When my kids were little, I would visit thrift shops to find Disney character clothing in the weeks/months prior to our trip. Often the items were like new. We found embroidered items, fleece jackets, etc. for next to nothing. My kids were decked out for the entire vacation without spending a dime in the parks. The added bonus is that they didn’t match every other kid in the park. And, if they never wore it again, I didn’t feel like we wasted money on the souvenir.
I still do that Kimberly, I scored a Vera Bradley quilted Mickey purse at a yard sale for a quarter! And the ears...tons are out there, I've seen them at Goodwill for 1.88, so yeah, it pays to be thrifty! Have a good day 😊
Note: this one takes TIME and willpower. When I realized my credit card offered Disney gift cards as a option for rewards points, I began putting all of the bills, groceries, gas... anything possible on it. But, always paying it completely. (Willpower) I did this for over a year, (time) cashing in points along the way. Folks, I just got tickets for one adult and three teenagers for three days in the park, with nothing out of pocket. NOTHING. If you have the time and your credit card offers it, this may be an option.
I do this with flights. I have a Jet Blue card. Haven't paid for a flight in 5 years! I think it's just a fee of $22 round trip. It's great because you're paying for these things anyways, might as well get some free stuff out of it!
My cheapest trip to Disney was $76 in 2018. Drove down from my home in SC, split the gas with my daughter. We stayed at the home of a friend of hers who was a CM and went to dinner at Disney Springs that night (I had poutine). My daughter had an interview with Disney first thing the next morning and was hired on the spot! We then drove over to Magic Kingdom, where we parked for free and were admitted for free with CM friend. Hopped to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. I ate snacks and kid’s meals all day. The next day we drove home, mission accomplished. She moved down there a month later and my trips every 2-3 months began, lol. I’ve never gotten out of it THAT cheaply again though! It was also my quickest trip, but it sure was memorable!
@@JMC01644 No, she moved back home about a year ago. The pandemic ruined it for her, as it did so many others. . She says she misses her pre-Covid job but not her post-Covid job. She still loves Disney, but only as a guest now (and I’m happy to have her living 2 minutes away from me now).
My husband and I did the break-neck, drive-straight-through trip from Houston to WDW last month. One of us was driving, and the other was sleeping. In the event we were both awake, we listened to music, laughed, and talked together to keep spirits high in the loooong trip. Honestly? It was SOOOOOOO worth it!!!!!
The travel one. When I was a kid my parents would drive us from Baltimore to Florida for our Disney trips. They'd leave in the evening though and do overnight so my brother and I would be less annoying and awake. I still have so many positive memories of reaching the amazingly tacky South of the Border at some absurdly middle of the late time. They'd wake us up and we'd get a snack or something. I swear I never saw it when most of the place was open. So many fun memories.
One of my favorite cheap souvenirs is a Disney Park map (they're literally free other than paying for the park ticket) and the maps (in my opinion) are super cool
This is one of my favorite souvenirs. I always keep mine because Disney is always changing and evolving. I love looking at maps from my early trips and see how much Disney has changed.
6 months to a year in advance, get a Chase Sapphire card with the signup 80,000 points. If you have a spouse (or sig other, friend), refer them the card after 3 months, then you get another 15,000 bonus points for referring a friend, and they get 80,000 points. Between those and the spend points gained, that should net you a healthy 185K points; transfer 80K to Hyatt points, transfer the rest to airline/rental car company; should all be free after that, except for food and park tickets.
Also note if you are flying especially this summer: the airlines have been canceling flights due to short staffing, weather, and/or air traffic control issues. This has been a problem with domestic and international flights.
One recommendation I wpuld offer is to actually drive at night. We leave after dinner and the kids sleep almost the whole way. We stop for a longer break at breakfast (and also avoid any morning rush/traffic) then we get into our hotel or resort around 11am and use the remainder of the day to rest up and get prepared for our first park day!
Kinda shocked and disappointed DFB has never stayed at a “good neighbor” hotel considering how often they’re mentioned for saving money. Would love to see a review of a good neighbor experience
She has mentioned staying at the Swan and Dolphin before. While advertised by Disney because they have had such a long partnership, they are actually owned by Marriott.
Good neighbour hotels are DEFINITELY the way to go. There are TONS around Disney Springs (Best Western and Hilton are some of my family's favs) which offer tons of normal perks (pools, DVD rentals) AND Disney perks (early entry, busses, Jeoffrey's coffee). While they don't have the theming of a Disney hotel, I never had a problem with it as a kiddo-- and, usually, they're a 10-minute walk from Disney Springs anyways and are just as good (and wayy cheaper!) (plus, my family always just went to other Disney hotels anyways if we wanted to check them out)
Check out All Ears, their a separate company but they are friends with DFB and sometimes do joint food reviews. All ears has stayed at most of the hotels.
I agree! I did this with my kids when they were really small and they had fun looking for all the penny pressing machines and it saved us from buying a lot of little toys etc. We bought the little book you save them in and it was as expensive as maybe buying one shirt but we gathered maybe 10-15 across all of our days in the parks and it was a great souvenir that you don’t grow out of.
When used to go to Disneyland often, and 4 kids and a me. We would stay in a hotel around Disney, have bagels in the room and walk to the gate. And at night, Ihop for dinner. (Since Disneyland is smaller, easier to do) My kids tell me they have great memories of that time.
Pressing Pennies is my favorite take away too. I used to get them from all the resorts but now with charges to park, I don’t hit those up. Pretty fun cheap thrill. My husband enjoys the hunt too.
A tip I have done with past disney trips, is that I bring a lot of my own snacks, for both the hotel room as well as the park. I even bring food I can eat for breakfast, like a box of cereal that I always eat. Helps save a lot for the overall trip, being able to cut down on a meal a day.
As a next video idea, perhaps do a video on tips for guests who are coming to Disney World not from the US. Like what about facilities available for guests who speak limited English? Tips and customs for tourists in the US to follow? Tipping? Etc…
Oh, and when tax is included or not! In Sweden tax is always included, in the US it was usually not. Made shopping trips interesting when you're accustomed to fixed prices, and then your estimated cost was several dollars too low once you checked out.
I highly recommend the hotels at Flamingo Crossing, all Marriott and Hilton brands. No parking fees, No resort fees and FREE BREAKFAST! If you have a car or are using Uber these are a great option.
Driving in has its benefits. It makes the last day of your trip a lot more relaxed when you know that you don't have to catch a flight later on. The drive is long, but it's a lot easier to throw your dirty laundry in the trunk after the trip rather than to pack them up for a flight back home. Thanks for the awesome video DFBguide!
That really depends on where you live. A non-stop flight from Orlando to Seattle takes six hours. I can’t imagine what driving 2,900 miles would be like.
Both of the Disney Good Neighbor Hotels you showed I have stayed at. The Residence Inn is fantastic because there is a ton of space. The Rosen Inn lake Buena Vista is an older hotel, but it is clean and has all you need for a good trip. The best part of both of these is that they are located on Palm Parkway which is 10-15min drive to Disney Springs and another 10min to the parks. Location, Location, Location. I am so glad to see these places in your video. Thank you AJ for the details.
I have stayed at the Rosen Inn. You won't confuse it with a Disney World hotel, but it's absolutely acceptable. It was clean and quiet, and the staff was friendly. You can also walk to Disney Springs from it if you're in shape and don't have little kids with you (maybe a 20-25 minute walk). There are more affordable restaurants and bars nearby as well. I recommend it for a cheaper option
The thing about booking a flight on a Tuesday isn’t that you *fly* on Tuesday, it’s that you *book* on Tuesday. Airlines come out with new deals on Monday and respond to each others’ deals by Tuesday, is the reasoning I heard. It’s quite possibly changed in the last several years but I’m pretty sure when I heard it there was data backing it up.
I’ve been watching DFB Guide for years so believe me when I say thank you so much for making this 2022 travel video. This one is extremely helpful and right on time.
You didn’t mention that you can enter the park with food and drinks. Actually you can bring a whole cooler into the parks. This is a HUGE money saving trick and it will cost you much much less than anything you could buy in the parks
Oh and if you are worried about carrying your cooler around, you can bring a cheap umbrella stroller, that way you can leave your things outside each of the rides in the stroller parking area 👍🏻 (this is really cheap I know)
There are some restrictions on coolers (type and size). You can’t bring a big, honking one with an entire picnic inside. A small softsided one or a backpack w some pb&j, chips, gummies, granola bars , juice boxes is doable.
When I was a kid, my parents--dad in particular--made sure we had a very modest food budget and merchandise budget. And of course we stayed at the Hampton Inn.
In regards to #4 and #5- we always place a Walmart grocery pickup order at the Supercenter right off 192 . Before I actually pickup the order, I go inside and get random souvenirs for the kids- that store has a huge section in the front with WDW and tourist stuff, and the kids have no clue it came from Walmart. They also have those fans and cooling towels you see people wearing, as well as Mickey ponchos for a way cheaper than you will find at other retailers. As for the grocery pickup order...I only get stuff for breakfast, lunch and snacks- we have dinner out every night except one night when we eat all of the leftovers. Breakfast is fruit, yogurt, cereal and milk; lunch is PB&J, a variety back of individual chips, yogurt, fruit and cheese sticks; and snacks are trail bars, hummus, vegetables, cheese and crackers. We also usually get a case of bottled water and several gallons of water- Orlando tap water tastes terrible. My wife might get a bottle or two of wine, depending on the length of our stay. Looking at our order from last time, my wife also got a bottle of Starbucks cold brew concentrate.
So glad you mentioned the campground. You can put two per site. No matter what size. We have had 12 people one one site. Huge savings. If you do fly you didn't mention Orlando cheepest transportation from the air port or train station to hotel or even magic kingdom. Lynx is the city bus that cost only $2.50 per person per way. Just make sure you have single bills to pay. You could get to Orlando but way of Greyhound bus or even cheeper Mega bus company. $45.00 per person per way. Target is also a place that will deliver food sundries and other things to your hotel once there. Thanks for doing this video. Will you do one for Disneyland?. Thanks for your time
Perfect timing for this video!!! Worried about our trip in October since my job has cut down on hours. Only have $983.56 to finish paying it off and I've been saving for two years!! It will be my kids first time so these tips help!!
I’m so sorry about your hours being reduced! If your kids have birthdays between now and October I highly recommend putting Disney gift cards on their wish list! You can actually consolidate them and download them into your phone wallet I believe. Some people use them to pay their balances. Also, don’t forget to get the free “first visit” pin for the kids at Guest Relations during your trip. Best free souvenir!
I have started a tradition that for every birthday party instead of people spending money on gifts kids will never use, we simply have a box in the room where everyone puts whatever money they want with a note as to what park or attraction they want to see the kids on when they receive the thank you card. That way everyone gifts the child a memory instead of an object they will most likely never use. Also, every guest gets a thank you note in a picture of the birthday kiddo on the said attraction. That way, with all the other extra savings, kids gets memories that could only be possible when everyone pitches in. Kids learn to be grateful to everyone who shares their birthday and guests feel happy to be part of a memory for each child. Birthday gifts are no longer a shore or something we just do in my family, they are now memory building
For tips, stay in a hotel with free breakfast and a kitchen if possible, there are many many in the Kissimmee and Orlando area. Two: make your own Minnie ears or have kids make them way before visiting the park, they can customize it big time and enjoy the memory of making it. They end up feeling very proud to wear what they made and get compliments for it, plenty of RU-vid videos on it. Three: consider Uber as transportation to avoid parking costs at the parks even if you have a car, plus is soo convenient. Four: a full kitchen or Kitchener in the hotel will save you lots of money in breakfast and dinner, added to that, most of those type resorts have a full water park like pool area on property so you can save money. Spend time at the resort because it could be very worthy and fun days. Five: do not buy any extras, they are not really necessary to enjoy the park at all if you plan accordingly, and bring your own poncho and umbrella because in Florida you will always need them. As well as bottle of water. Six: consider out of property restaurants and the food will be great and much much cheaper.
Just wanted to say THANK YOU! Just got back this past weekend from a 5 day stay in Disney - went to three of the parks. Had a blast! For a family of 4, a hotel, 1 3-day park and 2 2-day park tickets (i went all days, mom/day went 2 days, sister wanted to stay in hotel), everything was under $2000. We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside...THIS IS THE BEST HOTEL EVER lol. We walked to the bus station at the front of the resort - we were already the first stop meaning empty busses =D Oh, and the boat ride to Disney Springs OMG so good. I can't wait for deals for next year to drop. I miss Disney so much!
Depending on where you live, I’d recommend Allegiant Air with a bundled room at the Swan or Dolphin. I just got back from taking my mother-in-law to her first WDW trip and got the three of us a direct flight, with three nights at the Swan, with carry on bags, four full days at the parks with tickets for about $250/person/day. This is the second time I’ve bundled with Allegiant Air at the Swan (the first for two of us was around $1000). The only additional payment is your ride share since you have to take an hour ride from the Sanford airport (check those flights too). The rides to/from the hotel were about $150 total (there and back with tip) for this trip, and years ago they were under $100. I planned this trip short notice just two weeks to the day we left. As for off-property hotels, I have a choice hotel I like. It’s decent, and the last time I was there it was less than $50/night and not terribly far from the property. I hope someone finds this info helpful!
@@Skye_Writer It’s the Econo Lodge Inn & Suites Maingate Central. Please let me stress that there has never been anything remotely fancy about it when I’ve stayed, but if you literally just need a room in the area (since you’ll be in a park anyway), it does the job for someone on a budget. I last stayed in 2015 and it really hadn’t changed during the 10 years prior I’d been staying there. It’s just down the street from the Medieval Times, it’s near a Target, and about 10 minutes or less (if traffic isn’t terrible) from the Disney Springs entrance. If you’ll be spending time at the hotel, like for breaks, or you’re looking for great amenities, this isn’t the right place. If you just need a room that provides at least a basic sanitary environment and you don’t want to spend a lot each night, then this’ll do the trick (at least as of 2015).
Another way to save money is not to fall into the trap of believing that you MUST wear matching personalized t-shirts on your trip. On our last family trip I only asked my fam that we wear the same colors, so everyone wore what was already in their closet but we still somewhat matched in our photos.
The first two weeks of November have generally been a pretty nice choice…you get some of the early Christmas decorations/shows, the weather is still pretty nice, you’re past the worst of the hurricane season and it’s not Super crowded
When my granddaughter was younger (4-5 yo), we gave her gift cards for souvenirs. She was allowed to buy what she wanted as long as she had money on her card. Because we were on a dining plan, most trips, snacks were no problem. She did have extra cash we carried for candy so we didn't use snack credits, we saved them for ice cream and cupcakes! This past December as a 14 yo, she has the gift cards but also cash because she was older and wiser. She spent most of her money on pins. She had been given lots of pins for trading,her aunt and uncle bought official pins off of Amazon and during Twice upon a year sale. We started pin trading when she was little. For her very first trip, I had bought costumes from the Twice Upon A Year sale. We actually planned the trip for over a year so I was able to budget out the expenses. She had a different costume for every day. I always watch the sales.
I plan for pit stops to and from. I use booking to book hotels months out. After that I use the booking app on my phone to change dates on my bookings. But here's the catch, don't change the actual dates but just click on "check availability" for the same dates you have it for. If the price is higher or the same back out, but if the price is lower click on change dates and you'll snag a cheaper room for the same dates. I've saved over $60 between three hotels since I booked them two months ago
For the free water / water bottles, bring some crystal light packets, or MIL squeeze bottles, to flavor them. I would also freeze one disposable water bottle, use it as a food chiller in my bag, and by the time you need that second bottle, it's (mostly) defrosted. Refill and reuse it throughout your trip for less plastic waste. This assumes your accommodations have a freezer. Also, IMPORTANT, take a swig and don't freeze it 100% full!
We were there the 2nd week in May. Uber/lyft were the best options for getting to and from MCO. 2 adults 2 teenagers.. $50 a trip. We stayed at Coronado Srrings.
For those that desire to have access to their own car, but do not want to have to drive the entire route, the AMTRAK Autotrain may be an option to consider. I take an annual trip to Florida each summer. This year, instead of booking a flight and renting a car, I am taking my personal vehicle by AutoTrain from Lorton, VA to Sanford, FL which was SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper in price, even with the high cost of gas!
If you plan to book at a good neighbor hotel, always always always check to see if there's a resort fee per night tacked on (and parking.) We once thought we'd save money using a nice good neighbor hotel stay but after we added the 15 parking and 30 extra PER NIGHT resort fee we were kicking ourselves for not just staying on property.
My husband and I stayed at an All Star for $125 per night at the end of April and it was such a great decision! We literally booked the room less than two weeks away too. At first we were checking out places outside of Disney bubble and they seemed cheap but once we added them to cart they had so many fees that they ended up being more expensive than staying at an All Star and also most either didn’t have a free shuttle or it was inconsistent on schedule from the reviews we read up on them. We didn’t rent a car since we were from the west coast and were only here for DW so having that shuttle was a must. I can’t imagine how much we would have spent on Uber for three and a half days. We also got Mears bus from and to airport. We also saved money by eating from quick service places inside the parks all day, which was also fun because we would usually get two smaller things/meals and share them so we got to try so many things. We were actually surprised that we spent $230 dollars on food and drinks(including alcoholic) for the two of us for 3 days at the parks and a half day at Disney Springs. Another thing is we don’t buy merch which also saves money)))
For airport transportation we used Away We Go Transportation - the price is the same for parties from 2-9 people and they provided a car seat for our 3 y.o. - direct service right to our resort & cheaper than MEARS or Sunshine Flyer when we split the cost amongst our party. Would definitely recommend!
I’ve come to the conclusion I am naturally a cheapass, lol. Round trip gas to Orlando: $50 Seaworld Tickets: Free (military) Seaworld VIP parking: $60 Seaworld Dining pass: $80 Disney Epcot Tickets 3 people: $438 2x nights Shades of Green Resort $358 = $986 I also pre-purchased ponchos, Disney apparel, and don’t plan to eat at a single restaurant that has waiter service. I thought I was “normal” lol
Yeah grew up with a very budget constrained family, I’ve been going to Disney since 2000 and I’ve never had a sit down meal at a Disney restaurant. I feel like everyone is so into them and I’m fine with the budget alternatives. Plenty of tasty, cheaper things to eat.
I highly recommend an air bnb, especially if you're going with a big group or have a big family! Everyone has enough space to move around and not all crammed into a hotel room. Definitely worth it. Also, for souvenirs, if you're like me and my sister and LOVE all the mickey ears, find a small business that makes them! There are so many great artists on instagram or etsy that make mickey ears! That's what we do and we are always getting compliments on our unique character ears 🥰 plus the "real" ones from the parks hurt your head if you're wearing them all day. I will never buy mickey ears from the parks again after finding a couple of these small shops online 🥰 A lot of them take custom orders as well! If you really want some different ears! All pluses for me 😁
Can also confirm this is true. My second to last trip to EPCOT we stayed at an Airbnb. It was 8 of us. Everyone had their space, and it was enough for us to sleep comfortably. There’s more bathrooms too which is always a good thing 👍
@@imgonnaputsomedirtinureyedabs yes! Let me double check her name. She normally has a waitlist but it's worth it. But I've also bought other ears from some other ppl that I'll find their names too. I've never been disappointed. Plus you're money is going towards a small business and someone's dream, rather than a huge corporation 😉🥰 These ladies put so much more heart and thought into making each pair as well 💕 let me get those names for you though! 😁
@@gamelifeusa yes! I was able to wear my ears that I bought from smaller shops, all day long. The 1 pair I've bought from the disney shops, I couldn't wear them for more than an hour or so before they started giving me headaches. If you're going to pay upwards of $40+ for a pair of ears, I should be able to wear them all day long w/o issue. That's just one of the benefits to shopping with a small business making them handmade, rather than purchasing a pair where they're all made in a factory 🤷🏻♀️😉
I found it hard to find refill stations. Plenty of drinking fountains, but not bottle fillers. For sure bring a refillable bottle, but I was a bit surprised. My fav money saving tip is buy gift cards at Sam’s club with a Disney Visa card. A $50 card is only $48 at Sam’s & then you get the rewards points from your Disney reward card too. Not a ton of savings but every bit helps! It’s easy to pay for hotels & tix online with the gift cards too.
Fun souvenir now that the meet and greets are back: make your own autograph books. A lot of stores offer photo books that you can pick out your favorite photos and they'll turn it into a book for you. On our last trip, we used pictures from previous trips for our books and had the characters sign on the pages that corresponded to their movie or our experience with them from a previous trip. We hadn't seen every character before, so we included other pictures from around the parks, too....for example, you could use a picture of the castle for your Cinderella autograph, but it's just as easy to find a picture of Mickey online to put in, or use a picture of your kid with a Mickey stuffed plush. Practical tip, get matte finish pages instead of glossy. Our markers smudged on the glossy prints. And store it in a plastic bag with the marker to protect it from Florida rains, and to keep track of the marker.
For years we drove to Disneyland from Northern California to save $ and I would fantasize about flying and how much easier it would be. Well... we splurged and flew this year - and never again! It was such a hassle - packing less, arranging transport to/from the airport, watching the clock to make it to the airport on time, etc. It literally only saved us an hour (6 hours flying vs 7 hours driving) and if there had been delays it would have taken longer. Even at the same price I don’t think I’d ever fly again - and definitely not worth paying more. Lesson learned!
Same here. Last time flying the pilots went on strike because they didn't want to get vaccinated while we were there! So we were stranded in Orlando, and HAD to wait in line for 3 hours just to get vouchers toward later flights. Ended up renting a compact car and driving 16 hours home, and it wasn't as bad as it sounds. I'd say if you are healthy enough to drive long distances then it is the way to go. Maybe not for people in the Northwest, but for people within 2 days drive, I recommend avoiding the airports due to how unpredictable, and expensive it is. Airlines don't care about us, if they did then the cost of flying would have come down 10 years ago after the "temporary price hike due to fuel costs" around 2010. The price of fuel did come down, but the price of flying never did🙄
I like to sporadically buy Disney gift cards at my grocery store when they offer 4x points for money off your gas. It helps spread the trip cost out and I can save on gas, which has been helpful during the surging gas prices. Also, by the time my trip comes around, I have all my food and souvenirs paid for!
I've stayed at Rosen and walked to DS everyday. It was a basic hotel, but fine for just sleeping. Plus, there was a Starbucks on the walk with "normal" prices instead of the slightly more at WDW.
Watching the video and all I can think about is how AJ said she's from WNY!! Now I know why you're inherently my favorite Disney gal! Love your videos, always helpful when planning ❤️🤍💙 Go BILLS!
We do it SUPER cheap. This is how. We live within driving distance, we have the cheapest annual pass and get free parking. We stay off property, buy one t shirt off property and eat off property except on meal inside and those will be counter service. We bring in some snacks. And get free water from counter service as we learned fro DFP. This way we were able to go multiple times per year.
Ok so here's a few tips: you can find Mickey ears at a shop in the Old Towne mall in Kissimmee for 10.00 less than in the parks. With air bnb make sure you switch on the superhost option so you look at places with good reviews. I would highly recommend getting a place near to your destination or close to a bus stop if you're not going to be driving. Uber and Lyft in the Orlando area is super expensive.
I can vouch for the Lake Buena Vista Residence Inn. We stayed there while waiting to close on our house here in the Orlando area...fantastic stay and centrally located to all the parks. They even have park transportation, if you don't wanna drive.
We stayed at the Rosen inn for our last trip in April 2022. We loved it! We drove down and it is located close to Disney springs and very close to supermarket shopping. The rooms were clean and quiet. We loved saving so much on our room.
One trick I use sometimes is to fly into a different airport. For example, west palm beach or Jacksonville. I usually get a car anyway and the difference in flight price sometimes covers the car and resort parking fee plus more. I saved over $500 on my recent flight flying into west palm instead of Orlando!
That Residence Inn also had the best FREE breakfast buffet the last few times we stayed there, but that was probably 5 years ago, so just double check on that before booking
On the topic of souvenirs, a few years ago we created and printed out "Orlandough" for our children that they could use to cash-in on merch either before or during our trip. This made it easy for us to budget as it set clear expectations on how much they could spend, while also making it fun for them since they felt in control within that limit. We also used to use the Disney Chase credit card, but have found that (unless you spend A LOT on Disney) you'll come out ahead by simply using cards with better overall rewards. Other cards offer higher and more flexible rewards tiers (e.g., 3% vs. 1%) that can be used anywhere, of which you can put aside for Disney specifically if you wish.
Another really good (sort of) cheap way to travel is via train. Back in 2012, my family and I took the airplane down to Florida and returned via train. We were able to pick up a taxi at our hotel, which then transported us to the Jacksonville train station. It's cheapest if you can sleep in a seat/regular car, but obviously if you cannot sleep in a seat for the whole train ride, purchase a sleeper cabin for a night.
Great advice on the souvenirs, too! We try not to buy stuff but if we do, we try to make it a wearable (my husband loves Disney shirts) and I try to pick up stuff from amazon, Walmart, and dollar tree throughout the year that can be packed and taken on Disney trips as souvenirs or accessories (like light up necklaces for Halloween and Christmas - Walmart often has Disney-themed ones that are smaller, easier to pack and just as cute as the expensive ones in the park).
We don't go to Disney every year (even though we'd love to), and we budget our money well during the year. Since we would rather have more days in the parks, we make sure we save money in all the other areas so that we can afford to do that. We rent an apartment off-site every time and pay less for the week than a night at a Disney hotel, and have stayed at the same place several times now, and we like it very much. We enjoy having so much more room. The apt does have a washer and dryer. As soon as we get to Orlando, we go to a grocery store, and we make our own meals for most of the week, with only a few restaurant meals. We don't overspend on souvenirs, and when the kids were little we set a limit on the number of souvenirs each kid could get. When we do choose souvenirs we make sure we choose things we will actually use again when we get home (I wore my t-shirts for years afterward.) We go in a cheaper season. We aren't the sort of family that has to overspend to have a good time, and we always have a great vacation.
For 2 of our trips it made more sense to fly to Tampa instead of Orlando - it was cheaper, wayyy nicer airport, and we were getting a rental car anyway!
I've done this too but my mistake was arriving during a busy work traffic time. At times, traffic was moving 15 mph! Airline tickets to Tampa were half the price than to Orlando on that trip. I was planning on a rental car anyway.
I just wanna say, Mears Connect is AWESOME. I missed our morning bus heading back to the airport by literally 30 seconds. I was able to contact support, and with such kindness and understanding, they sent a van to pick us up within 20 minutes. So grateful.
We buy a Disney gift card for each day with a certain amount on it. It covers food to any souvenirs we want. But it’s a great way to budget for each day. Once the card is out then that’s all the amount spent that day. If we have extra/ don’t use the entire card that day then we have extra for the next day.
When going to Disney I highly recommend getting an hotel outside of Disney but near, regardless of it being cheap or expensive (I recommend getting the cheap one). I stayed in the animal kingdom hotel in Disney. Don't get me wrong, i really did enjoy it but, the amount of money for the plane tickets (of 5), the park tickets and the food is a lot.
Animal Kingdom is one of the Deluxe resorts. It will definitely cost more. You can get All Star or Pop Century (Pop has Skyliner) for decent prices and get free transportation and early access to parks
the cheapest souvenir, by far, is the squished penny machines! they are $1 and you can get them in your favorite character or ride! I can’t believe they're never mentioned..
You literally are tugging at my heart strings with this video. For the last week I’ve had bad Disney blues. I went for the first time in October, and haven’t been since considering I’m 5 states away from Florida so it’s not easy to get there (if I were to drive, it would be about 12 hours). I want to go back so bad, but am completely broke. I NEEDED this video to plan another trip within the next few years.
I just drove to the Golden Isles and back. Having more than one driver is the absolute key. We'd drive in 2-3 hour shifts and we could do 10-12 hours in a day.
I wish I could afford to take my family but even these suggestions are way to much for us. I remember growing up the only way me and my family could go would be through family connections or discount tickets from family friends.
I’ve got a conference I’m going to in Orlando this month, so my family and I decided to add on a spontaneous trip to Epcot as well. We were able to convert Airline Miles for a Free Hotel stay for 4 days and also took advantage of a few Credit Card Offers that give $200 cash back after only spending $500.
I feel so bad that I went to Disney as a kid so much. My mom took us on a Disney cruise, and we've gone to Disney World atleast 5 times, and im Alaskan. From Juneau, specifically, which has no roads in/out, so we always had to fly. Not to mention she always got us whatever food we wanted and we would always get a souvenir each(my bro and i), and my mom never complained. Now that I'm an adult, I'm shocked how much she spent on us so much. I've been disabled/on disability for almost all of my adult life, so I just cant even imagine doing all that she did🤯🙌
You can stay on property and save money via swan and dolphin. Swan and Dolphin aren’t owned by Disney they’re owned by the Marriott. If you book these hotels through Disney it’s about $3,000 for a room. You can book these 2 through the Marriott and its $200 a night for 2 adults 2 kids and you still get all of the perks of staying on property. You can still book savis workshop and droid depot 60 days in advance because you are staying on property.
Highly recommend getting subs from Publix the night before. Asked for them to be cut into 1/4s instead of 1/2s so they fit better in your bag. Wrap in tin foil and thank me later!
I ran a hotel search at the perfect time a couple weeks ago and booked Dolphin for 2 nights in September for $156 per night. There's the resort fee of course and is non-refundable, but still... Great bargain!!! I'm so hopeful that they have the evening extra hours for Magic Kingdom on Wednesday or Thursday since Dolphin falls in the deluxe category. There are also crazy cheap flights from BWI or Philly on Spirit. $25 per person each way plus $40 for a suitcase (husband and I share.) We are part of their saver program but fly several times a year.
If you stay at good neighbors check out transpportation and where they drop you off and how frequentthey are, its not where the disney busses are or as often. Sometimes that walk from the drop off is a game changer and the wait and walk at night is a real bummer. Also check if you get the 60 day dining reservation option and early genie time, many dont allow you to book your dining reservations or give you that early genie time, you have to wait until the parks open.
Thank you for making a video about a topic that is always timely, given the ever increasing ticket prices. For those of us who are looking at the ultra-cheap ticket price option, do you have any comments about the timeshare presentations that promise discounts on tickets? For the food section, I would add that picking a hotel with a good complimentary breakfast (my family usually picks one with waffles) is key. We always fill up on breakfast, pack a sandwich lunch, sides, and snacks for the parks, and then plan to eat a late dinner at a fast food restaurant off-site after the parks close. In this way we usually limit our in-park food purchases to a shared snack to tide us over until the late dinner. As for a rental car, do you think that is still a more costly option for families that plan to eat a large number of meals outside of the Universal/ Disney bubble? For my family, that was a must-have because we visited Tampa and several other attractions during the trip (not to mention the convenience of making grocery runs when needed).
Each case is different, and the more you go outside the Disney bubble for shopping, meals, or non-Disney attractions, the more a rental car becomes the better option.
Those timeshare things with tickets can be really sketchy. Yes, you can get free tickets and hotel, but they will waste one of your days with a presentation, you aren't really on your own schedule, and everything is the bottom of the barrel. For some people, it doesn't turn out this way, but for a lot of people it does.
We took a minivan taxi from the taxi depot at MCO to get to our Disney hotel a few weeks ago. It was $56 for our family of 6. It was by far the fastest and cheapest option!
I just finished my trip to Disneyland with my husband, my son who turned 1 on 5th 2022 (BTW we share the same birthdays) and my dog. I visited Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Animal kingdom. We dined in skipper canteen, Be our guest, Space 2020, Tusker House, San Angle(don’t know how to spell it), Jiko and I also visited Boardwalk. I had the most wonderful time and can’t wait to do it again. I wanna thank the DFB team, your suggestions were really helpful to me, especially the baby care center one. Thank you so much.
We also found that packing our own food saved us so much time because we didn’t have to track down something to eat. And if kids were on the struggle bus waiting to see Mickey, we had some rice krispy treats on hand. ;)
We've been staying at Rosen Inn hotels for about 15 years. When we came back after everything opened back up we stayed at Rosen Inn at Pointe Orlando. And have stayed at Rosen Inn at Lake Buena Vista twice now Always clean, always friendly staff and my hubby loves not having to get on I 4 to get to the parks. And we're 5 minutes from Disney Springs.🥰 Oh we also have a dog and that's the main reason why we have to stay off property. Rosen hotels are all pet friendly.🥰
That you are talking about spending that much to go on TWO RIDES per day, quite frankly, has me terrified of Disney, and I'm pretty sure I will never go.
Cheapest souvenirs: pressed pennies. Cheapest way to get there: two or three drivers in an electric vehicle,but right now the only resort with charging stations is Wilderness.
Over 25 years ago I worked with a person with a large family. They did a trip to WDW. They didn't buy any park tickets so they road the monorail and trams and called it a WDW vacation.
Back in 2016, my ex and the kids went to all the free stuff, without going to any of the parks..for example, we went to Fort Wilderness where they had s’mores and hot dogs over a fire pit while Chip ‘n Dale put on a dinner show (they had concessions too).
We’ve been driving there for the past couple of vacations from Oklahoma and now we love driving! We love all the perks of driving! Airfare is so expensive and with driving not only do we save money on airfare but we can also bring everything that we want to bring! And when we get to Florida we stop at Walmart and pick up all of our drinks, snacks and quick breakfast items for our room! And the best part is on our check out day we put all our luggage in the car and then jump on a bus and head to a park then after we’re done we take the bus back and head home! It’s the perfect way to end our vacation and we get a extra day without paying for the resort!!!
We stayed at the Days Inn on Polynesian Isle Blvd (40/night), a block from the bus line. We spent $8/day in bus fare, got dropped and picked up at the T&TCenter, and didn't have to drive in Orlando. If you have kids, they will be excited about the bus
It awsome if you can have a food buddy, someone who likes the same or similar things so you can share plates and drinks. This is especially helpful durring Epcot festivals or if you try to drink around the world!
We really enjoyed the Rosen Inn, Lake Buena Vista. Location is around the corner from Disney Springs, clean, comfy rooms with mini-fridge, microwave and coffee maker and nice pool and grounds. Check on Priceline for $60 to $70 per night for this good neighbor hotel
For all the military families, don't forget to but your tickets on base and book a room at the military resort shades of green. It's rank based pricing, but a basic room sleeps 5 and costs about $175 a night. With deluxe resort perks like extra evening hours!
These are some good points...it's amazing how many moving parts there are in just the airline travel...which airport is cheaper, if you also have to leave a car parked then that has to be factored in...or if a family member is nice enough and able to take you there and back or if you need to pay for a shuttle to and from...even that has so many moving parts. It really is just so much stuff to consider when traveling! :O and we haven't even made it to the destination yet!
Cheap for me is: Buying plane fare far in advance. Since I am a disabled military veteran I purchase a 5 day Park Hopper ticket for around $300 (neither my disabled daughter or I ride but about 3 rides total across all 4 parks because of our disabilities but we love to do other things), and we either stay at Shades of Green (a deluxe hotel that was given by Walt Disney to the military and is located across from the Polynesian and that has its own transportation to the theme parks) or a good neighbor hotel (usually the Holiday Inn since they have really nice disabled rooms). Free souvenirs are stickers given by cast members, the theme park maps and booklets (Food and Wine), and the menu cards from restaurants (especially Gideons Bakehouse). Taking our own pictures are a must. We limit souvenirs to what can be brought back in our backpack (which is all we travel with be it 7 days or a month. (Yes we wash them.) And the biggest savings is eating kids meals which is more than we can eat as Disney gives large portions.
3:05 You grew up in a little town in WNY?!?!?!? Way to represent!! Orchard Park checking in! Great souvenirs are the maps and "trading cards" from A Pirates Adventure: Treasure of the seven Seas. Can eat up a chunk of your day but a great distraction when you need a break from rides.
