Being Frugal while planning for WDW....addicting? :P

[Beemitchcowski]

:Being Frugal while planning for WDW....Is it almost addicting?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------I originally had this posted in the Disney Tip Forum..and moved...please don't think I'm crazy! ...But trying to save money on this trip has turned into a game for me! Granted once we get to Disney...I don't watch every.single.penney...because how fun would that be?..but I like to have some sort of "plan"...Yes..its vacation..but until our last trip to Disney (last fall)...we really have never been on vacation...so all of these prices are sort of sticker shock for us!

We are planning our trip to Disney World in May! We were there in September..stayed offsite and enjoyed it!. We decided to get annual passes since we figured we would just do our trip a week or so before they 1 year...well..we got the bug and decided to go sooner!

We are staying offsite again because I really really like having our own room seperate from the kiddos and staying at a suite at Allstars or a cabin at the Fort would break our budget....and I heard so many positive things about Bonnet Creek that I knew I had to give it a whirl!

Since we can't get a dining plan (not sure if I would want to commit to ADR's ahead of time) and we will have a full kitchen..I figure we can make a few meals...we did this last time and it worked out fine...yes..its "work" on vacation..but so can taking kids out to a restaurant...that can be "work" too...(waiting for a table/waiting for food/ several trips to a buffet..trying to get the kids to eat the meal....)Also...I get a "thrill" out of thinking..."wow...I can save us $$ my making some meals...hey..if I pack a mini cooler..I can make/freeze sandwiches...gogurts...juiceboxes....

then I think..wait..I can pack a "free suitcase" since we are flying SW and fill it up with things like pasta, jar of PB, salt, pepper...granola bars...yadda yadda....


Then I start thinking..do we really need to dine with the characters since we see them at the Meet and Greet?

Then I find myself stalking alamo/budget for car rentals and checking to see if the fees went down.....

I am CONSTANTLY thinking of ways I can save $$$ while on this trip

Anyone else like this?

 

[Princesca]

I am super addicted to looking for lower car rental costs. Love it!

 

[eyor44]

By your title, I totally am with you. In between trips, I save money as much as possible. If we are out all day, I carry a small cooler bag with extra drinks, a few snacks. When I shop I constantly ask myself, "do I need this? It would be a few extra $$ for Disney". I have cut way down on the frivolous spending. I also don't take as many un-neccessary trips in the car and I rarely eat lunch out at work anymore. And yes, I contstantly am on the look out for any deals that might help with the trip. All in the name of saving $$ for Disney.

But once I'm there, it's a different story. Do I waste money? No. I do think twice before making purchases. But when I go on vacation, I want to be totally on vacation. We do carry drinks and snacks for the room, and might carry a couple water bottles and snacks to the parks, and sometimes have a light breakfast in the room, but that is as far as I go. No actual cooking for me.

 

[englishteacha]

I am so glad I'm not the only one who feels this way! For every trip, I plan and save and find the best bargains I can. I enjoy the thrill of the "hunt."

 

[Beemitchcowski]

By your title, I totally am with you. In between trips, I save money as much as possible. If we are out all day, I carry a small cooler bag with extra drinks, a few snacks. When I shop I constantly ask myself, "do I need this? It would be a few extra $$ for Disney". I have cut way down on the frivolous spending. I also don't take as many un-neccessary trips in the car and I rarely eat lunch out at work anymore. And yes, I contstantly am on the look out for any deals that might help with the trip. All in the name of saving $$ for Disney.

But once I'm there, it's a different story. Do I waste money? No. I do think twice before making purchases. But when I go on vacation, I want to be totally on vacation. We do carry drinks and snacks for the room, and might carry a couple water bottles and snacks to the parks, and sometimes have a light breakfast in the room, but that is as far as I go. No actual cooking for me.

I would love to get away with no cooking while on vacation...and actually..my husband would probably let me get away with it (he is the bigger spender and is one that says HEY! We are on vacation! ...Since we are staying offsite..we dont' have a dining plan and I just can't imagine spending $100+ each day for a table service meal!...We did do a few CS meals while we were at Disney (we ate Chinese at Epcot---wasn't the least bit thrilled) ate at Cosmic Rays at MK (that was a bit better) and did Earl of Sandwich--Yummmy!..We also did one TS meal--Hollywood Vine for the characters!...I do plan on having Wegoshop do the shopping so I don't have to grocery shop...but I we are staying at Bonnet Creek so we will have a full kitchen at my disposal....DH likes to grill so I think we will grill out a few times.

I guess for me it just starts as hey..we are staying offsite...saving some money...what else can I save on????

 

[Patience]

We have a child going to college this fall so our Disney trip in October, 2011 was on a budget. We had free dining which we upgraded to regular dining because we also have a 4 year old and wanted to do a lot of character meals. We stayed value at Pop and it was fine. We drove to Orlando (9 hour drive) and brought our own coffee maker, mini fridge and drinks so we didn't have to order the expensive mugs. The biggest money saver was buying Disney items (like princess dresses for the little one for her BBB appt. and dinners at Park Fare and Akershus) before we left for our trip and while they were on sale and I also used our bonus Disney Store gift cards to purchase some items for free. Other items were purchased inexpensively at Walgreens, Target, etc. Tinkerbell surprised her with the dresses and other items everyday and our little one didn't ask for a thing in the parks (except a balloon) because she knew Tink was coming with surprises for her. We did our entire 6 night/7 day trip for 3 Disney adults and one child with regular dining and extras like BBB and Pick a Pearl for right at $2500 which included tips, gas to Orlando, everything. Did I mention we had a great time?

Have fun!

 

[MacFam4]

I see that you plan on staying at Bonnet Creek....we stayed there for the first time this past November and thought it was wonderful!!! It is literally right next to Carribean Beach resort, and Hollywood Studios. Very nice property. My parents went with my son and I and this was a super budget trip so it worked out great. We ordered some food from garden grocer and had it delivered, but it's not a far drive to pick up some groceries. We saved alot of money on food. We ate breakfast in the condo, always ate lunch in the parks. We had a few things in our room for dinner, like chili dogs. We ordered pizza from the resort one night. It was good and not too expensive. People were outside grilling every evening and it always smelled so good!

I, too, love saving for a trip. I also don't go crazy spending while I'm there. As a matter of fact, my son and I came back home with about $140 cash left over, plus $100 left on a gift card! Yes, I have another trip planned and my leftover money is set aside for it. I also saved my Christmas money and it will pay for over half of my plane ticket.

 

[Beemitchcowski]

I see that you plan on staying at Bonnet Creek....we stayed there for the first time this past November and thought it was wonderful!!! It is literally right next to Carribean Beach resort, and Hollywood Studios. Very nice property. My parents went with my son and I and this was a super budget trip so it worked out great. We ordered some food from garden grocer and had it delivered, but it's not a far drive to pick up some groceries. We saved alot of money on food. We ate breakfast in the condo, always ate lunch in the parks. We had a few things in our room for dinner, like chili dogs. We ordered pizza from the resort one night. It was good and not too expensive. People were outside grilling every evening and it always smelled so good!

I, too, love saving for a trip. I also don't go crazy spending while I'm there. As a matter of fact, my son and I came back home with about $140 cash left over, plus $100 left on a gift card! Yes, I have another trip planned and my leftover money is set aside for it. I also saved my Christmas money and it will pay for over half of my plane ticket.

I am so glad that Bonnet Creek is so close to Hollywood Studios!--Its one of our favorite parks..right with Magic Kingdom!..Epcot was our least favorite but I am anxious to go during the Garden Festival! We are doing wegoshop because we won't get in until late (9pm) and I want to see if we can go the entire trip without leaving the gates? Deep down I am jealous of those that can say they stay "onsite" BUT I don't want us to be crammed into a single room and I have heard such good things about Bonnet Creek and it seems like its just as close to the parks as the values...so we figure why not? We are just missing out on the Disney feeling....

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Can you pre-make some of your food before you leave on your trip & just warm it up for supper one or two nights? We've taken pre-cooked hamburgers, hot dogs, even steak & potatoes with us on vacation. When you do have to eat out, skimp on the sides & drinks. If we splurge for fries, it's one order for the 4 of us, not 4 separate value meals. We share drinks & if it's not enough for us, we gag down the food until we can grab a 25 cent can of soda out of the cooler in the car LOL.

 

[Mickeypooh99]

I totally understand when you say taking the kids out to dinner can be a chore! Sometimes its just easier to stay in! We have taken many offsite trips with our boys. We started when they were 1 and 2 years old, and offsite just worked better. We wanted to have a seperate bedroom, and we needed some space to move around.

Plus my boys don't want to eat out every meal. They love hanging out at the hotel/condo swimming and relaxing. When we stay in a townhouse they can swim while I prepare meals. They just love that pool out the back door. They would go for a quick swim before getting dressed to go to the parks in the morning. Then they jump in the pool as soon as we get back in the evening.

Also, preparing meals on vacation doesn't really feel the same to me as cooking at home. I guess its because I use a lot of short cuts on vacation that I wouldn't at home. Buying more convienience foods etc. We buy a veggie tray and fruit tray from Sam's club for snacking. At home I would cut it all up myself. I let the kids buy donuts for breakfast. I buy a bag of precooked chicken breasts from Sam's club. I also buy us white bread. I never buy white bread at home. Lots of things like that make it more fun, and I think we save a lot of money since my boys are now both "adults" for dining at Disney.

 

[denvergirl]

I am so glad that Bonnet Creek is so close to Hollywood Studios!--Its one of our favorite parks..right with Magic Kingdom!..Epcot was our least favorite but I am anxious to go during the Garden Festival! We are doing wegoshop because we won't get in until late (9pm) and I want to see if we can go the entire trip without leaving the gates? Deep down I am jealous of those that can say they stay "onsite" BUT I don't want us to be crammed into a single room and I have heard such good things about Bonnet Creek and it seems like its just as close to the parks as the values...so we figure why not? We are just missing out on the Disney feeling....

I know what you mean about the "Disney Feeling". . .we're stay at the Dolphin which is basically on-site, but no Disney inside. I'm super grateful to be going, but it won't be the same as trips in the past. We have a mini fridge in our room and will get yogurt and granola to eat for breakfast and I'll carry one snack and a bottle of water for each of us, but will have one snack in the pack, too. If you're looking for a less expensive character meal, the Swan Hotel has a restaurant called the Garden Grove (I think) that does one on weekend mornings. It is much more affordable. . .here is the link to allears
http://allears.net/menu/menu_ggbw.htm . I have not been but reader say good things. . .

 

[eyor44]

Here are a couple of other things I take, both from Target. Glow sticks from the Dollar Spot and if you have a Target Red Card, you can buy Disney GCs and get 5% off of them.

I also get other Disney items in the dollar spot and hand out on the way down (we drive).

 

[Beemitchcowski]

Can you pre-make some of your food before you leave on your trip & just warm it up for supper one or two nights? We've taken pre-cooked hamburgers, hot dogs, even steak & potatoes with us on vacation. When you do have to eat out, skimp on the sides & drinks. If we splurge for fries, it's one order for the 4 of us, not 4 separate value meals. We share drinks & if it's not enough for us, we gag down the food until we can grab a 25 cent can of soda out of the cooler in the car LOL.

We fly..so I can't make meals ahead of time..but thats a good suggestion for those who drive a couple of hours! Last time my DH grilled a bunch of burgers and then all we had to do was re heat them througout the week. We also bring our own water/juice boxes into the parks!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

We fly..so I can't make meals ahead of time..

Oh yeah, your baggage charges would be attrocious LOL. Still, I wonder about maybe taking ONE day to really cook up a bunch of stuff you could reheat throughout the week???

 

[Brendonsmom]

We are taking our 9 year old on his sixth visit this spring. We have stayed on and off property. Last year we bought a pop-up camper so we're taking home with us and staying at the campground at Fort Wilderness. Tent camping is always an option if you travel during mild temps. The campground is very nice and the bathouses are kept clean. There is plenty to do at the campground if you need a break from the magic.

We have always done our own breakfast by using the mini fridge if it came with our room, or taking sweet rolls, juice boxes, and fruit. I always pack lunch daily and make trailmix or take cereal bars for snacking. You can take in a small soft cooler (like a large lunch box) and pack it full. They don't tell you this on other sites, but Disney will not stop you. They just want to check your bags upon entering. Anyway, I always pack peanut butter/honey sandwiches, Pringles in the can so they don't crush, and grapes or bananas so the bees don't bother us. I also pack one reusable water bottle per each of us and carry it in my backpack along with the lunch items. The water is not so good in Orlando so I pack single serve flavor packets to mask the sulfur flavor.

We save enough on breakfast and lunch that we opt to always buy dinner and stay late at the parks. We love Cosmic Rays in Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom, and eat there several times if we do the park more than once. There are plenty of healthy choices here that will please anyone. The prices are reasonable for the amount of food as well. We always use the topping station for a mini salad and are sure to ask for a dressing with our order. Main Street Bakery is a do not miss in our book. Get there early to get the sweet roll which is really an entire loaf of breadt! It is baked in a bread pan and is enough to feed three hungry children. The family shares one during the evening parade if we are craving something yummy. Epcot has a fish and chip stand outside Rose and Crown that serves fish baskets. There is always a line and the price is reasonable. Toy Story Pizza Planet in Hollywood Studios used to be our favorite, but they changed their menu. Prices are now higher for less options. They used to offer a pizza and salad combo, but on our last trip it was gone. We skip Animal Kingdom, but the Tusker House is the most popular for breakfast.

We don't buy pricey items at the Disney Store. I keep my eye out for toys and gift items before our trip and snatch them to hide until the vacation. If we are sucked into a Disney Store or Kiosk I only look through the bargain items. We managed to pick up a light saber and some other toys that had been display items and just needed batteries, but were marked on clearance. If you ask they will replace the batteries for you at no charge!

Last, if you are going to do Disney often I would recommend applying for the Disney Chase Visa. We have had one since my son was a babe. The card is free and the reward is $1 Disney Dollar for every $100 you spend on the account. Our last visit was Christmas 2010 and our Spring Break trip is paid for in full (campground, tickets, and extra for food.) We have always had enough to either cover the price of our tickets or help with the cost of the hotel, or both. We use it for all of our household spending--bills, grocery, gas, etc. and make one payment to the card instead of to each bill. It is amazing how we are able to budget our expenses and still earn points. We have a cruise booked in December and hope that several large budget item projects around the house (roof, carpet, painting) will help boost our Disney savings.

Good Luck everyone!

 

[Mysteria]

Can you pre-make some of your food before you leave on your trip & just warm it up for supper one or two nights? We've taken pre-cooked hamburgers, hot dogs, even steak & potatoes with us on vacation. When you do have to eat out, skimp on the sides & drinks. If we splurge for fries, it's one order for the 4 of us, not 4 separate value meals. We share drinks & if it's not enough for us, we gag down the food until we can grab a 25 cent can of soda out of the cooler in the car LOL.

I'll bet you have a bridge to sell too.

 

[PlasticRedTopHat]

OH yah its addicting! I first got into couponing in 2005 when my husband was a Private in the military and we had a young son. Now its like my other full-time job, and I work full time as an RN. Just saving a buck and stockpilling ! Finding the lowest deal for Disney has been the same thing! But it ends up with a vacation!

Woot!

 

[wdwmom0f3]

Can you pre-make some of your food before you leave on your trip & just warm it up for supper one or two nights? We've taken pre-cooked hamburgers, hot dogs, even steak & potatoes with us on vacation. When you do have to eat out, skimp on the sides & drinks. If we splurge for fries, it's one order for the 4 of us, not 4 separate value meals. We share drinks & if it's not enough for us, we gag down the food until we can grab a 25 cent can of soda out of the cooler in the car LOL.

We are also going to be staying at BC for the very first time in Nov. i really can't wait. We normally stay at POR but I am trying to keep this trip on a budget to make DH happy. I think he will love BC because of the extra space that we will have.

I had thought about premaking a few meals for the trip, but I am not sure yet. I know we will be eating breakfast in the room, lunch in the parks and dinner where ever. Two nights we will make ADRs for two of our favorite places, Kona Cafe and 50s Prime Time Cafe. Can't skip them at all. we plan to eat at the resort or off property the rest of the time, unless we grab a CS meal. There is also a chick fil a close by that would be quick and easy to get to. Pizza for the kids is always a cheap but good choice for them. They don't really care, they just love being there.

It will be our first time not being on free dining in a long time, but that's fine too. This may be even cheaper than that deal anyway.

Have fun planning the trip and saving money! That's one thingI have got to start doing.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

I am so glad that Bonnet Creek is so close to Hollywood Studios!--Its one of our favorite parks..right with Magic Kingdom!..Epcot was our least favorite but I am anxious to go during the Garden Festival! We are doing wegoshop because we won't get in until late (9pm) and I want to see if we can go the entire trip without leaving the gates? Deep down I am jealous of those that can say they stay "onsite" BUT I don't want us to be crammed into a single room and I have heard such good things about Bonnet Creek and it seems like its just as close to the parks as the values...so we figure why not? We are just missing out on the Disney feeling....

Our first trip was a "budget" trip, and we stayed in a house just outside of Disney and I did feel like I was missing that "Disney" feeling....

Last March, we decided to to Bonnet Creek. My mom went with us and we needed th 2 bedrooms. Not for one second did I feel like we were missing the Disney feeling. Bonnet Creek is so fabulous. It was so nice to be able to sit on the deck looking over the lake and pools while the boys were steps away watching movies in the living room. It really is a great place and so convenient to everything Disney. From some rooms you can even see the fireworks.

We are staying at CBR next month because we got free dining. I am interested to see how it will copare to Bonnet Creek.

 

[DawnM]

We don't scrimp and save to spend at Disney, we are just frugal by nature and like to see how little we can spend and still enjoy.

So, we have our Disney trips down to a science. We plan our Disney meals and only do a few per trip. Otherwise we eat in our condo on pack a lunch or eat off-site.

My kids don't like Disney souvenirs anymore, so they spend their $$ on the Lego store instead (Disney dollars usually.)

Dawn