'No Buy' Disney

[purplebelle]

I'm going to try, that is!

I leave in just over two weeks for 5 day/4 night at CBR with two-day park hoppers and 1 day at Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon. We have the free dining plan, so the only money we may need is for tips. Gasp, is that it?!

I don't do souvies and neither does my dfiance. I may have to buy 3 postcards, but really, that's chump change.

Otherwise, unless we're starving and out of dining points (in which we'll do counter service) I think I won't be spending much at Disney. Yay!

Anyone good at not over-spending in Disney?

 

[poohbear8]

This year I think we will be not spending a lot out of pocket either. We went last year, so there isn't anything we "need". The only thing I would buy is a zip up hoodie in Navy. Since I am picky about what it has on it, I doubt I will get one.

Last year we bought the MNSSHP shirts since they glowed in the dark. Really cool, but we only wore them on the plane ride home. We will skip them this year.

DD bought a zip up hoodie with Tink on it last year at the outlet, so she should be set also.

The only thing I can see us buying would be a bead for the pandora bracelet I hope to start for each of us.

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

BTDT.

DSis & I were on the 4/3 deal last January. No DDP but we got a $200 Disney GC when we checked in as a part of the package.

We tipped mousekeeping cash everyday but used the GC and my Visa Rewards Dollars (about $200) to pay for meals. And I had $50 in RFC GCs to pay for one meal. We brought breakfast food with us so that we could eat in the room each morning and that helped with the food bill.

Neither one of us is a big souvenir shopper.

I think I actually came home with more money than I left with because DSis owed me for the balance of her half and she gave me cash.

 

[MomtoGKC]

I rarely spend money at Disney. I taught the kids that they each get one pin on every trip - keeps the extra $$ to a minimum that way. The only way they get more is if Nana is with us and wants to spoil them a bit.

The one thing I did buy was a nice fleece blanket with a small patch of the castle in the corner. I would never have even looked at it normally, but we had one of those weird weekends where it was 85 Saturday and 40 on Sunday! My kids were freezing so I gave in and bought the blanket, better than going home.

 

[lucigo]

We have done some pretty low budget trips in the past. One in particular I think all I bought the kids was keychains and pencils! But....my DH loves his souvies and I've come to learn that if I'm bringing him I better put it in the budget! To him thats half the fun of going on vacation! Last Christmas he had to get every different kind of light up christmas light necklace, it was crazy.....I just roll my eyes

 

[Disneychix]

Our family does quite well keeping our spending in check. DH does love a beer at the bar or with dinner so that's his vacation splurge usually. I always have to get 1 (ok, some!) Christmas ornament as my vacation souvie. DS is still too little to be annoying with the begging for stuff. In March the only item he came home with was a Star Wars playset that he really wanted (don't know where that came from!).
My problem is all the spending I do getting ready FOR vacation. I can't tell you how many Dollar store glowsticks I've accumulated!

 

[eeyorethegreat]

We have done some pretty low budget trips in the past. One in particular I think all I bought the kids was keychains and pencils! But....my DH loves his souvies and I've come to learn that if I'm bringing him I better put it in the budget! To him thats half the fun of going on vacation! Last Christmas he had to get every different kind of light up christmas light necklace, it was crazy.....I just roll my eyes

I am glad I am not the only one with a Dh who must have Souvies!!1 I can pass just about everything. He on the other hand has to look into every shop! His worst is Goofy's Candy Co. He dropped $200 in that place I could have choked him

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

We actually may be able to do that on the three day trip we have coming up at the end of sept.

We already paid for the room, we have AP's, we got the ddp, we paid for the Keys to the Kingdom tour, and I have 98 disney dollars on the disney rewards card, so other than gas for the way down and back (usually 2 tanks, round trip), I don't see where there will be any OOP expenses.

Aug was a kind of painful month to pay off the cc's though, ack....

 

[lucigo]

I am glad I am not the only one with a Dh who must have Souvies!!1 I can pass just about everything. He on the other hand has to look into every shop! His worst is Goofy's Candy Co. He dropped $200 in that place I could have choked him

Oh gosh my DH is from Maine too, maybe they are related!

 

[wdwfan16]

No interest in a "NoBuy" Disney trip. We are on vacation and we spend what we want when we want. If DH wants a slushie thing a Goody's Candy store then he gets it.

If I see a cute outfit for the kids, they get it.

We work and watch our spending the rest of the year so we can vacation and not count pennies. We book a value if money is tighter so we can spend on the rest of the trip.

 

[mrsklamc]

We don't stay onsite (or haven't yet) but we don't spend much beyond lodging, tickets, and one meal out per day.

We eat at the townhouse before we leave in the morning, are there for rope drop, and come home around noon for lunch, a nap, and maybe a swim.

We aren't big souvie people but we like do go to the outlets and see if there is any appealing park merchandise. Last trip it was a $12 denim jacket with Mickey in Rhinestones on the back and a $7 t shirt.

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

No interest in a "NoBuy" Disney trip. We are on vacation and we spend what we want when we want. If DH wants a slushie thing a Goody's Candy store then he gets it.

If I see a cute outfit for the kids, they get it.

We work and watch our spending the rest of the year so we can vacation and not count pennies. We book a value if money is tighter so we can spend on the rest of the trip.

That's usually my philosophy on vacation, too. But when I went with DSis, she was watching her pennies. I didn't mind doing the CS meals (although I initially thought that I would hate it) and we really had a great time without spending much more than we'd already put into the trip.

I promise that my next trip will not be as spartan.

 

[blanq]

I am good at sticking to my travel budget. That said, most of our trips are not what I would consider budget trips. Once we are WDW, other than food, and experiences we plan for (mini-golf, Cirque du Soleil, etc) we don't spend much money. I always buy one Christmas Tree ornament, but that is usually it for any souveniers. Our DS is 16 now, so we don't have to deal with all of the begging for stuff, which helps keep the budget in line.

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

No interest in a "NoBuy" Disney trip. We are on vacation and we spend what we want when we want. If DH wants a slushie thing a Goody's Candy store then he gets it.

If I see a cute outfit for the kids, they get it.

We work and watch our spending the rest of the year so we can vacation and not count pennies. We book a value if money is tighter so we can spend on the rest of the trip.

For us the occasional no buy trip=more trips overall, so we're definitely willing to trade a little quality for quantity.

I would suggest if you don't have any interest in a no buy trip than this probably isn't the thread to post on.

 

[reducereuserecycle]

i am a minimal consumer in general...aka. SAVE THE PLANET! so, for us, a trip to disney is not about buying stuff.

last trip we bought 2 of those huge reusable bags that are so much larger than the typical reusalbe bags you see in most stores.

also, we indulged in Mickey and Minnie Christmas hats....very bad eco-decision but they were our only splurge.

i am like the op...maybe will buy a couple postcards or something but i don't tend to buy much as disney.

oh, and now that i have heard about the organic cotton clothes disney i selling i want some of those...but there is only about a 1% chance i'll buy any of them.

 

[Tink_Or_Belle]

if it wasn't for the photopass CD I'd be able to say I don't spend much but I buy that CD every time but I make sure to get LOTS of photos taken

 

[Melct]

I am typically not a big shopper anyway but this trip I don't plan on spending more than $100 out of pocket while at Disney. I know I will have to spend money on extra milk and snacks for the girls, and maybe a couple balloons. The only way we can go this year is to make it a super value trip. We are staying at Pop during free dining. I don't feel like I am sacrificing anything by going low budget, what can be better than being fed, housed and entertained by Disney all week?

melissa

 

[wdwfan16]

i am a minimal consumer in general...aka. SAVE THE PLANET! so, for us, a trip to disney is not about buying stuff.

last trip we bought 2 of those huge reusable bags that are so much larger than the typical reusalbe bags you see in most stores.

also, we indulged in Mickey and Minnie Christmas hats....very bad eco-decision but they were our only splurge.

i am like the op...maybe will buy a couple postcards or something but i don't tend to buy much as disney.

oh, and now that i have heard about the organic cotton clothes disney i selling i want some of those...but there is only about a 1% chance i'll buy any of them.

I have a shirt and it is the softest thing I have ever warn. I love it and will get more if I like the design.

 

[rumrunnergirl]

.

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

I'm good at sticking to our budget. We've been to WDW a bunch of times and at the beginning we'd spend too much money on souvenirs. These days I always buy a Christmas ornament and that's pretty much it. DS has outgrown wearing Disney clothing (it's not cool for a high schooler) and DH likes to buy his stuff from disneystore.com when it goes on clearance. I budget a certain amount, usually $200 per day, for food and whatever and we always come home with money.

I got mad at myself a couple of weeks ago. We were on the Wonder and I forgot to take a hat with me and had to buy one. Failure to plan on my part.