[Jen]

Don't know if this has been said or not since I didn't read all the posts, but my Cheapskate Tips are:


Go to a cheap all you can eat breakfast buffet off site (Ponderosa, $3.99) late morning and skip lunch.

Buy Disney T's at Walgreens 2 for $12 Rt. 192 has some great souvenier shops.

Limit your shopping by purchasing Disney Dollars before the trip. Only use Disney Dollars for souvenier shopping inside WDW

Skip the Park Hopper option

Have a great trip!

Jen

[smee57]

Originally Posted by stusbabydoll

Don't know if this has been said or not since I didn't read all the posts, but my Cheapskate Tips are:


Go to a cheap all you can eat breakfast buffet off site (Ponderosa, $3.99) late morning and skip lunch.

Buy Disney T's at Walgreens 2 for $12 Rt. 192 has some great souvenier shops.

Limit your shopping by purchasing Disney Dollars before the trip. Only use Disney Dollars for souvenier shopping inside WDW

Skip the Park Hopper option

Have a great trip!

Jen

Where's Ponderosa? Is it on-site??

[Val32]

Originally Posted by Dana

Cheapskate is such a harsh word. Why not call it money saving tips? I hope this doesn't turn into how many ways you can cheat WDW. I save for a long time to go to WDW so I don't usually worry about cutting corners, but for this trip in October, I have to be a little more conservative with my spending because it's my second trip in one year. To do that I am staying at a moderate instead of a deluxe. I am not taking a towncar at home and opting to drive myself to the airport and parking at a garage. I am considering using the free Magical Express, but havent' decided yet. I may bring some snacks for the room to avoid that cost and am not going to do as many sit-down meals, but I really hate getting into the serious cutting. It doesn't feel like vacation if I have to worry about every cent....it's more stressfull and less entertaining to me. I will just forgo day trips again this summer and avoid my spur of the moment shopping binges in order to save for this trip. If I have to start worrying about buying a beer at the bar, then it's time to stop going on vacation for me. That's just not fun to me....my opinion only. To each their own. I am not judging anyone.

I drove and parked at Philly airport last year. I found a garage online and printed an online coupon and put it aside. I will PM you the information when I find it but Iam heading to bed now. It was a pretty good price/deal. They bring you in the van to the airport and handle your baggage. The only thing I didn't like was that the lot was over FULL and they parked my brand new Jeep off-site somewhere and waited forever for them to go get it.... Ok... it wasn't forever, I just exaggerated but hey it was COLD here when we got back home in November, LOL!

[Pooh Bear]

MagicalMoments: We do just what Karlie bug said. I've never had anyone refuse us.

Gingles: Thanks for the pixie dust. I just thought I was super cheap but I'm really a "Thrifty Genius"!

[karliebug]

Another thing we did last time on our way to disney was find a hotel on parksleepfly.com and stayed near the airport the nite before. Then we were allowed to leave our car at the hotel and they transported us to the airport and back for free. The price of the room was less than the parking in the economy lot at the airport and we started our journey to disney in the morning fresh and ready to go rather than already driving 2 hours to the airport first.

[mickaholic4077]

When I go on my day trips to Disney,I put 6 to 8 cans of soda in my backpack. I am so used to doing that that i don't feel the weight anymore. Also,I re-use my refillable mugs from stay to stay. I don't consider it cheating Disney to do so as long as they have the soda fountain outside the area where you pay for food.

[gingles]

Originally Posted by Pooh Bear

MagicalMoments: We do just what Karlie bug said. I've never had anyone refuse us.

Gingles: Thanks for the pixie dust. I just thought I was super cheap but I'm really a "Thrifty Genius"!

That you are!!!

[Baloo85]

We use to do the cooler idea...but that went away because my dad had this huge cooler he would bring and it always got in the way!

[gingles]

Originally Posted by mickaholic4077

When I go on my day trips to Disney,I put 6 to 8 cans of soda in my backpack. I am so used to doing that that i don't feel the weight anymore. Also,I re-use my refillable mugs from stay to stay. I don't consider it cheating Disney to do so as long as they have the soda fountain outside the area where you pay for food.

Excellent...

Hey considering (1) the Disney theme parks are the most profitable part of the Disney empire, (2) a cheeseburger combo in the parks runs about 9 bucks, and (3) I've spent enough in the World to buy a really nice car (at least a Lexus if not a 5-series Beamer...how could you possibly cheat WDW?

[Baloo85]

sheesh I never thought of it that way...I must be at a Ferrari by now...hehehe

[Jen]

Originally Posted by smee57

Where's Ponderosa? Is it on-site??

The one we went to is on Rt. 192, about 3 miles from Disney Property.

Clean, good service and really good food.

[tink74]

Originally Posted by stusbabydoll

The one we went to is on Rt. 192, about 3 miles from Disney Property.

Clean, good service and really good food.

Yep...we were there too, and really enjoyed it! A great, cheap breakfast!

[llama]

This may sound silly, but one of the most economical things we've done is to buy into DVC. We've had five years of monthly payments, but have also had more than five trips to WDW in that time. Our loan will be paid off this summer and we plan on having at least one WDW trip per year. I know it's not for everyone, but if you've made the decision to make WDW your main vacation spot, the savings can become significant.

[gingles]

Originally Posted by llama

This may sound silly, but one of the most economical things we've done is to buy into DVC. We've had five years of monthly payments, but have also had more than five trips to WDW in that time. Our loan will be paid off this summer and we plan on having at least one WDW trip per year. I know it's not for everyone, but if you've made the decision to make WDW your main vacation spot, the savings can become significant.

Yes, DW and I have some friends who became DVC members a few years ago. It's probably not as good of a deal for us because we don't go quite often enough, but they were going two or three times a year so it is a real bargain in that case.

[gingles]

Thanks for the tip on Ponderosa. I've never been but will probably try it this trip.