How Much Do We HAVE to Spend at Disney

[rsagusti]

I think it can be done for sure! Have fun, our Disney trip ends the 21st (we leave for it on the 12th) its coming up so fast and will be such good memories for your family!

 

[mindeola]

I never realized until now how much Dis'ers hate the dining plan.

It is already paid for. Tips are being covered by someone else.

Why would someone "ditch the dining plan" under those circumstances?

Because in most instances is not saving you money- at all. She could probably put an extra $500 in her pocket if she ditches the plan. For us- eating 1 TS meal a day and 1 Qs meal a day the dining plan would cost $315 a day. We generally spend about $120-150 on TS and $70 on QS. Some days more... some days less. That right there saves me around $100 per day of my trip. ( We don't drink soda and we don't like the desserts with meals. We would rather have 2 snacks a day) Clearly you have to do the math for your own situation. The DDP used to be a great value , but it just no longer is for us and many others. It is always worth reevaluating your spending/eating habits.

 

[Hikergirl]

I never realized until now how much Dis'ers hate the dining plan.

It is already paid for. Tips are being covered by someone else.

Why would someone "ditch the dining plan" under those circumstances?

I don't hate the DDP, I am purchasing it on my trip. The OP asked how to save money, and that is definitely one way to do it. She could get it refunded and use probably 1/2 to 3/4 of what she paid for it to feed her family for the time she is there. Her mom can still take care of TS tips.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

Nope, we're not renting a car this trip (thankfully). I'm driving with two of my children, while DS flies to pick up my stepson and flies with him to Orlando. Then we'll all be driving back home together. Thanks for your input!!

This is perfect.

You can pack so much when you drive.

We make banana bread and bring yogurt for breakfasts. One tub (large) of yogurt can last most of the week. And with a car, you can go and get more if you need it.

We used to have everyone wear a hip pack with snack in it. We carried breakfast bars, peanut butter crackers, gum and candy. When we got hungry we would just open the pack and choose something.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

I don't hate the DDP, I am purchasing it on my trip. The OP asked how to save money, and that is definitely one way to do it. She could get it refunded and use probably 1/2 to 3/4 of what she paid for it to feed her family for the time she is there. Her mom can still take care of TS tips.

But only if she can cancel without penalty. Which she said she would look into.

But even after that, people are telling her to ditch the plan.

If she has to pay a penalty for changing this close to the trip, it will likely wipe out any savings.

 

[mshanson3121]

I have to disagree. If OP was heading to NYC with a hundred bucks to spend I'd say cancel. But she's heading to a trip that is completely paid for. Her meals, hotel and attraction tickets, not to mention transportation once they get there are paid in full. She had an unexpected emergency come up and has to cut the trip budget as far as extras, but still has an all inclusive trip paid off.

Disney trips offer all sorts of ways to spend hundreds, even thousands of dollars above the package price. However, you can go not one cent above your package price if you have a dining plan and have a wonderful time. You can also trim off the fat in the form of extra food, souvenirs, ride and photopass photos, cocktails and a lot of other stuff and still have a wonderful, blow out vacation.

I'm not concerned that she only has $100 spending. I'm concerned that she only has $100, period. I mean if finances are THAT tight that she only has $100 to spare - no, she should not be going. Any number of things could go wrong that they need that money for. What then? If my budget only had a cushion of $100...

ETA: Did some reading, see found ways to pick up a bit of $$, that's good.

 

[EagleG17]

I could never do it with $100; I literally spend that in one day myself on drinks in Epcot.

 

[leebee]

You're driving? GO TO WDW!! I'd read that you couldn't cancel flights so assumed that you wouldn't be renting a car. Bring breakfast foods and snacks with you. You can maximize your dining plan credits to cover day 6; then you'll only need food for day 7, and if you have a car you can always go offsite to someplace cheap, like CiCi's. REALLY... you will have fun on this trip without spending hundreds of extra dollars for souvenirs, photo packages, hairdo/makeup packages, face paint, food court meals, etc. Breakfast in the room, snacks and beverages all brought from home, no shopping. 2 DDP meals per person per day, but figure out ahead of time which meals someone will share so you'll have credits left to use for meals on your check-out day. You will be fine- just say NO to the extras. Do something free (ride the monorail, see the Electric Water Pageant, etc) if you need a change of pace, but don't spend the extra money. You are going to have a great time!!

 

[tinka-belle]

If the DDP conforms to the way your family normally eats I'd definitely keep it. In the heat we tend not to eat three full meals a day while doing the parks, just too hot to want all that food. You might find snacks from home and split QS with one main meal will work. Your tips are covered, it's already paid for, and as others have said there are ways to save credits and split large meals at both TS and CS places. Only place you have to use one credit for each person is at the buffets, and since you can use a buffet as your main meal of the day I'd keep any non breakfast ones you have booked already if they are important to you. On days we have a late lunch or early dinner buffet the other meal tends to be just a snack or a split CS meal, we are too full from sampling the buffet items. Often on the DDP for a week we spend nothing for extra food, maybe just an adult beverage or two.

Having the dining plan would mean ordering what you want from the TS menus, even if splitting meals, and it gives you a "vacation treat" without looking at the high Disney menu prices.
Splitting meals does not have to be looked at as "savings", but as a way to sample lots of the different foods, TS and CS places that Disney has to offer. Taking some snack foods, having a case of water in your room, using the resort mugs, and splitting a few meals, as well as using a snack credit for a large light lunch (huge soft pretzels in every park, enormous ice cream sandwich at the Plaza Ice Cream Parlour in MK, fried rice side at Yak & Yeti CS in AK, many others in the $5 range) will stretch those credits.

The pressed pennies souvenirs is a good tip, also in the MK Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom is an interactive card game played at portals around the park. It does take a lot of time, but you can play just one land and not the entire game. A pack of character cards (one per person per day - all 5 of you can get a pack) are free. The cards themselves are a great souvenir for the kids. After your initial day, you would need to open at least one portal then go to the Fire Station to collect another set of cards.

And I agree with the OP's, do NOT have a credit card attached to your band for charging in the parks, waaaay to easy to spend extra that way.

 

[loves to dive]

I never realized until now how much Dis'ers hate the dining plan.

It is already paid for. Tips are being covered by someone else.

Why would someone "ditch the dining plan" under those circumstances?

She has two days she will not be on the dining plan and has $100 to stretch over those two days. Getting rid of the dining plan and sharing meals and eating less TS would save her money to not only cover that $100 but give her an extra cushion. Everyone was just making suggestions for her on how to save money, no one was hating on the dining plan (although I don't think it's worth it unless you do plan on doing a lot of buffets and character meals). Sounds like some very helpful ideas have been thrown out and good luck OP I think you can do it with a little belt tightening.

 

[DLgal]

So you're driving? What happens if you get a flat tire?

 

[EagleG17]

So you're driving? What happens if you get a flat tire?

Or what if the flux capaciter goes dead in the car?

 

[vinotinto]

For what it's worth, we barely spend any $ on souvenirs from the shops or photos. I truly believe that is "discretional" and you don't have to spend a dime. But, we do spend money on a lot of things not covered, such as adult beverages (it's a vacation!), an appetizer here or there (sometimes, in lieu of a full entree), tips, etc., and $100 would not be enough to cover that and your last 2 days.

But, I think you need to sit down and run the numbers to see if the DDP will actually save you money. It costs over $60 per adult / day and over $20 per child per day. If it only makes you break even, then it won't be worth it. If I'm reading correctly, you have 4 Disney adults and 1 child (is that correct)? If so, you need to determine if your dining plans would cost more than $270/day. If they don't, because you don't always drink fountain soda, or you don't all get dessert, you should definitely look at taking that off your reservation (it may cost $50 to do so) and allocating a smaller budget to meals. Our first trip, we usually ate breakfast in the room, and we arrived at the parks super early, so there are some advantages in those quick, in-room breakfasts.

I also think the AOA rooms are pretty pricey and it is a great idea to price two value rooms. Or even a larger condo off-site (especially since you already will have a car!).

 

[mco65]

I think I could easily not spend a extra dime on days when I had food covered by the Dining plan (especially if someone else is coving the tips at sit downs).
Of course, the kids are a different story all together... I think if you keep 'em busy going from ride to ride or show to show they wont think about this trinket or that hat or TShirt. Don't go into any STORES..

 

[Susan Storm]

I think it can be done for sure! Have fun, our Disney trip ends the 21st (we leave for it on the 12th) its coming up so fast and will be such good memories for your family!

Thank you!!

 

[SillySallySews]

I know my family could eat for $100 (or less) for two days at Disney if we had to, but what about emergencies? Is it possible for Mom (or another family member/friend) to chip in for more than tips in a true emergency situation? I wish you the best of luck, and hope you will come back and update us on how it went!

 

[Dis703]

Personally, I'd drop the dining plan and find ways to save on meals. More QS meals and less TS. Go with the more affordable TS options. Bring more food into the parks for snacks or lunch. Get the free water at the QS restaurants or buy a case to keep in the room and take water with you each day.

 

[Susan Storm]

I know my family could eat for $100 (or less) for two days at Disney if we had to, but what about emergencies? Is it possible for Mom (or another family member/friend) to chip in for more than tips in a true emergency situation? I wish you the best of luck, and hope you will come back and update us on how it went!

Thank you! A couple people have mentioned emergencies. In case of an absolute emergency (car trouble, etc,..) we have roadside assistance and my husband says he has an emergency credit card - we just never touch it. Thanks for your encouragement!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I'm already looking at avoiding gift shops with the kids and bringing snacks from home. Has anyone else done Disney without spending a lot? Any tips on how to save money in such a short amount of time? Lol. Thank you!!!

Yes. We've done it a number of times.

It sounds like you are driving to WDW. A car =you can easily stop at a grocery store- if you think you'll need/want any items. Mostly we buy bottled water.

You can ALWAYS drink free WATER. All QS have it for free. You can also bring dry drink packets if you want. If you are driving, you have even more room to bring food from home.

I rarely do loads of laundry on vacation, but often bring a little packet of dry laundry detergent. At home, half as much as they suggest is plenty. You can ALSO quickly wash many items by hand using just the sink in your room and the FREE liquid soap/shampoo. You can hang most items like you hang bathing suits, or pay JUST for the dryer. Hand washing is actually faster for most items! another good place to quickly dry stuff- the back of your car! This time of year, the FL sun dries wet stuff VERY quickly in a hot car!

Skip the gift shops. Here's a tip - right now- search up the wholesale cost of t-shirts. Cotton t-shirts wholesale for under $3! and the more you buy the lower that price drops! I'm sure WDW pays far less. Ever since I found that out, retail mark-ups above $15 kind of disgust me.

For the kids, consider using an allowance. Maybe $20, or whatever you can easily afford. Instead of STUFF, they are getting THE EXPERIENCE of the vacation. If they are older than 5, they should easily understand, especially since they are aware of what happened to your home. They can spend their $20 any way they want, including meal upcharges. Kids can be surprisingly responsible when they get a little control. Disney still has pressed penny machines! Pressed pennies only cost $.51 each. WDW also has a few freebies still, like the Kidcot stations in Epcot.

If they want to do character signatures - bring your own notepad. If you have time, look around and you can probably find a Disney themed one! You can find Disney stuff at many places- like $ stores, and the $ bins at Target. You can bring glowsticks that cost $1 for a tube of ten instead of WDW's light up toys.

Instead of paying a ton for BBB, use do it yourself options. For us, glitter hairspray ("Pixie dust!") and a few cheap hairclips was PLENTY, maybe last year's Halloween costume (only for character meals). Buy glitter spray at drugstores, party/beauty supply stores, etc. You can also paint your own fingernails- OR- if you want something more special- your local nail shop likely charges less than WDW does- especially for KIDS.


There are lots of ways yo can do something special for a lot less than WDW charges and not feel deprived!

 

[Dis703]

But only if she can cancel without penalty. Which she said she would look into.

But even after that, people are telling her to ditch the plan.

If she has to pay a penalty for changing this close to the trip, it will likely wipe out any savings.

Isn't the penalty like $50? Being that you can potentially save hundreds by changing up the way you eat, go with more QS, bring meals, etc. that small fee wouldn't negate her savings. Now if her room rate hikes up or something because it was part of a discount maybe that wouldn't make it as worthwhile.