Budget for treats in the park!

[nikkislaght]

We take our Own Disney treats from home.. buy bulk and take with us... this way my son get the Disney look and can spend his money on other things.. (hats)
lol

and this way when he does want a treat at the park he can spend a bit more
have a fun trip

 

[YukonMommy]

I'm curious how having a different gift card for each kid works with larger families? Has anyone had experience? Sometimes waiting in line to buy food is bad enough with kids, doing 5 separate transactions (4 kids plus me and DH) seems like it would take a long time. I tried keeping a running tab of their allotted money on one trip, and that was a pain too.

I also have 4 kids. To keep track of purchases we pay with a credit card and write the child's name on the receipt. Back at the hotel I pull out the notepad with each kids amount of spending money (usually different totals as they earn Disney dollars for allowance and extra chores) and subtract it, so they know how much money they still have for the next day. As for the food we do not make them buy their own treats. We share 2 (churros, pretzels, mint julips, etc between the six of us (the exception is ice cream) and they each get to pick a special treat for parades or fireworks.

 

[rentayenta]

My kids learned to share early on, this work well for popcorn, pretzels, Dole Whips, caramel apples, corn and churros; basically anything but some of the ice cream bars Sharing allows them to try more treats.

 

[Supermavs]

On our last family trip, we got Disney gift cards for the kids. At that time we had 7 kids. (9 now) We decided on a dollar amount for them with the older kids getting slightly more. We were in the parks for 5 days. Mom or dad held the younger kids' cards and the older kids held their own. We calculated what we felt was an appropriate amount if they were to buy a treat or two each day, plus a larger souvenir item.

It worked GREAT. Our youngers loved being sent to the churro cart 'alone' with their card, and everyone made careful decisions.

We did have one daughter lose her card that still had $50 one it. She was very upset understandably. I was too! But it provided a good opportunity for the other kids to step up. On their own, they all decided to chip in some money from their cards so she could still have some spending money. Made my heart so proud!

 

[chickapin parterre]

actually I would encourage family traditions around the treats, that the moment of threat is special, walking up to the mickey mouse ice cream head on a stick, that should be the reason of the treat, that it is a family event

 

[Canadafam17]

great idea!!!!

 

[arichau]

I like a lot of these ideas. We really try to make sure our kids know what to expect before the trip to avoid the constant asks for stuff. But that has been more about souvenirs (ears, pins, clothing, etc.) where we say that at the end of the week we will buy each kid one of these things (except ears we get at the beginning so they can wear them in the park). But we haven't done this with treats as much. This years trip we were with extended family and we were pelted with asks (which the grandparents in our group constantly said yes to LOL) but for future trips I'm going to use some of these ideas for treats.

 

[disneychrista]

I honestly rarely buy "treats" at Disneyland. Not sure why, just don't. And it is not because I don't eat sweets & treats because I do.

But with the above said I would budget $5 per person per day.

 

[crystalwolf]

I would not give young children cash or cards that they have to carry themselves. I would simply let each child know that he or she can have one treat per day and give them the cash at that time.

I would do the same. My kids tend to forget about what they are holding on to.

 

[luulu1999]

I honestly rarely buy "treats" at Disneyland. Not sure why, just don't. And it is not because I don't eat sweets & treats because I do.

But with the above said I would budget $5 per person per day.

I realized with this thread we dont really either lol we have had a dole whip on one trip and a churro and I think that is about it