Anonymous wrote:We are going in a few months and I am already overwhelmed at the whole dining situation. Unless you want quick service, everything is by reservation but reservations open 60 days in advance and book up same day. So if we want to have one sit down meal per day I have to clear my schedule to be on the app for five days straight at the set “opening bell” time to try to snag a spot two months in advance?

You can make reservations for your entire stay on the first day reservations open up to you. It’s not one day at a time. I set my alarm for 6am the day ours opened and had reservations for all 4 days done by about 6:10. Then I went back to bed!

I ordered groceries from Amazon fresh: cereal, milk, iced coffee, creamer OJ, bananas, carrots, strawberries, case of water, case of Gatorade, various chips and popcorn. I ordered the day before we arrived. It was about $60 and really helped us.

Anonymous wrote:We are going in a few months and I am already overwhelmed at the whole dining situation. Unless you want quick service, everything is by reservation but reservations open 60 days in advance and book up same day. So if we want to have one sit down meal per day I have to clear my schedule to be on the app for five days straight at the set “opening bell” time to try to snag a spot two months in advance?

Don't do that. If you don't care about *where* you sit down, ie character meal or MUST eat at this exact spot, then don't worry about it. Reservations open all the time once you're there because people cancel for all sorts of reasons. Seriously do not stress about it if you aren't completely invested a specific theme.

We are going in a few months and I am already overwhelmed at the whole dining situation. Unless you want quick service, everything is by reservation but reservations open 60 days in advance and book up same day. So if we want to have one sit down meal per day I have to clear my schedule to be on the app for five days straight at the set “opening bell” time to try to snag a spot two months in advance?

Stay at either Pop Century or the Dolphin/Swan if you want the night hours. While the deluxe resorts are certainly nice, they will add thousands to your trip. You can save a little more if you stay at All Stars, but the skyliner is a really nice perk.

Don't rent a car - just uber from the airport.

Order kids' quick service meals, even for the adults.

Buy cheap ponchos before you go.

Bring your own lanyards if you have a kids without phones who will be using their room key as their park ticket. (You can also get magic bands but these are an unnecessary expense.)

Plan what you will buy for your kids ahead of time. We'll buy you one Minnie ears and one other item up to $20, or whatever. Or have them save and buy their own mementos.


Things I *would* splurge on:

Genie+ and LL, as desired
Paying for a preferred room near pool/dining hall
At least one fun dinner in Epcot
Park Hopper


Understand that no matter what you do, there's no way to do Disney cheap with the price of tickets. But you can cut some areas down (accommodations, food) considerably.

Also, refresh the Genie + often for rides that you already have. Slots open up all the time and may be able to get earlier/better times than you have booked.

Don't go without 100% understanding how Genie+ and LL work. So many people underutilize Genie+ because they don't understand how it works.

If you take even 1 minute longer than you should booking your first Genie+ LL in the morning, you end up behind a bazillion people for the next LL selection, limiting your ability to get good times for headliners. That's true again for the next selection too--don't be slow or you'll be at a disadvantage for the following LL selection because you can book again 2 hours later. (So if you book at 7:02 because you were futzing with the app or trying to make up your mind and the rest of the world booked at 7:00, they get to book again at 9:00 and you have to wait for 9:02, putting you far back in "line" to get the top rides.) If you're quick, you end up with a huge advantage all day. Set an alarm so you are ready and pull that trigger the moment your reservation window opens, ever single time. Book a new LL the moment you tap in for a LL ride (if eligible), don't wait for after the ride.

Understand how to stack evening LL if you want to take a half day off from the park. This is especially helpful at HS where early times run out early.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Save money: Pack lunch/snacks & water. Refill water at stations.

Mostly agree but I found that there were very few water stations (and I asked!) and that the water out of the fountains tasted gross.

My tip - depending on your family’s appetite, you can pre-order food at some restaurants through the Disney app and get kids meals for the adults too.

They won’t refill your water bottle, but they’ll give you cups of water for free at any drink/snack stand.

Ask for extra cups of water every time you get food and dump the extra into your water bottles. We refill disposable water bottles so we don't have to worry if someone leaves one somewhere. No real loss.

Anonymous wrote:Best money saving tip - wouldn't do this younger than k, but worked great with our kindergartener and 2nd grader

Set an allowance for your kids ahead of time. They will have $100 to spend the week you are there, or $25/day, or whatever you are comfortable with. When they ask for the shirt, snack, figurine, remind them, you had $25 today, you now have $8.56 left. THEY decide where to spend the money, be it junk food or swag or trinkets. And you don't argue about them spending too much or what they are spending it on

This is also useful for non-Disney vacations.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pay a Disney specialist travel agent to create a customer touring plan for you. Yes pricey but will save you ultimately time and money.

How much does this cost?

Nothing to you. I guess Disney pays them.

Best money saving tip - wouldn't do this younger than k, but worked great with our kindergartener and 2nd grader

Set an allowance for your kids ahead of time. They will have $100 to spend the week you are there, or $25/day, or whatever you are comfortable with. When they ask for the shirt, snack, figurine, remind them, you had $25 today, you now have $8.56 left. THEY decide where to spend the money, be it junk food or swag or trinkets. And you don't argue about them spending too much or what they are spending it on

Anonymous wrote:Pay a Disney specialist travel agent to create a customer touring plan for you. Yes pricey but will save you ultimately time and money.

How much does this cost?

Anonymous wrote:Oh dear, I need a 101 on lightening lanes and genie plus. Haven’t been since there were fast passes.

I need this too! I'm so confused and we are going next week.

My money saving tips are staying off-site, building in down days to just hang at the hotel pool, and packing your own water and snacks.

Pay a Disney specialist travel agent to create a customer touring plan for you. Yes pricey but will save you ultimately time and money.

Make friends with someone who works there. You get a lot of perks!