Please share what the "extras" cost during your trip

[kcrew]

I would like to hear what others spend on all the extras during their trips so I know what to expect. My situation is DH, DM, and DS's 6,10, and 10 and myself. We have free dining. We don't plan on going anywhere except the 4 parks. We are staying at the POP so eating breakfast in the room is really not an option, so we expect to pay OOP for all breakfasts, but expect them to all be CS. We plan to pay OOP for one lunch at SCI FI. We will not have a car so no expense there. I have no interest in souveniers so I don't expect to spend anything there.( I know many are gasping at that one! ) I also don't like to shop so DTD is of no interest to me. I may buy a couple of mugs for morning coffee and an occassional soda. I'm having a hard time thinking of what I would spend money on but I have read of others budgeting thousands for "extras". Please share your typical expenses. Thanks!

 

[Alexa19]

kcrew,

It sounds like you are expecting to pay OOP for breakfasts, but for some on the dining plan, some of the breakfasts at the Counter Service places are big enough to share. If you use one counter service for breakfast, you can get a large waffle, a bottle of juice, and a cinnamon bun or fruit (used as a part of your dessert from the counter service) with one CS credit and share it between two people. It all depends on your family's eating habits.

Due to the fact tipping is included in the Dining plan, no expense there.

Since you aren't forseeing on spending money on souveniers. No cost there.

Unless you:

- decide to buy a bottle of wine or any alcoholic beverages in Disney
- decide to use a locker or two at any of the Water Parks
- if you are taking the Disney Magical Express and decide to tip the driver

Other than that.... I really can't think of anything...

Have a great time!

 

[jann1033]

i think unless the kids have some money of their own it would be hard to not buy them anything...we usually figure about $100 each for that although it includes gifts to take home to others

i think they raised the snack credit recently but i would allow maybe $5 per person per day for a drink or 2 etc. just in case you want it. we usually got one snack a day but we go in winter so it's not so hot

at pop you could still eat cereal in the room if you wanted and just buy milk and coffee each am in everything pop or pastry the night before ( or what ever you eat for breakfast) we stayed there and ate crumb cake coffee cake from board walk bakery a few days. pop's breakfasts might be large enough for a few to share also ( pretty good sized i thought, although we usually only eat 2 meals a day so we only got it once or twice) but if everyone got their own i would add another 5 per day per person for breakfast at least. we usually just have coffee and maybe a granola bar then eat an earlier lunch

add some for extras for tips ( maybe another 5 per day for the ts as i think they still get less than 20% for tips and another 5-6 for housekeeping per day)

so $60-70 a day for extra food, and 10 a day for tips, plus what you want for souvenirs

scifi is imo expensive.. i think a burger was around $10 so i'd guess more than $60 for lunch there( i think we spent almost 30 and got 1 burger and 1 soup and 2 beverages) but you can get a better idea on allearsnet.com menus or the menus on here

 

[Disneycrazymom]

As jann said you can still plan to eat breakfast in your room. We have taken a collapsable cooler and bought the larger milk at the little store in the hotel (not the food court). We carry in some breakfast bars or donuts in our suitcase and then we have extra space to bring things home. Like the mugs that we get to refill, I like to take coffee to work everyday in mine.

We always spend a little extra in the bakery and the ice cream shop at the parks. My kids always come home with a tee shirt and pin (about $40 total)from their favorite ride of that trip. DD usually gets some kind of lighty up thing (about $15) I always like to buy a photo album with the year on it (about $25). And I am a sucker for the ride and character photos that the professionals take (about $15?). Last trip we spent about $300.00 on this kind of thing. You'll be surprised how "cute" all this stuff is, even if you don't like to shop it is EVERYWHERE! As you leave almost every ride you walk through a shop. It is hard to have that much will power!

 

[freckles and boo]

It really isn't the "extras" but the "oopsies" that get us every time we travel. We have forgotten children's pain reliever, sunscreen, socks (for me!), sunglasses, diaper cream, you-name-it... probably $100 worth of stuff per trip we would have paid $30 at home. Just looking at the packing lists and tips on these threads makes my eyes glaze over, but it is great that people are so willing to share their experiences.

 

[QueenT]

I would plan on at least 1 souvenir per child, even if you don't normally buy them. I normally don't either (other places), but somehow I always seem to spend $$ on these at Disney anyway. In the past I have budgeted for 1 souvenir per child, or about 25$/per. I also sometimes buy gifts here.

I also need $$ for things I forgot or didn't think of, like batteries, film, sunscreen, there is always something.

I like to bring a little extra money in case I run across something I want to do or see that I didn't plan for.

Beverages - even with DDP, I know we will buy extra beverages. Everyone always seems to be thirsty.

Stroller rentals, if you don't bring your own.

by the way, I think you can rent a small refrigerator at POP, or you could use a cooler & replace the ice daily if you wanted to bring breakfast type food.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[traviesojmt]

I don't know what time of the year that you are going, but we usually go in the summer. It is incredibly hot. Although we will be taking a case of water, we still end up drinking way more than we normally would at home. You have the option of buying water with your snack credits, but I know for us that it is not enough. We usually ended up paying OOP for bottles of water at the park.
I also just have suggestions of things to take so you don't have to buy them at the most expensive place on earth. Ponchos are really expensive in the park if you forget to bring your own. Also, the water misting fans work really great in the heat. They are fairly inexpensive at Walmart but will cost you if you decide that you want one while at the parks.
Last thing, I always get suckered by the Photopass. I just seem to have a hard time turning down a really cute picture of my kids. That can really add up.

 

[momof3disneyholics]

For me the extra expenses have always been the Mickey Ice Cream Bars, extra drinks, and lots of bandaids.

 

[kcrew]

For me the extra expenses have always been the Mickey Ice Cream Bars, extra drinks, and lots of bandaids.

Thanks everyone! I should have mentioned in my OP that each of the kids have a $25.00 Disney card that they received for their birthdays to pick out something that they would like. It sounds like I shouldn't have to worry about too much, but keep the ideas coming. ( I had thought of the ponchos-thanks!)

 

[michvin]

I would like to hear what others spend on all the extras during their trips so I know what to expect. My situation is DH, DM, and DS's 6,10, and 10 and myself. We have free dining. We don't plan on going anywhere except the 4 parks. We are staying at the POP so eating breakfast in the room is really not an option, so we expect to pay OOP for all breakfasts, but expect them to all be CS. We plan to pay OOP for one lunch at SCI FI. We will not have a car so no expense there. I have no interest in souveniers so I don't expect to spend anything there.( I know many are gasping at that one! ) I also don't like to shop so DTD is of no interest to me. I may buy a couple of mugs for morning coffee and an occassional soda. I'm having a hard time thinking of what I would spend money on but I have read of others budgeting thousands for "extras". Please share your typical expenses. Thanks!

Last year I wrote down EVERYTHING that I thought we had to spend money on. I would forward you my spreadsheet but my last pc hardrive crashed last month and I don't have it (I now have a MAC!) but I will do my best to recall. You don't want to be stuck spending what you didn't plan on (unless its some type of emergency). Start with your travel day and go from there:

Eating the day you leave (is it early? around dinner? ) will you eat at home, stop at a subway, or eat at a restaraunt on the way or at WDW?

Airport Parking (this year its going to cost us a whopping $175 for 10 days so that's a large chunk of change)

Are you using Disney's magical Express? I think its still free but we did tip the driver...I mean he loads and unloads all those bags. $1 a bag.

Are you getting a car to get you...price and tip.

Arrival meal.

Having bus boy staff help you to your room..tip them?

Room cleaning. We stayed at the WL and tipped $3 to $4 a day. There are five of us, but three are pint sized and honestly, we don't make a big mess. We did get several towel animals though.

Snacks not on the dining plan. We all really like Disney's big soft pretzels and the German pretzels in Epcot..really good. They were not on the plan before. A couple of other things we liked to grab every now and then too but I can't remember.

Any alcohol purchases.

Arcade money

Money for the pressed money machines (we can still skip them with our kids...thankfully so)

Are you doing anything else like the kids pirate cruise or a tea or something like that?

Hair do's at the barber shop on Main street...really, really cool

Face painting in the Animal Kingdom...also, really cool and it held up pretty good.

Some type of souviner...we don't give the kids each a lot. I think the 5 year old and the 6 year old could get something up to $20 or $25. I mean, hey we are at disney...I'm not at the mall shopping.

Any group pics from restaurants.

Okay, thats a sizable list. Plus, we mailed down a large diaper box full of granola bars, nuts, raisins, small container of PB, baggies, wipes, sunscreen, travel sized advil, lotion, razors, $1 store rain ponchos, travel tissues, sanitizing wipes, box of cereal, pretzels, goldfish...I'm telling you I got A LOT in there. Plus, in January I ordered a pack of bottled water from staples or something and had it shipped down too.

Hope this helps and doesn't make you crazy. Oh, and whatever your estimate comes out to be, add on another 10% to that. I read that trick somewhere and it really is better to have it in the budget. Good luck!

 

[tinker&belle]

Michvin-

How much was the shipping on the water?

 

[kcrew]

Airport Parking (this year its going to cost us a whopping $175 for 10 days so that's a large chunk of change)

OUCH! I need to look into that.



Hair do's at the barber shop on Main street...really, really cool.

School starts the day after we return so maybe this is an idea. Anyone know how much for a boy's cut?

Okay, thats a sizable list. Plus, we mailed down a large diaper box full of granola bars, nuts, raisins, small container of PB, baggies, wipes, sunscreen, travel sized advil, lotion, razors, $1 store rain ponchos, travel tissues, sanitizing wipes, box of cereal, pretzels, goldfish...I'm telling you I got A LOT in there. Plus, in January I ordered a pack of bottled water from staples or something and had it shipped down too.

Wow! You were well prepared, but was the postage worth it? You couldn't cram it all in your luggage? Seeing that we have the dining plan I'm not as concerned about the food items as I normally would be, and we are all tap water people so we'll just refill bottles.

Thank you so much for your response
QUOTE]

 

[zurgswife]

Thanks everyone! I should have mentioned in my OP that each of the kids have a $25.00 Disney card that they received for their birthdays to pick out something that they would like. It sounds like I shouldn't have to worry about too much, but keep the ideas coming. ( I had thought of the ponchos-thanks!)

You say Disney Card. I would make sure that this is something that is useable at WDW. Gift Cards from the Disney Store I don't think work. The only thing is Disney dollars work at WDW and those can be purchased at the Disney Store. I would just double check as you wouldn't want to disappoint the kids when they get down there and are unable to use it.

 

[Aryn]

You say Disney Card. I would make sure that this is something that is useable at WDW. Gift Cards from the Disney Store I don't think work. The only thing is Disney dollars work at WDW and those can be purchased at the Disney Store. I would just double check as you wouldn't want to disappoint the kids when they get down there and are unable to use it.

There are new Disney cards out at the Disney Store that work at the store, the Parks and online at Disney shopping. I would just double check that your kids received this one. It came out on May 1 of this year.


Aryn

 

[mrsltg]

I generally plan snacks and drinks at $10/pp per day (this is in addition to meals). I also, always, end up with new undies and socks simply because I either counted wrong when packing or was soaked on a water ride or was so sweaty I had to have something dry (or the line for the bathroom was just too long ).

Always plan on more than you think you'll need. Disney has a way of magically lifting the money right out of your wallet!

 

[disneyeveryyear]

Money to do laundry if you need to.

Washers, dryers, detergent and fabric softener can add up very quickly.

 

[froggi]

We made it our of Disney adn only spent $175 total OoP! This included souvenirs and extras wewanted during the day such as snacks adn what not.

 

[kcrew]

There are new Disney cards out at the Disney Store that work at the store, the Parks and online at Disney shopping. I would just double check that your kids received this one. It came out on May 1 of this year.


Aryn

Yes, they were just purchased. They say "Disney gift card", but it says "shop, dine, and play at Disney World" on the card holder. My original intent was to buy Disney Dollars, but then I saw the cards and figured they would be easier to keep up with. I sure hope the kids can use it anywhere. If anyone knows differently please let me know.

 

[myprinceandprincess]

These ideas were helpful to me as well. Though I am budgeting more than I am thinking. We are not able to take this trip as often as other people, so when we do we like to splurge on anything we want or the kids want!

 

[TikiGoddess]

The only things I can think of are incidentals like postcards, stamps (if you don't bring them), milk (our kids couldn't live w/out it), photopass CD (don't know if this falls under no souvenirs, but thought I'd throw it in there). We went last Oct. w/the dining plan and honestly we could've really not spent much more money. We wanted souvenirs though so we spent there. We did bring poptarts and breakfast and snack stuff like that w/us. The dining plan was SO MUCH food that we really didn't want that much breakfast. Oh, and you'll end up buying rain ponchos if you don't bring them. And they are definitely Disney priced! I am not leaving those suckers at home next trip. I don't want to invest another $20 in them.