u/No-End677

Hey everyone! 👋

Starting to budget for the “extras” on our Disney trip and wanted some realistic opinions from people who have gone recently. 😅

For context:
🏰 This trip is for 2 adults
🏰 We’re staying on property for 5 nights / 6 days
🎟️ We have 4-day park hopper tickets
🍽️ We have the Disney Dining Plan
🎃 We already purchased Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party tickets

So most of the major Disney costs are already handled.

Right now I’m trying to figure out how much extra spending money is realistic for:
✨ food/snacks/drinks outside the dining plan
✨ EPCOT Food & Wine extras
✨ souvenirs
✨ Lightning Lanes (and what might be best...we def had some bigger rides we want to hit but not many if the coasters...HS is mainly shows for us as well)
✨ gratuities
✨ a couple extra experiences (mini golf, carriage rides, resort hopping/day at Poly, etc.)

A few important things:
• We plan to save most of our snack credits for EPCOT Food & Wine
• We plan to use most or all of our table service credits on character meals that ARE covered by the dining plan
• We will probably have 1–2 table service meals that are NOT covered and will be paid out of pocket as well

For those of you who have have gone recently/go frequently:
👉 How much spending money did you ACTUALLY end up using?
👉 Did Lightning Lanes add up fast?
👉 What surprised you cost-wise?
👉 How much should we realistically expect to spend on gratuities?

💀 Disney has a magical ability to make money disappear fast, so I’m trying to plan ahead as realistically as possible 😂

Thanks everyone!

https://www.reddit.com/r/WaltDisneyWorld/s/NYRi8yx09T

First off, thank you all SO much for all the advice, experiences, and suggestions on the carriage rides. After reading comments and doing more research, I realized the carriage rides don’t actually start until around 5:30 PM, which unfortunately doesn’t really fit what I originally envisioned for the day since we’re doing Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party that night and will probably want to get into Magic Kingdom earlier than the official party start time.

So now I’m trying to figure out the best way to spend that morning/afternoon before heading to MK! I still want us to DO something and have fun, but I don’t want it to be draining, chaotic, or feel like we’re powerwalking all over Disney before a late night at MK.

Current rough plan:

-Character breakfast at ʻOhana or 1900 Park Fare that morning (this is basically non-negotiable at this point 😂)
-Then some kind of fun, lower-energy, non-park activity
-Head back to the resort to swim/rest/get ready before heading to Magic Kingdom (not what I originally had in mind but makes sense I think)

A couple extra details:

-We’re staying at All-Star Movies
-We’ll have a vehicle since we’re driving down from Buffalo in a rental
-We are NOT doing Disney Springs that day because we will already be spending basically the entire previous day there (that's what I always do on check in day)

Also, I’ve done Mickey’s Not-So-Scary before and I learned VERY quickly that overdoing it earlier in the day makes the party miserable by the end of the night 😅 I absolutely do not want to repeat that mistake.

Budget-wise, unless something can be paid for with Disney gift cards, I really don’t want to spend more than around $100-$150 out of pocket for whatever we do that day ($200 absolute max). As much as I’d LOVE to do something like a couples massage, this trip is already a huge expense for us and that’s also something we could do at home or another time/trip.

So now I’m wondering:

-Is Disney mini golf worth doing?
-Which mini golf course did you prefer and why?
-Is mini golf + pool/rest time before MK a good balance?
-Any other fun but lower-energy Disney activities you’d recommend?

If you’ve done MNSSHP, what worked best for pacing your day beforehand?

We’re two women in our early 30s, this is my partner’s first Disney trip, and I’m really trying to build in a mix of excitement AND intentional slower moments without completely exhausting ourselves before the party.
Thanks again everyone 💜

We’re (2 F early 30's) going to Disney in October and I’ve been considering booking one of the carriage rides as a special little extra for my partner and I, but I’d love honest opinions from people who have done it. Was it worth it? Which location did you do?

I know there’s only two locations, so if anyone has done BOTH, I’d especially love to know which one you preferred and why:
- Disney's Port Orleans Resort – Riverside
- Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground

Right now I’m thinking about doing it on the day we go to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. My rough idea was:
- Breakfast at ʻOhana (hoping for mid-late morning but obviously depending on reservation availability)
- Carriage ride afterward
- Then heading to Magic Kingdom for the rest of the day/party

We’re probably doing costumes that are easy to carry into the park/change into there, so we likely wouldn’t be going back to the resort beforehand.

Part of why I’m trying to make this day (and trip) extra special is because it’s my partner’s late mom’s birthday (while we are there), and this June marks 5 years since she passed. I’m also planning on proposing during this trip (she’ll already have proposed before we go), so I’m really trying to create peaceful, happy memories connected to that day too instead of it only feeling heavy emotionally. This is also her first Disney Trip!

So I guess I’m mainly wondering:
- Does this sound like a good flow for the day?
- Are the carriage rides actually worth doing?
- Which location did you prefer and why?
- Any tips/advice/hidden details I should know?
- Any other ideas for meaningful little touches that day?

Thanks everyone 💜

We’re (2 F early 30's) going to Disney in October and I’ve been considering booking one of the carriage rides as a special little extra for my partner and I, but I’d love honest opinions from people who have done it. Was it worth it? Which location did you do?

I know there’s only two locations, so if anyone has done BOTH, I’d especially love to know which one you preferred and why:
- Disney's Port Orleans Resort – Riverside
- Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground

Right now I’m thinking about doing it on the day we go to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. My rough idea was:
- Breakfast at ʻOhana (hoping for mid-late morning but obviously depending on reservation availability)
- Carriage ride afterward
- Then heading to Magic Kingdom for the rest of the day/party

We’re probably doing costumes that are easy to carry into the park/change into there, so we likely wouldn’t be going back to the resort beforehand.

Part of why I’m trying to make this day (and trip) extra special is because it’s my partner’s late mom’s birthday (while we are there), and this June marks 5 years since she passed. I’m also planning on proposing during this trip (she’ll already have proposed before we go), so I’m really trying to create peaceful, happy memories connected to that day too instead of it only feeling heavy emotionally. This is also her first Disney Trip!

So I guess I’m mainly wondering:
- Does this sound like a good flow for the day?
- Are the carriage rides actually worth doing?
- Which location did you prefer and why?
- Any tips/advice/hidden details I should know?
- Any other ideas for meaningful little touches that day?

Thanks everyone 💜