Disney World....For those who do not spend THOUSANDS.
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Anonymous
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The potential savings of off-site vs on-site are very dependent on how big a room you want. When I go to WDW it's just me and DC, so a single room at a Value (this year I am paying $120/night) is fine, and DC actually prefers the Values to the pricier hotels. That saves us the cost of a rental car/parking at parks and adds a lot of convenience compared to being off-site. I don't need a full kitchen, nor would I want to do actual cooking, but I do bring lots of healthy snacks, both to balance out the treats we will have and to save on food costs. Neither of us are big eaters, so one meal split between us is plenty at many counter-service restaurants.
If you need a room to fit more than 4 people, or if you insist on plusher surroundings than the Values, then off-site starts to be a real savings. We stayed in a fabulous huge 3BR at Wyndham Bonnet Creek for ~$150/night on a trip with grandparents, and I would heartily recommend that... if you need the space. For my two-person trips, totally not worth the added hassle to go off-site. For toddlers, bring surprise toys from home to head off souvenir demands. Glow bracelets from Michael's ($1/dozen, I think), Mickey shirts from Target, princess stickers, etc. |
Anonymous
+1 |
Anonymous
| I prefer on-site. We drive, get the military discount on the hotel and tickets on base, so it is much cheaper. We try to go to all the parks and get a hopper pass so you go in the AM, rest, then go back. Prefer a car over the shuttle busses. Eat sometimes off Disney. Walmart and Target are nearby for supplies. |
Anonymous
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Stayed off site, with kitchen.
Drove Went to Magic Kingdom and then Universal Studios that had buy 1 day get 2 free, went to some crocodile thing and 1 day just at the pool. 2nd trip ... same thing, replace magic kingdom with animal kingdom. |
Anonymous
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Drive there.
Stay in a condo type place with a kitchen, honestly do you want to take toddlers out to breakfast and dinner every day? Offsite or onsite, wherever there is a good deal to be had. Make sure both parents are happy as well, my DH and I get depressed in motel type places. Zero-entry pool and spray features are good with toddlers. Don't feel like you have to do every park! The best way to save money is just go to one or two parks and then enjoy your hotel pool, do nature hikes, go canoeing, or get out of Orlando and go to one of Florida's many nice beaches or wildlife rich state parks. Visit and stay with friends/relatives, enjoy the places locals go. Camp. |
Anonymous
Really? |
Anonymous
Yes, really. They are very willing to use your own camera. That being said, we used our camera for most photos, but a couple of the ones taken by the WDW photographers were incredible and we ended up buying digital copies of 3 pictures, which was slightly cheaper than a CD/download of ALL photos. 
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Anonymous
Yes they will. But they are not always the greatest shots. The one of whole fam with Mickey was blury and jumbled. We had a photo pass card and on the whole the shots they took were just as good as the ones with our camera. ( provided I was the one taking the pics) |
Anonymous
The pictures taken with our camera were just as good as the photo pass cards. It's free to get the photo pass card so have the photographer take the pictures with the card and your camera. When you get home, look at photo pass pics and then you can decide if you want to purchase or not |
Anonymous
| Not the OP, but reading with interest. We are going in March, military so staying at shades of green on WDW. I price compared to hotels, and found that many have hidden resort fees (up to $20/day). So do your homework with hotels. |
Anonymous
| We save by not renting a car, and just use the magic kingdom shuttle. When I price it out, the cost of renting a minivan eats up any savings from staying off site. If you can fit into a compact car, off site with a car rental might be cheaper. |
Anonymous
NP/ Dis veteran here - these are very good tips |
Anonymous
| One semi-legit (Disney seems to turn a blind eye) way to save money on Photopass are "shares." Basically, search for "disney photopass share" on FB, join the group, and find yourself a group of new friends going to Disney within the same one-month period. One person buys the all-pictures-included download, others link their Photopass cards to that account and send the leader their share of the cost, then after everyone is back the group leader distributes the pictures. YMMV. |
Anonymous
| People. Resort fees are not hidden. They are usually right there on the website. Unless you've only stayed at moderate motels your whole life, can we please stop complaining about the fees? If you are at a place with nice gardens, a super swimming pool, a RESORT, there is always the resort fee, and it's usually $25 a day, just include it when you are doing your comparison calculations. Of course we all wish they'd roll it into the room price since it is not optional. But when you say watch out for the resort fee it makes you sound like you've never stayed anyplace nice. |
Anonymous
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If you can go off season (1st week of December for example)
Resorts are less crowded so the use of fastpass + is not as critical. For me - it is about balancing cost and fun. It is more fun to spend less time in line (stay on site and get fastpass +) It is more fun to be able to get back to hotel quickly for naps (stay on site) I need to make this as economical as possible - stay offsite. |