Making it count: Tips on saving on an extended stay WDW vacation?

[Ensusieasm]

With 5 people consider staying onsite at POR.

Have 4 cases of Dasani Water bottles delivered to your hotel room and bring 10 bottles into the park each day. (Can be any brand but Dasani matches the park water)

Eat breakfast in your room before arriving to the park. This saves touring time as well.

Eat lunch CS at AK, MK and Epcot. DHS could go CS or TS for lunch.

I prefer to eat TS dinners at Epcot where they have very little interruption to touring plans.

Since you have a long flight consider having a non park day on arrival and departure days.

You can get a free cup of filtered ice water at any quick service in any park

 

[Ensusieasm]

Lots of good insight here. Picking up a lot...thanks! Have started looking into DVC points, and have been pleasantly surprised so far. How far out can one rent DVC points? Will have to compare that to the specials that are hopefully going to be advertised over here after summer...

You can rent points for a reservation up to a maximum 11 months out if they are made at owners home resort or 7 months if not at home resort. Owner has to make the reservation and is the only one who can contact DVC about the reservation.

 

[SplashMo]

You can get a free cup of filtered ice water at any quick service in any park

True,

The main benefit of bringing your own water is not having to wait in line...

 

[DougEMG]

Lots of good insight here. Picking up a lot...thanks! Have started looking into DVC points, and have been pleasantly surprised so far. How far out can one rent DVC points? Will have to compare that to the specials that are hopefully going to be advertised over here after summer...

We have been doing 4-5 week stays and stay in a DVC room. You can rent studios, 1 bedrooms and 2 bedrooms to sleep 5 people so it all depends on what amenities you want in the room. You can do rentals from owners and there is a section on the boards here that owners post rentals at or you can rent from a broker.

With a 1 bedroom and full kitchen you can save money not having to eat out so often.

 

[Alesia]

True,

The main benefit of bringing your own water is not having to wait in line...

You don't have to wait in line, you just walk up to the counter where they give you your food and ask for it - they usually already have cups full of water.

 

[twodogs]

I agree with considering a 1 bedroom villa at a DVC resort. Renting points may be cheaper for the room, but then do you miss out on all the European freebies like free dining, cheaper tickets, etc, I assume? If so, you can still book these villas with a cash reservation through Disney and get those freebies, cheaper tickets Etc. Those freebies may save you more by booking with cash than renting DVC points ( which also are not typically able to be cancelled or modified). The 1 bedroom gives you a king bed, two baths, queen sized sleeper sofa in living room and pull out twin sized chair bed in living room (at least in AKV Kidani and BLT, maybe others). You get a full kitchen and washer dryer. Less packing/checked bags due to having a washer/dryer can save in checked bag fees. We order groceries (and beer and wine and liquor) through www.gardengrocer.com. They deliver right to resort, where Bell Services keeps all refrigerated until your room is ready. Minimum $40 order and delivery fee is $14. Delivery is $2 on over $200. Great service. We usually order all breakfast stuff (waste of time and money to eat breakfast at a restaurant for my kids, who just want cereal and fruit!), dinner stuff for several nights, water, snacks, soft drinks for room, sandwich stuff if we are in room at lunch. Can also order diapers Etc if you need that. You will not get a cab to the store and back, with tip, for less than $14, I don't think. And it's at your resort when you arrive. This saves us a TON of money on food, snacks, and drinks. But if you get free dining, you may just need it for breakfast, snacks and drinks. Still worth it to me. Order several weeks in advance on line to get choice of delivery times. They also give 10% off your order if placed 60 days in advance.

Secondly, couldn't agree more to add water parks to your tickets. So much fun, my kids want to do them more than the parks a lot of days! And doesn't use your parks days on tickets as I understand (we use military tickets so not sure if different but ours are 4 day tickets, and when you add water parks, you get 4 park days AND 4 water park days for very minimal cost to add water parks option).

I don't like driving in foreign countries, even if driving conventions are similar, so off site would not work for me, if I were in your shoes. It typically costs a lot more to rent a car in a country where you are not licensed to drive, so I don't think you'll get amazingly cheap car rentals like we can get from the US, here is the US. Insurance is likely higher for you as well. So something to consider, and it sounds like you are.

You definitely get more perks in tickets and free dining than most of us in the US will get, for staying on site, so I agree with those advantages. And FP+ pre-booking for a group of 5 would be worth it to me too. We don't yet use EMH much, so that's a wash for me. DME from airport is nice, but not a deal breaker for us either way, though if your kids still need car seats, that makes DME a good option (and makes off site, renting a car, renting car seats or worse, dragging car seats from Norway, abysmal in my mind).

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Remember to factor the $ cost of parking at the parks every day if you stay offsite, plus the cost of traffic.

I don't think there is any shortcut to running the math for yourself when comparing different options. One option that sometimes is overlooked is Annual passes. I'm not sure if there are any restrictions if you are outside the states, but I think anyone can buy them.
You might (more than ) cover the cost of a single AP via additional savings. The AP holder gets free parking, hopping, Disneyquest, golf, and 10% off discounts off food (and some merchandise) at a number of locations.

Stay out of the gift shops! Just keep walking towards the exit. Try setting a specific limit on spending, maybe via Disney gift card. You can also discuss expectations as a family, especially if you have been to WDW before. Maybe decide before you go that each child will be allowed the cost of one 12 inch plush, or one sweatshirt.

Avoid promises to buy stuff to bring home for others. The cost of small items has gotten pretty crazy in recent years. Consider a stop at a nonWDW store in Orlando(Disney stuff is everywhere!), or better yet- consider bringing back a non-Disney item; maybe an American brand of packaged cookie or the like.

It sometimes makes sense to use a taxi/towncar instead of a rental car- if you only want one stop. The towncar services allow one 30min grocery stop.

As I said before though, many discount options we've tried end up costing us (too much) time. Our vacation time is worth over $20 an hour. If it costs 30min., it must save at least $11 by my calculations.

Over at Universal, we used to stay offsite. It costs a little more up front to stay onsite, but the time savings really adds up to a great value: no traffic, parking, long security lines, and front of the line access on most rides.

 

[norjack]

Very useful and interesting points of view in here. I think it's interesting seeing through different eyes and strategies, just how different people's idea of a Disney World vacation can be. All depends on if you are just doing Disney, or want to branch out into other things. Plus, the age of your group is a factor: Spending all your time in the parks? Or a bit of time at the hotel? Don't get me wrong: I'm not one of those people who plans in 5 minute increments to shuttle our family from the crack of dawn until after the sun goes down. But I do like to definitely weigh out and balance Disney bubble-convenience/atmosphere vs cost cutting options.

As I started saying at the start of the thread, we choose to stay on-property and stay there. My wife and I have been to Florida multiple times, and feel we have seen what we would like to see for the most part. As far as going to the beach and such, we feel there are much cheaper trips here in Europe for Europeans (for obvious reasons), and they include a lot more historical and cultural activities, due to the history here. That's also a reason why when we are at WDW, we stay and play there. Period. Otherwise we can go to a nice hotel, beach, or see the orange groves over here for a lot less

In general, I guess I like to think we take a middle of the road, balanced approach. In the past, we have always tried to book for 7-10 days. (When I was younger, my family had no way to afford getting to WDW. It wasn't until high school that I finally got there for 4 days. 4 unforgettable days that I will remember forever! But still, 4 days, and that was really stretching it. When my wife and I first got married, we would do 2 or 3 days. We tried this at both at WDW and DLP. We also stayed both on and off site.) After a little experimenting, we found that it took so much to get from our destination to those other countries, a longer trip was necessary. We found that if we watch our costs and stay value/moderate, we can get what we feel is the best balance of money vs that Disney bubble. And now, it's not only fun for me and my wife (doing something we never really got to do until we were adults), but a special way we can connect with our kids in a Disney-themed, family-friendly environment unlike anything else on earth. (From our adult travels--Been many places since my youth, and seen just how unique and special WDW is.) From where I come from, the Disney bubble is a big deal, because it is a huge embodiment of that former childhood dream come true. Sure, if I can see that we will save drastically more going the off-site route, thus allowing us to save more for future visits: Yeah, we may just do it. But as of now, with our kids loving the themed hotels, and us not having to sweat the small details.....Until we are forced to buy suites, and until Europe cuts out their discounts, it's just hard not to like staying on property. And if that means ordering things and extra planning ahead of time, that's ok. Simple breakfast in the room? (Our kids like it better anyway...At age 1, our twins wouldn't touch a Mickey waffle. You believe that?!? Nah, me neither. Thanks again for all the tips and ideas. You are welcome to keep them coming! I knew a bit before I started, but I keep learning more and more with every post here. Thanks!

 

[norjack]

This is slightly different, but a bit related: I have heard from others on here that Universal will pick you up and drive you over "there" for free. In your opinion, is there enough for smaller kids (8 and under) to enjoy, without being too scary? And as more relevant to this thread, is staying on-site comperable to staying on site at Disney (general immersive experience/on site perks)? Or is it generally more expensive without on site perks? (The reason I ask is that with Disney getting more expensive, it would be nice to always look at other options that may resemble the "Disney bubble". Universal is about the only main thing around Orlando I haven't tried.)

 

[mickeyluv'r]

This is slightly different, but a bit related: I have heard from others on here that Universal will pick you up and drive you over "there" for free. In your opinion, is there enough for smaller kids (8 and under) to enjoy, without being too scary? And as more relevant to this thread, is staying on-site comperable to staying on site at Disney (general immersive experience/on site perks)? Or is it generally more expensive without on site perks? (The reason I ask is that with Disney getting more expensive, it would be nice to always look at other options that may resemble the "Disney bubble". Universal is about the only main thing around Orlando I haven't tried.)

We've done trips in all kinds of configurations, so I hear you. We've done 9 down to one day visits, onsite, offsite, budget, luxury....

If you or your children know anything of Harry Potter, then those parts of US are like stepping right into the story/movies! US did an amazing job. US is also quite popular with guests from across the big pond, so you might appreciate that as well. I don't have enough expertise to rate the bangers and mash they serve, but US is probably one of few places you'll find it in the Orlando Area, and we liked it at US!

Like Disney, US goes by height, not age, but if they are over age 9, they can ride almost everything. (they are brave enough to ride) Below that, there are some coasters they will have to skip. Many rides have some height restriction, but we found by age six they could do most of US. The rides are also a bit more intense than Disney (cumulatively all day), so if you really dislike thrill rides, then you might not love US. If you can handle EE, Kali, Star Tours and a bit of spinning then you can handle most of US. US likes rides with the better virtual reality than Star Tours mixed with the moving around of TSMM. If you like Buzz, I think MIB is a better version of the same concept. Simpsons is funny paired with motion simulator of Star Tours. I'm sure it would help though to watch some episodes if you haven't seen it. Like Disney US's landscaping, theming, and storytelling are all great.

Food at US, IMO, is better than WDW. On the low end- they have your basic fried fast food, and mall food court type chains (Panda Express, Moe's Southwest) - but - they only charge regular food court prices for much of it. Then there's themed quick serve, and decent table serve food. We absolutely loved the Harry Potter themed treats! Just the merchandise is a bit crazy $.

US also has a few wet rides, except there again- US tried to out do WWD a bit- so you get MORE wet on their answer to Kali and Splash Mtn. We like to wear a bathing suit.

One more very important things to know about US is that a number of rides don't allow bags/backpacks. You have to put your bag in a locker. In most cases (except water rides) the lockers are free while you ride. (1st hour free) The locker is free, but there's a big upside to being bag-free at US.

In other ways, US has much in common with WDW, except the US lands have different themes. It doesn't have quite the charm/warm fuzzies of the Magic Kingdom, but individually, some of the US rides are better than Disney! Give me Mickey over Spiderman as a character, but the Spider man attraction is just super!