My family always uses as many money-saving tricks as possible. We almost always stay at a value (unless, like this next trip, a moderate turns out to be a better deal!
) and we always bring a cooler full of water, milk, and ice tea. We bring cookies, chips, and stuff for breakfast, like cereal, muffins, etc. This way we have breakfast and nighttime snacks in the room, without paying major $$ at the food court. In the parks, we do counter service for lunch and dinner with a snack in between. (mmm.. popcorn...) But we'll usually splurge once for lunch at one of our favorite places - Biergarten or 50's Prime Time. :)
Me and my brother STILL get a set amount of money to spend on souvenirs. (we're teenagers and we still have to be told how to budget.. lol) Parents give us $20 each - anything else comes out of our own pocket. When we were younger we had the "one special thing" rule, which I think subconsciously still carries over. My brother usually gets a hat or something, and I usually get one of the little glass princesses to add to my collection. Plus a few pins, of course..
Our trips don't have many frills, but we all have so much fun. As corny as it may sound, just being in Disney and being all together makes us happy. No frills needed. :)