tips to save money!!!

[torinsmom]

If you have a daughter who would love the princess makeover this is what I did. I went to bridal craft section at Walmat and bought her a little tiara with a comb. I watched some BBB videos at home on youtube. I bought stick on rhinestones and pink glitter. When we were at Disney World I styled her hair to match the BBB complete with crown, glitter, and rhinestones, and my little extra a homemade bow. She got sooooooooooooooo many compliments on her hair and it was cheap!

Another option is to go to the Harmony Barbershop at MK. I have heard they do some really cute hairstyles on girls for a lot cheaper than BBB. I only have a boy, but he got the pixie dust and gel for around $20 a few years ago. It lasted two days.

 

[GinnyEmma]

what a cutie!

 

[torinsmom]

what a cutie!

Thanks! That was years ago--he is almost 17 now! No way I could get him to do that at his age. It will be hard enough to get a real smile this trip

 

[GinnyEmma]

Thanks! That was years ago--he is almost 17 now! No way I could get him to do that at his age. It will be hard enough to get a real smile this trip

lol, my 17 year old is a pretty good sport. The 15 year old, however would be another story!

 

[myjourney]

We usually have 4 in our group and you can buy the dining plan with DVC. I was not aware that Disney had free dining, I thought the dining plan was included in the non discounted price of the room, so the customer is actually paying for the plan. We do not buy the dining plan because our group is all considered adults and it is not worth it to us, I think if I had two or more children then it would be worth it.

Renting DVC points does not save money for every family. We are a family of 6 and we always get 2 connecting rooms at a value resort and since 2007 we tend to rotate our annual trips around the free dining promo. I have priced out renting DVC points on more than one occasion and it's DOUBLE the cost of getting 2 rooms, plus you can't even the free dining discount if you are renting points.

I would have to say that, for us, the biggest money saving thing we do is to travel during free dining dates. We love the DDP, and we have never shared meals, even when the kids were much younger. I know everyone can't travel during free dining dates, but it's what keeps us coming back every year.

 

[featherface]

I take an extra suitcase full of non-perishable breakfast food (muffins, cereal bars ect.) and snacks (raisens, crackers, apples ect.) We are not big eaters so we eat breakfast in our room, take snacks for lunch and only buy one meal a day. The money we save more than pays for our suveniers (sorry spelling) and we have an empty suitcase to put them in when we leave.

 

[100AcreWood]

Our biggest savings is in staying offsite. With 8 of us going this year, we are renting a 5 bedroom pool home in Indian Creek for $807(8 nights) It would have cost around $2400 for 2 rooms at a value. Add into that the money we will save by eating simple breakfasts and an occasional lunch or dinner at the house, and the savings really adds up. Everyone always mentions having to pay for parking, but even if you add 7 days of parking in, the cost is $905.

We have bought YES tickets the last 2 years. This year, YES 7 day hoppers were $1500 for the 8 of us. Regular Disney price would have been $2500.

We get the free ice water for 90% of our drinks. I bring the flavor packets. This saves calories as well as money. Too much soda also gives me heartburn, and I sure don't miss that.

We bring snacks to the parks, simple things like PB crackers and fruit snacks--just a little something to tide us over between meals.

I often buy kids meals at CS restaurants if I'm just going to get a burger anyway. It is plenty of food for me. I have also split a larger entree with my son when neither one of us was very hungry.

We buy ponchos at the Dollar Tree 2/$1 in case it rains. It's much cheaper than the Disney ones, and we just toss them after we use them.

DS gets a set amount of money. Once it's gone, it's gone. It's only for souvenirs, of course, as I buy his food.

At home, we save change in a change jar and I do surveys for a site a TM at Universal set me up with. Usually have about $100, as I don't use cash a lot, but every little bit helps.

If it wasn't for doing things budget, we wouldn't get to go every year

Can you tell me more about the YES program? I don't understand. I thought it was just for groups of kids.

TIA!
Kim

 

[torinsmom]

Can you tell me more about the YES program? I don't understand. I thought it was just for groups of kids.

TIA!
Kim

Disney has had individual enrollment for the YES program the last 2 years during certain months. Mainly, it is Jan, Feb, June, July, August. This year, they added some dates in Sept and Oct. You sign your kids up for a 2-3 hour class behind the scenes and in exchange you get heavily discounted tickets. I think they are about 40% off regular price. My party of 8 got 7 day hoppers for $1500; regular Disney price would have been $2500.

This is the site to start at:

https://www.studentguest.com/yes/

You fill out your dates and it will take you to a registration page. You can go all the way through and see the prices and just not enter payment info at the end. You have to go to the end to see tickets above 5 days. The classes are for kids aged 5-18(different classes for different ages). Right now, registration is up through October. Jan and Feb dates will be released in the fall. Summer dates aren't usually released until the winter dates are almost over(mid-late February). Fall dates were released in June, I believe.

Cons: Tickets are dated from one week before your arrival to one week after your departure date, and cannot be used at another time. This means you lose the money if you have to cancel. You cannot book a package with Disney, unless you buy tickets, so that can be a problem for those wanting the DDP. If you don't go to your class, Disney reserves the right to void your tickets.

There is a LONG thread here about the YES program. I would start with the last 10 pages, as it was started a few years ago.

http://http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2332767

 

[100AcreWood]

Wow what a great program! Unfortunately the week we are going in October the class is already closed. I would imagine with a limited number of openings they fill up fast! Thanks for the tip and I'll keep my eye on this for future trips!

 

[torinsmom]

Wow what a great program! Unfortunately the week we are going in October the class is already closed. I would imagine with a limited number of openings they fill up fast! Thanks for the tip and I'll keep my eye on this for future trips!

Yeah, I registered for our August class a few days after registration opened in February. Registration was closed for that class a week later.

 

[puddleduck]

We have bought YES tickets the last 2 years. This year, YES 7 day hoppers were $1500 for the 8 of us. Regular Disney price would have been $2500.

We are looking at doing this for our trip next year. Any tips about how to proceed?

Never mind, took the time to read the rest of the posts. Thanks for the info.

 

[chartle]

Disney has had individual enrollment for the YES program the last 2 years during certain months.

........

Cons: Tickets are dated from one week before your arrival to one week after your departure date, and cannot be used at another time. This means you lose the money if you have to cancel. You cannot book a package with Disney, unless you buy tickets, so that can be a problem for those wanting the DDP. If you don't go to your class, Disney reserves the right to void your tickets.

Also these tickets are completely non-upgradable. I don't even think you can go from say a 5 day yes to a 6 day yes ticket.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

We usually have 4 in our group and you can buy the dining plan with DVC. I was not aware that Disney had free dining, I thought the dining plan was included in the non discounted price of the room, so the customer is actually paying for the plan. We do not buy the dining plan because our group is all considered adults and it is not worth it to us, I think if I had two or more children then it would be worth it.

Yes, you can buy the Dining Plan when owning DVC or renting points at DVC, but you can not get the Free Dining Discount. Disney has been offering a Free Dining Discount annually since the fall of 2005. For the first few years it was just offered for fall dates, in the last couple of years they have expanded it to many slow weeks during the year. These are the dates that have been released so far for this year:

2011 Free Dining Dates

January 1 – 5, 2011
January 9 – 13, 2011
January 21 – February 3, 2011
February 11 – 17, 2011
February 25 – March 3, 2011
May 27 – June 2, 2011
August 19 – September 29, 2011

By the end of this month there should be another free dining offer for late fall and winter dates. We have free dining the third week of December 3 times.

The Dining Plan is never just included in a Magic Your Way Package, you have to add it and pay for it separately, unless you have a free dining discount. To get a free dining dicount you do pay rack rate for your room, but the Free Dining Discount, for most people, especially if you are staying at a value or moderate resort is a much larger savings than a room only discount. A room discount saves us about $630.00, whereas a free dining discount can save us almost $1,500.00. We don't really "pay" for the DDP anymore and try to rotate all of our annual trips around free dining. If your children are 10+ and considered adults it's an even bigger savings.

The six of us can stay 8 nights at Disney at All-Star Movies during value season with 7 day tickets and all our meals covered by the Free DDP for about $3,200.00.

 

[webshark3]

We were absoltuely shocked how much $$$ we saved on our last trip by simply eating off-site.

I know this is true, but I'm one of those people who tries to maximize park time. Off-site dining may be not be for everyone (especially if you don't have a car/rental). For me, my time is worth more than the savings from eating off-site a lot of the time.

Park lunch = $45
Off Site lunch = $30
Was the the extra hour+ out of the park worth $15? (Rhetorical; obviously the answer is different for everyone.)

I've found my inner peace with Disney prices. That markup saves me driving/parking/security checks...etc. That said, I do try to do fruit/boxed donuts and coffee in the hotel room in the morning before heading out (unless we have a ADR for breakfast that day).

 

[torinsmom]

Also these tickets are completely non-upgradable. I don't even think you can go from say a 5 day yes to a 6 day yes ticket.

True, you need to know how many days you want when you order. I have read where people did call and change their tickets before they left home though. You can't upgrade at the parks for sure.

I know this is true, but I'm one of those people who tries to maximize park time. Off-site dining may be not be for everyone (especially if you don't have a car/rental). For me, my time is worth more than the savings from eating off-site a lot of the time.

Park lunch = $45
Off Site lunch = $30
Was the the extra hour+ out of the park worth $15? (Rhetorical; obviously the answer is different for everyone.)

I've found my inner peace with Disney prices. That markup saves me driving/parking/security checks...etc. That said, I do try to do fruit/boxed donuts and coffee in the hotel room in the morning before heading out (unless we have a ADR for breakfast that day).

A lot of people leave the parks mid-day, so it wouldn't really cut into park time at all in that case. And for my group of 8 in August, a Disney CS meal would probably run about $70($7-$8 for an adult meal plus tax). Offsite, we would go somewhere like Wendy's for around $40. Wendy's would also include drinks, whereas at Disney drinks would be extra($2-$3/person). I guess it depends on the person whether it is worth it or not. Since we are already offsite for lunch, it makes sense for us.

 

[webshark3]

A lot of people leave the parks mid-day, so it wouldn't really cut into park time at all in that case. ...... Since we are already offsite for lunch, it makes sense for us.

Your absolutely correct. If you have the car, and you're already heading out for a break, it makes total sense. I wasn't too happy with the Disney buses my last few trips. Leaving the park for a break easily added 3 hours of travel time onto your day (once you count waiting for the buses too), so it made sense to stay in the park as much as possible. Last August we drove, so I was able to hit McD at the very least if we went for a brake mid-day. But that McD on Disney property isn't exactly a value either. But at least it was faster.

 

[webshark3]

Also these tickets are completely non-upgradable. I don't even think you can go from say a 5 day yes to a 6 day yes ticket.

One year we accidentally got 9-day hoppers instead of 10 day hoppers. On the tenth day, the CR was able to add a day onto the pass for the $1.25 per person (or whatever the adjustment was for a 10-day hopper). We didn't have to pay for a full single day. We were also resort guests so maybe that makes a difference. Might be different scenario, but the CR was pretty fast in making the adjustment with no questions asked.

 

[chartle]

Also these tickets are completely non-upgradable. I don't even think you can go from say a 5 day yes to a 6 day yes ticket.

One year we accidentally got 9-day hoppers instead of 10 day hoppers. On the tenth day, the CR was able to add a day onto the pass for the $1.25 per person (or whatever the adjustment was for a 10-day hopper). We didn't have to pay for a full single day. We were also resort guests so maybe that makes a difference. Might be different scenario, but the CR was pretty fast in making the adjustment with no questions asked.

The tickets we are referring to are special Youth Education Series (YES) tickets that are normally sold to Youth Groups and are heavily discounted and can't be upgraded at all. They are not MYW tickets.

You had standard MYW with PH tickets, and depending on when you went, to add a day was from 3 to 5 dollars per ticket.

It didn't have anything to do with being on site its how the tickets work. After 4 days, adding a day is currently $8 plus tax.

 

[webshark3]

The tickets we are referring to are special Youth Education Series (YES) tickets that are normally sold to Youth Groups and are heavily discounted and can't be upgraded at all. They are not MYW tickets.

I see thanks. Didn't know what YES was.

 

[ChristopherMarry]

Thanks for sharing a great tip to save money.. Thanks alot..