You CAN afford to visit The Mouse!!
Apr 28 '00
My friends laughingly call me the "Bargain Queen." But even I thought that a trip to Walt Disney World was too much for any budget-conscious person. Wrong! If I can do it on a single mom budget, anyone can! It's not easy, but it's fun and SO worth it!
My little boy and I went in February to celebrate his 4th birthday, and it was a near-perfect trip. I planned and planned and planned some more --for a whole year -- and it paid off. Going to Disney CAN be really expensive... and if you're the type of person who likes 4-star hotels and fancy dining, then your trip is going to be an expensive one. But if you're not a food snob, and you can go with the flow a bit, you can go to "The World" for a lot less than you think. My tips are for staying on property. You can go even cheaper by staying offsite, but I think it's worth so much more to be immersed in the magic of being right on property all the time. And it's *much* more convenient.
The first and biggest tip is the same one that most of the guide books emphasize: Go when others don't. Pull the kids out of school, they're not going to flunk out from missing a few days; It will be more than worth it, for sanity's sake alone. And money-wise, we're talking about a difference of $25 per night at the value resorts between value season and peak season. That's a big difference!
Speaking of resorts, don't think you have to stay at the Grand Floridian to really have a memorable time. Disney's "value" resorts, the All-Star Resorts, are the epitome of Disney -- silly, whimsical, and just plain FUN. You're right in the heart of the magic, 24 hours a day. And even though the amenities are marginally fewer at the value resorts, the service is classic Disney all the way. You'll feel just as welcome and just as important there as anywhere. Rates at the All-Stars (comprised of All-Star Music, All-Star Movies, and All-Star Sports) run from $74 in the off-season to $109 during holidays. Grab a Magic Kingdom Club card from either your employer or your credit union, or sign up for a gold MKC card for $50/two years, and go during the off seasons, and you might just save even more off the hotel rates.
For around $8.99 at all the resorts, you can get the famous refillable mug. This is the best deal at Disney! All the soft drinks, coffee, hot chocolate, and even icees (at some resorts) for not only the length of your stay, but return visits (to the same resort.) Don't pass this up.
We ate all of our lunches and dinners at the food court, and no meal cost me more than $10 for my son and I. I know there are lots of really nice and yummy restaurants at WDW, but there are lots of really nice and yummy restaurants right here in Houston. I have better things to spend my money on at Walt Disney World. For breakfast, we grazed in the room. I found a collapsable, leak-proof, softside cooler at Wal-mart for $10 and filled it with ice once we got there. I bought milk in the gift shop (always cheaper there than in the food court!) and kept it in the cooler. Before I left, I used a great online coupon and ordered breakfast bars and a box of cereal from Netgrocer.com and had it delivered to the resort, where they held it at the desk for me until I arrived.
I bought a wonderful backpack (also at Wal-mart and also $10!) that came with its own little water bottle. I brought lots of snacks from home such as peanut butter crackers, fruit snacks, and raisins, and every morning I would fill up the water bottle and toss some snacks in the bag along with our other essentials. I never bought any food or drink inside a park, except for a Mickey rice-krispie thingy that I couldn't resist. Man, those are GOOD!! :-)
It's really easy to pay for a lot of your trip before you ever get there... I take every rebate, incentive check, and bonus from a retailer and deposit them into a special savings account. From that, I send part of it in a bit at a time to pay for the hotel, and part of it gets exchanged for Disney Dollars to use on souvenirs. And every time my little boy wants to go to McDonald's, I remind him that that's less money we'll have for WDW. He may only be 4, but he understands that pretty well. :-)
There are many, many more tips, but I hope I've gotten the general idea across... A Disney vacation will never be "cheap," but there are *always* cheaper ways to do things! The magic of the place is the same no matter how much money you spend there.
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Epinions.com ID:
gina_p
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Member: Gina
Location: Houston, TX
Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 2 members
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