Spending Money

[bourque29]

I leave for Disney on 8/11/07 for 8 days and was wondering how much spending money would be appropriate for me and my 12 year old sister. We plan to eat at one sit down restaurant each day and more if we can. We are not on the dinning plan either. I expect to have about $1500.00 saved by this time however I am concerned this will not be enough. I am worried about the money we will spend on staying hydrated and don't know if this will cover everything. If anyone can provide some helpful information I will appreciate it!

 

[goofiecrazy]

I would say buy the water bottles from Wal-Mart or target that have the big opening at the top that u can get ice in the top.And when the ice melts u can just fill it with ice from one of the vendors selling sodas etc. That will save u $$ on drinks.Someone will have a link to all the menus and that should have the prices on it for u so u can get a idea on how much to spend.I know another web page i chck out all the time that has the restaurants and the prices on it. Send me a private mess. and i will tell u what the web page is..

 

[LuvOrlando]

When I went down there in June 2 years ago I saved a ton of $ by packing a 24 case of bottled water into a couple of bags when we flew down. We had 2 suitcases with clothes so I put about 6 bottles in each tucked between the clothes and the suitcase. I also took another $10 Wal-mart bag that I packed another 12 bottles into. When we came home the bag was used for keepsakes. Magical Express got it from the airport to my room for me.

As for getting around the parks. We held 1 bottle each when we got to the parks with a few warm bottles in my backpack & while DH carried the cooler with a set of cold ones. I filled a few Ziploc bags with ice when we got to the park to keep the cooler waters cold and as it melted I'd put it into bottles we were drinking from and get more ice from any stand I came across. When we had to resort to the warm waters I'd ask a counter CM or a stand CM for a cup filled with ice & almost always got one. Then I'd pour the warm water into the cup and in a few minutes it would be freezing so I'd put it back into the original bottle for leak free storage.

I hope this will help you. Have a wonderful time with your sister

 

[dsnymomof4]

If you're planning on doing 1 TS meal/day, why don't you look into the dining plan - it might actually save you money! Then, your meals would be paid for in advance and the only spending money you would need would be for souveniers and extra drinks/snacks.

 

[bourque29]

I did think about the dining plan however I have determined that I don't think it would be best for us. My sister is 12 so she is at the age where she can be a picky eater. She is happy with chicken fingers every day plus I had her look at the menus online and we could barely find 1 table service for each day as should wouldn't eat anything on half of the menus! This planning is harder than I thought it would be

 

[bourque29]

Thanks everyone for your help, I really like the idea and the water bottle and also bringing water down with us, THANKS!

 

[LuvOrlando]

I did think about the dining plan however I have determined that I don't think it would be best for us. My sister is 12 so she is at the age where she can be a picky eater. She is happy with chicken fingers every day plus I had her look at the menus online and we could barely find 1 table service for each day as should wouldn't eat anything on half of the menus! This planning is harder than I thought it would be

Don't worry about it. I have 2 kids who only eat Chicken fingers, burgers or spaghetti. Take a look through all the menu's and figure out where you can eat what you guys like cheaply. EPCOT now has a McDonalds where you cross over into the World Showcase. We bought burgers and Nuggets for the kids and a large coke with no ice which we split into the courtesy cups they'll provide for free and all 4 of us had lunch for $21... I never thought I'd see the day. The Columbia Harbor House in the Magic Kingdom has fried chicken strips and a soup & sandwich combo for you. MGM has the ABC Commissary which has a chicken nugget kids meal for her and yummy Cuban sandwiches for you.

If you really want to do table service you could always try for a late breakfast (11 am or so) and then you'll be full until a counter service dinner around 5. This reduces expenses allot because you only need 2 full meals instead of 3. Just bring along with you some Cherios or Nutrigrain bars you'd both like for a morning snack and it'll go fine.

Counter service dinner that works for us is the ESPN Sports Bar at the Boardwalk. Hollywood & Vine at MGM. Rainforest Cafe at Animal Kingdom.

Good luck

 

[dsnymomof4]

To answer your original question, I think $1500 would be more than enough! We are a family of 6 and have done a budget trip with as little as $500 spending money! Definitely look at the menus on Allears and see what places would be good for you. Buffets are nice because they offer a variety of food, plus she would be able to also eat from the children's section which usually offer chicken fingers, mac n cheese, etc. Yes, planning is hard, but it can also be a lot of fun. Just keep reading all the tips here and you'll have a good start. Have a great trip!

 

[greenmickeyfanatic]

you should go to budget board