How much extra money to take?????

[KAMKIM]

I have a question, we are going to POP Aug 6th 2009 - Aug 13th we are on the dining plan, and all tickets/hotel/airfare are paid for now - how much extra money should I take? We are not fancy pants kind of people so I dont expect to be spending hundreds on souvenirs, but here is what I figured

DD will be turning 5 the day we arrive so she is due to get a gift card for her birthday, I am including this in her souvenir money so its even between the two girls...they each get $100 for spending money so total $140 out of pocket

Probably $100 for gratuities (I prob spelled that wrong forgive me) is this enough? We have 7 TS meals which I was told will have the 18% added because we are a party of 6 total so i figured average $15 per meal for grat?

Dinner at TREX I checked their menu and figure this will be about $80 including tax and tip...so total $320

Now I plan on bringing water bottles and koolaid packets to drink during the day so that is covered....I'm considering buying the souvenir cups at the hotel as well so that is another $52 or so for 4 cups? TOTAL 375. I planned on bringing 700 so that leaves 325 for unexpected expenses. Will that be enough?

I'm not a big souvenir person and would be happy to get a magnet, hoodie, and keychain.

 

[KAMKIM]

I know you can see in my signature but probably should have given more information, it will be me, DH, DD 8 and DD 4 (well technically she'll be 5 when we go)

If the girls each have $100 is that enough for ears autograph book hoodie and maybe a little toy or two? Should I give them more/less?

 

[Tink-aholic]

Will you and/or DH be drinking any alcohol on your trip? Drinks are good in Disney, but expensive. Also, we go frequently and always seem to take a lot of cabs, which adds up. Just thinking about possibilities.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[KAMKIM]

No we dont drink alcohol and will be staying on property only and using the buses - so do you think the $300 extra will be okay? i'm not really sure what I'm expecting to happen but my fear is - I take too much and spend it all, I take too little and end up broke the first day.

 

[cheap traveler]

Looks to me like you have done your homework. That is how I figure my cash budget also. Just don't forget that the dining plan covers two meals per day. I usually bring money for a few breakfasts, and also bring easy things to eat in the room. This way I am covered either way.

I think the souvenir money for the girls is more than enough. My kids each got $40 last year (they were only 4&2) and will get around that this year. They are already conditioned at home that we don't buy all kinds of "extras," so it's no big deal for us.

Just remember to leave most of your money in the room someplace safe, like the safe
Don't want to carry it around every day.

Have a great trip!! We will be there starting the 19th

 

[KAMKIM]

Ah thanks for the input - since this is our first trip I figured I'd give them extra to buy things they will use on future trips - ears, hoodies (well as long as they fit in them anyways) and autograph books so hopefully when we go back I can cut their expenses in half and spend more on myself

I do like to be very specific when planning my budget especially with a trip in August I have to be careful because back to school shopping will be the week we get back I refuse to use credit cards on something like this.

 

[java]

How is it a party of 6 if it's you dh and your 2 daughters?

Just wanted to add that most table service meals for our party of 6 were pricey and the tip was closer to $25(And we didn't drink at dinner)

Oh and your 8 year old might enjoy Tren-D for shopping(My dd loved that store- cute tee shirts and pj's)

 

[powellrj]

I think you are a little under on your prices for your tips and meals. I am assuming you have 4 adults and 2 kids. I think I would take at least $500 just to be safe.

 

[Tink-aholic]

No we dont drink alcohol and will be staying on property only and using the buses - so do you think the $300 extra will be okay? i'm not really sure what I'm expecting to happen but my fear is - I take too much and spend it all, I take too little and end up broke the first day.

We always stay on property too and still manage to take a lot of cabs. Usually after a late ADR or late EMH, everyone would be too tired to wait the extra time for a bus when we could be back in our rooms in 15 minutes with a cab. I just mentioned it because you have little ones who might be tired and there are ALWAYS a line of cabs outside of most exits just waiting for someone to make the choice.

Hope you have a wonderful time!

 

[PattnFmly]

Just checked my spreadsheet to see what other expenses you might want to consider ...
1) Are you doing a meal like Chef Mickey's or Donalds? If so, you may want to budget in the photo pkg. We always get it whether we like the photos or not .. we're suckers that way!
2) Same idea but specifically the photo-ops at, like Splash Mtn, etc. Your girls are little and I'm not sure what rides you are planning on, but sometimes we buy these. Like my, very first, and very last, Expedition Everest ride! (No, I don't plan on ever doing that one again! Good thing I have the photo to prove I did it once! )
3) Mousekeeping tips? I actually put that as a line item in my overall budget.
Can't think of anything else specifically right now. Just wanted to point these out as the photos especially can be a drain on the "extra" cash when you weren't planning on spending it on photos! I'm just a sucker for those...I always want to buy them!

Have a great time on your trip! Relax and enjoy and have fun!

 

[KAMKIM]

Oops left out that detail - my mother and nephew are coming but she will be covering their own tips, we made all the dining reservations together (which is why they are going to charge us the 18% grat but we are all on a dining plan so they will figure our gratuities seperately.)

 

[KAMKIM]

Just checked my spreadsheet to see what other expenses you might want to consider ...
1) Are you doing a meal like Chef Mickey's or Donalds? If so, you may want to budget in the photo pkg. We always get it whether we like the photos or not .. we're suckers that way!
2) Same idea but specifically the photo-ops at, like Splash Mtn, etc. Your girls are little and I'm not sure what rides you are planning on, but sometimes we buy these. Like my, very first, and very last, Expedition Everest ride! (No, I don't plan on ever doing that one again! Good thing I have the photo to prove I did it once! )
3) Mousekeeping tips? I actually put that as a line item in my overall budget.
Can't think of anything else specifically right now. Just wanted to point these out as the photos especially can be a drain on the "extra" cash when you weren't planning on spending it on photos! I'm just a sucker for those...I always want to buy them!

Have a great time on your trip! Relax and enjoy and have fun!

Oh thank you I didn't even think about the photo op's we are having breakfast at Chef Mickeys so I will keep that in mind, I also forgot about mousekeeping tips - what is the going rate? couple bucks a day? My girls are chickens when it comes to rides though so I'm not worried abou those LOL

 

[VAN]

I think you have done a good job with your estimate. Glad to see that you are giving your children a set amount for souveniers ... probably more than I would have given them, but that's okay. As long as they know "when it's gone, it's gone."

Enjoy your trip!

 

[KAMKIM]

I think you have done a good job with your estimate. Glad to see that you are giving your children a set amount for souveniers ... probably more than I would have given them, but that's okay. As long as they know "when it's gone, it's gone."

Enjoy your trip!

I find it hard to tell my girls no sometimes but I've used the excuse that they will weigh our luggage to get back on the plane and if its over weight they make you leave it behind

 

[serene56]

I find it hard to tell my girls no sometimes but I've used the excuse that they will weigh our luggage to get back on the plane and if its over weight they make you leave it behind

I hope to use the excuse she wont be able to get on any more rides while carrying that--


My concern is the dining tip- is that 15.00 tip total for the whole meal?
I come up with a bigger amount for 6 of us

 

[KAMKIM]

I hope to use the excuse she wont be able to get on any more rides while carrying that--


My concern is the dining tip- is that 15.00 tip total for the whole meal?
I come up with a bigger amount for 6 of us

There is only 4 of us - my mom and nephew are going as well but she will be paying for their tips...I pretty much figured $80 per meal = about $15.00 at 18%. Should I figure $100 per meal for 4?

 

[MartinaC]

I read in another post that if you don't want to buy bottled water, you can get water from any counter service. Then you just have to carry your flavor packets to add. It saves the weight of carrying the bottles.
Just a thought.

 

[KAMKIM]

I read in another post that if you don't want to buy bottled water, you can get water from any counter service. Then you just have to carry your flavor packets to add. It saves the weight of carrying the bottles.
Just a thought.

awesome idea! I was going to buy the stainless steal water bottle bottles to reuse but didn't really want to carry them around all day.

 

[clarabell]

I would think you might want to add 10 - 25% to whatever hard number you get for incidentals. . .if you want to be sure you don't have to use a credit card. And then if you don't need the extra that's even better.

We're going the last week in July - a family of four staying at the value using disney transportation on the dining plan and I get $510. That's $140 for tips (I had looked at the menus of the places we had ADRs to figure the tips.). $140 for the kids ($10 a day per kid). $30 for a tshirt for my husband (he always likes to get one). $60.00 for the meal on the partial 8th day before we fly out. $140 for the little extra snacks, drinks, occasional breakfasts ($10 a day).

We've always done the $10 a day thing with the kids and if they spot a souvenier that's $20, we tell them that they'll have enough to get that one tomorrow because they can put the two $10's together. They're older now so they'll probably see the flaw in the logic, but it worked well when they were younger.

 

[serene56]

There is only 4 of us - my mom and nephew are going as well but she will be paying for their tips...I pretty much figured $80 per meal = about $15.00 at 18%. Should I figure $100 per meal for 4?

I didnt see the other people were paying their own. For our family of 6 i was coming up with 23.00 (those dollars can add up quickly)