A COMPLETE GUIDE TO WALT DISNEY WORLD

Money Saving Tips

• I was just reading an article stating to book everything online.....NO! STOP! DO NOT!....get the information/prices resorts etc...., online but call directly. They always have special codes that are not published to the general public and you have to ask for them, if you are staying on WDW property. I found out a month before the Magic Your Way Tickets were upgraded for free to include the park hopper & more just by asking. ALWAYS CALL, either Walt Disney World Travel or your travel agent.  Thanks to Blaine for this tip!
   

• This will be my family's 3rd year in a row to go to Disney World.  What most people don't realize is that when you make a reservation, whether it is just for your room or a package, you can make payments at any time toward your reservation.  Every time my husband and I get paid, we call and make a payment toward our Disney vacation. So when we get to Disney, our vacation is already paid for.  Could my family eat a lot cheaper than what I pay for the Dining plan? Sure. But with the dining plan, we get more character breakfasts and more themed dining than what I would pay for when we got there. Not to mention, when I get there, my entire vacation is paid for and I didn't have to charge anything or worry about trying to save the money to pay for it when I arrive.   Thanks to Kim for this tip!
   

• Since I am obsessive in nature, I have been calling the 407-WDW-MAGIC line every day the last four days (since I made the reservation). I get new information every time I talk with different people I talk to. I asked if I could apply my AAA discount and I was told no since I have a package deal. Don't assume they are saving you money with package deal!! I got a Magic Your Way package for four nights, and three base passes for the park. When I asked for the break down, the person said she didn't have one...I needed to just add it myself and figure it out. I was too trusting at the moment and didn't bother. I then did my homework and saw no savings and that is where I found the vacation insurance that costs over $100. I called the next day to take it off and the representative admitted that I wasn't saving anything with this package--it comes out the same (only when I asked her about it). I called again today and got someone else and told her that I would like to purchase everything separately...rooms separately and tickets so that I could apply my AAA. She didn't seem to want to jump on helping me with changing my no savings package to a separate AAA reservation for room and tickets! But, she warmed up. I saved $203 by changing this. In just two days, I have saved myself $320 dollars by just being a pest and calling them each day. And now I don't owe the balance by August 14. I pay when I check-in. I had to put down one night's deposit which I can get back as long as I cancel five days before! Be aware that different people will give you different information. I found out today about the tennis courts that will be closed while we are there. It pays to keep asking questions. It is like getting that 2nd and 3rd opinion at the doctor's office.  Thanks to Beth for this tip!
   

• We pack our lunch in the morning and place it in collapsible cooler along with enough frozen water bottles for our family. We then take the cooler with us to a WDW park and place it into a locker at the beginning of the day.  We provide our own lunches this way to save money for one of the dinners at a Disney restaurant later on (which are usually excellent).  Thanks to Arlen for this tip!
   

• My tip is that at the locker rentals just past the entrance to the Magic Kingdom you can purchase (this is in February 2006) a 20 oz bottle of soda for $1.87. That seems to be unheard of in a theme park let alone Disney.  Thanks to Rick for this tip!
   

• When it gets dark my kids always want the light/glow in the dark sticks, bracelets & necklaces. This can get very expensive with three kids. Before our vacation I pick these items up at Dollar Tree for $1.00 each & bring them with me instead of purchasing in the park.  Thanks to Lisa for this tip!
   

• Believe it or not, the Hess gas stations on Disney property have cheap gas prices.  The Chervon Station on SR 535 was 3.29 a gallon, while the Hess station was only 2.89 a gallon!
   

• I booked a room at Wilderness Lodge for $197 per night with AAA discount. I then bought an AP (just one) and it knocked me down to $155 per night plus I was eligible for the DDE card. You don't need an AP for everyone in your party, you just need one to get the discount.  Thanks to Frank for this tip!
   

• Most everything I've read states that the 15% discount on Tours is only available for the passholder. I recently booked a Seas Aqua Tour during November 2005 for a party of six. The reservation center gave me the 15% discount on the entire party. That saved me $90.00!  Thanks to Gayle for this tip!
   

• If you are in an area that Southwest services, get their Ding! service from their website and sign up for Rapid Rewards.  Ding! is a free TSR program that runs in the background and gives you access to special that they do not put on their website directly.  I just purchased my flights, for 4 people, for late September/early October and saved over $100 off the lowest listed fares on the website.  Thanks to Adolph for this tip!
   

• I have read several tips about sending packages to your hotel with snacks & other treats in the package.  This is very costly even in comparison to buying treats at Disney World.  What I have done in the past is pack another suitcase filled with snacks, crackers, candy, cereal bars, or whatever my children like for that moment.  And most airlines don't care if you check 2 suitcases.  This way I haven't spent any money sending a package to the resort AND I have an extra empty suitcase for all the trinkets that are purchased in Disney World.  Thanks to Molly for this tip!
   

• We stayed on-site so we did not need a car. We did book Murray Hill's Transportation Company to pick us up from the airport. It was wonderful. Our driver was there when we got off the plane waiting for us. He helped us with our bags. For the cost of $50 you get a grocery stop at Publix which is the grocery store the locals use (far less expensive that some of the more touristy stores). We picked up bottled water and munchies as well as Styrofoam bowls and plastic spoons, milk and cereal. We brought along a collapsible cooler to keep the milk and water in and then just kept filling up the cooler with ice from the hotel. Having cereal in the morning was quick and easy and a real money saver! Breakfast at the food court will run you about $30.00 for a family of four.   Thanks to Jennifer for this tip!
  

• I just got back from a trip to WDW 10/10/04-10/16/04.  We had packed a small cooler in the car for the drive down.  (We drove from NC to WDW).  We took sodas, bottled water and some snacks.  I had heard about people renting refrigerators for their room, but there is an ice vending machine on each floor.  We just kept changing out the ice each morning or evening when it had melted and kept things cold.  We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge, so we went to the Mercantile and bought pints of milk every other day or so, some small boxes of cereal and some other "breakfast" foods and just kept ice in the cooler.  We kept the milk cold and didn't have to buy breakfast everyday.  We also had cold water and sodas for whenever.  So, I would recommend packing a small cooler and just keeping ice in it. Save your money on a frig for souvenirs!  Thanks to Karen for this tip!
   

• We were not however going to be staying at a Disney Resort so we wouldn't have been eligible to purchase the E-Ride Night tickets or be eligible for Extra Magic Hour in the morning. I found an economical solution to our problem!!! I made reservations for a campsite at Fort Wilderness Campground for 1 night at a cost of $ 58.00+tax for all 5 of us (price varies according to season). We were able to check in at 7:30am, pick up our Resort ID's for each person, our parking pass good for 2 days, and purchase our E-Ride night tickets for that night, keeping in mind that we would also have early admission the next morning to MGM! We ended up not even staying at the campsite, but back at our hotel.
  
  Total Campsite cost: $64.67
  Resort Parking (savings) $16.00
  Actual Total $ 48.67
  E-Ride Night Tickets $ 60.00
  $108.67 Divided amongst 5 people = $ 21.73
  
  Less than $22.00 each to enjoy both E-Ride Night (which was FABULOUS!!!) as well as Extra Magic Hour!  We basically had the Parks to ourselves on two different occasions for an additional $22.00!!!  We also had full resort guest privileges which enabled us to take a mid-day swim in the 2 Resort pools, or if we had chosen, bike or horseback riding, play tennis, basketball, volleyball or go for a hike.  Fort Wilderness also has a beautiful beach to stroll along or go for a swim.  The Electrical Water Pageant can be seen from the beach nightly !  There is also a really cool Campfire Program that Chip and Dale often visit featuring Disney movies, sing-along and cartoons!  You can also have your WDW purchases sent back to The Meadow Trading Post for pick up the next day!  It was so worth the extra few dollars!!!! It truly made our trip.  For budget minded folks who might not be able to stay at a WDW Resort property, but would like to attend E-Ride Night and Extra Magic Hour, this might be an answer!  Thanks to Stacy for this tip!
   

• We decided to rent a van during our trip. We didn't need it to get to the Disney parks, but thought it was an economical way to get back and forth to the airport, and we drove to the beach and a few other places also. You can find some good car rental deals on the internet, but snatch them up fast if you see them, because they are usually limited quantities or times.  Thanks to Kathy for this tip!
   

• We found that the package deals were more expensive than buying airfare, hotel, tickets separately. We purchased our Disney tickets with our AAA discount at the AAA office, prior to the trip.  Thanks to Kathy for this tip!
   

• We got a good deal on the hotel room by using the entertainment book discount. (50% off room rate) I found that you get the best deal by calling the hotel directly and identifying yourself as an entertainment member, rather than calling the reservation # listed in the entertainment book. The difference in pricing was huge!  Thanks to Kathy for this tip!
   

• If you are driving in anywhere from the north on I-75 in Florida stop at the Official Disney Welcome Center in Ocala, FL at Exit 350 (State Road 200).  Ocala is about 85 miles north of Orlando.  This is an official Disney center, not a tourist gimmick.  You can buy any & all tickets there, make dining or room reservations and more.  This saves you time at the park as you can avoid standing in line at the ticket counter.  The Disney Store there and movie theatre showing a film about the resort will entertain the kids while mom & dad make plans with Cast Members.  Call the center at (352) 854-0770 for operating hours.  Also,  AAA offers some good Disney discounts.  You can purchase your vouchers from your local AAA office, and redeem them for your park passes at the Welcome Center.  Thanks to Ken for this tip!!!

• I was able to purchase a 2 bedroom villa at Old Key West for $1450 off of EBAY. It is for Sunday-Thursday travel (5 nights). The same villa goes for over $2600 if you book the reservation directly. People who are part of the DVC sell their "points" and make the reservation directly for you. The best part about this is that you don't have to pay the 11.5 percent sales tax. Studios go for around $800 and 1 bedrooms for $1100. Prices are slightly higher for the Boardwalk villas. So for those with large families, this could be the way to go.  Thanks to John for this tip!!!

• Don't be a sucker buying souvenirs in the parks. Disney sends all their off-season merchandise to several stores in the area, among them "Character Warehouse" located in Mall 2 of the Belz Factory Outlets at the end of International Drive in Orlando (the opposite end of I-Drive from where the Convention Center is). Another one is "Character Premier" in the Premium Outlets in Orlando. Both of these stores sell ONLY official Disney merchandise. You can get t-shirts for $l-l0.00, postcards (.10), sweatshirts ($l0.00), mickey ears, infant clothing, jewelry, toys, trading pins (!!!!), autograph books the list is endless. As an example, my daughter got a set of 2 l00% cotton Tinkerbell pillowcases for $4.99, Mickey icon ponytail holders for 35 cents and Disney 25th anniversary trading pins for l.00.  A good time to go is right when you get to Orlando, when you are hanging around waiting for the time for your hotel reservation to open up. Our family goes there first thing every trip, where we pick up our new Disney clothing so when we arrive at the gates the next day we are suitably attired!  Thanks to DisneyKid's Mom for this tip!!!

• Using my AAA discount I stayed at the Lake Buena Vista Comfort Inn for only $35.00 per night. There are refrigerators, microwaves and coffee pots in every room. Rooms are very nice. My room was on the top floor in the odd numbers & I walked out on the balcony & watched the fireworks. It was great! They have free busing to Disney parks (not as good as the Disney bus system as it didn't leave every 20 minutes). They give you a bus schedule when you check in. The hotel has a breakfast & dinner buffet everyday as well. I will never stay anywhere else again!  Thanks to WDW Visitor for this tip!!!

• We bought a 4 day park hopper pass for $200.00 at out hotel which we thought was cheap, but when we got to Disney's front gate-they sell the same Park Hopper for $199.00. Suggest to your readers not to get them from hotels or at the Welcome centers which were a lot more money.  Thanks to Tere for this tip!!!

• If people have time to do a 1/2 hour time share promotion, on Route 192West, which is no more than 3 miles from all Disney parks, I would suggest doing them. They are over 20 different places to choose from and they sell Disney park passes for as little as $15.00. If we did a time share promo, we could have gotten a 4 day Park Hopper Disney park pass for $80.00. They are all over-watch for the signs.  Thanks to Tere for this tip!!!

• The best grocery store to shop at is PUBLIX's -- much better prices than Gooding's.  Take a right out of the main gate and go about two miles and look for the green PUBLIX sign.  I talked to the locals and that is where they go.  They call Gooding's the tourist's grocery store.  Thanks to Roger and Denise for this tip!!!

• We got a one week's reservation at the Westgate Villas for $249 for the week in a condo that sleeps ten!  This is available to military personnel and contractors who work at a military installation.  Some other related personnel can use it, too (my husband is a non-military gov't employee whose agency is located on an Army base), so check if you think there's a chance you may be eligible.  The website you go through is www.afvclub.com.  You will have to show your proper (military or job) ID to check in.  They have great lodging all over the country, all for $249 per week!  Thanks to Margie for this tip!!!

• Don't be afraid to ASK for something. We recently stayed three nights at Animal Kingdom Lodge but had booked a room overlooking the pool (about $70/night less than a Savannah room, overlooking the animals). When we arrived we asked the very polite person behind the counter if we could get an upgrade to a Savannah room. She looked into and said yes. We saved $200 by asking that question AND had a much better room for three nights! Thanks to Jerry for this tip!!!

• Pack a small cooler - they didn't say a word to us for carrying ours in we took them into Universal as well. Go to Walmart and buy a case of water and freeze the bottles the night before and pack em in your cooler.  I also packed some chex mix, fruit snacks ,and peanut butter sandwiches.  This really cut down on the cost of food.  Thanks to Mary for this tip!!! 

• I brought a backpack to the theme parks to carry extra water bottles and snacks. This way we could avoid some of the high prices for these items.  Thanks to Karen for this tip!

• Just recently I booked a 10 day trip to WDW for our July visit.  I made reservations at the Caribbean Beach through WDW directly.  With a little prodding I was upgraded to the Polynesian for almost the same price as the Caribbean Beach (I'm paying about $25.00 more per night) .  The nice lady said that you have to ask if invitational upgrades are available, they won't offer it to you unless asked.  These "invitations" are only sometimes available and will bump you up one class (value to moderate or moderate to deluxe).  It never hurts to ask!  Thanks to a guide2wdw reader for this tip!

• Keep checking the Internet for rooms a couple of weeks before your trip.  I've tried it earlier than a couple of weeks, but it doesn't do as well.  I was able to stay in a nice Travelodge Suite during the height of Spring Break 1999 for $59.00 a night.  I am making a Disney Pilgrimmage in October and I found a room at Days Inn for $29.00 a night.  Peak Time Tip:  During the time before Spring Break, I would make a reservation everytime I found a cheap room.  Then when I found a cheaper one, I would cancel the previous reservation.  If you don't keep booking rooms, you may double back and find out the room isn't available or isn't available for the low price that you remember.  It is time consuming, BUT IT IS WELL WORTH IT.  Thanks to Terry for this tip!

• We found a way to save by purchasing airfare, hotel and park tickets separately.   If you have an Entertainment coupon book, the Disney Swan and Dolphin hotels in the park offer a 50% savings.   We also bought our park tickets with a AAA discount.   Thanks to Sue for this tip!

• Food at the parks can be expensive, but there is a solution. Check out Crossroads at Lake Buena Vista (just across I-4 at Disney Downtown.) There's several options including a Taco Bell that won't tax your wallet.  Thanks to Sue for this tip!

• If you love visiting Pleasure Island, it's worth getting the annual pass for $49.95 +tax.  It's good one year from your purchase date, is good for any night except New Year's Eve and allows you discounts at the AMC Pleasure Island movie theatre. Use it three times and you've already saved money over a nightly admission.  Thanks to Michelle for this tip!

• Purchase an annual pass (you will be surprised at the cost - it is not much more than a 5 day pass and if you visit more than once each year then the value is tremendous). With this pass you can "do" Disney at your leisure. It is not advertised and you will have to ask for details at the ticket office.  Because you do not have to worry about using up a day of your pass, you can choose to go to Disney for a few hours a day - perhaps late afternoon / early evening when people are leaving exhausted from their days exertions. I can't remember the last time I had to spend a full 12 hours in Disney in one session. Believe me it's a very relaxing way to see Disney. Try it next time you're there.   Thanks to Terry for this tip!

• If you have the annual Pleasure Island Pass, and it runs out before you get to go back to Disney World, when you go to buy your new one, bring your old one and get a discount on the new pass!  Thanks to Chris for this tip!

• Our family just returned from our first trip to WDW.  We stayed at the All Star Movies resort.  The resort was nice and very kid friendly but there were no "perks" that you might expect to get by staying at a Disney resort.  We had our own car so we were able to drive around for the cheaper food (don't plan on saving on food at any crossroads area. They don't offer the specials such as $0.99 hamburgers, etc.) Don't bother with super markets, they are high.  We went to the local Super Wal-Mart for food and Disney T-shirts. We kept an ice chest in our room for soda and sandwich meat.  This is the way to go.  Thanks to the Carr Family for this tip!

• Buy your children their "souvenirs" at Toys R Us or EToys and bring them with you.  Satisfy their need to buy something by giving them your discounted toys.

• For rooms, try out skyauction.com.  The Westgate Villas near Sea World almost always have several rooms/condos up for auction and I've seen a 2bdrm condo for a week go for less than $400.  Thanks to Michelle for this tip!

• Disney & Universal isn't checking about food anymore.  So purchase your pop and sandwiches outside and  come prepared to snack your way through the day. Saves $$$.  Thanks to Sue for this tip!

• Merchandise sold at Disney Stores outside of the resort is just as nice and a lot less expensive than what is sold in the resort.  Thanks to Andrea for this tip!   

• Whenever I have visited Walt Disney World (always in July/August) it has been extremely hot.  To save money on drinks...ask for ice!!  The ice is free and cools you down!!  Thanks to Karen for this tip!

• The Entertainment Card hotel rate for the Swan and Dolphin is a good deal at 50% off rack rates.  These Hotels are in a great location, near boat transportation to Epcot and MGM-Disney.  Also nearby is the Boardwalk with a bakery, shops and restaurants.  One problem with the Swan was that I was told at check-in that a $5.00/day "resort fee" would be added above the room price that I had been quoted when the reservation was made.  Later when I complained to Management I was told that this is an "optional" charge for some misc. services, and it was removed from the bill.   The fee was not represented as being optional when I checked in.   So the tip to travelers is...object to this add-on.  The tip to the Hotel is to either quote $5.00/day more when the reservation is made, or drop the whole attempt to layer it on later.   It seemed unethical to me to the point where I didn't want to eat at Swan restaurants (concern of getting a "plate fee" added on) or shop on site...("bag fee"?).  I do not know if other WDW resorts try to add fees also.  Thanks to Dave for this tip!

• Even if you do buy your own cheaper and smaller pins at home before taking a trip to Walt Disney World, the pins you get from Cast Members at the parks don't even buy their pins.   They are provided to you from management, and those pins are free anyhow.  I have personally seen the stacks of pins in the back offices of most parks and Cast Members just pick out of a big box.  Thanks to Mike for this tip!

• Not everything at Disney has to cost you lots of money. If you would like a good time filler that is inexpensive, try Resort hopping. If you stay on the grounds then you have unlimited access to all the Disney resorts and Downtown Disney. Take the time to Resort hop and scope where your next stay might be.  Thanks to Sarah K. for this tip!

• If you're thinking about buying a timeshare at one of the Disney resorts, look into purchasing on the resale market.  Becoming a Disney Vacation Club member can save you a lot in the long-haul, but when you purchase directly from the resort the upfront expense is quite costly. A Disney timeshare resale can cost 65 percent less, which translates to thousands of dollars in savings.
   

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