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! :]

 

[gobraves]

Check out mousesavers.com which has a page on saving money at Disney World as well. It may offer you a few tips.

-Biggest money saver as people have said is to either bring with you if you are driving or find a gas station or grocery store down there and pick up snacks, gatorade, breakfast bars, etc. to bring in a backpack at the parks. When my wife and I used to go in college we would bring enough food in for breakfast and lunch and then pay for dinner (except we bought ice cream which you just have to give into). Keep refilling your water bottles at the parks. My family never purchases drinks inside disney parks (other than alcohol).
-Get Disney Visa rewards
-Bring your own ponchos/rain jackets, as one poster mentioned
-Set a budget for souvenirs and stick to it. Unless we are getting something attraction specific (like a t-shirt of Expedition Everest or a beer stein from Germany), we always wait until the end of our trip to buy our souvenirs (typically at DTD). This way you have taken it all in and can make an informed decision on what you should spend your money on. Many of the same items in the parks are at the huge disney store in DTD. I've noticed that some of the same items sold in the parks are less expensive at the DTD disney store as well.

 

[toasty]

Unless you're getting a whale of a deal on it by virtue of booking through a cast member, you can save a lot of money by ditching the dining plan. There has been plenty of digital ink spilled on the topic already and I trust I'm not telling you anything you don't already know, but briefly, unless you either (1) do a lot of character meals, or (2) eat a very specific way that happens to match what you need to do to maximize your value on DDP, it's tough to break even paying for the dining plan. For example, if you weren't doing the dining plan, would you eat dessert for every lunch and dinner? Do you always order the steak (or the most expensive thing on the menu)? You'll need to for it to make financial sense.

QS places aren't generally anything special, but they are substantially cheaper, particularly if you split some meals here and there (which is easy to do, as the portions are enormous). Remember, you can order things a la carte, too, you just need to ask. We actually wanted to avoid eating fries on our last trip just to skip the unnecessary calories, and were able to do it successfully. When you do go to TS places, consider splitting two or three appetizers in lieu of getting entrees. Just as filling, less expensive, and some of the more interesting items at some of the restaurants tend to be appetizers.

 

[jesmcguire]

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.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

We have a bottle return account at our local grocery store so all our bottle money stays in the account until it's time for the trip then we take it out and split it. It's only 5 cents a bottle but we drink a LOT of bottled water. I think we have about $20 in there right now and still 3 months til our next trip. I imagine we will each get like $15 outta it so not a LOT, but every bit helps!

Also I have a change "jar" (it's actually a tin that had chocolates in it that has the Princesses on the sides) and I have over $30 in there so far!

 

[smk]

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! :]

We save change, it really adds up! We pay cash for everything, no trip goes on a credit card, ever. In fact we have only one credit card and it does not get used on consumable items, like food or groceries. I know a lot of people have cards that reward them with travel points and such, we do not have one of the those cards. So we save our change and we budget our monthly bills to set aside dollars towards what has become our yearly get away for peace of mind. I am also not above taking picnic food on the road, keeping breakfast items in the room, eating kids meals at the parks for lunch (really, it is enough food for most adults) and we know in advance what we are willing to spend on souvniers, so we don't impulse buy. Not for everyone but it works very well for us!

 

[BigRedDad]

Saving Money and Disney World go together like oil and water. WDW does everything imaginable to get you to spend more money than you budget for. So, saving while there is not very easy. However, leading up to it, there is a lot you can do. The $1 + $1 every week plan does work if you do it. Week 1 of the year, put $1 into an account. Week 2 put $2 into the account. Week 3, $3. Give or take where you keep up and stop it, you will have about $1250 to take with you.

 

[taz0162]

Keep an eye on any Free Dining plan offers for Dec. Call Disney and rebook to take advantage of it. When we went in Dec-Jan Dec 20th was the last day to check in to have the free dining for the duration of the stay. And POFQ was one of the choices that could take advantage of 1 Quick Serve, 1 Sit Down and 1 Snack each day. We opted for CSR due to having an onsite fitness center. I believe the offer came about mid to late summer last year.

 

[bethymouse]

don't got out to eat or to the movies (o
That's what we do. we scrimp and save pretty much every penny, and possibly use any "tax" return $ as well. I save my "bonus checks" also.

 

[captainkidd]

One thing I have disciplined myself into doing is putting a little bit of money aside each day for Disney. Whether it be $5, $10 or $25, each day I transfer money from my checking to my savings (aka Disney) account. It's so easy to do via online or phone banking. And before you know it, you've got quite a nice pile of cash in there.

 

[captainkidd]

don't got out to eat or to the movies (o
That's what we do. we scrimp and save pretty much every penny, and possibly use any "tax" return $ as well. I save my "bonus checks" also.

Yup. I'm always tempted to change my deductions to have less taken out, but I like that refund, or as it has become known in our house as, the Disney check.

 

[Ally_pumkin2princess]

Some of the things that I do for a trip.

I have set up an automatic savings plan that withdrawal $150 per week and deposits i. Renting points.in a savings account marked for vacationthe.

We cut back on going out to eat or eating fast food. Its cheaper for me to make similar meals at home or buy like frozen pizza or frozen chinese food.My kids are young so we dont buy them toys outside of bithdays and holidays. (Plus they get so much stuff from family members) I buy all of our clothes on off season like I buy our winter coats and stuff at the end of winter for the following year, the same thing for swimsuits or summer clothes just buy the next size up for the boys. I also wait till the Disneystore throws one of its 25% off sales go to an outlet and buy the souvenirs there. Of course I do all this so I dont sacrifice anything I want on vacation. We eat where we want and we still buy souvenirs and such.


The only ways I save while at disney. We go to walmart and get water and snack and breakfast items. We always stay at dvc villas Its. Cheaper then staying value most of the time.

 

[Bparso87]

I use my DVC discount on annual passes it cost more money at first but it saves me over 600 dollars my second trip. I am also driving my next trip which will save 900 dollars so I will save 1500 dollars over two trips.