How much spending money would you bring?

[MolonLabe]

That's hard to say. The most important thing to do is try and buy at the end of the trip where possible.

i.e. if you see something you really like at MK on day one and know you'll be back on day six, wait until day six. That said, if it's a limited hand crafted item in Mexico at Epcot, buy it that day of course. Waiting also helps to know if you want something better later on... of course you can always return what you bought later in the week for that better thing if you want, provided it's still new with tags on.

Buy smart. Do you *really* want that $65 Mickey sweat shirt? Think long term as well. How much use / wear will you get out of it? Would you rather buy a $65 crystal mickey cube or statue that will last you the rest of your life and sit on your desk / mantle to be enjoyed every day? Not saying if someone buys a $65 WDW sweat shirt they aren't smart but it's something I wouldn't wear outside of WDW even though I love WDW and Mickey. I would wear a MM tie, the one with that you don't realize it's covered in hidden mickey heads unless you are looking for them. Even then, I rarely wear a tie anymore. It's 2016 after all, lol.

There are some really cool things in the parks but thanks to the disney parks app, you can find a lot of them and plan ahead for what you might be facing. That's where I'd start. Also, I'd recommend a "long term" keep sake since this is a big trip for you. Something that will last and has minimal risk of being damaged / worn out. Arrabas brothers glass (in MK, Epcot and the full store in Disney Springs) is amazing and their crystal figures, cubes and other items will last a VERY long time provided they don't get dropped. Also check out the Disney Gallery / Art of Disney. Every time we go to Disney I get the girls a "trip item" I pick with them for "long term" memories they can look back on.. it's a family tradition I'm continuing. Snow globes empty eventually, especially the cheap plastic $10-20 ones. Getting a glass cube (on a budget) starting at $25 will last forever.

None of that was meant to say don't buy things you use / wear ect. ect. just have a plan and don't be looking back at the trip 10 years for now and everything is worn out / used up and all you have are some snap shots.

 

[TristiK]

Hi everyone! I'm planning my first life long dream trip to Walt Disney World from Australia, and was just wondering how much spending money is recommended? Im' not much of a rides person more of just a watcher of things. just wanted to know what people have roughly spent. My boyfriend and I are in our mid early 20's and it is just me and him we are going around roughly 18 May 2017 and staying for 6 days. (enough time for him to propose to me in front of the Castle) We will be visiting MK for most days and the other parks besides the water parks. Thanks everyone

We brought $300 per kid (they spent every penny! They got a lot of quality stuff for that though) and DH and I spent about $200 total.

 

[Accident]

I've had trips where I barely spent extra money and I've had trips where I can't believe how much I spent.. I've also had trips where suddenly there was something unexpected and I had to have a lot of money to deal with it (medical related).

If you go the let me try out all these snacks and little meals people talk about and your easily spending $100 each per day. If your in that mentality that this is that trip and only one it doesn't take much to start buying anything you pass by.. (also the shirt designs lately are pretty nice). If your a shopper, springs is going to suck you in. You'll probably wish you never step foot in the christmas stores in all the parks..

Generally I have about $500 a person per week with me and so far I've never gone over that and most of the time I don't even break $500 for all of us (2 adults, 1 being my daughter). That even includes suddenly wanting to do a second MNSSHP after we loved the first time or other unexpected splurges.. Now a trip we extended past a week that number still holds up but it was $1000 per person for the trip since it was almost 2 weeks. However that trip we also went a little crazy thinking it might actually be one of those last trips for a very long time. It was a yes week on almost anything that we suddenly wanted.

Now with that said and me being a local now, we'll easily drop $200-300 for a really nice dinner we didn't plan on doing to a few hours in the park where our mindset is already in spend mode from dinner and I'll come home scratching my head on where all the money went. It's very easy to get caught up in the moment and if you have it to spend, disney has a way to help you do that.

 

[melana]

My first trip I spent around 300 out of pocket. I had 450 in Disney Rewards that I used also. That was a 3.5 day trip. Most of that went for my niece and things she wanted.
On my second trip, which was a full 5 days, I spend around 300 total out of pocket. Did not buy as much and limited the spending of the 13 year old with me.
Third trip, I had about 500 bucks in gift cards and made it back with 125 left. That was a 6 day trip. Most of that was spent on food such as snacks and some extra dinners that we didn't want to use our dining credits on.

 

[wsssup]

Another thing to take into consideration is the Australian dollar. Its a price you pay for travelling to the great U.S.A.

Our December trip this year the Aussie Dollar will be around the .75usd mark. It wont be getting better anytime soon unfortunately.