for a few additional snacks (ice cream, popcorn), and most lunches and dinners out of pocket.
I have a little one who is not bad about asking for souvenirs, so we may spend a total of $75 for the whole trip (and that would cover balloons, stuffed toys, one big ticket item for taking home). I always use the logic that our suitcases are too full for bigger/more things, but if you're driving, you may not be able to use that excuse.
With all that, we have been averaging $70 per person per day.

For you:
Your costs should be much lower since you're on dining plan; lunch and dinner alone were are about $50 per day for us. So yes, we're taking about $20 per person per day in costs that are not lunch or dinner.
So let's say that you use about half of what we did for meals ($25) on top of the $20, that's $45 per day for you.

Your $1500 covers 5 days, that's $300 a day or $75 per person per day.

I feel that would be more than enough to cover the OOP 1 meal (as long as you're not eating at a fancy Signature or pricier TS for those meals), extra snacks, souvenirs, BBB and even a splurge like a photo package.

One idea to help keep the kids spending in check is to give them a set dollar amount in Disney GCs (say $100) which they can use on whatever they want. And once its gone, its gone.
You can decide that while snacks are not part of that $100, perhaps candy (like souvenir lollipops) would have to be on their GCs.
If you have very young ones, two $50 GCs (one given at beginning of trip, one part way thru) might be easier to manage.

Have a lovely time!!

 

[supermom0726]

I think you'll be fine. The past few visits, we've allotted our two girls $25 per day. Some days they may spend a few dollars less, some a few more. But it ends up being plenty and they get LOADS of stuff! When we go, we want to be able to splurge, and our kids seem to be able to do that with only spending that amount. Now I will say on our very first trip, my girls were 3 and 8 and we did spend close to $2000 even with our meal plan. But we were there for 7 days, and they wanted almost everything they saw. Lol We learned to set somewhat of a limit after that time! I say stick with a similar limit for your girls, and at the end of your trip, if you have extra, go buy them something super special on their last night like the castle play set they sell in the gift shops! We did that on our second trip because our girls hadn't really spent very much of their souvenir money and they still talk about how fun that was to be surprised with that! And fyi, we've done all of the diff BBB packages, and have been just as happy doing the cheapest and bringing our own costumes! The kids always want to take them off anyway! One time we got my younger one a yellow puffy pageant dress on sale and glued a Belle pendant on where a flower previously was. She got SO many compliments that time and her costume was way more beautiful than the ones you get with the $200 package! ;-) I'd say a lot yourself $50 per day for incidentals like meal tips, extra snacks, etc. That should be more than enough IMO. I think you've chosen a very comfortable amount to bring, one that I'd be ok with too. But Disney is so very magical, no matter how much you spend! I hope you guys have the most wonderful time!!

 

[supermom0726]

Oh and one more thing. If you're planning on paying for the one meal each day because you think you may need 3 meals a day, you might just be surprised. My family loves to eat.. But the meal portions at Disney are pretty big! We rarely eat more than our 2 meals per day! We bring fruit snacks etc for our room and occasionally order pizza late at night to the resort hotel, but the meals we do eat are super filling. Sometimes for a light lunch the 4 of us would split two quick service meals like chicken strips etc. Not to save money either, just because it's really a lot of food!!!

 

[yaddakal]

You will be fine;-)

 

[Tunseeker1]

You didn't mention the ages of the girls, but if they are old enough to understand money then give each $50 in small bills for the I want that moments, and concentrate on the special things you can only get at the world to buy