Here are some of my tips:
Official policies (confirmed with either the CMs that work at the applicable location or with Guest Relations):
- You can ask for cups of water from anywhere that has fountain drinks and they are free. My recommendation is to always ask for large cups of water, otherwise you will get the kids cup. You will get a FEW CMs that insist that they can only give you the kids cup, according to guest relations, this is NOT true, they must at least give you the Medium cups upon request. I have specifically asked this at guest relations, and will tell the CM so, if they continue to insist upon the kids cups, I will ask for more (usually an absurd amount) and they usually give in. But always be nice about it, you catch more flies with honey after all.
- You get free refills on soda anywhere that has self service soda machines, except the new pizza place in DCA. The new restaurant at DCA will charge you for a new soda every time. I did get a nice CM the first time that I went in who let me go, because I didn't know that they didn't allow refills as that is not the same policy as at the rest of the self serve drinks. (The counter Service locations that have these that allow refills are: Rancho Del Zocalo, Red Rocket's Pizza Port, White Water Snacks, Tangaroa Terrace. I am not sure about Downtown Disney locations)
NOTE: The official policy is that you get unlimited refills for as long as you are sitting at the restaurant (confirmed by numerous CMs). That being said, the policy is rarely enforced, especially if you have a reusable mug that has ever been sold at that restaurant. Just tell them that it is a refill and they usually will just let you go on without charging you for a soda, but be prepared as some will charge you for the first one of the day, just keep the receipt for the rest of the day (I think this is a fair system, but I always leave it up to the CM).
- At White Water Snacks, if you buy a refillable mug, you get free refills for life. (At least this was the policy that was posted the last time I went (simply reads Free Refills, not Free Refills for length of stay), although they have had times where this was not the policy, but even then, if you pointed out what the policy was when you bought the mug, they would honor it). This has been previously confirmed with those that work there as the policy when it is posted as Free Refills and does not have the qualifier of for length of stay. I am not sure if Tangaroa Terrace has a similar deal or not.
- There is no longer a $10 minimum to get your AP discount (this may eventually return for merchandise, but with the current "holiday" deal that has been running for a couple of years now, it doesn't even apply there), you may occasionally need to remind a CM of that. Smart Phones work great for this purpose as you can bring up the official information on Disney's site to show them.
With all of the above policies, you may get a CM that is unaware of the policy, my suggestion is first ask for their lead, then if their lead says the same thing, go to guest relations to confirm the current policy hasn't changed (these can change without notice after all). Once confirmed with GR, you have the information you need to save some money.
Here are some unofficial ones that I have found work, depending on the CM (remember your millage may and probably will vary):
- Asking for a large cup of water gives you the largest cup they have.
- If you order a sandwich/burger that does not come with tomato, ask for it after you get your food. This will usually result in you getting the tomatos for free. I do not feel bad about this at all, given the prices that they are charging, they can give me a couple of slices of tomatos without charging me $1.00 per slice (in the summer time, I can buy 3-4 pounds of tomatos for that).
- They are often handing out FP for a free token at Flynn's Arcade for Electronica earlier in the day. These tokens say Electronica on one side and Flynn's Arcade on the other and can be a great free souvenir. (If you actually want to play the games that are there, I recommend going down the street to Nickel Nickel and playing them for $.05 each, instead of $.50 each).
Ok, those are my tips that do not necessarily coincide with the official policies, here are a few other items that will save you money, but are definitely official, you just need to have found them at some point in time:
- Sign up for Patina Group's email list at: http://www.patinagroup.com/joinus.php and you will get $30 to spend at any of their restaurants (Naples, Catal, Tortilla Joes) for your birthday. They usually send this out about 1 month before your birthday and is valid until about 1 month after. We did this in January at Tortilla Joe's and spent $1.07 plus tip for two people. NOTE: You will get $50 at their more expensive restaurants, but the value is actually not as good relative to the menu prices.
- Use Restaurant.com to get discounted certificates for House of Blues. Watch for discount codes for Restaurant.com, we once got a $25 certificate (must spend a minimum of $35 at the restaurant, but that is easy enough here and tip is automatically added on) for House of Blues for $1.00.
- For a fun, quiet (except at breakfast) sit down meal, eat at PCH Grill. If you have young kids who are having a birthday, take them there, they don't get many young kids with birthdays there and they tend to spoil them (no guarantees of course, but that was our experience when we took my brother there for his 7th birthday. They gave him a light up Buzz Toy that normally only comes on the more expensive drinks, a picture of Walt and Mickey and a few other things, can't remember what all they were right now). We usually make reservations, but aside from at breakfast I have never seen them refuse walkups.
- If you are in DCA and want a quick meal with smaller crowds (and slightly lower prices), go through the GCH exit and go to White Water Snacks.
- If you go to any Landry's restaurant (Rain Forest Cafe, Claim Jumper, Buba Gump Shrimp Company, etc. - see http://www.landrysinc.com for complete list) at least once, join the Landry's Select Club, it costs $25, but you get a $25 welcome reward for joining and a $25 birthday reward in addition to all of the other perks. If you join online, you can get the welcome reward before ever dining there, meaning you can take advantage of it for your first meal and get the card. You will then get the $25 birthday reward every year after that. Note: The following locations are not included: Yak & Yeti Quick Serve, Build-A-Bear®, Build-A-Dino® and Paleo Zone at T-REX Cafe and International locations (except Rainforest Cafe Toronto).
- Check other locations for birthday club deals as well.
- Watch for deal days at Wetzel's Pretzels, Hagan Daz and Jamba Juice, the Downtown Disney locations USUALLY participate in these deals, even if it is unofficially.
- Watch your local grocery store for deals on Gift Cards, for example Vons will often offer a $0.10 per gallon discount for every $100 you spend in store and double the discount on gift card purchases. Buy some Disney Gift cards during this promotion, they can be used at Disney and you get a discount. NOTE: Most Vons allow you to pay for gift cards with a credit card, so if you have one that gives rewards, you can save even more, especially ones that give higher rewards at grocery stores. Use the same card to buy your gas and save even more.
- Remember most Gardenwalk locations also give AP discounts.
Always remember the following when getting a discount or using any of these money saving methods:
- The AP discounts are intended for the AP holder only.
- If it is somewhere that a tip is customary, always tip based on the full amount of the bill prior to tax or discount.
- Always be polite, if you know you are in the right, be firm and steadfast about it, but be polite. If you are unsure, ask for the lead and if they are unsure, ask for a compromise, they have a lot of discretion.
I recommend parking in the Toy Story Lot on Harbor at Convention Center Way. You get to park a lot closer to the shuttles than at the parking structure, so less walking. On average it will take approximately 7-12 minutes from your car to security in the Toy Story Lot and on average it will take 15-30 minutes from your car to security from the parking structure. I have timed these over numerous times, with varying crowds. Yes, there will be some rare occasions that will be outside these times, but they will be very rare. In addition, on the busy days, such as New Year's Eve when the trams to the parking structure stop running, the shuttles to the Toy Story lot continue to run. Also, the shuttles are old OCTA/ART busses, they are enclosed and air conditioned/heated. They also drop off closer to security than any of the other shuttles. If you consider time equal to money, then this is also a money saving tip.
Ok, so there is a lot of money saving tips, as well as a time saving tip. Hope this helps.
