What's the Worst Disney Budget Advice You Ever Got?

[Marionnette]

Lots of great advice on these boards but have you ever used a piece of advice that just didn't work out for you? What was it and what made it a *bust* rather than a *boon*?

For me, it was buying refillable mugs for a family of 5. We never used them enough to make up for their cost. The drink stations were too far from the room and no one wanted to carry them around the park all day just so we could refill them on the way from the bus stop to the room in the evening.

 

[Disney_1derland]

I think the worst we've ever gotten was that we could do dining cheaper without the dining plan. this absolutely wasn't true for us.

 

[pampam]

Mine was advising us to stay offsite. With codes, and AP discounts, we are better to stay onsite.

 

[mombrontrent]

Funny both those things worked out for us We bought 2 refillable mugs and our family of 5 shared them. We would fill them in the morning while we ate breakfest at POP and fill them before we went to the parks, after they were empty we put them in the bottom of the stroller so nobody had to carry them around. My kids LOVED the slushy drinks at POP so we got our money worth with those. Then we filled them after we got back to the resort. We definalty saved paying out of pocket for meals. We would often split counter service meals for lunch (some can be huge!) and for about $11-12 we bought a huge pizza for dinner at the POP food court a couple times and we even had leftovers that we brang back to the room. $12 for a dinner for 5 people can't be beat and the pizza was really good! We only did 2-3 sit down meals so for us the dining plan wasn't worth it.

 

[kmacht]

Mine was advising us to stay offsite. With codes, and AP discounts, we are better to stay onsite.

I would love to see the math to justify that one. I have tried to do it before and the offsite always came out cheaper. Our trip coming up we are staying at a 2 bedroom condo in windsor hills. Cost is $535 for 7 nights. Staying offsite we also have car rental ($168) for the week and 7 days of parking in the parks at $14 a day ($98). Total cost for the week to stay off site will be $801. That is $114 per day. I would love for someone to show me how I can stay onsite with similar accomodations for less than $114 a day.

Keith

 

[dzneelvr]

For us it was buying the park hopper plus tix the first trip. on our two attempts to spend a day in each water park, it stormed and we had to leave the park cold, wet, and time wastedfrom then on it was park hoppers only and the resort pool was enough

 

[Sagginit]

don't upgrade to deluxe dining plan, take the basic plan for free. for us the upgrade was totally worth the money. we paid for no snacks or meals out of pocket. yes at times it felt like a lot of food, but for two adults going all day in the park two meals and one snack just does not cut it. also it goes by nights not days, so we do a full day on arrival day and stay until at least 3pm departure day. when you do the math its 10 meals for almost 6 full days, we would have spent more out of pocket to supplement the plan once we arrived.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Staying onsite. I think onsite can work out cheaper if you're a commando park tour family, and have 4 or less in your party. That doesn't describe my gang. A lot of people think onsite is the be-all, end-all--and I used to be one of them, until I rented a house in Windsor Hills. Now, you couldn't pay my gang to squish into a couple hotel rooms for a "vacation".

Actually, though, the best advice I would give anyone would be to think about your family's needs and desires from a vacation. Aside from enjoying the space of a home and a private pool on vacation, my gang really doesn't care to eat out. Ergo, dining in restaurants of any type is low on our list. For another family, dining on the go or in sit-down restaurants may be a highlight of the trip. Doesn't make anybody wrong, just different. But I mention this because a big "dining out on vacation" family might not see an advantage to a full kitchen.

 

[ssawka]

For us it was buying the park hopper plus tix the first trip. on our two attempts to spend a day in each water park, it stormed and we had to leave the park cold, wet, and time wastedfrom then on it was park hoppers only and the resort pool was enough

This works best if you get non-expiring tickets. The 10 visits to the water parks are still good after the theme park tickets have bee exhausted.

 

[torinsmom]

MIne was the opposite of someone else's. I got talked into DOING the dining plan. It was a waste of money, in our case. We ate at places we would have never eaten at before, just to get our money's worth, but we didn't really enjoy any of them. We prefer eating on the run, and using our time for rides.

As far as onsite/offsite, no comparison to me. Even with just the 2 of us, I don't want to be stuck in a room with only one bathroom and 1 tv. We like to spread out, have a kitchen and a washer/dryer. This summer, we have 8 in our party, and got a 5 bedroom pool house in Indian Creek for $625/week

 

[Nina1]

Actually, I've only gotten good tips from this board. If I read something that sounds good, but I know won't work for us, I just keep on going. But, I can honestly say that the tips and advice from this board have been nothing but helpful!

 

[clanmcculloch]

I would love to see the math to justify that one. I have tried to do it before and the offsite always came out cheaper. Our trip coming up we are staying at a 2 bedroom condo in windsor hills. Cost is $535 for 7 nights. Staying offsite we also have car rental ($168) for the week and 7 days of parking in the parks at $14 a day ($98). Total cost for the week to stay off site will be $801. That is $114 per day. I would love for someone to show me how I can stay onsite with similar accomodations for less than $114 a day.

Keith

We've done free dining stays at Pop for this and that INCLUDES food. Granted it's much MUCH tighter than a 2br condo but it's also all inclusive and we got to stay in the Disney bubble. Because of the food, it was much cheaper than offsite. Well, if we had have stayed offsite at a budget type motel then we could have probably saved money but barely when you add in the car and parking and then you still need to pay for food. Again, this option is MUCH tighter than a 2br condo.

 

[Frannie115]

The refillable mugs did not work for us either. They were a hassle.

We used to be an "off site" family. A couple of years ago, just my son and I stayed on site and absolutely loved it. We're giving it another try this June with the four of us at CBR. I know it will probably be cramped

 

[tjs198]

As far as onsite/offsite, no comparison to me. Even with just the 2 of us, I don't want to be stuck in a room with only one bathroom and 1 tv. We like to spread out, have a kitchen and a washer/dryer. This summer, we have 8 in our party, and got a 5 bedroom pool house in Indian Creek for $625/week

doing laundry while on vacation doesn't sound very fun to me.

 

[pigletto]

I didn't get this advice per say.. but I did learn about free dining here. I decided it was the best discount ever and planned 3 trips around it without even considering other scenarios.

Then I decided to consider other scenarios and realized free dining really wasn't the be all and end all.
It is in certain cimcumstances the best discount.. but I wasn't even considering offsite, or deluxe with a code, or YES tickets and a public code etc.
There were more choices for my family than a mod or value with free dining and I have finally started to look at them.
I really was a die hard for that promotion until I took a look at the fact that it was too much food for us, limited our choice in places to stay, ate up a lot of park time etc.

Now I have to reiterate.. it is a fabulous opportunity in the right circumstances.. but I just want to try some other hotels, other food and other experiences. This too can be done on the cheap, or for around the same amount as we had been spending.

ETA.. With this trip we have planned, with discounted tickets, a mod with a 30% off code and paying out of pocket for food we are coming in lower than the same package with free dining. Quite a bit lower.

 

[hsmamato2]

packing so much stuff you have to pay fees to fly it down.....bad advice!
bringing backpacks and big bags of junk into parks daily-ugh!
I bring the tiniest bag I can manage that fits my stuff- and buy lunch while I'm there...I don't lug bags!
Bringing bottled water into parks- the true moneysaver is getting free ice water anywhere in the parks- and NOT lugging extra stuff around! (see above)
I guess I have a theme.....minimalism!

 

[IDoDis]

I would love to see the math to justify that one. I have tried to do it before and the offsite always came out cheaper. Our trip coming up we are staying at a 2 bedroom condo in windsor hills. Cost is $535 for 7 nights. Staying offsite we also have car rental ($168) for the week and 7 days of parking in the parks at $14 a day ($98). Total cost for the week to stay off site will be $801. That is $114 per day. I would love for someone to show me how I can stay onsite with similar accomodations for less than $114 a day.

Keith

I agree! We've done both on-site and then off-site at Windsor Hills -- 3 bedroom condo, 2 bathrooms, washer/dryer, 3 TVs, etc... Not that we stayed in the condo much, but we did have a few hours here and there to relax and towards the end of our trip, DS got real sick so we stayed in the condo all day for one day and had a rest & relax day so he could rest. Found out when we got back home that he had pneumonia. It would have been awful for us to have all been in one room with him coughing non-stop. In the condo he got his rest and we could watch TV, play games and have dinner without bothering him.

Staying on-site has the advantage of proximity only. On our last trip we were at WL where we were kept up late at night by all of the loud singing and carrying on at the Whispering Canyon Cafe. The noise just radiates up to the rooms. Aside from the noise and cramped quarters, if you are talking "budget" then off-site is the way to go.

So, Windsor Hills was the BEST budget advice I've gotten here.

The WORST budget advice would be getting in on one of the photoshares that used to be allowed here. I got burned on that real bad, so it's probably a good thing that it's no longer allowed.

 

[torinsmom]

I actually think we got to the parks just as quickly or quicker from Emerald Island last summer than we did when we stayed onsite and I sure didn't miss the buses. As for the Disney "bubble", I get the same thrill driving back into every morning as I do when I am onsite. And man, do I love not having to share a room with a teenage boy, LOL.

 

[jgates]

For us the dining plan would be the worst - I have never gone through with it because no matter how much I crunch the numbers, it just doesn't work for us. Also having to do an ADR doesn't work well for me as a diabetic - my eating times do not always jive with a scheduled ADR. And the heat (depending on season) can REALLY screw it up. Even with counter service, I try to make everyone have one or two meals a day with just a glass of water, so we don't even need the beverage factor in the dining plan. Water is better for you anyway of course.

A few people really think Club Level is all it - but I can't conceive the extra value in that either. The daily cost is pricey & I don't think worth it - especially if you have to get back to that resort at suppertime to make use of evening snacks, etc.

Mugs vary depending on which resort we are at. POFQ it was a quick easy walk & DS would go over after his run & get some refreshments. Then we would take back at breakfast & refill and again at return at night. However, at CSR I'm not too sure - it will just depend on where we are located in relation to the main building. If we are at the back, I can't see it being a good value at all, although we may buy one for a souvenier.

 

[Pakey]

Buying DVC. After 14 years of owning, I regret it.