We "save" on our WDW trips by letting extra money build up in our savings account -- essentially, cutting out "extras" like a landline phone (or expensive cell phones), expensive meals "out," and unnecessary purchases for our home. Until we get an extra $3,000 or so built up in the account, we don't even think about booking, and once we book, we like to pay off the whole vacation immediately (and cover that investment with some inexpensive, cancel-for-any-reason trip insurance, just in case)!
Most important to affording WDW for my family is to reduce the trip cost in the first place. We do this by:
- We visit WDW during seasons that are low-priced to begin with, AND which tend to offer discounts, even though it means taking the kids out of school. This alone can shave over $1,000 off of the cost of a one-week vacation, particularly since visiting during a popular time of year inflates the cost of the room AND the airfare.
- We like to stay on property and avoid having to rent a car, but we only stay at a moderate resort and room category that has a room discount available (we'd be open to a value, even though squeezing my tall DH into a double bed would be tough, if there were no moderates with a discount), OR if there's a compelling reason to stay somewhere more cushy, we stay in a DVC room on rented points (which typically costs at least 40% less than the rack rate).
- We use an airline rewards credit card for everything (and pay it off in full every month), which saves us at least $600 off of our airfare every two years. (We're moving to a WDW-every-4-years schedule, so now it will be more like $1,200 in savings when we travel -- in other words, all four of us will fly roundtrip from upstate NY to Orlando for free).
- We bring our own breakfast and snack foods with us, and avoid the dining plan (which doesn't "fit" with the way we typically eat and actually costs us more, while limiting our TS restaurant choices) -- unless the dining plan is "free" at the time of our visit, of course.
- We set up a modest souvenir spending limit ahead of time (e.g., $25 per person), and stick to it.
- We try to avoid the temptation to indulge in pricy add-ons like extra events, parties, tours, etc. There are more attractions and events available on a standard park ticket than we can ever accomplish in a week, anyway.
- We try to avoid an unnecessary additional night's hotel stay, and maximize our ability to use our park tickets, by scheduling flights that have us arriving in the morning on our first day, and leaving in the late afternoon or evening on our last.
