Best tips for saving money in parks

[NJtoATL]

Buy the light up bracelets and gadgets outside the parks.

If children are small/young make or buy the costume before go to the park.

Buy t-shirts etc at the outlet stores. If you don't have a car, check out the clearance section in the gift shops. They're hard to find but they do exist.




little My husband hates the parks loves the outlets. Go figure. My trips to WDW are win-win. I get to go to the parks and shopping!!

 

[pfalcioni]

If you're an Amazon Prime member, shipping is free. Also Costco has free shipping http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11150807&whse=BC&topnav=&browse=&lang=en-US&s=1

The Costco water is $7.66 for a 24 ct - that includes the shipping!

We usually include our beverages in with our Garden Grocer order, but if we didn't, I'd definitely take advantage of this!

 

[Rosie8801]

Please tell me about Garden Grocer. Do we call this when we arrive? Do they have a list of groceries they have? Do you know the number? Does anyone know the cost for delivery?
Thanks so much for the tips so far.

 

[pfalcioni]

http://www.gardengrocer.com/

Just sign up for an account, then order online, and schedule the delivery in advance (during busy season, waaaay in advance!).

I like to keep a 'favorites' list on GG, and just keep adding or subtracting until I'm ready to actually place the order - you can then just take everything from your favorites list and at it to your cart and you're done!

 

[dunbarfamily]

About the water... I would love to bring a package of water bottles for the trip, but I don't think I could bring something like that on the plane. We won't have a car as we're using Disney transportation. Any suggestions on water bottles without paying Disney prices every time we want water?

Can't help you with the bottles, but I can tell you that any place at WDW that sells fountain soda pop will give you FREE ice water. It doesn't taste the best, but it does save money. I am a very picky water taste person, and I really didn't think it was bad. Tons better than the water fountain water. I know, its the same water source, but still....

 

[lisajl]

OUTLET MALLS! Woo hoo! Love them! My DH even loved it.
We found so many good deals there. We were there in Dec 2005 and found this great zip up hoodie that sold for $40 in the parks and I got it for $20.
Found some goodies for the kids, too.
Since that was our first time there we did not know where to start looking.
I suggest looking in the glass cases. Some woman came in and went straight to it and bought the two watches that were in there.
She said she bought them for about $20 each. They were $75 watches in the parks.

You never know what you will find!

Lisa

 

[mommy2aprincess4]

Also any Coach & Dooney & Bourke lovers go to the outlets in there. Great deals!!! Very nice outlet mall.

We're staying on-site and not renting a car, but probably better off since I am drooling here over the possibility of a D& B outlet Hmmmmmmm ... may be i'll leave DH with DD and hijack a cab to the outlets

 

[mylittleprincess]

We're staying on-site and not renting a car, but probably better off since I am drooling here over the possibility of a D& B outlet Hmmmmmmm ... may be i'll leave DH with DD and hijack a cab to the outlets

Awww I hear ya!! When are you going? Where are you staying. You would not believe the suede Coach bag I got last December when we stopped right before heading to Airport. $600 bag for $150!!

 

[kimsuenew]

We were told there was a place "just outside of Disney" (meaning WDW as a whole) where you could get Disney Pins (authentic trading pins) for $1.00 each. Apparently it is an outlet. We drove all around last time, to no avail. Has anyone ever seen such a display or store? THANKS!

 

[HeidiGW]

We were told there was a place "just outside of Disney" (meaning WDW as a whole) where you could get Disney Pins (authentic trading pins) for $1.00 each. Apparently it is an outlet. We drove all around last time, to no avail. Has anyone ever seen such a display or store? THANKS!

I'd like to know about that too. We have spent a small fortune on those pins!

 

[Debi]

Here's my favorite money-saving tip (as well as a calorie-saving tip): if you order a combo meal at a counter-service restaurant, ask them to just have the sandwich and not the fries. You'll save $2 or so and save the calories.

Enjoy!

 

[Rozz]

Great tip about leaving off the fries when ordering a combo meal at counter service! I need to save calories and money! Someone may have already mentioned a way to save a little money by splitting an order. We've found that a lot of things we order are really too much for one person.

 

[EpcotMatt2]

I echo the sentiments of the previous 2 posters. Ordering a meal without fries saves some cash. And since we always seem to end up throwing food away, if there are 4 of us, we'll order 3 meals & then I'll just pick from all 3 & finish whatever someone else doesn't. Even if we could finish everything if we ordered 4 meals, that feeling of being absolutely stuffed doesn't lend well to walking & the heat. We find ourselves feeling much better if we don't overeat at mealtime. Plus that means we get hungrier sooner for the next yummy snack.

 

[EpcotMatt2]

I almost forgot, we use the Brita water bottle too. There are plenty of water fountains, but the water doesn't taste all that good. The Brita filter makes the water taste a whole lot better. And we don't have to carry a cooler of bottled water or wait in lines to buy it in the parks or make sure we save some for the next person since we can get as many free refills as we want.

 

[Camster0307]

Staples sells water at @$6.99/24pack; delivery charge of about $7.00; even if you don't use all the water, I think it's still a good deal. (I've seen guests leave their unnused leftover water outside their rooms with a note saying it was ok to take!)

 

[TMB1203]

Staples sells water at @$6.99/24pack; delivery charge of about $7.00; even if you don't use all the water, I think it's still a good deal. (I've seen guests leave their unnused leftover water outside their rooms with a note saying it was ok to take!)

I just ordered water for delivery. My DH thought it was crazy to pay the same amount of $ for delivery as the water, but it's only .60 cents a bottle versus park prices and I drink alot of bottled water. Disney's water is horrible so its money well spent. Last year, I ordered a case for my mom who went with us and she didn't use it all. My DH gave it to a family in Roarin Forks who had just checked in.

 

[hematite153]

I would like your best tips on saving money during your Disney vacation. ... I'm looking for tips regarding ... souveniers,...

I have a radical idea, but it's one that we have practiced to great success.

The simplest way to save money on souvenirs is to decide before you leave home that...





you just aren't going to buy any!



Another approach we've used is to pre-plan what kind of souvenir we were going to get and then know that we could each get one t-shirt (or something similar). If you assign this souvenir to an event that you would normally buy a gift for (i.e. birthday) then the money you've spent at disney has just been re-routed from another store. Plus, by pre-planning we are more likely to choose t-shirts or other items that will get a lot of use beyond the vacation.

 

[Kimmumum]

About the water... I would love to bring a package of water bottles for the trip, but I don't think I could bring something like that on the plane. We won't have a car as we're using Disney transportation. Any suggestions on water bottles without paying Disney prices every time we want water?

We always pack water bottles into gallon ziplock bags and put 6 bottles per bag. We usually have 4 bags (one each). This gets us a case of water. By only putting 6 in a bag you don't make the bag too heavy plus you will have a little extra room for your trip home.

 

[pkasbohm]

We always pack water bottles into gallon ziplock bags and put 6 bottles per bag. We usually have 4 bags (one each). This gets us a case of water. By only putting 6 in a bag you don't make the bag too heavy plus you will have a little extra room for your trip home.

Do you put them in your carry on bags or your check- luggage?

 

[TMB1203]

It would have to be check luggage due to TSA rules.
I was going to do this, but was worried about water breaking on all of our stuff. I decided to order through Staples. It's $7.00 s/h but still works out cheaper than buying at the parks.