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best money saving ideas
- Thread starter murphy
- Start date
HennieBogan1966
Account Suspended
Well, you've named some good ideas that we use when we go, but we also have learned to split meals where we can at the parks. The portions are usually large enough to do so. Keep in mind that I'm mainly talking about the counter serviced locations throughout the parks. We usually will budget from 200-300 Dollars for a week stay, just for food. You can also rent a small fridge, if your room doesn't have one and fill it with goodies, returning to your room for lunch. Not really a money saving tip ,but you can sometimes ask for an upgrade and get upgraded to a better room at no extra charge. This is more luck than s.o.p.
Also, get the refillable mugs when you arrive. They seem expensive, but you'd be surprised how much they can save you.
Eat light throughout the day, keeping hydrated, then spend your money on nice sit down dinners.
Buy your passes in advance. This will save you $$. From $20 and up. And buy passes that never expire, that way they are good forever.
Buy Disney Dollars on visits to the Disney Store each pay period. We've just started doing this. If you're paid twice a month, and you alot $10 per, that's $240 a year per person, whcih can be used at the parks as well.
The last is a little risky, but we did it last year. Living in Texas, since we were driving, we decided to try driving straight thru. This did a couple of things for us. First, we loaded a cooler with food and drinks, which saved both time and money making extra stops. As well, we didn't have to stop for a hotel room, spending $75 for a few hours of sleep. We merely slept in shifts, and made the trip in 21 1/2 hours. Again it's a bit risky, but it wasn't as bad as we thought. Having said that, I think we're going to stop next time out, cause we're not getting any younger.
Something else we noticed while there last trip, was that we could get something like a pretzel, or a turkey leg, and split it. This was inexpensive, and made for a good mid day snack to keep us going.
Just my 2 cents from some of our experiences.
Brian
at the parks as well.
Also, get the refillable mugs when you arrive. They seem expensive, but you'd be surprised how much they can save you.
Eat light throughout the day, keeping hydrated, then spend your money on nice sit down dinners.
Buy your passes in advance. This will save you $$. From $20 and up. And buy passes that never expire, that way they are good forever.
Buy Disney Dollars on visits to the Disney Store each pay period. We've just started doing this. If you're paid twice a month, and you alot $10 per, that's $240 a year per person, whcih can be used at the parks as well.
The last is a little risky, but we did it last year. Living in Texas, since we were driving, we decided to try driving straight thru. This did a couple of things for us. First, we loaded a cooler with food and drinks, which saved both time and money making extra stops. As well, we didn't have to stop for a hotel room, spending $75 for a few hours of sleep. We merely slept in shifts, and made the trip in 21 1/2 hours. Again it's a bit risky, but it wasn't as bad as we thought. Having said that, I think we're going to stop next time out, cause we're not getting any younger.
Something else we noticed while there last trip, was that we could get something like a pretzel, or a turkey leg, and split it. This was inexpensive, and made for a good mid day snack to keep us going.
Just my 2 cents from some of our experiences.
Brian
at the parks as well.
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KimPossible
New Member
I agree about snacking and then eating a big meal, but the key (especially in Epcot) is to eat a big meal for lunch. The reason is two-fold. THe first is that the meal is often cheaper at lunchtime in Epcot's restuarants then during the night. The second is well, you have more time to burn the calories off that you just scarffed down. Hope these help
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Thank you for your tips! We always buy the mugs on each trip and I think they are well worth the money! We also use them at home all the time. We just talked about splitting some meals, because we know from past experience that some of us never finish anyway, and being summer I would rather eat lite and enjoy the ice cream and fruit in the parks! The one big meal was in our plans also! I also gave disney dollars as a birthday gift in January for this trip!! I should start saving them myself, because they will never go to waste! And then you have another reason to look forward to your next trip! We are also bringing our own water. Thanks again. Anyone else have any of their own ideas?
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Bill
Account Suspended
Here's one... stay away from any and all PINS. They seem cheap to start with, but they add up quickly and are expensive and addictive. Plus Disney Pins are a BAD investment. Go look on eBay. 
I suggest taking some squirt bottles with you. They're more expensive at the parks. Sure they come with fans, but for $15, I don't need a fan, thank you very much.
Bring your own cans of soda. Best thing is to make a trip to Publix and buy some Publix Brand soda. You'll be amazed at the savings. And in my opinion, Publix Brand actually puts out better sodas then some of the name brands.
Split meals, and BUY KIDS MEALS. They never check if you have kids. And the kids meals are always cheaper. Heck, I buy them at the Land everytime I go. Hee hee.
Don't think McDonald's is cheap on property, they're not.
If you need to make a local call in your room to say a Pizza Hut or a park, just dial '0' on your in-room phone. Disney will dial the number for you for free.
E-Ride Nights ARE worth it.
Are you driving down to Disney or flying?
I suggest taking some squirt bottles with you. They're more expensive at the parks. Sure they come with fans, but for $15, I don't need a fan, thank you very much.
Bring your own cans of soda. Best thing is to make a trip to Publix and buy some Publix Brand soda. You'll be amazed at the savings.
And in my opinion, Publix Brand actually puts out better sodas then some of the name brands.Split meals, and BUY KIDS MEALS. They never check if you have kids. And the kids meals are always cheaper. Heck, I buy them at the Land everytime I go.
Hee hee.Don't think McDonald's is cheap on property, they're not.
If you need to make a local call in your room to say a Pizza Hut or a park, just dial '0' on your in-room phone. Disney will dial the number for you for free.
E-Ride Nights ARE worth it.
Are you driving down to Disney or flying?
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RandeB
Member
Reusable mugs...
...don't save you money if you don't like the drinks!
I don't drink anything you get in the mugs except for a lemonade/iced tea when desperate for a little flavor in the drink.
My picky wife likes the coffee, my picky brother bought a mug, didn't like the coffee and ended up paying $10 for a coffee he didn't drink, and then didn't use the mug again. It didn't help that he left the mug in the carry on net on the Safari ride.
...don't save you money if you don't like the drinks!
I don't drink anything you get in the mugs except for a lemonade/iced tea when desperate for a little flavor in the drink.
My picky wife likes the coffee, my picky brother bought a mug, didn't like the coffee and ended up paying $10 for a coffee he didn't drink, and then didn't use the mug again. It didn't help that he left the mug in the carry on net on the Safari ride.
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wannab@dis
Well-Known Member
I see this all the time and I have to disagree. We've been 4 times in the past 3 years and yet to pay more than $70/night at the high end. The average rate has been in the $50's. This past Dec, we paid $49/night.
Granted, we stay at the All Stars, but we think they're great. We would like to stay at POR some time, but can't pass up these great rates. Keep watching for the codes and change those ressies when one comes out. It's worth it!
As for the OP: We try to eat our bigger meal at lunch and then snack in the evening or go to the Food Court at the resort. The lunch menus always are cheaper with about the same amount of food as the evenings.
Easiest money saving tip that we found -- budget your souvenir spending! Set up an amount before you leave and stick to it.
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TheOneVader
Well-Known Member
Re: Reusable mugs...
Well, if you like flavor in your drink, and not just plain water (liek me), then I got a really good idea. Buy an envelope of the pre-sweetened Kool-Aid before you go. Then, just ask for a free ice water, and mix it up.
Well, if you like flavor in your drink, and not just plain water (liek me), then I got a really good idea. Buy an envelope of the pre-sweetened Kool-Aid before you go. Then, just ask for a free ice water, and mix it up.
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I saved a TON of money on this trip thanks to research and thanks to being married to a military man.
I honestly think the biggest money saver is having a detailed itinerary. That way you know exactly where you're going to eat, how much you're going to spend, what tickets you need, etc and you can adjust the little things if you're going to go overbudget.
I was going to originally get 5 day park hoppers, but after looking at my itinerary I realized that the day we were going to Blizzard Beach we wouldn't be doing any hopping because we are going to Hoop-Dee-Doo that evening. So instead of getting a 5 day park hopper I bought a 4 day park hopper and a waterpark pass. That saved a bunch of money.
Once you have your itinerary down you can see exactly what tickets you'll need. If you don't plan to go to certain parks (like Disney Quest, Wide World of Sports, etc) then don't pay money for a park hopper that includes those things.
I honestly think the biggest money saver is having a detailed itinerary. That way you know exactly where you're going to eat, how much you're going to spend, what tickets you need, etc and you can adjust the little things if you're going to go overbudget.
I was going to originally get 5 day park hoppers, but after looking at my itinerary I realized that the day we were going to Blizzard Beach we wouldn't be doing any hopping because we are going to Hoop-Dee-Doo that evening. So instead of getting a 5 day park hopper I bought a 4 day park hopper and a waterpark pass. That saved a bunch of money.
Once you have your itinerary down you can see exactly what tickets you'll need. If you don't plan to go to certain parks (like Disney Quest, Wide World of Sports, etc) then don't pay money for a park hopper that includes those things.
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barnum42
New Member
Oh-oh - Mom's watching. :lookaroun
Pragmatic can be my middle name. As I've posted on other topics, if your budget can go to staying onsite then I'm not going to begrudge a person from enjoying it.
Also, I think in the UK we can pick up some great bargains - I guess where a tour operator has bought the rooms, but not sold them all and would rather let them go at cost.
I was in reception at the hotel when a bloke was checking in and his "discount" rate was $58 per night. If you have the choice between that or a few Dollars more to go to All Stars then I know what I would take. But the deal I got was £350 each for two weeks hotel and flight. A similar package to All Stars was £1000 each.
So, if you really are counting the pennies (particularly if you don’t mind bargain hunting in the UK) staying offsite can be the difference between going on holiday or not. Alternatively it can give you some spare cash to enjoy on the holiday.
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MichRX7
Premium Member
I love the phrase "going on holiday" it sounds so much more fun than "taking a vacation". Sort of "Mary Poppinsish".
Here's a few money saving ideas we do when "going on holiday".
1. Take the Airstream and stay at FTW for $50/night. You can also rent RV's around the area if you don't have a trailer or are flying in to WDW. Even if you rent a RV it'll still be cheaper than a hotel if you do step #2.
2. Go to a Publix just outside of town and buy groceries (especially breakfast/dinner) for the week.
2a. Make sure you buy enough for the week, you do not want to have to buy milk, etc... inside WDW.
3. Choose a low-priced (for Disney) lunch spot inside the park.
4. Drive to which ever park you are attending that day so that it is quick and easy to get back to FTW to eat dinner and return to said park.
5. Take in a duffel bag with snacks that'll last the day. Of course our kids are quite young so we've never had a problem with this. Usually fruit snacks, pretzels, sippy cups (to share your refillable drinks with the kids) are always ok. Chocolate would not be a good item to carry around inside a duffel in the Florida heat all day. :lol:
6. Never leave the duffel bag alone in the park (maybe some day I'll take the time to properly tell my infamous duffel/diaper bag story at DisneyLand). I'm sure my wife and I are probably on somd Disney watch list, lol...
7. Of course, I'd sleep in my car rather than not go to Disney
Here's a few money saving ideas we do when "going on holiday".
1. Take the Airstream and stay at FTW for $50/night. You can also rent RV's around the area if you don't have a trailer or are flying in to WDW. Even if you rent a RV it'll still be cheaper than a hotel if you do step #2.
2. Go to a Publix just outside of town and buy groceries (especially breakfast/dinner) for the week.
2a. Make sure you buy enough for the week, you do not want to have to buy milk, etc... inside WDW.
3. Choose a low-priced (for Disney) lunch spot inside the park.
4. Drive to which ever park you are attending that day so that it is quick and easy to get back to FTW to eat dinner and return to said park.
5. Take in a duffel bag with snacks that'll last the day. Of course our kids are quite young so we've never had a problem with this. Usually fruit snacks, pretzels, sippy cups (to share your refillable drinks with the kids) are always ok. Chocolate would not be a good item to carry around inside a duffel in the Florida heat all day. :lol:
6. Never leave the duffel bag alone in the park (maybe some day I'll take the time to properly tell my infamous duffel/diaper bag story at DisneyLand). I'm sure my wife and I are probably on somd Disney watch list, lol...
7. Of course, I'd sleep in my car rather than not go to Disney
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