Marathon Weekend 2024

[sandam1]

SAFD - I've got lots of tips because I work for a non-profit and need to "play the game" to be able to afford the races

- My number #1 way to save to NOT do Disney. I spend my race weekends on the "dark side" (aka at Universal). By far, the prices at Universal are cheaper than Disney - hotels, tickets (I have an annual pass), food, everything. I stay at one of their lower tier hotels which means no Express Pass, but that isn't a deal-breaker for me.

- We do a grocery store stop to get snacks, breakfast foods and - for this past year's Marathon Weekend - even got some foods appropriate for lunch or dinner. We almost always stay in a suite with a kitchenette so we have a microwave. For race weekends, it's really nice to not have to schlep out again to find food when all I really want to do is put my feet up. This is primarily a convenience thing, but it does save money as well.

- I get Disney gift cards for race registrations and Expo shopping. At a minimum, I can them at a 5% discount at Target, but sometimes I can get them at 10% off or more. For Dopey registration, that's a savings of between $30-60.

- I watch the prices of what I have booked all of the time. I book my Southwest flights on points so I check those, my hotel room, and my car rental every couple of days. It takes a matter of minutes to do and usually pays off. I also think outside the box on transportation. Sometimes it's actually cheaper to get an Uber from the airport to the hotel and pick up the rental car at the hotel.

- I use shopping and survey sites to get additional gift cards. During the COVID shutdown, I accumulated enough gift cards to pay for my entire first trip back, including my annual pass. This can take some time, but I've learned what is worth it and what is a waste of time.

- I don't buy drinks on vacation. I use a refillable water bottle and drink water at restaurants. It's better for me health-wise and saves soooo much money.

Every little bit helps!

 

[RunWI1265]

The contributors and friends here on the DISboards have been and are part of my running journey and of my Disney addiction. Thank you.


Does one really saves when going to Disney?
Get more medals for the price of less by running a Challenge? Eat breakfast in the room (because it is a 1:30AM pre-race wake-up)? Stay at a nicer resort because of a deal (looking for a miracle DVC rental or Swolphin discount for mid-April BTW)? Snack around the world instead of a character meal? Stay a week because the additional days of park tickets are cheap? Guilty of all

Story of my life doing that Disney math! I don't really have any money saving hacks just ways to try to spend less. The usual things...grocery orders, refillable water bottles, AP/Disney+ discounts. We ended up getting a delta CC which gets us a companion cert once a year which helps with flights plus better rewards on flights and hotels. We charge everything back to the room which on our CC runs as "hotel" so we get 3x back on the entire room charge.

 

[BikeFan]

I like that there's so much experience here, in a wide variety of methods, and a willingness to share. I would have absolutely have made so many more mistakes than I already was starting as a runner, if it hadn't been for these boards and the training journals. It was definitely a breath of fresh air to have people who could kindly give me a reality check, and say that yes these things are possible, but you need to go about this a different way to have the greatest chance for success. And that while we have some very fast runners in here, there's not an elitist mindset or condescension toward runners with slower paces or those who have found that run/walk works best for them.

Truly one of the great things about this community, and runDisney in general, is that there's no real elitism, pace-shaming, or "real runner" gatekeeping. Actually, I've found that to be generally true about the greater running community - the vast majority of runners I've met, even elite ones, are pretty humble about it and encouraging to everyone else, regardless of speed. I hope that part never changes.

SAFD: We'll occasionally order kid's meals in the parks, because not only are they cheaper, but we appreciate the portions are smaller!

 

[morgsmagic]

SAFD: We definitely have the tradition of hitting up the Target before every vacation to stock up on snacks, breakfast foods, and drinks. We never buy water in the park, either bring a reusable water bottle or stock up on water bottles from the store. I also save up my Disney Movie Insider points for gift cards, it's not much, but it offsets a couple mickey bars lol! Continuing to check on prices for hotels, rental cars, and flights also can help with finding the lowest price, it is astonishing how much they fluctuate with no rhyme or reason.

 

[PrincessV]

Just a little more on the DIS general discussion from a longtime vet…

I’ve never listened to/watched Unplugged, know nothing about that world, only ever hung out in the running, Theme Park, Resorts, and once upon a time Trip Reports sections. Am entirely clueless about DIS finances, revenue, whatever Patreon is. But I read enough to figure out what’s going on, so I think I’m up to speed. Don’t think we need to discuss any of it here.

I would be very, VERY surprised to see the boards go away entirely. Become something different? Sure. Change hands of management? Could be. New rules, reduced attention, changes to revenue streams? Not unlikely.

But GONE? I doubt it. Because I’ve seen all of the above before. I’ve been around since before Canned Corn (anyone here long enough to remember that?!) I went through the Great Purge, and Purge 2. Three different board platforms. That Other Place that no longer exists and can barely even be found by Googling nowadays. More Mods than I can recall, and too many handles that faded away. Rule changes, forbidden topics, new ways of rolling threads into subject areas. These boards have been through a LOT over the past 20+ years, but they still exist. And I think they’ll continue to exist in some format after the dust settles.

Hang tight, stick around, let’s keep talking the rD talks we’ve been doing for many years, and wait to see what comes next, if anything changes. Who knows? It could be something even better!

ETA: fixed typos bc Bluetooth keyboard may not be ready for primetime…

 

[The Expert]

I’ve been around since before Canned Corn (anyone here long enough to remember that?!) I went through the Great Purge, and Purge 2. Three different board platforms.

Yep, same! (My join date is also way off because of it.) Crazy to think back on all that, but how many other platforms online have existed as long as this one has? There's definitely something to this community and I agree it will likely survive in some form.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Not directly MW related, but I know we have some frequent SW fliers in here; when they open a new block of dates for flights, is there a time of day that typically happens? Our spring break date window is supposed to open on Thursday and I don't want to miss it.

 

[dobball23]

Not directly MW related, but I know we have some frequent SW fliers in here; when they open a new block of dates for flights, is there a time of day that typically happens? Our spring break date window is supposed to open on Thursday and I don't want to miss it.

According to this DisBoards thread, here are the release times:

Release Date | Time (eastern)
06/29/23 | 7:35am
06/08/23 | 7:20am
03/09/23 | 7:10am
02/09/23 | 7:15am
12/15/22 | 7:15am
10/27/22 | 7:25am
09/08/22 | 7:25am
07/21/22 | 7:20am
06/16/22 | 7:30am
03/30/22 | 7:30am
12/16/21 | 7:50am
12/08/21 | 6:45am
06/10/21 | 7:15am
04/01/21 | 9:10am
12/10/20 | 7:15am
08/13/20 | 9:15am

 

[GreatLakes]

The best cost saving loopholes seem to end up getting closed by Disney. The never expiring 10 day ticket was my favorite but that ship has long sailed and sunk to the bottom of the ocean.

We are creative with Credit Cards but that is more about maximizing benefits than saving money. We fly United and stay at Marriott properties so we use the United and Bonvoy cards to maximize points.

We always rent a car and will grab snacks and water somewhere local but the cost savings is really a drop in the bucket.

 

[camaker]

SAFD: I don't do too much cost savings-wise for my running trips. I get to Disney about once a year, generally solo, and when I do I want to enjoy the Disney experience, not worry too much about the expense. The one thing that I do to save money, though, is to bring my own breakfast. I typically have a Zone Perfect bar for breakfast and, if I'm running long in the morning, will add a Kind bar, too. That makes it easy enough to toss a box of each into my bag.

 

[Disneyhanna]

My favorite money saving hack is to buy an AP so I can justify more trips to justify my AP, obviously savings lots of money in the end Then renewing it every year to save even MORE money!

Of course, this always reminds me of the time Disney paid ME to go to WDW. I activated an AP over Thanksgiving and got a 2nd trip in just before shut-down in 2020. I took the prorated refund and ended up only having spent like $350 on the AP, and got two week-long trips out of it. Not sure I'll ever come out that far ahead again

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I haven't been keeping up with this thread very well, but I am excited because I bought my plane tickets yesterday! I'll be flying down from Minnesota after a trip to Wisconsin, so I'm hoping the weather will cooperate.

SAFD: It doesn't really save money if I'm being honest, but having DVC and an AP lowers the cost overall on a per-trip basis. It raises the cost overall, though - I take more trips!

I do use the Target RedCard to save 5% on Disney gift cards and I use those to pay for my DVC dues.

I also bring a reusable water bottle into the parks. I will ask at quick service restaurants (anywhere with a fountain soda machine) for the free ice water to refill it. I use the beverage stations at the resorts to fill it in the mornings and evenings (you can access the ice and water without the paid refillable mug). I also pack instant oatmeal and granola bars and things to have breakfast and some snacks in the room. However, I don't save too much money on food on my trips because I enjoy eating out on vacation. The breakfast in the room is more to save time on rope drop mornings.

 

[pluto377]

SAFD: Last year, I bought $100 in GC with my SW points because I had so many. For next year's trip I've got $200 in GC stocked up already. It probably doesn't really save money per se, but at least I'm laying out less actual cash. I also eat breakfast in my room and will order or pick up groceries. I'm planning to skip the rental car in January so that should help my budget. And I order kids meals whenever I can.

 

[DisneyParrothead]

SAFD: Last year, I bought $100 in GC with my SW points because I had so many. For next year's trip I've got $200 in GC stocked up already. It probably doesn't really save money per se, but at least I'm laying out less actual cash. I also eat breakfast in my room and will order or pick up groceries. I'm planning to skip the rental car in January so that should help my budget. And I order kids meals whenever I can.

Great point! My cousin and I both ordered kids meals when we were at AK in February, and I look for those too. Most adult meals have too much food anyway.

 

[Let's Get Kronk]

SAFD: I am the last person to ask about saving money on a Disney trip. LOL. My trips to Disney are all about splurging. I don't tend to go more than a couple times a year (although I keep signing up for race weekends since I got my AP in April so I may have to slow my roll a bit). I'm not much of a breakfast person in general so I suppose I do save some money by only getting like a granola bar in the mornings, and I use the heck out of the refillable cup at the resort for coffee and other drinks when I'm at the resort (which isn't usually much). Otherwise though, I eat what I want when I want and don't think about the financial aspect of it. And I don't like to carry anything into the parks to keep up with, so I tend to just buy water and food when I need it.

 

[Bree]

FYI, since we are talking about money saving tips. MCO has raised its fees for ride share services. The first increase happened today raising it from $5.80 to $6.35 and the final increase starts on October 1st raising it to $7. The fee for ride share services will of course be passed on to the consumer and will not benefit the driver.

 

[princesspirateandrunner]

@Z-Knight, I hope things get easier soon. One of the things I really appreciate about this thread is how kind and supportive everyone is. I know that we are all pulling for you. Our little corner of the Boards feels like its own community, and we’re glad you’re a part of it.

SAFD: We use the Chase Disney card for rewards dollars, and put everything we can on it so that the rewards are usually pretty significant when we go. We also try to find the best deal on a resort, but we do always stay on-site, and enjoy the Disney bubble. We take snacks and breakfast foods with us, mostly because I’m not much of a breakfast person, and DH is. Post-pandemic, we’ve rented DVC points a few times when we found a good deal, as we do enjoy trying different resorts. When DH was military, we took advantage of Disney’s military discount for tickets and stayed at SoG several times. Once there, however, we splurge and enjoy the trip without focusing on the expense.

 

[Jason Bryer]

Haven't done SAFD for a while. I agree with everyone in term of brining your own water bottle is key. We also tend to have a car when we visit so going to the grocery store is also a great cost saving. We tend to eat breakfast in our room and bring small snacks with us. We also rent DVC when we can which gets us a much better resort for the price of a moderate.

 

[1lilspark]

SAFD: we definitely are in the bringing food/drink camp during race weekend instead of banking on the hotel having boxes for runners we will bring our own breakfast to nibble on while waiting for the bus as well as waters/sodas/electrolyte beverages as well as occasionally a few lite snacks

If we have to get beverages on property even on non race weekends speedway is gas station prices not Disney Prices…and in parks if you purchase inside a store (creations in Epcot, confectionery at Magic to name a few) vs at a cart and you are a passholder you can use your discount

 

[The Expert]

We stay DVC so always buy breakfast foods, snacks and drinks/alcohol for the room.