My hubs and I have been gathering information, tweaking the vacation budget, and weighing out the pro's and con's of my recent post To Disney or To NOT.
Of course I felt like I needed a refresher on all the "Disney on a Dime" posts floating around. There are A LOT of them. So I figured I would share a list of links with great Disneyland info and MY FAVORITE TIPS. I actually found a couple new to me tips!
Just check out my Disney Pinterest Board for all the great links on Saving in Disney.
Here are the tips I loved:
(if we head to Disney, I will for sure be doing them)
1: Use your Target Red Card to buy Disney spending cards. Save 5% right away!
Amazing! What's so great about this is that you can use the Disney cards anywhere in the park on food or souvenirs and you instantly saved 5%! I also think it would be a great idea to give each child a small amount on their own card-then when it's gone- it's GONE. Also- this is a great opportunity to teach your kids about finance.
**Along with this tip, one blogger suggested keeping those $5 target reward cards you get from time to time and then turning those into your Disney cash cards before your trip. Although you get these free, you won't be getting 5% off the Disney cards so you could use them for snacks to take into the park and then buy the Disney cards separate too. Either way, it is a great idea!
2: Rent DVC points! (Disney Vacation Club) One blogger tells of how she saved $3200 on hotels by doing this!! She paid $800 for 6 nights to stay on Boardwalk(normally $4000)! I'll let ya know first, it will cost MORE than just an offsite hotel but if you want the experience of staying IN Disney and can't hack a several thousand dollar bill just on a room, this is a great option. Read her post HERE. There is a lot to consider with this option and I'm still researching it out. If you are going to Disneyland, there is only the option of staying at The Villas at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa. We figured for 5 nights in November it would cost about $1450 to sleep our family of 6.
Or you could go the Get Away Today route, we have used them before and they were fantastic- they take care of the tickets and all. I've also heard for larger groups that renting a condo from Vacation Rentals By Owner(VRBO) is an awesome deal- like a home away from home!
3: Pack your own food and drinks into the Park.
Ok, this one is a no brainer and pretty common but you can pack snacks and a small cooler into the park. You can put it in your stroller or pay about $12 a day for a locker and head to the park area for lunch and dinners. BUT the idea I LOVED from one blogger was to pack refillable water bottles- for water yes- but also pack those individual drink mixes with you as well. They are compact and when you are thirsty for something other than water, you can quickly make a gatorade, lemonade, or punch drink instead of spending the $4-6 for a drink in the park. I read you can ask for a cold drink of water at any food service for free too. And keep your eye out for the drinking fountains throughout the park.
BONUS TIP: Buy lanyards and pins on Ebay before your trip.
You can get them MUCH CHEAPER this way and the kids can trade with the characters and workers in Disney. I haven't done this one yet but I think the kids would love it and it would make for a great souvenir. Here is also a blog post about pin trading which is the source for the image above.
Hope you enjoyed these tips and will search my Disney Pins for more!
