Spending money in Florida

[BACARDI&COKE]

I am taking the family (husband and 2 kids) to Florida for 2 weeks over Xmas this year, we have flights, condo and car and also entrances paid for Disney. Roughly how much spending money will we need for food, drink souvenirs etc (without being to luxurious obviously!) I have been to Cali but never Florida and can imagine Disney is pricey? Thanks

[cemeterybird]

Hi there,
I did the same thing with my kids a few years back - they were 16 & 17 and it was to be our last 'family holiday'. We were only in Orlando for a week and did 8 theme parks in 7 days LOL!! I ran it like a military campaign - no sense in lolling about in bed late, these holidays cost too much and we were there to make the most of it. We found an excellent restaurant (one of a chain in the Orlando area, I think they were called Ponderosa or something like that) and every morning we went there and they had a fantastic buffet breakfast, (ranging from cereals, fruit, fry ups, pancakes, toast etc etc) all you could eat for $5. Well, you can imagine, with a man and two teenagers, we got our moneys worth!! Then during the day we would have a snack (burger or similar) a couple of ice creams (too much to do in the parks, to think about eating too much) and then in the evenings, we alternated between a cheapy meal at MacDonalds (hate them over here - but soooo much better over in the US) and a decent meal at a better restaurant. I go to Florida regularly now without the kids (Gulf Coast - beautiful!!) and we roughly base our food costs at �20.00 each per day - that tends to cover shops at the supermarket (because we always stay in self catering - not that we 'self cater' much!!), snacks, ice creams, booze and a nice meal out every evening. Like you, we never go too luxurious but it is nice to spoil yourself while on holiday and there are plenty of good places to eat in Orlando that don't cost the earth!! As for souveniers, well that's down to how much you want to spend and believe me the temptations are many and varied - so depends how good you are at resisting temptation!! LOL!!
Have fun!!

[puzzled54]

I always reckon on �100 a day, usually works out well. If you have a day when you don't spend much, you feel more inclined to buy souvenirs the next day! Disney souvenirs are not cheap, but are part of the experience - I am currently wearing a pooh bear sweatshirt and tigger socks!!!

[jno]

mmm, Ponderosa steakhouses, yum. I should add that some McDonalds in the USA are much worse than in Britain; Burger Kings too. There are usually steakhouses, family restaurants etc on the roads into any town, along with the car showrooms, WalMarts etc. Howard Johnson and Denny's are great for breakfasts too - often one meal is enough for two people. As with California remember you'll need to add 15-20% for tips with meals or you'll be run out of town.

[BACARDI&COKE]

Thanks for those great answers, I was in San Fransisco last year and became truely addicted to pancakes for breakfast so really looking forward to those again every morning!! Why is it McDonalds is so much better over there than the soggy mush we get? The yanks sure know how to do fast food!! I think the only way to do it will be like you cemeterybird and have military presicion as we will have xmas day and new years eve in between too. I am excited already!!

[jno]

I went to DisneyWorld in Florida one New Year's Day and it was extremely crowded. Also, suprisingly, it was cold. It is in central Florida, not the sunny south, and while the weather is generally mild to warm it can get frosty and kill off the orange crop. Everyone was queueing to buy Mickey Mouse sweatshirts.

[spudqueen]

When we went two years ago I think we took �2000 with us. Had a little left over, but we did a load of shopping and ate out a lot.

[BACARDI&COKE]

jno, it was cold when I was in San Fran in June too, we couldnt beleive it, as soon as you crossed the Golden Gate into SF there was a thick cloud covering the city!! We also queued for San Fran Jumpers and even coats!

[cemeterybird]

I had a friend who visited Orlando a couple of years ago at Christmas/New Year and she had to go out and buy a coat. I think it was sunny but very chilly - so be prepared!!

Since my time at Orlando with the kids, I have always stayed on the Gulf Coast at Longboat Key (near Sarasota and Siesta Key). There is hardly anything there except a fantastic beach (empty during Nov), beautiful sunsets and dolphins swimming by..... totally 'chill out' - but last year for the first time, we had about 5 days of sunny but really chilly weather!!

Puzzled54 - when you say you reckon on a �100 per day, how many people would that be between? If a family of four, I would say that would be about right (tying in with my approx. �20. each, per day) but if you mean for one person or even two - then you must have a whale of a holiday with that much 'spenders'!!! LOL!!!

Lucky you Bac&Coke - getting away over Christmas... I've always wanted to do that, but family commitments have always prevented it.

Oh - another good place to eat - if you're into 'humungus' steaks!! is Lone Star. I must admit, I never discovered this chain until I started going to the Gulf Coast but they might well have some in and around Orlando. Anyone ever tried a Texas Rose???