Disney on the WAAAAY cheap

[StacieNorthern]

Hello!! So I got awesome news this morning that we're going to Disney in roughly a month but there's a catch, I was put in charge of making the budget. We're only less than a days drive away so it's more of a weekend trip than a full fledged vacation. Our budget is around $1,000, I already figured up how much the tickets will be but I don't know about hotels & what not since I haven't been to Orlando for a while & we used to stay at my Grannys house most of the time anyways. So whats your best penny pinching tips for hotels, food, ect? Also can you still purchase tickets at the Disney store in malls? I read it was a better option so you don't have to wait in line for tickets once you are there! Thanks for any tips you may have!!

 

[aaarcher86]

Stay offsite for cheap hotel options. Pack food to bring in. Water is free at QS locations.

Not sure about the store but you can purchase tickets online with ease.

 

[StacieNorthern]

Stay offsite for cheap hotel options. Pack food to bring in. Water is free at QS locations.

Not sure about the store but you can purchase tickets online with ease.

Thanks so much! I feel like my brain is in planning over-mode this morning! haha

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

You don't really have time for churning gift cards, but you do have time to save at least 5%. If you have a Target Redcard, I would go to Target and buy enough Disney gift cards to purchase your tickets. Then you can combine the gift cards at disneygiftcard.com and finally go online and purchase your tickets directly from Disney.

Or else get your tickets from somewhere like Undercovertourist.com depending on which method would save you more money. If you go through the mouse savers newsletter and use eBates, you would get a bit more money off here as well.

To really save money, I find a hotel off site with a kitchen, pack food from home and carry meals into the parks.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

How many are in your group? For us, a family of 4, it's almost $1000 just for tickets. Staying offsite is always cheaper especially if you will be driving and won't have to rent a car. Factor in $20/parking. You can save $ if you don't buy the hopper option but then again if you don't have 4 full days to visit parks, it may be worth it to you to have the ability to hop. Then you can squeeze in more such as spending a half day for highlights at AK then hopping to HS to finish the day and see Fastasmic. If you don't want to pay to hop, you can only enter 1 park per day. You could always upgrade to the hopper option while in FL and see if you really want to hop and if it's worth it to you. That way you only pay for it if you definitely will use that option.

I would start picking up a few things that are non-perishable or have a long shelf life, each time you go grocery shopping while at home still, so that you're buying them on sale and not have to buy it all at Disney area grocery stores (aka tourist pricing). Things like instant oatmeal or a box of cereal to have a quickie breakfast in the room. There are some very inexpensive hotels all around WDW but many look kind of seedy so I would read reviews on tripadvisor before booking.

Also tickets are slightly cheaper on undercovertourist.com except for 1 day tickets. I have used them many times and they are wonderful to do business with. They are highly regarded here on the disboards and at mousesavers.com.

Have fun planning!

 

[SparklePixie]

Hello!! So I got awesome news this morning that we're going to Disney in roughly a month but there's a catch, I was put in charge of making the budget. We're only less than a days drive away so it's more of a weekend trip than a full fledged vacation. Our budget is around $1,000, I already figured up how much the tickets will be but I don't know about hotels & what not since I haven't been to Orlando for a while & we used to stay at my Grannys house most of the time anyways. So whats your best penny pinching tips for hotels, food, ect? Also can you still purchase tickets at the Disney store in malls? I read it was a better option so you don't have to wait in line for tickets once you are there! Thanks for any tips you may have!!

Buy tickets now instead of when you arrive. You can't reserve your FP+ rides until you have tickets attached to your MDE account.

 

[Marionnette]

Hello!! So I got awesome news this morning that we're going to Disney in roughly a month but there's a catch, I was put in charge of making the budget. We're only less than a days drive away so it's more of a weekend trip than a full fledged vacation. Our budget is around $1,000, I already figured up how much the tickets will be but I don't know about hotels & what not since I haven't been to Orlando for a while & we used to stay at my Grannys house most of the time anyways. So whats your best penny pinching tips for hotels, food, ect? Also can you still purchase tickets at the Disney store in malls? I read it was a better option so you don't have to wait in line for tickets once you are there! Thanks for any tips you may have!!

Not a very generous budget, especially if it needs to cover tickets. How many people (# of adults? # of children?) are going on this trip?

I would start with the tickets. You're best discount will probably be if you have a Target credit card. Use it to get Disney gift cards for 5% off of the face value. Then use the method that has been described by Jen and Ashwin. Assuming that you're two adults, 2-day base tickets would cost you about $389. That will probably be your best discount on tickets with 3 or fewer days on them. Going through UT might be a decent deal IF you have an AmEx credit card and it has an offer for $30 off a $150 purchase at UT. That's a discount of 20% (or less) on your purchase, it will be dependent on the type of ticket and the number of tickets you need to purchase.

Staying with a friend and buying them a nice dinner would be cheaper than a hotel, but if you don't know anyone in Orlando the next best option for most people looking to save money would be to stay offsite. But don't exclude the Disney Value Resorts from your search. Sometimes you can get great deals if Disney is running discounts for the time you will be visiting and Orbitz is offering a discount code that can be applied during your stay.

Cheap eats (and often healthier) can be done by packing your own food to bring into the parks instead of buying counter service meals. Bring a water bottle with you to refill with ice water from the CS locations.

Skip the souvenirs or else keep them to inexpensive items like refrigerator magnets or Mickey-shaped rice krispy treats.

Don't forget to factor in parking ($20/day if you're not an onsite guest), highway tolls (both ways) and the cost of gasoline. When you consider parking costs, it might be cheaper to stay in a Disney hotel because onsite guests park for free at the parks.

 

[mickeyschickie]

How would you combine the mouse savers discount and ebates?

 

[DPickering]

Book a time share hotel off eBay or skyauction. Nice place like silver lake (super close to AK) or vacation village at parkway can be had for as little as $300 for a week. And no presentation required.

 

[wendow]

Also can you still purchase tickets at the Disney store in malls?

Yes, you can buy them at the Disney store in the malls. And like another poster suggested, buy them ASAP so you can link them to MDE and reserve your FP's when your date opens. If you are limited to basically a weekend, you will need FP's more than ever and probably should do Park Hopper tickets to maximize your time.

 

[Sunnywho]

Don't forget the $20 parking fee if you stay offsite. If you have a tent, the campgrounds is the cheapest option & gets you free parking & magic bands. Offsite hotels can have a free breakfast. Sleepy Hollow at Magic Kingdom has a cheap & filling chicken waffle sandwich. Bring a backpack in with sodas, waters & snacks.

 

[mom2AidanAndEli]

Is it $1,000 total for all members? How many of you are going? Does that need to include things like gas/tolls/food for the drive there and back? How many days are you planning in parks? All of that will factor in to how best to spend the money.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

We tried a number of different carry in options for food before settling on $5 foot longs.

 

[hsmamato2]

How would you combine the mouse savers discount and ebates?

I clicked thru the mousesavers link in the email- then went over to ebates and clicked their link, it still showed the (small) discount..... not sure how or why tho

 

[worm761]

We (we as in DH LOL) wore a Camelback pack filled with ice and water. Saved a small fortune in water.

I'd bring breakfast foods with you and possibly lunch too if needed.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

For our cheapest trip, we ate breakfast in the hotel (go through expedia or priceline or one of those sites to get a cheap hotel), packed lunches and late-afternoon snacks, then ate dinner back in the hotel. (We did a grocery shopping trip the day we arrived.)

 

[mom2AidanAndEli]

We (we as in DH LOL) wore a Camelback pack filled with ice and water. Saved a small fortune in water.

I'd bring breakfast foods with you and possibly lunch too if needed.

You can actually get free ice water from the QS restaurants. No need to carry anything around and still save that small fortune.

 

[hsmamato2]

You can actually get free ice water from the QS restaurants. No need to carry anything around and still save that small fortune.

yup.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

Depends on the amount of people. The average ticket is $100 a day until you get a 4 or more tickets. That could be your budget right there.

 

[Minnesota!]

Oooh, that is a tiny budget if you are including tickets.

I would pack a tent, stay at FW, and get free parking, etc. Fill a cooler with foods that can be cooked over the fire or assembled cold (sandwiches, crackers/cheese/fruit), and skip souvenirs.