Tips and tricks once you’re in Disney

     My last blog was all about how to save money during the planning of your Disney vacation. 

Now let’s talk about some tips and tricks that can save you time and money while you’re actually in Disney.

      One thing you can do before you even get to Disney is buy discounted Disney gift cards. Sam’s Club has $500 Disney cards for $484.98.  ($15 savings) Oftentimes throughout the year, you can find additional discounts- think black Friday or flash sales. Even if you can't find them any cheaper, buying Disney gift cards ahead of time will help control some of the expense when you’re actually in Disney. Disney gift cards can be used for anything from booking your room and buying tickets online to food and drinks at the park. Gift cards are also nice for your kids to control spending. You give them a gift card and once their money is gone, it’s gone and that’s all they get. I’ve done that several times with my daughter and it’s worked really well and forced her to think about the souvenirs that she chooses to buy.

     Another thing that is very expensive at Disney is the souvenir ears that you can buy. If you’ve never been to Disney, as soon as you get there, you’ll see what I’m talking about. Everyone will have mouse ears on and those things are pricey ($35-40 each.) But there is a way to save money on the ears,  go to Etsy and order several pairs of ears for a fraction of the cost before your trip. What's great about Etsy is that you are supporting a small business as well as the vast variety of different ears that you can find. Just be careful because some of the customized ears can get very pricey on Etsy as well. We usually go just with a basic pair or two for each trip because honesty you’re gonna take them off constantly and shove them in your bag when you go on rides anyway so they do tend to get messed up; so don’t spend a lot of money on them but they are fun to wear. 



All about food in Disney:

    The next thing I want to talk about is a big expense, food. It is very pricey to eat in Disney multiple meals a day plus snacks for your entire vacation. Disney does have some amazing restaurants and top-notch food and service, however, for the majority of us, we are going to be eating quick service park food and maybe one or two nice dinners during our stay. The good part is Disney does allow you to bring in outside food. You can pack whatever food and drink in your bag that you want, as long as it doesn’t require reheating. Just remember that you have to carry around whatever you bring all day. But we find bringing at least a few snack options and drinks with us really helps keep the cost down. If you’re really only splurging for one meal a day, then you don’t feel so bad saying yes to an occasional treat that’s overpriced. 

     We usually bring coffee and/or breakfast with us on the bus and eat it on the way to the park. We will pack sandwiches, wraps, veggies, hummus, granola bars, protein bars, beef jerky(we avoid chips b/c they get smashed in the bags.) Anything that you like that will travel well and hold up in your bag. We always bring at least one bottle of water or a refillable water bottle that we reuse for water throughout the day. Then we will usually have a larger dinner that we sit down at a restaurant for. By the end of the day  I’m ready to sit down and relax for dinner.

     To get the food to our room to pack in our bags we just use Instacart or whatever grocery delivery is cheapest.  You can also order Amazon to be delivered to your hotel room as well.  Depending on  where you are staying direct grocery store delivery may be an option as well.  I just google my hotel and then look around at local grocery stores.  Make sure you put your order in ahead of time and set delivery for the evening of your arrival.  You usually have to meet them in the lobby. Grab a luggage cart for easy transportation up to your room.  I also make sure to order snacks and drinks for the room as well.  And don’t forget silverware, plates and napkins. 

      Make sure you bring a small backpack with you on your trip to easily carry around all our your food and drinks for the day. 

     A note about eating at restaurants at Disney, I HIGHLY recommend making reservations, especially if it’s a popular restaurant, or a restaurant with Disney characters. You can make Disney reservations  60 days ahead of time. If you are staying on Disney property, you can make reservations for the entire length of your stay up to 60 days ahead of your arrival date. Take note of this because some places are very difficult to get reservations for.



Park Strategies: 

     Let’s talk about how we manage our day at Disney. We’ve been several times and for us this works the best and maximizes what we can get done in the time we are there. Most days we will get up very early to head to the park before it opens and be there for rope drop. If you’re staying on a Disney property the extra magic time allows you to get there 30 minutes earlier than the rest of the people. We can usually get a few rides in before the park opens to the general public 30 minutes later. 

     Do not forget to use your genie plus and lightning lanes to book reservations for the more popular rides at 7 AM if you are staying on Disney property. This is an important part of maximizing your day at Disney. Genie + and lightning lanes are extra fees, however, in my opinion worth the spend, because my time is valuable and I prefer to not stand in a very long line if I don’t have to. I justify it by saving so much on the flights, hotels and tickets that I can afford to splurge a little bit on certain things.

Speaking of splurging, another thing that we really enjoy, that is definitely an extra expense, is dessert parties. We really enjoy them and we usually will go to at least one each time we visit. When I book dessert parties, I go ahead and get discounted Disney gift cards and pay for them with those, at least I’m saving a few dollars on the splurge. We will also be attending Mickey's very merry Christmas party this year too. I love Disney at Christmas! 

     Another park strategy that we like to use is leaving for a few hours in the afternoon. If there is  not a park that we are inclined to park hop to we will usually leave in the early afternoon, go back to the hotel, and just relax for a few hours. Sometimes we take a nap, sometimes we get  in the pool or just hang out but always relax and rest. After dinner we love to go back into the park especially, if it’s around the time of the fireworks at magic kingdom.  Fireworks time most people are on main street and the lines tend to be shorter at most rides. After fireworks  a lot of people tend to leave the park. If you are lucky enough to be there when they are open later, it’s a great time to get in and get some rides done with lower crowds. We used to love it when they had extra magic hours at night and the park stayed open till 1 AM. We would get so much done in those hours at night. Maybe they will bring the late hours back one of these days.

     Another thing that we like to do to get us out of the parks is visit downtown Disney. It’s an outdoor area that has a ton of shopping and restaurants. It still tends to be busy but at least it’s not in the parks. We love to go down there and just shop and take our time and look around. And since our hotel will be in that area for our next trip , it’ll be a perfect location for us.

You also find a lot of great restaurants in downtown Disney so that’s likely where we will eat several of our dinners on this next trip.

     There is really no right or wrong way to Disney, and what  works for our family may not work for yours. We have been many times and have learned a lot of this stuff through simple trial and error. When we travel, it’s just myself and my daughter who is almost an adult as well so we have no problem getting up early and staying up late. I understand it’s different if you have little ones, but even when  my daughter was small, she would willingly take a nap in the afternoon if I promised her that she could stay up late at Disney so that has always worked for us.



All about the expenses:

     Now let’s talk about actual real numbers and a real budget. My goal for our Disney trip in December was to travel hack as much as possible and keep the out-of-pocket expense very low so here is what I did: 

Total out of pocket cost for two 5-day park hopper tickets was $1,471.20.  That’s not cheap but it’s the best price I could find and really the only cost for the entire trip.  


Now let me give you some other numbers that reflect costs if I didn’t budget travel, use points or discounts: 


     I hope the above example shows you just how spending a little bit of time doing research, comparing prices, and shopping around can save you quite a bit of money. Even if I didn’t use points or reward vouchers I could’ve saved a lot of money just by booking from different places and not just taking the easy route and booking through Disney directly. Always do your homework and do a little bit of research before booking anything. 

      Budget travel takes a bit of planning and a bit of research, but it can save you a whole lot of money which will stretch your travel budget even farther. 

This is exactly how I afford to travel as often as I do! 



Happy budget traveling, until next time

        Tina