How much spending money??

[brighteyes]

Since I have never been to DW I am wondering what is a decent amount of spending money to have for myself and my DS? What kind of souvenirs do they have there?

And I am assuming you have to pay duty on those once coming home?

Thanks again

Stephanie

 

[tobidisney]

YOu will not likely have to pay duty, if you are in the US for longer than 48 hours you are each allowed $200 in items.

For two poeople, I would plan on $100 a day ( including meals) and I would think that should be plenty.....for everything else....theres Mastercard.


tobi

 

[LdnCpl]

We just came back and took $1300.00 for souvenirs, food etc for 6 days. That was for 2 adults,1 teenage boy and a 2 year old. An idea of souvenirs..t-shirt $22.00 and zip up swearshirt $54.00. Buzz Lightyear doll $14.00. You can get low end stuff like we did or buy a crystal glass Cinderella carriage of thousands of dollars. Big or small, Disney has it all. Same goes for meals. You can have a $25.00 dinner or a $100.00 dinner-it's up to you. We took $150.00 to the parks and left the rest in the room safe. Kinda forced budgeting but it seems to work well for us. Also had room key allow for charges just in case Basic rule of thumb--take as much as you can afford to spend. We've done it on little money and made it work without feeling like our vacation is lacking.

Regarding duty...we told guard coming back we spent approx $500.00 on gifts and stuff and he didn't ask to see receipts. Just make sure any stuff you bring back you save the receipt for and have them ready just in case.

 

[yxe dad]

I budget about $40 for myself and about $30 for each DS 7,9 for each day. That is only for food, treats and buying souvenirs. I usually don't have to pull out the cards to cover anything more than that.
My boys don't walk by something and yell and scream until they get it. At the start of the trip I give them each about $12 out of the $30/day as there spending money. It really makes them think twice about all the little purchases and once it's gone, it's gone. Last trip we were gone for 13 days so they each got around $160. They did budget quite well and each had close to $90 left to do with what they wanted when we got home.
My future little DISers told me to keep the left over cash to put it towards their next WDW trip flights.
I can't wait to take them and show them our new home away from home, AKV!!
They wondered where i was for those few hours but they'll have to wait for a year or so to find out.

 

[Boncho]

When my son and I go, I take $100 a day for food (counter service),snacks and souveniers. My son also takes $20 a day of his own money he has saved.

 

[Marion]

Just in case anyone missed it:

http://www.ravenfox.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=1258853&pubid=533

Canada doubles 48-hour duty-free allowance
20-Mar-2007
Gavin Lipsith

Good news for Canada’s long-suffering border operators as the government doubles inbound allowances to C$400

The Canadian government has doubled the value of duty-free goods that travellers can bring back into the country after a trip of 48 hours or more, effective from today. The move, announced as part of the country’s budget yesterday (March 19), will raise the allowance to C$400 ($338.98) in its first increase since 1995.

The move will be welcomed by Canada’s border duty-free industry, which has suffered a continuous decline in sales since 2002 as a result of several adverse factors including SARS, increased border security and a tax on tobacco exports.

The government said it hoped to make crossing the border more convenient for passengers and to reduce processing times at border security points.

The allowances for 24-hour and 1-week visitors remain unchanged at C$50 ($42.37) and C$750 ($635.59) respectively, and liquor and tobacco allowances also stay the same.

 

[bdtracey]

DW and I usually plan on $100/day for the two of us. Last time it was a bit of overkill because we didn't buy very much....but this time we'll be buying more (or so I've been informed!).

We usually get most of the money in travellers cheques through CAA because their exchange rate is more reasonable on travellers cheques than cash. Last trip we didn't get charging privies put on our Key to the World which made budgeting a little easier. Plus, when we were at a few restaurants and ordered drinks that weren't covered by the dining plan they always tried to put the charges on our card but it didn't work. It was amazing how many little things they try to put onto your card.

I'm kind of hoping that we come back with some cash so that we can put it towards out next Disney trip...even though we're not sure if that'll happen before kids.