Money saving ideas for large family

[momof3+twins]

Okay guys...I know you are experts! I need as many money saving ideas and tips as I can get....food, souveniers, passes...anything and everything!
Thanks in advance!

[TinkerbellT421]

Money saving tips for ideas on how to save money for your trip as in paying for the trip itself? Or money saving tips for extra spending money?? (i.e., buying souvenirs at parks, etc?)

[Dulcee]

- Go during the value season, resort rates are way cut down

- if your flying in plan on using magical express and don't bother with the rental car, if you plan ahead WDW transportation can work just fine

- If your not using the dining plan, plan table service meals during lunch hours for similar entrees at reduced prices. You get all the atmosphere but save your wallet.

- Do breakfast in your room with things you either bring with you or use Garden Grocer (local food store that will delivery goods to your room).

- Bring your own bottled water! (We calculated once how much we would have spent if we had bought our water in the parks, we were shocked).

- If you have kids have them save up their own spending money (lemonade stands, garage sales, babysitting, odds jobs around town/house are a great way to add to their funds) and when it comes to shopping that's all they have. My folks always did this with us growing up and trust me when its their own money suddenly you don't NEED everything in every gift shop.

- Don't get the water parks and more options or a park hopper, with a large family the savings from this can be fairly substantial.

Those are the ones we always use, hope it helps!

[disneymom15]

Rather than purchase bottled water at CS, we ask for a cup of ice water, it's free and they usually give you the large size cups.

[DizneyRox]

Seriously look at one adult getting an AP and then the TiW card. At 20% off your entire TS meal, with a large family, you may be able to make up the price of the pass/card in no time. Even with the two of us, we usually break even on day two or three for the TiW card, the savings for the rest of our longish trips are just gravy.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

We also do breakfast in our rooms and carry our own bottled water which we refill at waterfountains throughout the park....we find that the dining plan saves us money also....if money is an issue with a large family you may want to stay values, I think All Stars has a family suite that may accomodate you. Make a budget and stick to it.

[Momto3littlemice]

Hi there... well we have become budget travelers here with 3 little ones and one income! Here are my tips:

1. Drive down (may not be possible for you but for us it saves major plane $$)
2. Stay offsite. We rent the most amazing house for pennies... from someone I met here on icot. 5 bedrooms, our own pool, perfection! (Yes, I do miss staying at the resorts but with the size of our family and the money issue, this is definitely best for us right now)
3. Eat breakfast in the room/at the house.
4. Take PB&J for lunch with some apples. We find a nice bench and picnic in the park... nothing fancy but it allows us to eat some nice meals out and not spend $50 just to get everyone a counter service meal!
5. Take in snacks too... my kids are grazers -- no way I could afford to get them a snack every hour. So, I just have them each pick a couple things in the morning (goldfish, granola bars, etc) and we tuck it in the bag...
6. Take your own stroller.
7. Don't spend money on lots of souvenirs. We let each child pick one small thing and then we get a Christmas ornament for ourselves. I get one with the date on it and it is a wonderful, not large, not pricey reminder of our trip. If anyone wants extra, they can ask for something for a birthday or Christmas and it often gets bought and tucked away. We don't spend much time shopping so we don't feel the need to say no all the time!
8. We eat some dinners back at the house. It is fun to eat by the pool, and we just make simple things like hamburgers so no one is spending time cooking!
9. No park hoppers. This is our first year with this plan, but when I looked back to our previous trips with kids we don't hop that much. It is a big effort to get all of us (we go with extend family) hopped to another place... and also a bit of money so we opted out this coming trip. I am truly not worried about it at all!
10. No water parks. Our kids are young enough that they couldn't ride much of the stuff and splitting them up at the water park would be a challenge. So, we are going to wait one more year to try this with them.

Hope that helps! Sometimes you need to readjust thinking to get in a budget mode but we always have a wonderful time... and I would rather take them this way than not at all!:mickey:!!!!

[teambricker04]

We have collapsible water bottles, bring our own snacks, and limit souvenirs. We always purchase our souvenirs before we leave and have a surprise each day that's Disney related. Also, if you are flying, consider sending a box down ahead of time with things like food and things your won't bring back like toiletries. It is often less expensive than checking an additional bag.

:mickey:

[magicofdisney]

Generally, 2 value rooms are cheaper than any other option on property.

[forever a child]

You mention you are a large family but you are not specific on age of kids etc. PP have given some great advise....we went on our May trip very budget conscious. For us onsite is preferred over staying offsite...some things to consider in weighing that....
Onsite you do not have to pay the daily parking fee for your park visits. You can also save $ by using magical express if you fly.

I would drive as airline tickets for a large family would see more expensive than the shared cost for driving. So if you drive and want to save $...you can always eat cheaply outside of WDW at fastfood, etc.

Definitely bring your own waterbottles, ask for free cups of ice at counter services..bring your own snacks (I brought my own ricecrispy treats..I like them better than WDW's too, LOL). Eat breakfast in your room and if you can...pack a lunch for the parks. Or eat at Table services that have menu's to order from (no buffets) so that you can share meals/appetizers.

We brought our own bottled cola's too for our counter service meals so that we didn't have to order sodas (we are big soda drinkers). We would order a couple cups of ice and share our 20 ounce Dr. Pepper's. So we never ordered drinks or bottle water except for the table service meals we had.

If you do stay in a value..they do not offer coffee makers or refrigerators....we brought our own cooler and just got ice from the ice-maker and I brought my own small coffee pot. We bought milk and I also brought juice for our morning breakfasts...as well as instant oatmeal, granola and cereal. It worked great.

Make sure you pack all the possible things you will need...extra batteries, Tylenol, rain ponchos or umbrellas, etc. as those can be really expensive in the parks/resorts. But again, if you drive or rent a vehicle..you can go off site to pick those things up. We also brought small travel pack sized laundry detergent and washed our items out in the sink and hung them up to dry in the bathroom shower curtain and then ironed them when they were dry. If you have a large family..you may need to use the washing machines for all of your laundry..but bringing your own laundry supplies is a savings as that stuff is also very expensive at the resorts.

For any table service dining....know the menus as much as possible in advance so you can budget and plan. There are many great places where you can share meals because they are so huge.

I don't have young children...but giving them their spending money with the understanding that once it is gone..that is it worked for us when DD was younger. Or you can pre-buy items at dollar store and then use those as their souvenirs. There are also a lot of free things you can get like at Epcot..the mask that they make in each country. You can buy trading buttons on ebay for really cheap and then your kids can trade for new buttons for the one's they don't care for.

As other have mentioned..skip the Park Hopper and just plan your days with one park in mind each day. And skip the water parks. Going to down town disney or spending time by the pool at your resort are great too. And visit other resorts too if you are interested for future visit. I would buy your tickets from an authorize broker (intercot has a sponsor) where you can save money and I would NOT use the DDP unless you have a lot of children and can take advantage of the free dining...if it is offered again or you got in on the promo that ended in Dec of 2010.

And Keep asking questions here in intercot!

[PETE FROM NYC]

We stayed at a DVC 1 br, but we economized everyplace else.
We drove down, did our shopping off property, for food and other stuff.
We had breakfast in our room each morning. We had cold cuts and we carried our own sandwiches into the parks.
DW and I are both ECV users, so the baskets on the scooters are used as pack mules. We each carried a 1/2 gallon jug, one with a drink, the other with ice water. By eating our own food for breakfast and lunch, we could get a TS dinner without breaking the bank.
Souveniers were also bought off property at any of the outlet stores that abound there. Same merchandise at at least 40% lower prices tham WDW.
We never do park hopping,and buy tickets ahead of time through AAA to save even more.
Water parks? Not interested. I can get wet at home.

[magicofdisney]

Values DO offer a small fridge with a daily fee of $10 (last time I checked). As a pp stated, we also bring a cooler and fill it with ice as needed. There are ice machines located on each floor of each hotel.

Additionally, 1/2 gallon of milk is way more economical from the hotel gift shop, than cup/pint size cartons from the food court.

[magicalmom]

If you are a scrapbooker - you end with all kinds of paper items, if you save them all - coaster, napkins, menus, we-took-your-picture tags, maps brochures - combined with your own photos, it's a great souvenir; you'll be looking at it long after the kids outgrow toys or hats.

[PrettyMinnie]

PP have offered some great advice but being a part of a large family as well, that is often very conscious of out budget, we have picked up some good tips over the years.

The kids in our family are all older now, but in the past, buying stuffed animals and souvenirs always ended up being a big expense, especially in the parks. My suggestion would be purchasing some stuffed animals and other souvenirs at home, pack them and give them out during the trip to save some extra $$. This goes for autograph books and clothes too. One trip we spent an obscene amount of money on pins and pin trading. If kids in your family are interested in this, try buying some pins online from eBay. You can get a good amount of pins for a lot less than in the parks.

Try to plan more QS restaurants. This will save you money because the meals are cheaper and you don't have to tip. That being said, you still want to have a good meal on vacation so research some QS gems that will allow your family to have a decent, relaxed meal. Bring your own drinks to these meals that you either pack or buy at a local grocery store.

Staying on-site has helped out family because we don't have to rent a car, which depending on the time of year may change. But take advantage of the value resorts and Disney transportation. If you are looking to stay at a nicer resort but still keeping the cost low, look into the Swan and Dolphin that offer deluxe amenities for a moderate price.

PP have mentioned driving as opposed to flying, but if you book a flight far enough out or have frequent flyer miles, you can get good prices. And with gas prices you may be better off paying for a flight no matter what the rates are.

There are plenty of ways to save money on a Disney vacation just be conscious of money and how and when you are spending it. Happy planning!

[MarkC]

You can all stay home, pay for me to go instead. I'll take pictures and send them to you and it will seem like you were there. Not an option huh? Thought I'd try.

Seriously, if you have a car there is a Taco Bell and McDonalds just on the east end of Downtown Disney that you can grab a cheap lunch. Buy a double cheeseburger meal and split it in half or for a few cents buy an extra bun. It should feed two people fairly easily unless they are big eaters. Other posters have great suggestions about breakfast in your room and getting free water vs. paying for drinks. Set a budget and stick to it. Explain it to everyone in advance and maybe come up with some kind of game or reward for the winner. Good luck.

[momof3+twins]

All great ideas...thanks! I like all of the ideas. I can't remember where the taco bell and mcdonalds are at but I will look for them. Does anyone know of an outlet that is close by and has good merchandise?

[LisaP]

I tend to buy as much Disney related merchandise ahead of my trip ... my boys are so young they don't know the difference that their Mickey shirt came from Wal Mart back home for $5 :secret: I roll out a new Disney surprise each day.

Last trip I shipped a box loaded with snacks and organic milk cartons (they don't need refrigeration) ahead of my arrival. Post office offers free flat rate shipping boxes that can fit A LOT of stuff. Not only does it save money on food purchases, but it saves valuable time vs waiting in line for a QS meal or snack. Also fends off the snack attacks when back in the room.

I just purchased insulated water bottles for all of us for our upcoming trip, and I am very much looking forward to testing their quality for a COLD drink in WDW :beer: ... also bringing along those single powder drink packets (lemonade, tea, etc). Like others have said, ice water is free in the parks.

And while I try to pack smart, I do pack one of everything to cover those "gotcha" pricey needed items ... Tylenol, rain ponchos, wipes, etc. Clothes ~ I pack minimal requirements because I hate schlepping clean clothes back home after vacation, and you can always do a load of laundry if needed (which I don't).

My suggestion is try to plan an itinerary for each day including where you may want to eat in each park to reduce the chance of unexpected high prices. There is so much reference material available here on Intercot, it makes planning a blessing and an obsession :blush: