SPENDING MONEY for TEEN

[FBZ]

Taking 4 teen girls (one of mine and three friends) to Orlando for one week. Plan on visiting 4 parks. How much spending money do you think they will need Will do breakfast in the room before we leave. So we are looking at lunch and dinner.
For you'll that have done this before how did you deal with meals prepared at the resort

Need ideas on cost, preparation and clean up. Remember I'm on vacation also and don't plan on waiting on 4 teens
Thanks for your help

 

[voodooboy]

I suppose your budget should dictate spending allowances. Also I would probably consider weather or not you will be meeting for meals and such. I would approach the issue from a couple of different directions.

1) If the girls are on their own all day long and will be responsible for their own meals (with the exception of breakfast) I would give them $20 each to cover lunch and dinner expenses and probably another $20+ (depending on your budget) for spending money.

2) If you will be meeting up with them for meals and such than I would probably give them at least $25 for spending money per day and you manage the cost of the food expenses. Again this is depending on what your budget dictates.

I hope this helps. Good luck and have a great trip.

 

[webray]

Spending money....well, that just depends. If you want them to get a little something from each park..one nice item to remember the vacation...or many nice items. Remember most tshirts/cute little tops are inteh $25-30 range. Very rarely, they do have sale racks with adorable stuff on them.

Stuffed animals...$12.50 on up, starting with the little beanie type toys.

There are pens/pad of paper, etc, key chains..all those items will start in the $4, $5, $6 range.

Candles...$10

Just depends on what they like.

Food, again...like the other poster said..are you paying for everything, or trying to prepare the girls parents so they can give them enough money to cover everything needed. Sitdown meals, quick meals.

Breakfast in the room is always great..you didn't mention where you will be staying. Will you have a kitchen, or will you being doing fruit/donuts type thing in the room. Lunch is always easy..and figure about $10-$15 per kid, lunch, dessert, drink.

Dinner...can be the same if you do quick meals, or much more if you do sit down restaurants. If you are in a resort with a food court like all stars or pop century...evening meals are quite tasty and will only run you $8-10 per girl, plus drink/dessert, etc.

Check out the menus and prices on wdwig.com, this will help you decide about eating.

 

[ragbunch]

My son is going on a school trip and $25-50 is what they are told to plan for for food per day. I think $25 is more like it for food, but I will send him an extra $25 for every 2 days for souvenirs. I don't think he needs $25 per day for souvenirs. Since it won't be easy for him to have a cooler for milk/cereal , I'm going to send him with pop tarts so he'll have breakfast taken care of and won't waste money on that.

 

[matjef9091]

My boys are 12 and 13 and each time we go, I pay all meals and they get $10.00 each day to do with as they wish. They can either save for a bigger item or spend that day. They have never needed more or asked for more. I do envelopes like mousekeeping with their names and stickers. Like I say, they do not seem to need anymore than that.

 

[FBZ]

So if I hear you correct, plan on $20-$25 aday for food. We only have one (breakfast sit down) meal planned for the parks. We also have a dinner show planned that the parents have already paid for.
I would expect the parents to pickup all cost for their child. RIGHT
The parents are paying for tickets, food and spending $$$$.
We are providing lodging and transportation home. We will be there one week before they arrive, so they are going to fly to Orlando and ride back with us.
My DD is saving for her "spending money". This worked out real well last time. We will provide $$ for meals.

Now for meals planned at the resort (Orange Lake C.C.). We have a full kitchen, so we will eat at resort when not in the parks. I want to make it clear that the adults are on vacation as well as the teens. This means they need to chip in and help. For all you that have done this before how have you handled this without sounding "bossy". Yes the girls will be required to split cost of meals.
I don't see this as abig deal, just want to make it clear before we leave.
Waiting to hear your thoughts.

 

[DennisP]

The combo meals at the food places in any of the parks usually runs about $12 to $14 per meal and includes a soft drink. $30 per day for meals is probably a good number.

 

[BonSchwe]

We recently returned and before we left I gave each of the kids a Visa gift card for $240. We were there for 12-days so they had $20 per day and I bought their meals. If they wanted any snacks it needed to come out of their money. We used the meal vouchers quite often where you get a meal, bottle of water and an ice cream or popcorn. It worked well because they had a snack for the afternoon and a beverage. They went off by themselves sometimes but we generally ate together.

 

[karemore]

I would have a meeting with the girls before you leave and help them decide on a tenative meal plan for the nights you are not in the parks.

Let them agree on taco night for example or pizza night....and then they will be more interested in preparing the meal when the time comes.

And it's better to over estimate the cost of food in the parks then to have them run short.

A hot dog costs $6.

That doesn't include a drink or chips.

Food is very expensive and they are going to want cold drinks and snacks too.

PB&J sandwiches pack well to help offset the food costs in the parks.

We had those little GLAD disposable containers that were just big enough to hold a sandwich. It worked out great.

We also always carried a couple pieces of fruit to get us through the morning.

AND a water bottle.

But the people who complain about the water are right, it does taste funny.

If the girls won't drink it.....the need to budget a forture for drinks.
Or remember to freeze bottles at the room to carry the next day.
Good luck to you!!
Karen

 

[Mic]

We are preparing to take 4 teenage girls to Disney with us in 2 weeks, in addition to our own 4 kids(girls 15,14,&10 and 1 boy,11). This is the second time we have done this, so I'll share what works for us. We are DVC members, so we have a 2-bedroom and a studio. My SIL and 2 girls in the studio, and myself, DH, our 2 youngest children, and 4 14-year-olds in the 2-bedroom. We will do breakfast in the room every morning, and lunch in the parks every day. Dinner is a combination: I have planned pizza and salad in the room the first night(that I will pick up after visiting Winn Dixie), frozen Lasagna(Stouffer's) and salad one night, and I will cook something in the room one other night. We are planning a dinner at 'Ohana's one night, an early dinner(5-ish)at Rainforest Cafe one evening, and will likely eat at Beaches and Cream one evening since we are so close(BWV), and the kitchen sink was a big hit when we took 3 teenage girls with us 2 years ago. I sent invitations to each girl, explaining what we would pay for, and what she was responsible for. I provided a 4-day hopper plus for each girl, and all breakfasts and 4-5 dinners(mostly the dinners in the room). Each girl needed money for lunch each day($10-15x5), plus a fast-food meal on the drive down and back from FL($10-15). I also asked the parents to cover the cost of 'Ohana's, dinner at the Rainforest Cafe, and Disneyquest. In an effort to pre-pay as much as possible, I ordered 2 Q&C vouchers for each girl, as well as a Vac. King. Lunch voucher($31) for each girl to use for the meals they were responsible for. I asked the parents to give me the money for the vouchers a few days ago, as well as the money for the DQ ticket. One girl's parents went ahead and paid for 'Ohana's, too. So when we leave in 2 weeks, each girl will need only $40-50 cash for 2 fast-food meals(like McDonald's), $15 for lunch at Tony's, and $15 for 1 lunch at Epcot(we just haven't decided where, yet). The key to knowing how much money each girl would need seemed to be how well I planned our trip(but I just like over-planning!) Without concrete plans, I would budget $25 a day for food: that should cover 2 counter-service meals and $5 for snacks/drinks. The meals in the room will definitely cut down on costs, but I keep them simple because we are on vacation. The pizza from Pizza Hut(2-3 large, @$30)and Olive Garden Salad($15)the first night will not cost much, and the Lasagna($15)and salad another night will definitely be less expensive than eating out. I will probably fix a dinner with chicken breast one night, which would be really easy and not require a lot of time, and I will just pick the chicken and some vegetables and fruit up at Winn Dixie the first day, when I stock up on breakfast foods. I have a list of needed items, and plan to spend $50-75 for groceries. I have been stocking up on snacks and drinks for the drive down and back, but will purchase more as needed when I arrive. The parents of the girls will be sending extra money for them to purchase souvenirs and snacks in the park, which the girls will carry and keep up with(I have asked they not send a lot). I hope this helps a little!

 

[ugadog99]

We are taking my daughter's best friend with us in June. I am paying for 4 day park hoppers, lodging, transportation, Disney Quest, and minigolf. I have asked her parents to pay for her meals, snacks, and anything extra she would like to buy. We will have breakfast in the room each morning and most lunches at counters. Our dinners are Rainforest, 'Ohana, Whispering Canyon, and Chef Mickey's. After looking at the menus at allears, I figured a food budget for her of $25-30 a day which will cover lunches, dinners, and snacks. Then, she can bring whatever extra money she wants to spend. Since we won't be splitting up in different directions, I did say that she could give me the food money and I would take of it so we wouldn't have to worry about splitting bills, etc. She will be in charge of her spending money. I hope I have budgeted enough.

 

[FBZ]

Thanks for the input. Your ideas and plans have been most helpful. I think I will plan out our daily meals and assign CHEFs for each meal. Anybody else have proven ideas??
Thanks for your help.