Is it possible to do Disney for cheap?!

[kimberlymautz]

Good evening everyone! It's been a while since I've been on here (I just got a brand new laptop, whoo!) and we're getting ready to plan our next trip to WDW. In December, my boyfriend Angel and I had the pleasure of heading down to visit our friend Nick for a week. We stayed at Pop, which was nice, but REALLY busy with everyone down for Pop Warner (Great week to visit, I knowww!).

Well, while our last trip was really nice, we were rushing around the whole week. Boyfriend wasn't much of a Disney person so he just complained about wanting to find rides and since Nick works as a lifeguard at the Poly (If you see him, make sure you wave!) he knows his way around everything. Therefore, this caused a trip of running instead of taking it easy.

Luckily, we're planning another trip, and this time our two year old will be coming along! She just turned two on Friday, and is OBSESSED with Mickey. And the next best part?! My best friend and her girls will be coming along too! So this upcoming trip will be me, Angel, our daughter Allyson, my best friend Jillian, and her girls Riley (2) and MacKenzie (1). Her boyfriend, Colin, may also be coming, though we aren't sure if he'll be able to yet. We may even get to add in some other friends too depending on what choices we make about our stay.

We know that we want to go down late January / Early February. It's the least busy time for the parks (Major Plus!) and it gives us plenty of time to save up. Either way, we just want to be home by February 12th for Riley's 3rd Birthday!

So far, all we know is that we're going, and we're really excited about it.

Here's where I need your help.
For 6 people minimum (it could go as high as nine people), should we consider staying at a resort? Or should we just skip it and get a rental house? We're trying to save as much money as possible, but I'm sure you can tell how difficult that is.
We also know that we want to stay at LEAST seven nights, so we can have four days for Disney parks, and one day for Universal, and still have at least one or two extra days to just relax.

What is the lowest amount you've ever spent on a Disney vacation? How'd you do it?

 

[smk]

See above! You can have up to 10 people on a campsite at Fort Wilderness. You can also bring tents up to two per site, sleeping bags, etc. If you don't have access to a camper they can be rented from local companies and set up at Fort Wilderness for you. Camping at the fort is wonderful.

While I love FW, having been there before in winter I know the nights can get very cold. Keeping three young children warm and not wondering off in the night from a tent would be an issue for me, maybe not for you tho. Renting a camper may be a cheaper option, try campatthefort.com. (I think that is the site?) They set up and take down for you, tempting.....

We do Disney on the cheap each trip we go, stay at values, maybe get connecting rooms. Take as much food in as you can/want always helps. We eat kids quick service meals for lunch or snacks and we don't take any kids with us! I can't remember at time recently that we have not had a discount offer or have taken advantage of a special offer so we don't pay full rates on rooms. We have also stayed in a vacation home and loved it. However, it is a hassle to get back to quick for a nap or a meal, esp. with little ones.

 

[drp4video]

I always use a AAA discount (used to use an AP one), or wait until I get a pin. After we stopped getting AP's we bought 10 day passes with no expiration/hoppers, which gave us 3 visits or one a year.

I actually went one time using an AP, disney visa points paid for the room, and I used frequent flyer miles for my airfare, cost was $0 for that trip except for food which I don't count because no matter where you are, home or disney, you gotta ear. My DD and I share meals because there is so much food so we really can do disney on the cheap.

 

[JIMINYCR]

I'm thinking that this is the main game plan, let me know what you all think.

Here's some other questions I was curious of:

1. How many of you brought your little ones down? How did they handle the characters?
2. Is there anything you wish you'd brought along, but didn't think of it?
3. What rides did your kids loveee?!

Sounds like you've got it together. Lots of ways to save on WDW trip as long as you can discipline yourself and manage the splurge spending on extras. Plan to at least bring some money to spend on something special for yourself to remember the trip by.
1. My son did well but there were some characters he was unsure of on his first visit. You just have to watch your childs expression and mannerisms when they see the individual ones and judge which ones they connect with. Some characters are more imposing by size, actions, look, than others.
2. Bring lots of snack items to curb spending. Including drink boxes, water, kool aid etc. Bring things to occupy waiting time in lines.
3. Again you have to play it by ear. Some rides my child was great with others, he needed more time to chance his riding. Just dont push them on something they arent sure of or ready for.

 

[danpam1024]

what about the cabins at Fort Wilderness? I know they sleep at least 6 and have a full kitchen Cheaper than a villa I would try for the treehouse villas though they are NOT cheap- always wanted to stay in them-passing by on our ride on the boat from POFQ to DTD

 

[HollyAD]

I have really enjoyed my vacations staying at Value resorts just as much as deluxe. I would do a value resort for sure Pop is my fav. Then I would drive and bring a cooler. We usually keep a cooler in the room with drinks/ snacks and refill it with ice from the hotel. Every day I would pack unscrustabes, fruit snacks, and juice boxes and save myself the cost of my son's lunch in the park. I also would just grab a snack in the parks instead of a whole meal and just eat something from the resort which was a little cheaper. There is also pizza delivery within the value resorts that makes for a cheap meal option. If you have a car you can also drive offsite and eat at cheaper places for dinners. I get lots of coupons in my email for chain restaurants/ fast food places located in Orlando. Every dollar counts! I agree that it's nice to have a place to resort to quickly if you are taking little kids. My son has gone at age 2 and 3 and I have been so happy to be able to lay him down for a nap mid day and then hop on a bus and return to the parks. I also do not get park hoppers. My next trip I will be getting just a three day ticket. One park each day is really fine with us no need to hop since we already know what we want to do.

 

[bow0303]

Here are some other thoughts on keeping the costs down or helping to pay for some the costs that come with the cost of the vacation.

1. Disney visa rewards card. If you have card you can use the Disney dollars to help pay for things like food etc.
2. Discover. Very similar to Disney but better I believe. You get 1% back on all purchases up to a certain dollar amount (more sometimes) and the reward dollars can add up quick. Can be used for all type of costs. Last year we were able to pay for a dinner/dessert for 5 @ Rain Forest Café with them.
3. If you have a Kroger in your area you can buy Disney Gift Cards to pay for your vacation and if you pick the right time, you can get 4x the rewards. We recently bought $1000 worth for a deposit and will be able to fill up our tank for about $15 less than normal($1 off per gallon and will be able to do that a for at least a month after we mnake those purchases) and we take those savings and add that to our trip fund.
4. Viggle. We recently found this app on our android phone. You get points for watching TV (or at least checking into tv shows) and with those points you can select rewards. We'll have enough points by the time we go to pay for a dinner and there is currently a reward for BOGO free tickets to LEGOLAND.

 

[luis71091]

If we are tight, but can't resist a Disney Trip, we rent a town house offsite (3 bed 3 bath) with a pool for $99 a night! It's close to Disney, and really clean. We buy our breakfasts and Dinners from Costco before we leave to Disney, and have lunch at the parks. We save A LOT of money this way.

 

[pixiesteno]

While I love FW, having been there before in winter I know the nights can get very cold. Keeping three young children warm and not wondering off in the night from a tent would be an issue for me, maybe not for you tho. Renting a camper may be a cheaper option, try campatthefort.com. (I think that is the site?) They set up and take down for you, tempting.....

We do Disney on the cheap each trip we go, stay at values, maybe get connecting rooms. Take as much food in as you can/want always helps. We eat kids quick service meals for lunch or snacks and we don't take any kids with us! I can't remember at time recently that we have not had a discount offer or have taken advantage of a special offer so we don't pay full rates on rooms. We have also stayed in a vacation home and loved it. However, it is a hassle to get back to quick for a nap or a meal, esp. with little ones.

Opps read right over the time of year. Skip the tent! But you can still rent a pop up or TT that you might all fit in. I would "run the numbers" and see what works best for your group.

 

[smk]

what about the cabins at Fort Wilderness? I know they sleep at least 6 and have a full kitchen Cheaper than a villa I would try for the treehouse villas though they are NOT cheap- always wanted to stay in them-passing by on our ride on the boat from POFQ to DTD

Depending on the time of year the cabins are quite pricey. It pays to shop around and see what fits your family best.