Best Tips on a budget?

[Disneytwinsmom]

So much fun stuff!

 

[jkc0325]

I'd recommend going with an autograph book for your 2yo. It's a great ice breaker for approaching the characters and much cheaper than buying pins for trading.

I hope you have a magical trip!!!!

 

[Itinkso]

I'd recommend going with an autograph book for your 2yo.
I hope you have a magical trip!!!!

To expand on this, for a lasting memory for your family, what if you also had an autograph book and on the opposite page of each autograph, you add your favorite character memory? Say, opposite of Mickey's autograph you can jot down your memories of when your 17 year old and your two year old met Mickey for the first time. Or, how you felt when you first met Mickey. I know our older DD, who is now 27, enjoys it when we recount how she acted when she met Mickey for the first time! This would be a very treasured memento of your trip.

 

[emelee1053]

If you pm me your email address I have a bunch of 4 x 6 autograph cards I made up that can be printed off and put in an album with pictures taken with the characters. We also have a salvage store locally where we bought Disney pens and sunglasses for $1 - maybe last season 's but the kids would never know. Putting bring your own snacks in Disney - design sandwich or party bags make the kids happy. And don't forget some of the resorts do campfires and movies that are free. Our kids loved the ones at Ft. Wilderness. You can bring your own s 'more fixings. Boardwalk has a satellite parking lot that's free if there is space available and you can walk from there to the resort bus stop or take the boat to Hollywood studios or the walkway to Epcot international gateway. Best wishes for a trip to remember!

 

[Siliobear]

I too am researching budget ideas for our trip on April. As a Costco member, they had the best car rental price. For park tickets, some sites have "buy 3 days, get 2 free." Undercovertourist has good prices but I found Orbitz doesn't appear to charge tax or fees, which sometimes can be $20/person.

 

[Siliobear]

I forgot to mention, if you have a Target credit card, you get 5% off Disney gift cards.

 

[ForMyBoys]

I forgot to mention, if you have a Target credit card, you get 5% off Disney gift cards.

I second this. The red card gets you 5% off AND you can pre-buy gift cards throughout the year so the cost doesn't fall all at once. I'm in Milwaukee and they sell them in the local Target here.

If you are considering photopass there is a Facebook photopass share group. I just joined a share and am paying only around $20 for photopass.

If your airline charges for checked luggage try to pack everything in carryon's. Since your youngest is 2 I assume you had to buy them a ticket so don't forget they get thier own carry on as well.

 

[spicycrab]

Since you might opt out of pin trading what about another family activity like a photo scavenger hunt? You could pre plan the list ahead of time and put obvious things on it like "picture with Mickey" but you could also add things that you are hoping to get out of the trip like "surprised face" or "happy family". It would be free and you could make a great photobook on shutterfly or other site when you got home.

 

[growinupdisney]

we don't stay off site so I can't help you there but most our trips I try to save as much money as possible but don't want to completely skip out on things.

I save $ by getting to tickets from undercovertourist(tax is included in price you see buy with discount secret discount)

If there is a holiday or b-day coming up I give my kids a Disney GC , or I ask a grandparent to this gives them there own spending $ and they don't ask me for $. We are leaving day after Easter this year so I will have someting in there baskets that can use on the trip

We always bring re-fillable water bottles in park (yes I know you can get free from cs and we do) I have ones that easly attach to back pack and or stroller and we fill them throughout day I added this up one year that we spent around $50 just in drinks in one day, so I decided to use that money elsewhere.

I share a cs meal with my dh or my dd5 for lunch and dinner. Depending on where we eat, we usually have so much food left over if we each get a meal that we have found sharing to be plenty of food for us (except for DS15 he out eats us all) there have been some places where we all got th kids meal and was plenty for us.

We bring in snacks to tied us between meals but we do have a few of our favorites in the parks we have to have I usually plan $15 a day for snacks for all of us.

I dont buy gifts in advance from Target, Disney Store, etc. I know this might be cheaper but I have found that if I do that then they have that stuff andthen with there $ buy more and we just don't need that much stuff so with there spending money they get plenty. If I purchase anything in advance it will be snacks, small activity book for dd for the lines or car ride, disney gc, a bathing suit and a disney shirts for trip (for Easter basket or b-day)

We eat in our hotel room for breakfast this save alot of time and $. Even if I stayed off site I still would probably eat at the parks I dont find there prices to be too terribly expensive we live in a tourist area so we are use to it I guess. Plus I wouldn't want to give up park time to leave and go go eat to save a few dollars. Our sharing and food choices usually help us save alot if we don't do any sit down dinners we can eat for under $400 for a week snacks included.

 

[ddean1968]

All amazing tips, very glad I posted for help

 

[jkc0325]

Another thing that saved me tons of money and tons of tears was to take pictures of my 3yo and 5 yo with all the things they wanted to buy. When they'd ask for a stuffed animal or a silly hat, I'd tell them we didn't have room in the luggage but I'd take a picture of them holding it so they could remember it always. It worked like a charm!!!

 

[leebee]

Glow sticks! These are very big in the parks at the after-dark shows (MSEP, parade, Fantasmic, etc) and cost an arm and a leg at WDW. I go to Dollar Tree and get a tube of 10 glow bracelets, with connectors, for $1. (Actually, I get several tubes ) We connect these to make necklaces or just wear them as bracelets in the evening. Serves several purposes, foremost being FUN, but also: Stops kids from asking to buy Disney glow stuff, makes kids easier to locate/keep track of in the dark, and if you share them with the folks sitting around you, it's a good way for your kids to make friends while waiting an hour for a parade/show to start. I use them as bathroom night-lights also, hanging a bracelet around the outer (to help you find the bathroom) and inner (so you don't have to turn on the lights) doorknobs.

Pin trading? We don't do it. We decided this is "stand around" time that we'd rather spend DOING something, even if it's standing in a queue for a ride. Also, what do you do with all those pins once you are home? Hang them on the wall? If they are on a backpack, they fall off. DD has a pin hat which is a nice souvenir, but too heavy to wear comfortable, and the pin backings tangle in her hair.

Character meals. Not sure these are such a good deal anymore as the prices are pretty high, but remember that you are paying for the experience as well as the meal. When our kids were "into" the characters, we decided this is a "cheap" way for your kids to meet 4 or more characters at one time, get an autograph, and get a picture. We have found that waiting in line for just one character interaction eats up about 30 minutes, give or take. If you are sitting down for a meal anyhow, you might as well take advantage of simultaneously seeing the characters and avoid their lines out in the park... because at Disney, TIME = MONEY!

Car rental- use the mousesavers tips to stack codes and coupons.
Park passes- cheaper from Undercover tourist or officialticketcenter.com than buying from Disney. UT and OTC often do free shipping and the prices you see online include tax. Disney online prices do NOT include tax!

General Tips:
>Eat breakfast in your condo, or in the car while driving to the parks. We get yogurt, juice boxes, muffins, etc. from PUBLIX (NOT Goodings!) and keep them in the room.
>Take your own snacks into the parks but remember that chocolate melts, stuff gets sticky in the heat, and bananas bruise. We take in granola bars without chocolate, gummy snacks, fruit cups.
>Take your own water into the parks. If you have a freezer, half-fill water bottles the night before and freeze. Top them up with fresh water before leaving in the morning. Put the bottles in gallon sized zip-top baggies so they don't leak in your pack. The ice will melt during the day, keeping your drink cold and creating more liquid to drink. (doesn't work so well with flavored waters like fruit2O as the flavor tends to stay in the unfrozen part)
> It's been said before, but if you buy counter service meals, SPLIT them, especially at lunch. There really is enough food, and this leaves extra cash for Mickey bars and Dole whips!
>DON"T overbuy food for your condo/hotel. We fall into this trap all the time, thinking we'll want a snack or adult beverage in the evening. Honestly, after a day in a theme park, we just want to go to bed!
>While you are at the Dollar Store, pick up a microfiber towel or ShamWOW (they are over in the cleaning section or bathroom section). You will use this to dry seats at water rides (splash mtn, kali river rapids) or wet benches (rain?). It takes up minimal space and is really handy.
>Ponchos. Buy 'em, take 'em. Dollar Store ponchos are cheap and flimsy, but if you are going during a "dry" time of year, they work well. Keep them in a ziplock bag so if you have to wear one to keep dry, you can stuff them back in the bag to keep the inside of your backpack dry. I dry them with a towel back in the room and hang them to dry overnight. Flimsy ponchos don't always hold up; some people buy several per person and just throw them out. We have Disney ponchos (I've had mine for over 10 years) so we don't throw them out, obviously!
>Mister fans are annoying. They are heavy to carry around, and oftentimes leak. They also tend to spray on those who are standing in lines near you. We have had great success with the hand-held fans, also from Dollar Tree. If it's really hot (July/August) and you have a freezer, make frozen wash cloths. Wet a washcloth at night and fold it to fit into a ziplock sandwich bag. Freeze overnight, then stick in sandwich bags in the morning. (I put the baggies into an insulated fabric lunch pack that I got from Dollar Tree, too) These stay uber cold until midafternoon and are GREAT for cooling off with! You can even wet them while in the parks and reuse, but the frozen ones are just SO COOL and REFRESHING!

 

[AJ1983]

Another thing that saved me tons of money and tons of tears was to take pictures of my 3yo and 5 yo with all the things they wanted to buy. When they'd ask for a stuffed animal or a silly hat, I'd tell them we didn't have room in the luggage but I'd take a picture of them holding it so they could remember it always. It worked like a charm!!!

I am going to use this tip myself when we go in May! I always see lots of cool/funny hats/tshirts or trinkets, or cute stuffed toys, that I just have no use for, or its too expensive, but the picture itself would be a memory.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Undercover Tourist has the best ticket prices.

You can ask for free cups of water inside the parks.

Take your own snacks into the park.

Eat breakfast which is usually cheap and filling, at about 10:45 a.m and it will keep you full through late lunch hours then eat lunch late and pay the lunch prices then have a lite cheaper dinner.

Earl of sandwich is pretty affordable. We order one sandwich to split and two bowls of soup. Soup is $2.00.

Wetzel pretzel dogs are filling and cheap. $2.50 for a pretzel dog.

BCV has a great breakfast sandwich on sourdough bread (egg, cheese, bacon), that we had last week. It is big enough that it takes two hands to eat and comes with a side of hashbrown casserole for $6.95. I did not eat lunch that day it kept me full for awhile.

Renting a car and eating off property can a lot of $$.

If you are looking for a quick cheap lunch try the Hess station by the MK enterence. They have a nice cafe area with plenty of seating and the menu options are 2 hotdogs for $2.00/ grilled chicken sandwhiches/ subs sandwich/ mexican items/ pizza by the slice and whole one for $8.00 - the pizza is good. Our lunch last week was 4 hotdogs, a bag of combo's 2 bottles of pop for $7.35

 

[ForMyBoys]

Another thing that saved me tons of money and tons of tears was to take pictures of my 3yo and 5 yo with all the things they wanted to buy. When they'd ask for a stuffed animal or a silly hat, I'd tell them we didn't have room in the luggage but I'd take a picture of them holding it so they could remember it always. It worked like a charm!!!

Great tip!!

 

[RadGirl]

I'm subscribing! Great thread!

 

[ddean1968]

everyone has had some amazing tips, thank you all very much

 

[PrincessMom4]

Not sure if this tip follows in this category, but its a good one. Bring your own water bottles and ponchos.

 

[mom2jcg]

Not sure if this tip follows in this category, but its a good one. Bring your own water bottles and ponchos.

I bring Brita water bottles. You can fill them from the water fountain and the filter takes out the sulfur taste. Bring them empty and they don't make your backpack heavy!

 

[dvc at last !]

UndercoverTourist does have the best prices, but wanted to alert you that they are noting that Disney ticket prices are due to increase in the near future. You do get the MouseSavers Newsletter? If not, sign up for it and you get a little more discount when purchasing Disney tickets thru a special link to UndercoverTourist.

Enjoy your trip!

If you ever think you are going to WDW again -
I suggest buying the 10 day NON-expiring admission tickets.
We did use Undercover Tourist had them in a few days.
You can purchase them as hoppers or one park-one day.
Even though they are a lot of money up front - they will be good forever.
Esp. if you do not go often enough to get an annual pass.
We have purchased the 10 day non-expiring passes a few times.
When you see the increased cost in the tickets each year
you will be glad you did.
Have a great vaca !