Budgeting advice

[sbkline]

I am trying to estimate how much cash to bring with me for things such as gas, lodging there and back, tipping, etc. For a 7 night stay, how much would you estimate my tipping budget would be? What about mini-golf? I know we have the voucher for a free game which, as I understand, covers me and my wife both. So the first round is free, but what about the second round, as we will probably do both courses of the WinterSummerland one? Those are probably the only ones you guys can help me with, as the rest (lodging, extra food, souveniers, gas, etc) is based on our circumstances and needs which no one else would have any idea about.

 

[mkt]

$1.2 trillion should suffice

 

[maggiegrace1]

I was gonna say $1.2 billion..but maybe Rob is right..

 

[DDuckFan130]

It's really difficult to answer this question. We can't even answer the question for ourselves because things come up. But we don't bring a lot of cash because we use our room keys charged to the credit cards and we use credit cards. For gas, we use our cards....the pattern is we use a lot of plastic :lol:

Only you can guesstimate what you'll need. You never know when you'll want an extra Mickey Premium Bar or you'll want that t-shirt so like I said things come up and you can only make a huge guess for what you'll need :shrug:

 

[Wilt Dasney]

I'd say to come up with what you think is a reasonable maximum...and pile another $100-200 on top of that.

 

[tigsmom]

Go for about $200/day. Nobody says you have to spend that though.

We also charge back to the room on our credit card, use the cc for rooms and gas on the trip and then pay it off.

 

[sbkline]

It's really difficult to answer this question. We can't even answer the question for ourselves because things come up. But we don't bring a lot of cash because we use our room keys charged to the credit cards and we use credit cards. For gas, we use our cards....the pattern is we use a lot of plastic :lol:

Only you can guesstimate what you'll need. You never know when you'll want an extra Mickey Premium Bar or you'll want that t-shirt so like I said things come up and you can only make a huge guess for what you'll need :shrug:

Yes, I know, and that is exactly what I said above. :wave: Mainly, I guess I was asking how much mini-golf costs, so I can factor that into our budget, as well as an estimate of how much tipping would be for 7 nights. Is the rule of thumb about 2 dollars a night, which would make it 14 dollars (plus the guy who handles the bags)? Or is it higher than that?

 

[Timothy Q Mouse]

Mainly, I guess I was asking how much mini-golf costs, so I can factor that into our budget...

$10.75 + tax per Allears: http://www.allearsnet.com/btp/golf2.htm

 

[sbkline]

$10.75 + tax per Allears: http://www.allearsnet.com/btp/golf2.htm

Thank you for a non-sarcastic answer. :wave: :lol:

Like I said, I know that many things, such as gas on the way down, extra food, souveniers, etc, are very dependent on each individual's situation and cannot be estimated by others, and that was not my purpose in opening this thread. I just wanted to be able to ask about very specific things, such as the price of a game of mini-golf (just to name one) that anyone could answer so that I could factor that into my estimates of how much money to bring. I titled it "budgeting advice" so as to make it a little broader in case I thought of other very specific things that I didn't think of initially, other than tipping and mini-golf.

 

[sbkline]

From looking at that site, it says that it is half off of the second round the same day. Does that apply even if the first round was free because of that voucher they send to resort guests?

And, between this one and the Fantasia Gardens one, is this the easier of the two? I remember hearing that one of them was so difficult it was almost like playing regular golf.

 

[Tiggerfanatic]

As far as tipping, plan on $1 per bag for luggage handling, both on arrival and leaving. We tipped Mousekeeping $1/person per day. Made special envelopes for that and left it on the sink every morning. Hope this helps a little....

 

[LoriMistress]

It depends on how much you money you want to spend each day. What are you guys going to do about food? Are you going to eat at CS or at TS? What about other expenses?

 

[sbkline]

It depends on how much you money you want to spend each day. What are you guys going to do about food? Are you going to eat at CS or at TS? What about other expenses?

We're on the dining plan, so that part of the food, as well as the room and the tickets, are all paid in full. So my other expenses will be any food beyond the dining plan (including on the way there and back), gas, lodging there and back, souveniers, etc. I planned on about 1,000 to 1,100 dollars to spend on all these things, but I was just trying to get as accurate of an estimate as possible (hence my desire to know the price of mini-golf and total amount for tipping) so I can know whether I need to try to save back anymore than I already have, or if the 1,000 bucks I already have will suffice.

 

[Rob562]

One thing that hasn't been pointed out is that the voucher you get with your Disney package is *not* one free round of mini-golf per *person*. It's one free round per *room*. So no matter how many people you have in your room, the voucher is only good for one free game for one person. The second person has to pay full price. (The wording they use to describe it is a little mis-leading, but if you read the fine print, they do say that it's only for one person) This is what it says on the site:"Get a certificate valid for one round at either Disney's Fantasia Gardens or Disney's Winter Summerland Miniature Golf courses (valid for one round of golf per reservation)."
If you play an additional round, you'll get the discounted price mentioned earlier.
(The mis-leading wording is even worse with the description of the SeaRaycer boat rental certificate that says "get 90 minutes of watercraft fun when you buy 60 minutes", makes it sound like when you buy 60 minutes, you get an *additional* 90 minutes, when in fact you get a TOTAL of 90 minutes, or rather 30 additional minutes for free)

Also a random tipping note: if you're using Magical Express and have your bags delivered to your room using the yellow tags, there's no need to tip the bell person, as THAT tip is included. (Though if you want to tip an additional amount, you're free to do so) Disney included a tip ($1 a bag, I think) because a large percentage of Guests wouldn't be in their rooms when the bags were delivered, and there would be NO tips for the bell staff.
When they pick up you bags at the end of your trip, though, tip is *not* included.

-Rob

 

[ThumperDude]

For my trip in June, I've budgeted $100/day for myself. Some days a little more, a little less. That should cover food, snacks, tips and sovenirs. However, I have set aside an extra $200 for the unexpected stuff and an extra $150 just for churros and dole whips alone. I'm going to use cash and travelers checks. This way, when i get home the trip will be paid for.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

The onlytrue tip I can gve is that no matter what you budget it will still go out the window.

Now I dont bother and just brace myself for the credit card bill when we get home.:brick: Did I realy spend that much

 

[Ashleigh]

sbkline said: "And, between this one and the Fantasia Gardens one, is this the easier of the two? I remember hearing that one of them was so difficult it was almost like playing regular golf."

To answer your question about the difference between the two different mini golf courses - Fantasia Gardens actually has two courses. One course is a "more difficult course" that is like playing real golf. However, they have another course at Fantasia Gardens that is easy (just like regular minature golf).

We have played both courses at WinterSummerland and also the easier course at Fantasia Gardens - I would suggest Fantasia Gardens easier course. IMO it is a nicer course than both courses at WinterSummerland. WinterSummerland reminds me of other mini golf places with the characters throughout the course. Fantasia Gardens was nicer, they did some really original things with the movie Fantasia to make the course.