how much extra spending cash?

[decbysteph]

This is our first trip to WDW, actually first family trip ever! My DH and DD5 and I are going in early December, and my lovely sister has paid for almost the whole trip for us. We have the MYW with the DP, and are staying at BCV for 4 nights and 1 night at AKL.
I'm curious as to what "extra's" we might need/want to buy. We will be doing the magical express to/from airport. We are leaving DS1 at home with Grandma, so I'll be looking for something to bring home for them. What other things are kind of a "must have" for my daughter. I'm hoping the whole experience will be enough for her, since we don't even spend money to go to movies or eat out hardly ever! I've heard about autograph books, where do I get them, and what are the cost?
Any thoughts or tips are appreciated!!! (My husband HATES to spend money, and actually thinks this entire trip is a waste. Any vacation time he uses usually ends with us freezing some kind of meat! Yes he is a hunter.) Thanks!!

 

[jngwright]

Since we have the dining plan, I am not bringing much cash. I have $200 dream reward dollars from my Disney Visa and $200 in Disney dollars. I made autograph books for my 4 year old boys from Disney scrapbook paper and contact paper for a cover and back. From what I have read on these boards, people with the dining plan staying on property use as little as $10/day for a family of 4....
I will have our credit card for back up, but can't imagine we'll need much spending money. Have a great trip and I hope your husband catches the magic!!

 

[Disney4Drew]

First of all, have a GREAT trip!

I'm taking 250.00 in Disney gift cards (thanks to Sunshine Rewards), 25.00 in Disney Visa Rewards, and 100.00 in Disney dollars (these are for DS to use). I will be taking some cash as well, but I am going to try hard not to spend a whole lot of it. I'm sure you could get by with a couple hundred dollars.

 

[AmyBWV99]

I guess we're in the minority. We just got back from the world on Sat (Oct 21) for a 4 day trip and spent a total of $3,100. Breakdown is:

Airfare: $380
Annual Pass: $353
MNSSHP Tix: $90
Car: $143 (minivan from Budget)
DDE Card: $60
Room (AKL): $740 (AP std view room, upgraded to savannah view)
Spending Money: $1,300 (approx - overspent, as usual - mostly on food and drinks)

The absolute easiest place to save money is food and drink. Drinks start at $5.50 for a 12 oz beer and go up from there. TS meals tend to get away from us and end up costing more. We went with a group (5 adults) and probably could have saved $200 or so on drinks alone.

 

[brocklesnar69]

It's just my GF and me for 12 days. I plan on taking $1,500.00 and she plans on taking around $400.00. So we should be good.

 

[disneymoss]

This is our first trip to WDW, actually first family trip ever! My DH and DD5 and I are going in early December, and my lovely sister has paid for almost the whole trip for us. We have the MYW with the DP, and are staying at BCV for 4 nights and 1 night at AKL.
I'm curious as to what "extra's" we might need/want to buy. We will be doing the magical express to/from airport. We are leaving DS1 at home with Grandma, so I'll be looking for something to bring home for them. What other things are kind of a "must have" for my daughter. I'm hoping the whole experience will be enough for her, since we don't even spend money to go to movies or eat out hardly ever! I've heard about autograph books, where do I get them, and what are the cost?
Any thoughts or tips are appreciated!!! (My husband HATES to spend money, and actually thinks this entire trip is a waste. Any vacation time he uses usually ends with us freezing some kind of meat! Yes he is a hunter.) Thanks!!

I've never gone either, our first family WDW trip will be in 26 more days. According to a bunch of my friends who are frequent visitors, if you have the dining plan you won't need money for any food at all. My DH and I don't agree on how much money to take. I think $500 is more than enough since we are on dining plan and don't plan on doing anything extra and he thinks we should bring $1000. My take is the more you bring the more you may spend. All we need is money for souviners and trinkets and PhotoPass CD.

Hope this helps!

 

[mickeysgirl17]

I'm on the dining plan too, so I'm only worried about gas money to drive and spending money. I plan to take around $400-$600.

 

[civileng68]

Well just so you know, if you are on a tighter budget you can still have fun. My wife and I go quite often so we at least try to make it as cheap as possible.

Here's how we typically break it down (per person).

Eat a hotel breakfast or very light breakfast (not big breakfast eaters here): <$5

We drink water from the park's fountains but, maybe we buy a bottle to start the day so that we can refill it. $2.50 (roughly).

I have to have a mid-day snack in park $3.50

Lunch typically at a counter service restaraunt $10.00
*We may do lunch at the Plaza at MK: $15.00

A mid afternoon snack (or leave the park for a break and get something at Chick Fil-A $7.00

Dinner (typically we try to do counter service) $10.00
*We may do the Plaza at MK: $15.00
*We may do the Liberty Tree or something like that on occassion $30.00


That's it! That's all we spend in a day.

I know some think that is outrageous but, people don't realize how little you actually can spend during a day. You have to realize that some are not on a huge vacation (we go monthly almost) and we try to make it simple each time we go.

So with those totals, we can spend a day at the parks for around $38.00 per day, per person. We can even go cheaper but, this is about it. We have gone for about $20.00 per day per person and are happy with that as well.

 

[disneymoss]

That's a good plan civileng68. If I weren't on the dining plan that's what I would do. The only reason I have the dining plan is because this is our first trip and I wanted to have Character Meals, which I have researched and found that an adult buffet is almost $30 per person. DH and DS9 can eat a good bit so this was the best bet for me to get in my character meals and let them eat as much as they wanted to.

 

[northie]

Because we have the dining plan I won't take as much as last time, but I plan on doing some Christmas shopping there besides the normal stuff I buy for people. I also will upgrade my 8 day park hopper to an annual pass and purchase an 8 day ph for my mom for our April trip. So I reckon I will take about $1500. But I always do that...take a lot more than I need, and then it's kind of a game to see how much I can come back with!

Sara

 

[mickeyluv'r]

It all depends....really. WDW is great in that you can spend very little and still have a great time...conversely, if you have LOTS of money to spend, WDW has a myriad of ways for you to spend it. There's even several art stores where you can drop thousands in a single transaction!

So let me give you a few strategic pointers....

If you've got the dining plan, and you stick with it, it will probably be plenty of food to keep you full. On the other hand, I wouldn't rule out the idea of a few snacks along the way. It's a lot of fun to get one snack and share it, just to get a taste of something.

If you use your QS credit for breakfast, then the snack at lunch, then the TS for dinner, you might still end up wanting a small snack in the afternoon sometime, espcially if you're on the go a lot. We also always plan on havig at least some bottled water with us. Florida tap water isn't the best, and if you've got a bottle of water handy, it's just much easier to remember to stay properly hydrated. If you get dehydrated, that's when you get tired and sick.

You can have water delivered from Staples for $6.50 a case. It's a great deal, esp. copared to buying it in the parks. There are a number of threads here on the DIS on how to do it.

I would think that since it is your first trip, there are some small things that really make a kid's first trip magical - an ears hat, a stuffed Mickey (or some other character), and the autograph book are special. If you really want to make your own autograph book at home, you could do that also. It would be less money, personalized, and lots of other folks do it too...but then having an official book is nice too. I think the pen and book together cost about $12. Mickey ears are about $12 - personalized. Stuffed animals - the tiny ones, start around six dollars, but an average sized one is probably more like $10 - 15.

If you want to avoid spending a lot, go through the gift stores at the end of each ride quickly. Stop to look at the cool pirate gear, and you're sunk! If you simply avoid the other gift shops, you won't be tempted. On the other hand, if your sister goes in, it will be harder for you.

On the other hand, getting DH a pirate t-shirt to wear might be just the thing to put him in the right frame of mind. Some people find their daughter's reaction to their first princess doll priceless, others cringe at the idea, so it's hard to say without knowing your family.

Our family goes with the 'buy your kids something they really like the first day, and then they don't nag for more' strategy. Okay, so they still want a few things, but for our family it's worse if they are given a strict budget and then reminded everytime they look at something "Once you spend your money, it will be gone. Are you SURE you want that?" strategy. Other folks find that giving the kids a set spending limit works better for them.

If you have your own camera - esp if it's digital - you odn't need to buy the Phtotpass CD, just tke your own photos with the characters. The CM's will be happy to help. Even lots of the photographers will snap a shot for you.

 

[Luv2Roam]

Follow that old saying -- Take half as much luggage and twice as much cash as you plan, and you will do fine.
I always had it backwards too.

 

[disneynewbee]

We plan on taking $150 per day which comes out to be $30 per person per day. If they want any drinks or snacks above what is already covered by the dining plan they must use this money and the rest is for whatever they want to do with it.

 

[brytorlyn]

We went last year with DD4 and we found that we didn't spend anything extra on food outside the dining plan. Sometimes at breakfast we ordered 1 CS and supplemented it with things from home that we brought ( yogurt, cheese, crackers, fruit, juice etc) and then shared the other CS credits at lunch between the 3 of us (DD isn't a big eater...more of a grazer who snacked between rides).

As for the souvenirs, we bought very little. We picked up a castle but that wasn't a souvenir that was a one time Xmas gift. We had a Pal Mickey from a previous trip that we brought along. We did buy a Princess balloon. This year I plan to spend less. As you said...the trip is already a big treat and if you take pictures that will make great souvenirs.

Another tip is to bring "Disney" souvenirs from home. Last year we bought some princess storybooks from the grocery store ( 10 books and a poster and a princess pin for about $40-$50 ) and opened them as a surprise for DD and read them before bed every night on the trip. We also surprised her with a really cute princess dress for a character dinner that I bought, again at the grocery store, for $25. We will bring light up necklaces from the dollar store this year for a treat at the evening fireworks.

Memories of time spent together at Disney and pictures are the best souvenirs. We have 3 kids but last year and this year we are travelling only with the youngest ( DS is in University and can't miss exams and other DD is in high school and really can't afford to miss a week) so we feel that our time on this trip is really devoted to DD5 ...she is the centre of attention for the week and paying out for alot of souvenirs and trinkets seems unnecessary.

 

[minnierocks]

The food that will be covered by the DP is a LOT of food!
You will need very little for additional food (an extra drink or two).

It really depends on what you want to spend on souvenirs. T-Shirts will be $20/each...sweatshirts $35...
Do you want to buy lots of things, take lots of $$
If you want a few keepsakes, then you will need very little

If you want a special experience for your DD...take her to the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique and let them transform her into a princess!!!

What a wonderful gift from your sister! Go and enjoy and remember at Disney World, the magic is just BEING there!
Anything else is icing on the cake!!!

Have a great trip!!!

 

[disneypookies]

My first visit was so unorganized as far as spending money goes.... We left disney backed up 1 grand... in food, room service, souvenires, and pictures.. Mostly pictures since we practically bought every photo the CM's took of us at the end of the day heh. (Over the course of a weekend unfortunately. )

Not to hijack the thread or anything but just a quick question. What is Disney Visa Rewards? Very interested!

 

[decbysteph]

Thank you all for your input!! I love the idea of bringing some new things bought before the trip for DD, like a new little book to read at bedtime every night, she'll love that!! She might like to make her autograph book at home too. We do plan on bringing some cereal and oatmeal with us, so just need to pick up some milk and stuff when we first arrive. My daughter really wants to go to the Wonderland Tea Party, so we told her that will be an early Christmas present from us. And we want an adult evening one night, so we'll have money set aside for the Kids Klub. My DH actually said he thought we should all get Micky ears there, is he softening up to the idea now?!!? Yay!! I guess I'm going to plan on $30 a day, since we shouldn't need to spend any $ on food. Thanks again everyone~

 

[Luv4Disney]

DF has already set aside $1000 for a 6 day trip. But we have the DDP for the first time! I don't know what he's planning on buying, but I think he's nuts! All I wanted was some Christmas labels and maybe the Mickey ice cube tray! Maybe he's planning on some jewelry?

 

[DizziDezi2]

Geez- I spent a lot. Oh well! Totally worth it!
(all taxes included!)

Airfare: $630.00
Hotel: $1,100.00
Car Rental: $ 205.00 (economy- under 25 rate!)
Food Money: $640.00 (Rachel Ray style - $40.00 a day. I figure we wont eat every single morning- and plan on buying beer and stuff for our hotel room)
That leaves about $425.00 for spending money.

Oops- lets add Dis tickets- $580.00
and Universal Tickets- $180.00

 

[LoriMistress]

I think it all depends on how many people are going and how much you're spending on food. DH and I for our last trip we had $700 to our name that had to last us for a week. We really didn't get any suvineers and our last $20 we used our money at the Disney Store at a Houston airport. This time we're staying at the parks for ten days so we definately have to save much more money for our upcoming trip. We plan to eat at the parks at least twice a day.