Few BUDGET tips...Living BIG at Disney without spending a fortune!

SandraC

Longs for the feeling of sandy salt water in her k
Joined
Oct 27, 2000
Hi, these tips will have you spending money but not as much as you might yet still enjoying the MAGIC of Disney!

(a) If you know you want your kids to have MICKEY EAR / MINNIE EAR hats, buy them at the Disney Store near your house. We bought dd hats at Disney on MAIN STREET USA MK for 50% more than priced at our Disney Store.

(b) Go to character BREAKFASTS instead of lunches or dinners. They are least expensive, great way to start the day and I find just as enjoyable (or more enjoyable) than character lunches or dinners.

(c) Find the BIGGEST McDonalds, I once read about the countries biggest McDonalds with the biggest playland is in Orlando, I will definately look for it during next trip in April. McDonalds prices BUT a GIANT PLAYLAND! YIPPY!

LOVE TO HEAR YOUR TIPS TOO!

SandraC, visit our Disney family web site www.angelfire.com/on/disneyfun
º0º
1975 - off site (11 years old),
1977 - off site (13 years old),
1987 - Indian Rock Shores (23 years old with hubby, b/f at the time),
1990 - Holiday Inn International Drive/Daytona Beach (26 years old, with hubby, six month after wedding),
1998 - KIDS VILLAGE, GIVE KIDS THE WORLD, Make-a-Wish trip with 4.5 year old daughter born ill),
2001 - CBR - ON SITE FIRST TIME! YIPPY! With dd 7 years old, ds 15 mo
 
Thanks for these tips Sandra! :)

<font face="comic sans ms"><font size=2><font color=blue>BethR
Budget BoardCo-Host
And Just ONE of the Beths...and a Dagny :D ... Hosting the Rewards Board

BethR@wdwinfo.com
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"Making a List and Checking it Twice"
 
When you eat out at the parks, ALWAYS order water for everyone. It's free, it's good for you, and you can tell the kids they can have soda when they get back to the hotel with their refillable mug. For a family of 5, we save more than $20 a day that way.
 
I saved the most money this year by booking ASM during free dining then paying the fee to upgrade from quick service to regular dining so character meals at Akershus, Cinderella's Royal Table, Ohana, Hollywood & Dine, and Tuskers became included. Before we had my daughter we would go during slow times and score a great deal on a hotel outside the gates, but by the time we paid for parking could almost book on-resort with the fall discount. Since coffee machines are often Keurig-style wherever we stay I carry a low-watt, sealed-burner hotplate in my luggage for heating water for tea, hot cocoa, instant oatmeal or reheating precooked bacon, sausage, and leftovers kept cold by filling the sink using free ice from the hotel machine, placing the goods on top, and covering it all with a hotel towel. Since we drive we buy a case of 24 bottles of water from Aldi for $1.99 and freeze some for the cooler in transit. We can refill them using free ice water from any QS restaurant then put them back in our pockets along with snacks for easy carry and storage while riding.
 


We tend to choose treats we can share--a dole whip, ice cream sandwich from the Plaza, an enormous candy apple, etc. In our family, we all seem to remember "I can't believe we had ice cream twice in one day, how awesome!" but not that we split a sundae in the AM and a dole whip at night. This might not work when the kids get older...
 
Hmm...sharing food, cooking in my room and staying in a Value Resort on *free* dining...they are certainly examples of vacationing cheaply. There's a big difference between "living large" and vacationing on a shoestring.

My idea of "living large" does not include sharing a low-fat dessert with my husband just because he hates chocolate and would never eat the decadent chocolate mousse. Or getting a Mickey bar to split two ways instead of a Dole Whip float because the kiddo hates pineapple. Nor does it involve sleeping 4 in a room with double beds and one bathroom. And it most certainly does not involve dragging cooking appliances in my luggage so that I can prepare food in the same space where I will be sleeping later or creating a makeshift cooler out of the bathroom sink and ice from the machine.

For me, "living large" would be staying in a GF room with a theme park view with turn down service and a spa (did it for $219/night last Dec.), eating and drinking for 20% off at pretty much any TS location or lounge and ordering only what I want instead of what a dining plan dictates and getting "free except for the tip" valet parking (TiW cards are wonderful), booking extras like a dessert party or Highway in the Sky and paying for it with GCs earned from rewards programs and having a DVC AP so that I don't worry about wasting a theme park admission from a ticket if I want to pop into Epcot for dinner and a ride on Soarin'.

BTW - The OP is from 16 years ago. Not sure why this thread was even bumped.
 
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I'm laughing too..... esp.now that every value room has a refrigerator:rotfl2:..and McDonalds NEVER = living large for me lol...... but to each their own!
 


We go bring our own glow sticks/ night time lighted toys. Check Walmart after 4th of July, the dollar store etc.--these are really cheap and marked up astronomically at Disney.

We are DVC owners and always get a unit with a kitchen. We eat most breakfasts and lunches in the room (grocery delivery at the start of our stay). Also, we bring wine and make our own cocktails. Without a kitchen, I'd still attempt in room breakfasts, just no bacon/eggs. I eat out a lot when not on vacation, and don't mind cooking simple meals at Disney (many do, which is understandable). We do splurge on getting a room with a view--I love sitting on my balcony in a 2BR villa drinking cheap boxed wine. :D Also, meals in is how we afford some nice meals out. We went to the chef's table at V&A and the chef counter at Napa Rose on our last two trips, which would have been out of our budget if we'd been eating out at all the other meals.
 
I remember staying at Polynesian about a year ago. Room next to us must have had a slow cooker on with what must have been beef stew. We thought it was coming from outside but the smell was even stronger in hallway. We went to park and came back after lunch for daughters nap. The smell was intense now. We called housekeeping. They came and entered room next door with security. They removed a slow cooker and rice cooker. They fumigated the hallway and moved us to another room.
 
Anyone who spends more than $1,000 per person for a week at Disney is a complete and total failure at living on a budget which is the theme of this thread. See the original post if you're confused about that. Those who want a good value on a luxury resort where they will actually be spending time instead of at a theme park won't be finding it at Disney. We'll be spending time at three expensive resorts, but going back to a value resort where each of us will have our own bed.
 
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I saved the most money this year by booking ASM during free dining then paying the fee to upgrade from quick service to regular dining so character meals at Akershus, Cinderella's Royal Table, Ohana, Hollywood & Dine, and Tuskers became included. Before we had my daughter we would go during slow times and score a great deal on a hotel outside the gates, but by the time we paid for parking could almost book on-resort with the fall discount. Since coffee machines are often Keurig-style wherever we stay I carry a low-watt, sealed-burner hotplate in my luggage for heating water for tea, hot cocoa, instant oatmeal or reheating precooked bacon, sausage, and leftovers kept cold by filling the sink using free ice from the hotel machine, placing the goods on top, and covering it all with a hotel towel. Since we drive we buy a case of 24 bottles of water from Aldi for $1.99 and freeze some for the cooler in transit. We can refill them using free ice water from any QS restaurant then put them back in our pockets along with snacks for easy carry and storage while riding.


Just wanted to add - you can brew water through a Keurig (without a K-Cup) and get hot water instead of dealing with the hotplate.
 
Anyone who spends more than $1,000 per person for a week at Disney is a complete and total failure at living on a budget which is the theme of this thread. See the original post if you're confused about that. Those who want a good value on a luxury resort where they will actually be spending time instead of at a theme park won't be finding it at Disney. We'll be spending time at three expensive resorts, but going back to a value resort where each of us will have our own bed.
I think you must be confused because the OP doesn't say anything to that effect. If you want to stay in a Value Resort, make your meals on a hot plate (which is likely to be confiscated because they are a fire hazard) and create a makeshift cooler out of your bathroom sink, then that's just peachy for you. But don't confuse that with "living BIG" on a budget because it's not. It's staying at Disney on a shoestring but there's nothing BIG about it.
 
Everyone has their own things that they value and that is going to play into what you spend money on. And we all have different vacation budgets.

Just wanted to mention that we checked out that biggest McDonalds one time. I mean it's OK, but I'd recommend keeping expectations low or you may be disappointed. We've been to many other McDonald's that were much nicer, less dated, and more fun. Sure check it out, but keep expectations down. I guess I should say that we go to Orlando frequently and haven't done any repeat trips back, and we like McDonalds.
 

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