Spending money

[BaysMom]

How much spending money do you plan on? We are on the dining plan, and will be there for 5 days- just DH, myself and DD who will be turning 5 while we are there!

 

[parith1114]

We are a family of 6 who will be there for 6 days, and we are figuring around $800. We are also on the dinning plan and are giving each of the kids $100 for souviners. The other $400 is for tips and one TS meal, we are on QS plan. Don't know if well spend it all, but we like to have it just in case.

 

[goofyintoronto]

For the 2 of us (my DS11 & I), for 9 days, we brought $1200. Mind you, the first 2 days/2 nights were room only...so no dining plan. We had dining plan for the next 6 nights/7 days. Also, we ate at 3 restaurants out of pocket. Plus we took cabs, 3 times. The first two days we seem to spend a lot, about $350 on food, cabs, a couple of souveniers. Anywho, to sum it up, we pretty much spent the entire $1200, with about $20 to spare. haha!! I know it sounds crazy but like i said, we werent on the dining plan the first 2 days/2 nights. so all of our meals were OOP. I budget for $100/day for us. Out of the past 4 trips, averaging 7-10 days, we always brought between $1100 to $1300 and it was always enough. I did notice thou that with the 2 previous trips prior to my recent one, we had a couple of hundred left over. So maybe this time around doing the room only was more expensive? but so worth it!

Not sure if any of that made sense. Lol!

 

[ToddB]

We are going from Nov. 24 - Dec. 4 this year, just my sister and I are going with the free dining. We are taking around $8-900 a piece. We will need that for extra food for our drive down and our first night there, also for gas money since we are driving. Then the rest will be for souvenirs or emergencies, and I'm planning on doing most of my Christmas shopping while there.

 

[ToddyLu]

When not on the dinning plan DH and I spend around $1500 on food and just a few souvenirs for a 9 night trip. We eat at a lot of table service places and do not have children. We have a trip coming up in Oct with my parents. We have our DVC, APs and TIW card for this trip. Other than music I do not buy many souvenirs down there. My parents are staying DVC with us. SO far they have invested $1200-we provide the room, they have purchased tickets and the DDP for 7 nights. I am sure they will get a couple of souvenirs but the plan is to kinda stick to what we have already paid for.

$100 a day sounds good for a couple, maybe $200 a day for a family of four. It is a very expensive vacation when compared to others. I keep thinking of wter costing $2.50, so DH and I spent at least $20 a day in just water this past May. We had forgotten to get a case for $3 on our grocery stop

 

[the_green_machine]

yeah, these numbers look good to me.

I'm heading down in Jan with free dining for 5 of the 7 days in the world.

Looking at taking approx. $1200.00 to $1500.00 for my wife and I. She's been dreaming of this her entire life and if I can help it "sorry we can't afford it" isnt going to be a phrase she hears during this trip!

 

[kmedina]

No matter what I plan, we always go slightly over. Last trip, we ended up spending an additional $200-$300 (of which $150 was on a new WDW bag to bring home our extra stuff). We were packing for the ME which was coming in 20 minutes (bad planning I know). Between packing an insane amount of items purchased with remaining snack credits on the deluxe dining plan and the incredible amount of stuff DS bought (birthday and Christmas money from family members), we noticed there was no room.

What to do? There was no time to pack and ship. Leave stuff behind?
The answer was to rush to the gift shop where there conveniently were no bags less than $150. Now, I have a bag we only take one place. We are taking it again next trip. It will be nearly empty on the way there.

For the poster giving the kids $100 each, make sure you have room in your suitcases or bring a half empty one. You do not want to go over budget for a suitcase or shipping.

To the op, I suggest $1000 unless you are staying at a deluxe. They automatically authorize $1500 (unless you specify another amount). Have fun.

 

[goofyintoronto]

yeah, these numbers look good to me.

I'm heading down in Jan with free dining for 5 of the 7 days in the world.

Looking at taking approx. $1200.00 to $1500.00 for my wife and I. She's been dreaming of this her entire life and if I can help it "sorry we can't afford it" isnt going to be a phrase she hears during this trip!

Awwww thats so sweet! It'll be a heck of a trip for you guys, thats plenty of cash. have fun!

 

[scoopmorgan]

Sorry to ask what may seem silly questions, but here goes: We are staying at Pop. I know the KttW will allow me to charge items to the room. The question is, Does Disney take your CC number, and authorize $XXX for your stay, right at the beginning, or do you give them the # and they only charge what you spend?

 

[kmedina]

Sorry to ask what may seem silly questions, but here goes: We are staying at Pop. I know the KttW will allow me to charge items to the room. The question is, Does Disney take your CC number, and authorize $XXX for your stay, right at the beginning, or do you give them the # and they only charge what you spend?

No need to apologize. Like most hotels, Disney does take an authorization up front. The authorization ensures that you have enough available credit (at the time) to cover the charges you make through your stay. Nothing is actually charged until the account is settled (either when you check out, if you reach your maximum authorization amount or you request it be closed sooner). Each tier takes a different standard amount. I have never stayed at a Value, so I am not sure what they take. Moderates take $1000, and deluxes take $1500. You can specifiy a different amount up front when you check in. There are probably maximums and minimums, but I do not know what they are.

If you would rather not use a credit card for any reason, you can turn off charging priviliges. My sister did that on her last trip, so she could pay with cash for most things. I am unsure with Disney (after 10pm here, so I do not want to call her this late), but most hotels make you put up a slight cash deposiit when there is no credit card tied to the amount.

 

[scoopmorgan]

Thanks Kmedina! That helps a lot!

 

[kmedina]

Thanks Kmedina! That helps a lot!

You're welcome. Have fun on your trip!

 

[scoopmorgan]

You're welcome. Have fun on your trip!

You can bet on it!
THANKS.

 

[LJSquishy]

Everyone budgets differently because we all have different needs/wants. You have a child, so you will probably want to let her pick out special items to bring back home with her.

My husband and I are going and we are not into Disney-themed items so we won't be spending any money on "stuff". Our only additional expenses will be tips, extra snacks, and one or two meals when we are off-property visiting Universal Studios. We will be on the free DDP when we go. I'm planning on about $100-$200 of expenses for a one-week trip.

 

[kmedina]

Everyone budgets differently because we all have different needs/wants. You have a child, so you will probably want to let her pick out special items to bring back home with her.

My husband and I are going and we are not into Disney-themed items so we won't be spending any money on "stuff". Our only additional expenses will be tips, extra snacks, and one or two meals when we are off-property visiting Universal Studios. We will be on the free DDP when we go. I'm planning on about $100-$200 of expenses for a one-week trip.

Unless you are eating only quick service meals off site, I suggest taking a little extra than $200. Tips alone should run you around $100 (give or take, since I do not know your restaurants) for 7 ts credits. Enjoy your trip.

 

[BaysMom]

I have $800 in cash to take with us, but can charge on my debit if I have to...not really wanting to though!

I am figuring on buying some stuff... and probably not telling her no very often. I know...crazy. But, it is her 5th bday, our first family trip to Disney...and we are going all out!!!

I was thinking that 800 would be plenty.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

there are a ton of Chase ATM machines at Disney.

 

[kmedina]

I have $800 in cash to take with us, but can charge on my debit if I have to...not really wanting to though!

I am figuring on buying some stuff... and probably not telling her no very often. I know...crazy. But, it is her 5th bday, our first family trip to Disney...and we are going all out!!!

I was thinking that 800 would be plenty.

I think you'll be fine with $800. Have fun.

 

[the_green_machine]

Awwww thats so sweet! It'll be a heck of a trip for you guys, thats plenty of cash. have fun!

Thanks She has no idea either, she wont find out until Christmas morning that she'll be in Disney World 3 weeks later. I'm planning on taping her reaction and putting a link up on the boards (minus the inevitable cursing!)....Should be good!

 

[kmedina]

Thanks She has no idea either, she wont find out until Christmas morning that she'll be in Disney World 3 weeks later. I'm planning on taping her reaction and putting a link up on the boards (minus the inevitable cursing!)....Should be good!

You're too much. She's going to love it!