Affordable Ways to Walt Disney World

[disneyland50]

hey does anybody know any affordable ways to disney world maybe staying at one of the disney world hotels.

 

[LoriMistress]

Try the Trip Planning Forums. They have some useful tips there.

 

[Eljay]

Disney is never going to be a cheap vacation, but, you can explore the discount options by going on http://www.mousesavers.com/ and subscribing to their newsletter.

If you have access to a camper, Fort Wilderness is a less expensive way to stay on Disney property.http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/faq_fw.htm

 

[disneytati]

I always travel cheap when I go to WDW. Maybe I could give you some useful tips:

Off-site hotels are still cheaper then WDW resorts; I usually get one that offers breakfast. I usually stop by Walmart and buy crackers, chips and cookies to take to the parks. When I'm hungry for the first time, I eat such things. This way I can pay for only ONE meal in the parks, later on. I never buy coke in the parks. I always take one or two cans and ask for a cup of ice. It's much, much cheaper this way. The Disney stores at the outlet malls are good to buy Disney stuff, much cheaper than the parks. Of course, they don't have the same items, but it's worth it. I usually park at the Contemporary and take the monorail to the parks, or to the TTC. Another way to save the parking money is to park at Downtown Disney and take a bus to the place you want to go.

I agree with Eljay, a WDW trip is NEVER cheap. But if you save on these little things (if you sum it all up, it saves you a lot), plus the discounts at mousesavers.com, you can have loads of fun without spending that much!

 

[wedway71]

10 years ago I booked off site with a Holiday Inn.I was living in Cape Coral-SW FLA-3 hours from WDW.After going to the opark all day we went to check in to the hotel and the lady messed up our reservations and had no room-it was super busy so we drove up and down 192 and could not find anywhere.We finally after 2 hours said what the Hell and saw a Motel 6 that had a vacancy sign.I always had a stigma with Motel 6 as it being a low budget place but we were tired and wanted to crash so we went there.........10 years later we have gone back there every year-It was the cleanest room ive ever stayed in and every time only 32.00 a night.Since we were sooo close to WDW just need a place to sleep and shower and go to the parks.To this day I cant imagine staying anywhere else off property-we saved a bundle and used the extra money for more gifts and food etc.This year since were living in Indy were staying on property but all those years we really got a great great deal.

 

[Debbie]

hey does anybody know any affordable ways to disney world maybe staying at one of the disney world hotels.

Search for this topic and you might find some really helpful, inventive ways. Here's a few from me:
1)book your room in the value season if possible. One night's deposit is required. Try to pay one night per month.
2)if you have kids and they are like mine; they don't want for much (because they don't have alot). For holidays, when grandparents ask what to get them; I suggest money to go towards their ticket. My boys can rack up a few hundred between Christmas and, by March 7, all of our birthdays are done. The Easter bunny can bring money for a trip to Mickey also. They earn their own money, so they also know the value of a dollar. It helps them appreciate the trip more.
3)As soon as we arrive, I go to Wal-Mart and buy Coke, box Hi-Cs, Rice Krispie treats, beer, and other treats. We also eat breakfast in our room because we bring a microwave. We make sandwiches for lunch and each child has their backpack to pack for the day.
4)we eat out only one meal a day and my boys are trained to not even think about steak.......
5)my boys have a set budget before we leave New Orleans and know not to ask for more. We hit the Outlet malls before they spend their money. They would rather 5 things for $50.00 than one thing for $50.00; but if they choose otherwise, it's their decision to live with.

this is all I can think of off the top of my head------hope this helps :wave:

 

[CoffeeJedi]

check out Southwest air, i'm flying down for 100 bucks! i was going to drive, but that's cheaper than gas! sure, its a glorified public bus in the sky, but it works

use Kingdom Konsultants or Dream Come True vacations, they'll get you a discounted rate, and help make everything go smoother. i'll never book my own WDW vacation again

go during the off-season

if you're lucky, they'll offer free dining again next year, that's a huge savings, i wouldn't be able to afford this trip without it

finally, i know this is tough... but
don't buy souveniers. plain and simple, maybe a "toothpick holder" but that's it

good luck

 

[XNightmaresX]

definetely get the dining plan, it saves so much money and goes a long way

 

[Agent1964fem]

I bought the little boxes of cereal before I left home stowed them in my suit case and bought milk at the resort. One day we bought breakfast at the resort it was so much food I took the box back to my room put it in the refridge and had lunch that day.

 

[barnum42]

Another off-siter here. My hotel is where I go to sleep and freshen up. All hotels look the same when you are asleep. Quite a few do free breakfasts too, this will carry me through to lunch when I'll get a counter service meal then another for dinner.

When Animal Kingdom used to do the meal vouchers, that made for a big saving. Sadly they are no longer available

The other way to an affordable Disney break is to be a spoilt brat with no concept of money and parents that pander to your every whim

 

[goofyfamily]

My advice is watch for a deal with air . For us, air is always one of the biggest expenses. Once you find that, half the battle is done , next we stay at a value, we have done the moderates and our kids prefer the value, we are hardly there except to change and sleep with maybe a quick dunk in the pool. We take cereal, bowls, spoons and a few snacks in our suitcase and buy milk at the gift shop. We take a small cooler on the plane with us with a few items and use that to keep the milk in at the hotel you could also use a collapsable cooler. We love the dining plan there is more than enough food and you wont be sorry. That pretty much sums up our trip.

 

[Sorbo78]

"I usually park at the Contemporary and take the monorail to the parks, or to the TTC. Another way to save the parking money is to park at Downtown Disney and take a bus to the place you want to go."


I'm surprised no one jumped on this, but this is a point of much debate on the boards from what I've seen. First off, while you can get away with this, it is very frowned upon. I mean, if everyone did it then they would either start charging for hotel parking or just up their room rates that much more.

And second, Downtown Disney no longer has buses that go directly to the parks for this very reason, so if you wanted to try and work this system, you'd have to take a bus from Downtown Disney to a resort, and then transport from the resort to a park. Again, frowned upon plus somewhat time-consuming.

If you are flying down and only doing Disney, staying on Disney property and not using a rental car is probably just a little more expensive than staying off and paying for a rental car. If you're driving yourself, then yes, staying off property is probably the way to go.

Be sure to buy your tickets from an online ticket broker too, like ticketmania or something. The mousesavers email lists a few websites and they are always cheaper than Disney prices.

One other thing if you need to save money here and there is that some counter-service meals in the parks are too big for one person. My wife and I, on occasion, would split 1 meal between us cause we just couldn't eat that much food. The dining plan (if you're staying on property) is great, but really only if you eat a lot of food to begin with.

Enjoy your trip.

 

[kennygman]

We're saving enough with the free dining plan to afford to fly and we're staying longer too.
1. The longer you stay the less it is per day for tickets, but you do have the extra room costs. The difference for a 3 day and 10 day ticket is only about 30 bucks total.
2. Stay during a value season and look for off season specials like free dining and discounted room rates. You're not going to save much on discount tickets and don't buy them on ebay, you may get ripped off. Also value season means the park isn't as full, so you'll enjoy the parks more.
3. Disney allows you to bring small crushable type cooler into the park. Bring some water and some instant Kool-aid packs. It saves a bundle on drinks. Bring along some snacks, but don't ever bring chocolate, the hot Florida sun will melt it in no time.
4. Watch for air fare deals. Sometimes it is cheaper than driving and much less hassle. However I try to avoid connecting flights and fly direct.
5. Buy all your Disney souvenirs at the Disney Outlet near the world or online at disney shopping outlet before leaving.
6. Split meals. The meals in the world are usually very generous and can feed two people.
7. Take simple breakfast foods. As previous poster said you can buy milk there. Don't try to store it unless you get a room with a fridge. Food poisoning will definitely ruin your vacation.
8. Save up. Start saving by putting all your change and small bills into a container at the end of the day. You'll find that you have hundreds of dollars that would have been spent on candy, gum, cokes, chips, newspapers etc...

It can be cheaper to stay offsite, which helps the bottom line, but we prefer to stay in the world and use the transportation. By the time we've toured all day we don't want to have to catch a tram to find our car and drive back. We've done that before and didn't care for it. We usually don't wait more than 10-15 mins for a bus tops and often walk right on them.

Just some thoughts, enjoy your vacation.

 

[executivechef]

We stay off-site as well. I've been staying at the same condo for years now and have become very good friends with the owner. He's kept our rates the same since the first time we rented. No matter what time of year either....($450 for 10 days) The condo sleeps 8 and has everything such as home. washer & dryer, stove, coffee maker, etc.
We buy soda and snacks and things to munch on. It's also nice to come in from the park and be able to woof down a frozen pizza or cool off with some icecream. Being a chef I have no troubles with cooking or making things.
We spend a few hours the first day shopping at Publix and setting up the fridge but we save a lot of money too.
Also I agree with the Southwest ...last year it costs us $130 pp roundtrip from Providence RI to Orlando.
One needs to save as much as possible when traveling with sometimes 7 kids...we normally take a few of our sons friends every year with us.
This year looks like 5 kids and 3 adults. The kids almost line up at our home when we announce our trip date....:lol:
So cutting corners can be done, off-site is one way and watching Southwest for internet deals is another.
Guy

 

[MicheleK]

I've been going to Disney almost every year since I was eight (that's a lot of trips ). Anyway, the past five years or so we've been renting pool homes or condos five miles from Disney. I just got back Sunday and from our three bedroom two bath condo you could see Everest!!! It took us less than 6 minutes to get to the parks. We went to the grocery store on our first day and shopped for lunch and breakfast foods and snacks, sodas, water, etc. I packed a cooler in our car each day with sandwiches, waters, sodas, and snacks. When we got hungry, we went out to the car, turned on the airconditioner and enjoyed lunch. Saved us a TON of money (I have two kids and a husband). We did splurge on Breakfastasaurus in AK one day. I booked it for 8:00am so we could be done by 9:00 when the park opened. We were the FIRST to ride EE that day! The breakfast was so good and so big that we didn't even need to eat lunch. We stopped mid afternoon and got McDonalds fries and a soda. That held us until dinner where we ate our sandwiches just before Fantazmic! The other days we ate breakfast at our condo and headed to the parks with our cooler in trunk. We barely had to buy ANY food in the parks.

If you really wanted to stay on property, I suggest one of the value resorts (POP would be my favorite). You could still make a trip to the grocery store and get a stirophome (sp???) cooler and eat lunch back at your room. You'd be surprised what eating lunch (and maybe even breakfast) in your room could save you. Then you could splurge on a nice dinner. :slurp:

Hope this helped! Have a wonderful time. :wave:

 

[Since1976]

You can do what my dirt-poor family did in the late 80s to 90s: Sleep in the covered back of a pickup truck in the sweltering heat! My parents really could not afford the trip, but they HAD to get me and my sister down there while we were kids...

I purchased a Vacation Ownership plan so that my family would never have to go through that.

 

[SallyShine]

The portions are so huge that most meals can be shared by two people.

 

[tink81]

Are you a AAA member? If so, you can save around $100 on booking a package (includes hotel, ticket and dining plan if you choose).

Do you have a Disney Visa Card? I know, I know, it's a credit card and credit cards are the root of evil, BUT you can accumulate Disney Dream Reward Dollars on purchases each month and the Reward Dollars can be used at restaurants and shops all over WDW. If you are approved, they usually give you 20-25 Reward Dollars right off the bat, as a 'Thanks.' You can also book certain Disney packages with your Disney Card with NO interest. I would reccommend talking to a travel agent to find out which packages apply.

oooh, and I would also reccomend downloading DING! from Southwest's website, they run special fare sales on seleceted locations weekly. You can also sign up to get their newsletter which has more fare specials.

Hope this helps!

 

[ZapperZ]

I would also like to add that one should really go to the WDW website and keep an eye out for outrageous deals such as the one they had a couple of months ago. What was it, $470/person based on double occupancy at a Value Resort, includes park tickets and Dinning plan, for 7 nights? That's a very good bargain considering that all your park needs are paid for.

Right now, they're advertizing $64 room rates for most night in Sept. at a value resort.

I think if you are flexible in the time of year that you can go, then I certainly would check the website for their package deals during their slow season.

Zz.

 

[barnum42]

If you are fromthe UK, keep an eye out for late deals, the appear from about eight weeks out.

A couple of years ago I found flights and two weeks off-site hotel for £350.