No Extra Money, just tips?

[mking624]

That's pretty much how DH & I are nearly every trip. We're not big into souvies and as a result, we very rarely buy anything. Our biggest souvie expense happened a few years ago when we bought some Christmas stuff, but even then we spent about $100-130. Most of the time, our money is just for the tips.

 

[hannahdrewmom]

That would be normal for us. I'm not sure that we ever buy souvenirs. We go often enough that it's kind of silly for us to buy them imho. We know we will be back in less then a years time and at home I don't wear my mickey stuff.
My kids don't even ask for the stuff. (They are younger so this might become more difficult as they get older.)

As far as the dining plan we NEVER buy extra food when we do the regular dining plan. In fact before I joined this board my silly little head didn't even contemplate the thought of pay oop. Guess I'm more spacey than I realized!

(In full disclosure we did buy one souvenir 2 years ago when my daughter just had her ears pierced and she lost an earring. I was afraid the hole would close so she got a new pair. Other than that it's all tips.)

 

[JessiLynn015]

We've done it before, but not really intentionally. We had went to WDW a month after our previous trip. We had the DDP and the only money we used was tips and maybe a drink here or there with dinner. I don't think we spent over $100 including tips.

 

[HersheyKisses]

Its very easy to not spend anything. On one of our previous trips we only bought tipping money and we used a disney gift card. No souvenirs, no extras ...it was very easy . I may splurge on my next trip and get a Dooney bag but thats it.

 

[vickalamode]

I don't think we will be spending much money this trip...I worked at WDW for a while and didn't really feel compelled to buy much stuff even when I got a 20-50% discount so hopefully I will still feel the same during this trip now that I am no longer a CM, and have to pay full price for everything LOL...During our first trip DBF spent a lot of money (like $100 or so...) on stuff from the glow carts (little kid spirit, lol...) but other than that we only bought a couple of coffee mugs and a jar of misc. Lego's from the Lego store...

 

[garada3]

I have spent 16 days in a park and never spent money OOP.

just what was with the package.

Of course, my wife spent $1500 on souvineers ... but if she wasn't there, it wouldn't have affected me at all.

Did my husband pay you to post this?

 

[famsen]

There is no chance I could do it. I am a shopper and I like cocktails and I always bring emergency money. I would feel naked without spending money!

 

[nooneshome]

I could not spend money any time!!! The problem is DW. She has to buy something and most times it is something she already has three of.

 

[Hallowishes]

The first year I took a olo trip, I hd the ddp and only brought $135 in cash... I regretted it BIG TIME but I still had an AMAZING trip now, I never go with less than $500. I plan on splurging on a few things on my next trip

 

[angelgirl]

We don't plan on spending much. When we were there in June, I just bought the kids light sabres because they'd wanted them for ages and many of their friends had them.

This time around, we're on the dining plan and will only end up paying for a couple lunches OOP and will have food delivered to our room for in-room breakfasts. We'll buy the kids something for sure, but I doubt it will be expensive (under $30) and will not be something that we think will get thrown away by the time we get home.

 

[DizDays]

We could do that with a little discipline, but we don't have kids. That would probably make the difference. Because we're DVC members, we are down there once or twice every year and are running out of room to store/display at the neat things we've bought in the past. It might be refreshing to try that for a trip. Not sure DH would feel the same.

 

[IMGONNABE40!]

I'll have the QSDP when I am there next month and don't plan on buying much. I'll buy a liter or 2 of Dasani for making coffee, along with milk for my cereal (bringing a box with me). I'll have a couple of bucks on hand in case I need incidentals as I would at home. But, not planning on souvies or big entertainment expenses.

 

[kokotg]

Sure. We bring stuff for breakfasts. Last year we bought a few drinks with dinner OOP, but we never really did before that. We're not big on souvenirs. This year I have a $50 gift card that some friends gave me for my birthday, and I think of that as a wonderfully indulgent souvenir budget. Last year and this year we let the kids roll all the change we've collected over the year, and that's their souvenir money--about $30 each this year.

 

[FogliaFamily]

We have our 9th trip coming up mid September. We have 3 boys, 8, 11 and 12. We don't buy any souvineers or very very little. Our boys have learned not to expect them, the vacation itself is costly and that counts. We still end up spending a bit though, we seem to run out of snacks and end up paying oop for extra of those. One thing we do is pin trading - we buy a lot of pins off ebay and trade them and not buy any in the parks. For tips we use the disney dollars from our credit card. We do pay for one checked in suitcase which stinks. It's nice not to have more than $100 or so on the credit card when we get home!

 

[Adlergray]

We only take cash for tips ie baggage handlers, shuttle drivers, tolls ets. We use our CC for anything else. I wasn't that keen on shopping either until I got bit by those darn Dooneys

Those dooneys are sneaky. I have never like D&B's but I left with one.

 

[Krisscot]

I'm convinced the world is better when you exit through a gift shop. Just sayin...

 

[Mysteria]

Has anyone anyone ever gone with no spending money, just relied totally on dining plan, no need for souvenirs and only brought cash for tips?

(just wondering because thats what friends of our are doing and NO we are not traveling together) Its just 2 adults and they dont drink and she isnt a shopper.

I couldn't do it!

If they have emergency funds if they need it then more power to them. If they are going this way because that's all they have then that's another story. Nobody should go without some back-up funds!

 

[jemgumby]

Yep we've done it before in fact numerous times. We buy our Disney t-shirts at Disney outlets near us or very cheap online before we go. The dining plan gives us plenty of food and snacks for our family. We usually eat breakfast in the room and bring our own snacks/drinks in the hotel room. We usually carry in 2 bottles of water into the parks in our backpacks. This year we are going to splurge a little more as I recently got a promotion and we are definitely gonna be celebrating!

 

[aubriee]

I refuse to skimp on vacation and if I see something I want I will buy it. The problem is I go to WDW several times a year (try to get at least four trips out my AP each year), so seldom find anything to buy anymore. Plus I'm not a breakfast eater, a drinker, or a snacker, so there's just not that much down there to spend money on anymore. I always take cash envelopes for DME, housekeeping, and bell hops tips and use a Disney gift card for restaraunt tips or any extras, because I hate carrying cash. I do keep some cash in the room safe, but seldom ever use it. I also keep a credit card and a $20.00 bill in my park bag just in case I see something I want. Frequently I'll come home with that same $20.00 in my purse and a zero balance on my credit card, plus whatever cash I had in the safe.

 

[Mommy2Jameson]

Well I know I couldn't and quite honestly, I wouldn't want to. It's a vacation that we worked for and will enjoy to the fullest. I think they may want to remember that sometimes unexpected things come up and money is usually a necessity.

I agree with this completely. I'm a single mom, and we live on a fairly tight budget, so my son doesn't get overly spoiled on a regular basis! I work overtime during the year and save that extra money in a special vacation savings, so we can afford to pay cash and take a nice Disney vacation once a year. So during vacations, I kind of let the budget go. I figure for that one week a year, if he wants a $10 balloon, he's gonna get one! Haha!