How do you Save Money at WDW? Here are my tips!

[brunette8706]

We stay at rented villas with a private pool! These are GORGEOUS 3-4 or 5 BEDROOM villas just like a condo. We stayed at a 3 bedroom with a private pool for $475 for the week and that included TAX! So if you go with 3 couples it would cost $160.00 PER COUPLE!! for a WEEK! Plus you get your own private pool. We also cooked our own meals at the villa! That saved us a BUNDLE! We went to Walmart and got alot of food cheap! We also checked the airlines rates by Expedia FIRST, then once we saw the cheapest airfare rate on Expedia we then went directly to the airlines home site that had the cheapest airfare for instance...Trans Air! Usually the prices are cheaper on the Airlines home site!

Anybody else have any other tips!! I'll get the website to the villas on my next thread, I need to do a quick search!

Thanks All!!!

Brunette

 

[The Sweetness]

Am I misunderstanding or did you cook 2/3 meals a day in your condo/villa?

If so, how many horus a day did you spend inside (not counting on the way to/from) the parks?

 

[Amirah95]

I found it cheaper to eat out than to stay in and cook the last time we went to Florida. We spent an obscene amount of money at the Walmart on food to eat for 7 days. Never again. We are definitely hitting up buffets and two for one deals around Orlando and Kissimee for dinner and lunch. We'll make our own breakfast at our resort though and that really cuts costs for us.

There are too many coupons and discounts for me to stay in and cook while I'm on vacation.

 

[pjlla]

Dear Brunette8706..... Please don't feel like the two previous posts were meant to hurt your feelings. While I cannot speak for them, I don't think they were intended in that way. But you were trying to share some tips and it does seem like maybe they were questioning your methods. But we all do that here and that is how we learn from each other. So if you were feeling like your toes were stepped on, please don't be mad. And to "The Sweetness" and "Amirah95"... please understand I am not trying to step on YOUR toes.... but I noticed that Brunette was new around here and I didn't want her to have hurt feelings. But I have to admit, I agree with Amirah95..... cooking on vacation is NO vacation!....................P

 

[brunette8706]

Hi Sweetness-

What I did is we had breakfast in the morning...(cereal with milk, eggs, coffee, oj. etc). Then we ate a light lunch...(turkey leg or hotdog burger etc at WDW and a lite dinner!

Sorry if I wasn't clear...I was typing too fast....

At the days we didn't go to the park we had dinner at the villa...(rotissarie chicken $3.99 at Walmart) one night, the other night was 4 hamburger patties we got on sale for a BUCK!!!

We found we really saved a bundle staying at these villas..which were gorgeous and cheap as opposed to Disney's which are smaller and much much more expensive!!

Brunette

 

[brunette8706]

I found it cheaper to eat out than to stay in and cook the last time we went to Florida. We spent an obscene amount of money at the Walmart on food to eat for 7 days. Never again. We are definitely hitting up buffets and two for one deals around Orlando and Kissimee for dinner and lunch.I found it cheaper to eat out than to stay in and cook the last time we went to Florida. We spent an obscene amount of money at the Walmart on food to eat for 7 days. Never again. We are definitely hitting up buffets and two for one deals around Orlando and Kissimee for dinner and lunch.

I can't believe you found it cheaper to eat out! How in the world do you spend "obscene" amount of money for food at Walmart?
We spent $75.00 for a WHOLE WEEK and we threw half of it out, on our last day at the resort! We got eggs, milk, sausage, fruits, snacks galore, boxed WINE, hamburgers, cereal, bread, chicken, cheese, coffee, bottled water, pizza, icecream, orange juice!

If you go to eat at the buffets at WDW plan on spending $23.99 pp plus tax plus tip!! How is that cheaper...

NOw I can understand it if you do not prefer to cook...but I didn't cook either...just a few eggs and hamburger and or pizza...it wasn't a biggie....I'm not a big cook either...but I'm certainly not going to spend $23.99 tx and tip is what $30 pp for every meal...If you want to do it that's fine...but that's why I posted this on the budget board...because I rather save my money for more trips to WDW than food....

thanks for your comments though..

brunette

 

[brunette8706]

Thanks for your kind words!!

I am new (to this board not to WDW)....just trying to make a few suggestions...

thanks again...hope to talk with ya soon!

brunette

 

[HauntedMansionFreak]

I have to agree with the OP. We rented a private pool home about 2 mins outside Disney. I TOTALLY prefer my own pool. Don't have to worry about swimming in anyone else's pee.

We are also planning to buy groceries to refrain from eathing out so much. We have done this on other vacations in the past. If you shop smart, there is no need to cook really. I usually buy lunchables for the kids and they can grab one whenever they are hungry. For the adults, we get hot pockets, fresh fruit, tuna, cold cuts, etc. We usually do eat out once a day, but are always thrifty in where we go. Heck, our meal out may even be at a Wendy's. I could care less about spending $50-$60 per meal at an upscale restaraunt. Thats a half a weeks groceries for us. Thats more money for me to spend elsewhere on things that will create memories for me instead of just putting an expensive taste in my mouth.

In the end, it is all about what your priorities and budget. I don't h ave a large budget but wish I did. Therefore, thrifty is the way to go for me!

 

[missyc]

I also agree about eating in SOMETIMES. But that doesn't nesessarily mean cooking either! We (group of 9) stayed in a timeshare, took the tour for discounted rates, and went grocery shopping. we had things like lasagna (frozen from BJ's), hot dogs, deli chicken tenders (BJ's), cold cuts,etc. We also had breakfast stuff, snacks, drinks, etc. It really was pretty cheap! One night we went to the Golden Corral for dinner. Huge bill, in my opinion, at least for the crappy food we got!
We found out about the homes after our reservations were made but we plan on doing that next time we all go together which will probably be in September. Yippy!!

 

[brunette8706]

Here is the Villa Rentals link! Please check it out and save yourself a bundle!!!

http://vacation_rentals.19elgoog.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals/usa/florida/central-disney-orlando

 

[The Sweetness]

Now I see how that could work... Sure does sound like an excellent $$ saver, as long as you're not too much of a to cook and clean on vacation. (I do usually *lower myself* to doing a load of wash one night

 

[ptcruisermom]

We too rent a villa when we go. This past Dec-Jan we were there for 3 weeks, but ( now don't anyone get upset ) we only did WDW one day- had one day left on our park hoppers DH, DS 16 aren't really into disney, so since we had been twice before we decided to just to chill out do disney one day. We checked out several other things in orlando, went over to Clearwater, went down to Ft. Myerrrrrs( my parents used to have a place there) went over to Daytona, Spent alot of time being a family hanging around the pool. Did some shoppinnnng. Know I don't like to cook on vacation either, but we did have b-fast items, stuff for lunch. We took a turkey and a ham with us my DS 16 got these for thanksgiving and christmas from the co he works for and popped them in the oven and had the leftovers for sandwiches. We bought KFC pizza etc. Everyone pitched in and helped We planeed on eating out to what amounted to 1.5 times per day. Laundry was popped in the washer and out to pool I went, and then put indryer. DH ran the seeper when we got too many crumbs onfloor. Just pulled the covers up on bed. changed the sheets one time per week. The poolwasw wonderfull could swim anytime we wanted- had a jacuzzi too- the pool was heated to a wonder ful 90 swam on x-mas day even though it was only 60 out.

 

[disneyjunkie]

I've found that bringing food with us is a waste of money. We end up throwing most of the food away at the end of our stay.
We'd much rather have a box of popcorn or Mickey bar than the Pringles from home. Mickey waffles are more appealing than the granola bar or pop tarts we have stashed in the room.


When I plan our trip, it works better if I write a list of all the things we want to do and all the restaurants we want to try. Once we have that set, I look for ways to save. Staying offsite isn't an option, so I keep my eyes open for codes. Illuminations Cruise was high on our must do list for our last trip, so I booked one and shared with other DISers. Instead of $120.00, each family only paid $30.00 plus tip. I purchased tickets that included a free character breakfast. I use mypoints to earn free gift certificates for Rainforest Cafe.

 

[hulabird]

My DH and I usually just eat out for every meal when we travel alone, but we are traveling with my sister and my three nieces ages 4 & 8 (two twins) this time, so I am thinking we need to do a grocery trip for at least snacks and breakfast items. Our plan is to buy a few boxes of cereal, milk and snacks to leave in the room and bring along, and we will just buy a cooler and keep perishables on ice. I know how the kids can be and if we don't do this at least half the time of the 10 nights we are there, they will be wanting everything they see. I am not a breakfast person, so a bowl of cereal before hitting the parks will be fine with me and save my sister some $ in the long run.

 

[disneymom2one]

Being in a villa offsite wouldn't save me money at all because the value wouldn't be there for us. We are all about staying onsite and enjoying the resorts. So for us, that's not a good way to save money. It wouldn't be worth it. But we do tend to save money in other ways. We rarely buy drinks and snacks in the parks for example. We bring our own. We also rarely eat breakfast out because for us bagels and "real" cream cheese (not the lowfat stuff we eat at home) are a big enough treat.

 

[brunette8706]

Being in a villa offsite wouldn't save me money at all because the value wouldn't be there for us.

Why wouldn't the value be there??? I don't really understand what you're saying....The polynesian charges what @$289.00 a nite...and the villa we stayed in charged $475 for a WEEK!!! It had 3 bedrooms and a private pool, kitchen, living room, dining room, it was gorgeous and it was 10 minutes from Disney...

So with that said I'm confused when you say the "value" isn't there...

Brunette

 

[crisi]

I'm not Disneymom2one, but we also feel the "value" isn't there offsite.

We go for the onsite Disney resort experience as much as the parks. Staying offsite to us is kind of like saying "I found a great way to save money going to WDW.....don't go to the parks! There is lots of free stuff to do, like DTD and the Boardwalk. We play a little minigolf one day, and go shopping at the outlet mall."

Granted, its a way cheaper vacation, but most of us go for the parks. And some of us go for the resorts. And some of us go for the resorts and the restaurants. We are going to spend more money - but those that go for just the parks spend more money than people who just camp near their home for vacation.

So, from an onsite resort and restuarant snob, here are some tips for saving money that I like:

Eat your sit down meal at lunch, when its generally cheaper.

Eat your chacater meal breakfast as a brunch - it will hold you until dinner.

Don't order alcohol with your meals. (Although we do when we aren't in budget mode). It adds a lot to your overall bill.

Consider the cab/towncar combo if you are like us. We don't like to drive, so our rental often stays parked. Its actually cheaper to take cabs on occation than to have a mid-sized rental that sits in a parking lot most of the time.

I don't buy souvieniers (much). I know there are people out there that are as much about "stuff" as I am about food and staying onsite, but we shop the sale racks for our t-shirts and don't buy pins or a lot of other stuff.

If you are going to be going for a long time, look into DVC. Not cheap - but cheaper than what we were putting out in Deluxe resorts.

 

[minniemosa]

I think the villa is a great idea and of course,the price is greater!Each person has its own preferences,so we like to read everyone ideas.Thanks

 

[brunette8706]

So let me get this straight You would spend hypothically $250.00 per day at the Polynesian than spend say $99.00 a day at a 5 STAR HOTEL the Hyatt Grand Cypress which in my opinion is much better than the Polynesian hotel and 1/3 the price...After all it is a 5 star hotel...

I guess another issue that I have is that I would prefer to stay at EXCEPTIONAL places outside the park that are about 1/3 the price than to stay in the park....This way I can go to WDW 3-5 times a year....Why spend a tremendous amount of money on a hotel that you're really hardly never in anyway? Most people are at the parks...but again that is only my opinion. We simply drive to the parks and pay NOTHING for parking because we have annual passes..we also drive to the other resorts within disney for recreation and dinner etc...so what is the importance of staying at the park...? I guess my contention is that I would like to go 4-5 times a year rather than spend all my hard earned money on a hotel when I'm going to be spending my majority of time at the parks....?

Here is the Hyatt Grand Cypress link! Check it out and check out the pools and beach...they're gorgeous!

http://grandcypress.hyatt.com/property/index.jhtml

brunette

 

[brunette8706]

Thank you!

Like I said I like to cut corners on the trivial things...But the biggie for us is to stay at EXCEPTIONAL HOTELS and or VILLAS that are 1/3 the price of Disney....That to us is a big money saver....This also allows us to go back to Disney 4-5 times a year...

Brunette