Tips for planning to save money

[Ricky Spanish]

In one sense, its not really free, you have to pay for the full price of the room, i.e., you get a choice free meal program, or a discounted room. Now with that said, I found it harder and harder to find the discounted rooms in the resorts we wanted (for the time we needed) and the free meal program has been cut back so much that its very difficult to fit within the time frame, at least for my family

When we use our "free" meals we look for the larger/more expensive meals like the ribs, chicken, and pork sampler at Flame Tree BBQ.
This and a drink is over $22.
Multiply that by 27 meals and its almost $600.
Where my room discount would have only been $100.
Works for us.

 

[disneyworlddad]

Awesome feedback so far guys! More than likely we will be driving down from ATL. Travel still up in the air as I have rental car points and skymile points to burn.

Main concern is the cost of the hotel. I also am curious if most of the hotels offsite offer buses directly to Disney?

A lot of them do but I find them inconvenient. They don't leave early enough or often enough. You could probably Uber in and back and it have it be cheaper than parking though.

 

[thomas998]

Awesome feedback so far guys! More than likely we will be driving down from ATL. Travel still up in the air as I have rental car points and skymile points to burn.

Main concern is the cost of the hotel. I also am curious if most of the hotels offsite offer buses directly to Disney?

A lot of the hotel in the area will offer transport to the parks, but remember that their transport isn't going to be as often as you might want. Frankly I would not want to use any hotels transportation because it tends to take time from my trip... that also goes for Disney's transportation from resorts I much prefer using a rental car because then I can come and go much quicker.

The benefits you get from the Disney hotel are some better fastpasses (depending on the time you are going because in peak times the prime fastpasses will be gone before the window opens for non-resort guests), some extended park hours (not really worth it unless you enjoy getting up super early on your vacation) and free parking at the parks (this is the only thing you can really quantify with a value as parking is 20 a day at the parks, or 40 if you want the premium parking which will get you free water each time you park and a spot so close you wont need to use the trams). Whether you think the premium they charge for the Disney hotels is worth the price is a question only you can determine. We used to do them exclusively, but have shifted and in the past few years tended to stay offsite because the perks just aren't that great for the premium they charge.

The advantage of staying off site is that you will get a nicer hotel for less money. Value resorts have all the comfort of a Motel 6 for the price of a Holiday Inn... If you are going the cheap/frugal path then you can find those types of hotels that will also provide a free breakfast which will save you a few dollars. Also when you are staying offsite and using your own car or a rental car it is much more convinent to eat outside of Disney as you can plan a lunch or dinner as you drive from one park to another. And while you are going to have to pay 20 a day for parking you can easily recoup that money from offsite dining because of the very high price you'll pay for food inside the parks (thought this also depends on the size of you family if you are a family of 4 then one meal outside the park will more than recover your $20 parking, might take 2 meals a day outside if it is only you and a spouse).

You also want to determine what you plan on doing on your trip. Some people spend all their time inside the parks, in which case the hotel you use doesn't matter much sense all you are doing is using it for a place to sleep... others use the hotels as a place to relax and chill out sometimes spending an entire day just slumming at the hotel. If I were going to spend a day at my hotel doing nothing then I would probably consider a moderate hotel on property for that day at least (probably not the whole trip though) as the moderates have probably the best bang for your buck when it comes to activities at the hotel to occupy your time. Values don't seem to have as much to offer and while the Deluxe will have a lot to offer they charge so much more than a moderate that the value isn't there.

Also consider staying at the hotel simply one night if you want some of the benefits but don't want to pay a premium for your hotel the entire trip. If you do that then you can get the most bang for your buck this way staying one night will allow you free parking on both the check-in day and the check-out day basically $40 dollars of parking for one night of over priced hotel... If you do decide to do one night in their hotel then look at the park you might want the extra magic hour in and book your hotel to coincide with that parks extra magic hour. And as a bonus your reservation for that day will open the fastpass window for you earlier than if you stay off-site.

And if your renting a car do it away from the airport and you'll avoid the Orlando visitor tax that they cram onto any car rented from the airport. Most rental companies will still allow you to return the car to the airport without charging an additional fee, but because you didn't pick the car up at the airport you don't get hit with the special visitor fee.

 

[jloucks]

Most of the biggies have been covered. Stay at a budget on site hotel. So then, no parking and no airport transport. Pretty good savings right there, and the budget hotels are actually cheaper then outside hotels. ..at least.. when I last stayed at one. I wanna say it was a paltry $85 a night.

Bring hyper calorie snacks in your suitcase. A pair of giant PB&J sandwiches for breakfast can get you well through to dinner. Bring granola bars just in case. Eat dinner at a 'cheap'fast food place with giant portions, and split the portions. The YaknYeti use to have stupid big portions. 1 could feed 3.

And the grandest move of all is to get a free meal plan. You have to go when they are offered, but wow, that has always been a great deal for us.

Of course my number one advice if going to WDW and you are short on cash is.... don't go. IMHO. Save until you can spend a little more, and enjoy it a little more.

 

[thomas998]

Most of the biggies have been covered. Stay at a budget on site hotel. So then, no parking and no airport transport. Pretty good savings right there, and the budget hotels are actually cheaper then outside hotels. ..at least.. when I last stayed at one. I wanna say it was a paltry $85 a night.

Bring hyper calorie snacks in your suitcase. A pair of giant PB&J sandwiches for breakfast can get you well through to dinner. Bring granola bars just in case. Eat dinner at a 'cheap'fast food place with giant portions, and split the portions. The YaknYeti use to have stupid big portions. 1 could feed 3.

And the grandest move of all is to get a free meal plan. You have to go when they are offered, but wow, that has always been a great deal for us.

Of course my number one advice if going to WDW and you are short on cash is.... don't go. IMHO. Save until you can spend a little more, and enjoy it a little more.

If you've been able to get 85 dollar a night rooms at Disney I want to know your secret. I might not hate the value resort as much as I do if I was only paying that but in the few times I've priced out rooms I've never seen them less than 129, and usually higher than that which I consider a rip for the quality of the value rooms.

Also be aware that the "free meal plan" is really not free you tend to end up paying more for your rooms when you do the "free meal plan" because nothing is really free.

 

[thomas998]

When we use our "free" meals we look for the larger/more expensive meals like the ribs, chicken, and pork sampler at Flame Tree BBQ.
This and a drink is over $22.
Multiply that by 27 meals and its almost $600.
Where my room discount would have only been $100.
Works for us.

Well it is an awesome deal when you value it based on what Disney charges for the food. But honestly the food you get at Disney is grossly overcharged in the parks you should probably cut the 22 down to 10 dollars and multiply that times 27 for what you are getting "free".

 

[bigrigross]

Well it is an awesome deal when you value it based on what Disney charges for the food. But honestly the food you get at Disney is grossly overcharged in the parks you should probably cut the 22 down to 10 dollars and multiply that times 27 for what you are getting "free".

This statement always gets me. Let me ask you, in what restaurant can you get Ribs, chicken, and pulled pork, two sides, and a drink for say less than 16 bucks? No where and most likely it will be closer to 18 or 19. My local barbecue place charges 19 dollars for 3 meats, a side, and a drink.

In all of the signature restaurants, the price you pay for a meal is on par for what you would pay at a nice restaurant (not outback). The boathouse per person was about 80 dollars for a 12 oz center cut filet, a shared side, drink, dessert per person. Thats pretty much on par with a Ruth Chris steakhouse or equivalent restaurant. Even most of the non signature restaurants are similiar for what you pay at a mainstream restaurant like Outback and Olive garden although there are a few exceptions.

Even the carts are about on par for what you would pay at a state fair or other recreation places like Zoos, and other amusement parks. At the last state fair I went to, they charged almost 8 dollars for a dole whip like dessert and it was as big as the one at Disney.

 

[JillC LI]

Never buy bottled water in the Parks. You can get a free cup of cold water at any QS place.

 

[Ricky Spanish]

Well it is an awesome deal when you value it based on what Disney charges for the food. But honestly the food you get at Disney is grossly overcharged in the parks you should probably cut the 22 down to 10 dollars and multiply that times 27 for what you are getting "free".

No, EVERYTHING at Disney is grossly overcharged.
But we still love to go.
And by your valuation, $270 is still better than $100.

 

[Captain Barbossa]

Never buy bottled water in the Parks. You can get a free cup of cold water at any QS place.

Thats what we do most of the time, unless it's breakfast.

 

[graphite1326]

Not much of a tip but one we always do. We bring our own breakfast cereal. Two reasons: It saves money. Although I still have to go down the night before and grab some milk. The second being it saves a lot of time in the morning. We are open to close people and don't go back to the resort until we are done for the day so no sense in having food at the room for other meals. We grab meals on the go at the parks.

 

[jloucks]

I've been able to get $85 at All star Mickey but the catch is that once you add on tax and fees it's actually $105. So I'm sure he's actually paying around $100 because if his total was $85, the base hotel cost would be $65-$70.

I am pretty sure you are correct. The $85 was likely before fees. The room was definitely not $70.

 

[thomas998]

This statement always gets me. Let me ask you, in what restaurant can you get Ribs, chicken, and pulled pork, two sides, and a drink for say less than 16 bucks? No where and most likely it will be closer to 18 or 19. My local barbecue place charges 19 dollars for 3 meats, a side, and a drink.

In all of the signature restaurants, the price you pay for a meal is on par for what you would pay at a nice restaurant (not outback). The boathouse per person was about 80 dollars for a 12 oz center cut filet, a shared side, drink, dessert per person. Thats pretty much on par with a Ruth Chris steakhouse or equivalent restaurant. Even most of the non signature restaurants are similiar for what you pay at a mainstream restaurant like Outback and Olive garden although there are a few exceptions.

Even the carts are about on par for what you would pay at a state fair or other recreation places like Zoos, and other amusement parks. At the last state fair I went to, they charged almost 8 dollars for a dole whip like dessert and it was as big as the one at Disney.

I can get all you can eat rib for 13 that are so much better than what you get at Disney it would make your head swim. A lot of whether you think you are getting ripped royally or getting some sort of bargain depends on what part of the country you are using as a reference point. If I was using price from Manhattan the I might think I'm getting a good deal... but Orlando isn't New York City. Best way to compare how much they are over charging is to look at the prices for food outside the parks for your comparison. If you want to compare barbecue dinners then the closest you'll get the Disney version of barbecue is probably Golden Corral which will sell you all you can eat for 9 dollars at lunch or 14 for dinner.... Both Disney and Golden Corral are equally bad barbecue so its a valid comparison.

 

[larryz]

Bring a rice cooker, rice, Spam, vegetables and ramen noodles and you'll be able to whip up quick, healthy meals in minutes right there in your hotel room.

 

[POLY LOVER]

Stay off site, bring your snacks and drink boxes if possible. If you go to Epcot most of the resturants have outdoor quick service which usually serves the same food as the sit down one at half the cost.

 

[Captain Barbossa]

I've been able to get $85 at All star Mickey

ALL-Star Mickey? I'd love to know where that resort is located.

 

[bigrigross]

I can get all you can eat rib for 13 that are so much better than what you get at Disney it would make your head swim. A lot of whether you think you are getting ripped royally or getting some sort of bargain depends on what part of the country you are using as a reference point. If I was using price from Manhattan the I might think I'm getting a good deal... but Orlando isn't New York City. Best way to compare how much they are over charging is to look at the prices for food outside the parks for your comparison. If you want to compare barbecue dinners then the closest you'll get the Disney version of barbecue is probably Golden Corral which will sell you all you can eat for 9 dollars at lunch or 14 for dinner.... Both Disney and Golden Corral are equally bad barbecue so its a valid comparison.

I am comparing to prices in Indiana (Specifically Indianapolis) which is actually lower priced than Orlando. And again, the prices for signatures are on par for what you would expect at a Ruth Chris's as those prices are generally the same no matter what city you are in. Even Outback and Olive garden maintain their prices generally equal across the country (sans, Manhattan, Hawaii, Alaska, and San Francisco). And I am not doubting that I can get better BBQ elsewhere, but the point stands, 18.99 for a 3 meat BBQ meal is on par for what you would pay in most BBQ joints across the US. My food cost change barely if at all when I drive to Washington DC, Virginia, or even Chicago for work.

 

[thomas998]

I am comparing to prices in Indiana (Specifically Indianapolis) which is actually lower priced than Orlando. And again, the prices for signatures are on par for what you would expect at a Ruth Chris's as those prices are generally the same no matter what city you are in. Even Outback and Olive garden maintain their prices generally equal across the country (sans, Manhattan, Hawaii, Alaska, and San Francisco). And I am not doubting that I can get better BBQ elsewhere, but the point stands, 18.99 for a 3 meat BBQ meal is on par for what you would pay in most BBQ joints across the US. My food cost change barely if at all when I drive to Washington DC, Virginia, or even Chicago for work.

You are trying to compare signature places at Disney which are not going to be included in the Free Plan if the OP stays in a value resort which is what they are probably looking at since they state up front that they are frugal. Remember there are different flavors of "free dinning" and the hotel you stay at is going to dictate which one you get.

I also wouldn't want to use Ruth Chris's as indicative of the price of a good steak dinner, they tend to be over priced compared to most decent steakhouses people are likely to find near where the live. You are kind of comparing over priced Disney food to over priced Universal Orlando food when you throw Ruth Chris's into the mix. And apparently Indianapolis is more expensive than I ever imagined, I can get