March Trip- Save me $$

[lolobug]

Hi!
Spending SO much already on this vacation! We are staying DVC at the Poly and I plan on buying park tickets through tripster. I do not think our family is a dining plan kind of a family ( we are more of an order it on Amazon and ship it to the resort kind of family!)
Husband/ oldest daughter- light eaters
Myself/middle child- bottomless pits
4 year old son- FIRST TRIP! Will need to experience some of the magic!
Still need to buy park tickets, meals, and park extras (like memory maker, genie+, etc).
Any suggestions for finding GCs cheap, saving $$ on food at Disney and all the added extra stuff?
Thank you!

 

[Genie+]

I would check Boardwalk Ticketing too. It may look like they’re more expensive but they’ve already included tax. I pulled up a 5 Day Ticket starting March 16 - it is $696 on BWT and it looks like it is $657 on Tripster until you go to the next page and see adding tax = $713.

The big benefit I see for paying extra on Tripster is ability to get full refund.

Have a great trip! I miss the days of going with young children. The magic

 

[lolobug]

Thank you SO much! I appreciate it.
I am so excited to see his smile when he sees Mickey for the very first time.

 

[lolobug]

I would check Boardwalk Ticketing too. It may look like they’re more expensive but they’ve already included tax. I pulled up a 5 Day Ticket starting March 16 - it is $696 on BWT and it looks like it is $657 on Tripster until you go to the next page and see adding tax = $713.

The big benefit I see for paying extra on Tripster is ability to get full refund.

Have a great trip! I miss the days of going with young children. The magic

I am not familiar with BWT and it would save us! I'm assuming it is reliable?

 

[Genie+]

I am not familiar with BWT and it would save us! I'm assuming it is reliable?

Yes we’ve been using it for years. At least 5 times now. We found it from Touring Plans ticket calculator - https://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/ticket-calculator

 

[Genie+]

When you buy from BW Ticketing they will send electronic tickets via e-mail, usually within 24 hours. We’ve had them in as little as a few hours (if we purchased weekday morning, or 28 hours when purchased Sat night. Either way, pretty quick.

The tickets can then be loaded into MDE just like any others, same like WDW does themselves nowadays too.

 

[SL6827]

5% off DGCards at Target with the Red Card.

 

[VeronicaZS]

I also recommend using Touring plans ticket calculator to find the cheapest tickets, this is what I always do.

Refillable water bottles.

Look at ordering from the children's menu even for non children. One of the joys of WDW are the snacks so we find we aren't as hungry for a huge main meal at lunch or dinner.

Buy souvenirs ahead of time; plushies, bubble wands, glow sticks, pins, shirts, etc. "Magically" find them in your room, stroller, bag... The kids will be just as excited as if you paid 4 times as much in the parks. Enjoy your trip!

 

[byurick]

A lot of people poo poo this suggestion but assuming you're in a 1 or 2 bedroom you will have a full kitchen and can make a few meals in your room which can save some $$. Our last big trip we used instacart to get a few groceries delivered and I made us all breakfast before we headed out for the park days. The side benefit is if you fill up on breakfast then you only need a snack in the afternoon (skip lunch).

The dining plan doesn't really save you money, its just convenient.

 

[MICKIMINI]

We are two adults (sometimes four when son and DIL join) and often split an entree and add a side if we feel we need a bit more. You can ask to add or subtract sides to QS meals. We sometimes get kids meals, but find a cheeseburger more bread than burger. Better in that case to order an adult cheeseburger and extra fries.

Research your meals now. Notice that virtually the same meal might be a few dollars less just a few doors down.

We are coffee drinkers and make sure we bring a couple DD bottles coffees into each park. Saves money, but more importantly time.

Make sure you know where to get the best snacks, again by doing research now. Some snacks are good to split and hold up well until the next meal/snack.

There was a time I had cash budgeted in an envelope for the day. If we didn't spend it, it rolled into the next day. If we needed more, I got into the next envelope. You can accomplish this with gift cards now.

Enjoy!

 

[comicguy]

Bottled water delivered to the resort is a big savings (IMHO better than cluncky refill bottles, also your bag gets lighter as the day goes on!) We have 2 cases del for 2 adults, we start the day with about 6 or so in the backpack. This usually works out to about 50 cents or less per bottle vs. WDW 4 dollars per bottle, big savings! WE also get some snacks delivered also for breakfast and such

 

[shoopy]

Has anyone used ID.me to purchase park tickets? They have a deal that you can get adult tickets at kids prices. I've used ID.me for military discounts for other things but have never bought actual tickets through them.

 

[bnf0522]

GC's on sale always if you have a Sam's Club or BJ's Wholesale Club membership

 

[LynnTH]

Bottled water delivered to the resort is a big savings (IMHO better than cluncky refill bottles, also your bag gets lighter as the day goes on!) We have 2 cases del for 2 adults, we start the day with about 6 or so in the backpack. This usually works out to about 50 cents or less per bottle vs. WDW 4 dollars per bottle, big savings! WE also get some snacks delivered also for breakfast and such

This will depend on how you like to travel. We are in the "less is more" group. I only take a small crossbody with me, same with DD23. I don't like to carry water bottles or anything that I don't absolutely need. So, if you are not taking any backpacks or bigger bags - just know that any Counter Service that has fountain drinks will give you Ice Water for Free. We use this option a lot.

Also, as others have mentioned. Very easy to share meals and snacks. That way you can try more things. We are not big breakfast people, so will just eat something in our room like banana or granola bar or something else easy. That saves some $ too.

 

[lolobug]

We are two adults (sometimes four when son and DIL join) and often split an entree and add a side if we feel we need a bit more. You can ask to add or subtract sides to QS meals. We sometimes get kids meals, but find a cheeseburger more bread than burger. Better in that case to order an adult cheeseburger and extra fries.

Research your meals now. Notice that virtually the same meal might be a few dollars less just a few doors down.

We are coffee drinkers and make sure we bring a couple DD bottles coffees into each park. Saves money, but more importantly time.

Make sure you know where to get the best snacks, again by doing research now. Some snacks are good to split and hold up well until the next meal/snack.

There was a time I had cash budgeted in an envelope for the day. If we didn't spend it, it rolled into the next day. If we needed more, I got into the next envelope. You can accomplish this with gift cards now.

Enjoy!

Thank you so much for all of the great suggestions!

 

[lolobug]

Bottled water delivered to the resort is a big savings (IMHO better than cluncky refill bottles, also your bag gets lighter as the day goes on!) We have 2 cases del for 2 adults, we start the day with about 6 or so in the backpack. This usually works out to about 50 cents or less per bottle vs. WDW 4 dollars per bottle, big savings! WE also get some snacks delivered also for breakfast and such

Where do you have items delivered from? Thank you!

 

[comicguy]

Where do you have items delivered from? Thank you!

We previously used Garden Grocer a lot (great service but their prices started to get a bit high), but then we have used door dash delivery from Target, and I think we may have used amazon/whole foods (but that might of been a different city).

 

[leebee]

Where do you have items delivered from? Thank you!

Kroger. They don't have grocery stores in the Lake Buena Vista area but they do delivery. They charge the regular grocery store prices and you can pick your delivery time, which determines the cost. I picked a time window where delivery is $3. Also, they had a $25 off each of the first 2 orders when I set up my shopping list, so that saved us some real money! It worked well in August. I just set up my next delivery for tomorrow night.

 

[BaybeeYoda]

Where do you have items delivered from? Thank you!

If you bring your own water bottles (hydro flask, etc), you can refill them with water at all the drink stations (by the quiet pool and at the quick service). Saves on ordering bottled water.

We also order snacks, granola bars, PBJ, tortillas, bread, cereal, milk, fruit, wine, etc at Whole Foods/amazon fresh on our first day/evening. The Dvc rooms have a microwave and mini fridge. You’ll need a 2hr window for delivery to meet the driver in person but that’s how we avoid spending too much $$$$$ on food. We also bring food and snacks into the parks (and our water bottles… there are drink stations there too!).

We open up a bottle of vino and pour it in our hydroflask before heading to the pool. And PBJ/granola bars means $50-100 saved on quick service or ordering much less for the bottomless pits. But we go for 2 wks every year and the cost would be prohibitive if we dined out every night. We do still do a few sit downs, order a drink at trader Sam’s and lots of quick service but we mix it up.

Oh, and target 5% off the Disney gift cards. We tend to spend about $1.5k a week even with our above thriftiness (like I said, we still do sit downs 1-2x a week and some quick service). We pay our bills the night before checkout with our gift cards. Must be done by 2/3am the day of checkout.

Family of 4 (2 boys).

Hope this helps and enjoy!

 

[fbb]

We always order from whole foods/amazon before we board our flight. Bell services holds it until the room is ready and we are in the room, and brings it up with the bags. You dont have to be there to meet the driver.