We just got back, and what worked for us was to eat only one meal a day in the park and use counter service. We ordered ice water at all meals after the first day, and could have counter service for 4 (2 adults, 2 tweens) for around $25. Then we drove to dinner (or lunch, if we left in the middle of the day). Dinner at a sit-down outside WDW was around $35 per day, + tip. We had poptarts for breakfast. Meal plan would have been $102 per day, plus tips, and we would have been on a schedule. And we still would have had to eat poptarts. Instead, we spent about $70 a day (including snacks).
I got clip on water bottle holders at
Walmart for $1 each in the camping aisle. We took 2 each day, with bottled water brought from home, and that worked well for the 4 of us. We refilled from CS water or fountains, and mixed them with crystal light to lessen the taste.
I got small misting fans at Walmart for $3.50 and clipped those to our disney lanyards. They had to be refilled more often, but were much more convenient and didn't weigh a ton. You may not need those in December.
I ordered our lanyards from eBay, for $4 ea plus $2.25 shipping. they were the type with coin purses, which I never saw in the parks, and the purses were perfect for holding the room keys, a cc, cash. They each had a clear pocket, which is where I kept the FPs and tix. The boys' could hold some crystal light packets and contact info for our cell phones. They also held pins.
I got a lot of pins off eBay, and the boys only traded for what they already had. The WM near WDW also had official Disney pins for $4.97.
The WM also had postcards, souvies, shirts, etc for much less than at the parks, and it was all real Disney merchandise. I actually liked their selection of postcards and keychains better.
I brought individually wrapped twizzlers, dried fruit and slim jims in my fanny pack, so we could snack in long lines. They were also great to tide someone over while I waited in line at the CS to get lunches. We only bought snacks at the park 3 of our 5 days at parks, and we shared when possible.
I haven't counted up all my receipts, but I know we spent less than $300 on gas (800+ miles each way), $60 on parking, around $50 in souvies, and around $80 a day on food, including the snacks and water I bought for the trip. Our tix (5 days non-hoppers + 1 day at Sea World) were just over $1000. And we stayed at my folks' timeshare, which was free.
All told, we did 9 days total for under $2000 for 4 people. I thought that worked out pretty well.
