Simple/Smart money saving tips :)

[catpaws007]

Me and my partner brought with us 2 bottles of water into MK. I brought a box of "Great Value" Cherry flavored Crystal light packets. When we got thirsty, we poured a little packet into the water bottle and filled it with ice cold water from a drinking fountain throughout the day...Saved alot of money and was good too!!! They come in all flavors... Cherry, Iced tea, Peach, lemmonade... I will def do it again on our next trip!!!

I bought a bag (Still have them at walmart) with 2 drink holders on each side of the bag, very padded straps, nice and small, and kept everything we wanted, in it.

In the little pouch i kept a sandwhich bag of my "cherry packets" (took out of original bulky box) and some advil " In case of a headache or something" And batteries for Camera. And a package of " wet ones" for those sticky moments! and from touching everything in the park!! ewww!

The smaller pouch, i kept a poncho from $ store (2) in a pack. And tickets.

The larger pouch, i kept our camera, water bottle fan ( which is kinda big and bulky, bought at walmart also) And some snacks. Phone.

We had everything we needed for the day. It was great and will do it next time also!! Which is at Christmas time!!!

 

[TuckandStuiesMom]

singles are the BEST!!! -- drink'em all the time @ work because the tap water's a little bit yucky tasting. Never thought about bringing them to the parks tho... GREAT IDEA!

 

[Psychometrika]

AMEN on the wipes. I carry a pocket bottle of sanitizer. After each ride, I'm wiping my hands. I feel like OCD, but since I've started doing it...I've never been sick when I leave. Otherwise, I always catch the colds of the world.

Another money saver...make reservations for lunch at the expensive places (Canada, etc.). Same basic food and plenty of it, for FAR less than the same meal at dinnertime. PLUS, you can play during dinnertime when the crowds are dwindling.

Another saver...if you don't own a DVC, check out eBay or other sites. DVC owners often rent their timeshares for around $10 a point. That translates to often 50% of what Disney charges for the SAME room! Before I owned, I rented and saved $1100 staying a week at OKW by renting from an owner.

If you DO stay at a DVC with kitchen(ette) don't shop across from Downtown Disney. The shopping bags may say "Low price" but not where I come from. Drive down the road a piece to Winn Dixie. I hate the store, but the prices are FAR less.

 

[dkostel]

Another saver...if you don't own a DVC, check out eBay or other sites. DVC owners often rent their timeshares for around $10 a point. That translates to often 50% of what Disney charges for the SAME room! Before I owned, I rented and saved $1100 staying a week at OKW by renting from an owner.

Good tip on the renting but the best place to do that is DIS' very own RENT/TRADE board. I've rented there a few times and always had great experiences. I'm holding out for the Villas at the Contemporary Resort before I buy.

 

[Psychometrika]

I'm waiting for that as well. What I am wondering about is whether they will allow current DVC owners to buy less than the 150 typical points required? Will they make it a much more expensive DVC to buy into, given the exclusivity of it all? Lot's of questions.

Hear anything about when it's coming?

 

[cknuazu]

I was shocked how many people bought so much food, snacks, etc that they wasted. Portions are pretty big. We shared our meals, even counter ones and if we felt like we still wanted something else we would get snack or another dessert. Who can complain about more dessert? We also carried a brita water bottle that my partner carried in a bottle holder and filled it whenever we went to restroom area or restaurant. Worked out great. Saved us lots. Also never leave home without the hand sanitizer.

 

[bexplosive]

singles are the BEST!!! -- drink'em all the time @ work because the tap water's a little bit yucky tasting. Never thought about bringing them to the parks tho... GREAT IDEA!

the water in florida does not taste good. get a portable water filter bottle.

www.purewater2go.com

they have bottles with a water filter built into them. you just fill anywhere and it filters the water. easy to carry around with you. no need to buy or carry bottled water.

 

[Psychometrika]

the water in florida does not taste good. get a portable water filter bottle.

As a Florida native ... just a clarification ... it's not the water in Florida, it's the Disney water purification systems. They suck. The water in other parts of Florida is fine. Tampa, Jacksonville, Tallahassee, etc. is as good as most other parts of the country (if that's good). The further south, the worse it gets as the source becomes shallow and is much richer in sulpher. It also is very very hard.

Disney really needs to do a better job with their water I think.

I often bring my Brita to the DVC and fill bottles from it.

 

[bexplosive]

As a Florida native ... just a clarification ... it's not the water in Florida, it's the Disney water purification systems. They suck. The water in other parts of Florida is fine. Tampa, Jacksonville, Tallahassee, etc. is as good as most other parts of the country (if that's good). The further south, the worse it gets as the source becomes shallow and is much richer in sulpher. It also is very very hard.

Disney really needs to do a better job with their water I think.

I often bring my Brita to the DVC and fill bottles from it.

well, I wasnt just singling out "florida" most tap water does not taste good because it is not heavily regulated. As long as it is safe, the government doesnt care about the taste. Our water here in Texas is not good either.

I still recommend the water filter bottles from www.purewater2go.com

 

[Psychometrika]

Didn't mean to sound grumpy. Your idea is AWESOME. I'm gonna get one of those filters myself. As a user...how long do the filters last?

 

[mickeysaver]

We plan to use Garden Grocer and have them deliver bananas, bagels, peanut butter, SB Mocha Frappachino, and bottles of water to our resort. We will bring single serve Gatorade, Crystal Light, and whatever else that we feel that we would enjoy. We will only have one Disney breakfast during our 3 day stay and the others will be in our room. We will do fine with our bagels with some PB and a banana.....especially if we have our SB! We have a lime green cooler that we will place some extra bottles into and bring them with us to the parks. It's amazing how much money that we will save with just a $30 order from Garden Grocer and a sale purchase of single serve drink flavor packs from Target's clearance aisle.

I am all about finding a deal! Maggie

 

[Viki]

Twice we used a service where the van picked us up at the airport, took us to a local supermarket, and allowed us 30 minutes to shop in order to stock up our DVC kitchen. We don't rent a car, relying entirely upon WDW's transportation system, so this made sense.

 

[Psychometrika]

Has anyone ever used the DVC grocery shopping service? Is it expensive? (Probably a stupid question, I know)

 

[bexplosive]

Didn't mean to sound grumpy. Your idea is AWESOME. I'm gonna get one of those filters myself. As a user...how long do the filters last?

you didnt sound grumpy, I just didnt want to trample on your home-state

according to the website, the filters last 80-gallons or about 3 months. I'm prolly going to replace mine every month or 2. They are so cheap I just want to make sure I've got a fresh one.

 

[bexplosive]

psycho, what happened in '84??

 

[dkostel]

psycho, what happened in '84??

And what did you get to see, and how did you get to see WDW pre-opening?

 

[Psychometrika]

Thanks for asking!

I was at Oxford (UK not Ohio) for a couple of years during college. I decided to spend all my free time over there touring Europe, etc. and since I was poor, I couldn't afford many plane trips back home. So, 1984 I had to skip Disney. However, back then there were at least some nice discount carriers across the pond - Air Florida, Arrow Air - Remember those? sigh.

My pre-opening visits were exciting, though I was pretty young. We lived in Tampa, and as Orlando was a sleepy orange grove, most of the major contractors who were local came from the Tampa area. We knew a couple of them and they invited us to come visit the site. The pictures help me "remember' more, but I especially liked walking down Main Street, 12 feet under! They were creating the tunnels and we just walked in the dirt (and mud). It was fun. I also have pics of Epcot being built. I could have gone up on Spaceship Earth when it was a steel frame... but alas I'm afraid of heights!

 

[bexplosive]

Thanks for asking!

I was at Oxford (UK not Ohio) for a couple of years during college. I decided to spend all my free time over there touring Europe, etc. and since I was poor, I couldn't afford many plane trips back home. So, 1984 I had to skip Disney. However, back then there were at least some nice discount carriers across the pond - Air Florida, Arrow Air - Remember those? sigh.

My pre-opening visits were exciting, though I was pretty young. We lived in Tampa, and as Orlando was a sleepy orange grove, most of the major contractors who were local came from the Tampa area. We knew a couple of them and they invited us to come visit the site. The pictures help me "remember' more, but I especially liked walking down Main Street, 12 feet under! They were creating the tunnels and we just walked in the dirt (and mud). It was fun. I also have pics of Epcot being built. I could have gone up on Spaceship Earth when it was a steel frame... but alas I'm afraid of heights!

oxford!! wow! sounds like good reasons to miss disney traveling and schooling are always important..........

 

[jsquirt555]

I just got my purewater2go bottles and I love them! I ordered the family pack of the 27oz sport bottles and a few extra filters. They are very handy, I definitely recommend them for everybody. You can just throw them in a bag or carry them anywhere. Just refill wherever you are.

Our water where I live has a funny smell to it. I tried it with that, and it smells and tastes like fresh, pure water!!

My husband didnt want to get them because he thought they wouldnt work. Boy was he WRONG!!

Janice

 

[bexplosive]

The 16 oz sport bottles are smaller and much easier to fit in water fountains and sinks. Keep that in mind when you order. Plus it comes in the family pack, so you get the free bottle!