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

[brunette8706]

The only thing I can tell you is that we compared Disney Resorts such as the Polynesian and Hyatt. We also compared Wilderness Lodge (very nice) and the villa....I also have seen all of these pictures of the Disney hotels at the All Ears website. They give you the pictures galore of inside the room, dimensions, bathrooms etc. That is what made our minds up....The Hyatt rooms are much larger and 1/3 the price than the Polynesian...That is why we stay there, also because of the $99.00 daily rate. It may not be for everybody...but it is more bang for the buck for us. This is the reason along with the annual pass we will be going back several times this year....I find the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress relaxing and they have their own beach and boating right on property....That is how we save money...again this might not be for everyone but that is how we want to do it...

Another tip is we also bring our own boxed wine (you can get at Walmart for $8.99) it's equilvalent to 5 bottles of wine. We sometimes have a drink at night instead of paying $6.50 for a glass at the hotel...

Another tip...If you go to Orbiz.com they have a sale $99.00 for intermediate type cars for $99.00 a week....Taxes and all the other charges is $141.00 and change...Check it out! I called HERTZ and they wanted $245.00 for an economy car.




Brunette

 

[MrsPete]

Crisi summed up my feelings about staying onsite/offsite very well.

I've done both, and there's just no comparison. When you stay off-site (no matter how nice the place may be), you're visiting the parks for a couple hours per day, then you're heading back to reality. When you stay on the Disney property, you're at Disney 24 hours a day! It's different -- and in my opinion -- better. Square footage doesn't play into my decision at all.

However, I can imagine that other people feel differently. We don't go to Disney 3-4 time per year. If we visited often enough to warrant annual passes, then we might have to choose between number of days vs. onsite resorts. I don't see my family being that committed to any one vacation spot.

As for rental cars and wine, we don't spend money on either. We're luck to live 1/2 day's drive from Orlando, so driving our own car is easy. I rarely ever drink, which is a huge savings (though that's not why I abstain).

 

[ceecee]

Having stayed at a lot of hotels....I have to disagree that AS are low end (Motel 6??? Red Roof). (I've only stayed at ASMo, can't speak of Music or Sports!). We found them adequate clean and roomy enough for the 3 of us. We just stayed in a $200.00 a night Hyatt hotel a few weeks ago in a nearby city and it was smaller than the ASMo...Nicer but smaller. We enjoy the TOTAL Disney experience by never leaving "the World".
Thankfully others enjoy the off site experience or the on site would be even more crowded!!!

 

[brunette8706]

This is the web site we used All Ears (see link below) to compare Disney Resorts...It has a photo gallery of each resort, prices (Value, Regular, Peak and Holiday, it also has a layout of the room...) The value hotels are 260 square feet and only one vanity (sink) and the moderate hotels are 316 square feet...The value hotels did not appeal to us... but I did find the Wilderness Lodge very nice. The pictures look gorgeous. The price (value season) for the WL was I think $900 and change for a week when they quoted us for May. If you have a annual pass they do give deep discounts for inside resorts. Anyway, we stayed in the villa instead for only $475, which included tax, yes it was offsite, but that doesn't matter to us. It had 3 bedrooms and a private enclosed pool, which we really liked since it was private. The villas is a development of beautiful homes that are mainly used for rentals...The grounds and area was very nice. It was about 10 minutes from Disney.

Here is the link that rates all the Disney Resorts...

http://allearsnet.com/acc/faq_hot.htm

Thanks for your comments!

Brunette

 

[crisi]

I had cross posted earlier with ajksmom, but she makes a really good point....there are some trips where staying onsite (including the Swan/Dolphin) - or maybe a DTD hotel with really good transportation - is the only practical option. And that is when you have a party likely to split up and enter and leave the parks at different times, but have limits on the number of cars or drivers for those people.

Our last trip was with my mother in law and her sister, as well as DH and my two preschoolers. We split up a lot - as two 70ish year old women can not keep up with two preschoolers (at least, not my MIL), nor do they share the same interests. They enjoyed poking through the shops in Epcot - my kids were more interested in Goofy's Barnstormer. Neither of our seniors were too interested in driving, and the proximity of Epcot to the BW made it a great choice (although expensive). All Stars would have worked for less money - but a condo off site probably wouldn't have - unless they had transportation from the parks every 30 minutes or were close enough for reasonable cab fare.

We've traveled with other adults and have split up a lot. I know families with kids of different ages split up a lot - a three year old and a nine year old don't necessarily "Disney" well together. And a lot of families let their high schoolers have some time away from the family.

Another thing from the last trip - we could get out of the pool at 4:30 and make a 5:00 ps in Epcot. Took a little ingenuity and was cutting it closer and rushing more than I'd like, but we did it.

 

[brunette8706]

You make a valid point. See we don't have any children (yet anyway). If you have kids it would be condusive to stay on the property especially if you have little ones or teenagers everyone can come and go as they please....

Thanks for your comments...

Brunette

 

[crisi]

I know from time on the family board that a lot of people who loved Moderates or Values or Offsite make a real effort to pay the big bucks on a Monorail resort for the "stroller years." Others just deal with cars and strollers, or busses and strollers - but at least a few thing the "value" is there when you are dealing with a MK centered trip and a stroller.

 

[sconnell]

DH and I have been several times, for short trips, in the past 4 years. The last trip was our first with our DD turning 2 on the trip. We have always stayed off-site for budget reasons. This past trip, we decided that for future trips with our children, it would be so much easier for us to stay on-site, even though we could currently only afford a Value Resort. All the help you can get with little children really helps. (Like sending packages back to the room and transportation.)
We have found many great tips on this board that helped with our budget in the parks. Especially with eating. We normally eat a snack-type breakfast in the room, an early lunch in park and an early light dinner in park. We usually have a snack later, too. We did the double burger meal and an extra bun thing, got our DD a kids meal and that was enough for the three of us, and DH is a big eater. I shared fries with our DD. We bought our DD a BIG Minnie Mouse doll for $14.99 at the outlet mall, because the same doll was $25 in the park and we were buying her some other souviners at the park. (I can resist an ornament and a sillhoutte!)
Anyway, my point was, there are lots of great budget tips here on this board, on-site or off-site.

 

[kfeuer]

I've always been an on-site kind of person, but our last trip convinced me to try off-site. We went all out on our last trip--stayed at WL, went to many nice restaurants, and spent about $3000 (and that's with no airfare/car rental). I found that I really wasn't comfortable spending that much, particularly on food. Everytime we paid $75 for a meal I couldn't help thinking "but that's my weekly food budget when we're at home"! I will say I thought Wilderness Lodge was wonderful, and with getting the FTP it was totally worth it. We had a 2.5 and 5 month old at the time, so having the Disney transportation helped immensely. Plus, we spent alot of time at the resort since the kids couldn't last all day in the parks. We spent alot of time in the lobby and walking around. The downside was having the whole family staying in the same room, and the 2 youngest waking each other up, etc.

This trip we've got more family coming and we're sharing a 5-bedroom private house (it'll be my family of 4, my parents, my MIL, and my sister/BIL). I do want to use the home's kitchen to save on food costs, but I am utterly unwilling to spend my vacation cooking/cleaning up. I'm already picking up paper plates/cups/bowls when I find a good deal so that we don't have to do dishes. I figure we'll just get some basic breakfast and snack foods. One night we might go to Publix and get a rotisserie chicken and some side items, but that's as close to homemade as I'm going to get! It'll be interesting to see how this works for us vs. our prior on-site vacations. We stayed in a regular hotel once and hated it. However, the house is a lot nicer (we have our own pool and hot tub), a lot cheaper, and with a growing family our needs have changed. I really hope we love it because it'll make future trips cheaper...but when we can afford it, I'd still love to stay onsite again. Like someone else said, staying onsite is a 24/7 escape from the real world.

 

[Lisa AF]

We've done both and love both. Our DDs (9 and 13) prefer a private home. They like us to have the pool all to ourselves. We will stay on site for 5 of our 14 nights next June. I miss that Disney rush 24 hours.

Now, as for going back to reality after leaving the parks. All I have to say is... I'm going back to reality to a bedroom with noone in it except my husband. I'm thinking that reality ain't so bad!!!!

 

[brunette8706]

Your last statement was pretty funny! I feel the same way! Hope you have fun!

Brunette

 

[DisKim]

I've always stayed onsite, but I decided to try a condo off site for my next trip. My reason for this is we just went in July and are returning for one of those little "we have AP's so let's take an extra trip" trips. I wanted to spend as little as possible. I love staying on site. I have to admit though that I stayed at POFQ last time and I longed for a return to the Poly. I loved being on the monorail. I was so sick of Disney buses by the end of the week. We bring our own stroller because DS always falls asleep on the bus and he is very heavy. My DH had to put the stroller on his lap because the buses were always so crowded. I'm thinking that I might be happy being off site and having my car. I'll still look longingly at the Poly, but hey, it's an extra trip and I'm still at Disney. By the way, Lisa AF, I like your last point. I'll be able to have my own bedroom!

 

[dbal]

This will be our 1st time offsite as well. I was reluctant and kind of sad at first, but now I can't wait. We always had a rental car onsite so we are used to that. We have a family of 6 so staying onsite is really not an option. I know, I know... everyone says DVC pts or get 2 rooms but I can't justify this when now we will have separate bdrms and living space and a kitchen. (the big screen t.v. sold my dh)
Lisa AF ... your point is well taken.


We stayed at BC last time and went all out. It was a trip of a lifetime. But ya know what? I am more psyched about all the $ we are saving and how much fun we will have in the parks.

I think once you are in the right mindset and you plan accordingly, you are gonna have a blast.

 

[brunette8706]

We stayed at BC last time and went all out. It was a trip of a lifetime. But ya know what? I am more psyched about all the $ we are saving and how much fun we will have in the parks.

Hi

I totally agree with you! I love saving money and getting the best bang for the buck! We have annual passes so it wouldn't be financially savvy of us to stay in on property....I must say though the villas (the link I posted) were hands down GORGEOUS! Like I said we only paid $475 for a week for a 3 bedroom and a private pool...It couldn't be beat! I also would highly recommend the Hyatt Grand Cypress during their low season (May - September). It's only 2 miles from Disney.

I know you will have a great time!

Thanks for your comments!
brunette

 

[disneymom2one]

Value ...

For me a Disney vacation is so, so much more than the parks. I love the fantasy of being truly away from everything. I love not having to drive at all for a week. I love everything about the Disney resorts. And for me, as a DVC member my costs are spread out. Before we were DVC members we stayed at a value or a moderate and combined it with a few offsite nights. So I know all about staying offsite and it's not something I'd be happy doing - ever. It's just simply not the same to me. I have a nice house here (in Florida near the beach) and I don't have any desire to stay in one in Orlando. I want to be in the middle of everything, surrounded by Disney magic. So your villa (again) would have no value to me. None. It would actually be a waste of money.

However, we do save money in other ways. From buying souvenirs at Belz to eating breakfast at the room, we generally keep our spending money (for a family of three) to under $100 per day. That's meals and any "extras". I can do $50 when I have to (and have before). We don't have airfare costs either so our trips are relatively inexpensive (once I pay for those PAP's)

 

[MrsPete]

One more thing about on-site rooms: you should never pay full price! Check these boards for codes, and you can save a bundle!

 

[brunette8706]

I absolutely agree! We have the annual passes and that entitles the bearer to at least 30 or maybe even 40 percent of their rates....depending upon the season.

brunette

 

[brunette8706]

How else do you all cut corners? What about transportation, food, etc.? Is it true you can split meals at the Sci Fi Dinner? Do they look down upon that? Do they charge extra for splitting meals..? Just curious!

Thanks All!
Brunette

 

[Amirah95]

We weren't served enough food to share anything and we each had an entree of our own. We could have shared and then would have had to eat again once we returned to our villa. I read that lots of Disers was able to share one entree (with an additional side and drink).

Also, in the Unofficial Guide 2004 starting on page 376 it gives you the names of the counter service restaurants and the portion sizes they give (small, medium, large, medium to large, small to medium), they call it mini profiles. I think this will help us on our next trip.

 

[MELSMICE]

Originally posted by disneymom2one
For me a Disney vacation is so, so much more than the parks. I love the fantasy of being truly away from everything.

Same here - until we joined DVC, we DIDN'T save money on our accommodations. We saved it (& still do) on other things.

--bringing snacks into the parks
--having snacks, breakfast items & lunch items in our room
--took sandwiches to the pool on "pool days"
--bringing water bottles into the parks
--Sharing large meals with our DD's or having them share meals

There are many other ways to save money, but for us staying off-site isn't one of them.

I understand the "thrill" some people get by getting the most out of their $, but to me it wouldn't be worth it for a WDW vacation. I wouldn't have near the amount of fun I do staying on-site. Half the fun for me is passing under that sign that says "Welcome to Walt Disney World" & then being on property with all those purple signs!!! I'll save my money at home on other things - so I can them put it towards my Disney vacation!!!

BTW - we have been able to go about 3X for the past 3 years in Deluxes. Home Away from Home resorts & now DVC, so you can definitely stay on-site & go just as many times as the guy that stays off-site. It's just a matter of where people want to spend their money. We choose to spend it on-site at WDW, others choose to spend it in other ways! To each his own.