Im worried!!!!

[sara969]

HELLO EVERYONE

We are going to DLP in November 10th - 14th

So thats 4 nights and 5 days in the park!

I am going with hubby and our almost 3yr old daughter.

(So 2 adults & 1 toddler)

We are planning to take around £500 spending money with us and my daughter will take £100 of birthday money to spend in the Disney Store, for soveniers etc....
BUT i am now getting EXTREMELY worried that £500 will not be enough, as alot of people have said DLP is very expensive

This is what we plan to do with £500:

Eat a light snack for lunch everyday, Eg... from the takeaway huts, like hotdogs, chips etc..

Eat in a resturant every evening:

Day 1: Cafe Mickey with a Birthday cake
Day 2: Planet Hollywood
Day 3: Annettes Diner
Day 4: Billy Bobs
Day 5: Rainforest Cafe

then we would like to go on the balloon ride.

Perhaps if we have time go on a quick trip to paris on underground, to visit the Eiffle Tower... (maybe not go on it, as im sure the queues will be huge)

Do u think £500 will cover dinner in a resturant for 5 days, cheapy takeaway lunch for 5 days, Balloon Ride, underground tickets to paris??

We probably wont order alcohol just soft drink, as i know alcohol will be pricey.

Im getting really worried now!

Plz help x x

 

[ukstitch]

If you're that worried, then you could take either:

1) a debit / credit card to pay for some things (most places take card)
2) some extra pounds sterling (exchange this for extra euros if you need to)

 

[DLPdaft]

I think you can do DLRP on almost any budget. Having said that, food is very expensive at DLRP.

We do the same as you are planning - we have counter-service meal at lunchtime, then a table-service meal after the parks close in the evening. We do buy souvenirs, have never had time to go to Paris to be honest, so can't comment on that.

For 1 adult and one child (7), we spend around 70 euros per day.

Do you have the option of adding half board or half board plus vouchers to your bookings? I've done this for our next trip, and I've worked out we have saved around 25% on our table service meals by purchasing half board plus in advance, compared to the "on the day" prices at the restaurants of our choice.

 

[davewasbaloo]

HELLO EVERYONE

We are going to DLP in November 10th - 14th

So thats 4 nights and 5 days in the park!

I am going with hubby and our almost 3yr old daughter.

(So 2 adults & 1 toddler)

We are planning to take around £500 spending money with us and my daughter will take £100 of birthday money to spend in the Disney Store, for soveniers etc....
BUT i am now getting EXTREMELY worried that £500 will not be enough, as alot of people have said DLP is very expensive

This is what we plan to do with £500:

Eat a light snack for lunch everyday, Eg... from the takeaway huts, like hotdogs, chips etc..

Eat in a resturant every evening:

Day 1: Cafe Mickey with a Birthday cake
Day 2: Planet Hollywood
Day 3: Annettes Diner
Day 4: Billy Bobs
Day 5: Rainforest Cafe

then we would like to go on the balloon ride.

Perhaps if we have time go on a quick trip to paris on underground, to visit the Eiffle Tower... (maybe not go on it, as im sure the queues will be huge)

Do u think £500 will cover dinner in a resturant for 5 days, cheapy takeaway lunch for 5 days, Balloon Ride, underground tickets to paris??

We probably wont order alcohol just soft drink, as i know alcohol will be pricey.

Im getting really worried now!

Plz help x x

Hmmmm, £500 could be tight for those aspirations, or if you order set menus and the like, you may be fine.

In years past I would budget £100 a day for us as a couple allowing for souvenirs, a nice meal and a bottle of wine per day, and some cocktails one evening. Now we are a family of 4 - 5yo and 3yo kids. We enjoy one nice 3 course meal with a bottle of wine each day and snacks. It runs about £150 per day and we stay on budget.

£500 will do the restaurants fine, but add in the cake, balloon ride and trip to Paris, you are likely to go a little over budget. It's the cokes that will kill you at £2 a bottle.

I would say relax, unless your 3 yo is a big eater, you could get her to eat off your plates. That helps alot. typically a counter service runs between £7-£11 an adult. The table services you mention are between £20-£30 an adult for a 3 course (some a little more).

Have a great time.

 

[sara969]

If you're that worried, then you could take either:

1) a debit / credit card to pay for some things (most places take card)
2) some extra pounds sterling (exchange this for extra euros if you need to)

Thats great if they except a debit card, we will take a debit card just incase.... do u get charged alot for using it?

 

[cookie334]

I'm sure that will be plenty for you if you don't plan on splashing out on souveniers.

We went in June and took £600 for 6 days and that was for 2 adults, 2 kids (4 and 6) and a 9 month old. We were watching our money very carefully as we were also worried that we wouldn't have enough, but we did what you are planning to do and snacked as and when we needed to during the day and ate at Walts, Annettes, Plaza Gardens, The Chuck Wagon and can't for the life of me think where else, but average (for DLP) priced places. We'd watched our pennies so well that we splashed out a bit on our last day and bought an outfit for each of the kids (including expensive pair of jeans for DD), hats, a few t-shirts, gifts for a few of the kids back home and a big toy each for the kids - oh and also an extra small suitcase to fit it all in

We did do what ukstitch suggested, we had a credit card for back up but we really didn't want to use it.

HTH

Oh and we also paid for taxi's to and from the airport with that money totally €160 and like you we didn't have any alcohol on the trip to help keep the cost down.

 

[ukstitch]

Thats great if they except a debit card, we will take a debit card just incase.... do u get charged alot for using it?

It's not a great amount if I remember rightly (£1.50 per purchase I think on my Natwest card)

what you can do in order to limit the charges is register your card as your hotel chargecard when you check in. You then use your hotel ID to pay for any extras, then they make 1 charge to your card when you check out. That way, you only incur a fee once.

Maestro is certainly widely accepted and I believe Visa Electron is also accepted. This is what I usually do, then just take a small amount of Euro for small or cash only purchases.

 

[NULAH]

I would certainly consider looking at purchasing the half board/half board plus vouchers before you go. That way, you know at least one meal each day is covered (or partially covered if you choose to "top up" the voucher). We find it helps us budget and allows us to relax a bit more which is what you want on holiday.

 

[hollymattbenmilo]

we wont be able to save up 500 euros.. i am hoping to take around 300, and i am sure they will be fine, as we wont be able to eat at restaurants anyway due to my gallstones, so will be buying things fro garage near sante fe etc to eat in park ..smuggle it in! haha, only really my partner and 4 year old that will be able to have the odd mc donalds etc. we will make it work some how, haha. but what with the credit crunch...the holiday is costing quite enough.. and just before christmas so... it will ahve to work! haha

dont worry, just take card in case..what i will do too.

 

[manxtatt2]

i am hoping to take 350 euros for 2 full days and 2 half days

 

[ChristinaDK]

i have 360euro safe up, and i put around (if the bills stay away )
1-250 euro evry mounth til we go. And then there are christmas and my birthday, så I hope to have 800 euro for my self for 2 full and 2 half days.
I hope thats enof

 

[cap'njack.]

We have 500 euros left over from our Germany vacation. Another £500 that I have put away for AP's and surprise gifts for Kacee and the Mrs and then we have another £500 of what we like to call 'emergency money'.

So in total we have about 1,700 euros for the 3 of us for 6 days. Probably more than neccessary but we have a hotel (40 euro) and fuel and tolls to pay for on the way there and back.

 

[davewasbaloo]

Sounds like the Capt is going to have a whale of a time!

I can get by for our family on 100 euro a day, I prefer 200 euro a day though to experience the best of DLP

 

[Ruddles]

Hi Sara,

I think you're going to be fine - for one thing it sounds like you're going to keep an eye on the money, but try not to worry about it whilst you're there. Never anything worse than having that on your mind.

Some thoughts which can really save you money -

Others have already recommended half board (or HBplus), but it would alter your restaurant choices. Even when you don't take the half board menu, you can swap the voucher for the face value in euros.

Book and pay for as much as possible before you go. You'll pay the UK brochure price which was set when the £ was much stronger. You will save a lot due to the changed exchange rates, and you won't have to pay commission to your bank. (this applies to half board too)

Take drinks into the park with you. It might not be allowed, but everyone does, and you're going in November so you'll have a coat over the top, and they don't mind.

Lastly, just have a cracking time. The thing I love about disney is that once you're in, the magic is all around you. You don't have to pay out to enjoy yourself, the smiles are free!

 

[cap'njack.]

Sounds like the Capt is going to have a whale of a time!

I can get by for our family on 100 euro a day, I prefer 200 euro a day though to experience the best of DLP

I'm certainly hoping so! Little Man's 1st DLRP trip so I don't want to be having to penny pinch and eat in McDonalds all week.

 

[davewasbaloo]

I'm certainly hoping so! Little Man's 1st DLRP trip so I don't want to be having to penny pinch and eat in McDonalds all week.

I like your style. I perfer to save up and go without thinking about money. It doesn't mean I am pound foolish either. I take drinks along and use tescos to help pay the travel costs. And when TK MAXX had the same outfits sold at DLP for 70% less, we bought them at TKMAXX.

But I am not prepared to scrimp on dining when on vacation. But then again I eat out a lot as I travel with work, so I want something a little special on vacation (and McD's is not it).

 

[cap'njack.]

I like your style. I perfer to save up and go without thinking about money. It doesn't mean I am pound foolish either. I take drinks along and use tescos to help pay the travel costs. And when TK MAXX had the same outfits sold at DLP for 70% less, we bought them at TKMAXX.

But I am not prepared to scrimp on dining when on vacation. But then again I eat out a lot as I travel with work, so I want something a little special on vacation (and McD's is not it).

Amen to that. We save up all year to have decent holidays, nether of us drink or smoke so our 'spare' money goes towards the holidays. We are taking a lot of food with us as we are driving and staying in a log cabin with a cooker etc.

But I do like being able to eat out, at decent restuarants and not have to worry, I like being able to take Kacee into the Disney Store and allowing him to pick a toy without him having to pick between a pencil and an eraser.

I nearly cried the 1st time I saw McDonalds in the Village. No offence meant at all but that's one American import I could easily live without

 

[lizpat]

hi, not quite sure how we did it, but when we went in feb we spent around £120 (children had £30 each extra souvenir money)for 3 nts. I didn't feel at all that we watched the pennies or didn't hjave anything we didn't want, (did stash a bottle of wine in the suitcase for back at hotel and kids in bed and took snacky bits for children).we did have half board plus which saved us sooooo much money. For 2 adults and 1 infant for 4 nts, this would cost you £136 in total.This would then cover a 3 course meal and a soft drink in good restaurants, although different to the ones you have chosen,leaving your extra money free for snacks, souvnirs etc.

 

[scampbunny]

right..... when we went in june (2 adults, 1 chil & 1 infant) we had half board vouchers (3 days & 3 nights) and then spent 240 euros and an extra £130 on top, and that included toll roads both ways, and snacks and gifts! we had 1 meal at cafe mickey too included in the above.
we ate at plaza gardens, annettes too.
hope that helps!

 

[davewasbaloo]

With half board vouchers, I could probably do 5 days on £100.