How much spending money do you bring?

[JJ&JSMOM]

We leave for disney in 4 days and I am thinking of bringing $1000 in cash. The kids each have over $100 spending money saved. I've gone through our itinerary (we are on the ddp) and the only cash items I can see is tips for housekeeping & bell services, lunch and transportation to SeaWorld (bought tkts already) and occasional extra snack or drink. Maybe an occasional meal OOP for kids if they don't like their choices. I will have a cc with me just in case but would rathar not use it except for BBB.

Thanks for any opinions.

 

[robin714]

There's only me , dh and 13yo dd going. DH is only going for a week but me and dd will be there for 12nts. Everything is paid for and I already have tip & laundry money set aside. I was thinking of taking 1000.00 for spending but I'm afraid that might not be enough so will have debit and cc just in case.
Robin

 

[Manda]

We were there for 7 nights with two adults and one child on the DDP. I didn't bring any cash, but I charged extras to the room. We charged about $600 and that included a meal for 7 at Kona Cafe and lots of drinks from the bar. $1000 seems like it would be way more than enough.

 

[JJ&JSMOM]

Thanks for the replies. I'm glad to read that we should be ok. We'll have a cc just in case. Thanks again.

 

[elderfam]

That amount will be plenty. If you have any left over you can use it toward your next trip!
Have a wonderful trip!

 

[durango kid]

It's easy to spend in the parks, but it sounds like you are a responsible planner and have most likely set your limits already. If you are using a dining plan, then the $1000 is quite a lot. Most of our money is spent on dining and it can really add up, especially if you have a drink with dinner. $14.00 for one glass of wine is not uncommon...

 

[eliza61]

We leave for disney in 4 days and I am thinking of bringing $1000 in cash. The kids each have over $100 spending money saved. I've gone through our itinerary (we are on the ddp) and the only cash items I can see is tips for housekeeping & bell services, lunch and transportation to SeaWorld (bought tkts already) and occasional extra snack or drink. Maybe an occasional meal OOP for kids if they don't like their choices. I will have a cc with me just in case but would rathar not use it except for BBB.

Thanks for any opinions.

The only thing I'll add to the other posters wonderful advice is, if this is your first time I would budget for an extra souvenier or two. Our first few times we tended to purchase a sweat shirt or some things, especially at the gift shops from our favorite rides.

 

[JJ&JSMOM]

Thanks for the advice. I'm hoping to just buy the kids mickey ears, shirt or sweatshirt each (depending on there needs) and a balloon or something. Not to sound cheap but they can use their money for toys, etc. I feel much better know guys - thank you. Now if I could feel better about the weather that would be "icing on the cake." Actually it doesn't look bad just t-storms which I think is pretty normal this time of year.

 

[hddanis]

$1000 sounds reasonable, although I wouldn't take that much cash. I'd personally put it on gift cards. I HATE cash! (I only plan on taking $100 in cash and the rest on Gift Cards)

This is what I'm taking (for me, DD13, and DD10):

$100 each child (plus whatever they collect from bdays/christmas/allowance)
$200 for me for spending money
$50 for BBB (only 1 child getting basic package)
$40 for internet
$125-$250 for unexpected expenses
$25 for gas
$35 for tips (not dining)
$30 Meet admission (Wide World of Sports).

I looked at allearsnet's menus and to get a general idea of what we're going to spend on food from day to day and plugged that in to my spreadsheet. Right now our dining is about $800 and that includes breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack everyday for each of us. (we're not on the DDP, but I KNOW we won't spend that much! I tend to go overboard on the dining costs, but I'd rather overbudget than underbudget) I'd do that even if we were on the dining plan just to see what it looked like we'd spend OOP.

Have fun!

 

[bzzymom]

I used to always take $1000 in trav checks, but the last 2 trips, I have taken 2 pre paid $500 visa gift cards that I got from my credit union. $500 is the max we can have so that is why I get 2, I carry one an DH carries the other. It cost me $5 each card and I felt more comfortable with it. We have been with the dining plan too, and we used the card for wine and other things not on the plan. Plus, the extra's we do, like mini golf, for example. Plus there is money for shopping We have often not used up the cards, but we can use it at home. I usually finished them up at the grocery store.

 

[Honeymooner04]

There's no way I would feel comfortable carrying that much cash around. We usually take $200-$300 split between my dh and I for snacks at vendors, tips, etc. and just put everything else on the credit card (to be paid off when the bill comes). And we also have our Disney dollars from the Disney Visa so we pay for much of our dining with that. We've never had a situation where we ran out of money and there are ATMs scattered around and while there would be an ATM fee I would rather pay that and have the peace of mind that I wasn't carrying around a grand.

 

[lori123]

We just got back from a 10 day stay - family of four. We had MORE than enough food on the dining plan - never once payed out of pocket for food and had 11 table service and 22 snacks left in the end. For souvineers, tips, pirate cruise, hairwrap, trading pins, internet - everything - we spent under $500. We just put money on our room card and used that to pay for everything. The only cash we brought were one's for tips.

 

[jimmiej]

We carry very little cash. For a week's stay, I'd probably take $200-300 cash. IMO, taking as much cash as you mentioned is dangerous. At the very least, have you considered traveler's checks? I've used those before, but frankly, they're a pain in the rear end! We just charge everything to the room. Are you staying at a Disney hotel? It's so easy that way. Keep up with your receipts so you know how much you're spending. When you get your credit card bill, it's one charge from WDW. Pay it off & you're set!

 

[mickeylove2]

This is our first trip DH, me, DD6, & DD4, we are not on the dining plan and are staying offsite. We will be there for 7 days, already have our park tickets, MNSSHP tickets, and Sea World tickets. We're staying at a time share, so there's nothing that we are going to have to pay for lodging. Each of the girls has $100 in Disney Dollars, and I was thinking of taking $2500. What do you guys think? (I don't want to be cheap so I do plan on buying pins and other souvenirs.) All we need to pay for is food and misc. items. We plan on eating b-fast in the room and taking snacks into the parks. We plan on only buying lunch, and a dinner here and there. We are going to try to eat dinner in our room- but may want to treat ourselves maybe 3 or 4 times. Do you think $2500 is way too much or not enough?

 

[JJ&JSMOM]

I guess I should have clarified that I have $1000 saved for spending money but I'm only bringing $200-250 initially. I'll use my ATM/debit card to access my money once we're there. I do need to keep out some cash for the airport & gratuity for mousekeeping/bell services.

 

[JJ&JSMOM]

This is our first trip DH, me, DD6, & DD4, we are not on the dining plan and are staying offsite. We will be there for 7 days, already have our park tickets, MNSSHP tickets, and Sea World tickets. We're staying at a time share, so there's nothing that we are going to have to pay for lodging. Each of the girls has $100 in Disney Dollars, and I was thinking of taking $2500. What do you guys think? (I don't want to be cheap so I do plan on buying pins and other souvenirs.) All we need to pay for is food and misc. items. We plan on eating b-fast in the room and taking snacks into the parks. We plan on only buying lunch, and a dinner here and there. We are going to try to eat dinner in our room- but may want to treat ourselves maybe 3 or 4 times. Do you think $2500 is way too much or not enough?

IMO I think it depends on whether thats in cash or you have access through debit/atm card. I wouldn't bring that much cash w/you but I think having as much money available to you as you can is a good idea. I think thats a good amount considering you have to pay for your meals for 4 people. If you don't use it - you can put it towards something else when you get home. For me - being so far from home I try to have as much access to money as possible - whether its a cc, debit card or cash. Have fun.

 

[SusanMomOf2]

I'm going to try to stick to $500... but I will stay under a thousand. We are staying 4 nights and have no ADRs... I don't plan on buying a lot since I bought a lot last year and blew up the bank and credit card accounts. Bad, bad Susan. I'm on a short leash this year, haha.

And oh my gosh, I've never done this before, but after reading through this post, I've decided to give my DD7 $100 in Disney Dollars. Too cool! She's old enough to know how money works, and she won't be bugging me for things... she'll make the decision! Oh, I'm so excited now... off to search for Disney Dollars!

 

[dhardawa]

I'm taking $100 cash. I will charge everything while I'm there (and pay it off when I return) and will probably have $50 cash left over!