I'm slow but I think I found a way to get a good deal...

[TheLittleRoo]

I just put a pen to paper to run the numbers, and probably everyone else will read this and say "duh!" but we plan to go to WDW once a year for the next few years.

We always stay at a Mod, but <knock wood> I'll get discounts in future years and stay at a Deluxe or two. So far, we gravitate toward free dining to bring the cost of the trip down, and we like the low crowds.

Okay, having laid the foundation for our travel style... we are 3A1C (will be 3A2C when DS turns 3 next year) for now. We priced the tickets for our upcoming stay of 6 nights = 10 day ticket (for easy math, it's coming) with hoppers and WaterParks N More. Total of $1143 including tax. That will give us 16 days worth of entertainment, but no way will we use it all for one visit. Even factoring in buying a 4 day MYW ticket with all these options is only $50 (maybe?) less, so I rounded up to ten days so I could compare with the No EXP scenario below.

So, mix things up a bit. We buy the same 10 day MYW plus Hoppers and WaterParks N More but this time we buy No EXP for a total of $2331, incl tax. Now we literally possess 16 days worth of Disney entertainment to be used over any length of time. So, if we plan visit for 7 days each time, that would roughly work out to be $777 per visit for fully loaded tickets. That's using 3 days in the parks and 2 days at the water parks, and 2 days goofing off at the hotel. I have to say that it seems to be hard to find a substantial discount on MYW tickets, so this is great news for me to find a way to save more than $12/per ticket!

We'd save the difference between $1143 and $777= $366 on average per year over three years! Am I stating the obvious or can anyone find the fly in my ointment??

The only drawbacks I can see are 1) Free Dining wouldn't work with existing tickets, so if we go at that time of year, we'd be on the hook for 5 1-day base tickets. BUT.... we could apply those funds toward the toddler's ticket next year when he turns three, right? 2) That's only 4 tickets. When the little guy turns 3, he will need a child's ticket for extra money Maybe we'll go in Aug 07 and March 08, just before his birthday!

 

[MDMOUSE]

If you go witin 12 months of the first trip you could buy an AP.

 

[I'mNoPrince]

If you go witin 12 months of the first trip you could buy an AP.

This is what we are doing now .

Getting our AP's late June hitting a few smaller trips then going early June to cap off the APs.

The following year(our Fall /winter trips) we will go to VeroB or Us/Ioa then start all over again with Late June for the new Aps

 

[Minnie & Me]

Last year I racked my brains thinking about this too!!

We did the same thing last year during free dining buying the 10 day non expiring ticket. This year, we are saving our one day tickets for future upgrade to another set of 10 day tickets. Or we might just save them to treat grandparents on future visits.

We also do only 3 days of Park, 1 water park and DisneyQuest on each visit with breaks in between for sleeping in, swimming and shopping.

I think in order to make the 10 day non-expiring ticket worth it; you have to at least split the ticket into 3 trips and not use them up within one year. If you only split the ticket into 2 trips; then getting 2 sets of expiring tickets is more of a deal.

 

[firecracker]

you could save even more! I hate to give away my secrets, but this is just between us girls, right?

We've purchased loaded, 10 day non-expiry tickets for years now and we rent DVC points for our hotel stays. With DVC, you don't have to buy theme park tickets to get the dining package. You may think..."well I want FREE dining." I understand that, but when I tell you that I've never paid more than $75 per night at Old Key West and then paid for dining, it may be worth it to pay for dining. Disney's website lists the value season at OKW at $269 a night...and we only travel at spring break or during the summer.

It's made Disney very affordable for our family.

Now, don't tell anyone!!!

 

[kimberh]

Another secret... I have the Disney Visa... we earn the rewards on the card. We own our own business, we charge as much as we can to earn rewards, pay it off every month, so for the last four trips to Disney, we have had free dining, even if Disney was not offering it. We paid for the Dining Plan with our Rewards card or cards at check in. I have enough saved now for at least 3 trips. It does add up. I also get one Annual pass for the savings that it provides. I have never bought a fully loaded MYW ticket... that makes sense.

 

[bless7ings]

you could save even more! I hate to give away my secrets, but this is just between us girls, right?

We've purchased loaded, 10 day non-expiry tickets for years now and we rent DVC points for our hotel stays. With DVC, you don't have to buy theme park tickets to get the dining package. You may think..."well I want FREE dining." I understand that, but when I tell you that I've never paid more than $75 per night at Old Key West and then paid for dining, it may be worth it to pay for dining. Disney's website lists the value season at OKW at $269 a night...and we only travel at spring break or during the summer.

It's made Disney very affordable for our family.

Now, don't tell anyone!!!

Sounds interesting.... is there more you could share?

I was looking into DVC. I read some reviews that the rooms were run down. I am interested in the Beach Club. Have you stayed there? Where do you stay and what is your favorite?

Also, how easy is it to rent points? It makes me a little nervous! What do you typically pay for points?

 

[drknight]

This is TOTALLY what we do. I was fortunate enough to get 10 day tickets last year just before the price increase. We still haven't made it down there yet, but at least I know they are paid for, and our per day cost is much lower.

The one drawback I feel to purchasing tickets is that I feel like I have to "get my money's worth" out of each day. I really feel like we need to be in the parks a good portion of the day. But...even if we do spend long days in the parks, at least I'm not "paying" to be in the parks on our "rest" days.

 

[kribit]

you could save even more! I hate to give away my secrets, but this is just between us girls, right?

We've purchased loaded, 10 day non-expiry tickets for years now and we rent DVC points for our hotel stays. With DVC, you don't have to buy theme park tickets to get the dining package. You may think..."well I want FREE dining." I understand that, but when I tell you that I've never paid more than $75 per night at Old Key West and then paid for dining, it may be worth it to pay for dining. Disney's website lists the value season at OKW at $269 a night...and we only travel at spring break or during the summer.

It's made Disney very affordable for our family.

Now, don't tell anyone!!!

This is one of the reasons I love these boards. I never would have thought to do this. Thanks for sharing your great tip!!

 

[firecracker]

after I posted, I thought back to the first time we rented points...we paid $110 per night at OKW.

We usually use eBay...some DVC resorts are more expensive than others. OKW is cheapest. I don't ever find the rooms to be run down. Even if they were, they're twice the size of anything else on property!

You can also use the Rent/Trade board here on the DIS, but I find them to be more $$. Ebayers usually have to cancel ressies and they'd rather get some $ out of it than lose their points. We've rented using eBay 5 times and have always had a great experience.

 

[DaisyLou2]

I still don't understand DVC points and how they work. I've been over to that board a few times over the years and I end up more confused when I leave there.

 

[kimberh]

I still don't understand DVC points and how they work. I've been over to that board a few times over the years and I end up more confused when I leave there.

What do you want to know? I am a owner, maybe I can help. I have rented, but not today, strictly info here. I am out of points, so info only from me.