My Family's tips on Saving $ at WDW!

[Kaa]

Okay - this is the Budget Board, not the Debate Board. The purpose of this board is to discuss ways to save money while vacationing at WDW. If you don't like the way this board is being moderated, send an email to the webmasters.

Let's please get back on topic with money-savings ideas.

 

[C.Ann]

Originally posted by Pa@okw95

By the way C. Ann what did you mean by $650 per night, there are more expensive rooms then that at GF.

--------------------------

I meant that I'm totally speechless that anyone would willingly pay that much (or more) for a hotel room..

 

[BethR]

PLEASE everyone! This started out as a thread to help people make the most of the their time AND money while at Disney World. Since it was started on the DVC Board I guess ALL KINDS of people are interested this.

PLEASE let's bring this thread back onto topic and not make it into a Debate between the "Those Who Spend" and the "Those Who Spend Less" - there is a Debate board for those kinds of discussions.

I would really hate to lock this helpful thread.

 

[Daxx]

To get this back onto the theme of saving money:

1. Bring fruit juice snacks, fruit roll ups or those pre-pack cheese w/crackers snacks into the park so your kids can munch when they need something between meals.

2. Bring a washcloth in a baggie w/you. Cheaper than wipes b/c you can rinse and reuse the washcloth. Also nice to use to keep cool with!

 

[ducklite]

Originally posted by lenshanem
Pa@okw95 -
"Now one thing is for sure I won't be staying at GF ever again because like the person on the boat you get tired of people trying to get for nothing what you paid for."

I'm confused about this. Then you also feel that since we weren't staying at the GF then we shouldn't have been able to take the boat from MK to the GF and then eat at 1900 for the Pooh character dinner?
I must say that dinner was one of the most expensive ones of our trip! At least $100 as I recall and we're a family of 2 adults, 1 child and a toddler!

I'll let it go now, but I'm just confused on that way of thinking. I think the GF liked taking our money for that meal. LOL I don't think they cared if I was staying at BCV, which isn't that shabby of a place!

I'm not saying that you didn't have the right to be there, etc....but over $100 for dinner at 1900PF for your party? It was probably under $100 including tax and tip unless you drank alcohol or specialty drinks, and then it still would have only been right around $100... Either way, it's not that expensive for an all inclusive dinner IMHO.

Did you try any of the desserts? They have some wonderful ones there...yum!

Anne

 

[ducklite]

Originally posted by DEH3rd
maybe they could do the wristband thing for the entire property. platinum for YC & BC (has to be the best b/c of SAB), Gold for the rest of DVC, Silver for deluxe, Bronze for moderate, and dirt brown for all-star. That will really help with Pa@okw95's caste system. Then, If you are 'caught' in an unapproved area for your budget type (or caste), they could load up the box cars and ship you back to where you came from. It is efficient and fair to those paying $650 per night. Also, unless you are paying $650 per night at the GF, you should not be able to eat at 1900 park fare. Oh, here's another cool idea, anyone riding the monorail should have to stand and move to the back of the monorail when a wristband of higher pedigree comes aboard. por favor mantenga se alejandro de las puertas.

While this is utterly ridiculous, I do believe that where Disney has set rules or posted policies (pools and beaches being for the exclusive use of guests of that resort, etc.) we need to respect and abide by them for the comfort and safety of everyone.

Anne

 

[BethR]

Anne, I do believe that that post was made with tongue firmly implanted in cheek. I don't think that it was serious.

So now...let's get back to tips on saving at WDW. Me - instead of renting a refrig, I like to take (or buy) a cooler and keep it filled with ice in zip-loc bags in order to keep milk, etc. in our room. That's a $70 savings over the course of the week.

 

[mom2of2]

I'm with you Beth. We brought down a collapsable cooler, just packed it w/ our first change of clothes for when we hit WARM weather (it was March) and then it was empty. We stopped and picked up a case of water and some other items and put ice in gallon zip locks. I changed the ice in the a.m. and in the early evening and it worked out great! On the day of check out I still had about 1/2 the case of water left and as we checked out I saw a man getting out of his car (obviously checking in) I told him I had something for him and handed him the 1/2 case of water. He looked surprised then happy and wished us a great trip home.
There are tons of great ideas of how to save money yet have a wonderful time and I have to admit we did enjoy resort visiting and we asked to see a room at WL. It was beautiful and DH wants to stay there some time. We also visited AKL, Poly, Contemp, BC, BWI, Dolphin and ASMo. I plan on checking out CSR, PC and a few others next trip. That's part of the fun of being at WDW, exploring, seeing new and unique themes and just enjoying yourself and your family.

 

[Daxx]

*Pop Tarts and cereal bars as well as instant liquid breakfast are excellent for a quick snack or even breakfast on the run!

*Purchase some fresh fruit at the supermarket. Bring your apples or oranges to the park for a refreshing snack! Chill them while you're getting ready to leave your room, so they get nice and icy cold!

*Avoid the vending machines -- stock up on candy bars, soda and chips from the supermarket!

*Pre-sweetened Kool Aid or iced tea packets are great -- put a little of the packet into your cup, add water and enjoy! Cheaper than a can of soda from the vending machine!

*Eat ice cream for lunch, have an early dinner and snack later in your room. Or, eat a big lunch, ice cream for dinner and snacks in your room.

*Don't forget to fill up on your share of Coke products at EPCOT's Ice Station Cool!! They're free! And, you can have more than one sample!

 

[ducklite]

Originally posted by mom2of2
I'm with you Beth. We brought down a collapsable cooler, just packed it w/ our first change of clothes for when we hit WARM weather (it was March) and then it was empty. We stopped and picked up a case of water and some other items and put ice in gallon zip locks. I changed the ice in the a.m. and in the early evening and it worked out great! On the day of check out I still had about 1/2 the case of water left and as we checked out I saw a man getting out of his car (obviously checking in) I told him I had something for him and handed him the 1/2 case of water. He looked surprised then happy and wished us a great trip home.

We've done this with leftover laudry detergent. Last trip I took it down to the laundry room and wrote on it with a Sharpie-- "Welcome Home! We've gone home and had this leftover, so use it and have a great trip". Hopefully it helped someone out.

Anne

 

[LKS]

We always take our cooler and a box with foods for lunch and dinner. We just don't enjoy that many restaurant meals, and we hate to waste precious mornings with their lower crowds eating an expensive breakfast. Sometimes we do it as a treat on our last day when we are not going to parks. This frees up our cash and appetites to have some very nice, memorable (and expensive) dinners at whatever restaurants we want.

I do have a question. While in Europe this summer, my friends near Paris had these bottles of flavored syrup that you just added to water to make "lemonade" (there were other flavors). You just made it up a glass at a time. Does this exist here in the states? It seems much neater than our messy powders which are always packaged to make a whole pitcher at a time.

 

[Simba's Girl]

[QUOTE My wife and I will probably split a hamburger and fries. ]

REALLY? mabe I'm odd but I can't see two adults splitting just a hamburger and fries. The children yes but the adults...I would be up really early because of hunger.

 

[poober25]

My DH and I have split a burger and fries several times at many counter service restaurants at Disney. Now, we are talking about a dbl. burger, which is more than enough. Sometimes we get an extra bun, but usually not. We also have other snacks that we eat on through the day.

 

[welovemickey]

Our money saving tip is that we always eat one meal a day at our campsite. We also tend to eat a heavy lunch late in the day, that way we're not hungry until we return to the campsite for a light dinner before crashing for the night.

Also, we spend time at the petting zoo at the campground. It's free and the kids love it. I wonder though, if the person who posted about the people watching fireworks from the GF dock, also feels that the petting zoo should be strictly for campground guests because they're paying for a campsite there. I have to say, I found that persons post rude and shallow.

 

[CarolA]

Ignore him! He makes these kind of posts all the time and I am pretty sure he does it to get a rise.

(Personally, I think paying that much money for a hotel room is just plain DUMB, but that is my belief and your feelings may vary!)

 

[luvdisney14]

Ice tea mix comes in a liquid, we used it last year in disney. I can't remember if it is made by nestea of another brand. It worked out great because it was in a plastic container.

 

[Banshee]

yep Nestea make's the liqued ice tea mix in a plastic container about the size of a 16 oz water bottle.It come's in different flavors like raspberry ice tea and green tea with honey.Plus sugar free!What I do here at home is mix a little crystal light in the 16 oz water bottles ( I dont care for the city water )Stick them in the fridge they seem to take up less room than pitcher because I can put them in the door or lay them flat on the smaller shelves.I plan on doing this at home before we leave that way we have them while there. We had requested a fridge for the room but now we are going to look into the electric cooler.we are staying for 10 days so I would much rather have the money for a nice dinner at GF he he he just teasing!

 

[crazymomof4]

Tell me if I should just start another thread on another forum for this:

I am enjoying the $ saving tips on this thread and do not want to post anything that will once again throw it off subject but....I have a valid (not sarcastic) question: Is it OK to "resort hop"??? We are staying offsite. We had plans to do this one day just to visit/see some of the resorts. Is this allowed? We will not be swimming in the pools or using the playgrounds. We used to do this but now I'm wondering if the rules have changed.

I always thought Disney encouraged visiting the resorts. Seeing the resorts in person may lead to the person booking that resort on their next trip.

 

[Kirby]

crazymomof4 - I don't know what policy at Disney is but I don't think that they would care if you resort hopped. I would think that they would want you too in the hopes that you might stay there in the future. We've always stayed on-site so when we have done it we used Disney transportation. I know that when you drive in in your car they want to know why you are entering the resort grounds. Maybe you could park at DTD and catch a Disney bus.

Try posting this over on the Resort Board. Someone over there might be able to give you more information.

 

[kayeandjim00]

crazymomof4 - You can definitely resort hop rather you are staying at that resort or not. Even if you aren't even staying on property at all. If you are driving to a different resort just explain to the guard that you are there to shop and tour the resort I believe you are given a 3 hour parking pass. Otherwise you can take the monorail or busses without any questions asked. We stay on property at various resorts and always eat, shop, etc at the others and have never had a problem. Definitely don't worry about resort hopping - have a great trip!