MichaelColey
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2009
- Messages
- 492
Disney has no problem with you bringing food. You might want to look up the specific restrictions. I suspect that it'll say no coolers over a certain size, no glass containers, etc.
There are a ton of things you can do to cut down on expenses, and it really just depends on how limited the budget is, how much work and preparation you're willing to do, how frugal you are, and how disciplined you are.
Although we can afford to spend a lot more than we do, we choose to spend only what's necessary, splurge in a few areas, and do more vacations rather than more expensive ones.
The easiest thing to do (and it's been mentioned numerous times here) is to eat breakfast offsite before you come to the park. Many hotels have free meals. Most are just continental breakfasts. We're staying at a Hampton Inn, which has a nice hot breakfast.
We usually bring snacks and just munch on those all day rather than eating lunch.
For dinner, we eat off site. We did eat one meal on-site with our trip back in March, but it wasn't very impressive. (We LOVE eating on-site at WDW, though, and have always gone during their free dining promotion.) Eating off site is better quality and cheaper. I know it's not as convenient, but it's worth it to us.
We hardly buy any souvenirs or other junk. I know that many buy things before their trip to save. Our kids have too much junk already.
For the most economical stays, I've found that many of the hotels 3-5 miles away offer free parking (most of the close ones don't) and some offer free shuttles (many both close and a little ways out charge a minimal fee).
There are a ton of things you can do to cut down on expenses, and it really just depends on how limited the budget is, how much work and preparation you're willing to do, how frugal you are, and how disciplined you are.
Although we can afford to spend a lot more than we do, we choose to spend only what's necessary, splurge in a few areas, and do more vacations rather than more expensive ones.
The easiest thing to do (and it's been mentioned numerous times here) is to eat breakfast offsite before you come to the park. Many hotels have free meals. Most are just continental breakfasts. We're staying at a Hampton Inn, which has a nice hot breakfast.
We usually bring snacks and just munch on those all day rather than eating lunch.
For dinner, we eat off site. We did eat one meal on-site with our trip back in March, but it wasn't very impressive. (We LOVE eating on-site at WDW, though, and have always gone during their free dining promotion.) Eating off site is better quality and cheaper. I know it's not as convenient, but it's worth it to us.
We hardly buy any souvenirs or other junk. I know that many buy things before their trip to save. Our kids have too much junk already.

For the most economical stays, I've found that many of the hotels 3-5 miles away offer free parking (most of the close ones don't) and some offer free shuttles (many both close and a little ways out charge a minimal fee).