Ways to save on a 2011 trip

[dhardawa]

I have decided to take my whole family (mom, dad, son, daughter, and me) to Disney again next November since my son will be 4 and that is always a great Disney age. I went ahead and changed over to the Disney Visa. I charge everything and pay it off at the end of the month, so I figure I can save a few hundred dollars this way. I also signed up for Swagbucks and am hoping to save a little on the flights since we'll fly Southwest. Are there other things like this I can do to save on the trip? I have about a year before I need to book so I have time to accumulate. Thanks.

 

[NiftyJ88]

I signed up for mypoints when I was planning for our first Disney trip. You can get points for shopping, but also for clicking on emails and responding to surveys. I think I joined in January of 2009 and was able to accumulate $75 in Landry's giftcards which I used at Rainforest Cafe by October. I do some online shopping, so I did get points that way, but I also got a significant number of points just reading the emails and answering surveys. Oh, and they also have a link to coupons.com and you get 10 points for every coupon you redeem per month. One month I was able to use 19 of their coupons, which gave me 190 points, plus bonus points for using more than 10 coupons, PLUS I saved all that money at the store.

I also signed up for a variety of survey websites this year. I think I've earned about $50 since January and if I wanted to - I could cash out another $25 worth.

Don't forget about selling items on craigslist or at yardsales.

 

[Smile4Me]

Definitely do the yard sale route. With kids clothes and stuff alone a friend of mine made $600 a week ago on a two day yardsale..very little was priced over $1! Ask for disney gift cards for presents, whether it be Christmas, birthdays, or mothers and fathers day. Or gift cards to Rainforest Cafe id you know you'll want to eat there.
My favorite is starting a change jar. My boyfriend and i throw all our change in and most of our $1 bills too at the end of the day and every week we count it. It all goes into vacation savings!

 

[Justsyd2]

The best thing that we do for our trips is to plan what we'll be doing in the parks and then pre-pay for the meal plan, and any OOP dining we'll be doing (like CRT, or any of the dinner shows), any hard ticket events, etc, and then divide the money we'll need by the amount of time we have until the trip, and save that amount every month so that everything is paid, or we have the $$$ for everything BEFORE the trip.

 

[Wilsonfamily4]

We took my in-laws January 2009 and we planned for two years. It was a very nice trip. We rented points from a DVC owner so we could stay in a two bedroom at Saratoga Springs. This worked out really well. We also decided to do the DDP just so that they wouldn't order the cheapest thing on the menu. This allowed them more freedom.

I saved money away every month and bought tickets as I had money. This way I was able to get most tickets before price increases.

Good Luck and have fun

 

[dhardawa]

I will look into survey sites and I love the idea of buying tickets before price increases. I plan to put back a little money throughout the year and a big chunk at tax time. I just love the idea of free money through things like the credit card and Swagbucks and I don't want to miss any free money!

I have never rented DVC points, but have thought about it. I would love to get free dining though and can't even buy the dining plan if I do that. I have so much to think about.

 

[Wilsonfamily4]

I will look into survey sites and I love the idea of buying tickets before price increases. I plan to put back a little money throughout the year and a big chunk at tax time. I just love the idea of free money through things like the credit card and Swagbucks and I don't want to miss any free money!

I have never rented DVC points, but have thought about it. I would love to get free dining though and can't even buy the dining plan if I do that. I have so much to think about.

You can rent DVC points and buy the DDP. We have done it twice. The owner just has to have it written down in the rental agreement with Disney

And if you are looking for "free money" then I would check out mypoints.com or s unshinerewards.com. They can seem complicated at first but after a bit you can make some money.