How do you save on Disney Vacations?

[forever a child]

I love to plan our Disney Vacations. But I also love to SAVE. I have been figuring out what we will be saving and here is what I have come up with...

List of Savings....
7 Night Room Only @ Moderate $480.87
2 GAD Tickets (Adult MYW upgrading) 168.82
Professional Photo Session&CD 20% off 20.00
Participating in PhotoPass Share 81.00
Disney Gift Cards 10% Savings 25.00

Total Savings $775.69

(Hoping to get more discount disney gift cards before trip to save more$)

This doesn't count using ME to/from Airport, taking our own bottled water & soft drinks, finding good deal on airfare, eating breakfast in rooms.

I would have loved to gotten free dining but the Room only with GAD ticket discount made it a better savings overall.

Love hearing how others are savings! Please share!

[faline]

There are many ways to save on a Disney vacation:
* Downgrade your accommodations (If you generally stay deluxe, try moderate)
* Eat breakfasts in your room - you can ship items to your resort or use a grocery delivery service
* Eat a light breakfast and a late table service lunch. Snacks or appetizers might do well for dinner.
* Camp (My first two trips to Disney World were tent camping trips)
* Buy fewer souveneirs
* Participate in the Disney Rewards program (Our rewards will pay for one full annual pass and part of a second pass)

[buzznwoodysmom]

Military discount on Poly room for 7 nights almost $1500 in savings.

Military discounted tickets for a family of 4 almost $550.00 savings.

That's over $2000 of savings on just tickets and room.

[Georgesgirl1]

We eat breakfast in our room which I figure saves us about $14 a day. We also eat our sit down meals at lunch instead of dinner which saves us about $10 a day. So that alone is $24 a day. We also buy water bottles and snacks at Walmart so we don't have to buy them in the park. Another thing is that we have a Disney Visa card and we use those rewards to help towards tickets and/or food.
Saving money is big to us because we like going to WDW at least once a year, and our budgeting helps us meet that goal.

[PETE FROM NYC]

For our upcoming trip this September,we are staying at a 1 BR in BLT.
After 13 trips, its about time. We always stayed at a value resort because we spend all of our time in the parks, no time at all in the resort, so we are not looking for any fancy amenities. Just a place to collapse each night.
We will be having breakfast in our room, and making sandwiches to carry along for lunch.
We will also be carrying 2 half gallon jugs, one with ice water, the other with a drink. About the only snacks we buy is an occasional ice cream.

[forever a child]

We also eat our sit down meals at lunch instead of dinner which saves us about $10 a day. So that alone is $24 a day.

I liked this idea so I checked into it and our choices (Boma and GG) dont serve lunches! Great idea though!

We will also be carrying 2 half gallon jugs, one with ice water, the other with a drink. About the only snacks we buy is an occasional ice cream.

We have done this when we go to parks with our dog. We take jugs with water for her (the dog) to drink through out the day. Congratulations on your resort upgrade!

[steamboat52]

I've heard others speak of grocery delivery to their resort/room. What grocery delivery do we have access to while we're there or before we arrive? I'd appreciate any information about this.

[forever a child]

I've heard others speak of grocery delivery to their resort/room. What grocery delivery do we have access to while we're there or before we arrive? I'd appreciate any information about this.

I dont know how to post links to other threads or I would do that for you...But Garden Grocer's seems to be commonly mentioned. I have also seen the name WeGoShop. I am doing my own shopping and shipping to our resort 2 weeks before arrival by either FedEx or UPS. I haven't decided which yet. I have always gotten great rates through FedEd for heavy packages. Hope that helps!

[doombuggygal]

How do you save 10% on Disney gift cards?

[betteratmk]

Military discount on Poly room for 7 nights almost $1500 in savings.

Military discounted tickets for a family of 4 almost $550.00 savings.

That's over $2000 of savings on just tickets and room.

My husband is ex military, I never knew you could get a discount! Where would I find this info please!!

[forever a child]

How do you save 10% on Disney gift cards?

Unwanted giftcard resale sites. I got mine at the cost of 90% face value. I should have bought another $700 worth but I didn't realize they would sell out so quickly!

[DisNut]

Our last few trips we have had a case of water from Costco delivered to the resort. It's a little over $7.00 for the whole case!!! That in itself is a big savings for us as we drink alot of water and at $2.50 a bottle in the parks, we save alot!!

We also bring cereal in plastic containers and pack them in our suitcases. Our last trip we even brought bananas! A whole bunch from our local grocery store was $1.69. A single banana in the food courts is almost $2!!!

We also use our Disney Rewards points that have accumulated. Although we spend $$$ throughout the year to get those points, we still see it as a savings when we visit the parks. We usually use those points towards our food. We rarely go a sit down as we like to explore the different resorts and usually end up eating at one of their table service places. We are perfectly happy with Beaches and Cream and the more casual type places. We love the Contempory food court. They have THE best soups!

[bruin1344]

If on the dining plan, use snack credit for breakfast to hold you over until lunch time. I use CS for lunch which will keep me full until dinner time for TS.

Try to skip buying souvenirs.

[buzznwoodysmom]

My husband is ex military, I never knew you could get a discount! Where would I find this info please!!

From time to time Disney does military discounts. Right now you can get 40% off on resorts. They also have a "Military Salute" ticket which is $99 for a 4 day base ticket. You can add waterparks, or hopping for $25 per option per ticket. The military member can get up to 6 tickets at this price, but there is an expiration date, its sometime later this year. Last year Disney offered a better deal on tickets. Last year the military person got a FREE 5 day hopper with waterpark and more option. And companion tickets were $99 for a 5 day, with the add on options $25 per option, per ticket. There are restrictions as to who is eligible for these discounts. I believe you have to be active duty or retired military. There may be other restrictions, but I don't know all the ins and outs of them. Hope this helps.

[SBETigg]

I'm immune to the thrill of the bargain. I get caught up in the thrill of the spend. But I do save money when I use Magical Journeys to book my trips. They just can't help saving me money, it seems. What's a girl to do?

[Plex]

Don't forget to book through AAA (if you're a member). You can usually get a discount by booking with them, and even if you don't get a direct discount, their agents usually know about the current availability of special offers.

You can always try booking a Standard room and asking if there are any 'complimentary upgrades' available.