I am trying to plan a trip to Disney World with my family, and have had trouble locating estimate costs for a family of four spending five days at Disney World. How much should you allocate per day on food, tickets, entertainment, etc.? My worst nightmare is that we will get there and be way over budget. We are already cutting costs by driving and taking advantage of a timeshare.

Congratulations on already eliminating two of the major Disney World expenses--airfare and lodging! We'll concentrate on your in-park expenses.

Tickets are the big bite. At present, theme park admission is $59.75 a day for adults and kids 10 years and older, and $48 for kids ages 3 to 9, but since you'll be visiting for several days you'll be purchasing a multi-day pass. I suggest you get the Park Hopper, which allows you to visit more than one theme park in the course of a day. The 5 day Park Hopper pass will drop your per-day ticket price to around $44.20 a day for adults and $36.80 for kids. These prices are only valid with advanced purchased passes.

Since you'll be driving your own vehicle, you'll pay $8 a day for parking. Keep your receipt--even if you move from one park to another, you'll only have to pay once.

Then there's food. Since you're in a timeshare I suggest fixing a simple cereal or muffin-type breakfast in your room. For meals in the park, estimate about $35 a day per person. Adult meals cost more, but kids need more snacks, so it all evens out. Drink prices are astronomical in the park, so it's not a bad idea to carry a refillable water bottle and toss a few juice boxes in your backpack. And to get the most bang for your dining buck, check out my column on cutting food costs at Disney World.

You asked about entertainment. Since money is an issue, I'd avoid extras like character breakfasts and dinner shows, and concentrate on meeting the characters within the parks. There are plenty of places where the kids can meet the characters for free, and they're well-marked on the entertainment guide you're given as you enter each theme park. Disney packs so much within the parks I really don't think first-time visitors should have to pay for any extras in this category.

Finally, souvenirs. This expense could run from $5 a day into the stratosphere. Be aware that temptations are everywhere so your kids will undoubtedly see a dozen "must-have" items the first hour they're in the park. I have two tips for cutting down expenses here. First, encourage the kids to save their allowances and birthday money before the trip so they'll have their own cash in hand.

Second, get them Disney dollars. This cute currency, which comes in denominations of $1, $5, and $10, has the characters on the front and is available throughout Disney World or in Disney stores nationwide. When my kids were little, I'd stop off at the lobby desk the first night we were there and get their spending money for the whole trip in Disney dollars, explaining that this was the only sort of cash the theme parks accepted. When the Disney dollars dried up, so did the shopping. They soon figured out the parks would take all kinds of money, but the Disney dollars remain a family tradition for us--and a surprisingly good way to curtail souvenir spending.

So, to wrap up, here is a one-day budget:
Parking: $8
Tickets for 2 adults and 2 kids: $162
Food: $140
Souvenirs: $30
Total per day: $375

Please keep in mind that phone numbers, addresses, and prices are subject to change. Originally published in January 2001. Updated October 2005.