Help us get our Disney trip Cheaper! Please!

[ashleyd725@hotmail.c]

I really want to go to Disney between Thanksgiving and Christmas I was thinking November 29th - December 4th.
I went onto Disney's website and this is what I was quoted: $1493.00
This is for the 5 nights at pop century, 6 day base tickets, and the quick service dining plan.
This does not include tickets for Mickey's Christmas party, gas from PA to FL, spending money, and hotel for on the way down and the way back (just in case we can't do the drive straight through like we are hoping for). So I was think another $1200 for all of that.

I do not have any pins I checked already, and I am def. not staying offsite, easier with the kids for us to be right there on property.

Can anyone think of any other ways to cut costs on the trip?

 

[ahecht]

Okay, I can see a few easy ways to save you money:

1. Book room-only, not a package. If you sign up with AAA, you can get 15% off your room, which should more than pay for your membership fee.

2. Buy your tickets from Undercover Tourist, not through a package. If you sign up for the MouseSavers.com newsletter at http://www.mousesavers.com/newsletter.html and wait for the next newsletter to come out, you get a secret link that will save you even more on tickets. Currently 6-day base tickets are $9-$10 off plus you get a free 7th day. When you compare prices, be aware that the prices on Disney's website don't include the 6.5% tax you'll pay, but Undercover Tourist's prices do. You can still have your tickets transferred to your room key when you check in.

3. Skip the meal plan. Unless you never plan on skipping a meal or snack, always plan on purchasing a soda and dessert with each meal, and never want to eat at a Table Service restaurant, you can save money by buying your own meals. An averate CS meal costs me $8 (I don't drink soda), an average snack $4, so on my own the two meals and two snacks would be just $24/day. Ordering water to drink at restaurants, bringing granola bars from home as snacks, and splitting meals can save you even more. On my last trip I ate 1/3 of my meals at Table Service places and still spent less than the $30/day the Quick Service Dining Plan would've cost. I have a whole bunch more money saving food tips I posted at http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=27484391&postcount=13

Finally, keep an eye on MouseSavers.com, because discount codes for rooms can appear at any time. When I went last year, Disney released a 40% off discount code a few months after I booked, and I was able to call and rebook at the cheaper rate.

 

[pyrxtc]

the best help would be to keep a close watch on the Disney site for any codes that might come out. Next, I would cut out the hotel both ways. We did it from NH last time and we will be doing it again in January. We had a family of 7 going down and it didn't cost us $1200 for anything. We spent about $700 for all the extra's. If it is really a budget trip, why not cut out the x-mas party ? That would save a lot.

 

[PinkRhombus]

My opinion...plan on staying off site either on the way down, or nearby where you check in later in the evening.

No use wasting a night of your package.

Use hotwire...stay cheap.

 

[brekin67]

Call Disney and ask the CM is you have any pins associated with your name. I have done that before and had pin codes that I had not received.

 

[jerseygirl81]

I have sent ahead a box with breakfast stuff ( cereal, poptarts bowls and spoons and snacks) so we could eat breakfast in our room it saves time and money in the morning. Our last trip to the Pop I brought a collapsable cooler instead of renting the fridge and we kept milk, OJ and water in there, we buy it at the Hess stations inside Disney. Bring snacks into the park and cut down on souveniers they seem important at the time, you can also buy some disney stuff ahead of time at the dollar store or Target or ebay for less. You could make a hotel ressie for your trip on the way down and back by shopping around ahead of time and possibly using a discount from AAA, you could ask on the dis and someone could steer you in the right direction for a decent affordable room, instead stopping last minute and then you could cancel if you feel up to driving through. But that would also mean you would arrive at Disney early. You could also take food and drinks for on the road to cut out stops and crummy, expensive fast food. And watch for discount codes for rooms. Have fun! Linda

 

[ceecee]

I agree with skipping the meal plan and since you're driving pack some snacks and water and bring it along. We seldom buy a snack per person per day and to cut down on soda, we usually share. We ordered water as our drink a lot of the time, you can only drink so much soda!

 

[cjnix29]

Also, you mention that you are buying 6 day tickets. I know the difference betwen days when you get that many is minimal, but multiplied by the number of people in your family could add up. Will you actually use all 6 days of the tickets? Also keep in mind that with the Christmas party, you will be able to get into MK before the party starts. Do you need a full day at another park the party day? Make this your day to go to DTD, or to hang out at the pool, then go to the party. If it is like MNSSHP, you can get in with your party tickets at 4. Stay the whole party, and you will need the morning to rest!

I totally agree on the dining plan. The only time we get it is if we go when it's free. You know your family better than anyone....but we do kids meals, or split adult CS at a lot of places. Plenty of food. Taking your own water is a huge deal too.

Also remember to keep your normal weekly budget in mind, as you spend that anyway, so it is not an above and beyond expense.

We always throw our spare change into a bank for my son. That is his spending money, and he has to stick to that amount for the whole trip. That has helped out a LOT with the "I wants".

Good luck to you! Hopefully you can manage it, and have a great time!

 

[ashleyd725@hotmail.c]

I might try doing the room alone and then the tickets from undercover tourist, but then will I be able to get the dining plan?
We never get the dining plan because we cannot do any table service meals, having a set schedule with reservations does not work for our family, DH likes to be able to have to freedom to eat when he is hungry and not have to wait and also if the kids get tired we want to be able to go back when we need to. We always take our own stuff and take coolers and all that, but with two lil ones now its just seems like more of a hassle, I just want to actually vacation without making meals lol....
We have never done the Christmas party and thought that it might be nice to do, this may be the only Christmas time trip we get to make, DH likes to go around Aprilish....

Our original plan was to take my dad with us because he is Active Duty Air Force, but we just found out that he will be in Iraq at that time, it had said on the website that the spouse can buy the discount military tickets if the Military person cannot be there, but they are divorced so even if she does go she can't get the tickets. That would have been a very nice savings.

 

[IDoDis]

No, you cannot get the dining plan if you buy the room and tickets separately.

Use Hotwire or Priceline to book your rooms for your drives to and from Disney. If you arrive at Disney in the evening, book a room for that night too, so you don't waste the money staying on site for just a few hours.

I used priceline to book a hotel for 2 nights in Orlando for our Sea World visit before we went to WDW and stayed on site. It was a decent hotel just 2 miles from Sea World. Our room was a suite for $33 per night that slept up to 6 people. The hotel had a nice pool, and a wonderful free breakfast. If you are unsure how to use these sites visit biddingfortravel.com or betterbidding.com to see the strategies. You can pretty much determine the hotel you're going to get based on the information other posters write about.

Also, if you are only doing the quick service meals, I'd skip the dining plan. There is no savings buying the quick service plan based on the prices Disney charges. Just pay OOP and share meals when you can. Order a free cup of water instead of buying drinks or share your drinks if the counter service place lets you refill your own cups.

 

[PolyndianPrincessJes]

I agree with most of the PPs. Forget the dining plan. Not much of a savings (if any), and if you're paying OOP, you don't have to worry about keeping track of credits, etc. That's a decent chunk of your quote right there.

 

[torinsmom]

I'd skip the meal plan too. You can still do table service meals; just check allears.net for menus, so you can price it out. I would suggest 2 character breakfasts; breakfasts are the cheapest. Also, just order ice water with meals and even when you are thirsty. They will give you free regular sized cups of ice water at any CS restaurant or kiosk. If you don't like the taste of water, just bring some of the little mixes to add in. You will save a lot of money doing this and you won't have to lug in bottled water. The same can be said for snacks; just bring them in your bag.

We also found that a kids meal was plenty for lunch for everyone in our party. You can get fries with it, or healthy choices. Comes with drink too, for several dollars less than an adult combo, which doesn't.

As a PP said, if you are arriving in the evening or leaving early in the morning, book your first/last night at an offsite hotel. For first night, just check in at your WDW hotel first thing next morning, and they will store your bags. For last night, check into your offsite hotel that morning and let then store your bags and you can then enjoy WDW and come back to your room in the evening. Priceline would be a good way to save money. I bid on a 3* in the Universal/Sea World Zone and got the Hyatt Place for $30/nt. That would be a lot cheaper than 1-2 extra nights at a MOderate.

Souvenirs---I would allow each child a certain amount of $. When its gone, its gone. Also, you can go to the Disney Outlet store at the Outlet mall to get souvenirs much cheaper.

Hope you have a great trip!

Marsha

 

[jomommy]

Have you considered flying?

There are 7 of us (6 who need tickets) and it's still cheaper than food, gas, hotels for the four days of travel (2 down and 2 back).

Plus, the major bonus is that you get to Disney World in a couple of hours as opposed to a couple of days!

If you really shop it, I bet you could find three tickets for under $500.

HTH!

 

[JerseyMamaBear]

avoid buying a park ticket during the day that you are going to mvmcp. this will give you a chance to relax for the long night and hit some of the hotels to see the xmas decorations.

 

[LovesTimone]

I agree with check out how many days you really need. We never get a tickets for the day we arrive or go home. Also If you are going to Mickey's Christmas party, that's another day you could save. You can sleep in, do a character meal, check out other hotels, DTD, or go shopping at one of the outlets near by. I would go to the Christmas party it really puts you in the mood and with kids I think its a must do.
Take water into the parks and refill at fountains and in some CS areas where you fill your own drinks, just look for the water tab. We have done this many times and CM have been helpful.

Bring a cooler, water, gatoraid, soda, juice and adult beverage if you enjoy them (big savings at the pool). Breakfast food whatever is simplest. breakfast cookies, poptarts, cereal. We always bring cheese, dips, chips, crackers, deli meat, olives, pickles ect.. We have a collapsible cooler for the pool. We always use it and it never fails someone always says great idea, bet you save money that way. We figured it out on day at the pool- at the pool bar a beer was 6.50 and a glass of wine 8.00. We would have had each 2 total 29.00 + tax and tip.
We brought a large bottle of wine (12.00) and a 12pk of beer (16.00) ( Sam Adams) for 28.00 + tax. We had enough adult drinks for the week instead of the price for one day.

I have a Disney box that I start working on as soon as we make the ressie. I make the list for what we need and start marking thing off as I put them in. That way I don't have a huge OOP before we leave. In the box shampoo, body wash, sunscreen, over the counter meds ect. We shop at Sams quite a bit and they all have something extra in the normal things we buy. If you have a Disney store near you pick up some clearance things for the ride down and back.

Hotels.com and price line have been good for some great deals. Check to see if you have any points with a Hotel brand to use toward rooms on the way to and from.

Buy glow necklaces at the dollar store, ponchos at Walmart or the dollar store. I found bottle holder lanyard at the dollar store worked great for the stroller. Also the spray bottle w/ the fan on clearance for 3.00 at Walmart.

I like the dinning plans even when my DD was little, It's nice to cool off and sit down, and have someone wait on you. It's a vacation, you could always do lunch sit downs if DH doesn't want to do evenings when the kids are tired. I like having the meals paid for in advance easier to budget the rest.

Have a great time..

 

[bkk2010]

OK - couldn't resist responding to this thread. Planning for Disney is almost as much fun as going! I am sure some of these things have been mentioned.

Ideas
*Yes on the Value Resorts - We loved it and it is worth every dime! POP for us.

*Packed over the shoulder small bags for the kids. Found these at garage or dollar stores. Everyday I would surprise them by packing Disney themed snacks - Cars crackers, princess gummies, Hannah Montana raisins (Wal Mart and Kroger were great for these)! Then I also put in a surprise - Disney pez dispensers, stickers, small bottles of bubbles for lines, etc. Very inexpensive and they loved looking in their bags every morning.

*Ate in our room every morning except when reservations (wouldn't necessarily do the TS again to save money).

*Bought Disney themed T shirts at garage sales, thrift stores or discount places so they had an outfit for everyday. I got some for as low as 25 cents and they looked great!

*Design your own Disney clothes. We made some awesome things - Mickey head pants, Princess jeans, etc. Bought jeans from thrift shop and then did them up!

*Counter service meals for kids under 10 can definitely be split! I don't know that I would pay for extra for that.

*We may try this this time - rent a locker and then put a collapsible cooler inside with sandwiches, chips, etc to have lunch on your own. Very big money saver!

*Bought a Disney themed digital camera for our daughter for her birthday - it comes with Disney software so you can put cute frames around the pic. She loved it and it costs $30! Fit perfectly inside her bag.

*Refillable water is great in the parks - there are water fountains everywhere. I bought one that filters - the water there doesn't taste good - and we shared one bottle. That was what my husband carried. It was $10 I think from CVS or Eckerd's.

*If little ones then take time to get Character autographs and you won't need the TS Character meals. Get a Mickey waffle on Main Street early one morning and then spend some time getting characters signatures. Saves a lot of money and just as yummy!

*Pack lunches for the ride down and put Disney movies on the portable DVD. That will make it fun for the kids and you on the long drive down. You will probably be too excited to sleep anyway!

*This is a biggie if you have a little girl - Bring lots of hairspray, glitter and colored spray - dollar store - and do your own princess hairstyles! Noone had said this to me and I was thinking while there how much fun my daughter would have had to do this even if it was just she and I!

*Have the kids save all their birthday money, chore money, etc and buy their own souvenirs. My kids had Disney Dollars we bought at the Disney store and that was it for them. They didn't get anything unless they paid for it out of those dollars. It was perfect. Really made them decide what was important. One went home with a huge Lego set and the other with Cinderella's castle because they felt it was worth it to save their money for that than to spend it on trinkets. Worked out perfectly! You could do the same with special snacks so that way they decide what is really important for them to have.

*Gas wise - it may not be as horrible as you think as it will be highway miles mostly which means better gas mileage. You won't even use your car once there - the transportation is great.

Your real savings are in your additional money you plan on spending. We made it clear to our kids that going was such a privilege that we had to work all year just to go. I have never seen so much change go into that bucket! It was such a great learning experience.

Hope it all works out for you. It is such an amazing vacation and worth it to find all the ways to make it possible without going into debt!

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Okay, I can see a few easy ways to save you money:

1. Book room-only, not a package. If you sign up with AAA, you can get 15% off your room, which should more than pay for your membership fee.

2. Buy your tickets from Undercover Tourist, not through a package. If you sign up for the MouseSavers.com newsletter at http://www.mousesavers.com/newsletter.html and wait for the next newsletter to come out, you get a secret link that will save you even more on tickets. Currently 6-day base tickets are $9-$10 off plus you get a free 7th day. When you compare prices, be aware that the prices on Disney's website don't include the 6.5% tax you'll pay, but Undercover Tourist's prices do. You can still have your tickets transferred to your room key when you check in.

3. Skip the meal plan. Unless you never plan on skipping a meal or snack, always plan on purchasing a soda and dessert with each meal, and never want to eat at a Table Service restaurant, you can save money by buying your own meals. An averate CS meal costs me $8 (I don't drink soda), an average snack $4, so on my own the two meals and two snacks would be just $24/day. Ordering water to drink at restaurants, bringing granola bars from home as snacks, and splitting meals can save you even more. On my last trip I ate 1/3 of my meals at Table Service places and still spent less than the $30/day the Quick Service Dining Plan would've cost. I have a whole bunch more money saving food tips I posted at http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=27484391&postcount=13

Finally, keep an eye on MouseSavers.com, because discount codes for rooms can appear at any time. When I went last year, Disney released a 40% off discount code a few months after I booked, and I was able to call and rebook at the cheaper rate.

I totally agree!
I especially agree that we only do the dining plan if it's free. We've done it once free, then another time we paid for it... and both times were stuffed to the gills and spent a lot of our vacation time getting to/from all the places to EAT. Unless you're a big foody and/or like to eat constantly- the meal plan isn't worth it unless it's free.
For instance on our last trip we spent from $31-35 at every counter service meal FOR ALL FIVE OF US. Yes, that's right... we shared some plates/etc. and we were all full afterwards. We rarely bought soda- I will say that... we mostly drank water but we feel we need to drink more water while on vacation anyway since we don't drink as much water (while on vacation) as we do at home! So we're always trying to find ways to "try" to drink more water on vacation. So without sodas- everywhere we went (all 4 parks and blizzard beach) that is how much we paid for counter service meals for a family of 5 (me/not huge eater, husband/15yr old DD/11yr old DS/almost 9yr old BIG eaters). And no one left any meal hungry.

(ps. yes I'm a planner and yes I looked online at menus, prices- although they weren't always completely accurate online, etc. and tried to figure out the best place for us to eat based on what we like to eat, meals we could share and still be full, etc. for each park.)

For our family of 5 it would have cost us for four adult prices, one child price on the dining plan and would have cost us WAY more than we spent on our own. Sometimes we got dessert- sometimes we didn't. We also brought snacks and water bottles with us in the parks, btw.

 

[natmurr]

I might try doing the room alone and then the tickets from undercover tourist, but then will I be able to get the dining plan?
We never get the dining plan because we cannot do any table service meals, having a set schedule with reservations does not work for our family, DH likes to be able to have to freedom to eat when he is hungry and not have to wait and also if the kids get tired we want to be able to go back when we need to. We always take our own stuff and take coolers and all that, but with two lil ones now its just seems like more of a hassle, I just want to actually vacation without making meals lol....
We have never done the Christmas party and thought that it might be nice to do, this may be the only Christmas time trip we get to make, DH likes to go around Aprilish....

Our original plan was to take my dad with us because he is Active Duty Air Force, but we just found out that he will be in Iraq at that time, it had said on the website that the spouse can buy the discount military tickets if the Military person cannot be there, but they are divorced so even if she does go she can't get the tickets. That would have been a very nice savings.

I haven't read thru all the posts so forgive me if this is already mentioned!

I actually found it more of a hassle to buy food for the kids in the parks. I packed lunch for them every day but 1 on our last trip. The 1 day I didn't almost ruined our whole day!! They were starving, I was standing in line for our lunch order and DH was dealing with the meltdowns - not to mention DH was hungry too so that didn't help matters!!

For me it was much eaiser to be able to whip out a PB&J whenever someone got cranky. I also found that they were excited and distracted (obviously - we're at the WORLD!!) so they would only eat 3 bites before wanting to move on to the next activity. I would just put the sandwich back in the ziploc so that in 30 minutes when they were hungry again I could just get it back out of the backpack.

It took a little organization in the mornings - I would send the kids with DH to the POP food court to fill up the mugs while I made the lunches. This gave me a chance to get it done quickly with no distractions or complaints - "you get what you get and don't get upset"!!! A motto to live by!

 

[ashleyd725@hotmail.c]

Well I checked my email earlier and got a pin!!!!! YAY I have been to disney plenty of times (this is 1st time where I am actually paying for it, before I was young and with parents)
The pin was for 4 night/5 day stay with free dining for a family of 4 for $1283... I would really like to stay 5 nights though, I am assuming that they won't have a problem with me adding an extra day? Does anyone know if I could be wrong about that?

 

[jomommy]

Well I checked my email earlier and got a pin!!!!! YAY I have been to disney plenty of times (this is 1st time where I am actually paying for it, before I was young and with parents)
The pin was for 4 night/5 day stay with free dining for a family of 4 for $1283... I would really like to stay 5 nights though, I am assuming that they won't have a problem with me adding an extra day? Does anyone know if I could be wrong about that?

They'll let you add extra days. I can't remember exactly but I think the limit for pins is usually 14 days, 21??? Anyway, definitely more than 5! Congrats!

ETA: Call and ask them to quote your # of people and your plans. It's probably cheaper than the quote from the pin. They always use the model of Dad, Mom, Teen, Child. Their price is just an example, not what yours will actually be.