What's the Worst Disney Budget Advice You Ever Got?

[Cyrehn]

Different strokes for different folks.

Amen!

 

[kellyg403]

I was one of those people who took a whole bunch of advise on our first trip. Some worked for our individual family, but for the most part a bunch didn't.

Rope Drop. I went with 5 teenagers, need I say more? We thought it was a once in a lifetime vacation, commando style from day one. By day 3 we wanted to kill each other. We were overstimulated, tired and cranky. Everyday I had these people up at 6 am to eat breakfast, which we did in our room to save money and have never done again. Day 4, I broke down in tears because we weren't having fun! We all went to bed somewhere around 12 in the afternoon and did not wake up until 9 that night...never do commando again for our family!

Breakfast/snacks: I carried a whole bunch of water and junk in the backpack. Nobody wanted it. We go in DEC so there are very few days in the hot and humid range so all that water not necessary. Honestly, they can all carry their own!

Refillable Mugs: unless they are free with a promotion/dining plan. Not worth it to us. Very rarely when we get back to the room do we venture past the quiet pool (While I throw in a load of laundry!). So, we had to lug the things around all day, stop at the food court on the way back and either catch another bus or walk to the room. A few times it was not a bad idea, but for the most part a total waste of money for us!

Things that did work? Staying onsite, parking the car and never getting back into it til its time to go home. Dining Plan, Deluxe worked great when it was an adults only trip since we were going more towards relax and enjoy the food mode. But we all enjoy a TS meal break during the day..again no commando for this group! Park Hoppers are also a must. We enjoy the flexibility.

Kelly

 

[tlbwriter]

worst advice I've ever heard is the "buy souveneers at Walmart before you go." HUH?
i just couldn't imagine one of my kids saying, hey. look at this! And I pull some crap out of my bag and say HERE! You might like that, and want that, but I have picked up THIS for you. I love the unique things for sale at Disney Parks. I would rather have one $20 item like the baby characters or the POTC toys than 4 cheap $5 Walmart crap toys. I guess that is just me. And it doesn't take too much to set aside $30 per kid for them to pick their own keepsake!

LOL! No, it's not just you - I said the same thing earlier. A toy bought at Walmart in Iowa is not a souvenir from a trip to WDW!

 

[LaDonna]

I was one of those people who took a whole bunch of advise on our first trip. Some worked for our individual family, but for the most part a bunch didn't.
Rope Drop. I went with 5 teenagers, need I say more? We thought it was a once in a lifetime vacation, commando style from day one. By day 3 we wanted to kill each other. We were overstimulated, tired and cranky. Everyday I had these people up at 6 am to eat breakfast, which we did in our room to save money and have never done again. Day 4, I broke down in tears because we weren't having fun! We all went to bed somewhere around 12 in the afternoon and did not wake up until 9 that night...never do commando again for our family!
Kelly

om my goodness this SO reminds me of our last trip, we hadn't been in 4 years so I was really itching to do and see everything again, and we had always been "cammando style" family. But last trip my preteens were so what you described above, and I actually broke down in tears a few times because I had saved up this money and waited so long to go back and they were just being such "teenagers" Luckily the 3rd day of our trip we went to the water park which was much more laid back(and not so crowded) so we really go to unwind and did much better the remainder of the trip. But next time I'm hoping to spend a little bit more on a bigger room so we can have our own space after being with each other all day

 

[momof2intx]

I'm not sure about the worst advice but the best was to bring Crystal Light drink packets with you because ice water is free. Last time I scored a great deal with coupons on the CL drink packets. Brought them all with us and we enjoyed drinks all day at the parks and they were FREE. Plus, a water drink is much more satisfying during the hot FL days than soda...which because of it's sodium makes you feeling more thirsty anyway!

 

[maxiesmom]

LOL! No, it's not just you - I said the same thing earlier. A toy bought at Walmart in Iowa is not a souvenir from a trip to WDW!

Better be careful posting that here! I made the mistake of saying that on a post, and you would have thought I had said I was shutting WDW down!

It may be a very budget minded thing to do, but I think it is pretty tacky. But as others have pointed out, different strokes for different folks!

 

[crisi]

Better be careful posting that here! I made the mistake of saying that on a post, and you would have thought I had said I was shutting WDW down!

It may be a very budget minded thing to do, but I think it is pretty tacky. But as others have pointed out, different strokes for different folks!

I suspect its the purpose and attachment of the "thing."

We aren't huge souvenir people, but the ones I get I want meaning to. I get Christmas ornaments, and when I pull them out, I remember each trip. My kids are similar - if they get something (and actually, they often don't even WANT anything), its going to be something that they can't get elsewhere

But my sister's kids are TOY kids. She is pretty much constantly pulling toys from her bag for each day. They get them at dinner. The purpose isn't to remember the trip, but its something for her kids to play with on the trip. For that - Walmart themed Disney toys are great. And the cheaper the better - some of the parts aren't making it home anyway.

We aren't matching t-shirt people. When we buy a t-shirt at Disney its because we've found one that "speaks" to us.

My sister likes having her kids in matching t-shirts for SEVERAL days during the trip. For her, its about having the kids match in something with a Disney character on it, not about the acquisition of the shirt. A sale at the Disney Store is a wonderful thing.

As said, different strokes.

 

[clanmcculloch]

I think that the mistake people make with the pre-buy souvenir advice is that they assume it will replace ALL souvenirs. No way!! We pre-buy things like t-shirts, hats, glow bracelets and things like that. Then we give the kids each a specific amount of money that they can use to buy whatever they want at WDW. If they choose to buy an additional WDW hat or shirt then that's their choice but we have saved a lot of money by having some things purchased ahead of time. Toys from elsewhere never do seem to be the same but shirts and hats and light up stuff and fans certainly do seem to make them happy. I think it's the mixture that works best for us. The stuff pre-bought are not considered to be souvenirs; they're fun stuff for during the trip. We still buy souvenirs at WDW. We also bring souvenirs from previous trips back with us each trip.

 

[tlbwriter]

But my sister's kids are TOY kids. She is pretty much constantly pulling toys from her bag for each day. They get them at dinner. The purpose isn't to remember the trip, but its something for her kids to play with on the trip. For that - Walmart themed Disney toys are great. And the cheaper the better - some of the parts aren't making it home anyway.

Okay, that's different. If you need to provide your kids with a constant stream of new toys to occupy them during the trip, go ahead and buy them whereever. The advice I disagree with is to buy souvenirs at home and then pull them out of your bag at WDW. My DD is into stuffed animals (sigh) and gets one on every trip. When she fell in love with Marie, it would have been useless (and kind of mean, IMHO) to say "Well, you can't have that, but look! I bought you a stuffed animal at Walmart! Here you go!" If you're on a strict budget, I think it's better to take the money you would have spent on "home souvenirs" and let the kids buy one thing at WDW. Even if it's only $5, getting to spend your $5 on something from your WDW trip is special.

 

[DisneyCher]

Worst advice my sister go: kids have to do a character meal.
One of my sister's granddaughters was so excited to go to the Winnie the Pooh breakfast, but she wasn't prepared for a gigantic tiger, pig and bear to come up to her while she was eating her waffles. It really scared her, and she wasn't OK around non-face characters until she was quite a bit older.

 

[crisi]

Worst advice my sister go: kids have to do a character meal.
One of my sister's granddaughters was so excited to go to the Winnie the Pooh breakfast, but she wasn't prepared for a gigantic tiger, pig and bear to come up to her while she was eating her waffles. It really scared her, and she wasn't OK around non-face characters until she was quite a bit older.

I got that advice in reverse, and I've been passing it along. Because that isn't uncommon. My son at 3 and 4 didn't like characters. He'd TOLERATE them - no screaming or hiding under the table, but he didn't ENJOY them. I have pictures from those trips of my daughter hugging the character at 2-3 with my son standing arms length away.

Schedule a character meal. Schedule it later in the trip. Then expose your kid to characters before the meal.

If you get a screamer, or one that is just terrified - it happens - cancel the meal.

 

[mermaidblue!]

Ah, see...do what we do and use the grocery stop not for food, but for ALCOHOL!!!

Oh my goodness, I laughed out loud at this! Love it...Our family is considering driving 15 hrs instead of flying. We might do this.