WDW Budget Advice?

[Amunet]

So most of this board seems to be how to save money FOR a trip (which is awesome), but I was wondering if there are any good ideas on how to save money while at the World?

We will be flying in, so we can't really stock up on lots of foods/etc. prior to going. We won't be renting a car or anything either ... so we're trying to figure out how to not be starving but also not go broke buying disney food.

Any advice is surely welcome!

 

[Darcy03231]

I've found that a lot of the counter and tablee service meals are big enough to split. My mom and I were just there last week and we shared lots of meals. If we were still hungry we'd share a dessert.

 

[chris31997]

I have seen on here about grocery stores that deliever. I have no expierance with these, so I can't speak to how good there are. Someone might come on and give you more details about these.

You could pack breakfast and snack items. Bringing those with you will help. The refillable mugs for the resort, if you are soda drinkers.

It also might be worth it to get a taxi and go to Walmart/Target/grocery store. But I would only think that would pay off if you were going to have access to a kitchen or grill.

 

[StitchBuddy]

You can buy donuts in the stores there on-site and milk too. It is cheaper than buying breakfast. ALso you can order pizza whichis cheaper than buying individual meals for everyone. You could pack peanut butter in your checked luggage if you are checking it. When we fly I always pack some snacks in our luggage and we only use carry-ons.

 

[bapawoo]

Where prices are more expensive at dinner time, have a LATE lunch and then snack for the rest of the day. The meal portions are the same for lunch and dinner but they love to jack up the prices during the dinner hours! Plus, the eateries aren't as busy around 1:30-2, and YOU can take advantage of the shorter lines during lunch/dinner hours!

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Eat at Earl of Sandwich at DTD their food is about the cheapest you will find on Disney property.

Try to eat lunch later so that you are paying the lunch prices but eating closer to dinner time. Then have a snack later in the evening.

Not sure how many are in your traveling party but last week when we were there we spent $6.99 and got a whole cheese pizza and a 2 liter of pop at the Hess gas station across from DTD. We took the bus, got off at the second bus stop at DTD and walked across the street. We ate our pizza out on the curb. And then had ice cream sandwiches with cost a total of $3.50.

I would pack cereal bars in your luggage and yes you can take them in your carry on. I brought a few bananna's with us in our carry on.

You could rent a car for the day. There are several rental car companies around Disney. Alamo is on sit, Avis is at the Hilton which is a 5 minute walk from DTD and Dollar is across the street from DTD. By renting a car for a day or even two, you can save A LOT. The money you save by having a car to eat off site will pay for the rental car. If you are unsure of driving there at a lot of places to eat not far from DTD that are very easy to drive too. There is Fudderucker, BW3, Chevy's, Red Lobster, Taco Bell, Joes Crab Shake, Qdoba, Subway,, Perkins, Olive Garden. There are less then 4 miles from DTD. On 535. Take Hotel Plaza Blvd ( AKA the road that DTD is on) to 535 and cross over 535 and go into the Crossings Center and 80 of the places I mentioned are there. The other places are located on 535. At the light for Hotel PLaza Blvd and 535 make a left and every thing is between there and the 2nd red light you come too. Usually you can rent a car for a day for about $30 including gas.

 

[jacdolfin]

A tip someone past on to me was to buy Disney gift cards and slowly add money onto them up until the time you go. Yes you stil have to fork out money but it does not hurt as bad when you get to divide it out over the months/year up until you go. Also share portions of food as others have said. You can buy light up necklaces etc at the dollar store before you go that helps. Just a few ideas. have fun

 

[Marionnette]

So most of this board seems to be how to save money FOR a trip (which is awesome), but I was wondering if there are any good ideas on how to save money while at the World?

We will be flying in, so we can't really stock up on lots of foods/etc. prior to going. We won't be renting a car or anything either ... so we're trying to figure out how to not be starving but also not go broke buying disney food.

Any advice is surely welcome!

Forget grocery shopping. Whatever you save by going offsite to get them you will spend in cab fare or delivery fees. All the resort gift shops have a limited selection of basic grocery items. The DVC resorts and Fort Wilderness have slightly better choices available.

If you absolutely insist on getting your soda, beer or water from an outside location, take a bus to Downtown Disney and walk to the Hess station. A lot of work to save a few dollars, IMO, but the option is there.

You can save in the parks and restaurants by:

• Ordering tap water with your meals instead of soft drinks.
• Skipping dessert and/or appetizers.
• Ordering an appetizer as your entree.
• Sticking to countreservice meals to avoid having to tip your server at tableservice meals.
• Remember that any item in a combo meal at counterservice restaurants can be ordered individually. No need to order a burger platter than includes fries and a soft drink if all you want is a burger.
• Order a child's meal if it appeals to you. The portions will be smaller. I especially prefer this option for breakfast when many of the menu items are the same for both adults and kids.
• Consider snacking instead of dining. Smaller, more frequent meals will help to keep you from feeling weighed down. Besides, the heat and humidity is a natural appetite supressant.

 

[jcvalenti]

I found I saved a bunch the year we went when my wife was pregnant, as I only had to worry about ordering wine for myself at dinner.

 

[momhmmx2]

I have groceries delivered by wegoshop.com We have used them several times now. Saves us a lot of money!!

 

[YukiPhnx]

I pre-packed cereal bars and protein bars for DBF and I to eat in the morning on our way to the parks.

Instead of getting a refillable mug for each of us, we just bought one to share.

Cold tap water is free at all CS locations.

I completely agree with PPs about sharing meals, eating a late lunch, and ordering the child combos. In fact, I think the child combos are a GREAT deal if you don't eat that much because it includes a drink and a snack for less than $6 (usually)! The child's chicken drumstick meal is fabulous.

Also, even if they don't display this option, you can order entrees a la carte and it's cheaper that way too.

 

[StephMK]

We just got back & here are some things we did -

-I ordered a kid's meal at some places, plenty for me because I was not hungry but not stuffed full

-get free ice water at the CS - Cosmic Ray's gave us full size cups. We brought in water bottles & refilled them with ice water from CS. I bought those single serve packets of flavoring - worked great. We would refill our water bottles at night w/filtered fridge water and when they were gone, get more water in the parks.

-those large sodas are huge and could easily be shared

-order ala carte instead of full meals

-snack instead of full meals

-pack some stuff in a carryon for snacks - nuts, crackers, cheezits, pretzels

 

[Amunet]

Thank you all so much for your advice ^_^

I don't drink soda, I'm not a huge fan at all, nor is DH. Though, bringing flavor packs for water is an excellent idea for DH! I was already planning on bringing water bottles due to heat.
Snacks are an awesome idea for packing!

What do you guys think about the disney quick dining plan though?

 

[Star Wars mom]

My family is not excited about eating at Disney restaurants, so here is what we do. I make a list of all the meals I can prepare for us while there. A few days before we leave I go to the grocery store and buy all the dry food for our trip (pop tarts, cereal, chips, etc.). I pack all that in one suitcase which then becomes our sovenir suitcase for the return trip since it empties out while we're there. Also a few days before we go I place an order with www.gardengrocer.com for any perishable items we need. I have them delivered when our plane is scheduled to land in Orlando. They charged a $12 delivery fee last time I used them, which I thought was reasonable. They will deliver to any resort. And the resort will hold your groceries until you arrive. They have large refridgerators and freezers in bell services for just this purpose. When we get to our resort, we just have bell services bring up our groceries. The milk is still cold by the time it gets to our room.

Of course I always pack snacks to take into the parks, too. I've never had a problem with security when our bags get searched before entry. The PPs had some great tips too. I've never used the dining plan so no experience there to tell you about. If you are really excited about Disney restaurants, they that may be the way for you to go. My kids and hubby all dislike restaurant dining, so our system works for us.

 

[pampam]

You havn't said how long you will be staying or how many people are in your party, or even what resort you are planning on staying at. It might be feasable for one or two of you to take the bus to Publix on #192. It's a 15 minute bus ride. Then you can still stock up on groceries. That's what we do. I can cook my scrambled eggs, or hot dogs, or canned chili up in the microwave in the food court. If you will not be leaving the property, don't forget that you can very often buy a loaf of bread. I get mine at the pizza shop at Pop Century, but it's not on the board. I have to ask for it. There are toasters available in the food court. We have one meal a day in the restaurant- usually it's lunch since we are at a park.

 

[TnTWalter]

assuming you're staying onsite at a hotel.

Best Tip: Eating at Epcot at the kiosks and CS is a great cheap and delicious way to go....

Check allearsnet.com for menus with prices
http://allears.net/din/dining.htm

There was a link with someone who had a limited budget where we posted ideas....
found it...

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2675218

This year, we had a condo but we ate out most meals and pretty inexpensively for our familyof 5....here's what we did....We spent a whopping $468 on eating out in and around the parks!! Crazy! For 5 people for the week. We had snacks and CS meals at Parks and ate at Giordani's [had $25 restaurant cert. that I got for <$2 but still spent $45...we ate it for lunch and dinner though], Fuddruckers and Earl of Sandwich and the Pollo place for smoothies.

I also spent about $160 on groceries. We did breakfasts, snacks and 2 dinners at bonnet creek. Enjoyed adult beverages as well. 2 cases of water.

Other ideas from our last trip that we did NOT do this time: the 2 for $13.99 at Logan's. I think it's like Sun-Wed certain times. Also last time I bought sauces and breadsticks from Olive Garden and made the pasta in the condo for a good cheap dinner.


This trip:

I had planned to hit Sweet Tomatoe's but never made it. If you register close to your trip time you can use a coupon they send. Food Budget....while at Parks most of the time all 3 ordered from kids menu which you are allowed to do at any CS; sometimes my oldest got a regular menu item.

We also spent the $160 on groceries which included fresh fruits, veggies, yogurts, v8 fruit juice, lots of snacks, beer, capri suns, bottled waters, breakfast food....
and made 2 dinners with it and brought lots of stuff from home [protein powder for smoothies, snacks, etc.]

we did more snacking this time...it was mid 80s....
I made a big breakfast every morning...with fruit smoothies every morning...one morning oatmeal, 2 mornings pancakes, eggs and sausage, eggs and bagels, last day whatever was left people's choice...

DAY 1 SATURDAY
lunch at MK Pinocchios $33.29
DINNER Fuddruckeres....
there was a family of 4 meal deal that even included beers. for $25 PLUS we added another kids meal $6 and 2 side salads....the kid burgers are really small though. I gave DD some of my meat. The other 2 had mac n cheese [which is kraft fyi].

DAY 2 SUNDAY
lunch Epcot La Cantina [shared 2 loaded nachos..mmm mmm] $21.20
Fountainview 2 swirl ice creams $7.66
1 Frozen Coke $4
1 Grand marnier Slushie France $9.50
Dinner Epcot France 3 desserts and 5 sandwiches $31.64

Day 3 MONDAY
lunch Studios discovered the FOOD COURT BY TOT! Good food at HS.
Fairfax Fare $41.50 for 4 [2 turkey legs, 1 pbj kids, 1 salad and 2 beers]
other kid bought kids pizza @ catalina eddie's $5.32
snack/supper 4 corn dogs $17 [i wasn't hungry]
ate slow cooked corn on cob and chips and salsa at home later after swimming

Day 4 TUESDAY
lunch Animal Kingdom Pizzafari $35.13
Snacks 1 Brownie and 3 Huge Crumb Cakes $14.77
Frozen Chai for me $5
Dinner Burgers, salad, watermelon

Day 5 WEDNESDAY
late lunch @ Giordano's...ordered 2 small stuffed pizzas big platter of fried things 2 side salads to share and iced tea/soda for all....after $25 restaurant.com certificate; we still paid $45...but we ate it for dinner also so 2 meals!
Snacks for fireworks...2 Cotton Candy Bags $8.42

Day 6 THURSDAY
lunch Morocco @44.68 for 4 of us
lunch Fish & Chips for DH $8.73; we all ate in line for Belle
snacks 1 crepe and 2 ice creams France $12.26
Margarita Kiosk $13.32 for ONE margarita...it was good
Kir Royal Champagne Drink $13.75
Dinner Slow cooked chicken black bean recipe I got on here...mmm mmmm
[chicken, salsa, 1 can corn, black beans, 1 package cream cheese...i had forgotten black beans and still yummo]. Served with tortillas.

Day 7 FRIDAY
lunch @ Earl of Sandwich $24.45
smoothies @ Pollo Campero 3 smoothies + Watermelon Sangria $24.46

 

[RHMH]

 

[RHMH]

Super Idea - I like the gift card idea. I will definitly do that next year. I will start that the week after I get back from Disney this year. 5.00 a week for 50 weeks, that 250.00. SUPER SUPER SUPER Idea.


Leaving from FTW Texas in 30 Days.

Bob

 

[pezheadmeg]

Garden Grocer for beverages and snack food for the room. I can't stand the taste of Florida water, and when I realized I can order a case of water for the cost of 3 bottles in the park. Plus, it's nice to have snacks in the room that aren't always the ones that you can get in the resort shops.

For what I save on drinks alone in the park, the delivery fee is worth it. The August trip where I was spending an additional $10 a day on drinks in the parks made me a convert to the idea.

 

[dd50]

Thank you all so much for your advice ^_^

I don't drink soda, I'm not a huge fan at all, nor is DH. Though, bringing flavor packs for water is an excellent idea for DH! I was already planning on bringing water bottles due to heat.
Snacks are an awesome idea for packing!

What do you guys think about the disney quick dining plan though?

I saved money last year by not getting the QS. Many times we shared a meal as I am not a big eater and neither is my daughter. At times they got a kids meal because that is what they wanted. We didn't do it to save money but it sure did.

I brought breakfast bars, honey buns, small packs of cereal. Bought milk but had a cooler so it stayed good for the trip.