Traveling on a Budget! What do you do?

[Amy Shelton]

We are planning a trip on a major budget and we are trying to tie up all the loose ends before we make our definite reservations. Here are the details so far that are for sure

1. We will be there December 15th-22nd
2. We will be staying at Port Orleans-FQ (yes I know we could stay at Value but this is a special anniversary trip and we will be spending time at the hotel)
3. We will be using the Disney Dining Plan
4. We will be booking through a family cast member, so we will already be getting a discount on the room

So my question is, what do you do specifically BEFORE the trip to save some money as well as what do you do once you're down there to make the money last?


Thanks for all your advice in advance! :]

 

[Stephanie O]

We are planning a trip on a major budget and we are trying to tie up all the loose ends before we make our definite reservations. Here are the details so far that are for sure

1. We will be there December 15th-22nd
2. We will be staying at Port Orleans-FQ
3. We will be using the Disney Dining Plan
4. We will be booking through a family cast member, so we will already be getting a discount on the room

So my question is, what do you do specifically BEFORE the trip to save some money as well as what do you do once you're down there to make the money last?


Thanks for all your advice in advance! :]

I get a gift card every time I food shop.

 

[pumpkin7]

I have a jar in our hallway. Any spare cash goes straight into there. Usually we set a budget for our food shopping and get it out the ATM, and anything under that budget also goes into the jar.
With christmas, and a few birthdays we have saved almost £2000 this way. I love our Disney Fund Jar!

 

[SMS55]

Why not get a value room? That will free you up some money. If the room is only to sleep and shower, paying the extra money isn't worth it. Now if you plan on spending time at the hotel and use the amenities, then that's different.

 

[Pooh Lover]

I tend to think twice when purchasing something spontaneous as if this purchase might be keeping me from buying something at WDW or just leaving me with a little less for my favorite vacation. Yes, after many, many years of going to WDW, I still feel a little guilty about the money spent.

 

[SAV]

To save $ we don't do hoppers. There's enough to see at each park not having to hop.

We give the kids a strict limit for souvenirs and stick with it.

We stay at value resorts since we only use the rooms to sleep in(or we just stay off-site).

 

[Weather_Lady]

To save money, we:

1 - don't got out to eat or to the movies (or do so with far less frequency than usual). Instead, we have someone's favorite meal at home and snuggle up on the couch with homemade popcorn for family movie nights, watching movies checked out from our local library.

2 - in general, spend less: use more coupons, pack lunches and make our own coffee for work instead of buying them out someplace, when the kids ask for something in the store we say no and remind them that we're saving for Disney. (These are all good habits to adopt anyway, Disney trip or no.)

3 - make our own souvenir books, Disney t-shirts, etc. instead of buying them

4 - in preparing for the trip: decant toiletries, etc. into reusable travel-sized bottles (instead of buying smaller sizes of things we already use), and bring breakfast food and snacks so we aren't buying them at Disney.

5 - give the kids Disney gift cards (instead of more toys, of which they have too many already!) for the birthday immediately preceding the trip.

6 - Edit: I forgot to add -- we use a credit card that gives us airline points (JetBlue Amex). We charge everything we can to it, and pay it off each month so there are never any interest fees. About every 2-3 years, we'll have accrued enough points to fly for free. (For us, that's a savings of $1,000-$1,200).

 

[BigRedDad]

1. Look for the best time to go for discounts
2. Disney Visa Rewards
3. Plan our household budget
4. Decide if that is the best use of $4-$5k of money.

 

[Jessica Meier]

We try to save up and have the trip paid for entirely before we go. We place the trip on our Disney Rewards Visa so we earn $ on that to spend at the parks. I use the Disney Visa to purchase gas and essentials throughout the month (not exceeding a predetermined amount) to earn extra money to spend at the parks. My husband is a "stasher" (meaning he hides cash for emergencies and things he really wants) so he is responsible for the money we will need for the drive to and from and the boarding of the fur babies. I am responsible for stashing away a certain amount each week from the paycheck to put in a Vacay savings account that will enable us to pay the balance in full by the due date. We order Disney Gift Cards with the money we have earned on our Disney Visa and that is our spending money for souvenirs. Once that is gone, it is gone. No more buying. We just try not to over spend or eat out AS often as we may normally. Just set a goal. The Disney Visa is awesome if you are responsible with credit. You get 6 months same as cash to pay it off if you can't save up enough in between booking and payment deadline to pay. I wouldn't recommend for everyone, but for some it makes a trip a little easier to afford if you can spread it out over a few more months.

 

[luv]

If I were trying to save money, I would not be staying in a Disney hotel or buying a Disney dining plan.

Even when I wasn't trying to save money I skipped the dining plans because they cost more.

If you want to save money, go offsite.

 

[bigorangeandy]

We we have brought our own breakfast with use, cereal, fruit, yogurt, pop-tarts, and muffins. This is as much a time saver, as money saver for us. We tend not to order soft drinks with our meals, we drink water (we have drinks back in the room so everyone can get their fix then). If your doing the dining plan, the drink option will not result in a savings for you.
I tend to save save all my change, it adds up to about $20 each month, so in a year that yields not quite $250. I try and set aside another $5 each week, this is another $250 for a year. Unexpected money (any work bonus, tax refund, third paycheck some months, etc...) we tend to put a part of that away for the trip. Buying Disney gift cards at my local grocery store will allow us to save money on gas, we get double points on gift cards which saves on our gas bill. Have a great time that is a wonderful time of the year, not humid, all the Christmas events going on, and crowds that are manageable. We are looking at going that time this December also.

 

[HatboxGhost]

The only way that my wife and I can afford to go to Disney is if we put away around $25.00 each per week. It does help to get to that vacation because we really dont miss it from our paychecks. There would be no way we would be able to just come up with the whole amount in a short time. We do budget throughout the year too.
Also, I agree with what some of the people are saying about staying at the value resorts or off property. Also, take the dining plan out of the budget.

 

[Susan Savia]

I would think a major budget would call for something offsite, little to no dining in the parks, etc. We save our change all year long, usually hold a yard sale in the summer, rarely if ever go to movies or eat out.

 

[Poofiesdream]

I buy all my shirts ect. ahead of time on line from the Disney store during sales, and at the local Disney store in my area. I purchase the stuff a little each month so easier on the pocketbook. We also eat a very light breakfast. Pastry, free hot chocolate and fill up on the meals of the DDP.

 

[DisDadWoz]

Disney Visa Card for purchases during the year. We pay it off each month so the extra $$ for gift card to use helps. Also, as some people also have said give Disney gift cards for presents for the kids. This also gives them something to look forward to trying to decide what they are going to get. Check everywhere you can for Disney clothes as they sell many things outside the park. I think most importantly is budget ahead of time so that you enjoy your time at WDW rather than worrying about the $$$ when you are there.

 

[disneygirl76]

We are planning a trip on a major budget and we are trying to tie up all the loose ends before we make our definite reservations. Here are the details so far that are for sure

1. We will be there December 15th-22nd
2. We will be staying at Port Orleans-FQ (yes I know we could stay at Value but this is a special anniversary trip and we will be spending time at the hotel)
3. We will be using the Disney Dining Plan
4. We will be booking through a family cast member, so we will already be getting a discount on the room

So my question is, what do you do specifically BEFORE the trip to save some money as well as what do you do once you're down there to make the money last?


Thanks for all your advice in advance! :]

First thing - prepare and plan and this will help the money go far.

1) use your mug - use it for coffee in the a.m. and fill it up before you leave for the park. Then throughout the park, they will fill it up with cold water for you at counter service or table service restaurants.
2) use your snack credit - don't waste this on a bottle of water or a soda. Go for the big items that can be shared. For example, at the boardwalk, we got an ice cream cone in a waffle cone and it was so big we could have shared it. It counted for one snack credit.
3) if you are driving - pack some food/drinks - if you are flying - ship first to the resort. We usually eat around 11 a.m. for lunch and then snack mid day and then dinner. So for breakfast, we grab something light and little. Ship or bring bagels or granola bars or protein bars. the same for bottles of water or soda. (ps - don't ship those but if you are driving, bring them in the car).
4) buy ahead - autograph books, pens, t shirts, light up/glow stick items for the evening. Things that you usually buy in the park but don't have to be Disney specific.
5) bring ponchos from the dollar store so you don't get caught buying them at WDW.

 

[Tinkerbell 8]

As others have said, I keep my change in a jar and cash it in before the trip so we have spending money you'd be surprised how much change you can accumulate, I paid for almost my entire wedding with change (we saved it for 2 years). Also I would bring breakfast foods or snack foods with you to save on spending in the parks, it also helps save time in the morning. I would bring a gift card with a set amount for extra spending so you don't spend more than you want which can be very difficult in Disney. We always use the dining plan, but don't forget, you have the pay out of pocket for alcohol and tips which can add up over the course of the week, especially if you eat at nicer restaurants so keep that in mind when booking ADR's. I bring a refillable water bottle to the parks so I don't have to purchase a drink during the day, I fill it with ice before leaving the hotel in the morning and wrap a wash cloth around it when I put it in my little lunch bag in my backpack to keep it nice and cold, then you can refill it in the parks and still have cold water, its also nice in the summer to use the damp wash cloth to wipe off your face.

 

[mickey2008.1]

We plan a budget and stick to it. Save ahead of time and know what to expect to spend. If you are using the dining plan which you say you are, then you already know that expense, which really helps. As others have said, buy some of your tshirts or sweatshirts from the disney store ahead of time, this will save alot of $$$ instead of buying them at the parrks. The best thing we do to save money is go to Hess to buy water, pop, beer, snacks, and breakfast items. We fly, so this is the only way we get to save on these items. 24 pack of water for $6 at hess, or $6 for 2 bottles at the resort. Easy answer there.

 

[GeoDonJac34]

Lots of great ideas here. The gift card idea I love. Kids are happy to get them, and it will give them some spending money. We use Garden Grocer when we go down to the World. Great for food, snacks and especially great for beverages (water, juice, beer etc.). I will work overtime at work, every day I go in on my day off I will put something into a vacation account. I stopped using Disney Visa though, interest rate a couple points higher than my other card.

 

[pixiesteno]

In the past year we have gone to paying for as much stuff as possible with cash, including groceries. I have a set grocery budget amount per week and anything left over from that goes into the WDW fund. Well, some weeks there is more than average and so I will split it between the WDW trip fund and general savings "stash". I take all of my leftover ones and change and dump them in the change jar. In the time of 1.5 months I had over $50.00 just in ones. I have yet to wrap the change but I am going to have to do it soon before the job is just overwhelming.
We rarely go out to eat and never go to the movie theater (the seats are horrible at our local one). We have been looking at all of our purchases in a new light and question "is it worth it, how much do we really need it, does it perform more than one function, etc". Last year I had a hard look at what possessions we have and what are they really worth; most of the time once you bring it home it isn't worth squat! We have really decided to pare down our possessions and spending in favor of experiencing time spent with loved ones and making memories.
We are taking our travel trailer and we will be eating the majority of our meals at camp. We are pretty much over the whole souvenier thing so park purchases will be minimal. We are going to purchase brita filter bottles and refil them at the drinking fountains while in the parks. I have a small brita pitcher that fits in the fridge of the RV.
in the couple of weeks before we leave I will be purchasing the extra food to be taken on the trip and may prepare some of it ahead of schedule and freeze it. DH will be purchasing amy beer that he wishes to have before we leave and we will transport with us. Frankly, we have done a great deal of table service meals in the past and we are just as content to fire up the grill at FWC and throw a slab of meat on it, cook some veggies and enjoy.