Disney--saving money on food

[mom31257]

I have questions about saving money on food at Disney. The kids and I are getting a free trip there next week. My sister is going with my special needs nephew, and her husband couldn't take that week off work. She is paying for the room, my ticket and a big chunk of the kids' tickets, and my gas there.

 

Some of you know our financial situation is not the best right now because dh is laid off and in school for which we could get no help on tuition. We've both had surgeries this summer, hit a deer, and we're having to keep Cobra because I have one more surgery to go on the benign tumor in my nose. It's not the best time for us to be spending extra money, but I'm so thankful the kids will get to go since we've had no vacation this year.

 

What is the best way for us to eat in the parks and not spend a fortune? I have a dairy issue, and I'm not sure if the counter service restaurants are as good at accommodating food issues as the sit-down restaurants.

 

I plan on bringing a hot plate to heat water and make instant oatmeal in the room for breakfast. I really hate that I'm not going to be able to spend a lot at Epcot because the food and wine festival is going one. Well, I don't drink wine, but I love the international food!

 

Thanks for any tips!

[Kari C in SC]

You can bring food into the parks. Officially it says no to that, but they don't enforce it. We just went with 3 other homeschool families. We packed sandwiches and stuff each day. You can get free ice water anywhere. One of my friends, just brought a lot of snacky type things and kept handing it out as we walked around. My other suggestion is to look for the bigger meals and split them. http://www.disboards.com has tons and tons of info on meals. Have fun!

[momto3innc]

We always eat breakfast ahead of time--run to a nearby Publix there and grab some fruit, OJ, and such to go with the oatmeal. Maybe request a mini fridge for your room to store more stuff? We typically bring lunch, snacks, and drinks in. I usually pack a few "fun" things we never eat so it still feels special. Then we usually pay for dinner in the park. We just go with the lower cost places. My two boys might split one adult meal and my daughter might share with me. Anyway, we love Disney and have done it many a time creatively...but have very little money. So these are some ways we save and honestly? I don't feel it takes away from the experience.

 

Oh, and I can't do dairy or wheat. I've never had trouble. They have tons of great options at almost any place.

 

Oh and I have done oatmeal before and not used a hot plate...I get hot water from the coffee maker...just run water through with no coffee.

[Shelsi]

Actually, unless they've changed it recently, they do not say no to food in the parks. You're allowed to bring in food and we most definitely did when we went last year without an issue. We brought sandwiches, granola bars, etc. We also brought our own water bottles.

 

Also, the fast service restaurants are good with food issues. Dh, dd, and myself are gluten free and we had no issues at all. It just takes a bit longer because the manager will come out and take your order and then they follow it all along (or prepare it themselves).

[blakereese]

Bring some food with you or stop at the grocery when you get to Orlando. We always eat breakfast in the room before we head out, usually cereal bars and fruit. I pack a lunch and snacks for the day, sandwiches, crackers/cheese, fruit, granola bars, etc. Sometimes we go back to our room in the middle of the day, but we always have a car and are not stay-at-the-park-all-day kind of people. ;) We always have someone who needs a nap, so it works for us.

 

You can eat dinner in the park, if you want to do something special. There are some less expensive options and I wouldn't worry about dairy issues, Disney is great with that type of thing, and there are always lots of options.

 

And try not to feel bad about the international food festival, I really don't think you are missing much. We always go during that time, and I have never been that impressed with the food. You have to pay (a lot!!) for each individual item and it is all like bad buffet food throughout the park (IMO).

 

We like to eat at downtown Disney, at the Earl of Sandwich or some of the other walk up places. You can head there from the parks one night (or several nights :) ) or go there for the day. There's a lot to do.

 

Have fun! There is so much to do and see at Disney, and you don't have to spend a lot of money. I'm glad your sister could help make this trip possible for you, enjoy it!! And we'll be there next week, too. As long as Sandy doesn't ruin things for us. :glare:

[Jenny in Florida]

In terms of eating counter service, it might help you to know that every location is supposed to have an "allergy book" behind the counter. The cast members are not supposed to offer advice on what is and isn't "safe" for any specific guest, but the labels showing all of the ingridents used in each component of each menu item should be in the book, which you are allowed to peruse by asking.

 

In recent years, we've not been challenged about bringing in food. Last I checked, the rule was you're not supposed to bring in coolers. But sandwiches or whatever packed in your backpack or purse should be fine.

 

Even counter service will be expensive, unfortunately. So, yes, bringing in snacks and some basic foods is a great idea. If I were doing the parks with younger kids on a strict budget, I'd bring a few things like inexpensive Disney-themed t-shirts (from Target or Wal-Mart) and glow sticks (for evening shows when cast members are selling light-up stuff) and surprise my kids with them one or two things a day. It would be significantly cheaper than shopping in the parks and still provide kids with fun, special items.

 

I'd also hit the grocery store for special treats I don't allow all the time and bring those in with me, since that, too, would be less expensive than buying in the parks.

[Cricket]

What worked for us was getting up and having a hearty breakfast. Then went into the park as soon as it opened. By about 12 or 1 we were all tired and hungry so we headed back to the hotel. We ate lunch (we had a suite with a kitchenette--wonderful!) then took naps. Then we headed out again in the late afternoon, taking sandwiches and snacks with us.

 

If your room has a microwave, you can make scrambled eggs in a coffee mug!

[dsmama]

We were at Magic Kingdom a few weeks ago and brought in food. We had picnic lunches on Tom Sawyer's island!

 

We only at one meal at the park, and when I mentioned food allergy, the server got the chef immediately, and he showed me what DD and I could eat and what we shouldn't.

 

Also, your sister probably already knows this, but for her son with special needs, you can go to Guest Services and request a Guest Assistance Pass for your trip. She would need to state what his special needs are, but the pass helped us greatly with our son who has mobility and sensory issues.

 

Have a good trip!

Gwen

[Tess in the Burbs]

you can bring your own food into the park. With a food issue you could mention if they said anything but we brought multiple lunch coolers in with no issue. Some parks looked inside, others did not. All saw the food and said nothing to me.

 

But all locations have food allergy lists. If you email ahead they will email you a list of everything you can eat at every place on site!!!!!

 

As for cost savings....we had the kids split an adult meal. Or we all ate kid meals. Depending on the location look at the photos and sides. Some places had multiple kid sides and those were a good deal for the money. Other places had such large portions it was better to get one meal and have the kids split it. ALSO, if you do burgers...get a double burger and add a bun for 10cents :D now you have 2 burgers for only 10cents more. We did this for the kids.

 

Bring your own water in. You can always fill up with water fountains if you empty it. it's worth the weight in a backpack to have your own drinks.

 

Eat before you go, have snacks. We tried to only eat once in the parks a day even if we were staying all day/evening. Or bring more food in with you.

 

have fuN!

[mandymom]

We were at Magic Kingdom a few weeks ago and brought in food. We had picnic lunches on Tom Sawyer's island!

 

 

We did this too, and it was definitely something we would do again. There are picnic tables on the island, and it was a really nice break in the day.

 

I think the rules say no hard sided coolers, because we brought in a softsided cooler and TONS of food. We just put it in the bottom of the stroller to carry it around.

 

We have neighbors who frequent Disney, and they have fanny packs for everyone with a selection of snacks. Everyone chooses snacks for the day and load up their fanny packs. I think we might try this if we go again.

 

When you do buy meals, look for ones you can split. I googled menus and then googled pictures of things that sounded promising (yeah, you can find pictures of all the food at Disney on google). We had good luck at Cosmic Ray's in Magic Kingdom. Some of their plates fed 3 of us that aren't big eaters. The only other meal that we got was a sit down at Via Napoli in Epcot where we got the giant pizzas. The rest of the time, we just brought food in.

 

Sometimes, there are some of the restaurants in Downtown Disney that you can buy vouchers for on restaurant.com

[mamatohaleybug]

Great ideas already listed.

 

We always take water bottles (2 frozen and 2 just cold). The frozen water keeps our other items cool throughout the day (we travel to WDW in the winter). We refill water throughout the day with free ice water in the parks at counter service restaurants.

 

My DH, DD and I usually share two adult meals for lunch and dinner. It's always enough food for us. If you are interested in which restaurants we've found to have good-sized portions, just let me know.

 

Which parks will you be visiting?

 

Have a wonderful trip! We're headed back in January and can't wait!

[hellen]

If you won't have a vehicle you can get groceries delivered to your room. I don't remember the name of.the company but you could.google it.

 

Easywdw.com recently posted all of the menus for each park including some pictures of the food. The prices are theme park prices so they are quite high in my opinion. We brought our own food in without problem.

[Firestar Academy]

i could write a book on how to do vacations super-cheap!! some people say, we are too cheap. we brought a rolling cooler into the park every day. we are the stay-in-the-park-all day and night people!!

 

We bought these:

http://www.amazon.com/StarKist-Salad-Lunch-3-8-Ounce-Pouches/dp/B00374WH9S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1351549292&sr=8-1&keywords=bumble+bee+tuna+fish+ready+made

 

our target had them for $1 or $2 each. we each ate one of these and an apple for lunch. no refrigeration needed.

 

if you end up with a fridge, stick cheese is good to take.

 

if you like pb&j, we packed bread, peanut butter and these:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Individual-Jelly-Packets-Assortment-Case/dp/B004O2F06E/ref=sr_1_3?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1351549547&sr=1-3&keywords=jelly+packets

 

this is a pack of 200 for $11

 

a bag of carrot sticks and you have all the food groups!

 

Robin

[DawnM]

We are here now!

 

We take a large cooler in the car with our food and then take this into the parks:

 

We have an older version of this cooler:

http://www.target.com/p/igloo-maxcold-maxpack-cooler-black-16-can/-/A-13465885?ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001&AFID=Google_PLA_df&LNM=%7C13465885&CPNG=Sports&kpid=13465885&ci_gpa=pla&ci_sku=13465885

 

We LOVE it. We have used it for 7 years now and it has held up well.

 

We take into the parks:

 

Sandwiches

Can of Pringles on the side pocket

water bottles

individual drink mix-ins for water

Granola bars

trail mix

string cheese

cookies

crackers

cut up veggies and fruit

[blakereese]

We are here now!

 

We take a large cooler in the car with our food and then take this into the parks:

 

We have an older version of this cooler:

http://www.target.com/p/igloo-maxcold-maxpack-cooler-black-16-can/-/A-13465885?ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001&AFID=Google_PLA_df&LNM=%7C13465885&CPNG=Sports&kpid=13465885&ci_gpa=pla&ci_sku=13465885

 

We LOVE it. We have used it for 7 years now and it has held up well.

 

 

 

 

I love that backpack cooler. Definitely filing this info away for later. Right now we still bring in a stroller, so we can put things underneath. But this is a great option for our post stroller years. :001_smile:

[DawnM]

Actually, I would not advise a rolling cooler as they aren't allowed. You may have been able to do it, but the official rule is that they are not allowed. I have seen people asked to put them in a locker and not take them into the parks.

 

http://www.wdwinfo.com/tips_for_touring/dress-code.htm

 

 

i could write a book on how to do vacations super-cheap!! some people say, we are too cheap. we brought a rolling cooler into the park every day. we are the stay-in-the-park-all day and night people!!

 

We bought these:

http://www.amazon.com/StarKist-Salad-Lunch-3-8-Ounce-Pouches/dp/B00374WH9S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1351549292&sr=8-1&keywords=bumble+bee+tuna+fish+ready+made

 

our target had them for $1 or $2 each. we each ate one of these and an apple for lunch. no refrigeration needed.

 

if you end up with a fridge, stick cheese is good to take.

 

if you like pb&j, we packed bread, peanut butter and these:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Individual-Jelly-Packets-Assortment-Case/dp/B004O2F06E/ref=sr_1_3?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1351549547&sr=1-3&keywords=jelly+packets

 

this is a pack of 200 for $11

 

a bag of carrot sticks and you have all the food groups!

 

Robin

[katilac]

I actually don't think that Disney World's food is outrageous. You CAN spend a lot, but you can also be quite reasonable without limiting yourself to hot dogs and fries. For example, Cosmic Ray's in Magic Kingdom has a 1/2 rotisserie chicken, mashed potatoes, and veggie for under $10. Half a chicken is a lot of food! Depending on the plate and the appetites, you can often easily split one plate between 2 people, or 2 plates between 3 people.

 

A huge fountain soft drink is $3; tap water is free but kinda nasty, lol. Bring those one serving Koolaid pouches if you do that; I would rather just carry bottled water. We always bring a few ziplock bags to the park, to carry the chips or sandwich or whatever that might not get finished at the table.

 

Again at Cosmic Ray's, they also have kid's meals for $5.49, which includes a choice of chicken nuggets/turkey sandwich/pbj crustables, along with grapes/carrot sticks and a drink (small bottled water, juice, milk). That's not a lot more than you pay in the real world.

 

It definitely helps to plan ahead and have some idea of where you want to eat. You can view and print menus here,.

 

This official Disney link states that it is fine to bring in snacks or foods that do not require heating. Lots of people bring sandwiches. Most kids will want to concentrate any food money on sweet treats like ice cream and funnel cake, so concentrate on bringing different snacks that are salty or have protein: ghardettos, cheese or peanut butter crackers, nuts, cheese sticks.

 

Edited to add that an umbrella stroller is very handy for holding the tote bag full of food! Along with autograph books, etc. We still bring ours, and our kids passed stroller age long ago.

Edited October 29, 2012 by katilac

[DawnM]

We ate in Epcot today at the Electric Umbrella. Two kids got kids' meals and 3 of us got adult meals. NO DRINKS other than the 2 with the kids' meals.

 

It was almost $50.

 

If we had remembered the backpack cooler and hadn't left it sitting on the kitchen counter of our condo, we would have spent about $7 at most and had more food.

 

We do eat some at Disney, but we certainly hadn't planned to today. :glare:

 

Dawn

 

I actually don't think that Disney World's food is outrageous. You CAN spend a lot, but you can also be quite reasonable without limiting yourself to hot dogs and fries. For example, Cosmic Ray's in Magic Kingdom has a 1/2 rotisserie chicken, mashed potatoes, and veggie for under $10. Half a chicken is a lot of food! Depending on the plate and the appetites, you can often easily split one plate between 2 people, or 2 plates between 3 people.

 

A huge fountain soft drink is $3; tap water is free but kinda nasty, lol. Bring those one serving Koolaid pouches if you do that; I would rather just carry bottled water. We always bring a few ziplock bags to the park, to carry the chips or sandwich or whatever that might not get finished at the table.

 

Again at Cosmic Ray's, they also have kid's meals for $5.49, which includes a choice of chicken nuggets/turkey sandwich/pbj crustables, along with grapes/carrot sticks and a drink (small bottled water, juice, milk). That's not a lot more than you pay in the real world.

 

It definitely helps to plan ahead and have some idea of where you want to eat. You can view and print menus here,.

 

This official Disney link states that it is fine to bring in snacks or foods that do not require heating. Lots of people bring sandwiches. Most kids will want to concentrate any food money on sweet treats like ice cream and funnel cake, so concentrate on bringing different snacks that are salty or have protein: ghardettos, cheese or peanut butter crackers, nuts, cheese sticks.

 

Edited to add that an umbrella stroller is very handy for holding the tote bag full of food! Along with autograph books, etc. We still bring ours, and our kids passed stroller age long ago.

[Jennifer in MI]

FUN!!!! We've done all sorts of trips to Disney. Some on a budget. Some not.

 

When we bring food to the parks, we bring tuna and bread (we put it together at the park so the bread doesn't get soggy), carrot sticks, chips, and fruit (strawberries, blueberries, etc). We shop at a store near Disney and buy big bags of chips and all and split them ourselves in ziploc bags for each person.

 

We've also found that certain restaurants have HUGE servings and it's worth it and easy to split a meal. Cosmic Rays in MK. Our fmaily could split three or four meals and be fine. Flame Tree Barbecue in Animal Kingdom has HUGE servings. We split 3 -4 meals there too. Keep in mind I have three teen boys!!!!! But we go during free dining. So, we split meals so we can go to restaurants that are two meal credits!!

[Amy in KS]

We packed bags of food several times and they didn't care at all (they inspect all of it). We brought fresh fruits, bags of nuts, cheese sticks, homemade sandwiches, bars, raisins etc. We snacked often between sections rather than full meal times. I think it kept my younger kids from getting hungry and having meltdowns.

[mom31257]

Thanks for all the tips! We will be visiting all 4 parks, and have 5 day hopper tickets. We're staying at Wilderness Lodge, and I will have my car. Most of the parks we'll drive to instead of use the buses so that we don't have to wait on those. I think we'll take the bus or ferry to MK and the bus to Downtown Disney. We actually ride in a separate vehicle from my sister because of the wheelchair lift in the back of hers.

 

I think I'm going to really try to save, save, save in the parks other than Epcot so that we can splurge while in it. Moroccan food is my son's favorite, so I know he'll want food from that section, too.

[Farrar]

I actually don't think that Disney World's food is outrageous. You CAN spend a lot, but you can also be quite reasonable without limiting yourself to hot dogs and fries. For example, Cosmic Ray's in Magic Kingdom has a 1/2 rotisserie chicken, mashed potatoes, and veggie for under $10. Half a chicken is a lot of food! Depending on the plate and the appetites, you can often easily split one plate between 2 people, or 2 plates between 3 people.

 

:iagree: I was surprised that the portions were so large and the quality of the food was mostly pretty good. We had the meal plan and actually struggled to spend it all because we would get two quick meals and share them among all four of us and that was plenty. Of course, I say this coming from an urban area where food is pretty expensive anyway, so spending $10 per person on a meal, while not something we can do all the time, doesn't seem outrageous.

[DianeW88]

Well, I am usually all about Disney, but this is one question I'm not equipped to answer. I eat like a lumberjack when I'm there and spend a ridiculous amount of money doing it. :lol: I do wish you good luck in your quest. Sharing meals is very doable...the portions are huge in most places.

 

Have a fabulous vacation!

[Shelsi]

See, now I thought the food was pretty awful. I've always heard people get all crazy for the food at Disney so I thought I was really in for something special and instead I was just disappointed. We did a few fast service and a few sit down restaurants and it was all just "meh" especially when you factor in how much it cost.

 

Now to be honest we do eat all whole foods at home and I make most things from scratch except things like condiments (although I have made my own mayo and ketchup on occasion). So perhaps I'm just spoiled but I really expected the food to be more quality than it was & I'm glad that mostly we just brought in our own food.

[CupOCoffee]

You've gotten very good tips here. Last time we were in Disney we used the soft sided cooler and filled it each day with stuff. We had a fridge, so we went to the grocery store and got lunch meat, potato salad, fruits, chopped veggies, etc. They never gave us trouble about the cooler. We didn't lug it around all day though: we paid the few bucks to get a locker and we kept it in there. As we moved from park to park, we just got new locker (they used to give you half the $$ back when you gave back the key). Don't know if they still do this; our last trip was 10 years ago.

 

We would find quiet out of the way places and sit and have our lunches. I think we only ate park food once or twice in that entire week! We made hugs breakfasts at the condo; had our lunches and snacks in the cooler.

 

So, it can be done, as you've seen here! Good luck and enjoy your trip!!

[DawnM]

I have actually been feeling like the quality of the food has gone down since the "free" dining. Several of the restaurants have stopped serving things they used to serve, some of the specialty items that were made on site are now shipped in frozen, and the meat quality seems to have gone down.

 

The burgers we ate yesterday were not great IMO.

 

But there isn't a whole lot of fast food we can eat more than once a week and not feel sick. We had eaten fast food TWICE on the way down to Disney Sunday, so eating more of that sort of food Monday was not a good idea.

 

We feel much better when we eat more grocery food and two or three restaurant food choices per week at most. That is one reason (other than cost) that we would not do well with the dining plan.

 

Dawn

 

:iagree: I was surprised that the portions were so large and the quality of the food was mostly pretty good. We had the meal plan and actually struggled to spend it all because we would get two quick meals and share them among all four of us and that was plenty. Of course, I say this coming from an urban area where food is pretty expensive anyway, so spending $10 per person on a meal, while not something we can do all the time, doesn't seem outrageous.

[chickenpatty]

We ate a big breakfast (free continental) at the hotel, snacked on nuts, crackers and apples that we brought with us during the day and ate dinner at the hotel that I had made ahead of time & packed in the cooler.

 

Super cheap!

[DawnM]

Well, the Moroccan restaurant is the one place we COULD share. There was a lot of food in their combo platter thingie.

 

Dawn

 

Thanks for all the tips! We will be visiting all 4 parks, and have 5 day hopper tickets. We're staying at Wilderness Lodge, and I will have my car. Most of the parks we'll drive to instead of use the buses so that we don't have to wait on those. I think we'll take the bus or ferry to MK and the bus to Downtown Disney. We actually ride in a separate vehicle from my sister because of the wheelchair lift in the back of hers.

 

I think I'm going to really try to save, save, save in the parks other than Epcot so that we can splurge while in it. Moroccan food is my son's favorite, so I know he'll want food from that section, too.

[DawnM]

Have you looked into staying in a condo instead of a hotel?

 

Right now we are here at a 2 bedroom condo with a full kitchen and paying $33/night including tax ($230/wk including tax for 7 nights.)

 

We find we can't stay cheaper in a hotel and we love the extra room, a washer/dryer, and a full kitchen.

 

Dawn

 

We ate a big breakfast (free continental) at the hotel, snacked on nuts, crackers and apples that we brought with us during the day and ate dinner at the hotel that I had made ahead of time & packed in the cooler.

 

Super cheap!

[Jennifer in MI]

Have you looked into staying in a condo instead of a hotel?

 

Right now we are here at a 2 bedroom condo with a full kitchen and paying $33/night including tax ($230/wk including tax for 7 nights.)

 

We find we can't stay cheaper in a hotel and we love the extra room, a washer/dryer, and a full kitchen.

 

Dawn

 

:iagree: When we go on the cheap, this is what we do. Our condo isn't that cheap, but we can usually get it for $399 for the week. My sister often comes with us. It was about $27/night for each of us. The kitchen is a HUGE convenience. And, I love having laundry - I could pack so little.

[mom31257]

Okay, awesome news! I didn't realize that my sister is paying for my food, too, just not the kids. That is going to help me so much! I'm still going to apply some of these tips because we don't need to spend a lot. Well, except in Epcot!! LOL!

 

My nephew has money awarded for his care for the rest of his life (and a little for pain and suffering) because his health problems are a result of an immunization injury. I'm going as her helper, and that's how she's able to pay for me. The vaccine had resulted in 2 deaths and many permanent disabilities, and it was still out on the market when he had it at 4 months old.

 

His condition is not improving, so she's trying to take him as many places as she can and make more memories. He LOVES Disney, so we are really looking forward to enjoying it with him.

[Farrar]

The only thing I have to compare it to is when I was a kid and the food was dreadful. I felt like the quick meals we had at Downtown Disney, Animal Kingdom and Epcot were all good. At Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, less so, though it wasn't bad per se. We ate Panera all the way on the drive down so we were saladed up and could stand some burgers and fries.

 

I have actually been feeling like the quality of the food has gone down since the "free" dining. Several of the restaurants have stopped serving things they used to serve, some of the specialty items that were made on site are now shipped in frozen, and the meat quality seems to have gone down.

 

The burgers we ate yesterday were not great IMO.

 

But there isn't a whole lot of fast food we can eat more than once a week and not feel sick. We had eaten fast food TWICE on the way down to Disney Sunday, so eating more of that sort of food Monday was not a good idea.

 

We feel much better when we eat more grocery food and two or three restaurant food choices per week at most. That is one reason (other than cost) that we would not do well with the dining plan.

 

Dawn

[AnnaM]

We stayed in a condo last time and took in snacks and lunch. I had one of those backpack coolers and it saved us a TON of money. I will say though, that my back was KILLING me by the time we left the parks at night. The water I was carrying for 6 people was heavy and I spent most of the day praying my kids would just drink so my load would be lighter!

 

The trip before that we did a full on upgraded meal plan and I thought the choices for QD and sit down were fantastic. You could get anything from a house salad to a hot dog for QD and of course there is every type of food you can think of for sit down.

[Ottakee]

Make sure to get the special needs pass as that will be SOOO helpful for you. If mobility/endurance is at all an issue, make sure to have a wheelchair for him as there is a LOT of walking and the wheelchair handles are a great place to hang a backpack with snacks/bottled water, etc.

 

When we went, I would most of the times get a kids meals as that was PLENTY for me. An adult meal would easily feed 2-3 of us. Some of the places have a burger bar where you can add a lot of condiments and veggies, etc. to your burger which makes it much more filling. If in doubt, order less food to split and then if you are still hungry order more.

[Shelsi]

Where do you all find the cheap condos? Something like VRBO.com? We're moving to NW Florida next week. Dh likes to go to Disney since he worked there for several years and his best friend lives in Orlando so I know we'll be taking trips out that way sometimes for vacation and sometimes to visit friends.

[Jennifer in MI]

Where do you all find the cheap condos? Something like VRBO.com? We're moving to NW Florida next week. Dh likes to go to Disney since he worked there for several years and his best friend lives in Orlando so I know we'll be taking trips out that way sometimes for vacation and sometimes to visit friends.

 

We stay in Windsor Hills. Google search them. This is the condo we stay in:

 

http://www.bestcondostay.com/

 

I think he gives us even better rates because we come back so often. But, this place is wonderful! And, check out the entire community. The pool is incredible. There's a movie theater and you can have them play whatever movie you want (free!). They ahve a game room and nice workout room. There's a small store there too. And, the people who work there are SO sweet and helpful.

[DawnM]

Skyauction.com and type resort certificate in keyword search.

 

In line for space mountain, can answer more questions later.

 

Where do you all find the cheap condos? Something like VRBO.com? We're moving to NW Florida next week. Dh likes to go to Disney since he worked there for several years and his best friend lives in Orlando so I know we'll be taking trips out that way sometimes for vacation and sometimes to visit friends.

[DawnM]

Ok, in the condo waiting for dinner to finish.

 

I go to SkyAuction.com and type in "resort certificates" They range from $149-$249, although I haven't seen the $149 price in a LONG time. The cheapest I have seen is $199, but even those are rare.

 

You buy a certificate, then book through ResortCerts.com with your certificate number.

 

I ALWAYS check with TripAdvisor.com before booking. If it has bad reviews, I skip it. Keep in mind these are units RCI couldn't rent out, so they are typically older units, meaning no elevators. I check for wifi too since DH typically comes the week he goes to conferences and he needs to be able to check his email from work and do a bit of work online.

 

Right now we are staying at Polynesian Isles in a 2 bedroom unit on the 3rd floor. No elevators, but the top floor has vaulted ceilings and it is quiet. It is still WAY better than a hotel room!

 

We have done Disney this way for 7 years and it allows us to keep going every year. We also get the Y.E.S. tickets so our tickets are half price. We paid $220/each for 8 day hoppers with 8 extras (waterparks and DisneyQuest passes.)

 

Tickets: $1,100

Condo (2 full weeks): $440

 

DH's work paid for gas!

 

Dawn