What I have learned so far....

[paulajane425]

I am new to these boards and have learned so much already. So far this is what I have learned:
1. compare prices (travel agent vs. booking on my own
2. book everything seperately (flights - room - passes)
3. begin stay during value time and get those prices throughout.
4. book directly with WDW and call frequently for upsells.
5. Tiffany Town Cars is better/cheaper than Mears.
6. Know how many days I will actually be going to the parks before deciding on passes (hopper vs resort magic)

Whew!! That's alot so far.....any other tips out there?????

 

[DisneyDianne]

Just to let you know. I never would have thought that my DH would have gotten the flu after we arrived for our last trip to WDW. But, he did!! I am so glad that we had purchased the hopper tickets because they never expire. I went back with my sisters and Mother in July on his tickets that he did not get to use.

I hope our next trip in November he will get to have some fun finally. I felt so bad leaving him in the room while the kids and I went out to play.
I have purchase both ways and will never go without the hopper tickets. You just never know what might happen!!

Disney Dianne

1974 Off-Site
1978 Off-site
1983 off-site
1987 Off-site
1996 ALL-Star Music/Sports
1997 D/L
1999 All-Star Music
2000 All-Star Movies
2001 All-Star Movie

 

[ReneeA]

I also prefer to buy park hopper plus passes due to the fact they never expire. We usually end up with days & options left on the passes after our trip, and it's awfully enticing to go back if you have "prepaid" days left

ReneeA

 

[dianeschlicht]

Hi namesake! FYI, if you know you will be in the parks 8 days or more in a calendar year, it is more economical to buy annual passes. We usually plan our trips so we get two(or more) in the 365 days of our AP's. Last year we were in the parks 29 days. We had renewal AP's, which cost $285 and were pleased with our less than $10/day tickets! Of course, now we wont go for a year, and the renewal policy has changed, so we wont get the renewal rate any more. I guess we will have to be satisfied with the DC rate alone.

Disneydiane

 

[Tiger Fan]

I too agree about these boards being so great. I was just figuring up expenses from our trip 2 weeks ago and could document a savings of $358 from reading these boards and following tips. I'm sure each trip I will keep saving too, that means MORE trips!!

Lisa

 

[DisneyDianne]

I have thought about buying the annual passes before. But, we never know when we are going back. It would have paid me to last year because we went back within 6 months from the last visit. Do you know the prices for the annual passes this year? We are going back in November if I only knew if we are making another trip I would go with that instead of the hopper passes.

Thanks, Disney Dianne

 

[ZerasPride]

Hi Paula! I'm glad you've picked up lots of info here. I'd like to add a couple of tips. Once you have your air booked, start buying Disney Dollars! You can get them at your local Disney store and they are a dollar for dollar exchange. They come in denominations of $1, $5 and $10 and have Disney characters on them. They are great because you can "take a little off the top" of your budget and buy a few every week and before you know it, you'll have a nice stash. Plus you can't spend the Disney Dollars at the grocery store or for lunch or gas or anything other than Disney stuff.

Last year in about the span of five months, we had close to $400. I would just take $20 off the top of hubby's pay each week so it was pretty painless.

We also have a change jar and piggie bank. In the change jar we put all the loose change except dollar coins and quarters. Those go in a special piggie bank that is almost full (started the piggie bank in November - don't be impressed, its kinda small). I'm going to use the piggie bank money and my overtime to help with some of the trip expenses too. We'll roll the coins a week or so before the trip and take that as "play" money. Last year we had $70 from rolling change in a couple of months.

I'm sure you'll get more tips on how to get the most out of your trip, just thought I'd share a couple of money savers that have worked for me (by the way I got the suggestions from right here on these boards).

Lisa

CBR - 10/98
BC - 10/98
BC - 6/00
GF - 9/00
Dolphin - 6/01

 

[CutlerP]

I am finding all these tips sooooo valuable! I am also a newbie - finding planning for our first trip to WDW quite overwhelming! Not to mention that I am the ONLY one doing any planning! You know how it goes, "Oh, sure honey, whatever you want!" Until we get there! LOL But anyway, I have found so much good info on these boards - not just for saving $$ but other things too! We're not going till October 2001 so there's plenty of time for more hints..thanks everybody, keep them coming!

 

[SooziQ123]

I am addicted to these boards.....I have a journal I am writing down all these helpful tips in...we booked our trip thru AAA & found out today that if we go with Tiffany Town Car on our own, AAA will refund us our money for the service they were going to provide thru Mears....we might stay another day because of that....just call me an obsessed mother! Thanks for all the help!

 

[kilarney]

Here is a tip on saving for your next trip:
My girlfriend and I returned from Disney wishing the trip was not over! I brought back a very decorative box from Disney. (It held some candy apples.) We have put this box on top of my dresser, and every week we each put $10 in the box. It's very painless, and it gets us excited every week for next year's trip. The $1,000 we will save over the next year will almost pay for our entire trip. (We travel on a budget!)