what are your best money saving tips for WDW?

[cheermom1]

We will be staying at all stars movies booked it already. We have 2 rooms there. Now my question is what is your best money saving tips for a family of 8??

Saving money on everything from food to souvenirs. Thank you

 

[tluvstink]

We will be staying at all stars movies booked it already. We have 2 rooms there. Now my question is what is your best money saving tips for a family of 8??

Saving money on everything from food to souvenirs. Thank you

We like to have breakfast in the room while getting ready for the day. I will pack things like granola bars, peanut butter, crackers and instant oatmeal. I like to heat water in the coffer maker for oatmeal or grits

You can also get cups of water and/or ice for free at all the cs locations.

Have fun!!!

 

[Marionnette]

We will be staying at all stars movies booked it already. We have 2 rooms there. Now my question is what is your best money saving tips for a family of 8??

Saving money on everything from food to souvenirs. Thank you

I think that your biggest savings will come from whatever you can save before you go.

• Did you get a room discount? If not, then look for one.
• Do you have tickets? Would getting an annual pass and using its discount benefits pay for itself?
• Where did you buy your tickets? Did you get the best possible price on them?
• How are you getting there? Did you get a good price on airfare? Have you looked into getting/using frequent flyer points? If you're driving, have you looked into getting discounted gas card through promotions at a local grocery store or from a rewards program?
• And speaking of rewards programs, do you have any credit card rewards that can be used towards your vacation? Check them to see if there are cashback or GCs that you can order before you depart.

Other than that, there are the standard canned responses like sharing meals (which rarely works for us) and eating in the room. You can pack meals to eat in the parks but I've found that they are never as appealing as the pulled pork at Flame Tree or the funnel cake at the American Pavillion.

The one thing that saved us a ton of money was making a grocery stop and buying a case of the small water bottles to take with us. The larger bottles weigh too much and we rarely finished them. We found that the smaller bottles (like the kind that you put in a child's lunchbox) worked perfectly for us as long as everyone carried their own.

 

[Heluvsme]

I agree with getting your own bottled water, it has saved my family a LOT of money over the years, best tip hands down!!

The other thing that has helped us over the years is to bring from home as many items as we logistically can, that would potentially cost us a lot if we had to buy them there, for instance, sunscreen and Advil/Tylenol. We always need those items and they're very expensive if purchased there. Sunglasses and hats are also pricey there.

Pre-buy souvenirs inexpensively at home, pack them, then pull them out and surprise your kiddos while you're there! WalMart has Disney items at very reasonable prices, so does Target. Light-up bracelets/necklaces at the Dollar Store will save your wallet at night when the Disney-sold ones go for a minimum of $12 each! At Dollar Tree you can get a 3 pack for $1.

I have found children's meals to be plenty of food, many times when I'm at a counter service I will order a child's meal, I am small statured and a small meal is very satisfying to me. Just a thought.

Have a great time!!

 

[cheermom1]

I think that your biggest savings will come from whatever you can save before you go.

• Did you get a room discount? If not, then look for one.
• Do you have tickets? Would getting an annual pass and using its discount benefits pay for itself?
• Where did you buy your tickets? Did you get the best possible price on them?
• How are you getting there? Did you get a good price on airfare? Have you looked into getting/using frequent flyer points? If you're driving, have you looked into getting discounted gas card through promotions at a local grocery store or from a rewards program?
• And speaking of rewards programs, do you have any credit card rewards that can be used towards your vacation? Check them to see if there are cashback or GCs that you can order before you depart.

Other than that, there are the standard canned responses like sharing meals (which rarely works for us) and eating in the room. You can pack meals to eat in the parks but I've found that they are never as appealing as the pulled pork at Flame Tree or the funnel cake at the American Pavillion.

The one thing that saved us a ton of money was making a grocery stop and buying a case of the small water bottles to take with us. The larger bottles weigh too much and we rarely finished them. We found that the smaller bottles (like the kind that you put in a child's lunchbox) worked perfectly for us as long as everyone carried their own.

All good questions and yes I got a discount on our rooms. And yes I will be saving on our tix. This is the best part, I asked my sil if she wanted to come with us as she lives in fl and we can see her while we are there. I thought it would be a great thing for my dh to see his sister and have some fun with her. then to my wonderful surprise she said she has an AP and she can get us 4 day tix with a great discount! So excited! I don;t think she can get all 8 but any little thing helps.

We do not have credit cards as we feel they are not good for us.

We don't really have a program here for gas and rewards

We will be eating breakfast in the room for the most part. I know that most of the time we will eat lunch in the parks. But dinner we haven't decide on that yet.

So what about souvenirs? Should I buy before we go or what? Now remember all my kids are older from 19 to 12 when we go. Thanks

 

[cheermom1]

I agree with getting your own bottled water, it has saved my family a LOT of money over the years, best tip hands down!!

The other thing that has helped us over the years is to bring from home as many items as we logistically can, that would potentially cost us a lot if we had to buy them there, for instance, sunscreen and Advil/Tylenol. We always need those items and they're very expensive if purchased there. Sunglasses and hats are also pricey there.

Pre-buy souvenirs inexpensively at home, pack them, then pull them out and surprise your kiddos while you're there! WalMart has Disney items at very reasonable prices, so does Target. Light-up bracelets/necklaces at the Dollar Store will save your wallet at night when the Disney-sold ones go for a minimum of $12 each! At Dollar Tree you can get a 3 pack for $1.

I have found children's meals to be plenty of food, many times when I'm at a counter service I will order a child's meal, I am small statured and a small meal is very satisfying to me. Just a thought.

Have a great time!!

Thank you for that I have been thinking of buying things here and bringing them with me. I already have a lot of glow sticks even though dh doesn't think that our boys will care about them but I think that being in the heat of it and the excitement of disney that they will so I have snuck some ion our disney box.

The child's meals will be great for me and my dd but I don;t think it would go over well with my boys.

 

[rentayenta]

Food and souvenirs are our only ways to save any real money. I'm a sucker for souvenirs so food is where we save.

- share meals and snacks of possible
- drink water. Soda is really so bad for us anyway
- stay away from high priced buffets if possible. I always feel like I need to stuff myself to get the value. Buffets are not good for my wallet or waistline
- try to get in on one of those fridge swaps that happen at the Value resorts. Even if you can swing a light breakfast in the room or late night snacks, you'll save some money.


Do the Values offer microwaves? If so, bring microwave popcorn. My family loves popcorn and it's a great late night snack. You could also reheat any leftovers that have been kept in your mini fridge.

 

[Marionnette]

All good questions and yes I got a discount on our rooms. And yes I will be saving on our tix. This is the best part, I asked my sil if she wanted to come with us as she lives in fl and we can see her while we are there. I thought it would be a great thing for my dh to see his sister and have some fun with her. then to my wonderful surprise she said she has an AP and she can get us 4 day tix with a great discount! So excited! I don;t think she can get all 8 but any little thing helps.

We do not have credit cards as we feel they are not good for us.

We don't really have a program here for gas and rewards

We will be eating breakfast in the room for the most part. I know that most of the time we will eat lunch in the parks. But dinner we haven't decide on that yet.

So what about souvenirs? Should I buy before we go or what? Now remember all my kids are older from 19 to 12 when we go. Thanks

Make sure that they are not FL resident tickets. You cannot use them if your are not a resident of the state. And they will ask you for ID and proof of residency when you try to use the tickets if they are.

 

[cheermom1]

Make sure that they are not FL resident tickets. You cannot use them if your are not a resident of the state. And they will ask you for ID and proof of residency when you try to use the tickets if they are.

Thank you for that I had no idea.

 

[undertheradar]

All good questions and yes I got a discount on our rooms. And yes I will be saving on our tix. This is the best part, I asked my sil if she wanted to come with us as she lives in fl and we can see her while we are there. I thought it would be a great thing for my dh to see his sister and have some fun with her. then to my wonderful surprise she said she has an AP and she can get us 4 day tix with a great discount! So excited! I don;t think she can get all 8 but any little thing helps.

We do not have credit cards as we feel they are not good for us.

We don't really have a program here for gas and rewards

We will be eating breakfast in the room for the most part. I know that most of the time we will eat lunch in the parks. But dinner we haven't decide on that yet.

So what about souvenirs? Should I buy before we go or what? Now remember all my kids are older from 19 to 12 when we go. Thanks

Will she be leaving the family reunion early also? Earlier you posted on another thread that you had a budget of $5,000.00, has this changed? You will be there over July 4th holiday, one of the busiest weeks of the year at WDW. Since you will not have a place to cook, unlike when you were camping at Fort Wilderness or when looking into DVC, you should plan to budget in park meals for lunch and dinner. Due to crowd size, you will lose too much park time trying to exit the parks and re-enter to save money on food. Better to budget too much for meals as opposed to too little.

 

[sdchickie]

Have you checked into the YES program for tickets? I believe they go up to age 16 or 18. If you have one child registered then everyone in the family can get the discounted tickets. Plus your child gets a pretty cool educational program. Also the water is free at any of the places that sell fountain drinks, but it tastes horrible. We always bring the little packets of Kool Aid mix and dump it in the cup. We never get the park hoppers, I think it is a waste of money as long as you have enough days down there to get everything done that you want to do.

 

[Southernmiss]

Make a list of items that you need to bring with you like sunscreen, first aid stuff and pain relievers
Not buying those things on site will save $.

My kids (ages 10 to 17) are responsible for their own souvenirs they may want. They save and bring their own money. It's really not a big deal to them. On our last trip they didn't buy any.

I use my Disney Credit Card Reward points for a new refrigerator magnet and Christmas tree ornament. Those are my souvenirs.

Beyond ordering water and watching what restaurants we eat at (only counter service never table service) and bringing in a few snacks those are about the only ways I have found to save once we get into Disney. And truthfully, we don't really bring snacks in much anymore--the kids may pack a backpack (they are old enough to carry their own stuff), but I travel without one and don't miss the time spent at the bag check.

We have found that we only eat one real meal a day at lunch. Breakfast is something in the hotel room. Then counterservice for lunch. Snack in the evening at the park if we want one and then the kids will have something when we get back from the park. We ate at Pecos Bills (counter service) in December and each ordered what we wanted for about $65-70 for 6 of us.

As I have said before, it's helpful for me to save $ by feeding my teens snacks and quick fix foods in the hotel before and after the parks.

Fort Wilderness Cabins/Campground have saved us because of what we saved in $$ for food, because we cooked at the cabin, outweighed the cost of comparable lodging.

Most of the big savings wil be in the resort deal you get or the ticket purchase.

 

[cheermom1]

Will she be leaving the family reunion early also? Earlier you posted on another thread that you had a budget of $5,000.00, has this changed? You will be there over July 4th holiday, one of the busiest weeks of the year at WDW. Since you will not have a place to cook, unlike when you were camping at Fort Wilderness or when looking into DVC, you should plan to budget in park meals for lunch and dinner. Due to crowd size, you will lose too much park time trying to exit the parks and re-enter to save money on food. Better to budget too much for meals as opposed to too little.

No the reunion is on my side not dh;s but we will be staying at her house while attending the reunion. And yes we have sat down and talked about that and decided that eating in the room for breakfast and a light dinner and perhaps one or 2 dinners out. that has not be decided. We came to the conclusion that staying in a room is better for our family. Which is why I have been trying to done other ways to save. I am saving on a room for 2 nights on Atlantic beach by staying with sil. Then I am going to buy as much stuff here before we go e.i. hats and souvenirs and the like. Plus my dd said she would pay for one room at the resort if we booked the resort so that is saving over $500 right there. So once I did the #'s we went over about 300 from the fort to the resort but I got some of it back when I don;t have to pay for a room in atlantic beach which is saving me over 160 there. Then we will be saving some gas by not taking the pop up. So over all it will be a little more then we wanted to spend on the room but not too much more then the fort.

Have you checked into the YES program for tickets? I believe they go up to age 16 or 18. If you have one child registered then everyone in the family can get the discounted tickets. Plus your child gets a pretty cool educational program. Also the water is free at any of the places that sell fountain drinks, but it tastes horrible. We always bring the little packets of Kool Aid mix and dump it in the cup. We never get the park hoppers, I think it is a waste of money as long as you have enough days down there to get everything done that you want to do.

Yes I have and we will do this if sil can't get us the tix on her end. If it works out with sil then great if not I will be doing this. The July schedule is not out yet.

 

[Marionnette]

No the reunion is on my side not dh;s but we will be staying at her house while attending the reunion. And yes we have sat down and talked about that and decided that eating in the room for breakfast and a light dinner and perhaps one or 2 dinners out. that has not be decided. We came to the conclusion that staying in a room is better for our family. Which is why I have been trying to done other ways to save. I am saving on a room for 2 nights on Atlantic beach by staying with sil. Then I am going to buy as much stuff here before we go e.i. hats and souvenirs and the like. Plus my dd said she would pay for one room at the resort if we booked the resort so that is saving over $500 right there. So once I did the #'s we went over about 300 from the fort to the resort but I got some of it back when I don;t have to pay for a room in atlantic beach which is saving me over 160 there. Then we will be saving some gas by not taking the pop up. So over all it will be a little more then we wanted to spend on the room but not too much more then the fort.

What do you mean by "light dinner"? I hope you are aware that there are no cooking facilities in the value rooms. In fact, you won't even have a refrigerator. That pretty much limits you to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or cold canned tuna.

 

[disneybirds]

There are lots of good ideas here. We always eat breakfast in the room. We usually head back to the hotel after lunch and let the kids swim in the pool, but we have never been during really busy times. You could order pizza and eat poolside for one dinner.

I would also second the recommendation to have the kids bring their own money for souvenirs. I am always amazed at how good the kids are with spending their own money, but wouldn't think twice about us spending that same amount.

 

[dislaney]

...

I would also second the recommendation to have the kids bring their own money for souvenirs. I am always amazed at how good the kids are with spending their own money, but wouldn't think twice about us spending that same amount.

My kids are older and that was one of my best money saving tips. When they were younger, even if I gave a certain amount of money to each kid for their souvenirs, I still saved. Say I give each kid $100 - that was it for the week or however long. One of my kids, would look all week and spend it at the end of the trip. One would spend it all almost immediately, but still knew that was it. When I didn't give them each a specific amount -they would be asking for something in almost every gift shop and I ended up spending so much more money on them. They also didn't give much thought to what they really wanted.

 

[klm7926]

I agree with Dislaney! We went with our two boys last May and each of them saved their money from February 14th (when we surprised them) to when we left. We got them each a $50 disney gift card and then whatever they saved we cashed in for more disney gift cards. In all they both had about $150 to spend while we were there. They knew that once it was gone, they couldn't get anything else. They actually had a hard time finding things (that were small enough to take home anyways). One of my son still actually has a bit left over!

 

[kellyg403]

Our first trip we were a family of 8, the kids not much younger than yours. The youngest was 9 and the oldest was 17.

Bringing a BUNCH of snacks if you can. We stayed at a moderate with 2 rooms and did have a refrigerator in each of the rooms. We brought plenty of water and plenty of things like granola bars, water, nuts, gatorade, and junk. The kids ate poptarts, donuts or bagels for breakfast that filled them up for a while. We were on the dining plan, but my boys could eat for days so I sympathize. The reality is teens are always hungry whether they eat 3 full meals a day or not. Without a fridge you will have a harder time with things like cereal.

They brought their own spending money. I bought each a tshirt and sweatshirt before we left from Disney store. They had a great sale plus a code and the same sweatshirt was 50+ dollars at WDW. I paid less than 12 bucks. When we got to the parks they had their one snack credit of the day for whatever but after that it was on them.

Bring all the medicine you think you might need from advil to Pepto to bandaids. Really. I was so thankful I remembered to pack the sinus med! That stuff is expensive at WDW! Extra batteries for cameras and such. I did forget to pack batteries for the camera and wow...it was pricey!

I can't speak about the tickets. We have always gotten packages so we could be 'done and paid for' as my dh says before we get there!

Kelly

 

[aprilgail2]

So what about souvenirs? Should I buy before we go or what? Now remember all my kids are older from 19 to 12 when we go. Thanks

there is no way I would buy souvenirs here and take them to florida and back home again LOL- I always let my daughter buy basically whatever she wanted when she was little (she never asked for a lot) but she is 12 now so really she has outgrown the whole souvenir thing and won't be buying much of anything when we are there this summer.
If your family really MUST have them then I would tell each kid to save their allowances and take their own money with them.

 

[HeatherC]

Another way to save on food in the parks that non-disers don't really know about is that you can order just what you want at counter services. For example, if a meal is burger and fries, you can order the burger without the fries and save some money. Kids meals you can get without a toy for a little less.

You can also order just the sides. When my kids were younger, they loved the grapes and carrots that came with some kids meals. So many times, they would eat a string cheese I brought along with a side of grapes that only cost about a $1.00. We saved a ton on meals this way.

We always bring some snacks...even now with teenagers who will eat all day. But now I bring in "special snacks" that we never buy at home. Thay way they are still getting a treat, but I don't have to pay Disney prices and more important to me is that I don't have to wait in yet another line.

But we still all get our favorites....Dole Whips, funnel cakes, crepes, etc. This just helps stretch the budget a bit.