Part one of the three part series - I have heard so many people say how overwhelmed they have gotten by Disneyland or Disney World. Before you even get to a park you have to make a whole ton of decisions; what dates are you going to go, Disney hotel or non Disney hotel, how many days do you want to be in the parks, which parks do you want to go to, do you want a dining plan, which rides do you want to go on, do you want a park hopper ticket, when can I make my dining reservations, when can I make my fast pass reservations, what is the dining plan, what is fast pass, why do we need to make all these reservations so far in advance? And just when you think you understand it all, Disney decides to add something or change something on you. Then you wonder, is this all worth it? I think it is! And I think it can be easily navigated and understood with a few tips and tricks!
Saving Money at a Disney Park
Disney vacations are not cheap, there are lots of fun places and things you can go and see on vacations that are cheaper than a Disney vacation, but, at least in my opinion, there is nothing like a Disney vacation. And while they are not cheap, there are definitely ways to save money on your Disney vacation.
- Stay off site - Disney hotels are awesome! Each hotel is different and has a different "story" behind it which creates its theme. Just like they do in a movie, they are amazingly accurate with their hotels. They also have great amenities, fantastic staff, and some great perks. But, that all comes at a cost. In Disneyland you can stay right across the street from the park for half the cost of a Disney hotel. And the hotels around the Disney parks do the best they can to compete with the Disney hotels so a lot of them also have great amenities, staff, pools, shuttles, etc. for a fraction of the cost. If you really want to experience a Disney hotels, just got visit them, you are allowed.
- Don't get a park hopper ticket - A park hopper ticket means you get to "hop" between the parks as you wish. Disneyland has two parks; Disneyland and California Adventure. Disney World has four parks; Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Animal Kingdom, and Disney's Hollywood Studios. Disney World also has two water parks. You can go to one park for an hour, go to another park for another hour, and then "hop" back to another all in the same day. It gives you a lot of freedom to move about Disneyland and Disney World. It also is an added cost on your ticket. If you think you can just stay in one park per day then save the money. This has nothing to do with in and out privileges, that is completely separate. You can go in and out of your one park all you want without the park hopper, you just can't go to a different park.
- Really research the dining plan before jumping in - Disney World is the only park with a true dining plan. You can prepay for all of your meals, except for tip, and then not have to worry about it during your trip. People really like the convenience of it and some have learned how to truly save money on the dining plan. I have been to Disney World several times, thought about the dining plan, did the math before hand and it just never made sense for us. Every time we would have spent more on the dining plan than we actually paid for all our meals and snacks during our trip.
- Bring your own food - At Disney you are welcome to bring in your own food, your are not allowed to bring coolers larger than 24" long x 15" wide x 18' high or glass containers. You can save a lot of money by not buying the food in the park for every meal and snack. If you don't want to go that far you can pick a hotel that offers free breakfast or have breakfast foods and snacks delivered to your hotel room on the day you arrive. Most hotels have little refrigerators and microwaves so you can make breakfast in the room before you leave. Throw a couple snacks in your park bag and you are good to go. I also think eating breakfast on the way to the park or standing in line to get into the park saves time.
- Low Cost Souvenirs - There are many free and low cost souvenirs at Disneyland and Disney World! Each park has what they "Celebration Buttons" you can get them from Guest Services or from the Disney Hotels at the Front Desk. They say if you are celebrating an event and some are even blank to put in your own event. They have "First time at Disney" buttons "Birthday" buttons, "Anniversary" buttons, some just say "I'm Celebrating." At EPCOT in Disney World each country has a KidCot station where they can do a craft to take home for free. Both Disneyland and Disney World has the Pressed Penny Machines. My kids loves these machines and I love that they are only $.51. They are all over the parks and are fun to find and get your pressed penny. I think my kids did about 15 each last trip and were satisfied. They still look at those pennies and want to do more when we go back in a few months. People also like to bring their own glow sticks from home for the afterhours parades and fireworks shows instead of their kids begging them for the ones that Disney sells. Another fun souvenirs is a free park map, if you can find one. I hear they are trying to phase them out, but those map are so fun and useful!
- Watch for Disney Discounts - Disney does have its own discounts from time to time but you have to keep an eye out for them! If you find one that is during a vacation that you already have booked you can call Disney and they will try to apply the discount to your existing reservation. They have hotel discounts, free dining discounts, ticket packages that add on free days, and all sorts of other promotions. They will also sometimes send you your own special discount, usable only for you, but nobody has really figured out yet the formula for getting those!
Part two coming next week - Saving Time at a Disney Park
