DVC trip on a tight budget

[LeahA]

I personally don't like the DDP. This past year we needed to save money on our sit down dinners. We usually have 1 sit down dinner per night and we usually eat breakfast in our room. Lunch is a toss up between a light meal for the kids in the room, or a snack in the parks.

To save money this past trip instead of eating 8 sit down meals we did 4 sit down meals and 4 counter service meals. We had breakfast in our room. We brought with mac and cheese and pb&j for a quick lunch in the room on the days we went to the park late. One night we were so tired we got frozen pizzas from the store and that was dinner.

It doesn't have to be all or nothing. If you are going for 6 nights maybe pick your favorite sit down's for 3 nights. If you want a Dole Whip or other snack or fruity drink, limit those too. Pick what you really want to do and then do it!

Good Luck!

 

[TravelingJen24]

We never have the option of bring food because we have to fly, but I would suggest bringing as much food as possible rather than shopping when you get there. The grocery stores around the resort are in our experience so much more expensive then what we are used to.

 

[Dean]

Hi all..I'm trying to avoid cancelling our Sept trip. If we get to go we will be on a tight budget. We're having a horrible year and I've never had to do a WDW trip on a budget. I already have annual passes so I won't need to buy tickets. This trip will mean no DP for us. No fruitty drinks by the pool (unless I make my own) No Dole Whips, and other things I really enjoy each trip. I know many DVC members don't do the DP and cook meals. But we love to eat out and TS meals are a big part of our vacation. Has anyone ever gone from getting the DP every trip to only eating in the villa and cooking? How did this work out? Thanks

You've got a lot of responses so I'm sure this is nothing new. You can have a great trip by eating most meals in the room. You can make sandwiches and take them into the parks, even drinks and coolers are generally allowed. Cooking and grilling are great ways to save money and can be fun in their own right. There are also ways to save money eating out. Obviously some restaurants are more expensive than others so the choice matters. Sharing is a great way to both save money. Some of the counter service options have large meals that are suited for sharing and you save the tip as well as generally having lower priced meals. I know mousesavers have an entire page devoted to such matters, some as extreme as getting a double patty burger and an extra bun to get two burgers for barely more than one. As for drinks, they have blenders and I often make smoothies for my wife and daughter.

It's been a while since we've done this at WDW but we've done it other places for slightly different reasons. We do a family trip at least EOY and we generally just hang out, cook, grill, eat, etc. We do this partly just to spend time together but also because some have less means than others and partly because it's far more complicated with larger groups.

 

[Rest&Relax]

We have never been a big fan of DDP. Eating a TS late lunch instead of dinner can save money and eating breakfast at the resort before heading out to the park can save you a lot of money. You can start planning your meals now so you know what to buy and what TS meal you would like to splurge on. Don't forget to take a brita water filter instead of buying water all the time. I keep a gallon jug in the refrigerator then just keep filling it up.

 

[disneyfreak2127]

There are grills you can use-hot dogs and hamburgers one night? A half of a spiral ham is less than $20.00 and with salad/corn and rolls you'll have dinner and enough for sandwiches by the pool the next day. Bring/buy your own bottle of wine and popcorn to enjoy on your balcony. You still have several weeks before your trip-is there time to save for one night out so you have a special occasion to look forward to? I know it isn't the trip you'd planned, but your giving your mother some special memories and hopefully you'll look back and remember it as a fun vacation.

We have never in our many trips used or even looked for a grill to use. Does anyone know if BCV has grills? All this talk about grilled chicken /Caesar salad sounds like a great idea for a non-park meal!

 

[mjc2003]

We have never in our many trips used or even looked for a grill to use. Does anyone know if BCV has grills? All this talk about grilled chicken /Caesar salad sounds like a great idea for a non-park meal!

They are on the walkway across from the quiet pool, in the dunes. The walkway that exits near the hot tub. I have seen them, never used them. Looks like a neat spot, actually. We plan to use them our next time there.

 

[Tauwillow]

We're doing a budget trip in 2013. Like you, we'll have our annual passes so we're trying to stretch our pennies everywhere we can.

I plan to pre-freeze several crock pot meals (you can google OMAC to find a number of recipes) and bring them along in a cooler. I want to eat well, without having to do a lot of intensive cooking while I'm there.

So we'll have breakfast at the resort, easy packable lunches for while we're in the parks with lemonade in our thermoses, and a hot meal in the crockpot when we come back to our rooms. How nice is that?!

It can also save on your food budget if you prepare and freeze meals a little at a time leading up to your trip. We have a foodsaver system, but ziplock has some nice cheaper vacuum bags now too.

Im actually really looking forward to it. (and our previous trips were DDxP!)

 

[DE_Chris]

Its easy to do DVC on a budget if you have a car. We've had a couple of tight years in 2010 and 2011. We had passes, so food was the big expense. We did a couple of TS (late lunch/early dinners) at Epcot for cash and a couple of b'fast buffets; the rest we cooked. We also brought our own water bottles and snacks into the parks with no problem.

Chris from DE

 

[w84no1]

Don't forget restaurant.com. You can get certificates for a Character dinner at Garden Grove or a steak at Shula's and other ones @ the Swan & Dolphin.

We had a character meal at Garden Grove and I liked it better than any of the other buffets I had at Disney. It wasn't as crowded as other Character meals we had, either.

I can't comment on any of the other restaurants at the S&D, as I have not eaten at any of the others. But just wanted to give you some other options.