Really Cheapskate Tip - Page 12

LuvPainting · 07-11-2005

We always stop by a grocery store on our way to the hotel from the airport. We will buy cereals, milk, bottled water, and snacks. In our luggage we pack a backpack cooler. Once we get to the room, we fill the cooler with ice and put the milk and bottled water inside. We get cold drinks the whole trip without paying the $10.00 a day to rent a fridge. We just have to make sure we replace the ice twice a day! We also just eat the cereal from the grocery store for breakfast the entire trip. We rarely eat at TS restaurants, but if we do we will usually just order appetizers as opposed to full entree's. None of us eat very much and just can't justify the price or amount of food a full entree includes. It makes it much more affordable.
We always carry water bottles in a backpack and order cups of ice at Counter service restaurants. Typically, for four people, we stay under $60 per day for food for everyone.

markmck17 · 07-11-2005

Wow Brebre! You are way more organized than I am!

You bring up an very valid money-saving point. For everything I have saved by my "two meals a day" approach, I've probably wasted more money buying many of the items that you have planned for and packed.

Thank you. Me and my DF are headed for WDW Friday morning. I'm going to take your advice and plan better this time around.

babets · 07-11-2005

Love to go on vacation with brebre, she does think of everything. That's my mom :D

SandrA9810 · 07-24-2005

Cheepskate... sounds like second nature to Kari. In which I have learned from, and she learned from her parents.
First off, being a lucky florida resident, we buy seasonal passes. We generally never go during the busy time, and usually do one or two day trips frequently.
We went at the end of may for the flower and garden festival and spent about 20-30$ on food. Then about 70$ on gas. Of course that meant sleeping at a rest stop on i-95.
Secondly, we split just about every meal. For breakfast is mcD's big breakfast platter with a small or med drink. A snack for lunch which is usually in the backpack. Along with a 2-liter of pepsi and dew, with free ice from the vendors. And our favorite dinner that is a must have every trip is a double bacon cheeseburger combo with an extra order of fries. But only from cosmic rays. I love the condiment bar, especially with all the yummy cheese possible for the french fries. The bbq sauce is really good too. Plus with enough condiments to eat a side salad with. Of course we chop the burger in half, so it's funny watching me put everything possible on top of that burger.
For our longer trips, we generally do a character breakfast/lunch, or a TS meal for lunch (since it's the same amount of food that they serve at dinner for about 5$ more). I'll usually doggie bag the extra and eat it for a snack. We'll leave the parks for a dinner at the resorts CS. Which I'm dieing to try Tail's end all you can eat dinner buffet. Something I'll definatly get my monies worth, and kari's too since she'll more than likely eat 18$ worth of bread rolls and pizza.
Most our trips are priced in the 500$ range including hotel and gas, which eat up the biggest chunks. We usually stay for about 3 days.

SandrA9810 · 07-24-2005

Mickey saver: you got it down...
<i>Make maximum use of the fixins bars at CS locations....free salads!</i>
I always do that, even when we just order a side of french fries. Just don't grab too much when some one is standing there. They look at you with a sideways glance. And then Kari comes over with just one burger on the tray. Although I do steal tomatoes from the fixin bars if we go in to go pee.
The resort mugs are great, but I'm lookin to get one from every resort that we stay at. Although nothin wrong with visiting a resort to get a free fill-up if your in the area with an older mug. Although I did fill up my Tail's End mug at the wilderness lodge and no one said a thing. But me and kari always share the drink, so we get one mug. Although at christmas time last year, it was nice to go get a nice hot cocoa before we started off. Then just asked vendors for ice to refill with our own soda in the park.
And the TS meals for lunch are the same amount of food, just about 5$ cheaper than it is for dinner. Plus with any left overs you can doggie bag them for a snack later.
Usually for pins, There's always something going on to get a free one. Like we got the coupon out of the Birnbaums book for a free one, and then used our kellogs coupons for a second free one. And at christmas time, there's always the pin hunt for a free one.

cooncat · 07-24-2005

You know, that coffee pot works well not only for coffee and tea, but oatmeal and those cup o'soups and cup o'noodles! They're great after park-hopping in the rain (in your dollar store poncho

), plus they work well for dinner if you eat your lunch around 2 pm (same as dinner food, but cheaper prices!).

(Someday I'm actually going to spell everything RIGHT the first time!

)

tmoisan · 08-25-2005

I always try to eat at the restaurants I like for lunch and save counter service for dinner (when I am not on a package that includes food). Lunch menus are a lot cheaper than dinner menus. We laos buy a couple of breakfasts for the three of us and split them. Sometimes we order the children's portion of a meal at breakfast in the food courts. Every little bit helps! I want to spend my money on souvenirs not food!!

pumouse · 08-25-2005

Okay, I have one. I founds this one on accident. If you forget sunblock, don't buy it in the park. Go to first aid and they will give you a cup of sunblock, it was enough for the whole family and we did not have to pay $9 for it!

livvyb · 08-25-2005

wow; such great tips everyone! I am wondering if anyone can help me decide if I should bring a cooler or rent a fridge? I am flying from MA with 3 kids....but really need to be able to keep juice and milk cold. Also, where can we buy milk to keep @ the resort (ALl Star Music)?

Thanks for all the tips. I've been making a list so I can use them when we go in 5 weeks.

markypooh · 08-26-2005

If you have any medications that need to be refrigerated, thay will put a fridge in your room free of charge.

dznygrl · 08-26-2005

Pumouse, I had no idea they would do that!! That's really good to keep in mind. My best friend always carries a teensy little trial-size shampoo bottle of sunscreen in her fanny pack when we go to Disney. She always forgets to refill it each day before we go to the parks, though, and with her fair skin (and not wanting to spend a million dollars on sunblock in the parks!) she usually ends up burned by the 3rd or 4th day.

Boss Mouse · 08-26-2005

I would hate to call myself cheap, but I guess it applies to a degree. There are 7 of us, so a trip is big deal on the finances. We are planning to 'go home' in June '06. That being said, my wife and I are planning now for the 8 days we will be there. Breakfast in the room? Absolutely! Buy beer in the shop and carry out to the pool? You bet! My tip? We will be giving things like a Cirque ticket as part of the childrens Christmas gift and a (home made) certificate to a charachter breakfast as a Birthday gift. We are lucky in that all of the firehouse five (our personal Stiches) have thier birthdays before the trip.

Boss Mouse · 08-26-2005

I would hate to call myself cheap, but I guess it applies. There are 7 of us, so a trip is big deal on the finances. We are planning to 'go home' in June '06. That being said, my wife and I are planning now for the 8 days we will be there. Breakfast in the room? Absolutely! Buy beer in the shop and carry out to the pool? You bet! My tip? We will be giving things like a Cirque ticket as part of the childrens Christmas gift and a (home made) certificate to a charachter breakfast as a Birthday gift. We are lucky in that all of the firehouse five (our personal Stiches) have thier birthdays before the trip.

ajriek · 09-08-2005

One thing we are doing this trip is shipping our snacks, water, soda, adult beverages

down to the CSR the week of your trip and they will be held until we arrive

Or better yet, find a place that you can order on the web, and have it delivered to your room when you arrive. Either way you can save a bucco load of case and have snacks, etc for us. For us that was the money hogs last time down.

SandrA9810 · 09-09-2005

You can get free generic brand tylenol and advil. And if you start to feel a bit woozy, you can go lay down.
I wasn't about to buy a box of "disney bandaids" when my two started to get a blister. So I trecked all the way to the other side of the world. and got a free bandaid, one for then and a couple for later on. Then my jaw started to hurt really bad (from my wisdom teeth) and they gave me two packets of advil (one for then and one for later on). They were really nice at the epcot one. It just seems like no one realizes it's there.

07-11-2005	#166 (permalink)
LuvPainting Mouseketeer Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 56	Re: Really Cheapskate Tip We always stop by a grocery store on our way to the hotel from the airport. We will buy cereals, milk, bottled water, and snacks. In our luggage we pack a backpack cooler. Once we get to the room, we fill the cooler with ice and put the milk and bottled water inside. We get cold drinks the whole trip without paying the $10.00 a day to rent a fridge. We just have to make sure we replace the ice twice a day! We also just eat the cereal from the grocery store for breakfast the entire trip. We rarely eat at TS restaurants, but if we do we will usually just order appetizers as opposed to full entree's. None of us eat very much and just can't justify the price or amount of food a full entree includes. It makes it much more affordable. We always carry water bottles in a backpack and order cups of ice at Counter service restaurants. Typically, for four people, we stay under $60 per day for food for everyone. __________________ Like a grand and miraculous spaceship, our planet has sailed through the universe of time. And for a brief moment, we have been among its many passengers. From the very beginning, we have always sought to reach out to one another ... to bridge the gaps between us ... to communicate. - Spaceship Earth Disney Quest - My favorite place to be!

07-11-2005	#167 (permalink)
markmck17 Junior Mouseketeer Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 15	Re: Really Cheapskate Tip Wow Brebre! You are way more organized than I am! You bring up an very valid money-saving point. For everything I have saved by my "two meals a day" approach, I've probably wasted more money buying many of the items that you have planned for and packed. Thank you. Me and my DF are headed for WDW Friday morning. I'm going to take your advice and plan better this time around. __________________ 72 - Disneyland 76 - Disneyland 82 - Disneyland 84 -First time to WDW 86 - WDW 98 - WDW 02 - Boardwalk 05 - Contemporary (March) 05 - Dolphin (July)

07-11-2005	#168 (permalink)
babets Big Cheese Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: a small town in Georgia, wishing I was at MK Posts: 593	Re: Really Cheapskate Tip Love to go on vacation with brebre, she does think of everything. That's my mom :D __________________ Nikki H. It's kind of fun to do the impossible.~Walt Disney So come with me, where dreams are born, and time is never planned. Just think of happy things, and your heart will fly on wings, forever, in Never Never Land!~Peter Pan

07-24-2005	#169 (permalink)
SandrA9810 Senior Mouseketeer Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Kissimmee, FL Posts: 166	Re: Really Cheapskate Tip Cheepskate... sounds like second nature to Kari. In which I have learned from, and she learned from her parents. First off, being a lucky florida resident, we buy seasonal passes. We generally never go during the busy time, and usually do one or two day trips frequently. We went at the end of may for the flower and garden festival and spent about 20-30$ on food. Then about 70$ on gas. Of course that meant sleeping at a rest stop on i-95. Secondly, we split just about every meal. For breakfast is mcD's big breakfast platter with a small or med drink. A snack for lunch which is usually in the backpack. Along with a 2-liter of pepsi and dew, with free ice from the vendors. And our favorite dinner that is a must have every trip is a double bacon cheeseburger combo with an extra order of fries. But only from cosmic rays. I love the condiment bar, especially with all the yummy cheese possible for the french fries. The bbq sauce is really good too. Plus with enough condiments to eat a side salad with. Of course we chop the burger in half, so it's funny watching me put everything possible on top of that burger. For our longer trips, we generally do a character breakfast/lunch, or a TS meal for lunch (since it's the same amount of food that they serve at dinner for about 5$ more). I'll usually doggie bag the extra and eat it for a snack. We'll leave the parks for a dinner at the resorts CS. Which I'm dieing to try Tail's end all you can eat dinner buffet. Something I'll definatly get my monies worth, and kari's too since she'll more than likely eat 18$ worth of bread rolls and pizza. Most our trips are priced in the 500$ range including hotel and gas, which eat up the biggest chunks. We usually stay for about 3 days.

07-24-2005	#170 (permalink)
SandrA9810 Senior Mouseketeer Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Kissimmee, FL Posts: 166	Re: Really Cheapskate Tip Mickey saver: you got it down... <i>Make maximum use of the fixins bars at CS locations....free salads!</i> I always do that, even when we just order a side of french fries. Just don't grab too much when some one is standing there. They look at you with a sideways glance. And then Kari comes over with just one burger on the tray. Although I do steal tomatoes from the fixin bars if we go in to go pee. The resort mugs are great, but I'm lookin to get one from every resort that we stay at. Although nothin wrong with visiting a resort to get a free fill-up if your in the area with an older mug. Although I did fill up my Tail's End mug at the wilderness lodge and no one said a thing. But me and kari always share the drink, so we get one mug. Although at christmas time last year, it was nice to go get a nice hot cocoa before we started off. Then just asked vendors for ice to refill with our own soda in the park. And the TS meals for lunch are the same amount of food, just about 5$ cheaper than it is for dinner. Plus with any left overs you can doggie bag them for a snack later. Usually for pins, There's always something going on to get a free one. Like we got the coupon out of the Birnbaums book for a free one, and then used our kellogs coupons for a second free one. And at christmas time, there's always the pin hunt for a free one.

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Really Cheapskate Tip

07-24-2005	#171 (permalink)
cooncat Senior Mouseketeer Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Waaaay North of WDW Posts: 147	Re: Really Cheapskate Tip You know, that coffee pot works well not only for coffee and tea, but oatmeal and those cup o'soups and cup o'noodles! They're great after park-hopping in the rain (in your dollar store poncho ), plus they work well for dinner if you eat your lunch around 2 pm (same as dinner food, but cheaper prices!). (Someday I'm actually going to spell everything RIGHT the first time! ) __________________ "...We're all mad here...You may have noticed that I'm not all there myself...!" Back from FW Starting to save for GF! Last edited by cooncat; 07-24-2005 at 04:56 PM.

08-25-2005	#172 (permalink)
tmoisan Senior Mouseketeer Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 188	Re: Really Cheapskate Tip I always try to eat at the restaurants I like for lunch and save counter service for dinner (when I am not on a package that includes food). Lunch menus are a lot cheaper than dinner menus. We laos buy a couple of breakfasts for the three of us and split them. Sometimes we order the children's portion of a meal at breakfast in the food courts. Every little bit helps! I want to spend my money on souvenirs not food!! __________________ A dream is a wish your heart makes! December 1999 Carribean Beach February 2000 All Star Movies October 2000 All Star Music May 2001 Animal Kingdom Lodge May 2003 Port Orleans FQ December 2003 Wilderness Lodge/Wonder Cruise November 2004 Contemporary Resort February 2005 Disney Magic Cruise August 2006 Disney Wonder Cruise April 2007 WDW Grand Gathering

08-25-2005	#173 (permalink)
pumouse In the land of boredom Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Wandering aimlessly...... Posts: 3,534	Re: Really Cheapskate Tip Okay, I have one. I founds this one on accident. If you forget sunblock, don't buy it in the park. Go to first aid and they will give you a cup of sunblock, it was enough for the whole family and we did not have to pay $9 for it! __________________ Avatar custom made by Mr.Go! Pepperjack is my favorite Cheese! Doughnut is Paw'erfect! Dopey Evil genius. I Love Lovemysons! 626 is the Smartest most good looking person I know! Llama for President!! Avatar: Skinny me, FINALLY!! Pretzels, kibasa and cold hotdogs are food, not a weapon. If you don't mow your lawn, no one will come to your garage sale. Who's the Boss of me?? Boss mouse, that's who!

08-25-2005	#174 (permalink)
livvyb Senior Mouseketeer Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 179	Re: Really Cheapskate Tip wow; such great tips everyone! I am wondering if anyone can help me decide if I should bring a cooler or rent a fridge? I am flying from MA with 3 kids....but really need to be able to keep juice and milk cold. Also, where can we buy milk to keep @ the resort (ALl Star Music)? Thanks for all the tips. I've been making a list so I can use them when we go in 5 weeks.

08-26-2005	#175 (permalink)
markypooh Senior Mouseketeer Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 215	Re: Really Cheapskate Tip If you have any medications that need to be refrigerated, thay will put a fridge in your room free of charge. __________________

08-26-2005	#176 (permalink)
dznygrl aka dizzygirl Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: The Beaver State Posts: 8,484	Re: Really Cheapskate Tip Pumouse, I had no idea they would do that!! That's really good to keep in mind. My best friend always carries a teensy little trial-size shampoo bottle of sunscreen in her fanny pack when we go to Disney. She always forgets to refill it each day before we go to the parks, though, and with her fair skin (and not wanting to spend a million dollars on sunblock in the parks!) she usually ends up burned by the 3rd or 4th day. __________________ Proud former 2-time Disneyland CM Dizzygirl & Bella = MB BFF 2000 ~ off-site 2002 ~ Polynesian 2003 ~ All-Star Movies 2008 ~ All-Star Music

08-26-2005	#177 (permalink)
Boss Mouse Accordian man Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Packing stuff Posts: 3,686	Re: Really Cheapskate Tip I would hate to call myself cheap, but I guess it applies to a degree. There are 7 of us, so a trip is big deal on the finances. We are planning to 'go home' in June '06. That being said, my wife and I are planning now for the 8 days we will be there. Breakfast in the room? Absolutely! Buy beer in the shop and carry out to the pool? You bet! My tip? We will be giving things like a Cirque ticket as part of the childrens Christmas gift and a (home made) certificate to a charachter breakfast as a Birthday gift. We are lucky in that all of the firehouse five (our personal Stiches) have thier birthdays before the trip. Last edited by Boss Mouse; 08-26-2005 at 07:47 AM.

08-26-2005	#178 (permalink)
Boss Mouse Accordian man Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Packing stuff Posts: 3,686	Re: Really Cheapskate Tip I would hate to call myself cheap, but I guess it applies. There are 7 of us, so a trip is big deal on the finances. We are planning to 'go home' in June '06. That being said, my wife and I are planning now for the 8 days we will be there. Breakfast in the room? Absolutely! Buy beer in the shop and carry out to the pool? You bet! My tip? We will be giving things like a Cirque ticket as part of the childrens Christmas gift and a (home made) certificate to a charachter breakfast as a Birthday gift. We are lucky in that all of the firehouse five (our personal Stiches) have thier birthdays before the trip.

09-08-2005	#179 (permalink)
ajriek Mouseketeer Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Milwaukee, WI Posts: 97	Re: Really Cheapskate Tip One thing we are doing this trip is shipping our snacks, water, soda, adult beverages down to the CSR the week of your trip and they will be held until we arrive Or better yet, find a place that you can order on the web, and have it delivered to your room when you arrive. Either way you can save a bucco load of case and have snacks, etc for us. For us that was the money hogs last time down. __________________

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09-09-2005	#180 (permalink)
SandrA9810 Senior Mouseketeer Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Kissimmee, FL Posts: 166	Re: Really Cheapskate Tip You can get free generic brand tylenol and advil. And if you start to feel a bit woozy, you can go lay down. I wasn't about to buy a box of "disney bandaids" when my two started to get a blister. So I trecked all the way to the other side of the world. and got a free bandaid, one for then and a couple for later on. Then my jaw started to hurt really bad (from my wisdom teeth) and they gave me two packets of advil (one for then and one for later on). They were really nice at the epcot one. It just seems like no one realizes it's there.