5 Things to Skip at WDW

[once]

How much did the poncho cost?

 

[Planogirl]

1. skip the food - I'm on the fence here. There are many mediocre places and few that are horrible but if you know where to eat you can get a decent meal. Besides it's convenient.
2. limit Disney memorabilia - up to a point I agree. We buy stuff but not much because most of it just ends up in the closet anyway.
3. take disposable ponchos - we just get wet and live with it.
4. will you really use park hopper - not usually. it's too much trouble to park hop to us so we normally just save the money.
5. saving on parking - I always drive and plan to continue. I just save up the parking fees before we go.

 

[Praying Colonel]

From the article:

the food was on par with hospital cafeteria food

Couldn't disagree more. Not every restaurant is excellent, and I think many are overpriced for what you get, but every park has quality food.

Each park even has quality CS. In MK Columbia Harbour House, in EP Tangierine Cafe, In AK Flame Tree Barbecue and in DHS...well, DHS is a boat ride away from Epcot, so you can go to Tangierine Cafe. But the point is that Disney has more than your typical amusement park food. She's just wrong. I'd like to know where she's eaten.

Ponchos: I used to be a disposable-poncho guy, but they provide a lot less coverage than the sturdier ponchos you can buy at Disney or offsite. So I've changed on this one. I'm not even sure you save $ on them. The disposables are about 50 cents each, but years later I'm still using the more durable ones.

 

[tlmadden73]

1 - Skip The Food - .. The magic of Disney food is the atmosphere and ambience. I would definitely not recommend eating ALL three meals at the park .. grab breakfast in your room .. or pack a lunch ... it saves time (which is sometimes more important than money at WDW). If you are going to eat . .skip the counter service and have nice dinners at table service places. I find the buffets expensive, but worth the price simply for the speed (again time is important) and the all-you-can GOOD food.

2 - Duh ... but honestly I don't feel the prices for some of the things there are outrageous.

3 - I have never gotten a poncho .. I would just pack a light rain jacket in a bag or something though.

4 - I am a park hopper fan ... just adds to the fun .. especially for long stays. Jump to a night show .. jump to another park for dinner .. etc. etc.

5 - "Saving" on parking is relative .. if you spend a lot more money to stay on-site then you would off-site. I've shared a vacation home with a family and the savings from that outweighed paying for parking.

 

[CTDisneyfan816]

1. Skip the food. - Aw, boo. Dining at Disney is fun! All part of the experience, plus I honestly don't like to leave Disney once I'm there. Ruins the magic.

2. Limit your Disney memorabilia. - Agree with this one, but I always like to buy at least a few things when I travel there. Something that will remind me of the memories I've made during my trip.

3. Take disposable ponchos with you. - Best advice ever. You can get them in wall mart for like a dollar.

4. Will you really use the park hopper option? - Not much of a park hopper. I like to designate a day to a particular park, and stay there from open to close (Except AK in the summer... my god. I'll die there in the heat!) Sometimes it's nice to randomly go to HS and catch Fantasmic or something. I'm an AP, though, so I can hop as I please. I wouldn't pay for the hopper unless I was absolutely sure that I was planning on hopping.

5. Save yourself the $17 in Disney parking. - I love staying onsite, so this never applies to me, plus I get free parking anyhow from my AP

Exactly. Once I am at a park, I am there. I don't want to (especially at MK) go through the effort of going all the way to the car, drive to a restauran (likely all sweaty and if you are going to go fast food, might as well go to a counter service onsite) and then go back later.

 

[CTDisneyfan816]

as far as eating three meals, for the most part I eat breakfast before I arrive and normally (maybe except the Epcot day(s)) I am usually done and gone by dinner time so for me it's only buying lunch.

 

[supersnoop]

I'm I the only one who things she completely missed the mark on #5? She seems to think that you have to pay for parking even if you're staying on site. "Save money by waiting for the shuttle, even on on-site resorts"?!?

 

[BradChristian]

Hmm-

1 - Meals: There are a ton of places that are mediocre, but mediocre is STILL way better than SeaWorld or most of Universal's food options. I would encourage people to dine smart. Invest in the places that will leave you with a Disney WOW... 'Be Our Guest' is the most obvious, but there are still others. Choose Disney WOW over food unless you go multiple times a year... Then you can get into the nitty gritty of best entrees.

A little bit of research on the boards helps a ton too... It seems everybody gets roped into the olive garden style Italian food 'Tony's Town Square' - but a quick search would probably tell you to look elsewhere or go quick service. The boards also pointed me to the quick service treasures like 'Sunshine Seasons'

2 - The merch is good advice, but doesn't include how the shopping areas are attractions in themselves.

3 - Ponchos... You can't go wrong either way. You can buy and throw away dollar store ponchos, or purchase the HQ ones and reuse them.

4 - Park hoppers totally depend on what you want to do. First timers should probably not hop so they can slow down a bit.

5 - I think dealing with the off-property shuttles sounds like a nightmare.

 

[Hootch]

I can't figure out whether she was eating at a TS or a CS. We had two adults a 15 year old and an 11 year old. Our TS meals were around $90 and our CS were around $40. Maybe she is averaging the two.

I think the cafeteria food comment is wrong. There are some places (Pizza Planet) that aren't very good, but the overall quality of food in WDW is way above the in park food at Universal. (Though the HP restaurants are good for a CS.)

 

[bbjunkie]

I am a foodie, and much of the food at Disney is very good, depending on where you eat. Much of the food is far better than what you get at an amusement park. Is it expensive? Yeah, I suppose. But I don't think it is more expensive than is to be expected at a theme park. The pot roast and turkey dinners at Liberty Tree Tavern are yummy, and there is so much food you could easily share. The burgers and fries at Cosmic Rays are just as good a a bar burger from a local joint and I think it's $10 instead of $8 at home...is that really that much of a difference? I love the character buffets at Tusker House and 1900 Park Fare. Yes, they are expensive but you are paying for the experience. The food is fine; nothing fancy necessarily, but the cost isn't any different than a Mother's Day brunch buffet at our local country club and you can't get that delicious Disney juice locally. The Flame Tree BBQ is great! And, come on, those Mickey Waffles are yummy! These are just a handful of examples. When we are there, we do bring a case of water and snacks, cereal, etc, that we pack and take to the pool on our afternoon breaks, but this is my vacation, I don't want to spend the time or the effort making sandwiches, and I am not a pack mule that wants to carry them around a park for the evening. Some of the best advice I received here previous to our most recent trip was simply this: take a little bit more money and enjoy your trip. Don't pack meals, and don't do laundry; it is vacation.

We have used both the $1 ponchos and then purchased the Disney ponchos. The Disney ponchos are far superior for many reasons, and worth the $8 in my opinion.

We stay on-property so parking fees are not an issue.

We are park park hoppers. We go for rope drop to one park, go back to the resort for the hot part of the day and play around in the pools for a couple of hours, put our feet up and relax, then go to a different park in the evening until close.

We are cautious about our souvenir purchases, although I do regret not getting a Christmas ornament set I had been eyeing.

 

[AngiTN]

How much did the poncho cost?

The park ones? about $6-$8 (I forget now the exact cost).
They also replace them for free, for life, if they tear.

 

[robinb]

You missed the key part of the title of the article in your subject line:

"... to Cut Costs."

Let's view the 5 suggestions though that lens ...

1. Skip the food -- Many folks here on the DIS suggest just that. The food at WDW is very expensive and even a CS meal can easily be $15 for a combo and a drink or $60 for a family of 4 "Disney Adults". The author said that she spent $70 for her family of 5 for "cafeteria" type food ... and I agree with her assessment of WDW's crappy burgers and chicken nuggets. Sure, you can get better food at WDW but the vast majority of the CS meals are the same across the parks.

2. Limit Disney Memorabilia -- I have to agree with her on this one too. How many rides exit into a gift shop? Heck, the whole World Showcase is a giant gift shop. All she is suggesting is to "have a plan".

3. Take disposable ponchos -- I've done that in the past. They work OK ... not as well as Disney ponchos so depending on when you go this tip may be "penny wise and pound foolish". Winter months have fewer rain storms so a cheapie poncho is great for an emergency. Summer months are full of rain and a good sturdy poncho is a must. We now just bring either rain coats or umbrellas when we go in the summer.

4. Park Hoppers -- You don't need them AT ALL. We have APs and had one trip with family that chose to skip the PHs and we were just fine. We did hop once to have dinner while my DD stayed with my mom, but we could have easily had dinner elsewhere.

5. Save on Parking -- I have done this at Disneyland, but not at WDW. I guess I have heard too many bad reports about offsite shuttles to really trust them. Plus, many of them are NOT free. This is actually something I have been thinking about since we are doing a last minute trip next month and I am weighing offsite and onsite. We'll have a car, but my DH needs to work from the room at least part of the day and I'm not sure if I want to drive back to pick him up or we just want to stay onsite and have him meet me somewhere when he's done.

 

[AngiTN]

I can't figure out whether she was eating at a TS or a CS. We had two adults a 15 year old and an 11 year old. Our TS meals were around $90 and our CS were around $40. Maybe she is averaging the two.

I think the cafeteria food comment is wrong. There are some places (Pizza Planet) that aren't very good, but the overall quality of food in WDW is way above the in park food at Universal. (Though the HP restaurants are good for a CS.)

I think she may have ended up hitting the places which had the shortest lines and as such, the worse food. There is BAD food to be found at Disney, without a doubt (Electric Umbrella, I'm looking at you). But it's fewer and further between than the good food is. She'd had to have tried hard to find all bad foods

 

[IrishNYC]

The food is mostly terrible, and overpriced, but that's what I expect on a theme park vacation. A lot of the food is part of the experience. Yes, I can get pancakes anywhere, but I can't get them with a visit from Mickey. I can get a hamburger anywhere, but I can't jump on a Disney ride right after.

 

[JimmyV]

1. Skip the food. There are two issues being addressed here. Quality and price. The food quality is decidedly mixed. I have never complained about the food I get at Flame Tree, and have, on more than one occasion, commented on how far superior that meal is as compared to whatever you can get at any other amusement park, zoo or museum. I have also had hamburgers (one in particular from Rosie's in DHS) that made me say "What the &%^$" And yes, the price is higher than if you were at a fast food joint in Joplin Missouri. But so what? You aren't in Joplin Missouri. Can you save money by bringing in a peanut butter sandwich? Sure. But part of being on vacation, and being in a "magical" place is the want, need and ability to leave the real world behind you. To mix metaphors, for me it "breaks the fourth wall" for me to pull out food I bought at Publix while inside the park. I want the immersive experience, to build up memories, and the ability to tell stories about my experiences. And that means taking the good with the bad. Even a bad hamburger from Rosie's is a more memorable experience than a plain ol' peanut butter sandwich that I put together that morning.

2. Memorabilia. This really doesn't fit the topic of the article. Memorabilia is, as the name suggests, designed to be a keepsake. If the author is suggesting that one should not buy such things, well, that is too personal of a choice for one to hone in on in an article. If the author is suggesting that one should buy their memorabilia in some "Three for $11" T-Shirt emporium on 192, then I think that is just silly.

3. Ponchos. I detest disposable ones. Disney's or anyone's. I bought a foldable, packable one many years ago from Daisy's in the Dolphin hotel and it has served me well all over the world. It has very small, discrete "Mickey markings" and is sturdy and reusable. I have worn it in Belize, Costa Rica, Hawaii, Alaska, and at WDW. Probably cost me $20 and it was worth every penny.

4. Park Hoppers. Again, this is a personal choice. We don't pay for them. We find enough stuff to do in each park to occupy us for the day without feeling the need to kill 90 minutes in the middle of the day dealing with boats and buses. Others find them essential. When hopping used to be an included feature on every ticket, we used to hop maybe once or twice in a week. One or two "hops" does not justify the price increase for us now. YMMV.

5. Parking. If you want and need a car, then you want and need a car. The parking fee isn't going to kill you. We often rent a car, even if we stay on site, so the fee isn't an issue of us. But if I stayed off site, there are definitely times when I could see driving my own car and parking.

 

[CTDisneyfan816]

Yes food at the park is pricey, but how much is your time worth? Is it worth 1-2 extra hours (minimum) to save a few dollars on a hamburger? For me I don't go to Disney to eat, I go for the parks. Just find a decent counter service pay a few dollars more than I should and move on and save my 1-2 hours.

 

[IrishNYC]

I think the cafeteria food comment is wrong. There are some places (Pizza Planet) that aren't very good, but the overall quality of food in WDW is way above the in park food at Universal. (Though the HP restaurants are good for a CS.)

If WDW food is better than Universal, I'd hate to eat there. We thought the majority of the food at WDW was pretty lousy. Not all, but most.

1. Skip the food. There are two issues being addressed here. Quality and price. The food quality is decidedly mixed. I have never complained about the food I get at Flame Tree, and have, on more than one occasion, commented on how far superior that meal is as compared to whatever you can get at any other amusement park, zoo or museum. I have also had hamburgers (one in particular from Rosie's in DHS) that made me say "What the &%^$" And yes, the price is higher than if you were at a fast food joint in Joplin Missouri. But so what? You aren't in Joplin Missouri. Can you save money by bringing in a peanut butter sandwich? Sure. But part of being on vacation, and being in a "magical" place is the want, need and ability to leave the real world behind you. To mix metaphors, for me it "breaks the fourth wall" for me to pull out food I bought at Publix while inside the park. I want the immersive experience, to build up memories, and the ability to tell stories about my experiences. And that means taking the good with the bad. Even a bad hamburger from Rosie's is a more memorable experience than a plain ol' peanut butter sandwich that I put together that morning.

This sums up my feelings pretty well about the food. We won't bring food in, and it's all part of the experience, good and bad.

 

[ArwenMarie]

If WDW food is better than Universal, I'd hate to eat there. We thought the majority of the food at WDW was pretty lousy. Not all, but most.

It's not. IMO.

 

[JimmyV]

I can't figure out whether she was eating at a TS or a CS. We had two adults a 15 year old and an 11 year old. Our TS meals were around $90 and our CS were around $40. Maybe she is averaging the two.

Let's say you had "combo meals" at Rosie's at DHS for your family of four. At $15 per person, that is $60. Then, for dinner, you went to Hollywood and Vine. Two adults and two children, (one of whom is really a "Disney Adult") would come to $141. Total for the two meals is $201. That comes to an average of $100 per meal for food that, as the author suggests, is no better than a hospital cafeteria. One can certainly spend more than the author suggests and one can certainly get food as bad as the author suggests. But one can also do much, much better. Research and recommendations are a better strategy than skipping the food altogether.

 

[CTDisneyfan816]

I also like Universal food. especially on City Walk.