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

[IrishNYC]

It would probably be worth your time to take a cab or Uber from your resort to a local supermarket or Target to shop for snacks and drinks. We mostly drink water while at the parks and carry filtered bottles that we refill as necessary, but we brought juice boxes with us, and were desperate enough to buy a six pack of beer at the gift shop. If any of your little ones are in diapers, you'd be able to just carry a few on your journey with you, then stock up when you arrive.

 

[DisneyHardin]

I'm confused about why families from other countries can have 5 in a value, but Americans can't. Everyone on these boards always fusses about fire codes if anyone even hints that they might have more than 4 in their room, so why are non-Americans allowed to have more than 4?

Sorry to hijack your thread, but this is confusing me.

 

[norjack]

I'm confused about why families from other countries can have 5 in a value, but Americans can't. Everyone on these boards always fusses about fire codes if anyone even hints that they might have more than 4 in their room, so why are non-Americans allowed to have more than 4?

Sorry to hijack your thread, but this is confusing me.

I'm not quite sure that this is a standard policy or glitch, although I guess they would figure out the glitch pretty quickly. We have noted that many times over the past 6 years, when comparing booking a vacation through for example the US vs UK website, there are availability differences, even when booking with the same amount of people/time. I have tried many times booking a year in advance, and whenever I have tried with 5 people (all over age of 3), we get a different list of hotels that are "allowable" for that many in a single party room. Not a completely different list, but I noticed that we could book one of the all star resorts, for example, from Europe. When I tried to do this on the US sight, it said that 5 exceeded maximum occupancy for that same hotel. I'm not exactly sure which one it was, but I believe it was a standard 2 bed All Star Music room. Will have to go back and double check now...

 

[norjack]

@DisneyHardin Just looked it up. Sure enough, when I try booking a room at the All Star Music resort, at first I get a price quote. Then, low and behold, a message on the next page that says, "This room type is unavailable for the dates, party size or offer selected." However, I go to the UK website, and I not only get the same basic price that was quoted on the American site, but it confirms it in my reservation for 5 and continues on towards other add ons and perks before I enter my payment/confirmation info. So...? Anyone know why this is like this? I'm not sure if this applies to any other resorts, but this is one that I have remembered from before...

 

[MissouriPrincess]

That's really cool. I have heard a lot of great things about those rooms. Can you tell me what time of year you stayed there, and how many points you used?

We've been in June twice, and this year we're going in July. I'm a teacher, so I have to go when I'm not working. We used the DVC Rental Store. It has a point calculator tool on the site. They handle the contract and everything. This year, we're doing a split stay between Beach Club Villas and Bay Lake Tower. We've been going every other year, though, because we like to save up money to do Disney this way.

 

[LaurenT]

I would consider renting a two-bedroom at a DVC resort. When we took our first trip with my parents, the cost came to about the same as two moderate rooms rack rate. We stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge--Kidani Village in a standard view. We had a full kitchen and a washer and dryer. It was wonderful to pop in a load of laundry while we napped during the heat of the day. For some meals, we fixed something in the kitchen before heading back out, but we ate at plenty of table service places, too. Plus we had a great pool and got to see animals around the resort all the time! We felt like we were are able to have plenty of space. My parents could go into their "studio" part and close the door away from us. My teen slept in the living room on the hide-a-bed, and my husband, toddler and I had the king bed in the one-bedroom part. We had three bathrooms. We have another trip planned for July, and we're still renting points for DVC. We're just trying new resorts.

This! You'd be amazed how much less it is than you think. Check out David's rental - he's a sponsor on the dvc section of these boards and is extremely reputable. AKL is a vacation in itself, living among the african wildlife .... And the accommodations are so much nicer. I would at least go to the dvc boards here and price it out.

 

[DisneyHardin]

@DisneyHardin Just looked it up. Sure enough, when I try booking a room at the All Star Music resort, at first I get a price quote. Then, low and behold, a message on the next page that says, "This room type is unavailable for the dates, party size or offer selected." However, I go to the UK website, and I not only get the same basic price that was quoted on the American site, but it confirms it in my reservation for 5 and continues on towards other add ons and perks before I enter my payment/confirmation info. So...? Anyone know why this is like this? I'm not sure if this applies to any other resorts, but this is one that I have remembered from before...

That is so strange. There was a thread on here a couple weeks ago where people said they had seen families made to rent a second room when they were caught with more than occupancy in a room. I guess in their computer system though, it shows that you booked through the UK site and that protects you.

 

[ArwenMarie]

If you are set on staying onsite, then that's what you should do. From your title, it looks like you were asking about tips on how to save money? One way people save money, or perhaps I should say get a better value, is look into offsite lodging options. Honestly, I couldn't stay in a one hotel room with 5 people for three weeks but that is just me I am also not familiar with the package pricing international visitors get, so maybe it's not as much of savings.

Of course, this is all moot if you are not comfortable renting a car and driving, which I think is necessary for most offsite stays.

 

[nkereina]

I also agree with the advice of renting points. David's DVC Rental will facilitate the whole process for you, which you may need due to the amount of points that would be needed for a 3 week stay. They have a cost calculator on their web site.

I honestly don't know how economical this would be, but have you considered buying an annual pass for your trip? This would give you the option to visit the park any day during your trip, and also will allow you to park hop. You'd get a resort discount depending on when you travel which could be used if you opt not to rent points. There are also discounts on merchandise and other activities you may do during your stay. There are also discounts on food & beverage, and you'd be eligible to purchase the Tables in Wonderland card which provides an even greater dining discount. I don't know what kind of ticket and dining promotions you are eligible for outside the U.S., so you'd really have to look at the cost comparison on what you'd spend versus what you may potentially save.

 

[norjack]

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...

 

[norjack]

We've been in June twice, and this year we're going in July. I'm a teacher, so I have to go when I'm not working. We used the DVC Rental Store. It has a point calculator tool on the site. They handle the contract and everything. This year, we're doing a split stay between Beach Club Villas and Bay Lake Tower. We've been going every other year, though, because we like to save up money to do Disney this way.

Understood. We are teachers,too. Summer is basically our only opportunity. My parents live in Missouri, too. North of Kc.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

My family goes for two weeks each year. We find the longer you go the more cost effective. .

I once though this way, but now our trips are much shorter, and trust me, they cost less.

I hear the OP on travel costs, but shorter trips are really one of the best ways to cut costs, and I've tried almost everything where WDW discounts are concerned.

I've also found it matters a good deal if you can play around with dates. Airfare prices are particularly prone to fluctuations. Car rentals can also be quite variable. I am not exaggerating when I say- I just looked up a car rate in the last few days, and modifying the arrival by a mere 6 hours (on a week long rental) reduced the price by over 90%!

As for our vacation time, I've found many so called discount ideas end up costing time, and time is money. We eat offsite, but mostly only on our way to/from the airport. We stay offsite, but mostly when we do non-WDW things, including arrival/departure days. We are now fans of hopping to assorted hotels, and save money by staying cheap o our first/last nights. We also save a ton by visiting beyond the mouse. Florida's natural parks are amazing, and almost free. I just read the US National Parks are going to introduce many fun programs for children very soon.

I'm not above eating a granola bar or two, but cooking/cleaning takes too much away from our vacation. I'd much rather take a shorter trip that is pure fun over a longer trip where I spend my time doiing two hours of household chores every day.

 

[tstidm1]

Something your forgetting to save money is that a place like All Star Vacation Homes or DVC is that it allows you to eat Breakfast and Dinner in your house/Condo and pack Lunch with you. That can save you hundreds that can offset the cost of a Car. On a longer trip with a Drivers License, that could save you and get food you want instead of American food. I'm staying at a Moderate for five nights and I'm leaning towards getting Breakfast foods delivered to the room to save money. I can see why a longer trip works for you.

 

[SplashMo]

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.

 

[SplashMo]

For breakfast in the room we use the coffee pot to boil water for oatmeal. We also have yogurt. There is not much cooking and we throw the trash away on our way out the door.

 

[Alesia]

I like to think I can keep an open mind. So from what you have found, Fastpasses are not a problem 30 days out for any attraction? Also, which hotel(s) would you recommend looking into?

Do not look at hotels - they're pretty expensive. You'll want to look at private homes. Check out vrbo.com or homeaway.com

We stayed in this townhouse: https://www.homeaway.com/vacation-r...yid_text_o_loth&utm_campaign=VRBOOwnerInquiry and thought it was perfect!

 

[Pinkos]

A lot of ppl have mentioned done good points about dvc rental. I'm with you on staying onsite! When on vacation I hate dealing with driving and parking lots and cooking! And I don't see the huge savings others are talking about by staying offsite either.

Things we do to save $$. We pack granola bars that we like in btw clothes in our suitcase. We don't load our suitcases down with food weight, but I do find some difference in how granola bars taste in the states so this gives our kids food I know they like, throw that with a bag of grapes from a QS meal and we have breakfast .

I pack lots of glow sticks from the dollar store ... So I don't have to buy them when at the park at night ...

I also buy some fav candy, and just split up in small snack ziploc bags, and throw it in the empty space in suitcases. I grab a bag for each kid each day and when they start to have a meltdown in a really long line, tada. It's amazing how 4-5 pieces of candy can turn a kids mood around

No big savings here... But little savings add up. Plus I find these tips can help save sanity and that's invaluable to me

 

[Alesia]

Really? My impression from others was that people were finding the most popular attractions (Mine train, Anna/Elsa) very hard to find fastpasses for if you aren't staying on site. Also, the car just adds a considerable cost and potential liability .

Fastpasses for those particular rides are scarcer than most, but they're not particularly difficult to get at 30 days out. Even if, for some weird reason, you can't get them you'll be there for a long time - you'll definitely get a chance to ride 7DMT with very little wait if you get there for rope drop. And the waits for Anna & Elsa aren't crazy like they were a couple of years ago.

 

[Blue32]

I'll agree with the notion of staying off site to save money. In my mind this is where you have the potential for the biggest savings while having accommodations that are as nice or nicer than Disney's for sacrificing a little convenience of being in the imaginary bubble and the extra booking time for FP.

 

[BeerMe]

We stayed for 7 weeks in Jan/Feb/Mar 2015 and have stayed 4 weeks several other times. We have a trip already paid for (well rooms and passes at any rate) fr 6 weeks in Sep/Oct/Nov 2016. We stay a few days onsite but most of the stay is offsite. We are retired and while we have decent retirement income we are not rich. Our condos for the fall trip are already paid for as are our annual passes. Our total costs so far for this trip are under $3,000. Meals will be about whet we would spend at home and we will have additional gas costs for the trip, the expense should not be excessive.

We stayed 11 days in December and will stay two weeks in June at a cost onsite of significantly more than we will spend this fall.