So, um, do you totally spoil the kids while you're there or what? About This Page:

[angiek1024]

My DS saves money for the things he wants at Disney. He saves birthday money, Christmas money, money for chores around the house, etc. We bought him a Mickey wallet and he keeps his money in there. For our trip in a couple of weeks, he has a little over $200 saved.

When he wants something at Disney, we tell him he has to use his money so he is very pickey about what he buys. It eliminates him wanting every thing he sees. Of course, we do break down and buy him a few things while we are there but they are of our own choosing.

As far as food, yes he indulges. It is vacation so we allow him snacks and treats within reason.

[DVC_Increda_Man]

Our DD is really good about saving money and buying her own stuff. Last year she saved up $500.00 to take to Disney World. We let her buy us stuff...hehehehe

[hminneman8]

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Our DD is really good about saving money and buying her own stuff. Last year she saved up $500.00 to take to Disney World. We let her buy us stuff...hehehehe

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Cool, I let her take me to Disney anytime she wants!! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img]

[MadHatchers]

We buy some toys so she has stuff to play with in the room. We also let her eat more desserts than usual. We are loose with the bedtime at home so that's not an issue for us. She also has the disney dollars that she's earned to buy things that she wants. She's 4 so the can I have it stuff hasn't started...yet.

We do spoiler her in making sure she does all the stuff she wants, rides, attractions, play or pool time.

jodie

[magic mickey]

We have a disney jar that we fill up with change and save for our trips. I take that money and cash it into disney dollars and split them between the kids. They also save some money throughout the year. The disney dollars are theirs to spend as they see fit. It is amazing how frugal kids can be with their own money. My DS has even come home with dollars because he wants to save them for another trip.

[SharonK0527]

Do we buy DD everything she wants at WDW? No. Do we spoil her on the vacation? Yes [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] We keep it within reason, but we do buy her toys & souvenirs at WDW. Although I will say the more trips we make, the less souvenirs we have been coming home with. I think we realize now that we WILL be going back, so we don't feel the need to buy everything in sight like we did the first 1 or 2 trips.

[coastgirl]

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I think we realize now that we WILL be going back, so we don't feel the need to buy everything in sight like we did the first 1 or 2 trips.

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Oh lord...this will be us. ;-) We have a hard time walking out of the Disney store at the mall without a bunch of stuff. (There isn't one close by, we have to drive about 90 minutes to go. Still!)

Stuff is one thing. I think we can set a list of sorts as someone suggested, one shirt, one large toy, maybe one new dvd each, plus probably some small things that are irresistable as we go...Am starting to talk about bedtimes and healthy eating now too. My dd has my sweet tooth and will live on chocolate, ice cream, and chocolate ice cream if I let her. She already is chanting "mickey bars!" and none of us has actually seen one yet...ok, I have no one to blame but myself...still, 8 or 9 days of treats won't ruin them for life, but um, eating poorly and missing out on healthy fruits and veggies is bound to make a kid...cranky.

Thanks for all the great advice, everyone. All things in moderation, including moderation...

[Edith24]

I went a lot of time as a kid and my parents never spoiled me. I had the permission to eat a Mickey Bar every day and I could buy some little things (like 5 $ a day), but that's it. I had to wait until I was 21 to buy that Figment bean that I wanted since I was 9! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] I think it's a good thing that they acted that way because I knew that if I'd ask for something, the day was over!

[poohmaine]

Last time we gave the kids $50 Disney and they could get whatever they wanted, but when the money was gone, it was gone. This worked out very well and my kids for the most part made very good decisions.

If your kids are too young to understand budgeting, you might want to visit the Disney Store before you go and stock up and have a new "surprise" waiting for them every morning when they get up. (We did this when DD was 5.)

We spend very little time shopping when we go to Disney, we just aren't interested!

[Wendyismyname]

I started giving them spending money in form of cash or Disney Dollars. They take that and their birthday money. Last year, they each had $200!!! So they split it between the two big trips we took!!! Once it was gone, it was gone. But both the kids did well and came home with cash!!

I do buy them each a t-shirt. I always urge them to wait until World of Disney so they can get their 10% AP discount.

[heidismith]

My two kids saved their allowance for three months before our trip and brought $150.00 each. This allowed for them to spend their own money with little to no interference from us (except that time when my DD wanted to buy that GIANT dinosaur that would not fit in our luggage [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/foreheadslap.gif[/img])
Otherwise, spending their money and not ours worked very well.