My Best way to save money on our WDW Trip.

[BobbyDukes]

Ill just come right out and say it. AIRLINES!!!!!!!

Yes the airlines are the biggest way for us to save money on our trip.
Either by using airline credit card points or just straight out frugal plane ticket shopping
we see the biggest savings coming from this part of the trip.

Planning around your flights rather than hotel stay usually saves us around 300-400 dollars
each vacation consistently.
If flying out on a Tuesday is cheaper, than it looks like we start on a Tuesday. If returning on a Sunday
morning is the cheapest then we return then. I understand not everyone busy lives have these
opportunities to travel on different days but remember that the flights have the most flexibility.

What do you think about airlines being the biggest saving opportunity.

 

[firefly_ris]

I agree- buying 5 airline tickets to anywhere would pretty much limit or nix our vacation plans. We use a combo of rapid reward points with a Southwest Visa and flying at "off" times/days to make it affordable. As far as WDW goes it's either that or an 18 hour drive with 3 small children.

 

[monorailsilver]

That is what we did this year and I think in 2008 as well.

I pen 2013 my sister came so I had to work around her kids college days and her work schedule-mine and DHs were flexible.

This August my sister was coming so we were going to go from a Friday to a Monday (2 weekends) or 12 days...I think. But my oldest niece is going to Italy for a semester in August so now my sister isn’t coming which changed things. I went to book the original days and looked at other days with in that same week and now we are leaving on a Wednesday and returning in a Saturday for cheaper then if she was coming, plus we are going one less day. Sort of bummed I only get 1 weekend but oh well....

 

[goodeats]

We hoarded our SW rewards points from DH's work travel, our preferred SW Visa, and other earning opportunities to use for our cross country flights to Orlando. They aren't the most ideal times or airports, but free is free! That's a savings of at least $1K!

 

[Marionnette]

Ill just come right out and say it. AIRLINES!!!!!!!

Yes the airlines are the biggest way for us to save money on our trip.
Either by using airline credit card points or just straight out frugal plane ticket shopping
we see the biggest savings coming from this part of the trip.

Planning around your flights rather than hotel stay usually saves us around 300-400 dollars
each vacation consistently.
If flying out on a Tuesday is cheaper, than it looks like we start on a Tuesday. If returning on a Sunday
morning is the cheapest then we return then. I understand not everyone busy lives have these
opportunities to travel on different days but remember that the flights have the most flexibility.

What do you think about airlines being the biggest saving opportunity.

What do you think about airlines being the biggest saving opportunity?

I think it depends on how many airline tickets you're purchasing. Face it - a hotel room for 2 adults is going to cost the same as will for 2 adult and 2 children but airfare is a per-person line item. Getting a good rate for the hotels is more essential for me because there are only two of us traveling. So a difference of, let's say, $25 per person per leg on flights is not going to have the same impact on my bottom line as a good room discount for a week-long stay.

 

[robinb]

My advice on saving on airline tickets is to buy them on Tuesday - Thursday. Prices are always more if you purchase them over a weekend.

 

[Nimbus]

We've been flying Spirit airlines recently. I know a lot of people complain about the airline, but we have saved a ridiculous amount of money using it. Yes, it's very bare bones, and if you want anything extra you are going to pay for it. But if you are just trying to get from point A to Point B, you really can't beat it. They fly into Orlando International, and a round trip ticket for us from Kansas City usually costs around $100. I agree, airline cost can be a huge saver.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

Airline tickets USED to be the big ticket item for us when traveling to WDW. We lived in an area with a small community airport. It was nice to have an airport so close but came with a lot of limits and limits came at a price tag. We'd have to fly into a major hub like SFO first. We tried driving up to SFO and staying in hotel and parking car for 7 plus days, but that turned out to be of no savings and actually was a big headache. I'm happy to say we're back on the East Coast and can now drive to WDW.

 

[Klayfish]

That depends more on priorities. Sure, you can save on airfare. I live close enough to drive now, so it's not a factor, but until recently we lived far enough away to fly. So we would book on small airlines at small airports and save a fortune. For a family of 5, that was probably a $500-$1000 savings.

But we had other huge savings, and still do. We stay offsite. I get a 3-4 bedroom 3 bath condo/townhouse for about 1/2 or less than the cost of onsite value resorts (we'd need a suite or two rooms)...and even the savings are even more when compared to a moderate or deluxe. We spend maybe $100/night all in, including taxes, cleaning fee, etc...

We pack all of our food. I know a lot of people budget $50/person/day or even a lot more. For a family of 5, even at a conservative number of $50/person/day, that's $1750 food for one week. Probably more, I know some people spend close to $100/person/day...that would be over $3500 for one week of food. For one week, we'll spend roughly $350-$450 in food total.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Meals is a huge way to save. We eat out the entire time at WDW because vacation means no cooking for me and I also hate packing lunches. I imagine we would save TONS of money if we packed our food for a week at WDW. But I can't bring myself to do it.

 

[Klayfish]

Meals is a huge way to save. We eat out the entire time at WDW because vacation means no cooking for me and I also hate packing lunches. I imagine we would save TONS of money if we packed our food for a week at WDW. But I can't bring myself to do it.

Yeah, I understand the mentality. But if you've got the resources (i.e. kitchen facility, etc...) to do it, you ought to give it a shot at least once and see what you think. Our "cooking" is not the same as what we'd do at home. No fancy meals, just simple stuff we can toss in the oven or crock pot while we're relaxing. Lunches are even easier. Honestly, we spend maybe 10-15 minutes preparing lunch. Money aside, we'd do it anyway for the nutrition side of things, but the money savings makes it all worth it.

 

[Judique]

Money aside, we'd do it anyway for the nutrition side of things, but the money savings makes it all worth it.

I love this statement!

When I developed health issues, and had to take a good look at nutrition, looking at Disney menus and trying to find the right things to eat to stay on track showed me that most restaurant menus are not geared to healthy eating. They are great for celebrations and splurges, but not for decent nutrition on a day to day basis.

I still eat at Disney and other restaurants, but I can't do a week of dining or even a dining plan. I have to have more balanced meals. And that definitely saves money.

 

[Klayfish]

I love this statement!

When I developed health issues, and had to take a good look at nutrition, looking at Disney menus and trying to find the right things to eat to stay on track showed me that most restaurant menus are not geared to healthy eating. They are great for celebrations and splurges, but not for decent nutrition on a day to day basis.

I still eat at Disney and other restaurants, but I can't do a week of dining or even a dining plan. I have to have more balanced meals. And that definitely saves money.

Yes, I agree with this. Having said that, I will give WDW a lot of credit. Over the past 10 years, I have seen a significant improvement in the healthy food choices they offer. No, we don't eat in the restaurants, but we do peek at the menus from time to time. While most of it is still "unhealthy" relatively speaking, they've got more options now. And sure, while on vacation, we'll splurge once or twice, but the overwhelming majority of the time, we don't.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

We would never go on vacation without our Avion points... *clings to the shiny silver card*

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Yeah, I understand the mentality. But if you've got the resources (i.e. kitchen facility, etc...) to do it, you ought to give it a shot at least once and see what you think. Our "cooking" is not the same as what we'd do at home. No fancy meals, just simple stuff we can toss in the oven or crock pot while we're relaxing. Lunches are even easier. Honestly, we spend maybe 10-15 minutes preparing lunch. Money aside, we'd do it anyway for the nutrition side of things, but the money savings makes it all worth it.

Honestly, after 4 or so days of Disney food I start to feel a bit like crap. I'm sluggish, bloated, my skin starts to look bad, etc. I start to crave a good cardio session and a green juice! lol This trip DD and I are doing a studio at BWV. I have really thought about doing a garden grocer order for some of our breakfast and lunches. Get eggs (hard boiled eggs in microwave), fresh fruit, yogurt, lunch meat, whole wheat bread, fresh veggies, hummus, etc. It's not cooking so I'm ok with that. lol We are midday breaks by the pool people so we could do a picnic lunch at the pool or just eat in the villa before hitting the pool. I think even my kids get sick of the food after a while. Last trip was 11 days and by day 6 my son said he wanted some home cooking.

 

[Texans_loyal]

Before I got my southwest CC, I would only fly spirit or frontier. it was cheap and got me to WDW fast. Now that I have my sign up bonus, I only fly southwest on points. It's been a life saver!! I am planning on applying for a hotel rewards CC next. Free hotel and flights is the ultimate goal!

 

[Klayfish]

Honestly, after 4 or so days of Disney food I start to feel a bit like crap. I'm sluggish, bloated, my skin starts to look bad, etc. I start to crave a good cardio session and a green juice! lol This trip DD and I are doing a studio at BWV. I have really thought about doing a garden grocer order for some of our breakfast and lunches. Get eggs (hard boiled eggs in microwave), fresh fruit, yogurt, lunch meat, whole wheat bread, fresh veggies, hummus, etc. It's not cooking so I'm ok with that. lol We are midday breaks by the pool people so we could do a picnic lunch at the pool or just eat in the villa before hitting the pool. I think even my kids get sick of the food after a while. Last trip was 11 days and by day 6 my son said he wanted some home cooking.

Yes, that's the other problem for me. I'd get physically ill if I ate WDW food for days on end, some of which stem from health issues. Don't get me wrong, I don't eat nothing but greek yogurt, veggies, boneless/skinless chicken, etc...at WDW. I do that at home, so I want to enjoy myself. But I eat a very solid "base" nutrition of things I normally eat at home, but then add on things I normally wouldn't do....DW will pack Cheeze-Its for the kids and I'll eat some, or I'll eat dessert or whatever. I very much enjoy those things and I can tolerate them, as long as my base nutrition stays solid.

 

[BoardwalkFamily]

Airfare for us has always been a big expense, since we travel around the same dates each trip, not too much opportunity for savings there. To save on our WDW trips we generally prepurchase our theme park tickets,sometimes buying them 1 at a time through the year prior to our trip(so miss the non-expiring tickets!)I have been ordering grocery delivery to our resort since we began traveling to WDW as a family. We take water and/or drinks with us into the parks,have breakfast in our room most days and have healthy snacks (hummus,veggies,fruits,crackers,etc) and a few light meals from what we order. We also went from doing 1 TS+ a day almost 20 years ago to present day where we usually do 1-3 TS a trip/the rest CS. Luckily the variety and quality of CS (like Sunshine Seasons) means we don’t miss it. I also agree that eating restaurant food 24/7 is not something we can/want to tolerate.We also used to bring t-shirts and souveniers (stuffed animals/toys/etc) from Target or Walmart when the kids were really small to avoid paying inflated park prices.

 

[BobbyDukes]

What do you think about airlines being the biggest saving opportunity?

I think it depends on how many airline tickets you're purchasing. Face it - a hotel room for 2 adults is going to cost the same as will for 2 adult and 2 children but airfare is a per-person line item. Getting a good rate for the hotels is more essential for me because there are only two of us traveling. So a difference of, let's say, $25 per person per leg on flights is not going to have the same impact on my bottom line as a good room discount for a week-long stay.

This is an incredibly optimistic way to view this thread. THANK YOU

 

[mamaofsix]

That depends more on priorities. Sure, you can save on airfare. I live close enough to drive now, so it's not a factor, but until recently we lived far enough away to fly. So we would book on small airlines at small airports and save a fortune. For a family of 5, that was probably a $500-$1000 savings.

But we had other huge savings, and still do. We stay offsite. I get a 3-4 bedroom 3 bath condo/townhouse for about 1/2 or less than the cost of onsite value resorts (we'd need a suite or two rooms)...and even the savings are even more when compared to a moderate or deluxe. We spend maybe $100/night all in, including taxes, cleaning fee, etc...

We pack all of our food. I know a lot of people budget $50/person/day or even a lot more. For a family of 5, even at a conservative number of $50/person/day, that's $1750 food for one week. Probably more, I know some people spend close to $100/person/day...that would be over $3500 for one week of food. For one week, we'll spend roughly $350-$450 in food total.

I agree. A couple hundred bucks saved on airfare is small change compared to what our family saves by staying offsite and cooking our own meals for part of the trip. We cook our own breakfast, pack a lunch for the parks, and eat out for Supper. It saves us about $1500.00 a week.

We have 6 kids, so would need several hotel rooms onsite. By renting a house instead, we save about $2000 a week.

Also, we drive (from Canada) instead of flying. Saves us a car rental when we arrive. Even with deeply discounted airfare, we are saving at least $1000.00 - $2,000 for the eight of us by driving instead of flying.

So, staying offsite, cooking for ourselves and driving down saves us about $4000.00 per trip.