Originally Posted By LVCajun <I figure $100 for food per day should be plenty> I have never stayed under $80 for three of us. 30 for lunch 50 for dinner and if we include BB forget about it. We save a little by staying at Holiday Inn Express and doing there breakfast(included). I guess if you leave the park for lunch or dinner you could do it.
Originally Posted By mamacita I must be off on food because the only meal we do outside the park is breakfast usually and sometimes a midafternoon snack but other than that we eat at one of the hotels, DTD, or in one of the parks. We are really good about sharing and after thinking about it $40 seems really high per person but even at $30 per person I am off $50 per day and we uaully go for 5-7 days, no less. You have all got me thinking. I need to put this to paper again. tink_26, love love love the check register idea. I am going to "borrow" it from you!
Originally Posted By joeysmommy Budget? What budget? I'm feeling a little bad now about not budgeting for food on our trip last month. It was our sons' first trip to DL, so we went all out. Stayed at the DLH, lunch at BB, Goofy's Kitchen, George Thoroughgood tickets for HOB. Although, we did order groceries delivered to our room which saved a lot on beverages, breakfast and lunch. Also, I bought Tinkerbell gifts on sale for the boys at disneyshopping.com, Target and Disney Store before we left. Put them out the 2nd night for them and it really cut down on the "gimmies". When we booked our trip with AAA we received a "Fun Book" of coupons and I used them every chance I got. I saved $20 at World of Disney (20% off coupon). Disney Dollars (we went for their birthdays which are a week a part)from the grandparents, aunts and uncles helped immensely on the kids buying what they wanted. As long as it wasn't too big for the suitcase they could get it. The next trip will definitely be no frills, but I wanted their first trip to be memorable. They might not remember when they are older, but Mommy took 588 pictures on her new memory card -so I will have proof to refresh their memory.
Originally Posted By mickeynewe When I say "budget" I use that term loosely. I like to see where we are at, but we spend what we want at the park. Usually, my budget is just adding up the expense prior to leaving to see where how much the "known" expenses are. Once we get to the park, I don't worry about adding up expenses. Actually, to be truthful, I don't WANT to know! I set aside a certain amount of money each year for "vacation" time. If we use it all, we use it all, if not, it rolls over to the next year. This year we definitely used the entire year's budget (and more)because we went to Disneyland and an Alaska cruise (my parent's treat, but even with that it was an additional few thousand) for a week.
Originally Posted By mamamonkey If my son wants anything and I don't think it's worth the money then I will ask him to think about it for a couple of days because he might want something else later on. Most of the time he never asks for it again. But if he really wants it then I will get it later and use the coupons or AP discount. He's happy with simple stuff and one of the best things I ever got him was the name badge. He was tickled pink that the castmembers kept using his name.
Originally Posted By practicallyperfect I buy a lot of things on clearance at the Disney Store throughout the year. Then, I use these goodies as treats! I bought sweatshirts last spring for a couple of bucks a piece, lighted spinning toys for $1/piece, pj's for $3; I will give them to my girls for our November trip. I also buy a lot of glow items at the Dollar Store--a lot of things I don't mind paying full price but for some reason, I hate to pay money for those glow things! For spending money, I give my kids $5/day. If they spend the money the first day, then the second day they have a new $5 to spend. If they save it, then they have $10 to spend. And, I give the option as well that I will match any unspent money when we get home. Last trip, one of my girls didn't spend any of her fun money--she ended up with $50 to spend on a new DS game! With regards to food, we only have one sit-down meal a day. I like to schedule the meal for around 4 or 5 p.m. so we can get by with little meals until we eat the big meal. If we are staying off-site, then I pick a hotel that has a free breakfast (CCI, Residence Inn) to save money. When we hit DLR, we always go to a grocery store to get food and water for the parks. For a family of four, I put aside about $125/day. I buy the kids one treat a day--churro, popcorn, etc. If they buy it at 9 a.m., then if they want popcorn with the parade, they have to spend their own money!
Originally Posted By atinkfan This last trip, I did the $5.00 per kid per day thing. It sure made a difference for me! The trip before that, it was in Oct, and I kept buying things and stashing them as future Christmas presents. Well, we got home and I unpacked and pretty much thought, I spent a butt-load of money on stupid stuff! With what I spent at DL for a bunch of little things, I could have gotten my kids a couple big high $$ gifts!! So this year, I didn't do that. I found that I did spend much less on souvenirs than before. They got their money and they could spend it or save it. I loved that suggestion and will do it anytime we go somewhere from now on! Another thing we did was buy a bunch of glow in the dark necklaces at the Dollar Store and we also brought with us our DL spinning toys from previous trips. We put in new batteries and they were good to go. Not once did the kids ask for one of those. So if you don't have one, I would say to buy one and then bring it every time you go back!
Originally Posted By forcemejure We always buy LOTS of glow sticks at the Dollar Store before we go. Then I pack them into the park, a couple each day. If we're camped out for fireworks or a show and end up next to other little kids, I have my 4 yo son pass some out. The kids are always sooo thrilled and the parents are grateful. Talk about a nice little bit of Disney magic. Too cute! For breakfast, we always eat a large meal at the hotel buffet and then pack some snack to take into the park. If you're able to share the big meals and only buying lunch ($20 - $25 for 3 at Rancho) and dinner ($45 for 3 at River Terrace) you can feed 3-4 for under $100/day. Maybe even five. We always budget special meals like BB, Napa Rose, or Character Dining separtely. I also like to pick up light lunches in Downtown Disney on those days we're not famished. I also use the refillable mugs from Whitewater Snacks at least once a day.
Originally Posted By mickeynewe The best thing I ever bought for our daughter was right after Halloween. They had a bunch of slap bracelets with blinking lights on sale. We got a big handful of them. They were only 25 cents each on clearance. My daughter was about 6 or 7 at the time. She had one on each wrist, one on each ankle, on going around her high top ponytail, and even one as a choker necklace. She blinked all the way through the park that night. It was so cute! So many people asked us where we had bought them and they were disappointed when it wasn't Disneyland. I have never been able to find them since, but if I do, I'm stocking up!!
Originally Posted By Pixarpixie I like to keep it really simple...I buy a gift card loaded with all the money I've budgeted for the trip. Everytime I make a purchase, there is a balance at the bottom of the receipt. It helps keep my spending in check when I can see how low my money is getting ;-)
Originally Posted By avromark Nice too see you at LP mamacita, I seem to recall your nickname from other Disney boards.
Originally Posted By mamacita avromark, must be another mamacita but nice to see you too. The gift card is another good idea. mickeynewe, a few years back on one of our non-Disney days the kids got those little balloon animals. They were free but we gave $1 each for the tip. The kids wore them to Disneyland the next day and everyone flipped over them. They were constantly stopped and asked where in the park we got them. They were so disappointed to know we didn't get them at Disneyland. I like the idea of giving the kids a daily budget where they can spend it or roll it over.
Originally Posted By berol I was allowed to buy 1 thing for any theme park trip. I don't know what my limit was, but I don't think I ever spent more than $10. (in the snow uphill both directions)
Originally Posted By Wavesprite1 About the glow bracelets. I can buy 100 glow bracelets for $12 on Ebay. They are AWESOME. We always take them on trips, or camping, or just give them to the kids in the evening as treats!!! Such a DEAL!
Originally Posted By mamacita Oriental Trading is a good idea dlkozy. I ran the $5 a day idea past the hubby and he liked it a lot. As long as he doesn't have to abide by the same limits- ha ha!
Originally Posted By danmcmartin This has already been said, but using realistic amounts in your budget is key. I start planning my vacation the day I return from the previous vacation and I build a spreadsheet for my budget. I would always go over. A $2000 trip would become a $3000 trip. Then I figured out what we really spent. I used to budget nothing for breakfast (breakfast bars and juice in the room), $40 for lunch, $50 for dinner and $20 for snacks for four people. In reality we would spend $0 for breakfast (of course it costs something, but not part of the vacation budget), $50 for lunch, $75-$120 for dinner (depending on location, i.e. Mimi's vs. Blue Bayou), and $40 for snacks. That is almost double! I don't really save money, but at least I know what I am really spending on food and how much to save. Taxes and fees on the room also can amount to significant money if not accounted for and many hotels display the room rate without the add-ons.
