How much money for kid soueniers?

[friedela]

How much do you guys plan for spending money per kid? We were thinking $75 per kid USD (which is $92.00 CDN ). When we arrive in Florida we were just going to put the US money on a disney gift card and give one to each of the kids so that once the money is gone, it's gone. But having never been before I don't know if this amount is unrealistic? I know Disney is expensive and just GOING is a gift in itself. We've been talking to our kids for a year about how we are budgeting for this trip, we've given over certain things such as eating out as often, etc in order to save and they understand the sacrifice that has needed to be made in order to go so I don't think they need lots, they are SUPER grateful to be going... so my thoughts are that $75 USD is enough per kid but what do you guys think?

 

[alohamom]

I think that is generous and will allow your children to be able to have a wide choice of what to buy.

My kids are older now but when they were little, we did the same thing.

The only problem is my daughter is super impulsive and wants everything she sees. My son is totally opposite and needs to analyze every thing so we would end up standing with him in places while he took eons to decide and she had already spent her $$$ but wanted more.

It was actually a great way to teach them about budgeting what you have spending in general.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

My DD9 got a $25 gift card for Christmas ($20 US). We are planning on opting out of housekeeping so we can get the $10 per day ($60 for 7 nights). We plan on adding that money to her gift card so she will have around $80 to spend, which is more than enough, I think.

 

[MamaBelle4]

The only problem is my daughter is super impulsive and wants everything she sees. My son is totally opposite and needs to analyze every thing so we would end up standing with him in places while he took eons to decide and she had already spent her $$$ but wanted more.

My kids are the same way! I kept saying "You're running low are you SURE you want that?"

We took $100 for our kids each last time. BUT that was money they saved from birthdays/Christmas, tooth fairy and money they earned doing extra chores and we evened it out. If the top saver/earner had $50, that's what they each would've had. Frankly, $100 was almost too much.

 

[Aladora]

That sounds like a decent amount.

We always make DS take a picture of the souvenirs he wants and then on our last day at the parks he can go through the photos and pick what he really wants. It really helps with the impulse buys!

 

[DisneyChris2016]

It might depend on the ages of your kids, but I think that's more than enough. One thing we always try to do is discourage our kids from buying any type of toy or set that can be purchased in toy stores at home. We prefer for them to stick to true "souvenirs"... on our first trip, my son bought a Disney World dated photo album, the girls chose plush toys unique to DW. On our last trip, two of my kids did the make your own light saber thing at Hollywood Studios. That was a cool experience as well as a quality toy, so we didn't mind that (although it was a pain carrying those things around for the rest of the day!) And we always let them each choose an ornament at the Christmas shop to commemorate our trip. If we give them too much money, we find they are looking for ways to spend it, rather than choosing things they truly want.

 

[Donald - my hero]

How much do you guys plan for spending money per kid? We were thinking $75 per kid USD (which is $92.00 CDN ). When we arrive in Florida we were just going to put the US money on a disney gift card and give one to each of the kids so that once the money is gone, it's gone. But having never been before I don't know if this amount is unrealistic? I know Disney is expensive and just GOING is a gift in itself. We've been talking to our kids for a year about how we are budgeting for this trip, we've given over certain things such as eating out as often, etc in order to save and they understand the sacrifice that has needed to be made in order to go so I don't think they need lots, they are SUPER grateful to be going... so my thoughts are that $75 USD is enough per kid but what do you guys think?

I agree with others that is MORE than enough for your kids to get something -- depending on their ages that would cover a t-shirt/sweater/hat and something else. Just a thought, most stores that have a gift certificate display now carries the Disney cards so you could buy them now and pay CDN funds. This way your kids will have the card before they go and (again depending on their ages) you could let them look at the Disney Shop Park app to get a feel for what products are available and the costs. You can only download the app while in the states but it is available to look at online thru this website
Disney park merchandise
The gift cards can be used in the parks and will be converted to USD funds based on the previous business day's exchange rate.

 

[mab2012]

I'm with others in thinking that $75 is well more than enough for personal souvenirs. My kids typically have $30 - $50 for vacation spending (any vacation, including Disney), and that's money they were given for Christmas or birthdays. They don't usually spend it all. I will sometimes buy a single pin per child, but that's about it. On our last trip my daughter bought a shirt, and my son bought a couple of base plates at the Lego store (shows where his priorities are!). So they spent about $30 each. That said, we've been to WDW before, and they can reasonably assume we'll go again. Maybe not next year, but sometime. So the push to buy souvenirs is not so great. If this is a once-in-a-lifetime trip, or even just very infrequent, it might be reasonable to expect they'll want to spend more.

Also depends on what you expect them to cover. Eg. if they're going to be responsible for their own snacks, or buying gifts for others, then that will obviously drive up the amount they should expect to spend.

 

[isabellea]

We go every year so we're probably not a reference but last time I had to push my kids to find something so 75$ would be more than enough for them.

 

[amie416]

Something to keep in mind: anything bought in the parks can be returned at a resort gift shop if they change their mind and see a different souvenir they want instead.

Obviously, this will require a bit of restraint on their part to not tear open the packaging and play with what they've bought... but keeping everything in "new with tags" condition until the end of the trip might prevent a meltdown when they see that thing they REALLY wanted on day 4.

 

[starvenger]

How much do you guys plan for spending money per kid? We were thinking $75 per kid USD (which is $92.00 CDN ). When we arrive in Florida we were just going to put the US money on a disney gift card and give one to each of the kids so that once the money is gone, it's gone. But having never been before I don't know if this amount is unrealistic?

This feels realistic. We generally don't put a dollar amount on what our kids can spend, and try to stress that if they want something, it should be something that reminds them of the trip rather than something disposable - I usually point to my shot glass collection (which is usually cheap. Not so much at theme parks or on cruise ships) as an example. So something along the lines of what @DisneyChris2016 does.

 

[mort1331]

What you have not said is how old the children are. This plays alot into the amount. My dd6(will turn7 there) will be taking 50can on a GC. This is bday money she has been given. With my dd11 if she were to go might be up to 75, again with some of her bday money. But we are true believers on even kids can learn the value of a dollar. We do take some souvenirs down with us and place them out each morning. We do this so they dont want to spend time in the stores and wait each morning to see what Mickey is leaving them. My dd6 is already wondering what Mickey is leaving her this week when we go.

 

[sherilaine]

Depending on their age, that might end up being too much. When my kids were 10 and 9 they each had a gift card with $50USD and it turned into almost a chore for them to use it up - they were fussy about what they wanted and while my son did find a few things that used up his full gift card, my daughter was struggling on our very last night in the parks to use up her full amount. The gift cards are convenient but not if they retain a balance and you don't know when you'll be back to use them again.

 

[mort1331]

Depending on their age, that might end up being too much. When my kids were 10 and 9 they each had a gift card with $50USD and it turned into almost a chore for them to use it up - they were fussy about what they wanted and while my son did find a few things that used up his full gift card, my daughter was struggling on our very last night in the parks to use up her full amount. The gift cards are convenient but not if they retain a balance and you don't know when you'll be back to use them again.

i hear ya, but we know we will be back the next year if not earlier,,,lol

 

[Best_Vacation_EVER!]

We have bought 3 - $50 CDN Disney cards for our DS11 -- I'm guessing that he'll use most of it to buy small souvenirs for some of his friends... since they seem to buy each other a small token from each trip to different places. Generally DS likes looking at the pictures of trips more than the "stuff" which is good...

 

[cassie58]

I think that is a good amount - we have done the same with our kids since they were little so they can pace themselves and make their choices. We also buy them one thing like ears, a shirt, or pin as our souvineer, and a family Christmas ornament to mark the year. This way they know if they pick a big item, that is most of their money, so they have to think, like DD who had to have the Banshee after riding FoP in Nov. - easier as they get older of course, but good lesson for the younger ones too.

The main stores in each park will have many of the same items, like Emporium in MK and Mousegears in Epcot, and World of Disney in Disney Springs, so you can let kids think and not use all their money the first day, especially if you will visit the parks more than once. Obviously there are sone items more unique to a park, like African items in AK, country items in Epcot, and more of Star Wars items in HS, so they would want to grab those. My other advice would be, not knowing ages of your children, is that as they get to be teens if they are not big Disney fans, it is sometimes better to go with a Visa card or money in case they don't find something they want to use Disney card for - DS was 13 on last trip we took with whole family( last two have just been DD and I), and had Disney card from us and cash from grandparents, but not into any traditional souvineers. He is a big soccer fan, so ended up finding an $80 Germany jacket in Epcot, but is a senior now and will be going on his class trip this spring, and will probably only want some exotic hot sauce if they have any!

 

[deedubb]

Disney merchandise is expensive, but I think $75 USD is reasonable and a gift card is a great way to do it. That way, you never spend more than your limit if you explain to your kids that the amount on the card is what they get, and once it's done, it's done. Our kids don't even spend that anymore as there isn't much they really want in the parks.

 

[friedela]

Thanks for all the responses you guys! My kiddos are 6 and 7, sorry I forgot to mention that! I feel comfortable with the $75 now after hearing your responses! $50 each was from their Grandpa so we are only shelling out a bit of it from out own pocket. I also really love the idea of making it a lesson (money DOES run out!) and how to make good choices when they purchase something.

They are also doing BBB and Pirates League so it's not like they will be deprived, lol. I grew up in a beyond poor family so this is a HUGE dream for me to be able to take them! I know no matter what they buy it's the whole experience of it that is going to be amazing!

 

[friedela]

Depending on their age, that might end up being too much. When my kids were 10 and 9 they each had a gift card with $50USD and it turned into almost a chore for them to use it up - they were fussy about what they wanted and while my son did find a few things that used up his full gift card, my daughter was struggling on our very last night in the parks to use up her full amount. The gift cards are convenient but not if they retain a balance and you don't know when you'll be back to use them again.

Oh I think if we run into that issue I'll just use it on myself, lol. Can they not also be used in disney stores in Canada? We have a few disney stores in Calgary so we could just save the cards for christmas gifts or whatever.

 

[ottawamom]

I would leave the $75 as cash, if that's the amount you choose to give them to spend. Keep it in individual envelopes (held by Mom or Dad if they are young). This way 1. they can keep track of how much they have left, 2. they can learn the value of money, 3. any funds left over can be converted back to $Cdn that they can keep when back home.

The Disney gift cards are like cash in that if lost they cannot be replaced so keeping their spending money in cash is really no different. When using a gift card to pay for something it is really difficult to get a sense of how much you are spending, handing over cash helps to give that some context. Allowing them to keep the money if they don't spend it allows them to make wise decisions for themselves. There may be something they would rather spend it on at home than a souvenir at Disney.

Just a few thoughts.