the question i have been wanting to ask you guys.... About This Page:

[stefffe]

i hope this is the right forum to do so....if not im sure you guys will push me in the right direction

our trip is a 7 day MWY at pop with DDP and it is paid in full.... but i have no clue how much $$$ i need to take with me and with a daughter that is on her first trip and DH and I on our first in over 12 years... .... i want it to be special. we arent wealthy...and are working our behinds off to make SURE we are going to have what what we need to truly enjoy ourselves.....

so my question is (im sorry i know i ramble ) is how much money do you guys bring with you on your WDW trips?? inclucing CC's and cash.....whats bare minimum and what is luxury.....?? again all the essentials are paid for.....

im sorry if this is too personal to answer...and you guys only answer if it is comfortable to you.....feel free to PM the answers to me if you feel better doing it that way. i just want to make sure that i am not going to get there and be frustrated because i didnt have enough to make it "purrrrfect"

thanks again....in advance....and i truly appreciate any information


stefffe

[skywaywaver]

Seeing what you have saved...I think you should be fine. The only thing you have to worry about is if you are taking town cars and paying them to and from the airport, both in Disney and your home town.
Otherwise, you look like you're doing pretty well. I don't think you'll need all of that!

[scottjs]

Well we only carry 200 or so!!! With ATMs everywhere thats about all we need. We are keeping $1000.00 in the bank if we need that much. Major stuff is allready paid for!!! Who needs travelers checks anymore???

[iwanttogo]

I was just about to ask the same question - so I don't have an anwser. I am wondering even with the dining plan how much to expect to spend on extra food (for breakfast, snacks etc.) Also we will be there during the food and wine festival. If I were to only let the children pick one thing to bring home for themselves or give them disney dollars to use - how overpriced are the gift shops there.

[jhoshowski]

Our boys each have between $100 and $150 in Disney Dollars (I think it's too much, but it was birthday, Easter, etc. gifts ). We will probably take about $100 a day for incidentals. DH and I like a drink with dinner, any OOP food, and a little something special for DH and I (t-shirts, whatever). Plus any extra snacks - we will probably use snack credits for donuts, milk, etc for breakfast. I think it should be MORE than enough (we have never used DDP before) but we will have a credit card if necessary.

[Joanne929]

We went this past December for 6 days and also had purchased the DDP. We mostly used CS for breakfast at POR's food court and TS for dinners at various places depending upon the park we were in (had ADR's all set). Snacks were used whenever (in fact, we had more left over the last day or two than I had anticipated - we used them of course!).

I had already planned/saved for mousekeeping envelopes and transportation to/from POR/airport.
Anyways, I can honestly say that because that was paid in full, we didn't spend more than $700 while there. (I know because I took $200 out of our savings account while there - planned for that - and my credit card had a balance owed of less than $500 when we got home, and according to the charges back to the room receipt.)
That breaks down to a little more than $100/day. We did pay for Donald's Breakfast OOP so there was that expense (again, planned) so we spent about $600 on 'stuff'.
Unless you're big spenders (which can be easy to do on any vacation!), I think you should be able to figure $100 per day and be comfortable. Plan/save for as much OOP expenses you can think of and it will be nice and easy!
Have fun!

[ilovedisney0_0]

I do the same as Jennifer...$100 per day as spending money, after everything is paid. My DD also has about $150 so far on her DGC, plus some D$s, so I won't need to worry about buying things for her. She will spend her own money!

[Colexis Mom]

We carry about $400 in cash, but never come close to spending it all since we usually charge everything to the room. On a typical 8 day trip, including meals, we're usually down $1000+. When we had the dining plan last year, we only spent about $250 for 5 days, since everything was pretty much paid for already. I was quite happy to see that bill

[stefffe]

you guys are making me feel sooooo much better about all this..... i was stressing a bit on wether or not we were gonna swing it money wise.... its nice to breathe a little easier knowing that we are gonna be just fine.....

thanks again

[jtnsami]

We took our first trip last year and had everything paid for in advance for 8night/9day stay. I loved it. As far as spending money, I was the one with the money (DS11 and DD5 at the time). The rule was that they could look for souvies but had to wait until the end of vacay to get them (anything they wanted). For me this was a good idea. They were able to get a good idea of what was in each park, make a list of things they saw, and narrow it down to the "Just Have To Have" list. In all, I spent around $100 on each of them, and they ended up with everything they wanted. As for the DDP, we were so full from what we had, we didn't need any extra. I had also sent a package from home before I left so we could have snacks in the room.

[Disney_Scarlett]

With being on the dining plan, I spent very little. I paid out-of-pocket for a couple of drinks, a turkey leg, a margarita and one kid's meal breakfast, I believe. For me, about $15 - $20/a day would easily cover anything extra in the alcoholic beverages/food/snack/essentials catagories (like extra Tylenol or something). This is considering we had paid for our MNSSHP in advance as well. I also paid for my nieces' Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique ($90), tipped the DME driver a few bucks, the Mousekeeping staff a couple of dollars a day, and spent about $150 on goodies for myself and souveniers to take home to folks.

When things are paid for in advance, especially the dining plan, I think you'll be surprised at how little you can put into the vacation once you get there.

[HiddenMickey]

I'd plan on about another $20 a day for extra snacks or drinks.
We don't splurge on souveniers, maybe a t-shirt and one other item per person, so about another $200 for those. That would be it for us.....if we were on the dining plan for the whole trip.
You may just come home with some of that money....we've been known to do that.

[snoozin]

Our souvenirs are pins which we trade for, for the most part. We purchase them on eBay before we leave at a discount, and then trade with cast members for cool pins while we're there. We do sometimes buy a few things, but not too many, so our OOP there is fairly low. We save by bringing in water bottles instead of buying them there, and we add the little packets of flavor. We hate spending the money on drinks there, they're so expensive. We like Mickey bars, etc., but if your on DDP, then you can use your credits for stuff like that. We do like to go to DTD and go to Goofy's and make the candy pretzels there, but I think you can use snack credits for that too. We bring our own snacks with us (trail mix, etc) -- we'll go somewhere fun like Whole Foods or New Seasons to the bulk section and let the kids choose something a little out of the ordinary for bringing to the parks, then put it in ziplocs to keep it fresh when we go.

Other things you might pay a little more for are things like the carriage rides at POR or Ft Wilderness, getting a custom made pin, or similar thing. We've gotten the laser crystal paperweights at Epcot (you can have your kids put into one, it's very cool) for about $100 (ouch).

Lastly, I'll usually hit Walmart or similar to pick up some Disney things ahead of time, then give them to the kids while we're there. It doesn't rule out getting Disney stuff AT Disney, but it makes some of it a bit more affordable!

Have a great time!

[ljjri]

I guess I am a different league then the rest of you. On average I take anywhere from $1000 to $1800. That pays for everything food, snacks, presents for people and what ever may come up. If I buy something big, a cell, figurine, anything that I will be shipping home I charge on my Visa. I only bring 1 charge card (Disney Visa- love the points) and normally I bring money home. The cash I take is half cash half traveler checks.

I know that amount is alot to some and since I go every year but I am also buying christmas & birthday presents for people. After each trip I break down my expenses and figure out what areas I did good in and what areas I over spent. Whatever money I do bring home I usually put on my credit card or put back in the savings account until next time.

It all really depends on your spending habits and what you want to buy or not buy. Also what you are comfortable carrying with you.

[DISNEY03]

I agree with a few of the others, Jennifer and Amy (I think) we take $100 to spend a day. With all that you have already done that should be more than enough.
We found that sometimes we spent $50 a day and sometimes $150 so that always works for us.
Have a great time!