How do you save money at Disney World?

[Alicia64]

Or should I ask: is it possible to save money at Disney World?

 

Alley

[itsheresomewhere]

DS collects cans for extra spending money.  We have a bucket that spare change goes in.  Also, we add weekly a 5-20 to it.  Any extra money from selling stuff goes into the bucket.   I search for deals to make the trip cheaper.

[Chris in VA]

We stayed very close but not in the park, renting a condo (place had a pool and was about 10 mins from the park). We had a kitchen and prepared breakfast and dinner there. We left the park around 3 in the afternoon, IIRC, and came back around 6:30 or 7. It was great because we all got a good break, a nap, and then returned refreshed and ready to stay late--even my dd (who was around 2 or 3). We met scads of crying, exhausted children and grumpy parents, leaving as we were coming back. 

[DianeW88]

I don't save money AT Disney World.  I save up money FOR Disney World. :D  It's much easier.  LOL

[snowbeltmom]

We try to eat our biggest meal of the day for lunch when the prices are "cheaper."  

[Lanny]

Buy this book (we bought the Kindle version of the book last month for USD$9.20).  They say one can save several hours in lines, each day, in WDW, by following the instructions. We had the print edition, years ago.  It comes out every August. IMHO, it is an incredible book and if you study it, it will save you time and it will save you money. We are hoping to be there during October 2014. God willing...

 

http://www.amazon.com/Unofficial-Guide-Walt-Disney-World/dp/1628090006/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1387541356&sr=8-2&keywords=walt+disney+world

[Ottakee]

We did Disney as my daughter's Make A Wish trip so we had a nice budget.......but she wanted to go to the Arabian Nights show in town as well so we saved money at Disney.

 

I took along water bottles in a back pack. They check it when you go in but it isn't an issue.  We ate at the places that had a "burger bar" type thing.  You buy your burger/chicken sandwich and then they have a huge bar with condiments---lettuce, tomato, grilled onions, mushrooms, and toppings garlore.  I also bought a kids meal for the girls and I and it was plenty of food.....we did that just at the counter service places.

 

Other places we bought 3 meals for the 5 of us and just shared and had plenty of food.  I told the kids if anyone was still hungry we would buy more but that never happened.

 

Lunch is a good time to get a bigger/sit down meal if you like that as those tend to be cheaper.

 

We stayed OUT of the stores.  Honestly, we didn't need any Disney "stuff" and it saved tons of money and we didnt' go to Disney to shop.

 

I think you can see the places and menus on line before you go to give you an idea of what to expenct.

[Kim in Appalachia]

We stayed at a condo, and ate breakfast there.  We then ate a big lunch at the park and just a snack for dinner.  It worked well for us.  I think saving money there is very hard to do.  If you try too hard you will end up being frustrated.  We go knowing we'll have to spend and ignore the prices of the food. (at the park). 

[monstermama]

Mousesavers has a lot of ideas on it.  Lodging, food, and souvenirs are usually the areas you can get the most savings on.  Tickets are also expensive, but besides Undercover Tourist, there are usually not many discounts on them.

 

Some quick examples for each... For lodging, you can stay off-site and save a ton, but honestly, for my family, staying on-site and not having to worry about transportation is one of the benefits of a Disney vacation.  For food, counter service is usually going to be your best bet, and there are some restaurants that are better deals than others.  For instance, at Flame Tree BBQ in Animal Kingdom, you can get half a chicken for around $11, which is usually enough for 2 people.  For souvenirs, you can pick up items beforehand on clearance from the Disney Store and then hand them out each day in lieu of buying things at the park, or give each kid a preset souvenir amount and have them decide what they want to spend their money on.

[mjbucks1]

If you plan a fall trip, they generally offer free dining.  Here is a link to Mouse Savers that has the historic release dates for all discounts (scroll about 1/3 of the way down the page):  http://www.mousesavers.com/historical-information-on-walt-disney-world-resort-discounts/#codechart  Also, Disney does allow you to take food inside the park (in a soft sided cooler or backpack).  We usually pack some granola bars and water in a back pack, because even bottled water inside the park is expensive.  If you are flying, you can get groceries delivered to your hotel.  We used the Garden Grocer in May 2012.  We were able to order our groceries ahead of time and have them delivered to our hotel.  There is a $40 minimum, and a $14 delivery, but we get enough food for breakfast and it is well worth it.  Here is the link:   https://www.gardengrocer.com/marketing/gardengrocer/index.html?gclid=CPLPpNqU7bsCFbQWMgod0D8AFg

[Guest]

We stayed very close but not in the park, renting a condo (place had a pool and was about 10 mins from the park). We had a kitchen and prepared breakfast and dinner there. We left the park around 3 in the afternoon, IIRC, and came back around 6:30 or 7. It was great because we all got a good break, a nap, and then returned refreshed and ready to stay late--even my dd (who was around 2 or 3). We met scads of crying, exhausted children and grumpy parents, leaving as we were coming back. 

 

This is very similar to what we did. We didn't necessarily return later, although I think we did that one day out of a week. We didn't aim to come as early as possible and stay until they shut the doors. I was determined that we would have a nice time, not that we would see/do every possible thing. Staying in the condo was awesome. We all had room to get away from each other (several introverts in this family) and the pool was incredibly nice. We rarely ate food at the parks. We packed lunches, which we kept in a cooler in the car. The kids wore waist pouches with some snacks and drinks in them. 

 

All told, though, I agree with the sentiment that it's not a good place to go if every dollar is going to frustrate you. I also loved the "ultimate guide" linked by a PP. That book was fantastic. 

[DawnM]

We stay off site

Eat breakfast in the condo

Take lunch and snacks into the parks

Get YES tickets

Eat late dinner in condo 

 

We now go in November, when DH has a conference.  This allows his work to cover our gas completely.  

 

 

[zoobie]

Check out the budget board on disboards.

 

Be prepared. Check out the prices of food from allearsnet.com and plan ahead. If you get a package with dining, it may or may not be cheaper, but everything is included (except tip) so you can relax and enjoy. Give kids (and DH, if he's like mine, lol) a set souvenir budget. If they want the $15 balloon, they have to buy it. Bring ponchos and medicine and anything else you'd pay 4x as much for in the park.

 

We fill prescriptions at Target, get the extra 5% coupon from however many Rx, then use that to buy Disney gift cards with our RedCard, which means they're 10% off. Those we use for food and souvenirs by paying off room charges at the front desk. I believe you can use them to pay the hotel room itself, but double check that. Obviously this works at Disney hotels, but you could use the GCs in the park directly if you stay offsite.

 

There are certain room discount promotions available to Disney Visa cardholders, sometimes as much as 30% off or you get first crack at making reservations when there's a free dining or other promo.

 

If you'll be driving, you easily can bring bottled water and snacks. Otherwise you probably would still save money getting it delivered. All of the restaurants will give you a free small cup of water, but you have to wait in line and the water in MK especially tastes icky. It's convenient to pull out your own bottle and take a swig. We bring protein bars and some snack things that pack easily. Have a bar and a banana for breakfast and then hit the parks.

 

Overall I prefer Diane's method. ;)

[Audrey]

By not going.

[Annie G]

There are balloons that cost $15?  Really????

 

[sbgrace]

We save by:

Going during homeschool days, to save on ticket costs.

Staying at a Condo.

Bringing food and drinks into the park (breakfast condo, lunch and snack brought in, dinner condo).

Avoid purchasing in park souvenirs.

 

For some people, the above would cut their enjoyment of the experience. It doesn't for us, but you have to weigh the cost vs. benefit.

[zoobie]

There are balloons that cost $15? Really????

The giant Mickey heads with another balloon inside are $10 I think. Big helium balloons at Party City, etc. can be over $20. Anyway, I was being more hyperbolic about overpriced souvenirs than giving a real price. Sorry! :)

[Annie G]

The giant Mickey heads with another balloon inside are $10 I think. Big helium balloons at Party City, etc. can be over $20. Anyway, I was being more hyperbolic about overpriced souvenirs than giving a real price. Sorry! :)

 

 

I have officially turned into an old geezer. Even $10 for a balloon is more than I expected. Haven't been to Disney World since I was 11 (and that was back in the 70's) so the prices shock me. But my sister is building a house an hour from Orlando and I was thinking of taking dd to DW.   Happily she hates balloons. But she LOVES ice cream and I bet that's going to set me back, too. 

 

Love reading all the Disney ideas but my kids were never into rides at the parks so we never visited. But dd would love to go anyway- the characters, the fun...

[ChristusG]

We go all the time....usually several times a year. Here's some tips that we always do:

 

1. Stay offsite in a condo. We get a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, full kitchen, super clean condo in Windsor Hills for $85 or less per night. You might can even get a better deal if you stay for a week. We've done our share of staying onsite, but since we've added our third child and my 17 year old nephew, one bedroom hotel rooms are just too cramped for six people. I nearly lose my mind LOL. We'll only do a one bedroom hotel if we are staying one or two nights. Bigger options at Disney are just too expensive, in my opinion.

 

2. Don't buy drinks in the parks. We don't even bring water bottles....too awkward to carry around and they don't stay cold. Counter service restaurants will give you huge, free cups of ice water any time you ask. We stop multiple times a day for these.

 

3. Collect change before your trip for souvenir money. We throw change into a jar and exchange it for dollars before we go. We use this for souvenirs on our trip. Or, if you get some extra cash each month, stop by Walgreens and buy a Disney gift card each time. Save them for your trip.

 

4. Don't give into the expensive trinkets. While watching the night time parades they sell $20 light up toys. Go to the Dollar Tree or WalMart before you go, buy a light up toy for a few bucks, secretly pack it so that your kids do not see, and pull it out during the night time parade.

 

5. Make your own autograph book before you go. Or simply buy one of those spiral bound index card things and bring that for autographs.

 

6. Bring your lunch into the parks. We do this a lot. We'll eat breakfast at the condo, bring our lunch into the park, and buy dinner at the park. That's one meal out per day. And if a park closes early (like Animal Kingdom usually does), we'll just come back to the room on that day and I'll cook a super quick dinner at the condo (hotdogs, fish sticks, something super easy). We NEVER buy any snacks at the parks, I always bring them. Occasionally I'll let us get an ice cream treat but that's it.

 

7. Of course, if you have small children, bring your own stroller instead of renting them.

 

Now we do enjoy a character meal each trip, as we love them. But they are pretty expensive. It's something we love to do though.

[RoundAbout]

Have to chime in because we just did 2 weeks at Disney for probably less than $2000. Most of our savings was in staying at an offsite condo through Armed Forces Vacation Club. Because it was the low season between Thanksgiving and Christmas we got two weeks for the price of one. We cooked breakfast and dinner almost every day and packed our lunch for the park, but did buy some coffee and treats. We also got military discount tickets and bought no souvenirs. Our expenses breakdown to roughly:

 

Condo: $450

Tickets (10 day for me and DS, 7 day for DH): $950

Parking: $150

Birthday dinner for DS at Sci-Fi Cafe: $100

Park treats and snacks: $100

Eating outside park: $100

Minute Clinic copay for horrible 24 hour illness caught at park: $25

 

I'm sure I'm forgetting something but we were extremely frugal. Did not include groceries or gas since we would have had that a home. I'm not a Disney person AT ALL, but since this opportunity fell into our lap, I'm really pleased that we were able to do it cheaply. We had a great time.

[momto10blessings]

I have a friend who sells tp and paper towel rolls, box tops and empty baby food jars on ebay. All the money she makes, she saves for vacation since the items she sells are things she would throw away.

 

Oh, and I read about a woman who takes advantage of the gift card deals at target (ie: buy 2 packages of paper towels, get $5 target gift card or buy 2 packs diapers get $10 gc) and once she has $50 of target gift cards, she uses them to buy $50 Disney gift cards. They sell them right by the registers. So she ends up getting those free since she would be buying the items for her household anyway. They have them on all kinds of items: paper towels, tp, diapers, wipes, food, personal care products.

[DianeW88]

I also save for Disney with the Target "cash back" deals, combined with my 5% pharmacy discount.  I get Disney gift cards with those.  Here's a great site for those of you trying to save up for a visit to the parks:  www.couponingtodisney.com  Kristen is amazing!!

[ChristusG]

Oh....also, go off season. With homeschooling, I love that we can go offseason. Less money, less crowds, less wait times.

[JuanitaL]

We go to the local Publix before heading to the park and everyone has a deli sub made (far superior to Subway). A tailgate lunch and a Little Debbie in the pocket has always been a good $ saver for us.

[Chris in VA]

I'm just curious--what do you do at Disney for 10 days? That seems so long to me. 

[Stuart]

We go ten days and relax. Take our time. No rush no worry.

A money saving tip in AK the Chinese walk up restaurant is really good and meal is enough for 2. Well worth the price.

[DawnM]

Oh my……we went for 12 days in Oct/Nov.  Now, I *only* had 8 day park tickets, but they were the Y.E.S. tickets and had the watermarks and Disney Quest passes as well.

 

We go every year, so it isn't like anything was new to us, but we still found plenty to do in for those days!  

 

Each park can easily take more than one day to fully experience. Many things we do more than once!  Rides, shows, interactive events, even art classes at HS!  My oldest loves the art classes.  He goes more than once each visit.  They are 30 min. long.

 

You can also visit all the themed hotels.  Get a "kitchen sink" on the boardwalk!  

 

Dawn

 

 

I'm just curious--what do you do at Disney for 10 days? That seems so long to me. 

 

[DawnM]

This is very similar to our budget for 2 weeks.

 

HINT:  It can often be cheaper to get a full week condo stay than to do nightly stays.  We do SkyAuction and our last time we got 2 full weeks Fri-Fri (they also have Sat-Sat and Sun-Sun) for $230 per week including all taxes and fees.  This last time we even lucked out and got a 4 bedroom townhouse.  My kids LOVED it and each got their own bedroom.

 

Dawn

 

 

We go all the time....usually several times a year. Here's some tips that we always do:

 

1. Stay offsite in a condo. We get a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, full kitchen, super clean condo in Windsor Hills for $85 or less per night. You might can even get a better deal if you stay for a week. We've done our share of staying onsite, but since we've added our third child and my 17 year old nephew, one bedroom hotel rooms are just too cramped for six people. I nearly lose my mind LOL. We'll only do a one bedroom hotel if we are staying one or two nights. Bigger options at Disney are just too expensive, in my opinion.

 

2. Don't buy drinks in the parks. We don't even bring water bottles....too awkward to carry around and they don't stay cold. Counter service restaurants will give you huge, free cups of ice water any time you ask. We stop multiple times a day for these.

 

3. Collect change before your trip for souvenir money. We throw change into a jar and exchange it for dollars before we go. We use this for souvenirs on our trip. Or, if you get some extra cash each month, stop by Walgreens and buy a Disney gift card each time. Save them for your trip.

 

4. Don't give into the expensive trinkets. While watching the night time parades they sell $20 light up toys. Go to the Dollar Tree or WalMart before you go, buy a light up toy for a few bucks, secretly pack it so that your kids do not see, and pull it out during the night time parade.

 

5. Make your own autograph book before you go. Or simply buy one of those spiral bound index card things and bring that for autographs.

 

6. Bring your lunch into the parks. We do this a lot. We'll eat breakfast at the condo, bring our lunch into the park, and buy dinner at the park. That's one meal out per day. And if a park closes early (like Animal Kingdom usually does), we'll just come back to the room on that day and I'll cook a super quick dinner at the condo (hotdogs, fish sticks, something super easy). We NEVER buy any snacks at the parks, I always bring them. Occasionally I'll let us get an ice cream treat but that's it.

 

7. Of course, if you have small children, bring your own stroller instead of renting them.

 

Now we do enjoy a character meal each trip, as we love them. But they are pretty expensive. It's something we love to do though.

 

[ChristusG]

There's plenty to do for 10 days! Disney is much more than just four parks.

 

With ten days you can take your time going through each park instead of rushing. If you really want to do neatly everything in each park, it will take more than one day per park.

 

There are two water parks, Disney Quest, Downtown Disney, and two mini golf courses outside of the parks.....the water parks or Disney Quest could take up most of a day. Some people (like us) take days "off" in between park days. On our days off we swim, go on a hayride at Ft Wilderness, explore each resort (they are all different with their unique decor), go shopping, etc. There are big golf courses for golfers. If we are camping in Disney's campground we'll walk trails, go to the playground, relax, take the kids to the campfire singalong and movie at night.

 

There are tours....you have to pay extra and make reservations of course. There are fishing excursions, Segway classes, parasailing, or horseback riding. There's boat rentals. We've rented "water mice" which are mini boats to scoot around the lake in. You can ride bikes on trails or cruise around the large resorts in a family size surrey bike. There are character meals and dinner shows. There's the electrical water pageant on the lake and fireworks each night. There's pirate yours for kids.

 

Or, if you want to go offsite, there's other amusement parks, shopping at outlet malls, tourist destinations, Medieval Times, Green Acre Farms.

 

Really, the possibilities are endless. We've done a variety of things on our many trips

[AnIslandGirl]

To save money AT Disney, we pay for everything ahead of time. On-site room, hopper tickets, Deluxe dining plan, and get Disney gift cards for all our extras. That way there are no surprises and everything in budgeted for. Not having to pull out a credit card at each meal or time we want something adds to the relaxed vacation vibe. It doesn't necessarily save us money, but it makes for a much more relaxed vacation overall.

[Jenny in Florida]

I'm just curious--what do you do at Disney for 10 days? That seems so long to me. 

 

Well, let's see:

 

There are four major theme parks, each of which could easily take at least two days to do well.

 

There are two water parks, each with a different theme and personality.

 

There is a large shopping and entertainment district with a huge arcade/virtual reality game center, a fancy retro-themed bowling alley, a marina with boat rentals, themed restaurants and more.

 

There are two miniature golf courses, again, each with a different theme.

 

There are, I think, 26 resort hotels on the property and a large campground, each of which has its own theming and attractions. For example, the Animal Kingdom Lodge has a lovely pool, a fantastic restaurant with an African-inspired buffet, animals wandering just outside the windows of the hotel, etc. The campground has an equestrian center that offers trail rides, stables you can visit, a nightly campfire program with a Disney film shown outdoors, a dinner theatre . . .

 

Seriously, 10 days isn't actually enough to even make a dent in all there is to see and do, even if you never step off the Disney-owned property.

[DianeW88]

I've spent as long as 14 days at Disney World.  We still weren't even CLOSE to seeing everything.  And we didn't leave the property.

[RoundAbout]

I'm just curious--what do you do at Disney for 10 days? That seems so long to me.

It was a little long for us, but we are not huge Disney people. DH had to be in town for another reason, and its just the way our condo rental worked out. The cost of a 10 day ticket is only incrementally more than a 6 or 7 day.

 

The main thing is that we did not have to rush. We often did homeschool in the morning and hit the park at 11 or noon and stayed late. Or we got going early and got home early for some pool time. There was also a day DS got sick so we ended up just doing a few hours one day and skipping the next. It was great to know we had the time and the illness did not ruin our vacation.

 

With 4 major parks and with the number of rides and shows, I don't think 10 days is unreasonable for some one who loves Disney. Especially If you go at a busy time when line waits are long. We were really lucky to go at a low time with only 5-10 minute waits for a lot of rides (and fast passes for the rest). Still, there were a ton of things we didn't do.