Any ideas for saving money while at WDW?

[MrsHeg]

We have a trip booked for November but we need to be as frugal as possible. One idea we will be taking advantage of is the free ice water in the parks, but any and all ideas are welcome.

 

[happily single]

If always pack snacks. If you dont have room in luggage you can order from garden grocer or some other company (whose name I forget). I order water, soda and snacks, including donuts, cereal.

 

[Marionnette]

We have a trip booked for November but we need to be as frugal as possible. One idea we will be taking advantage of is the free ice water in the parks, but any and all ideas are welcome.

• Give the kids a souvenir allowance and stick to it. The hard part will come when you have to say no because they spent all of their money.
• Pack non-perishable snacks and light shelf-stable meals in your luggage or car. Use the food court microwave and toaster to heat your food.
• Do breakfast in the room with food you brought along.
• If you're planning to do a character buffet, breakfasts are cheaper than lunch or dinner. Book the latest breakfast that you can and consider it to be your lunch.
• If you have a Target REDCard (credit or debit), use it to purchase Disney GCs. You will save 5% off of the face value of the GC. So, a $50 GC will cost you $45. Use the GCs to pay for snacks, meals and souvenirs. You can even use them to pay for your park tickets if you haven't purchased them yet.
• Adults can order children's meals at the counter service locations if they want to. The portions are smaller and lighter but the selection can be rather poor at some places. Get the fruits and veggies instead of the chips and desserts plus order a small water instead of the milk.
• Anything on the menu at a CS location can be ordered a la carte instead of as a combo platter. If you just want a burger, without the fries and slaw, just ask the cashier to key it in that way.
• Never be afraid to ask for discounts that you might qualify for. AAA? Disney Visa? AP Holder? DVC Member? Military Family?

 

[Cubicleprisoner]

Eat breakfast in your room. Split counter service meals with someone else in your party. Order kids meals. Buy inexpensive Disney souvenirs at discount stores before and after your trip.

 

[freckles04]

We always do breakfast in the room to save money, and time. My DS doesn't like pastries (like Pop Tarts or muffins) etc. so I pack cereal, plastic bowls and spoons, and buy a 1/2 gallon of milk in the gift shop.

I tried the free ice water at counter service tip, but we thought the water tasted awful. It literally tasted like the toilet water smelled. Even flavor packets couldn't save it. So we budget in bottled water, now. YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary) as many people say it tastes fine. And I do drink tap water at home so I'm not a bottled water snob!

When we aren't on the free or discounted dining plan, we share meals to save money. There is almost always more than enough food! It's just my DS and I, so I'm not sure about your party size, etc.

Limit table service meals. They are very expensive and you have to factor in a tip as well.

During parades and shows like Fantasmic, there are carts selling glow-type toys. My DS always wants one and they are not cheap. So I bring glow toys from the Dollar Store and pull those out for him instead.

Another thing I do is buy Disney gift cards ahead of time from somewhere that gives me a discount. I buy them at Kroger which gives me fuel points. Lately I have been able to get gas for $1.00 off per gallon because of my grocery and gift card purchases. Some people do the Target discount but I don't have a Target card. Other people get them discounted at Sam's.

Limit souvenirs! That's a big one! My DS always gets a small carving from the wood carver in Animal Kingdom, and one stuffed animal. I get a magnet for our fridge collection and we buy one Christmas ornament. Other than that we don't buy a lot of souvenirs.

 

[wdw4rfam]

• Give the kids a souvenir allowance and stick to it. The hard part will come when you have to say no because they spent all of their money.
• Pack non-perishable snacks and light shelf-stable meals in your luggage or car. Use the food court microwave and toaster to heat your food.
• Do breakfast in the room with food you brought along.
• If you're planning to do a character buffet, breakfasts are cheaper than lunch or dinner. Book the latest breakfast that you can and consider it to be your lunch.
• If you have a Target REDCard (credit or debit), use it to purchase Disney GCs. You will save 5% off of the face value of the GC. So, a $50 GC will cost you $45. Use the GCs to pay for snacks, meals and souvenirs. You can even use them to pay for your park tickets if you haven't purchased them yet.
• Adults can order children's meals at the counter service locations if they want to. The portions are smaller and lighter but the selection can be rather poor at some places. Get the fruits and veggies instead of the chips and desserts plus order a small water instead of the milk.
• Anything on the menu at a CS location can be ordered a la carte instead of as a combo platter. If you just want a burger, without the fries and slaw, just ask the cashier to key it in that way.
• Never be afraid to ask for discounts that you might qualify for. AAA? Disney Visa? AP Holder? DVC Member? Military Family?

This covered what I would suggest

 

[texasroni75]

We found lots of ways to be frugal at the parks, and many have been mentioned already. I want to say, though, that when being frugal cuts into my vacation enjoyment, I have to draw the line. So, decide what you are comfortable cutting back on that won't kill all the fun, either. For me, I won't cook meals. I'm a SAHM, and cook 3 meals a day for my family of 6 on a daily basis. So for me - unless it's a camping vacation, I don't want to cook or wash dishes. I will bring along snacks to cut food costs down, and share CS meals.

I earn Swagbucks to get giftcards for expenses at the parks (snacks, souvenirs), and even bought a new camera for the trip this way. I buy Disney-themed shirts before the trip when they are on sale - and pack them away to wear on the trip. I'm lucky that I have a Disney outlet store 5 minutes away from home, and have found shirts as low as $1.99! Also, Walmart and a few stores in the mall have cute Disney clothing for way less than what you would pay in the parks.

 

[eeyoresmom]

The redcard discount on a $50 card is $2.50 making it $47.50 not $45. Still a good discount when you figure that most of us spend thousands of dollars per trip.

 

[eliza61]

Marionnette gave a great list.

The only one I say be careful of is the "splitting meals" one. That tip actually cost us more money.

While many of the meals at wdw maybe too much for one, we've never saw any that were enough to satisfy two people. so what happens with us is that we split lunch and than usually 60 minutes later we are hungry again (especially from walking) so we end up purchasing snacks.
OR with lunch we try to split the combo but once again we end up ordering "sides" to complement the meal and it's always just as expensive as if we each had our own meals.

 

[Buzzsgramma]

This suggestion is actually for BEFORE you go to WDW.....Ask for Disney g.c. for birthdays or other things you are celebrating...

 

[eeyoresmom]

Eliza, you and I frequently respond to posts with this advice. We are a family of small females and there is no where in Disney that 2 of us could share a cs meal. Sometimes I will order a sadwich without the fries and steal a few of someone else's.Sometimes, if I am not really hungry I will get a kids meal, but I always caution against planning on sharing. Disney portions are not that big.

 

[Marionnette]

The redcard discount on a $50 card is $2.50 making it $47.50 not $45. Still a good discount when you figure that most of us spend thousands of dollars per trip.

My bad math! This is what I get for posting before I have my coffee!!!

Yes, it's a $2.50 discount off of the $50 GC. LOL

 

[North of Mouse]

I tried the free ice water at counter service tip, but we thought the water tasted awful. It literally tasted like the toilet water smelled. Even flavor packets couldn't save it. So we budget in bottled water, now. YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary) as many people say it tastes fine. And I do drink tap water at home so I'm not a bottled water snob!
we share meals to save money. There is almost always more than enough food!

Have always relied on their CS water for all our trips - don't care for soda - and have never had any problem with taste - we are also used to our own great tasting individual well water at home.

More than enough food in one serving at Disney to share?? Not for us!

Eliza, you and I frequently respond to posts with this advice. We are a family of small females and there is no where in Disney that 2 of us could share a cs meal. Sometimes I will order a sadwich without the fries and steal a few of someone else's.Sometimes, if I am not really hungry I will get a kids meal, but I always caution against planning on sharing. Disney portions are not that big.

I agree! Dh & I are not big people or big eaters and we can each easily eat a CS meal alone. Always amazes me when people say they are 'huge' and can easily be shared. The only thing I can figure out from those types of people is they are continual snackers, so therefore mealtimes are not their main foods for the day. We don't drink/eat lots of snacks - maybe a snack a day, so mealtimes are for 'eating' for us! We 'need' the 'whole' portion, which to me are definitely 'not' huge!

 

[eeyoresmom]

Totally agree. I think you are on to something with the snacking. We actually tend to share snacks more often than meals.