How much spending money?

[proud mom]

This trip will be my 22 year old daughter and I at Disneyland. I'm trying to figure out spending money for the two of us for 4 days in the parks.

I have $450 in Disney gift cards put away already and I can add another $75 in gift cards to it.

My conundrum is I don't want to have too much money but I also don't want to have too little. We probably will not do sit-down meals except for perhaps something at the Carthay theater Lounge or perhaps the Napa Grill Lounge both of those for apps and a drink.

Aside from that will probably do mostly counter service and the booths at the Food and Wine Festival.

Any thoughts?

I know this was a silly question I'm half thinking I just wanted to hear myself talking out loud.

Thanks!

 

[MickeyMouseCD524]

My family always did enough money for food and one souvenir per person per day.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Review the menus on the website and write down the prices of what you will most likely order. Don't forget taxes and tips. That can give you a rough outline for your budget. Fwiw Plaza Inn's fried chicken can be split between two people if that's on your radar.

 

[MikeNamez]

You can never have too much money on you. I usually stick with $300 a day for 2 adults. That's more than enough for breakfast or lunch, a snack, a few drinks during the day and a nice dinner with some boose.

2 of you for 4 days. like 1000$ is reasonable.

 

[DLgal]

The food and wine festival booths are $$$. It's easy to spend $100 between 2 people in a couple of hours on the booths.

I would say $150/day will be a good amount.

 

[Darcy03231]

I usually plan $100/pp per day for meals/drinks/snacks, etc. Some days it's more and others less, but that's generally what it averages out to.

Souvenirs depend on what you like to buy. Some people will only get a pin for less then $10 for their entire trip and others (like me) like more expensive things like the Pandora charms, Dooney & Bourke handbags, etc., and end up spending a significant amount of money.

 

[mini22]

I usually plan $100/pp per day for meals/drinks/snacks, etc. Some days it's more and others less, but that's generally what it averages out to.

Souvenirs depend on what you like to buy. Some people will only get a pin for less then $10 for their entire trip and others (like me) like more expensive things like the Pandora charms, Dooney & Bourke handbags, etc., and end up spending a significant amount of money.

My daughter and I generally budget around $100.00 a day for food, drinks(soda) and snacks if we are not doing any table service meals. We don't usually do the food and wine but I would say that most items average between $6.00-$8.00 each.Don't forget that these are just a small portion and not enough for a meal.
What you spend on souvenirs is of course a very personal choice. Like Darcy03231 Pandora beads and Dooney&Bourke purses get me every time!

 

[mini22]

My daughter and I generally budget around $100.00 a day for food, drinks(soda) and snacks if we are not doing any table service meals. We don't usually do the food and wine but I would say that most items average between $6.00-$8.00 each.Don't forget that these are just a small portion and not enough for a meal.
What you spend on souvenirs is of course a very personal choice. Like Darcy03231 Pandora beads and Dooney&Bourke purses get me every time!

Sorry,I did not mean to quote Darcy03231. Thats why I don't usually post much even though I am here reading almost daily for almost 15 years! LOL! Looks like this is going to be a quote again but I can't figure out how to just write a reply. I just clicked on "reply."

 

[mini22]

Oh! I see it now. LOL!!!!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Oh! I see it now. LOL!!!!

You can also go back to your own posts and click the edit button and delete/add if you want. I'm not trying to persuade you to, only saying it's there for future reference.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We usually figure $100 pp/day for food. We rarely buy souvenirs only because we've been there enough times there's only so much 'stuff' I can find a use for. In our early days we figured about $50 pp for souvenirs which is probably more like $75 pp today.

 

[Dsny4fun]

You can never have too much money on you. I usually stick with $300 a day for 2 adults. That's more than enough for breakfast or lunch, a snack, a few drinks during the day and a nice dinner with some boose.

2 of you for 4 days. like 1000$ is reasonable.

I too budget for $300 per day for 2 adults, Usually 2 sit down meals, a snack, maybe a drink, a few souvenir's. Some days we spent less, some days more

 

[MikeNamez]

I too budget for $300 per day for 2 adults, Usually 2 sit down meals, a snack, maybe a drink, a few souvenir's. Some days we spent less, some days more

I do the same, some days less, some more. That actually really works well because whatever i have left gets carried over to the next day and so on. Sometimes i come back with a lot more than i thought i was going to and never at any time do i feel like i don't have enough on me.

 

[SharonZ]

I would budget $1,000.

 

[CHEMISTSP]

I always go to Disney with a meal plan and figure about $200 a day for expenditures beyond that for souvenirs and such. I am fortunate to have kids that do not ask for a lot of stuff, so I try to make Disney a trip that is filled with Yes's for things they want.

 

[KellyHonos]

What I do is I look on the Shop Parks app and see what souvenirs look good to me. I'm not big on tshirts on hoodies, I'm more into the Pandora charms and alex and ani bangles because they are still special and usable through weight loss and weight gain, plus the clothing in the parks are so incredibly over priced. Look to see the type of souvenirs that look good and budget for those. Also, any alcoholic beverages you may want to get. If you drink, you may want one a day. You may only want one your whole trip. It depends and varies from person to person. Also, I tip at every TS and I tip the housekeepers ($5 a day). I think you just have to realistically look at what peaks your interest and then add those totals up and then add in tips and then maybe another hundred or so for wiggle room.

 

[Auroraborealis18]

Our trip is in less than 4 weeks. We're a woman, tween boy and preschool child. The kids don't ask for much and I rarely treat myself. I'm also on a budget. What should we plan on for a 6 nights and 7 days stay?

 

[KellyHonos]

Our trip is in less than 4 weeks. We're a woman, tween boy and preschool child. The kids don't ask for much and I rarely treat myself. I'm also on a budget. What should we plan on for a 6 nights and 7 days stay?

Are you asking what you should plan on in terms of money? or in general?

 

[Auroraborealis18]

Are you asking what you should plan on in terms of money? or in general?

I should have written that better. I was wondering what I should take with us to Disney, for meals, incidentals like travel, and souvenirs etc?

 

[KellyHonos]

I should have written that better. I was wondering what I should take with us to Disney, for meals, incidentals like travel, and souvenirs etc?

In my opinion, doing some research on the shop parks website, looking into the restaurants youll be eating at, and adding in some wiggle room would best help you answer this question. For example, I will tell you how I set my spending money/tip money/wiggle room money...

Spending money:
-I know I will want some a charm or 2 from pandora. The cheapest charm I like is $50. The most expensive one I like is $95. I budget about $150 for that.
-I know I will want a mickey and minnie bag from Vera Bradley. Depending on what my options are, we're looking at $50-$150., so I budget in the highest possible cost so I'm prepared.
-I know I may want a couple alex and ani bangles. Each one runs at about $44. I budget about $90 for this.
-I know that cocktails run between $10 $15 depending where you order it from. I suspect I will order about 3 or 4 during my trip. I budget $60 for this expense.
-I want a magic keeper, priced at $13, so I add that on.
-I tack on another $100 for various things I may see; hoodies, hats, beach towels, etc.
-I know I will have to pay for one meal OOP, for I'm estimating that at $50.
That totals to +/-$613.

Tips:
-Each dinner will run between $50 and $75, which means a 20% tip each night will run me about $10-15 a night. Preparing for the highest possible cost, I budget in $15 a night. $105
-I leave a few bucks (typically it's easier to just leave a $5) for mousekeeping. $5 a day runs me at $35.
-I tip a couple bucks to people who help me with my bags at the air port and resort. I bring a stack of singles ($20 or so) so I budget that in.
That totals to +/- $160.

These combined totals come to $773 and I originally already wrote in my Disney plans to bring about $800, so my guess was pretty close. You of course can go to Disney without spending $800. Some people go to Disney and spend thousands. It really just depends. You also have to keep in mind that taxes will be applied, changing the prices of things slightly. It's always better to over estimate versus under estimate. You'd rather have too much money rather than not enough.