Disney Tips

We stayed in Kissimmee FL instead of in one of the Disney Hotels. If that's acceptable for you, you'll save tons of money on hotel. We did the "secret hotel" at the hotels.com or travelocity.com website (I can't remember which one we used for Disney). It was only $55.00 a night and it was a very nice hotel.

Google "Disney Money Saving Tips' and all my favorite sites for that will come up...
My tips:
Go to a dollar store (Dollar Tree or A Dollar Store) and pick up Disney "toys" and some glow necklaces, bracelets, etc (get several packs). We had "Tinkerbell" come every nite of our trip and leave something on our little one's pillow. When they ask for the expensive stuff at the park, just explain that Tinkerbell will bring her a surprise in the morning:) Bring the glow necklaces to the parks for after dark because they sell glow stuff there that is 20x what you'll have paid.
We brought our lunches in those lightweight Cinch Backpack bags (one for each of you). Freeze bottles of water the nite before and it will keep your sandwich, fruit, etc cold and be melted in time for lunch. We also brought the drink "stick" mixes to add to the water bottles. Save your bottle when you are done. You can refill them at water fountains in the park. Better yet, go to any *counter service* location and you can ask for a large cup of ice water for free without purchasing anything! Don't feel stupid doing this...many, many people do this.

If you do a downtown disney day, bring lunch and buy a treat at Goofy's Candy Company. What sets them apart is that you can create your own snack. You get an order slip and choose one of the following as your base:
Apple - $5.50
Biscotti - $2.00
Rice Krispie Treat - $3.00
3 Pretzel Rods - $3.50
4 Marshmallows - $2.50
Gingerbread Cookies - $3.50
Included in the price is a coating and your choice of toppings. To start, you can have your treat dipped in Caramel, Milk Chocolate or White Chocolate. The Topping choices are:
Crushed Oreos
Mini White Chocolate Chips
Sprinkles
Chopped Peanuts
Chopped Walnuts
Chopped Pecans
Mini M&Ms
Crushed Butterfingers
Milk Chocolate Drizzle
White Chocolate Drizzle
This is our favorite Disney treat and it's really inexpensive :) Make sure your daughter wear's her bathing suit to DTD, because they have the water fountains coming out of the ground to play in.

Those are all my best tips! Have a great trip!

Are you staying at a Disney property? Will you be driving or flying? If flying, a rental car? Can offer more tips if we have this info.

You can bring food into the park. So pack up a backpack with some water bottles and snacks. Note: you'll have to wait in line to have your bag checked, but well worth the wait.

Bring rain ponchos because it will rain at some point, only if it's for an hour.

If you want souveniour t-shirts buy them outside of Disney. You can purchase one from home and bring it with you as a special surprise, or you can purchase at a store in Orlando.

The waterpark is not included in your tickets. To us going in October just wasn't worth it since the water park opens late and closes early. We just got our water time at the pool, especially if your staying at a property because they have lots of activities and games poolside.

here are a couple moneysaving tips

bring rain pancho's with you. they well them at dollar stores for a buck
(beats $10 at disney)

bring in some snacks
stay on grounds if you can
spend at least a day outside of the park. we always spend some time at old town. its a blast and the kids love it.

If you are staying for five or more days, make the middle day a 'rest' day. Stay at the hotel, swim, sleep in, etc.

We love Disney World and have been three years in a row. Consistently, we have appreciated taking a break in the middle of our vacation.

You will also be surprised to see how much fun your four year old has in Epcot. At first glance, this looks like an adult park but really there is plenty to do for him from the rides and collecting a passport from each 'country.

Don't forget to make reservations for meals. You can get the number off the website. Disney has wonderful, knowledgable staff to help you determine where, what, and how pricey you want to eat. Most reservations can be canceled without even calling because they are considered priority seating. When you have a tired, hungry family the last thing you want to do is wait to be seated.

Explore Disney's website throughly. Certain rides close throughout the year for maintanance. They list these rides on the website so you won't be heartbroken if they are closed when you are there. Prioritize in your head what must be seen. Be prepared that you won't get everything done.

Have fun! I wish we could go this year!

I highly suggest going to the Disney website to see what they are offering. Most of the time their hotels are not any more expensive than staying off property and they are usually giving you the meal plan for free (which means you don't have to pay for any food!)! Staying on property also means you don't have to pay for parking (since you can take their transportation) which gives you savings of $14 a day!!!

Make sure that you book it soon and that as soon as you book, you make reservations at the restaurants you want to eat at. The good ones fill up quick, and you don't want to be stuck looking for a place last minute.

Utilize the Fast Pass system...it will save you SO much time if you Fast Pass the busy rides (Splash Mountain, Toy Story Mania, etc.).

If you get to the park first thing in the morning (and take advantage of Extra Magic Hours), you will get more done at the park. We have been known to be completely done with Animal Kingdom by noon because we go first thing in the morning before the park opens to everyone else.

Finally, buy all T-shirts you would want for your son ahead of time at a Disney Store. Disney does have some different ones, but they will cost you at least $20. If you go to the Disney Store (or Outlet) you can find them for $5 or less. If your son wants shirts (or other things like it), buy them at home and take them with you as a "surprise"...crazy savings!

We got to Disney every year, so if you have any other questions please feel free to PM me!!!

mousesavers.com and the book 'the unofficial guide to disney'. You can't go wrong. Have fun and biggest suggestion is to make sure that you take some breaks throughout the day.

We were at Disney earlier this month. I hadn't thought about this before we went but all of the parks at Disney, Universal & Sea World allowed you to bring in food & drinks of your own. I don't know if you want to be hauling a cooler around to keep anything cold but bringing a drink to start the day and snacks that don't need to be kept cold can definitely save some money because everything is expensive in the parks. If you want to eat at any of the sit down restaurants, a reservation will be helpful if you don't want a long wait. With the prices at the fast food type areas, some of the sit down places were not any more expensive. The fast food places at all the parks tended to have the same menu so you may get tired of those after awhile. The Disney hotels and our hotel near Universal had free shuttle service to the parks. The Disney shuttles ran pretty frequently (every 15-20 mins.). If you stay at a Disney resort you can park free. If not, parking was usually $12-14. There are different options with tickets (park hopper, etc.) that you may want to look into. It was cheaper for us to buy a package with the tickets but that may depend on how many parks you go to, how much time at each, etc. It is about $10 per ticket cheaper to buy ahead than at the gate. HAVE A GREAT TRIP!!

We literally just got back yesterday with a two and five year old. My best advice is to set easy goals - one ride a day and the rest is gravy, for instance. It was not too crowded if you played the crowds right. Fastpass things like the Safari and Kali Rapids at Animal Kingdom. Money-saving - get some Mickey shirts from here ... Wal Mart, Disney Store, whatever...it will be cheaper than at the park. Bring a spray bottle w/a fan if you can find one here, they are $18 at the parks but a big hit. Make sure to pick up ponchos at a WalMart type of place (they were around $4 apiece and I save them for every trip). Bring a box of cereal bars and have an economical breakfast so you can have a better lunch/dinner. Seriously don't buy the gimmicky little toys, that's another thing you can buy and hide and bring out when the time calls for it. I saw the same exact princess camera that we already have which was $6 at WalMart 2 weeks ago, $11 at Disney. I would recommend an umbrella stroller for easy on-off the transportation. One fun thing we did this time was rent a two-person wide bike at Boardwalk, it's $20 for 1/2 hour and the kids sit in the kiddy basket up front. Hard to describe but my girls did not want to get off! Got to catch back up with work, hope you have a blast!

Go to www.mousesavers.com it has tons of deals and ideas on how to save. I get their newsletter every month and get all kinds of ideas. Good luck and have fun...we are going in the first week of Dec with 2 two year old little girls.

Definitely get the book "The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World" - lots of great tips. We stayed at the Grand Hyatt Cypress and even though it wasn't on the property, it was awesome. They have a shuttle that runs twice in the morning and at night. We did end up not staying the whole time so we would catch a bus at one of the other hotels on property and then take a bus to downtown Disney and catch a cab there back to our hotel -not as expensive that way. Also, got a stroller to use free of charge from the hotel - definitely ask your hotel if they have one you can borrow for the week. This was a lifesaver for us. You'll need one!! You can rent them from the parks, but obviously if you can get it free from your hotel, go that route.
Also, something that my friend told me that was awesome - if you go to Seaworld, bring a swimsuit for your son. They have a cute little sprinkler area that my daughter loved and I'm so glad we had her swimsuit so she could play around it without worrying about her walking around all wet.
Another great tip - if you can, buy one of those fan/spray combinations here before you leave. We ended up buying one when we were there and they're like $16.00, but it was sooo needed!! See if you can get one cheaper here.
Also, definitely go and get your Fastpasses as soon as you get to the park. They sold out of them right after we got ours and it was only 11:00 in the morning!!
Have fun!!!

I love Disney! Good websites are mousesavers.com and allearsnet.com - very helpful. If you book an early breakfast at a park you can be there early to get in line to see Mickey. Use the fast pass machines. Animal Kindgom has a new picnic, and you can get a picture of your son holding baby simba - just ask a photog. The country part of Epcot is more for adults, but they have masks that your son can decorate in each country to keep him happy and a new Kim Possible treasure hunt that's pretty cool! You can always pack picnic lunches.

Hope this helps!

I concur with getting the book "The 2010 Unofficial Guide to Disney." I got a copy from the public library. Also, the accompanying website to the book is: http://www.touringplans.com/tp2/UG2_index.php?PageID=0

Have fun!

Go to the library and check out the book "The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World". Has a ton of great tips!

Oooh, so fun!!! We went last year and here are some websites and tips that should help :)

http://allears.net/index.html
Anything and everything you could ever think to ask.

http://disneyworldforum.disney.go.com/
Disney's website Moms Panel, also very helpful!

In short, if you are staying on property, we found it well worth the $$ to get the meal plan (basic package was more than enough) and by staying at one of their resorts you get access to Magic Hours which is FANTASTIC. Only resort guests get to stay at a particular park each day either an hour early before opening to general public or up to 3 hours after the park closes.

We also felt the FAST PASS was worth it too. We probably could have done without the PARK HOPPER pass, I think there was only one time we actually went to more than one park in a day over the course of a week.

Also, I bought little presents from the Disney store prior to going and the kids got a little something each night as an incentive for good behavior. Saved TONS of money, souvenirs there are through the roof!!! We did let the girls pick a couple of items when we were there, but discussed this in advance.

Have fun, we hope to go back in a few years :)