Spending money / meal question

[la79al]

My teenager is heading to Disney soon with my sister. I need help figuring out how much money to give my sister to cover food. They will be hitting a grocery store while they are down there. They don't seem too sure of dining plans yet but my sister implied that they might grab some quick stuff for breakfast, pack some stuff for lunch and do whatever for dinner. Three days at Disney, two at Universal, a down day and a travel day. DD is not a huge eater but she is vegetarian. Food and spending money is the only thing we are covering so I want to make sure we send enough.

 

[tvguy]

$100 a day would be my ball park suggestion. My daughter is a vegetarian and buying meatless meals can often be more expensive.

 

[cheryllarsen]

Gosh, that's going to depend on a lot of factors!

 

[cheryllarsen]

I would say the $100 'should' cover it.

 

[easyas123]

Could you send him with a debit card that you could put more $$$ on if $100/day isn't enough?

 

[jtopp]

Have you checked with your sister how much she wants him to contribute. If she is shopping and cooking meals, the added costs of one more is not significant. Would she expect him to contribute or be offended that he offered (or didn't offer) to help. Having an idea of expectations will help you make sure she is not surprised with his input (or lack of).

 

[TwoMisfits]

I'm in the $100/day camp. Tell your sis that you tried to overestimate based on her plans, and to feel free to splurge on something nice for everyone if she has extra money left at the end b/c you won't need any back.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Communication is your friend here. $100/day seems excessive to me if they are QS/Starbucks type breakfasts and bringing their own lunch. I’d send her $75/day and ask her to let you know if it comes to more and don’t worry if it comes to less- honestly I don’t think your DD will even hit that…

 

[fla4fun]

I just got back yesterday. For a ballpark figure, I would use $20 per QS meal and $45 for TS as an average amount, for a total of $65 per day minimum. Most snacks or bottled drinks are an average of $5-6, so depending on how your teen eats, perhaps add another $10 for a snack stop, even if they do plan to carry in a packed lunch.

To get an idea of souvenir prices, check out the websites for Universal and Shop Disney. That can narrow down the spending money portion for you.

 

[StageTek]

$100 per day might be high. But I think it's an excellent amount to allow. As an adult solo traveler I average about that. Much better to come home with money rather than not have enough.

 

[cedricandsophie]

At least $100 a day. Then if not spent on food she could either return it to you or spend it on other stuff.

 

[Dakota731]

I’d rather send too much than not enough since your sister is paying everything else. I would say $100 a day is reasonable

 

[Eastern]

I kept track of food costs for a recent trip and we averaged $100pp per day, including occasional drinks and waters. Sometimes we spent less but other days we spent more. It is a very safe amount and I do not think she would go over this.

The actual amount average was $97.50 pp per day.

 

[gottalovepluto]

**Zombie Thread Alert**

This trip has undoubtedly already happened.

 

[halfpintpeggy]

Maybe the OP will let us know how it actually went.

 

[_19disnA]

OP was last here in Jan of this year.