This is the last post in my three-part series on how to stretch your vacation budget when you're planning a trip to Walt Disney World. In Part One, I talked about how to save money in the planning stage of your trip. In Part Two, I discussed ways to stretch your budget before you leave for your vacation. In this post, I plan to offer advice on how to save money while you are on your Disney trip.
One of the most common complaints that I hear is regarding the cost of food at Disney World. While dining at Disney can be expensive, it doesn’t have to be. The Disney Dining Plan can be a money-saver in some circumstances, especially for families with young children who plan on enjoying a few character meals. Alternatively, you could forego the character meals completely, as most of the same characters are available for meet-and-greets elsewhere in the parks and are free with admission. To save even more money on food, online services exist that will deliver reasonably-priced groceries (including bottled water) to your hotel room (our favorite is Garden Grocer). If you’ve rented a car, stop at a grocery store on the way to your resort instead of using a delivery service. With a few food staples, you can eat breakfast in your hotel room and pack a lunch to enjoy at the theme parks each day. For dinner, if you’ve rented a car, consider dining at a more economically-priced offsite chain restaurant instead of in the parks. Finally, devote a carry-on piece of luggage to prepackaged snacks and juice boxes. Instead of splurging on pricey food items from vendor carts in the parks, bring your own snacks and drinks with you. The same piece of luggage can be filled with souvenirs on the way home.
Speaking of souvenirs, offsite stores are generally much cheaper than theme park gift shops, and while offsite merchandise is not “official”, much of it features the same characters as the onsite goods. It’s also important to set a budget for souvenirs before you depart for your vacation…and then stick to it. On our first Disney trip, we went a little overboard with souvenirs (it’s easy to do), so we came up with a solution to limit them on our subsequent vacations. We now give each of our kids a predetermined amount of money (enough to cover one item). If they’d like additional items (or a more expensive item), they are responsible for the difference. When we have a Disney vacation coming up, the kids usually start saving their own money (allowance, birthday money, etc.) for their souvenirs. Even though our children are still young (five and seven years old), this system works well. Since they are using their own money, they are more likely to make sure that their purchase is something that they really want.
When it comes to Disney apparel, DO NOT purchase it in the theme parks (where it is incredibly expensive). Instead, take a trip to your local Disney Store (or visit it online) before your trip. Twice a year, the Disney Store has a massive clearance; during this time, it is often possible to find official Disney apparel for a VERY reasonable price (sometimes less than $5)!
Finally, if you have a Disney VISA card, bring it along on your trip. You can save 10% on purchases of $50 or more at most retail locations in the Walt Disney World Resort. To take advantage of this benefit, however, you will need to use your Disney VISA and tell the cast member that you want the 10% off (they will not always give it to you automatically).
I’m turning it over to you now! What are your best money-saving tips when you’re planning a Walt Disney World vacation?
Meredith McCutcheon
Disney Specialist, Ginger's Getaways
Drinking the Kool-Aid: A Mom's Guide to Disney World
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You are allowed to bring food that does not require heating into Disney's theme parks. You can bring a small soft-sided cooler and carry it with you or put it in a locker. You are right that there a few additional restrictions for Disney's Animal Kingdom. To protect the animals, straws are not allowed in the Animal Kingdom. You can bring a beverage (water bottle, juice bottle, etc), but it cannot have a straw. You are also not permitted to bring a cooler into Animal Kingdom. Your last question is a tough one to answer. For quick-service meals, there's not much difference between resorts and parks (in both quality and price). For sit-down meals, I think it completely depends on which hotels and which theme parks you're referring to. It's hard to beat the diversity and quality of Epcot's World Showcase; some of the best restaurants on property are there. Animal Kingdom also has some interesting sit-down restaurants. Many of Disney's deluxe resorts feature award-winning restaurants as well. Nevertheless, if you asked me to pick my top five favorite sit-down restaurants, three of them are in the resort hotels.
We sold ours 3 years ago for half the price that they were new. Someone got a good deal and we got some of our money back! I think the design on the mug changes each year.
Nice ethics. Do you work in government?
Bet your children are proud of their dad for that move.
My kids are proud. After my son and I went to Universal Islands of Adventure (wife and other 2 kids went to Epcot....boring place) we bought the two $30 speed passes so we wouldnt wait in line all day. By dinner time we were ready to leave, but didnt want to just throw the speed passes away......we ran into a newly wed couple that wanted their pic taken....we gave the passes to them and they were very happy to get them (no charge), since they said they were tight on funds. I taught my son that it is right to do nice things for random people (yes, the Universal speed passes do say 'not transferrable'...arrest me Richard) Richard...get off your high horse.
I know you hold yourself out to be a "can't we all just get along" kind of person, but Peter is completely wrong. He knows it. This mentality is why we are where we are in this world. Disney shouldn't have to go microchip on us, but they do not want to get scammed by the likes of Peter. He will teach his kids this behavior and they will undoutedly perpetuate it. Great future for us all! We CAN and SHOULD assume that this is unethical and that if Peter is over the age of, say, 12 that he should know that it is STEALING. We need to call this out and not pretend that people don't know the difference between right and wrong. They justify it with "the hotel costs a lot" "I paid X for my park tickets" or "I have multiple kids", or in the name of "recycling". Maybe Peter wants to buy the McDonald's cups I have on Ebay for his next family outing to the Rochester Micky D's. Only dif between him and the recent robbery suspect there is the violence used by the robber......... And dextermom: "I have seen (others do it)". That makes it ok??? You cannot control what other people do with the mugs?? Does that make it ok for them to use them to STEAL??? I feel bad for dexterchild(ren).
When we were in Disney 5 years ago (originally thought it was 3 years, but was wrong -- time flies), the lady working the cafe register at the hotel asked us if we wanted to purchase $8 re-fillable mugs that could be refilled at any Disney Resort Hotel during our entire stay. She even said that if we came back later in the calendar year we could bring them with us and use them again. Therefore, it appears that buying the mug once entitles it to be used the entire year. Does it matter if that user is another person? So, If I buy the mug, then I am the only person who can use it? My kids & wife cannot use it??? Please.
I am suprising my wife and kids with a week stay at Disney this summer and would like to know which Disney Resort Hotels, that are moderately priced, are best to stay at. Some co-workers have stated that the Beachclub is pretty nice and within walking distance to Epcot. What are your experiences with any of the Disney Resort Hotels. We stayed at the All-Star Sports last time and it was a bit.....sparce. Also, how do the Disney hotels compare to the Universal Hotels. I also want to take the family to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventures. Are there any perks you know about by staying on the grounds of Universal? Thanks. I enjoyed your article.
This was supposed to be an article about "Disney World on a Budget". I can't believe you would get all wound up about plastic cups. You must be part of the elite Disney police? Shoot, how much does the cup and pop even cost? I'm sure they have bigger things to worry about (like the princesses shoes match their dress). Wow...getting so upset about a plastic cup is funny. Maybe you should see the doc. I bet your blood pressure is really high. Maybe they can write a script for a visit to Disney. :-) A kiss from Snow White on your Grumpy little face may solve everything.
http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2009/08/12/disney-resort-refillable-mugs-faq/