Trying to save money on my vacation!!

[julluvsdisney]

So I am cutting my hours back at work so I need to shave some "extras" off of my trip. I am looking to have a great time but need some tips or tricks on how other DISers have shaved a few hundred off of the total. We are staying at Port Orleans Riverside from Dec 8th-15th with an 8 day park hopper and the dining plan. My Plan is to change to POP and stay dec 8th-14th I have to keep the dining plan because for my family it ends up saving money. I was think instaed of the the park hopper to do 10 day base pass so we could go to one other park pretty much every day. That all saves me $800. Has anyone ever done the 10 day pass vs the park hopper to save money. Does anyone else have any ideas??? TIA!!!!!!!

 

[HunnyPots]

You cannot visit more than one park per day without a hopper. You can't just use extra days to visit a second park - your ticket will be rejected as having been used in another park that day. Sorry, Disney is way too smart to let people get away with that one!

If you just have to have a dining plan, why not switch to the Quick Service plan to save a few bucks?

 

[DVCBELLE]

I think your plan is to use the 10 day base pass to go to two parks in one day - this is not an option. Once you use the pass at one park - you can't enter any other parks that day on the same base ticket.

We have not gotten hoppers to save money before and it worked out great - with careful planning you can do it!

Have you looked into a DVC rental? You could do that, add the dining plan and then use GAD tickets to take a couple of hundred dollars off your tickets.

 

[Justsyd2]

Dropping the park hopper, and moving to POP sounds like a good idea. You can always play mini-golf, resort hop, go to Downtown Disney, Boardwalk, etc on some days instead of going to the parks. You can also sign up for GAD to get a free one day ticket. With your free one day ticket you can upgrade to a multi-day ticket with a one day ticket discount (I think it's $79 right now). A 5-day Adult non-park-hopper ticket = $228 minus the $79 = $149. As stated -- with non-park hopper tickets you are limited to one park per day.

 

[julluvsdisney]

Heres a question can you add park hopper later in your stay? Like the first few days be a base ticket then add it like on the 4th day? because the first 3 days we just want to stay at one park to try to enjoy all that the parks have to offer then spend the last 3 days hopping.

 

[HunnyPots]

Yes, you can add the hopping option at any time but it is still the same price, no matter how many days left on your ticket.

 

[julluvsdisney]

eww I dont like that!! I thought I had tricked disney! Oh well I guess the park hopper stays!

 

[feezle]

You could drop the hopper and do the GAD promo. That would essentially give you one day to hop to another park since it is a separate ticket.

 

[DVCBELLE]

I have a suggestion for you. Don't add the park hopper option. Plan your trip so that you aren't going to park hop. Then if you are there and decide that you really do want the park hopper option - then add it in.

We made the decision to do this last year and on the day we wanted to park hop - we asked if it was worth $200 (4 of us) - guess what - we didn't park hop!

 

[allaboutaprincess]

I agree on dropping the park hopper option. I used to always buy them, but a couple of years ago I realized that it just wasn't needed. Trying to hop from park to park in one day was just too much for the kids.

 

[Mathfailure]

I am convinced we do less with the hopper option because we spend too much time on transportation. I like going to one park and doing it all, next day a different park. If you truly like one more than the others, two or three days at that park.

My husband on the other hand...

 

[tzolkin]

Are you driving or flying?

Do you need to do a TS/character meal each day?


I find that we save the most money on food.

We do not do the dining plan (DH doesn't like to be tied to reservations) and we don't mind eating CS while on vacation. I printed up little index cards with the CS menus so we could find some variety when we were in the mood for something instead of just eating burgers/chicken.

We also drive, so we make a trip to the grocery store on check-in day. We eat breakfast in the room (or on the way to the bus stop ) each morning and bring some healthy snacks into the parks with us. DH and I don't like to eat a large meal when it's hot and our kids prefer to snack throughout the day anyway. We return to the room for a nap/break every day and eat/refill our backpack. We usually stop twice during the day to eat in the parks and get a few CS meals each time and split them between us. We don't set a certain budget or deny anyone food to be cheap (I even buy Mickey ice creams), we just eat what/when we're hungry. Between the groceries and CS meals we average $50/day for a family of 5. That's about what the dining plan would cost for one of us.


The park hopper is a necessity for our family, but many others feel it's a waste of money/time. It's really your family's preference.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

I would drop the hopper option and add WaterParks and more. You can go to a waterpark and a major park in a single day. You also get the option to Golf and the use of Disney Quest. We love the idea of DisneyQuest on a rainy day. It is a great place to go and hang out and not get drenched. I always get the exact amount of days we are staying on our package (7 days, 7 days in the parks) and then have the options of using WP&M each day. It is the same price as hoppers but you have 7 extra options.

 

[julluvsdisney]

Its odd not to have the park hopper just because I have always have had it. But I totally agree that you spend more time hopping than enjoying the one park. Maybe I will try going without this time and see how it works! I am nervous though! I am doing the GAD so that will save some money. Any little bit helps!!

 

[Jareds_mommy]

we did a park hopper our first trip and used it once so DS could go back to buy something in AK it was a waste
we just plan our days and meals around a park a day
and have never needed it since
I would not add it
and them see if you really needed it and add it during your trip if you do

 

[brymolmom]

eww I dont like that!! I thought I had tricked disney! Oh well I guess the park hopper stays!

If you truly want/need to do a budget trip - not sure why it has to stay?? Did I miss something in the thread? If you go to one park per day - and maybe 1/2 day on a couple days - and shop or whatever the rest of the day, wouldn't it be the same thing?


Another thing if you truly want/need more budget is to skip the dining plan. If you bring food for breakfast in your room - and then split some of the bigger meals - you could likely even do 2 reasonable sit-down meals during your stay and still save $$ over the DP. Or, as another poster suggested - the quick service dining plan will save you some money.

 

[daisy2jae]

I have a suggestion for you. Don't add the park hopper option. Plan your trip so that you aren't going to park hop. Then if you are there and decide that you really do want the park hopper option - then add it in.

We made the decision to do this last year and on the day we wanted to park hop - we asked if it was worth $200 (4 of us) - guess what - we didn't park hop!

We have the same plan set for our upcoming sept trip. I'm assuming we'll run into the same thing and opt to not hop to save the money for that day. Never tried to go without but the little extra will be nice to save for extra spending in the park.

 

[growinupdisney]

If you brought water into the park instead of buying sodas and drinks you will save an average $60-$84 that week depending on how much you usually drink! We do this and saved a bundle! Eat cs go ahead a look at the menus to see where and what you would like to eat and you should be able to know how much you will spend each day on food! Also like op said breakfast in room another big $ saver! As well as take a few snacks.

 

[Tink9295]

We always did park hoppers (17 Years) until last year. Last year (2 different trips) we did one park a day and didn't miss the hopping. Even the kids 14 & 17 didn't complain. It's a great way to save money and allows us to visit more often. We don't do the dining plan. I feel we do better on our own. Eating on property and off. I bring gift cards to restaurants off property that we get through hotel points.

There are lots of way to save. You just need to do research and realize that you don't have to do everything every trip. It's impossible to do anyway.

We decided to slow down and enjoy DW. It's much more enjoyable than running to the next attraction.

 

[julluvsdisney]

I think the park hopper might be able to go! I guess if we find we cant stand it we can add the hopper at anytime thats a good point! I have to have the dining plan though! I love knowing my food is paid for before I go and for me part of my LOVE for DW trips is the food! I love going to all the different places they offer. My family is made up of a bunch of foodies so that is a must! Park hopping I think I can atleast try to go with out and see how we do! Thanks for all the advice!!!