how much spending $ would you assume?

[momandseandodisney]

myself and my DS8 staying for 11 nights, 10 of which on the dinning plan.
going to a theme park (or 2 or 3 lol) each day.
How much would you bring with you cash?

thanks

 

[abe_bb]

Depends on how badly you want to spoil yourselves

When we go, if we have the dining plan, we do $200.00 per day plus an extra $500 for a "big item" (such as an Art of Disney print, a couple toys, if some place is having a big discount sale, etc). With that amount, we were able to spoil our daughter rotten, and still get the things we wante.d

 

[Boncho]

When I take my son (10 yo) I plan on $100 a day. A person could get along with alot less but this way I don't have to keep a running count of every dollar I spend. In the morning, I just take out my $100 for the day, and if I have any left at bedtime - O.K. and if I don't, that's O.K. too.

 

[Quinn222]

I don't have kids but my brother does and here's how he always did it when they went. He decided on an amount that each child would have for spending and made it clear to each on how much that was. When they got a bit older they got to carry their own money. They could buy whatever they wanted with that money but when it was gone, it was gone. Period.
It worked out really well. For a longer trip you could break it up into first part and second part if you've got one of those kids who will blow every penny the first day. That way they knew exactly what they would be spending.

 

[JulieNMM]

We just came back from a week at WDW and we took $250 cash (made a few trips to the ATM for that) and paid for everything else on the card (my Visa debit card). I tried to use cash only for things that required cash, such as snacks, parking, etc. When I bought souveniers, I used the card. When I bought food, I used the card. When I paid for the stroller, I used the card. You get the idea.

We spent $10 a day for parking, about $25 a day on snacks (water, ice cream, etc), $150 a day on food (usually one nice restaurant and one counter service place), and $75 a day on toys for the kiddies (hey, we're on vacation, right?), plus maybe another $50 a day for "other" (I have no idea what this is but there seemed to be plenty of it!).

HTH!
JULIE
PS We are 2 adults, DS6, and DD4.

 

[momandseandodisney]

We spent $10 a day for parking, about $25 a day on snacks (water, ice cream, etc), $150 a day on food (usually one nice restaurant and one counter service place), and $75 a day on toys for the kiddies (hey, we're on vacation, right?), plus maybe another $50 a day for "other" (I have no idea what this is but there seemed to be plenty of it!).

HTH!
JULIE
PS We are 2 adults, DS6, and DD4.

Well staying on site, using WDW trans. so no parking $ - snacks are incl. on the plan, might need a few more - but . . .

I can save the $ on meals since on dinnning plan $75 per day on todays seems like alot in my case lol. I will not be buying $750+ for my 11 night vacation.
So I was thinking on bringing $750 cash, and my ATM card - will that do?

 

[momandseandodisney]

When I take my son (10 yo) I plan on $100 a day. A person could get along with alot less but this way I don't have to keep a running count of every dollar I spend. In the morning, I just take out my $100 for the day, and if I have any left at bedtime - O.K. and if I don't, that's O.K. too.

that $100 is that with or without dinning plan?

 

[wecroozin]

When my wife and I go to the World it's always for a full 8 days. We never had the dining plan so we fend for ourselves for eating every day. We usually grab something easy to eat from the resort in the morning(fruit, bagel, etc) and we will normally snack throughout the day as we go. Hardly ever stop for lunch. We always have a sit down dinner at a restaurant in one of the parks or DTD every evening. So as far as what we normally spend I have the practice of taking 100 bux with me each morning we leave the room and I do not carry my Visa debit card until the last 2 or 3 days of our trip. Most days when I count up what's left over I usually have 25-30 bux leftover in cash in my pocket which stays in there for the next day when I add another 100 leaving the resort in the morning. SO at the end of the wqeek we usually end up with about an extra 200 or so we didn't spend for dining and that goes toward our big special purchase at the end of the week. We keep 500 aside on the debit card for the final shopping days of our trip so we make our large purchase and still have about 200 for clothes or other trinkets we would want.
This works great for us. Just stick to a plan and it will work out at the end of your trip. We usually have a $2000 kitty when we leave and have yet to come home with less then 400 bux which is always good to use to re-book your next trip.

Sorry so long but like Boncho said set an amount for each day and stick to it, then shop towards the end of your trip after looking around for what you really want to have for keepsakes all week. Works the best for us.

PS...we have no children so for some 100 bux a day may not cut it. This is just for my wife and I.

 

[MissionMouse]

You can consider spending a wide range of funds per day, but the bottom line is expect to want to spend more than you planned when you are actually there and get caught up in something that really makes a connection with a member of your family.

You can't replace memories, so we always set a limit and then a contingent reserve for spontaneous activities which create very memorable moments...and photos.

 

[Disneymucks]

This thread is hilarious to me cause when i was younger my parents could stretch money for anything. I swear my parents could take us for $10 a day LOL!!!!!!!!!!Now that i'm older me and my wife go over board and when we went we budgeted $200 a day didnt think twice about buying anything and still came home with like $600 and that was after a last minute shopping spree. I was surprised actual park snacks and drinks were reasonably priced its the souviners that can vary so much you could easily drop a fortune on limited edition stuff or pick up a few things to remember it by for cheap. You'll be fine as long as you stick to whatever plan you have going down!!!!!!Thats the key.

 

[isyt]

Its a good thing I know better or this thread would scare me , I would never be able to afford Disney.

We go 2-3 times a year so my 3 kids no all the rules about souvies. They earn Disney Dollars before we leave with chores and birthdays and when they are gone there gone. Of course that doesn't mean mommy won't surprise them with a few trinckets. I assume the 2 of you will have a quick breakfast in a food court ($10 per day). Basically your lunch and dinner are taken care of. I think you would do fine with the $750 and your card (just in case). There will always be a day when you might want the second ice cream, you are on vacation!!!! have a great trip!

 

[slo]

We carry very little cash with us in the parks - we put everything on our room key and then get the bill at the end of the trip.

 

[Mellie0119]

Room charge people here too. I usually carry $20 in cash- but the cash only things are few and far between.
We will be going on the dining plan for the 3rd trip. It's a great deal, IMO. We always have snacks leftover. We vary which meal that we use the TS/QS/OOP - we often do breakfast in our room (with a quick stop at the grocery). As for souvenirs, the kids each get one *big* thing per trip- at 2 and 5, it's usually no more than $30-40 per child. We bring small trinkets from home to appease during parades and waits (glow sticks from the Dollar store, stickers and other small treats). Our budget for extras (including OOP meals) for a 5 night 6 day trip will be about $600. We will likely come home with money left over.

 

[kizmac]

I'd take no less than $800.......$1000 would be ideal. If your not big on souvies then you could get away with much less.

I have to agree with the charge to the room as the way to go! Just take a credit card that you have $1000 open on and pay it off when you get home. Much safer than carrying around cash!

 

[babywewe]

IF you have a debt/check card.... then don't worry about how much money your bringing. I never want to travel with more then $200 .... i charge when i can...and if i need too i'll take money out from a ATM. I find the ATM charge is worth my piece of mind (not having a carry around so much cash).

 

[jer1997]

I would think you could bring 50 dollars per day and still enjoy yourself. They give you so much food on the dining plan and you don't need to worry about parking fees. I agree with babywewe about not bringing a lot of cash. I register my debit card at the hotel when I get there and bring 100 dollars cash. If I need more cash, I take it out of the ATM.

Have a great trip with your DS

 

[ReninDetroit]

We don't really get that many souvenirs. I have a pin collection that usually grows by 4-5 new pins every trip, so there's about $40 over the course of the 5 or so days.

There's really no other small things we get, but we often will splurge on a big ticket item (often jewelry).

The World of Disney jewelry store always seems to have a new watch we end up getting. So maybe $200 or so for art or jewelry or something like that.

I'd say we only spend $300-350 on souvenirs and incidentals throughout our trip (including water, snacks, etc).

 

[boomhauer]

I don't do the dining plan, but when I go with my wife and 5 year old, I like to plan on $300 a day. That's WAY more than we would need, but I always like to budget out $100 per person, per day.

Realistically, for breakfast and a counter service lunch, $18 per person is enough. I figure on $25 per person for dinner. That leaves $50 for any nick-nacks, snacks, drinks, ice cream.

 

[ourhappyplace]

Our newest thing is to put $50 per person a day on a travel debit card that we got from AAA. We can then register that card with the hotel as our "Key around the world" and still use it as a regular debit card! We also try to keep about $50 on us at all times just to pay for things that we can only use cash for. We also do what others have mentioned and have a small breakfast (sometimes even just power bars or cereal bars brought from home) and then have either a late large lunch or an early large dinner... we have snacks throughout that day and pull through! But then again, that is just for two adults with no children. We also bring those drink mixes for water bottles and refill water bottles instead of constantly having to buy them and the flavors are really good- especially the Target brand drink mixes.

Have a great time!

 

[golden1]

We are not big on souveniers at WDW so I am budgeting about $50-75/day, and that includes snacks and souveniers. My kids are young and they have no expectations about getting a bunch of "stuff" while we are at WDW. I figure they might get mouse ears, autograph books, t-shirts and perhaps one other item. I don't really have much interest in buying stuff for myself and neither does DH.