Any great Cost Cutting Tips???

[waltdisneyworlddreamer]

I thought I had planned a modest trip for July but now DH and DF and complaining every day about the cost. To me it is well worth the money, but they of course of not Disney addicts. Do you have any good suggestions for trimming back the cost a little? We're leaving in 26 days and this is what I have already budgeted for.

4 nights at PO (I've already stayed at the All Stars, couldn't convince them to go Deluxe, so we met in the middle)
2 nights at hotel along the way (we're driving)
4 day Hoppers
1 day at BB
1 character breakfast
1 characer dinner
dinner at the sci-fi
Rest of the meals counter service
$100 total for snacks


I'm traveling with DF, DH, DM and DS, age 3.
Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[BBB Family]

My family are not big breakfast eaters - When we went to WDW last August, we cut out a character breakfast to save money. We just bought stuff from the grocery store for breakfast instead. Of course if you have a big breakfast family, this option may be too precious to cut.

Just a thought....

 

[threeboysmom]

If I had to cut costs, I would drop one of the character meals - preferably the breakfast since you can eat breakfast for about $60 cheaper than what you'll be paying for a sit-down character meal ($15 per person + tip). Also, I would either drop down to a 3-day hopper OR cut Blizzard Beach from the schedule. Instead, take a day to do something free like Downtown Disney, resort hopping, or just swimming in your resort pool.

Kimberly

 

[B3LM]

You can also save a little money by doing a character lunch instead of a character dinner. (Unless the character meal you're wanting to do is only available at dinner.)

We have found that many of the restaurants in WDW offer a great selection at lunch and at much more reasonable prices!

 

[crusoe2]

Personally, these are the things I would cut. (Just remember, our priorities may be different.)

1. I would do dessert at the Sci-Fi rather than dinner. It is less expensive but you still get to experience the restaurant.

2. I agree with the previous posts about taking some breakfast stuff to keep in the room - it saves both time and money. Save your character meal money for later in the day when you're already going to be paying more than usual for a meal anyway. And you might consider doing a character lunch in place of the character dinner. They have them at Crystal Palace at MK and the Garden Grill at Epcot and they should cost less than a character dinner.

3. The only way I know of to trim your ticket cost would be to get bounce back tickets but this will only work if you only plan to do 3 parks and do them one park per day - no parkhopping. If you do this, I believe the ticket costs will be about $50 for the first day, $45 for the second, and $40 for the third for a total of about $135 per person as opposed to about $200 for 4 day parkhoppers. Whether this would work for you really depends on your priorities.

4. I would skip Blizzard Beach and take the time to enjoy the pool and other amenities at the resort. Afterall, you are paying more for that privilege than if you were staying at an All Star so enjoy it.

5. You might also be able to trim some off the cost of a place to stay along the way. If you have a Disney Club membership look into using the Entertainment Club benefits that come with it or with any other entertainment book you may have. Also check those discount booklets you find at places like Shoney's - there are some pretty good hotel deals in those.

6. These are some tips about small things you didn't mention but I thought I'd pass them along - every bit helps.
Phone cards - Nestle is giving away 20 minute phone
cards. Just collect UPC symbols off of designated pro-
ducts and send in. You have to send in 4 UPCs per
card. Don't know if you would get them back in time
but it might be worth a try.
Water bottles - You probably already know this but
definitely take your own water bottles to the parks.
This is another one of those things that saves both
time and money. Same goes for snacks - we take
ziplock bags of Chex Mix, Teddy Grahams and such.
It's so convenient to have it on hand whenever you
want it and it allows you to save your money for
special snacks.
Souveniers - Check out some of the factory outlets
before you hit the parks. I keep hearing about
really great deals on park merchandise so this is
something we plan to do next time.

Wow, I didn't mean to be so long-winded but I hope some of this helps. Have a great trip!

 

[ReneeQ]

We do some of our character meals as a brunch, the last seating, say 10 am, for breakfast. Eat a quick breakfast cereal bar or something in the room before heading out, if 10 am is a little late for breakfast. Either sleep in and get a late start, or go early and hit a few attractions before brunch.

This way you get the breakfast prices (and sometimes towards the end of the meal they are even putting out lunch food), and you're eating late enough that it takes care of breakfast AND lunch. We often are so full we don't eat again that day, except for a late afternoon snack.

 

[travelcoupons]

My best cost cutter is eat two large meals a day instead of 3 regular meals...

 

[frost5000]

I'm assuming that you've already checked out Mousesavers - if not do that right away - may save you $$ on rental car, and give you codes for your hotel stay.
If you have your heart set on a waterpark, maybe try WaterMania - it's only about $12 per person if you buy your tix in advance online (you can get mild discounts on disney tix also)- and although it's not the best it's still a pretty good water park. With a 3yo it might be wise to just stay at the hotel pool - it may be excitement enough, and you may want a rest day also.
Breakfast in hotel room, snacks and water bottles in parks, and order lunch from sit down rest. I work in the Olive Garden and all you need to do is ask for a lunch menu, even if it's dinner time (Please don't skimp on tip though....thanks.....lol) - since you have a car you can eat outside of the parks - the orlando sentenial has a lot of coupons for food in the area (one's a coupon for takeout dominos pizza for $4.95).
Hope this helps and isn't too redundant!!

 

[thefatman]

Stay off site you'll get to Disney and back just as quick as the Disney bus system( if not quicker ), eat cheaper and save $$

 

[Cindy B]

We drive straight through from PA, and that would cut the cost of the hotel rooms...
2 adults driving, one takes a first long shift and the other sleeps... I usually drive from Philly to NC, and then DH drives from NC to FL...

We leave about 4 in the afternoon and get in FL about 6 am the next day. Nothing like South of the Border at 2 am...

 

[mickey7861]

We eat breakfast in the room. It's easy enough to bring things like cereal, cereal bars, poptarts or doughnuts/muffins. Then just pick up milk and you're all set. If we don't do this by the time everyone is up and ready and we get to the restaurant and eat it's time to return to the room for our afternoon rest!

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Cindy, South of the Border is an awesome sight at 2 PM. I cannot imagine how it must look at 2 AM. Hard place to find though. Wish they would improve the signage. LOL

Slightly Goofy

 

[threeboysmom]

Slightly Goofy - you made me laugh about the South of the Border signs. I too drive to Florida and we usually hit SoB about 3 am every year! Those signs are the only things that keep me awake!! LOL! I look forward to each and every one! Something to pass the time.....

Kimberly

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Kimberly, I appreciate your sense of humor. I hate it when it is boring. I took the Natchez Trace one time. I love history and it was mostly nothing but mile after mile of the same scenery and I came close to nodding off. A place with a sense of humor can almost always get me to spend a few bucks.

Guess that is why I enjoy DW so much. Regardless of detractors I believe they poke fun at themselves and it is a hoot.

Slightly Goofy

 

[Mic]

I just returned from my 13th trip to WDW in 2 years(with 4 kids!) and we have experimented six ways to Sunday on a meal plan. Here are a few tried and true tips: Always do breakfast in the room, except on a non-park(pool/Downtown Disney) day, as it will be lunch before you really hit the park if you do it on a park day. The only alternative would be do EE at a park, then schedule a late breakfast/brunch-type meal in that park. (We do this for Cindy's bfast). Do most of your character meals and sit-down meals at lunch, and save counter-service for dinner or pizza in the room. Since we always know what park we will start the day in, I plan lunch accordingly, and leave dinner open. If a park gets too crowded, or we decide to head back to the room early, we do not have to cancel/change dinner PS. The only exception to this rule has been 'Ohana, which only does dinner, which we usually do arrival day, since it is not in a park(requires no ticket). The last 2 trips, however, we did not do this since their menu changed. With a 3-year-old, you can(and should) carry in small snacks and water bottles/juice boxes, saving a ton of money. I would skip the water park with a 3-year-old, and just spend the day at the pool. All of the moderates have nice pools. If 1 or 2 of the adults really want to do a water park, they could spend the day there while you stay at the resort, and you could all meet later for dinner. Since you are driving, remember to take lots of drinks/snacks for the room, too, and a cooler, and possibly a toaster for bagels/frozen waffles. You could take sandwich fixings, salad in a bag, etc. for a quick dinner or 2(We like salad with our pizza, but salads and drinks for 4 really drive the cost of dinner up, so we bring our own, and just order the pizza one night in the room). We are DVC members, and have a kitchen most of the time, and I still bring easy to prepare light meals(who wants to cook on vacation?) and order pizza. We usually eat an early dinner(5-6 pm)before heading back to the parks, and have a snack if we are hungry when we return. We usually drive, too, and go off-site for dinner every now and then. I hope this helps some...good luck.

 

[waltdisneyworlddreamer]

Thank you so much for all the helpful tips. I'm sure my DH and DF will especially apprectiate it!

22 days to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[melme26]

If all else fails and you run out of money....you can always eat out of a can of corn in front of city hall. Just kidding!

On our trip last year, we went off site a couple of times for dinner. We stayed at ASMu, ate cereal and toaster pastries in our room for breakfast. Also, we bought our souvenirs at Belz mall, that saved us a lot.
Good luck and have a safe drive!!

 

[1canadian]

Have you considered using Priceline for your hotel room?

 

[Joycemarie]

Since you're driving down I would suggest taking some meals offsite. There are plenty of places on International Drive and near the Crossings (Crossroads ??). Our favorite is Perkins for breakfast. Also you can buy some souvenirs on International Drive probably cheaper. Bring a cooler, for your room, and bring water bottles and drinks into the parks at $2-$3 a bottle this can save quite a bit. If youi have a DC buy all Disney stuff at downtown disney where you can save 10 % off of some things. Check out some of the coupons for the local restaurants that you'll find at the local eateries.

 

[openbook12]

I am also headed to WDW in a few days. We are novices to the world and wonder if there are any "must see" entertainment ideas. We have been once before for a very short 3 day stop. We saw Hoop de doo review and Minnies Luau. We have a 15 y/o son and a 12 y/o daughter. Looking for ideas that we will all enjoy.