saving money at disney..

[dixiegirl]

Ok fellow wdwmagic board members tell me how do you save money at disney (if there us such a thing..lol) wether it be having a late breakfast ....rooming with others...buying things to take home.. to maybe certain things you bring from home...how do you try and save money when going to disneyworld?? let lose whatever it may be..

 

[barnum42]

UK option to book late and get good deals on spare seats on charter flights and off-site hotel rooms sold to tour operators that did not fill.

If all you do in your hotel room is use it as a base to sleep, stay offsite.

If your offsite hotel has free breakfast - use it.

Eat at counter restaurants. Make use of the Animal Kingdom counter restaurant vouchers.

Be thankful that because so much of the merchandise is now generic you are less likely to spend at much in the shops Go to the Disney Outlet branches and get out of date or overstocked things at half price.

Buy a year pass then go back 11 months and a week later. It's still valid. Also saves you $8 a day parking as that is included.

 

[Scooter]

Saving money at Disney World is no differant than saving money on anything you buy albeit a car/house/groceries etc.

Do your homework!
Research all your options.

Watch for low air fares.
Go during the slow seasons if possible.
Use frequent fly miles.
Get coupons and discounts.
Check with a good travel agent for the best prices.
Take advantage of things like Resort Mugs and other available Disney perks.

My wife and I go for a week once a year and end up paying less than half the rack rate prices on every trip.

There's no "Magical" way to save money at WDW, you just have to plan ahead, ask a lot of questions, read a few guide books, and watch for discounts.

 

[Disnut]

Is there any Disney outlet stores near WDW? Where is a list of Disney outlet stores?

 

[Nut4Disney]

There are 3 that I know of that we hit each time. One is the Premium Outlet, right next to I-4 across from the DD entrance. The other 2 are at the end of I-Drive at the Belz Outlet Center (just changed the name from Belz to something else). If you need directions I think allearsnet.com has them.

 

[Mystic]

Plan your itinerary BEFORE you go. Plan on where you're going to eat and know in advance approximately how much everything is going to cost you.

My mom and I save money by having a low cost breakfast most days (under $10) at our hotel 'snack bar', ie: Roaring Forks at WL. Then unless we have a 'planned' lunch at one of the sit down restaurants, we will split lunch. For example at the Columbia Harbour House in MK, we'll get the Chicken and Fish Stripes and Fries for lunch with 2 drinks and an extra order of fries. I'll have the chicken and my mom has the fish, we split the fries and each have our own drink. This will usually run us about $13 - $15 combined so we're really only paying about $7 each for lunch. We've almost always got a proper sit down dinner planned which runs us about $40 each. We also don't tend to snack a lot during the day. If we do we usually only get a cookie each or an ice cream. We also carry water on us throughout the day so we're saving money that way because we can refill the bottle. It usually runs us about $60-$70 a day each.

We also look before we shop. We'll window shop throughout the day and if we see anything we like we'll think about it for a while before buying and pick it up if we decide to towards the end of the day, unless we're at a place like MK where we can pick it up another day since we hit MK the most.

 

[barnum42]

One is the Premium Outlet, right next to I-4 across from the DD entrance.

It's between the Mary Queen of the Universe church and the Dolly Parton Dinner show (Both of which are more noticeable from I4).

 

[UltimtMickeyFan]

There are 3 that I know of that we hit each time. One is the Premium Outlet, right next to I-4 across from the DD entrance. The other 2 are at the end of I-Drive at the Belz Outlet Center (just changed the name from Belz to something else). If you need directions I think allearsnet.com has them.

The Belz outlets just changed the name to "Prime Outlet mall".

 

[that_L_do_pig]

As mentioned - EAT A HUGE BREAKFAST. Have energy for the day!

Also, put your souvenir shopping off until the last day after you've seen everything and you'll have less impulse buys and better informed purchases.

 

[DisneySam]

Ditto on the shopping...as a confirmed shop-a-holic, its very difficult to wait to purchase souvineers I really love. What I try and do is hold all my shopping until we are leaving the park, then I try and just buy park-specific stuff. On general Disney Merch. we wait until the last day and go to the World of Disney store. This allows me to control impulse buys

Other than that, I just try and control the dining to one, big sit down meal per day. And refilling water bottles [using the water fountains.] Its a bit thrifty but I would rather buy a new pin than another bottle of water.

 

[MSTINKHERBELL01]

As far as purchasing things in the parks...My parnter and I often visit the DISNEY OUTLETS as opposed to buying t-shirts ect. from the parks....it's soooo much cheaper. For instance, she really wanted this Grumpy Jerzey and in the parks it was selling for over 50 dollars....we saw the same jerzey for less than 19 dollars. We LOVE disney outlets!!!!

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

saving money at Disney an oxymoron if I ever saw one.

 

[disneyhope]

If you aren't going with kids who have to eat more regularly, you can try this... bring food for breakfast in your room, as well as a couple snacks for later in the day. Eat your big meal around 1:30, as most restaurants have lunch prices until 2. If you eat at a buffet, you'll be fine for a good while. You can snack at night with the snacks you've brought or something from a food stand in the parks.

Pack rain ponchos even if you don't think you'll need them--if you do, you'll be spending a lot more to buy them in the park.

Bring your own water bottle and refill it at Park drinking fountains when you're thirsty. You can even spring for a Disney water bottle holder so you look trendy whilst carrying said water bottle.

PLAN PLAN PLAN in advance... know where you're going each day, when it opens, how long you intend to stay there, and when/where you're going to eat. It will cut down on time-wasting decision-making and allow you to have more time available to have fun once you are there!

I hope these are helpful!:wave:

 

[popkid]

I'm all for bringing snacks. A box of granola bars or breakfast bars go a long way to cut back on some spending while at the world, and are also great for keeping the pace of your trip up (if you so desire). No need to deviate from what you're doing just to grab a bite. Just reach into your bag and viola, you're all set!

 

[col]

Eat at counter restaurants. Make use of the Animal Kingdom counter restaurant vouchers.


how do you get these vouchers coz this is the first time ive heard of them.

 

[barnum42]

Eat at counter restaurants. Make use of the Animal Kingdom counter restaurant vouchers.


how do you get these vouchers coz this is the first time ive heard of them.

You can buy them at any of the counter service restaurants:

From Allearsnet.com:

"Guests ages 12 and up $11.99

Guests ages 3-11 $5.99

Certificate is good for:

One counter service entree plus a beverage at any of the following: Animal Kingdom
counter service restaurants:
Restaurantosaurus, Flame Tree Barbecue, Pizzafari, Tusker House.
One box of popcorn or an ice cream bar
One bottled drink (soda or water)

The certificates can be
purchased at any Animal Kingdom counter service restaurant and also
at Guest Relations in the park. "

So for not much more than an entree and drink you get vouchers that you can use later in the day for an ice cream or popcorn and a bottled drink.

 

[righttrack]

My advice:

Eat one counter-service meal and one buffet/all you can eat meal per day. Truly eat "all you can eat". Don't be bashful. Carry a bottle of water, purchased offsite with you at all times. Refill at fountains. If I had to buy a drink for my kids everytime they were thirsty, I'd be out $200 for a week. Giving them a water bottle and letting them refill saves quite a bit.

 

[mellie882]

I always make a list of who I am buying souvenirs for. Sometimes, I even go as far as figuring out about how much I want to spend on each person. That way, when I go shopping, I can get something for everyone and buy within the budget I've set for each gift. It elimates over or under buying for friends and family. Another nice tip is to get a set of things that you can break up to make small gift bags (pen sets, collection of mint tins, candies, hair accessories, etc.).

For kids, it is always a good idea to get them Disney dollars. Decide on an amount ($20 or so) and tell them that is their treat money (snacks, souvenirs). They have fun spending it because it doesn't look like real money and you can set the rule that once their Disney dollars are gone, there is no more spending.

Definitely bring your own snacks and breakfast foods. I love bringing bread (or bagels), peanut butter, and jelly. It doesn't go bad and it is good for breakfast, lunch, or snack. Snack bars are good too (especially the hard, crunchy ones because they don't get smushed in your bag). Water bottles can be refilled throughout the day. You can also ask for a free cup of water at all counter service restaurants. All you see on the menu is bottled Dasani. Ask for a cup of water instead!!!

 

[dixiegirl]

saving money at Disney an oxymoron if I ever saw one.

oh i totally agree agree there...but i was just curiuos to what people do to save a little money..

 

[ChadLP02]

There's no "Magical" way to save money at WDW, you just have to plan ahead, ask a lot of questions, read a few guide books, and watch for discounts.

Check out the Disney Vacation Club, most members break even in 4-6 years if they were to come to Disney each of those years as cash paying guests, and the membership lasts until 2054 so you can't really beat that if you want to keep all the perks of staying on property or even visiting other places across the world.