Okay Canadian's what is the cheapest way to do disney?

[scrap_heaven]

We are going to fly out of buffalo for $793 round trip for 4 direct flights 2 checked bags free

We are looking between pop century and Caribbean beach it is $240 difference for 5 nights.

What are other ways we can make this trip cheap and cheerful?

We have done disney 4 times as a family, and always do a more expensive trip. This is a quick spring 5 night/6 day get away and looking to keep costs down and the fun up!

Would love to hear your advice!

 

[Disneylover99]

Bring kid friendly snacks with you and little boxes of cereal for breakfast.

Don't book any ADR's, keep it spontaneous so that you're not tied down to being in one place at a specific time.

Share meals and snacks at counter service locations.

Go to BOG for lunch. You don't all have to order an entree. Maybe even just go for dessert!

Ask for water at counter service locations. It's free.

Plan daily pool time to relax and have fun.

 

[tiffmarie99]

We stayed at Caribbean beach in September and loved it! We flew from St.Johns NL so we paid quite a bit in flights but we saved on the resort and food because we booked during free dining, it was so amazing not to worry about food costs or budgeting money for food.

I definitely think sharing meals and snacks is key if you don't have a meal plan or want to save some cash..places like Pizzafari that has large portion sizes would be a great choice for a family meal with low costs!

I assume you'll be getting a package with your tickets, if not check undercovertourist, who are licensed resellers of tickets..you can get great deals.

Refillable water bottles, and juice brought from outside the park. We had a "no soft drink" rule which saved money and trips to the bathroom. We also mailed snacks to our hotel, saving room in our luggage and cash when we got there!

Don't use photo pass, the CMs are more than happy to use your own camera if you ask

Get pins if you are celebrating a special event, you're more likely to experience pixie dust magic..we got upgraded for free from CBR to Animal Kingdom Lodge Savannah view because we got engaged at AK!

My last piece of advice is when in doubt, ask! Never be afraid to politely and nicely ask a CM for a favor, whether its a room upgrade, etc...they will usually try their best to make you happy and you can get little perks just by being friendly and nice!

Enjoy your trip!!!

 

[Aliceacc]

My grandparents and one uncle were born in Newfoundland, so I'm going to answer

If you're a member of CAA, you can get a discount:
From www.mousesavers.com:

"AAA and CAA Disney Resort Hotel Discounts

American Automobile Association (AAA) and Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) members qualify for “room only” discounts almost year-round, though there are a limited number of rooms available for each date.

AAA/CAA members can generally save 10%-25% off 2013 rack rates at the Disney resort hotels, depending on the season:
•Value resorts – 10% off all seasons except Holiday season
•Moderate resorts – 10% off Regular, Peak and Summer seasons; 15% off Value 2 and Fall seasons; 20% off Value season; no discount for Holiday season
•Beach Club, BoardWalk Inn and Yacht Club resorts – 15% off Regular, Fall, Peak and Summer seasons; 20% off Value and Value 2 seasons; no discount for Holiday season
•All other Deluxe resorts – 15% off Value season; 10% off all other seasons except Holiday season
•Saratoga Springs and Old Key West – 25% off all seasons except Holiday season
•All other Deluxe Villa resorts – 15% off Peak season; 20% off all other seasons except Holiday season
•Ft Wilderness cabins – 10% off Peak season; 15% off Regular and Fall seasons; 20% off Value season; not discount for Holiday season

AAA/CAA rates for all of the following year are usually released in the summer.

You don’t have to book AAA/CAA rates through the Auto Club. Room-only reservations with an AAA discount can be booked directly through the Disney Reservation Center at (407) W-DISNEY or a travel agent who specializes in Disney travel. Just ask if there is an AAA or CAA discount for your dates and resort.
•To reserve a room with the AAA/CAA rates, call the Disney Reservations Center at (407) W-DISNEY or contact a travel agent who specializes in Disney travel.
"

 

[iluveeyore]

Caribbean Beach is worth the extra if you're going to be enjoying resort breaks - rooms are a bit bigger, and they have mini fridge and microwave, which my daughter and I used for breakfast items and leftovers for lunches. If you're just go, go, go every day to the parks, I would stay at Pop (we enjoy it here too), and use the extra money towards eating out or souvenirs (or just save the money). Either way, have a great trip!

 

[dsneygirl]

Skip the meal plan, drink mostly ice water at QS you'll save a bunch right there. Or do breakfast buffet at 10:30 and you don't need lunch, then just QS for dinner.

 

[Ted in Halifax]

These have already been suggested for the most part, but nevertheless. Plus i"m not a foodie, so that needs to be taken into account.

Cover breakfast in your room. Bagels, cereals etc .... and make sure everyone eats to avoid early lunch.
Share Quick Service meals, mid afternoon. Even a kids meal can be shared if you have a big breakfast.
Get a trip to Hess' gas station (Bus to Downtown Disney, walk to Hess' .. Cab is not necessary) Buy any beer, bottle water, and snacks there.
Buy one refillable mug and share it among family ...
Meals at Downtown Disney can sometimes shave money. Earl of Sandwich is an an example.
As mentioned above ... avoid buy drinks where possible (beer, Pop). These add up quick and are better bought elsewhere (Hess'),. I love Beer but when I buy them through Disney, they are $5 to $7 each. This pays for at least six beers through Hess. (Kids Swim dad hydrates Mom naps)

I think POP is a good choice for a stay since you can go to the art of animation and get another selection of Quick Service, but that's just the way I would look at it. $240 saved will go a long way.

Ted

 

[Disneylover99]

I think POP is a good choice for a stay since you can go to the art of animation and get another selection of Quick Service, but that's just the way I would look at it. $240 saved will go a long way.

Ted

I agree. Pop is the way to go.

 

[mort1331]

you haven't said when your going,,,fall sometimes dp is included. You cant share cups anymore with the new chip tech in the cups you have to wait 1-2mins before refills.
I have stayed at CBR but like POR better. Worth the upgrade to Mod especially if DP is included.
Take crystal light(or similar) flavor for the water and bring a refillable bottle.
Start setting aside a set amount each week just to the Disney fund to make it easier for the spending cash, also switch money when the dollar rises alittle so you don't get hit when its down like now

 

[scrap_heaven]

We are looking at going The last week of may Sunday-Friday to avoid higher weekend rates.

I love the idea of bringing breakfast foods. We also enjoy the ice water at cs.

My husband loved the suggestion about going to Hess and getting beer.

We are not paying for a dining plan this trip. It would be $770 out of pocket, which frankly for a family of 4 (2 kids under 6, 2 adults) for 5 nights/6 days is nuts. We can definitely eat for way less then that while we are there.

We are only going to do 2 sit down meals both late breakfasts. Rest will be in room or counter service.

Love the ideas! Keep them coming.

 

[busyshrew]

I'm just repeating & reinforcing the pp's above.

This is what we do:
Fly out of Buffalo. We shift our travel dates to hit cheaper times (mid-week vs. weekend, or we go a week before March Break / President's Day).
Stay offsite - somewhere with kitchenette & laundry facilities.
Eat breakfast in-house (in-suite?). Pack snacks and water for the parks.
Eat out for lunches, not dinners (much much cheaper / quieter).
Prepare simple, easy-to-make light suppers in-house.

That's about it.....

 

[LittleFlounder]

Take crystal light(or similar) flavor for the water and bring a refillable bottle.

On our last trip, rather than Crystal Light, we took "Mio" with us(specifically, Mio Sport, which has electrolytes in it). It is much less expensive than those little Crystal Light packs, and you can control how much you use/how sweet. It encouraged us to drink more water to stay hydrated and masked the unpleasant smell/taste of Orlando water!

 

[mtmbyck]

A few more tips I used to swear by when kids were young........

Pack baggies (there seemed to always be leftover krispie snacks or grapes from meals and I kept these for midday munchies).
Go to Dollarama and pick up glow sticks, glow wands.......much cheaper than the Disney glow things sold during parades and we had kids asking us where we got ours!,
If you can get to a supermarket, grab fishy's, juice boxes (cans are not allowed) and the Smuckers PBandJ crustables. My DDs love these and you can buy a box of 10 and bring them to parks (Disney used to offer them as a meal).
Also at Dollarama you can sometimes find autograph books and Disney pens. Pending on what time of the year you are going ponchos are also a good idea.

Have a lovely time. It's always a pricey vacation but woth every penny!

 

[scrap_heaven]

Okay so here is the break down

Can you see where we could make cuts?

I am converting to CAD - because of the difference right now I need to account for that

$1342 Park tickets 6 days 2 adults 2 kids - best price I could find was CAA (even better than the get 1 day free at disney)
$627 room 5 nights pop century
$902 flights for 4 people, direct with luggage
$2879, before eating any thing, parking at the airport, tips, and little souvenirs

 

[Nahanni]

$1342 Park tickets 6 days 2 adults 2 kids - best price I could find was CAA (even better than the get 1 day free at disney)

Not sure what your USD price is but Undercover Tourist using the Mousesavers link is US$1192.

Would you consider not visiting WDW? You can get unlimited entry to SeaWorld, Aquatica & hotel for $700. Add a car rental for $200 (or walk/tram to SW) and if you need another park to visit, drive to Busch Gardens Tampa for $164.

A different experience but our children enjoy non-WDW trips when we don't stay on-site.

 

[scrap_heaven]

Not sure what your USD price is but Undercover Tourist using the Mousesavers link is US$1192.

Would you consider not visiting WDW? You can get unlimited entry to SeaWorld, Aquatica & hotel for $700. Add a car rental for $200 (or walk/tram to SW) and if you need another park to visit, drive to Busch Gardens Tampa for $164.

A different experience but our children enjoy non-WDW trips when we don't stay on-site.

My heart is set on Disney, I think we can do it all in for about $3500 my hubby is less thrilled since we did a BIG expensive trip Sept/13.

At this point the discussion is spend money on Disney trip or around the house. The kids would love another trip to see the mouse.

I think that I got it for as cheap as it can be onsite in may

 

[Alliecat and Rabbit]

We are flying out of Toronto at the end of November and staying at AoA for 7 nights.
I purchased flight and hotel only and ended up $1995, taxes included.
I have a butload of airmiles and will be using them to purchase our park tickets.
You can also use airmiles for Universal but knowing it's Disney or bust for yourself as well, the 7 day base ticket is gonna cost 2675 airmiles. I've been told you can upgrade your park tickets once you arrive at WDW but that you should use 1 day's ticket before making any upgrades and then it should only cost you about $65-85 each to add park hopper for the remainder of your trip.

Hope that helps.

 

[Mama2girlz]

We are flying out of Toronto at the end of November and staying at AoA for 7 nights. I purchased flight and hotel only and ended up $1995, taxes included. I have a butload of airmiles and will be using them to purchase our park tickets. You can also use airmiles for Universal but knowing it's Disney or bust for yourself as well, the 7 day base ticket is gonna cost 2675 airmiles. I've been told you can upgrade your park tickets once you arrive at WDW but that you should use 1 day's ticket before making any upgrades and then it should only cost you about $65-85 each to add park hopper for the remainder of your trip. Hope that helps.

That's is really cheap! For flight and hotel. Who did you book through? Which airline and are the flights direct?

 

[KateDrake]

Are you renting a car? That can be a good way to save a few hundred dollars. We really like Magical Express from the airport, it's very easy. The big drawback in using Disney transport is if you want to park hop a lot or go back and forth to your resort. We usually go in the off season when the parks are only open until 8 p.m. or so, so we tend to hit rope drop and stay all day, taking a break for lunch or dinner at some point to rest. The kids still need naps, but they just sleep in the stroller. So that's an option, though if you want to go back to your resort often, it is really nice to have your own car.

I also would just stay at Pop, unless you have a lot of resort time planned. CBR is nice, but very spread out, so you would probably want a car there, too. But Pop is easy and fine for a place to crash at night, and has pretty good bus service.

Anyway, just some ideas. Have a great time!

 

[Mskittyandbigboy]

I would also love to know where that Toronto deal was booked through! Mil wants to join us next Feb, but wants to fly out of Canada for some unknown reason. Flights I checked so far(obviously not for our actual dates) are $500+, we can easily go for $200 each out of Buffalo.