Dining options and ticket discounts???

[rjthkids]

My husband and I went to Disney world for the first time two years ago. He is military and they were running a great promotion, we got 50% off our room and a five day pass for the parks at like 50.00 each or something ridiculous. We liked it so much we bought membership into DVC!

This is our first trip back and I am trying to make sense of our options for saving money. Does anyone know whether or not the military discount offered by Shades of Green is a good one, or is there a place that gives a better discount? I can't really figure it out.

Also, in regards to dining...we have a full kitchen so we plan on cooking a lot of meals ourselves, but does Disney ever give discounts at its restaurants? Are there any ways to save money on dining at Disney World? Are there dining packages we could buy at DVC members?

TIA

 

[pamluvsdisney]

Welcome to the Budget Board. You are in the right place. I don't know anything about DVC, but by looking at the posts on this board you will find ways to say on meals at DIsney. Like splitting meals, buying a double cheeseburger meal and buy an extra bun for like 80 cents & make 2 cheese burgers. Ask for water instead of buying beverages. Etc.

These are only a few ideas. keep watching and/or search the forum.

I hope someone who knows something about DVC can help answer your questions. I just wanted to give this a BUMP to the top of the list for you.
Pam

 

[Ellester]

I would post over on the DVC board as well. I know there is some kind of dining discount with DVC membership, but I don't know the particulars. I think there is also a hefty discount on annual passes for DVC. I don't know what Shades of Green passes are going for these days. I would check over at Mousesavers.com and see what kind of tickets you can get through Ticketmania or another discount ticketer and see how they compare to SoG's prices. Good luck!

 

[EthansMom]

There is a significant discount on Annual Passes for DVC members ($100 off per adult AP). See here: http://allearsnet.com/pl/apass.htm#dvcapfaq. If you prepurchase the annual passes, you then qualify to spend $50 purchasing a Disney Dining Experience (DDE) card which entitles you to a 20% discount at many table service restaurants in WDW. However, you can get a 10% discount at many of those restaurants with just an AP, so you need to judge whether a DDE is worth the $50.

Also, as a member of the armed forces, your DH qualifies for the discounted tickets that are available from SOG. Also, check your base Recreation office -- when I worked as a civilian contractor on base 5 years ago, military discounted tickets could be purchased at the rec office. Tickets with the military discount require the service member to show a military i.d.

Check the prices on the two different tickets (AP with DVC discount vs. Military Discount on MYW tix) to see which will work best for you.

 

[kwalliha]

Does anyone know whether or not the military discount offered by Shades of Green is a good one, or is there a place that gives a better discount? I can't really figure it out.

Hey there....In October, DH is coming home for his 15 day R&R from Iraq and we are heading to DW. I've been researching ticket prices and have found that the tickets sold at SOG really are the best prices. Most places were between $5-10/ticket more. I checked, probably 10 different discounters. The one place that I found which beat the SOG price by a mere $1, charged tax and shipping in addition to the base price. SOG prices posted at http://www.army.mil/cfsc/documents/shades/attractiontickets3.htm are the total price. Apparently they are tax-exempt. The only hitch is that you have to be at SOG in person to purchase the tickets.

As an aside, I also found that I could get a pretty good deal on a rental by being a member of USAA. I got a full-size Alamo rental for 8 days for $173, taxes and fees included. I guess the Army decided to negotiate some decent discounts to make up for the substandard wages they pay. Anyway, if you find a better ticket price than SOG is offering, please feel free to email me at kwalliha@butler.edu!

 

[lovewdwdvc]

I am so glad to hear that active military get good discounts. Military and their families are the best. A special thanks to your hubby for all that he is doing for our country. God speed.

 

[stm61]

I second the SOG ticket prices. We just returned and the stars and stripes passes, which used to be the length of stay passes, were the cheapest we found. I had to show id to buy but if the sponser isn't available a spouse or child with dependent id can buy them.

 

[crisi]

You'll need an AP to get the DDE. We found for our seven day trip, eating sitdown every single night, that one AP with the DVC discount plus the DDE put us just at break even with four people. Yesterday my husband announced he'll take his brother in the Spring - so now an AP becomes worth it for him.

DVC members currently cannot get a dining plan. There is hope for the next year. However, I'd anticipate any plans will be length of stay - therefore won't work for anyone who will cook a lot in the room.

DVC members get a few restaurant discounts, you can check the dvc member site for the current ones. Its usually 10%, you'll want your blue member card, and it isn't a lot of places nor is it all meals.