Tips and Tricks to Do Disney on a Budget

When I saw Heidi’s topic for the week over on Reviews & Reflections, I was jumping up and down for joy!  I LOVE this topic!

Like many families, we like to find our ways to save money on our Disney vacation without feeling like we missed out on any fun!  Here are our favorite ways:

• Off-Season – We love off-season for many reasons!  Usually, the crowds are lower and the lodging is cheaper than peak season.  We do know that in choosing this time to go that there is a higher chance of refurbishments occurring, but we prefer to take that chance.
• Dining Plan – While the dining plan at Disneyland is not a real savings, the dining plan at Walt Disney World can be.  The key is to keep close track to the meals eaten versus meals left so that you use every one.  The savings is lost if you don’t use every snack, counter service, and table service credit.  We prefer the Basic Dining Plan because it suits our eating and touring style.  I know that there are many who enjoy the Deluxe Dining Plan, but for our family, it takes too much of our attraction time away from us.  We like to pair the Basic Dining Plan with the next tip below.
• We like to order snacks, breakfast food, and water to be delivered to our resort.  We have used Garden Grocer in the past, and it worked great!  I ordered what I needed on their website, paid, and set up a time for delivery.  The food arrived at our resort before the Magical Express bus dropped us off.  We then had breakfast in our room and saved our counter service credit for lunch or dinner.  Also, we had chips and other snack type items that we put in belt pouches to take into the parks or to have after we returned from the parks at night.
• If you don’t like the taste of Florida water (Blech!) and don’t want to buy bottled water, Brita has brought back their filtered, personal-sized, water bottle.  I bought ours for $10 apiece on sale at Target.  Just ask for a cup of ice at a counter service restaurant, pour it in your bottle, and fill up with water at a water fountain.
• If you don’t want to bother with the Dining Plan or are heading to Disneyland, schedule your table service meals for late lunch, just before the dinner menu officially starts.  Most of the time, the lunch prices are cheaper than the dinner prices.