How much do you spend on avg per day on food/souveniers?

[Girls Scout Leader]

My DH anid I were riased in frugal ( POOR) homes, but I have collections that do not cost much...refridgerator magnents. DS and DD ( 11 & 13 ) have a good time looking at stuff, but we budget about $10 each per day for things that they do not have justify to us. We take care of tickets, meals, but when it became their own money, it made a big difference in what they spent. Little decisions, good and bad, become a basis for bigger decisions later. At first, they blew the whole on junk, but at the end of the day, when they saw something much more appropriate that they would have rather had, it made a lesson only learned by mom not preaching. Little by little, they really learned to be more cost concious, and they are learning to save for some thing bigger. What they do not spend on one day gets added to the next day's $10. At first DH figured if they did not spend it all that was too bad. But life in the Real world doesn't work that way. Wha doesn't get spent is saved, not lost. And this is not lost on my kids, either. And whining has never been tolerated in our home, so that has never been an issue.

 

[Tiger Fan]

We are a family of three and budget $100/day for food and souveniers. We almost always have left over with that budget. We do one nice meal a day, and then counter service. We usually have snacks in the room as well. We talk our own water bottles and are not buying souveniers each day, but saving for a couple of nicer ones. We even put the daily amounts in separate envelopes and this works great. Enjoy.

Lisa

 

[MinnieMe2]

Well, I guess I'd fail MOM101, but my kids were allowed to buy one souvenier with their own $$. And we waited until the last day or so to choose. They're teens and adults now, and do pretty well handling their $$ and choices in life. But still, I guess I wasn't a good mother.

At any rate, we also eat minimally at the World, maybe one or two nice sit-down meals and that's it. We're apparently not very discerning in the food we eat either, because we've always been fairly satisfied with the quality. We'd do the counter services in the parks. With four kids to feed, whatever was quick and edible worked for us.

We probably went thru $1,200 for six of us in a week. Now that it's just DH and I, and maybe one or two of the kids, I still budget the same amount. If we want a few more 'special' meals, whatever, we'll do it. If not, whatever we don't spend now will be put toward our next trip!

 

[Spoisal]

MinnieMe2....

I hope you were being sarcastic saying that you weren't a good mother! I see nothing wrong with either philosophy of souvenier buying - it is whatever you are comfortable with for YOUR family. I like hearing what other families do & that is GREAT for them. I let each of my girls get a souvenier every other day - will I do it again? Darn right I will! It is what we do the other 51 weeks of the year that mold our daughters personalities - not splurging our 1 week in Disney!! To each his own!

 

[BusyMomof3]

We are going in June and are planning on $150/day for meals, snacks, etc. We are a family of five and plan on one sit-down meal on most days. THe other meals will be counter service, or in our room(breakfast). We are trying to budget, so we got on Deb Wills site and figured out avg. cost for each of our meals. We also added tax/tip for sit-down meals. We added up the cost for snacks, too, since you can't go to WDW and not have Dole Whips, Beaver Tails, etc. This has been a great help in knowing how much money to save for our trip. The $150/day may be a little high, but I would rather have extra $$ than not enough.

As far as souveniers, our kids (ages 15, 12 and 8 when we go) have gotten Disney Dollars for Christmas, birthdays, etc. to use for their souveniers. They also have some of their own money. We will let them buy some souveniers, but will probably wait until near the end of the trip so they can look at things and make an informed decision. DS2 would buy very impulsively if we let him. DH and I do not buy much.

 

[Took]

We are a family of three and budget about $90/day for food and "extras," such as ice cream and soda (my DH will NOT bring soda or snacks from home, though he does use his re-usable mug a lot when we're in the room). MY DH and I each buy a piece of clothing as a souvenier (he collects and wears Disney boxers!) and my daughter is allowed a clothing item, as well. Any other stuff she has to buy from her allowance savings (she now puts aside $2/week for 'Disney money').

We tend to eat at counter service restaurants but throw in a few sit downs or maybe a character meal while we're there, too. We also split meals a great deal.

 

[Judy from Boise]

We are a family of 3 and we usually spend right at $100/day. This does not count the $ all ready spent on the cereal and snacks we bring with us.

 

[Meagansmom]

We are a family of three. We usually go for either 11-12 days. On this visit, I am budgeting $1100.00 for food. Now we usually do two character meals and HDDR, which we are planning to return to. But my inlaws are traveling with us this time and we will have to do more sit down restaurants. I am still planning to return with some money.

Now for souveniers, our daughter saves whatever money she makes and receives and also receives Disney dollars for alot of special things. She has about $200.00 to spend. Mom and Dad will buy daughter a few special things (waterglobes, collectibles, etc ). After that she has to spend her own money. (hairbraid, stuffed animals, etc). She does really good and really has to think about things. We try to buy most of the souveneirs at DTD with the DC discounts.
It adds up. I cannot say how much we spend on souveniers but I take extra money and I try to bring a majority of it back.

 

[welovemickey]

I'd like to put in my 2 cents here too. I figure that while we're on vacation I want to splurge! My children earn "Disney Dollars" during the year and they are free to use that money during our trips. They can buy what they want, however they have to use their own money. I personally don't consider the souvenirs we buy on vacation "junk". They hold memories for all of us. My kids still have the souvenirs in their rooms that we bought on our very first trip. Each time they see them, they have a memory. We usually budget about $1200.00 each time we go to Disney and we have a wonderful time - souvenirs and all!!

 

[Humpbacks1962]

I spend around $100/day as well. I save, I pay my vacation well ahead of time and by the time I get there I only have food & souvenirs to worry about.

I can't recall throwing away anything that we bought at the parks in the last few trips. My sons still have stuffed aniumals that aren't even sold anymore. My house is decorated with the knick knacks that remain.

I think it is a little radical to go to WDW and not allow the children to get a single thing, but that is different with each family. I advice my sons to avoid the junk, and get things that they'll use. I did invest in an awesome mini dv camcorder to take movies and pictures, as it is my most valuable souvenir from our vacations. But I give my children a $10.00 allowance to spend each day. I notice that it has helped them become selective. Often they choose to save their $10.00 and add them to the next day's, to get something bigger. So, in spite of the fact that I always give them a chance to get something at the parks, my sons don't squeal and beg for everything they see.

Wanda

 

[roadtripper]

First trip with the kids begins in 13 days! Here's how I'm working the souvenir dilemma (mind you, my kids are 5 and 7, and still gullible
Mickey and Minnie are leaving one gift a day on their pillow. Gifts are small, and Disney-themed from Walmart and the dollar store, with one splurge (a disney CD each for the 21 hour ride).The main reason for this is that I hate shopping even more than I hate spending money. I plan to buy them 5 dollar personalized Guest of Honor passes at DD, and I always dreamed of seeing my kids in Mickey ears, so those will be the special items. Plus, they both have about 20 Disney dollars,and you'd be amazed at how frugal they get with them! We're at OKW and plan to do a lot of food in the room, with two character breakfasts (Cindy's!) and Hoop de Do. I'm hoping an average of 100/day will do it.Thanks for all the tips!

 

[DeeP]

I am a Mom who has always let my children buy souvenirs when we are on vacation whether it is Disney or anyplace else. I have always paid for the souvenirs. I also enjoy buying myself souvenirs from our trips. I do not consider these souvenirs junk at all. We have things that we have bought from past vacations that we treasure very much. After reading this thread I asked my 17 DD, who has gone to WDW countless times since she was 1 yo, what she thought of souvenirs being considered junk and a waste of money. She said "they are part of your memories and are very special because they remind you of something special". BTW, she still has 95% of the souvenirs that I have bought her during our various vacations in the past 17 years. To me, every penny I have spent on our souvenirs is worth it, when I hear my DD say things like this and when I look into my children's rooms and see vacation souvenirs still in prized places and when I look at my souvenirs with great fondness that are throughout our home. They bring back great memories of wonderful trips and special times with my family and I don't consider that junk!! Also my children do not whine nor have they ever whined. I taught in an elementary school for many years and whining was something I got my fill of in the classroom, so it was never tolerated nor accepted in our home. My children are now late teens/young adults and they have learned to manage their money very well, they do not whine or complain, instead they take a more proactive approach to life than being a whiner and they do cherish their souvenirs and their memories.

 

[Mom B]

All we've generally done for souvenirs is basic stuff. I mean,
the old trick of taking along a notebook for character autographs,
the old camera for pictorial memories that will always bring
back smiles (and don't take up a great deal of storage space).
Then we buy one t-shirt, hat, or whatever for each (I've never
really wanted a "souvenir" as such but couldn't resist a "Pooh"
cotton jumper that I've worn for years, or the knit dress I got
from Animal Kingdom). Anything more than that, the kids are
pretty much on their own. They're older now, so they've
already been told if they want spending money for the trip,
they can get summer jobs! Yeah! Anyway, we tend to spend
our money on "doing" rather than "getting." Although we do
spend way too much trying out the restaurants; we're very
partial to Victoria and Albert's (adults only, of course, and a
great little souvenir--the personalized menu), the Hoop de Doo
Revue, etc.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

We spend WAY too much, and usually it is just DH and me. DH hates counter service, insists on sitdowns, so add that up 3X per day. YIKES. As for souveniers, since we live so close, we really don't buy much, but when we do it seems to be expensive items (i.e. household items, clothing, etc.)

When we take the kids we do mostly sitdowns, too, though sometimes we eat more on the fly.

I can honestly say that after a visit (not including day trips) I never go back and add up what we spent on food and souveniers alone. I guess when it comes to vacations we are not very budget minded.

 

[Edina]

One man's junk is another mans treasure! We don't buy souvenirs either, as I really have no use for them and have also learned that they remain untouched within hours of our return home. Like the above poster, we spend money on doing rather than getting as well. Works for me! Oh, we stay on the concierge level since we like the convenience of eating breakfast before leaving for the parks, and an evening snack, so we really have to spend on one big meal per day, which is only about $ 60 for our family of 4. We don't buy any junk (food) at the parks either.

 

[threeboysmom]

Wow! I guess I'm in the minority here. We go to WDW at least once a year - my boys are now 11, 9, and 4. My husband makes very good money, and we could afford to buy our kids anything they wanted. But we do not buy them souveneirs anymore. In the past, we've done the Mickey Mouse ears, guns from FL, pirate stuff from AL, light-up toys, etc., and all of it has ended up in the trash because the boys didn't take good care of their stuff. NOW, we pay their allowance in Disney Dollars a couple of months before our trip (they get $3 a week - they do NOT need more) and they go down with about $25 each (except for 4 year old) to spend. You wouldn't believe the change in them because it's now their own money they are spending. When it's Mom's or Dad's money, they will friviously spend it on ANYTHING and spur of the moment - "I want this and this and I've gotta have this"..... But when it's their OWN money - WOW!! they all of a sudden mature before your eyes and become very wise in their selection. They shop around, compare prices on different items they want, make a list of priorities (because $25 will usually only buy 1 or 2 things) and narrow the "wants" down, and at the end of the week, will finally make that all important decision. Plus, they take much better care of the stuff that they bought with their OWN money ! And there is absolutely NO whining since they know up front that Mom & Dad are not buying them anything because they have their own money to spend

Kimberly

 

[yepod]

We're more like Miss Jasmine (but I do keep track of spending, just don't obsess about it!)

I'm not going to touch the spoiled kids debate! Way to controversial. LOL

I just looked at our last 2 trips expenses to respond accurately.
I find $150 to $175 a day a more reasonable estimate IMHO.
We are a family of 3 (that's 2 big kids & 1 little, ALL spoiled!)
We all cherish our Disney treasures.
We eat an average of 2 good meals (character/sit down @ park/resort/DowntownD)
I also tip 20% for a good Disney meal.
I very much respect the Disney CMs including servers.
I suppose my spending in some eyes is just as controversial as spoiled kids!

 

[punkin]

I do buy my kids souveniers but not junk. Mostly clothes they would need anyway but with a disney theme. All the geegaws usually end up in the trash in my house. Our failing is the food. My kids do not eat well at counter places so that gets expensive quickly. Right now we have 3 character breakfasts and 6 sit down dinners planned for a 1 week vacation. I'm sure will also do some sit down lunches. Add a pirates cruise and wonderland tea and I think we'll spend about 1500 on food alone. Based on this calculation we are now stayng offsite.

 

[suesings]

threeboysmom: I REALLY like your strategy of Disney Dollars allowance and letting the select what they want with the money. In this you are using a good family vacation to teach very valuable lessons for life. I will definitely use your "method" when my toddler gets older. Learning respect and responsibility with money early in life is a great gift you are giving them!! It is amazing how conservative all of us are when it is "our" money.

Our families problem is we try not to eat junk food so good meals are expensive! I sure love good food!!

 

[momof2boyz2girlz]

I do the same thing as threeboysmom. I buy 20-25 disney dollars each. They were very careful with it. They didn't even spend it all since they liked the dollars so much, they wanted to save them!!!! But then again that is a souvenier in itself!!

As for food, we always stay offsite where breakfast is included. So, we end up eating a big breakfast, bring some snacks and drinks with us to the park, and then usually go offsite to eat dinner. This helps us keep our costs down. We did do one meal at the park last year, but mostly we graze for lunch!!! I'm not sure what I spend a day but when I go in April I will try and keep track!!