Am I being realistic

[njgrlloves2trvl]

I have never been to Disney anything other an an "On Ice" production eons ago. I will be sailing on a 5 day in February with one child and am trying to get a loose budget together. My question is solely for the gift shop, not about gratuities, spa or any other on board expense. I hate to ask about money because its such a personal and subjective topic but being clueless to the Disney experience and pricing I don't want to under prepare. Is $150 a decent amount that an 11 year old could get a few nice souvenirs? i.e. t-shirt, note pad, stuffed something or another or some trinkety item? If not what should I increase it to?

[Rob_Jen]

I have never been to Disney anything other an an "On Ice" production eons ago. I will be sailing on a 5 day in February with one child and am trying to get a loose budget together. My question is solely for the gift shop, not about gratuities, spa or any other on board expense. I hate to ask about money because its such a personal and subjective topic but being clueless to the Disney experience and pricing I don't want to under prepare. Is $150 a decent amount that an 11 year old could get a few nice souvenirs? i.e. t-shirt, note pad, stuffed something or another or some trinkety item? If not what should I increase it to?

 

For those types of souvenirs I would think that is plenty. If your child would like autographs just get a autograph book at a local store prior to sailing and you can take your own pictures with the characters as well.

[cruise2727]

$150 will be plenty. We just got off a 7 day cruise on the Wonder. I believe the stuffed items were $10-$40 depending on size. Most where around $20-$25. T-shirts and all of the other items were very reasonable. Pretty much what you would pay if you went to a Disney store, maybe a few dollars more.

If this is your first Disney cruise and your daughter is really into seeing the characters and Princesses. I would recommend looking at buying the photo package. It gives you all of your pics on a CD and printed out with fun boarders on them. It is a little pricey but well worth it if you plan on taking a lot of pics with the characters. Have fun.

[njgrlloves2trvl]

Thanks those are good suggestions. We will be on the Wonder as well. She may want to take a photo with two or three but she's not as fanatical as she was 4 years ago. Who knows once she steps on board?! :) I will look into the photo packages.

[cruise2727]

Don't forget about Pirate night. Believe it or not but tons of people dress up and it is a lot of fun. You will see basic costumes to very elaborate costumes that cost several hundred dollars.

[moki'smommy]

That's a lot more money than I ever gave my kid. Adult t-shirts are $25-30, kids a little less. Stuffed things are $10 or $12 and up depending on size. Pins $6-$20. Get an autograph book in advance if that is a consideration.

 

But/make your pirate night outfit at home. Target is a good source of stuff for that. A costume on the ship starts at about $75 for stuff that you/he are not likely to ever wear again!

[Capt_BJ]

ta da

 

an opportunity to TEACH

 

tell youg'en they have $XX to spend (and for us this was WAY less than $150!!)

 

suggest they build their list of wants and not buy until the last day ... when you can help review the list .. prioritise . . .

 

(we teach Junior Achievement classes locally ..... wants versus needs .... where does $$ come from .... )

[helenb]

One thing your child might like is a visit to the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique. They can get made up like a princess (or a pirate, on pirate night) and (for extra $$$) it can include a costume as well. That may be a much better memory than a stuffed animal or t-shirt. You could let the child decide what they would prefer.

[Ex techie]

One thing your child might like is a visit to the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique. They can get made up like a princess (or a pirate, on pirate night) and (for extra $$$) it can include a costume as well. That may be a much better memory than a stuffed animal or t-shirt. You could let the child decide what they would prefer.

 

For an 11 year old, maybe, maybe not so much.

I guess it depends on their maturity level.

 

OP, $150 is more than enough IMO.

 

ex techie

[NancyIL]

For an 11 year old, maybe, maybe not so much.

I guess it depends on their maturity level.

 

OP, $150 is more than enough IMO.

 

ex techie

 

*I* don't spend even $150 for stuff I want onboard!

[Ex techie]

*I* don't spend even $150 for stuff I want onboard!

 

But, to be fair, your not an 11 year old girl either! :p

I can see $150 buying enough, but let free to spend what she likes it could run $2k! lol!

 

ex techie

[tinybiny]

That is more than a reasonable amount, unless she will want a Dooney and Bourke DCL handbag. That's what I always want. :p

[meatloafsfan]

I agree that $150 is enough to get a few souvenirs. But probably not as much as you'd think. I found the stuff in the gift shops (the Disney stuff) to be pretty expensive. A package of 4 stars wars antenna toppers was $25, the duffy bears were $35, tervis tumblers were $20, tshirts (especially the star wars ones for adults) were far more than I was willing to pay. Even the "gift with purchase (a rather plain looking star wars backpack) was $17.95 for a mediocre quality, blue/grey with the words "Star Wars" school sized (not full sized) backpack. Disney chocolate bars were $4.

 

I personally felt a lot of sticker shock every time I looked at anything on our recent cruise.

 

Then again, I haven't bought a lot at the Disney stores or Disney World in the last couple of years so maybe it's the difference between Disney prices and real world prices.

[moki'smommy]

The prices are about the same as in the parks. I find the Disney store is usually a little less. But then, I paid $21 (less 20% coupons) for tervis mugs at BB&B before our recent trip and they weren't even Disney!

 

Each family has a different idea of what the "right" amount is for a kid to be able to spend on a cruise. For us, $150 is way high, and my daughter has way more stuff than she needs. I would usually give her $50 to spend on the cruise as she wished with the proviso that if she didn't spend it on the cruise, she could have it in cash at home (I didn't want her buying junk just to use up "her" money.) I explained to her that $50 would buy a smoothie each day and something small in the gift shop OR something bigger in the gift shop. She was very careful about not going over her limit and found whatever balance she considered right.

 

Most of what they consider souvenirs end up in some box in the closet anyhow!

[njgrlloves2trvl]

That's a lot more money than I ever gave my kid. Adult t-shirts are $25-30' date=' kids a little less. Stuffed things are $10 or $12 and up depending on size. Pins $6-$20. Get an autograph book in advance if that is a consideration.

 

But/make your pirate night outfit at home. Target is a good source of stuff for that. A costume on the ship starts at about $75 for stuff that you/he are not likely to ever wear again![/quote']

 

She has parts of her Halloween costume from 2014 believe it or not. I found eye patches at Target. They also have swords but I've learned here replica weapons are a no no. I wouldn't want to pack one either. :D

[njgrlloves2trvl]

Thank you all for the input. Again not knowing their pricing scheme I thought $150 should leave her happy but wasn't sure. I didn't want sticker shock for the standard trinkets. I don't want her spending carelessly either just because it's vacation but I also didn't want her to buy basics and feel like I couldn't. I hadn't planned on divulging to her what her allowance is. If it were something of value/quality and priced within reason; sure. I'm not buying a Minnie Mouse crazy straw for $20. :rolleyes: I haven't spent $150 onboard a cruise either but I want her to have a nice and memorable experience which includes some short term keepsakes. I'm happy to know I may save $50 :)

[ljandgb]

Mom to 4 kids here. We try to give the kids free reign to buy whatever they want with their own spending money that we give them before the trip. We usually do $100/kid. That way, if one of them wants a $20 Minnie straw, it's their call. At 11, she should be able to budget per se - look around, see what she really wants, then decide how to spend the money. My then 8 yo saved ALL his money from our last WDW trip to purchase a monorail model. He walked thru every store but never saw anything he wanted more. The other kids spent a bit here and there.

 

That's the long answer. The short answer is $150 would be just fine unless she has champagne taste.

[Cafedumonde]

you can buy things ahead of time at the disney store or disney store.com or other venues for a lot less

[njgrlloves2trvl]

you can buy things ahead of time at the disney store or disney store.com or other venues for a lot less

 

Good to know but I think she'd like the feeling of shopping on board. I'm just happy to know I'm not priced out of the souvenir game. :D We leave on the 12th so I'm getting excited.

[SDJen]

If you have time, check out the shops on Castaway Cay too. They have some unique items that can only be purchased there.

[njgrlloves2trvl]

If you have time, check out the shops on Castaway Cay too. They have some unique items that can only be purchased there.

 

Will do! Thanks.

[cgolf1]

I think 150 should be just fine. The only cruise we spent more then that per person was an inaugural cruise for a new destination. Did you budget for yourself too? I have way to many of their 50 buck hoodies in my closet, us adults are not immune to their stuff either lol. The trinkets are relatively inexpensive, stuff just adds up quick when you buy clothes and the plush toys. The nice thing though with the shops is if she buys something and then changes her mind, it is no problem to return items as long as you haven't pulled the tags off yet. We have done this more then once.

 

We have also found some sales on the first day of a cruise on gotten some really good deals on clothes.