Courtney:
Budgeting for Disney can be a difficult question to answer: everyone has different expectations and spending habits. It's one reason many guests choose the
Disney Dining Plan. For a set price, you pay for your meals up front and order what you want when you get to the restaurant. If you are staying on property and are purchasing a park ticket, you may want to consider adding it to your stay. You can add it as late as 48 hours from arrival.
If you don't qualify for the plan or you know you won't get the value out of it and want to eat a la carte, let me recommend that you visit
Disney's online dining site. There, you can research restaurants but most importantly look at menus. You can find yourself spending as little as a few dollars for a breakfast item at some locations to over $50 on an entree at the
Signature Dining Locations. In a nutshell, though, I usually recommend folks to plan on $10 per person for counter service meals and $40 per person for table service restaurants. Beverages generally run about $3 and snacks that my family enjoys cost about $4.
Shopping at Disney varies greatly with guests. Some Disney moms have budgets of $50 per day per family member for souvenirs while others like to spend more. Our children usually save for their own spending money and having a limited amount to spend has taught them to be choosy about what they buy. To help, on our last visit, I bought a Mickey t-shirt for $30, a hat for $25 and a bowl for $40. However, I've spent almost $300 on a past trip for a watch. So let me recommend that you simply come up with a budget you can afford and allow it to guide your spending decisions.
Wishing y'all a magical vacation!
Whitney