Disney World tips

[kookiecrisp]

There is a deal going on now until June (I think) if you book a 4-night trip you get 3 extra nights for free.

[sawlac]

Try to book at an "off time" when all the other kids are in school. You'll get cheaper prices & maybe special deals on the park tickets. When I took my son a few years ago thats what we did. We stayed at one of the All Star Disney Resorts which are the cheapest ones to stay at & still be on site. They have shuttle buses that will take you to all the parks. I booked a car to pick us up at the airport & take us back so everything was stress free.

[MelanieK]

mousesavers.com is where I go first to check for deals. We've been to Disney several times, and I always find great deals there. Disboards is also wonderful for finding info. Your kids are at great ages for Disney--have fun!

[collectorofbells]

lots and lots of film LOL

if you are going to collect characters....make sure you have a big fat pen for them to use and always have them sign on the right side...then take a pic of the kid with the character...paste the developed pic on the left side with the signature...instant scrapbook!

if you are driving stock up on bottled water and take it with you...the water tastes horrible from the tap and when we were there a decent size bottle was 3 bucks! and that was in 99...it's probably five now! LOL

[jolly321]

If you live in FL they always give FL discounts. If you don't need to plan ahead, the best time to go is right after a hurricane. I know this sounds sad, but all the tourists leave the state, therefore, it is nice and peaceful. Disney hardly ever closes even when a hurricane is coming. Not sure the time of year your planning this but this was good advise someone gave me and I have put it to use.

[couponfanatic]

If it works for you to go during free dining, do it. By checking the menus in advance and making ADRs you can make out really well!

themouseforless.com forum. They do Disney deals like we do coupons.
Their travel agent is excellent. Applies any new available discounts as they come out.

Water (a cup of ice water, not a bottle) is free at B&M food places (not karts). Free drinks! can take koolaid singles if the kids don't want plain water. Just ask for a cup of ice water.

Cheap lunch: Turkey legs. One will feed usually at least 2 people.
They're huge.

A Disney Credit Card will get you lots of perks and discounts. You don't have to actually use the card, just have it.

Everyone has their own opinion, but I say stay on site. Their lower-end hotels are reasonable and still nice, and you don't need $$ for a car, or parking (which can be a lot).

Cheap Autograph book (you'll need one): Office stores have index card books that are spiral bound and perforated. Decorate the covers yourself with disney stuff, the cards are good & stiff for signing with charachter's big hands, and when you get home the card tear out nice. Bring your own sharpies/markers for the signings. They don't usually have them. Get the big cards. They work better than the 3X5 size.

To get past the crowds, book a brekfast way inside the park ending just before the park opens. That way you are already at the back of the park at opening, when the crowds are streaming in up front. And on the way in, you have the park "to yourself" for some good photos.

When in doubt -ask. Being polite and asking nicely seems to make the workers bend over backwards for you.

[druidessemily]

If you are planning to stay for a week, look into renting a house or condo outside of the park. You'll save a LOT of money by renting a house rather than a hotel room. And if you're staying that long, you'll probably want to rent a car anyways, so you're not stuck in just the hotel and Disney park(s). Eating off-sight is another way to save a lot of money.

Each of the parks have photographers all over. They will give you a free PhotoPass, and take your picture. Then the pictures are available online for purchase. It's NOT necessary, though. And you can also ask the photographers to use your own camera, too.

[jolly321]

Mort Florida schools start back in mid August. If you live out of state and have to plan a trip during the summer mid to late August may be a good time if your child goes back to school in September. Even though it is still crowded during this time, the Floridians with children may not be there. HTH

[TSUalum93]

I was just in Orlando for a work trip where we spent two days at The Disney Institute. One interesting fact I learned was that more people travel from NY State than any other so they base their peak times on when NY schools are closed. This might be helpful if you would like to go during what they consider down time that is not during the summer.

Here are the NYC school calendars for this year and next year:

NYC 2007 - 2008 School Year

NYC 2008 - 2009 School Year

My son will be four in March and we are going to start using our Disney credit card now for all purchases (and pay them off each month) so we can start saving up. I would like to go during the summer of 2010 when he is 5 so maybe he can remember some of it :)

Maddy

[jadajakebsmom]

Here's some recommendations:
-Buy "The Unofficial Guide To Walt Disney World" book. It has great tips for all the parks and where to save money. **It's priceless** (I don't have one, I borrowed from a friend)

-We've booked our last 3 trips thru Small World Vacations. They continually will check for free upgrades, or anything else they can add to your package until the day you go. Their price was the same as I could get by doing the reserving myself, however, they keep checking for the free upgrades so it was worth it to me to go thru them.

-Stay on site in the cheapest hotel they have as you won't be there enough to know it is smaller than any others. The only difference we found with staying at the Moderate versus the cheap ones were a little less wait time for shuttles--not that big a deal. Sometimes you can get a moderate hotel for the price of a cheapo--just depends on the specials Disney is running.

-Use their meal plan. Some will disagree, so this is my opinion. We flew down so we didn't have a cooler and no fridge in our room (it's $10 a day to have a room with a fridge in the cheapo hotel, they are in the moderate class hotels) For us, by having this card we were able to eat in restaurants that we normally would not have. My husband would have made us eat and sharing burgers & fries every meal --which isn't cheap either! I just really recommend this. When we went in January tips were not included in the meal plan, that may have changed now, I just don't know for sure. We had a character meal every day--highly recommend that. Awesome pictures and great memories for the kids.

--Pictures. THere are photographers all over at every park. THey will take w/your camara and theirs. For $120 you can purchase a CD and get every copy you want. I know this because my daughter hit Delete All on my camara that had 5 of 7 days of our vacation on it. I was sick about it, so my husband (not a picture fan) said just buy the CD so I wouldn't start crying over lost pictures.

--You can go to the Disney World website and get times for the days as every day a park will open early and another stay open late, this way you can plan your day to get the most enjoyment. You must be in a disney property though to take advantage of this. We start early and stay late--I get every pennies worth out of my disney vacations! Take comfy shoes, and treatment for sores.

--We didn't take a stroller on our last trip, but you can always rent one there. You can sign up and pay a flat fee and have one at every park every day of your trip. I personally recommend doing this, it can make the difference between cranky/happy kids/parents.

--Also go during an "off season" time. We go in January and have basically no wait in lines. We are a family that can handle the heat OR the crowds, but not heat AND crowds. Sometimes you can actually just sit on the rides and keep going as there isn't anyone waiting. This is especially true in the early morning when the parks just open.

Sorry this is so long. We love Disney World and try to go every year. Please PM me if you have other questions. These are just recommendations that have worked well from our family's experience. There's lots of ways to cut costs. For me, I wanted to enjoy my vacation, NO cooking and packing lunches, etc. for me. I have enough of that at home! I refused to do an ounce of cooking while I was there.

Have a Disney Day!