Different Ways to Save for Disney Trip

[Amyleigh]

What are some of the ways you are saving for a Disney trip? I would love to hear how others are saving besides the regular piggy bank and savings account ideas. I just starting using Walmart's savings catcher. I know you don't get cash back but it's an e gift card that can be used to buy things for the trip. I also signed up for Disney Movie Rewards. 1100 points gets you a $10 Disney gift card!

 

[sxeensweet]

We have the Disney Premier Credit card. We love it and usually earn at least $1000 for each trip. We use it like a debit card for everything(except Target because we get 5% back with our Target card and we buy Disney gift cards there due to this) and pay it in full every month. You earn 2% back when used on all Disney related purchases including Disney Store and anything for your trip etc and 2% at restaurants, grocery stores, and gas. On everything else you earn 1% back. It adds up fast. Yes there is a $49 dollar annual fee on the Premier but with us earning at least $1000 back per year it's well worth the fee! We also have our older regular Disney Visa which earns 1% everywhere with no fee. Yes there is better cash back on other cards of which we have some of those too but we use the Disney a lot and second we use our Chase Freedom for the 5% back categories each quarter. We use that cash back for gift cards to restaurants we enjoy etc.

 

[HollyAD]

I have just been buying things each month...Flights down one month, flights back another month,tickets one month..etc. I can't seem to buy it all at once it makes it seem too big of a deal. Now I have everything paid for except MNSSHP tickets. I use shop kick! It givens you points for walking in and out of certain stores and scanning items. The points can be exchanged for e-giftcards at places like target and starbucks. Hey it's a free frap while in Disney!

 

[Dwarful]

my girls do one big yard sale every year. They do all of the work and they get all of the profit. That is their spending money. My husband and I have two special accounts at our credit union...we do a Christmas Club account and a vacation account. We deposit a set amount of funds in each account each payday. That is our budget. Our vacation account covers all of our vacations...big and small so when the money is gone the travel is done. I will say we are great at stretching that budget. Also, any left over from the Christmas fund goes into vacation fund bonus.

 

[smk]

I am considering making a room only reservation for next October, two rooms or a value suite, and then paying each month until I have paid it off. I can get a discount on tickets thru work so room only works well for us. Then, if a room only discount comes out I can apply it to my existing room or switch it right away to make sure I get the promo. OR, since we will taking four adults and two children, switch it to free dining asap if and when it is offered. Whatever discount I can get I will try for. HOWEVER, should none come out I am going next year for sure. I will not miss another year!

We usually do not use credit cards as we cannot afford to pay off a large balance each month, so placing an entire trip on one card would be difficult. Plus, we have an aging home and we never know what will break next! So we save our card for home repairs, car repairs etc...

 

[HRHPrincessAriel]

I make grocery shopping a game. I give myself a weekly budget and if I'm under that budget I get a WDW gift card in the difference.
We also but gift card for multiple places when our grocery store does 4xfuel points.

 

[Mr Toad]

If your employer allows you to deposit your paycheck into more one account (mine allows up to 4). Just do a 2-5% into another account and designate that account for vacations. Key would be to NOT touch it.
We also bought Disney gift cards with the Target card.

 

[stevehousse]

You can also just use a portion of your tax return, which usually is what we do.

 

[DisneyDebNJ]

I make grocery shopping a game. I give myself a weekly budget and if I'm under that budget I get a WDW gift card in the difference.
We also but gift card for multiple places when our grocery store does 4xfuel points.

Regarding groceries, this is what I do. Any extra money goes in a well hidden jar LOL. If I dont see it, I dont constantly count whats in there

 

[PigletIsMyCat]

i've been doing the target red card thing and buying disney gift cards with the 5% savings. i've already purchased $1300 in gift cards - and that only cost me $1235! i've used them to pay for our tickets and have almost enough to pay for our room. we also save our change - dh has an old popcorn cup from when potc first came out, i have a pretty copper flying piggy bank. and i sometimes do a garage sale/ebay sales binge and add that to our funds.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I like doing my online shopping through ebates. I don't always remember to use it, but when I do, it = cash back for me to put towards trips.

 

[Amyleigh]

I like doing my online shopping through ebates. I don't always remember to use it, but when I do, it = cash back for me to put towards trips.

I just joined ebates, too. My friend makes hundreds of dollars using it. I haven't used it yet but it's free money that will go straight to my Disney fund.

 

[HRHPrincessAriel]

I like doing my online shopping through ebates. I don't always remember to use it, but when I do, it = cash back for me to put towards trips.

I've gotten over $100 back since may!

Maybe if I didn't shop online so much I'd have more ;-)

 

[Tres Vegas]

Single Dad strategy from So.Ca everything told me I could never afford this trip for 24 days but big sacrifices net big payoffs.
my overhead debt was all basic stuff, no car payments, credit card bills at the time
I cut out extra expenses for a year and a half
stopped going out to eat with the exception of the occasional budget night out, home cooked meals taste better.
cut out dvd purchases every week, it adds up
cut out frequent road trips (quite a few)
took care of all errands in one car trip so not to make multiple drives all week.
loose bills went into WDW envelope 5's 10's 20's
benefitted with the availability of overtime and disciplined myself to put all that into the WDW savings envelope
found great round trip non stop tickets online I could not pass up.
saved a good portion of tax returns for two years
I prepared to use my visa card within reason for the misc.(1,200.00) which was not much to worry about when returning.

Best family memorable vacation my boys and I could ever have in 2009, then we were able to repeat it again to return in 2012 for 28 days which this time incorporated a Disney Cruise to the Bahamas. Seriously if I could do it as a single Dad of two I'm sure most families could do it as well with a typical Disney family vacation plan for a week.

 

[stevehousse]

I would suggest also going in the fall during "free dining". Stay at a value resort and u can even upgrade from the value dining plan to the regular dining plan and it's usually only a little extra. A full week vacation staying at value and upgrading would put the cost barely at $200 more.

 

[PigletIsMyCat]

free dining isn't always worth it because you have to pay full price for the room. rooms are often discounted 20-30% and that can often be a bigger savings, especially considering the dining plan may include things you wouldn't normally eat (i.e.: dessert at lunch and dinner every day). really do the math to figure out if it suits your family.

 

[stevehousse]

free dining isn't always worth it because you have to pay full price for the room. rooms are often discounted 20-30% and that can often be a bigger savings, especially considering the dining plan may include things you wouldn't normally eat (i.e.: dessert at lunch and dinner every day). really do the math to figure out if it suits your family.

Ya but your talking about a 20-30% discount on a room that starts out anywhere between $250-$650! Which isn't a deal to begin with at all! I assumed since the thread was about trying to save money for a trip, they were probably looking to do things on the cheaper side. Paying to stay at a value for a week and upgrading to the regular dining plan during the promotion, you of course r gonna come out ahead as compared to getting a 30% discount on a grand Fl room that even with a discount is still over $400 a night compared to a room at a value that is $120 a night...you don't even need to upgrade the dining plan and stick with quick service plan and still save even more money. As nice as the some of the deluxe hotels can be, no where near are they worth the price!

 

[PigletIsMyCat]

Ya but your talking about a 20-30% discount on a room that starts out anywhere between $250-$650! Which isn't a deal to begin with at all! I assumed since the thread was about trying to save money for a trip, they were probably looking to do things on the cheaper side. Paying to stay at a value for a week and upgrading to the regular dining plan during the promotion, you of course r gonna come out ahead as compared to getting a 30% discount on a grand Fl room that even with a discount is still over $400 a night compared to a room at a value that is $120 a night...you don't even need to upgrade the dining plan and stick with quick service plan and still save even more money. As nice as the some of the deluxe hotels can be, no where near are they worth the price!

they might not be worth the price *to you*. free dining isn't always free depending on the rack rate for the room versus current promotions. i didn't say free dining is NEVER worth it. additionally, even the quick service dining plan is a waste of money for many people - dh and myself included. none of the dining plans save us money versus paying out of pocket - even when i compare the "savings" of free dining versus a room discount. the dining plan used to be worth it - it included appetizers or desserts, it included tip, it was not as expensive as it is now. it's important to work out the specific math for each situation, unless you just would rather pony up the money without figuring out which options save you the most money to feel like you've 'prepaid' for some/most of your meals.

 

[stevehousse]

Ya but for those who are looking to vacation at wdw on a budget, there is no way anyone in their right mind Is gonna look at a room at grand Floridian for $650 a night and think getting a 30% discount is even a good deal. They're gonna do the value hotel...why not get free food while your at it? You can get a room at a value for less than $120 a night, and that's paying rack rate...

I have stayed in deluxe resorts myself various times, and I feel that for the money, they just aren't deluxe enough or worth the price, heck no tiny room for $650 a night is worth it and it's funny people try to justify it...if your looking for a real deluxe hotel, go try out the new four seasons, which is a real deluxe hotel, and then come back and tell me the Disney deluxe hotel rooms r still worth their insane price...

 

[PigletIsMyCat]

hey, it's disney. it's not always just about staying in a deluxe room on property and comparing that to a room at the four seasons. additionally, my comment was based on my experiences trying to book value/resorts with discounts vs. with free dining offered. it's different for different people. i was pointing out that it's not always a money saver in a thread about how to save money. that's it. disney seems to be banking on the idea that people will automatically think the dining plan is worth it, and it's not always worth it. if someone planning a trip is really trying to save money on certain things, they have to do their homework and determine what saves money for them. for dh and i, the dining plan hasn't been worthwhile since 2005, back when it was still around $40pp, included app or dessert, and included tip.