We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.
Over the past several months, I have shared ways to do Disney on a Budget, I am going to give you a summary of 10 things that we did that saved us money on our Disney World vacation.
1. We stayed “off property”. We have a large family, and staying on site didn’t make sense for us, we really needed more room than the Disney hotels had to offer. Plus, we saved 1000’s by staying “off property”. We used Vacation Rental by Owner to save even more money by renting directly from the owners.
2. We made our own Autograph books (and accidentally left them at home – OOPS!).
3. We got a super deal on a rental car, by using Priceline & BetterBidding.com. Thanks to several of you for suggesting Better Bidding, it was a HUGE help.
4. We saved all the gift cards we earned throughout the year to offset the cost of the vacation.
5. We left one child at home. Only kidding! I just wanted to see if you were paying attention.
6. We saved money on our meals several different ways. We rented a home with a kitchen, so we could make some of our meals at home. Eating out costs a lot of money, so we were able to save a lot by making breakfast at the home most mornings. We also used several certificate from restaurant.com and actually ate at some really good restaurants.
7. We were prepared for Disney Pin Trading by buying pins to trade ahead of time. We found that we could get some great deals, by buying pins off of Ebay. To find a reputable seller, consult this thread over at the DisBoards. My youngest was way more into pin trading then I thought he would be, it was so much fun for him.
8. We used airline miles to pay for your airline tickets. It took years and years of saving the miles, but it really paid off.
9. We signed up for the Disney Rewards Visa. By signing up for the Visa card we were rewarded with $200 in Disney gift cards for FREE. Plus, we also were able to rack up $215 in rewards points. That is $415 in FREE money we were able to use on our vacation.
10. I used coupons!! This one shouldn’t really come as a surprise. I use coupons even when I am on vacation. I used coupons for groceries, activities, restaurants, and even for souvenirs. I used some of my points from the Tropicana Juicy Rewards program to print coupons for places in Orlando, like the Sky Venture indoor skydiving. I even bought and Enterainment book for the Orlando area (I got it for only $5)
I would love to hear any of you tips for saving money on a Disney vacation.
Wow Christy,
those are great tips especially renting a home with a kitchen.
A breakfast and dinner for family of four would $60 a day.
When relatives visit, I’ll get them to take along a couple of sandwiches,some fruit,snacks and frozen bottle water in their backpacks.
Should you have a dinner show in your plans next time ,there are some 1/2 and buy get one free at https://www.orlandocouponsfree.com/attraction_coupons.html
Can’t wait to hear what nifty money saving tips you find for your next visit!
Thanks
I am a huge Disney World fan and we try to go every few years. From Seattle it is a long trip. I completely agree with your tips as we stay off site and last time rented a house that was huge, each kid had their own room, we had a swimming pool, garage filled with fun stuff for the kids and my parents and my husband and I each had our own master bedroom. Loved staying offsite. We could cook meals and save a ton of money and TIME! It takes time to eat out, kids are tired, going home at night was a lot easier.
One way we saved a ton of time and money was bringing our food into the parks. We brought a soft cooler in each day with sandwiches, snacks and drinks. We would fill our water bottles up during the day. If you ask at the food places they will give you free ice and water to use for refilling. We would find a nice spot, sometimes inside a/c places and eat our lunch. It was great, cheap and fast. The days we ate lunch we spent at least a half hour just waiting in line for food and it was all greasy junk.
Another tip is we bring souvenirs with us. I did buy some there but buying ahead of time and surprising the kids with them was great. Disney store at home has much better prices on some of the disney stuff. ALso if you go to Walmart in orlando areas you will find a ton of stuff. My kids are young so it didnt matter they didnt pick it out, they were just thrilled with the excitement of it.
Search online for your best disney and universal ticket prices. The savings can really add up.
I am always able to take vacations and do so much more than others by just doing some easy planning. It’s worth it in the end. Not many kids have traveled as much as my kids. It’s because we do it on a budget but it doesn’t feel like it. Cruises are another travel bargain. Although we havent been able to find a disney cruise yet that is enough of a bargain to bite. With 3 kids they get you on cruises. Families of 4 do much better on a cruiseship. Hope my tips can help someone.
Remember save time and money by not eating out as much.
The free dining that Disney offers is an awesome deal also, even when staying at a value resort, and getting the food free for your stay might actually rival the good deal you get staying in a rental home. Might be something to check into. I know we have a time share in Orlando, and many times it is a better deal for us to stay at the value resorts, and have free food. Even when the timeshare is $200 for the whole week!
I have a family of 4 and I really want to do a Disney World vacation with them but when ever I add up the cost of the parks its total sticker shock. I would use VRBO ( its how I always find our home away from home) I am great at getting good deals on rental car and air fair .. but after figuring it all up we can do Maui for 2 weeks in a condo on the beach for way less then 1 week at Disney.. Air fare is about the same from Portland OR to Orlando or Maui.. its the parks that get us..Also @ Wendy what are your tips on Cruises? we have 4 kids and I can not find a deal on it.. or even where to start.. thanks 🙂
I pay my kid in Disney gift cards instead of an allowance. I purchase my gift cards at Target for 5% savings using my Target card or at BJ’s which discounts Disney gift cards at 4%. He then uses his saved up gift cards for anything he wants in the parks (food, souvenirs, drinks, etc.) I also ask family members to consider giving gift cards as gifts if we have a planned vacation coming up. It really helps to offset the cost of incidentals in the Parks.