Budgetting Do's and Don't at the World

[dismom2-3]

That is probably the best idea so far. I have seen people post on these boards that they lost their memory card...never to see those pics again. I will always have my name address phone number as my first photo. You win for best idea!!

For safety's sake, just a cell phone number please! Yes you are in a magical place, but someone knowing you are not home, and having your address, as crazy as it seems, does not seem safe to me! You could come home to more than a camera missing!

 

[piglet33]

You no longer get wristbands but don't expect to walk onto attractions during EMH if you don't have a room key. They check for them just like they would check for FastPasses at the FP Return Entrance. I was at WDW in early Jan. and there wasn't a single time that I was not asked to show resort ID.

Why did they change from the wristbands? They were so much more convenient than having to pull your resort ID out of wherever you store it if you don't have it on a lanyard. I'm sure they have a reason.

 

[lilmissie]

This is a great thread. We are planning our first trip in October and it's so nice to see all these do's and don'ts a lot of it is stuff I would have never thought of.

 

[smiller]

Why did they change from the wristbands? They were so much more convenient than having to pull your resort ID out of wherever you store it if you don't have it on a lanyard. I'm sure they have a reason.

I'm not sure if this is completely right, but they don't have the cost/waste of the wristbands, they don't have to have CMs handing out wristbands, guests don't have to line up to get the wristbands, etc.

It seems to save time, money, and waste - and they'd have the CM at the ride checking for wristbands, anyhow, so now they just check KTTW cards instead.

 

[piglet33]

I'm not sure if this is completely right, but they don't have the cost/waste of the wristbands, they don't have to have CMs handing out wristbands, guests don't have to line up to get the wristbands, etc.

It seems to save time, money, and waste - and they'd have the CM at the ride checking for wristbands, anyhow, so now they just check KTTW cards instead.

This does make sense with all the cutbacks that everyone has been doing lately.

Thanks for the response.

 

[yeahdisney]

We do have an address stamp on our camera, cause frankly I've lost too many.
But what about taking a picture of the back of our disney tickets if case we lost them. I leave my paper copy in the safe in the room and I would have my camera normally with me so I could show the numbers to the CM to help.

 

[Aliceacc]

YOu could always post your work address, or the address of a relative or friend..

 

[torinsmom]

DO:

-go during value season and use discounts available to you, such as AAA, spending $60 on a membership can easily save you twice that much on a room.

-rent a car if you can get a good rate. It makes it much easier to get back to your room after the parks close.

-utilize the fastpass system. Get a FP as soon as possible and once that window begins, get another BEFORE using the first one; you don't have to wait until you use the first one.

-take a mid-day break, especially in summer. This will break up your day and give you more energy to stay at the parks until closing.

-ask for ice water at any CS restaurant or kiosk. It is FREE.

-share meals if possible

-get kids meals; noone cares, they are a lot cheaper, and they include a drink.

-get to the parks early; use EMH if you stay onsite, get there 30 min before official opening if not. You will get so much done before 10am!

-bring all medicine you could ever possibly need, as well as lots of sunscreen and bug spray



DON'T

-do the dining plan unless you really want to waste at least an hour of every day doing a table service meal

-sleep in; you will be faced with bigger crowds if you do.

-make kids ride rides they are frightened off(pet peeve) It is not only cruel to them, but also to the other people who have to listen to their screaming.

-save a spot in line for the other 8 people in your party.

Marsha

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Here is what I would consider a don't.

Don't take such a budget trip that you are so consumed with saving money that it is all you think about the whole time.
Do save enough money so that you can enjoy your trip even if it means cutting back om things like park hopping etc.

 

[Cinderella]

Am I reading this right - Disney are now charging $99 not to share your photos with others? If so, I would not use photopass in the future.

I have used refillable mugs more than once in the past but I stopped doing that and gave the mugs away to kids who lived nearby. I have to say though - the time we re-used the mugs - Disney was probably making a whole bunch of money out of us in other ways. I didn't see the original thread but i have to say that in the past i've noticed too many people are concerned about others ripping Disney off.

Believe me - if you complete your vacation and feel that you have come out way ahead of Disney, you're probably one of a very tiny percentage. And I like the Disney product - but they are there to squeeze every last penny out of you.

Lots of ways to save money though - as others have probably already said - you can ask for water at the counter service restaurants for free and there's also many water fountains.

Eating sitdown meals at lunchtime is usually cheaper and the lunch menu is often available until around 4.30pm.

Only use the Dining Plan if you're sure you'll use all your credits - otherwise, if you're an annual passholder, consider getting a Tables in Wonderland card.

Also, consider eating outside of Disney sometimes, especially if you're not even from the USA to begin with. There's lots of great choices and the restaurants are much cheaper outside of Walt Disney World.

Rent DVC points, or an offsite villa or apartment - you can eat breakfast at home, if you do this and if you take breaks in the afternoon, you can also save on lunch too.

 

[Beemitchcowski]

Do's

Get a AAA Diamond Parking pass if you are a AAA member (especially if you are offsite

Utilize the fast passes

Spend at least one day at either Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach...they are GREAT!

If you have young kids...pack up outfits for them in individual ziploc bags! It takes care of any guesswork of what they can wear that day!

Don't

Use a GAC unless you need it

Let anyone make you feel your vacation is any less "Disney" if you stay offsite!

 

[knittykat]

*rent a car and eat one meal per day off site. The savings will pay for the rental fee. It also gives you the freedom to run to a discount store for forgotten items, extra sunscreen, meds, inexpensive souvies, etc. Or, as our last trip, a trip to the ER....you just never know.

*I also bring dollar-store souvies, glow sticks, etc. for my DD.

*If you think your girl will want a princess dress, buy it at Target or even the Disney store before you go. They were about $20 at my local store but $65 for a similar dress in the park.

*If your girl is young, bring your own makeup and body glitter and do "BB Mom-tique" I put makeup on her and let her wear high heel sandals and she thought she was the fanciest girl in the park.

*Grab sandwiches at Quiznos or somewhere before you hit the parks (this works only if you're off site). Don't get lots of dressings or anything on them and don't get them toasted---and have a picnic.

*Get an "I'm celebrating" pin at the guest services in the MK (probably in the other parks too). It's free, and you can be celebrating anything you wish.

*Write your cell phone number on your child in ball point pen. No need for stickers, tattoos, wristbands, etc. Teach them to find a CM with a name pin in the event of a separation.

*Bring your stroller (I know it doesn't work for everyone, but we did and saved money). I bought a discounted MacLaren Volo from ebay, gate checked it free, and had it to use in the airport, shopping, etc. We'll use it at least one more Disney trip, then I have a stroller to pass on to a friend. I made back my investment in 4 days.

*Bring snacks in your bag for your kids; if nothing else it will determine whether they are actually hungry or just saw a Mickey Bar vendor

*If your kids are night-owlish like mine, go to the parks in the mid afternoon. Folks who got there early are leaving or going for dinner, the weather is cooler, and the parks are just so darn cool in the dark with the lights. While everyone else is lining up for the parades, you can ride the big rides with little to no lines.

*Buy an autograph book (or just a Disney themed notebook) before you go. I paid a dollar for mine and my daughter had the best time getting autographs and then drawing pics of the characters. Didn't have to spend whatever the parks are charging for books.

*Hit discount stores outside of the parks for great deals on Disney tees, pens, hats, mugs, magnets, etc. A few stops at Walgreens saved me tons of money and we all got to bring home a few souvies.

*Bring a change of clothes for your kiddo to any park where they might get completely soaked---otherwise you'll get roped into a fancy Ariel nightie at park prices

 

[dclfun]

I want to start a positive thread based on the recently closed thread started by rudetreehill.

My reasoning is this: as a newbie, I did not know the "Do's" and "Don'ts" of Disney Budgetting. I thinks this is a great opportunity to let all newbies know which budget tricks are acceptable and which are not and why.

For Example: Reusing Mugs - I did not know that reusing mugs was wrong. Before we went, I thought "Why not?", now I see. For $12.50 you get a great souvenier and you get all the refills you want throughout your trip (at your home resort). Since we went in hot and humid September, we easily got our monies worth within the first 3 days!! We even got DD one (even though we probably didn't have to) just so she could have the souvenier. I have already scoped out the new design and cannot wait to get the current one!

Another Example: Pool Hopping - seriously, I am not joking, in the book " The Everything Disneyworld" book (a very popular series of books - but the Disney one is not that great), the author (who states she is a former CM) say it is OK to pool hop, just do not get caught. I personally could not do this, I would feel so guilty. But aside from the guilt, I would not do this because that is simply not what we paid for.

So, my point of this thread is not to accuse people of stealing, not to judge people for what they do, but instead give example and reasons why you think this is wrong. This will allow all "newbies" and some veterans to make an educated and informed decision on what they are going to do.

So, that being said, here is my list of Budget Do's and Don'ts (some of this I already posted on the closed thread):

DO'S

• We like the freedom of renting a car and think this expense is worth while as we can freely move throughout the park, and see other sides of Orlando.
• We will always pay to stay on site as we like the closeness and convenience. We like that "Disney" feeling.
• We loved the dining plan and will continue to get this. It made eating out mindless and we got a lot for our money. For example we were able to have a character meal everyday - something we could not have afforded without the dining plan. We did share meals, but this was only because the portions were a lot larger than what we are used to here. And, in that same sense we did leave some CS meals behind. We could've gotten sandwiches, etc for the trip home, but we truly felt that we had gotten our money's worth and did not want to take advantage and order the remaining 6 meals at once.
• We will bring water and small snacks into the park. However, we always show them during bag checks and realize that someday this rule may change.

DON'Ts

• We will not celebrate a birthday if it is not why we are there. For our upcoming trip we are celbrating Faith starting Kindergarden and that is the truth. If we were to go at the end of November, I would then choose ONE day that we would consider Faith's Birthday party (no different then at home when her birthday is a Tuesday, but we have the party on Saturday.
• I will not ask my child to lie about their age, height, etc. Faith is proud of being 4 and to ask her to say she is not would not be teaching her anything. As for height - those restrictions (as frustrating as they are sometimes) are there for the safety of everyone on the ride - not just you and your child.
• We will not reuse mugs - think about the actual value of the mug, $12.50 for unlimited refils vs. $2.00 per drink, and you get to keep the mug. It only takes 6 drinks to make this worthwhile (and you get to keep the mug).
• We will not participate in things we did not pay for. Again I want Faith to grow up knowing that we did not "cheat" the system, so we will not pool hop, etc, or take advantage of resort offerings that are not at our home resort. If however we can pay to participate we will (say there was a $2 per person charge to check out another resort pool, hey why not, we may even stay there one day as a result).
• We will not photopass share, but it is not because of Disney rules (I did not even know that there was rules). It is because I would not want to share photos of my child with complete strangers who will have access to printing and posting those photos freely. This just does not sit well with me.

Questions

On my previous post in the closed thread, I had 2 questions. Thank you to d1gitman who said I was being to hard on myself, but I am interested in what others think of this.

• Fridge Swapping - is this taking money, etc away from Disney as they provide fridges for a charge? And, is this perhaps hindering what people are allowed to store in the future as us swappers are taking up storage in the resorts when the fridges are not in use? (FYI - I am in a swap, but I had never thought of it this way before and look forward to opinions).
• Renting ECV while pregnant - this is just for curiousity. If I get pregnant, I may not "need" one, but it would make my trip more enjoyable (especially at AK). Is this politically incorrect? Again, just looking for honest opinions.

Ok guys - lets keep this clean. What are your Do's and Don'ts with reasons? rememebr this is for educational purposes only, not for debate.

Thank you, and looking forward to the answers!!

I haven't read all the responses but wanted to chime in:

First, there are activities at resorts that are for ANY Disney resort Guest. This includes the campfire at Ft. Wilderness.

If you become pregnant and feel you would be able to enjoy your trip more by using an ECV, then there's no harm in doing so. You aren't hurting anyone by making yourself more comfortable.

I would not feel comfortable with the appliance swaps and having the CM's have to store and lift that heavy stuff....just not cool, IMO. Still, there are no Disney sanctions on these things so it's up to each person to decide. Same as I wouldn't do a photopass share. It's not what Disney intended and the prices seem to go up when they're not getting a desired profit.

I would not pool hop (except I am a DVC member and am allowed to hop at pools that are not restricted)- IMO this is for Guests who are paying to stay at their resort and they shouldn't have to fight for space with those who are not entitled. This includes my NOT having local friends/family over to share the pool with us when we are staying onsite.

I would also not lie about my child's age- the small amount I'm paying for our 3 year old to have his own pass is small in comparison with the life lesson he's learning that he's an honest person.

That's it....now I need to take some time and read what other's have shared. I tend not to judge others as people do have different ideas about what is cheating or pushing the envelope than others. It's only my place to do what I think is right with my family. Esp. when I'm on vacation I'm not interested in worrying about someone else's judgement calls.

 

[queenbetsey]

my tip is again to share those counter services. Especially in EPCOT. Our last trip was myself,dh,dd 16. By getting one CS and sharing it we sampled food from the different counter services in epcot. Great way to try new foods without the worry of having to pitch it if it wasn't something we liked. Also left us with full tummys but not too stuffed so we were comfortable and not sleepy. We were on the counter service dp and we did this a couple of times throughout the day. We would go to a place we really liked either at epcot or even Puck;s at dtd for a time when we all wanted a larger meal and had time to take the leftovers back to the room for later in the evening for a snack.
Pack less and do laundry there. I snag all the free samples throughout the year to pack in my checkon for laundry.
We also do laundry the day/evening before we leave so that when we get home we don't have a bunch of laundry to do right away. Just the last day's clothes.
We wash once mid trip and last day. works well for us and we have room for the stuff we aquire while there. That also leaves room for those snacks you will bring home from your snack credits.
Also I am a big fan of quickrewards.net. Takes a bit of time to get the hang of it but I manage to score at least 25.00 a month in Disney gc there. Also get gas cards (20 or so bucks) that money not put into my gas tank at home goes into the disney fund also.
I agree with all the tips here and used many. will definatly use the sponge one (wonder if you can do the same with a washcloth and liquid laundry soap?)
Invest in the unofficial guide to WDW. Get one for the year we go every time and have found it to be funny and accurate in its ratings. They are hard on the food ratings but accurate.
The more homework you do before you leave the better. You will save time and money.

 

[knittykat]

Re: laundry soap; I found these neat Purex 3 in 1 sheets. they look like a thick dryer sheet, and have the soap and the softener in them already. I put three of them in a plastic bag and put them in my carryon luggage (we don't check luggage). You just throw them in the wash with your clothes.

I know Tide makes a few different formats of portable detergent but we can't use Tide.

I love the sponge idea!

 

[pigletto]

Re: laundry soap; I found these neat Purex 3 in 1 sheets. they look like a thick dryer sheet, and have the soap and the softener in them already. I put three of them in a plastic bag and put them in my carryon luggage (we don't check luggage). You just throw them in the wash with your clothes.

I know Tide makes a few different formats of portable detergent but we can't use Tide.

I love the sponge idea!

We brought the Purex sheets last time as well. One tip though.. put them in several Ziploc bags! Ours were double bagged and I could still smell them through the suitcase! They don't smell bad.. just really really strong.

 

[WalkingintheFog]

This is (still!) a great thread!

 

[cookpr]

DO's:

Rent a car. I know this is probably against most, but for $175 - $200 you can get a car for a week and it allows several things. 1 - it allows you to avoid 1hr plus trips on buses. 2 - it gives you a little bit of flexibility if needed. 3 - and this is the big one, and probably more than pays for the car itself, it allows you to get to a grocery store/super wal-mart. Our family is content to eat nutrigrain bars, pop-tarts, granola, banana's, apples etc for breakfast, and the kids are more than content (as are we) to have PB&J's for lunch a couple days. In addition, eating a quick breakfast in your room allows you to sleep just a bit longer. We still manage to hit Kona Cafe and Crystal Palace for breakfast, but again, the car is more than paid for by having access to to grocery store. The time savings is simply an added bonus.

If you can afford it, stay at a resort that has some "locational" advantages. Places like the Contemporary, Polynesian, GrandFL, Wilderness Lodge, Swan, Doplhin, Beach Club, Boardwalk, etc all allow you to get to one (if not two parks) very quickly. In the case of some of the Epcot resorts, you can walk to Hollywood Studios and Epcot. To us, that is worth its weight in gold.


DON't:

Spend all day, every day at the parks. Come back for 2-3 hours to relax at pool, etc.

Sign up for dining if you are like us (have access to car, eat breakfast in your room). We had a pin code for free dining (but required us to book at rack rate for the rooms). We still passed as financially, the math still came out better for buying as we go. Another negative with the food plan is we simply can't eat that big of meals every day....its nice to eat lite some days, and when at WDW, on the dining plan, you will indulge. Its not very fun to put down a huge meal at Epcot, then be on Test Track an hour later.

Just my two cents

 

[melmathis]

Not really sure this is considered budget, but i would like to say because i have seen where others have posted about "meltdowns". each time we go to disney we see a child in line crying and a frazzled mom who has pushed the kids too much to have a good time and who starts being very ugly to the child by telling them to shut up or you are getting a spanking if you dont stop. try to remember children need down time to run and play. a child is supposed to be happy and have good memories of disney. sometimes we forget that something small said at inappropriate times stays with a child. so.. in order to get your moneys worth keep this in mind and just go with the flow. nothing is worse than letting small things ruin everything and then you will just wish you didnt go.
if your child likes having hair done like a princess consider the barber shop in magic kingdom, never tried this before, but i have read they will do your childs hair like the bbb boutique for $7 or 8 dollars.

 

[nobellybutton]

my own personal view is that ECV's are open to anyone, whether they have health related issues or are 100%. I personally wouldn't rent one for myself as I am perfectly capable of walking full time, but I don't think that there is anything wrong with renting one if I did want to. ECV's don't have any regulations requiring some level of disability to use them. just my opinion.

We can't judge people for using ECV's with my DD I would walk and faint, I couldn't last that long walking and if I had pre plan a WDW trip I wouldn't cancel I would rent an ECV, I am fairly young still 35 and know someone younger t than myself who suffers from knee problems and if you see her she looks "normal" but she can barely stand/move but people pass judgement whenever she uses ECV's @Walmart or target I feel so bad she has to defend her ailment she's a tough cookie but sometimes it's brings her to tears especially because it has happened in front of her 3yr old. I mean once a heavy set woman was upset because there weren't any ECV's left but, who is she to be nasty because she has to walk and didn't want too. My friend needed the ECV...venting.