Help for a Needie newbie

[BradyBz12]

For meals consider sit down lunches as that saves you money.

This is especially true at the DTD restaurants!

Try to stay away from purchasing the items at the Trading post because the groceries do have disney prices.

I'd add to also steer clear of Goodings - especially the one at Crossroads. Far better to drive a bit further away to a Publix or Walmart for "normal" prices. Goodings is outrageous and the selection isn't very good either.

If you have a car, there's a WalMart supercenter about 10 mins outside of DTD on Palm Parkway, and if you follow that a little further up, there's a great Whole Foods market too.

Have a wonderful trip!

 

[chartle]

Adding a few things to what others have said.

Do the parks let you bring in sealed drinks etc?

Yes we took two backpacks and in each backpack we had a small lunchbox type cooler that each held about 5 or 6 bottles of water.

are there any promos for the campground ever? we'll be going off-peak.

Others have asked and there has never been any promos for campsites. No 4/3 deal or free fall dining plan. Some people get good rates with AAA and other discounts.

should we do 2 disney parks or go to seaworld? if 2 disney parks then is it cheaper to buy both days at once? i will have 1 day free. (my b-day)

It sounds like you are only going to have two days for parks. Adding a second day is about the price of a one day ticket, after 4 days adding a day is only like $3-5. Its up to you on what you and your family are interested in. There is a Seaworld forun here.

a strictly camping question. we have one of those 7 day coolers. should i freeze the hot dogs and burger patties though? i have never camped in roasting temperatures before and I do not know how the cooler will preform.

The following is my tips for camping.

• Freeze as much as you can, consider it extra ice.
• We never take raw meat with us. The burgers start to bleed and there's a risk of contaminating everything in your cooler.
  • If you have to have burgers get a seal-a-meal. it seals up the food great with less chance of leakage. Bring meat mostly frozen and use it the first meal.
  • We take everything we can precooked. We get precooked bacon, sausage and waffles even pancakes for breakfast. Besides it not being raw its great for cleanup. Getting rid of bacon grease is the worst. And cleaning up after pancakes without real running hot water is a pain.
  • Tacos is one of the meals we always take because the meat can be precooked and the bread is tortillas that can't be squished.
  • Particularly for breakfast we portion out each days bacon and sausage and seal-a-meal it. This keeps from having to reseal anything.

• Also its most likely going to rain every day. Be prepared.

One last thing, have you tried out all your new stuff. Its better to get the bugs out in the backyard or a local campground before you are 2000 miles away and looking for a hotel.

 

[geishagirl81]

great tips. thanks. we have a lot of meat from Omaha Steaks (we got a ginormous shipment as a gift) so it will be vaccumed sealed, but we also have a Food Saver, so I can seal whatever whenever. Yeah, I plan on having a one night camp out in the backyard before we go. I want to make sure we can get the tent up (It is large, sleeps 10), the air matresses have no holes, and that I can figure out the new propane stove and perculator. (No coffee will kill me, even if it is 100 degrees out).
I plan on getting as many goceries as feasable here at home. We have cheaper prices if I remember from my last Florida trip. I thought about the BisQuick pancake mix in the jar. Just oss it when you're doen. No clean up!

To the person who mentioned an air conditioner- do they make special ones or do ppl just throw a small window unit in the tent??? The idea never occurred to me before.

Is Downtown Disney fun? We will be there for 6 days. 2 in the parks, 1 at Kennedy Space Port, so 3 to wonder around aimlessly. Looking for non admission things to do. I like to camp, but this will be my longest trip ever and I am busy body. I can't stick around relaxing for too long, lol!

 

[sapdaddy]

One of the things my youngest DS7 thought was great was just riding the free Disney transportation. Between the boat, monorail, and buses we had a blast for one afternoon.

 

[geishagirl81]

thanks. i remember the monorails as a kid and will be taking my son on them. the boat ride to MK sounds fun too.

About the campground sites. Can you request a location? And are the partial hook-ups really far from bathrooms and the transportation system? If so, would it be worth it to pay for a full hook-up site even though we wouldn't need it. I am just concerned about access to showers and potties with a toddler in tow.


Thanks everyone for answering my questions. You have all been very kind.

 

[chartle]

great tips. thanks. we have a lot of meat from Omaha Steaks (we got a ginormous shipment as a gift) so it will be vaccumed sealed, but we also have a Food Saver, so I can seal whatever whenever. Yeah, I plan on having a one night camp out in the backyard before we go. I want to make sure we can get the tent up (It is large, sleeps 10), the air matresses have no holes, and that I can figure out the new propane stove and perculator. (No coffee will kill me, even if it is 100 degrees out).
I plan on getting as many goceries as feasable here at home. We have cheaper prices if I remember from my last Florida trip. I thought about the BisQuick pancake mix in the jar. Just oss it when you're doen. No clean up!!

That's the only way to go. Its just you buy a lot of air with those bottles. Since I'm the only one who drinks coffee we don't take a perc I use one of these.

https://shop.melitta.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=64+007&Cat=

https://shop.melitta.com/images/p743.jpg

To the person who mentioned an air conditioner- do they make special ones or do ppl just throw a small window unit in the tent??? The idea never occurred to me before.!

Use a portable one or this...

http://outdooradvantageconnection.com/index.html

Is Downtown Disney fun? We will be there for 6 days. 2 in the parks, 1 at Kennedy Space Port, so 3 to wonder around aimlessly. Looking for non admission things to do. I like to camp, but this will be my longest trip ever and I am busy body. I can't stick around relaxing for too long, lol!

For you, DTD is only good if you like to shop and not buy anything. Its all stores and restaurants. Though some of the stores are great just to visit like the Lego Store.

Something else free to do is take the transportation to some or all of the resorts. It will show you how to get around for future visits and where else you may want to stay.

You could kind of make it a game by figuring out the most unique way to get somewhere with out taking a bus.

 

[2goofycampers]

Another $ saver is to take the single packets of flavored powder ask for a free cup of water and mix your own drink.

 

[geishagirl81]

Wow that boot thing is cool. My hubby works for Coca-Cola as a cooler/restaurant tech. I wonder if he'd be able to rig something up for our tent himself. We have a small window unit for my son's room since our central air doesn't cool his room well. hmm.... Although the tent we bought is one of those cabin types with good venting. Would that make it hard to cool?

The air conditioner idea is apealing to me. Being from the North, I will take cold over sickly hot anytime. Give me snow!

 

[geishagirl81]

Another $ saver is to take the single packets of flavored powder ask for a free cup of water and mix your own drink.

I was thinking of the Pedialyte powder packets they make now. When we were in Boston last summer it was 101 degrees. Miserable. We hit CVS every couple of hours to get us all some Pedialyte!

 

[kaguilbeau]

If you are truly on a budget - I'd skip HDDR or the Backyard BBQ and invest in another day at the park.

August will not only be hot, but humid - you might not get many hours out of your day due to being so drained by the heat & humidity.

Have a real nice time whatever you decide to do!

 

[geishagirl81]

Yupp, talked to dh last nite. we are skipping the meal shows. if we keep adding days to the parks, we may as well go for the buy 4 get 3 free promo! But I'd get the $79 Birthday Fun Card instead of a free day. What is that good for?

 

[2goofycampers]

G'mornin' Denise!!!

Good Afternoon Rog !!!

 

[chartle]

Wow that boot thing is cool. My hubby works for Coca-Cola as a cooler/restaurant tech. I wonder if he'd be able to rig something up for our tent himself. We have a small window unit for my son's room since our central air doesn't cool his room well. hmm.... Although the tent we bought is one of those cabin types with good venting. Would that make it hard to cool?

The air conditioner idea is apealing to me. Being from the North, I will take cold over sickly hot anytime. Give me snow!

You need to be more of a seamstress. If you look at their directions its a fabric boot that you attach to the side of your tent. After you cut a hole in it.

Your husband would probably what to create some sort of split system so the hole in your tent would be smaller.

Something like this would work.

http://www.ductlessdepot.net/product_details-type-2-2-257.html

 

[geishagirl81]

thanks chartle. i will have my dh take a look at all the info you've shared. we does heating/cooling on the side, so i am hoping that he can come up with a system.

 

[chartle]

Yupp, talked to dh last nite. we are skipping the meal shows. if we keep adding days to the parks, we may as well go for the buy 4 get 3 free promo! But I'd get the $79 Birthday Fun Card instead of a free day. What is that good for?

Mostly any merchandise from a Disney store on property. Some stores in Epcot and most at DTD do not take this card.

Here is the info from the Ticket Sticky

Birthday Fun Card

A birthday Fun Card is an option worth the value of a one-day, one-park pass, not including tax. It is valid that day only and for merchandise only. It is only valid in stores owned and operated by Disney; it cannot be used in any operating participant locations.

It can be used for PhotoPass on-site services and for tours that accept payment on the date of the tour (such as Behind the Seeds).

It cannot be applied to a hotel bill, to any food or beverages, cigarettes, or personal services. Most of the stores in Downtown Disney and on The Boardwalk are operating participant locations and cannot be used. Also it is specifically not valid in the Epcot stores at the China, Japan and Morocco pavilions.

It will not be replaced if lost, stolen or damaged. It cannot be used for the purchase of Disney Dollars or Gift Certificates.

Any unused value on the card will expire at Midnight of the day of issue.

Note: There has been some disagreement on whether the card is only good on your Birthday.

Oh sorry you can't do the 4/3 for a campsite..

 

[chartle]

thanks chartle. i will have my dh take a look at all the info you've shared. we does heating/cooling on the side, so i am hoping that he can come up with a system.

I kind of put that in as a joke. Its costs like $6,000.

 

[geishagirl81]

well then you must have figured that my eyes glazed over with boredom at the sight of a/c parts, lol! same thing as when my dh insists on pulling me into autozone thanks for your help though.

 

[geishagirl81]

Oh sorry you can't do the 4/3 for a campsite..



I saw the tickets for sale on undercover tourist. 7 day passes were like $228.

 

[Grumpy92]

There are two partial hook up loops 1500 & 2000. They offer electric & water hook ups only. The walk to the confort stations is very short in both of these loops.
Have you thought about ordering the free travel planning dvd? It gives a nice overview.
I am going to second the heat of August. I am a native so it really doesnt bother me but I have heard from other guest and they have the hardest time with the temps in July & August. This tends to be our hotest and most humid months. So definitely try to work something out with fans or ac. The water/fan mister is great when filled with ice water.
DTD is shops and restaurants, wonderful place to walk around. Go for the free dessert at Giradellis chocolate shop. They hand out pieces of chocolate in the evening.
A couple other things in the evening, check out Bob in the lounge at POR. He is great and it is family entertainment. POR has a great foodcourt if you want to eat out on a budget price. AKL also has a campfire storytelling session in the evening you might enjoy it, again its a freebie.

 

[Shan-man]

Another $ saver is to take the single packets of flavored powder ask for a free cup of water and mix your own drink.

Or, take your flask to ClubCool and make your own free mixed drinks!