Spending $$$ ??

[tolookaa]

How much spending money on average does everyone bring?
I have a family of 5, 2 adults 3 children 4, 9, 10. I am going for 7 days and do not know about how much to bring for food and souveniers. All help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[beattyfamily]

I've got a spreadsheet where I plug in about $100 a day in spending money and then a separate spot for meals. I plug in the approx cost of each meal. I can also plug in the tips, parking, photos etc...

If I were you, I'd at least have $1500 for food and spending money.

Food is VERY expensive at WDW. Then there's the unexpected like the photos they take, or medicine or parking and the unexpected tips.

I usually bring $500 cash and charge the rest (of course, I pay it off as soon as I get home with the rest of the money I've saved for our trip).

Good luck.

 

[Tiggerlover91]

Originally posted by tolookaa
How much spending money on average does everyone bring?
I have a family of 5, 2 adults 3 children 4, 9, 10. I am going for 7 days and do not know about how much to bring for food and souveniers. All help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

I can get you started by telling to to visit DEB'S SITE to get a look at the Disney menus. I don't think eating at Disney is VERY expensive in comparison to anywhere else I've been. Hubby and I have been to restaurants where we pay about $22 a plate for an entree. We went to Emeril Lagasse's restaurant in New Orleans called NOLA and spent $40 on LUNCH...AFTER the tip. You can keep your cost down at Disney by doing several things: eat more counterservice, it just is in fact cheaper....instead of doing dinner, do late lunches at the sit down restaurants, you can get some of the same meals for a cheaper price at lunch....bring snacks for breakfast: breakfast bars, fruit, yogurt; that will help alot....do schedule at least one character breakfast, they really are worth it....and finally just research the menus on Deb's site, they are truly a blessing!
I hope I've helped.

Denise

 

[crisi]

It really does vary a whole lot. I've done trips for less than $25 a day for food and no souvieniers (didn't spend a dime on anything other than food, hotel, park tickets and a Mears shuttle), trips where we've spent $200 a day for a family of four (and two are preschoolers!) on food alone (as I've said before, last trip we spent more on umbrellas in our rum drinks than DisneySteve spent on food total). Trips where I've come home with $700 animation cells (and there are pricier souvieniers to be had at Disney), and trips where the souvienier is a tshirt off the back of the sale rack at MouseGears for $6.50.

Figure out how much you can afford to bring for spending money. Decide if your priority for that money is food or stuff (or both). And experiences - Cirque du Soliel will set you back a wad of cash, but if its what you really want to see, you can live off Cliff Bars and tap water for a week. Check the menus at the site listed above to get an idea of what food will cost you. If food looks like its going to cost more than your budget, read these boards for a lot of hints on how to keep your food budget under control.

(oh, I forgot, the priciest souvienier we ever bought was a DVC membership.....)

With your older kids, consider giving them their own souvienier and snack budget. That way, you won't be bugged for every snack, hat, tshirt that comes along. Your four year old may or may not be ready for his own "budget" - but may pick up on his brother's budgeting.