Orlando on a budget

[Susan Veness]

Times are tough right now and with some of our members having to scale back or possibly face cancelling, it might be helpful to share our best money-saving tips. :)

Here are a few of mine:

-To help save money, pay for your purchases with bills, then throw most or all of the change into a savings jar. It's amazing how much 'spare' money you can come up with and not really miss it. Of course, if you're already on an extremely tight budget this won't help, but if you do have a little bit of wiggle room and simply find it hard to 'save' a bit, it works wonders and adds up fast.

-Stay offsite. There are times (off season) when you can find good deals on Disney's budget resorts, but an off site hotel will almost always be less expensive (in off season you can find them at around $49 per night!). Then, used shuttles and the Lynx bus (time consuming but cheap!) for transportation.

-Check out www.mousesavers.com for discount codes on resorts, hire car, etc.

-Character meals are fun, but expensive. Meet the characters in the parks instead.

-Set a limit on the 'frills'. This is obvious, but many people think they'll need far more for the little extras than they really do, or they feel pressured to do a lot of extras (dinner shows, character meals, etc). Give children a budget or limit their souveniers to one, and try to shop at the outlet stores (Character Warehouse, Wal-Mart, etc) instead of the stores in the parks.

-There WILL be another trip. You don't have to do it all this time, and it will be more enjoyable to add those extras when you know you can easily afford them.

[loobylou]

We always do Orlando on a budget!
Flights, I shop around ALOT! We have never spent over £380 each adult for a flight and this is even in August and Christmas. Our budget is £400pp. Going indirect at peak times can be cheaper.

When we use to stay in hotels we use to buy breakfast cereals, milk, plastic bowls and spoons and have brekkie in the room. Most hotel rooms have fridges.
We also make sandwiches and take snacks into the parks with us. The only meal you buy out then is Dinner. This saves loads of $!
Now we stay in Condos with full kitchens some nights we eat in or make use of the onsite barbie!

The children have their own money, save pocket money, birthday and christmas money. They buy all their own souveniers.

Dh and me never buy each other birthday or christmas pressies as we would rather put the money towards the holiday. Material things are not as important as spending family time together.

[Simon Veness]

Material things are not as important as spending family time together.

:happy-thumb to that, loobylou.

[Tiggers Friend]

Some great tips there, but I just love that idea of "a little bit of wiggle room". :happy-smi :happy-smi

[ELAINE]

Since we got back in August i have been putting £1 a day in jar to pay for Discovery Cove next time we go ( Huw thinks it is something that you only need to do once so i suspect that he will balk at paying again). Although it is an expensive day i think that its worth every penny and more importantly if you make use of the included entrance to the other parks it doesn't work out too pricey!!!
Also eating at the all you can eat buffets we found worked out very reasonable;
Even if the money comes from Mom and Dad; giving the kids their own money to budget seems to make them think more carefully about whether they really need another soft toy!!

[Rhianna]

Hi,

If my DH or I are asked what Christmas or Birthday presents we want from our families we ask for $'s. When we went in August we used the $'s we had been given to pay for 4 of us entry into Cypress Gardens, Hollywood studios and KSC, tolls and parking for the first week.

Rhi

[sex kitten]

I have in the past taken 5 children to Orlando, so everything has been a bit on a budget those years,
Have been honest with the children, and explain how expensive it is, and got them involved in the saving.
If staying in a villa;
1. avoid buying ice creams in the parks, put some in the freezer in the villa.
2. buy a couple of refillable mugs and keep sharing, Refill with different drinks each time
so everyone gets to have their favorite drink.
3. buy snacks and sweets in a supermarket and not the parks. If your children particulary
want something in a park, let them buy it out of their money.
4. if eating in a place that you can refill your drinks [McDonalds] refill them just before
you leave.
5. If your children are small eaters, share some of your meal, as most adult portions are
huge. My sil does this all the time with my nephew.
6. Most importantly you can enjoy yourself just as much without spending loads of money,
the look on your childrens faces in Disney is priceless and costs nothing extra.

[tree12uk]

when we went out last year we tried to give the kids thier own money, but it turned out so expensive...or maybe i'm just bad at saying no!!

We also asked thier mum is she would put thier birthday/christmas money aside for them so they had it, because lets face it if you give kids money the spend it!! but she refused to it:angry:

I went to walmart 3 times when i was over there and i got soooo carried away they are awesome!!

[bigkid]

we have tried to make our savings from this side so that we can be a little more free with money whilst there (admittedly we dont have kids to take into consideration but i do have a shopaholic boyfriend with a love for camera equipment and shoes!) for example, we spent 3/4 days phoning around different companies negotiating lower prices for the holiday and ended up getting a direct virgin flight and 2 weeks in Kissimee over christmas for just over £600 each this price started off at nearly £1800 each so it is very much work negotiating.

we have also bought all our park, la nouba and NFL tickets etc from here getting some ATD bargains!

like others we have asked for $ for birthdays and christmas. we booked in july, since then we have really been saving hard and making the compromises here so we dont have to out there.

i know its different for us because we dont have kids but hopefully something that we have done helps, i do strongly reccommend phoning from company to company and back again negotiating until no-one can go any lower!

[palmer gang]

we have always looked to save some money where we can we mix up cooking at the villa with some treats eating out publix often do meal deals which can be a real bonus .They also sell drinks at a fraction of the price of the take aways on our last visit by the time we had done our shopping the cartons were empty and the check out girl told us to go and refill before we left.

[UK Deb]

we have tried to make our savings from this side so that we can be a little more free with money whilst there
That's precisely what we do, bigkid. We don't buy one another birthday presents and it's just small gestures at Christmas. We seldom treat ourselves to luxury items the rest of the year because we get more pleasure from doing so on holiday. Every pair of sunglasses we've ever owned has been purchased in Orlando; we've bought several iPods in recent years; fragrance and cosmetics are almost always holiday purchases; and Matt hasn't bought any clothes in the UK for years. This trip, though, we're going to try to be sensible. We certainly won't be dropping $1800 at Edwin Watts like we did one year.

Despite the reasonable cost of eating out compared with the UK, the fact that you're doing so daily means those costs racks up to a significant amount. Eating at nice places, though, is a huge part of the holiday for us, so there isn't going to be much opportunity for saving there. Luckily we don't drink flavoured soft drinks and we're not ones to snack, so we don't waste money on those expensive park sundries. And we're not breakfast people, either, so rarely eat that out (and when we do, we skip lunch).

One thing we often do is sit at the bar and order a couple of appetisers to share. We do it because we enjoy it, rather than as a money-saving measure - it's not unusual for the starters to be the best part of the menu and we find we can't manage two courses, let alone three, without feeling uncomfortable - but it's a welcome bonus. Obviously you can't sit at the bar if you have children in your party, but there's nothing to stop you sharing a tapas style meal.

For several years now, we've been buying the Disney Dining Experience card which gives 20% off food and alcohol purchases at almost all onsite table service restaurants and bars. The $60 cost is soon recouped - it effectively covers your tips. It's only available, though, to Annual and Florida Resident Passholders.

Clipping coupons isn't my style, but there are plenty to be found in the free area guides which can be picked up in supermarkets, malls, hotel lobbies, etc. The Orlando Sentinel is another great resource for dining discounts. Also, many places will send you discount offers if you sign up for their email newsletters. (Hint: it helps if you have a "birthday" or "anniversary" during your trip ;)). The savings can be significant - I often get 'two for one' offers from Texas de Brazil, for example, which turns an expensive option into a much more affordable one.

Our upcoming trip will be the first entirely onsite foray for us (12 nights at WDW and 2 at UO). This in itself is a cost-saving move as our DVC membership means the entire Disney stay is "free" (normally we stay offsite in a villa and just spend a few nights onsite). This was always going to be a budget trip and, as Annual Passholders at both, we figure we can easily occupy ourselves for two weeks without forking out for all the usual extras. So there'll be no Sea World (sorry, Sea World - we will be back to support you again soon :o), no Magic game, no Cirque, no golf, no V&A's - on the whole, if it isn't included in our park admission, we won't be doing it.

My biggest money-saving tip? Stop taking your adult kids! They won't be impressed, but times are hard. :D

[Honey Monster]

My biggest money-saving tip? Stop taking your adult kids! They won't be impressed, but times are hard. :D

When we went this year, my 17yr old didn't want to come with us and we were totally gutted and guilt-ridden.

I have recently booked to go again next year and again I have asked my son if he wants to join us, his reply again is no. I never argued with him this time, just thought "oh well, a cheaper holiday for us". I know this sounds awful but you have to let them grow up sometime :cry:

[ELAINE]

We talked about this with my 16 year old and i got the definate impression that she will want to come for as long as we are paying!!! perhaps when she's at Uni we will be able to sneak away without her.... what a rotten mom!!! I don't agree with this growing up lark; they were so cute a few years ago now i am pretty sure that the word cute would never be found in the same sentence as my teens!!!!saying that they are better to go shopping with now... perhaps there is a plus side!!

[Susan Veness]

If they're old enough to finance their own iPods and trainers, they're old enough to finance at least part of their holiday. (Ooooh...strict mom!!). And as an adult who has (by necessity) had to travel without her child, I can confirm that although we love them, miss them terribly and having them with us any time we travel is always the greatest joy, it's not so bad travelling just as the two of us, either. ;)

Deb, you make an excellent point about 3 course meals. I know not everyone in the UK orders 3 courses when they dine out, but it does seem to be more common than it is here, from what I have seen. It's perfectly sensible (I love doing it!) when the portions are modest. But they aren't modest in Orlando, and I think a lot of first-timers don't realize how much food they're going to get when the order an appetizer, a main course and dessert. :eek: Sticking with just the appetizer (which is often the size of a meal!) or just the entree would be a big savings over the course of 2-3 weeks.

[palmer gang]

we are lucky our older kids have always opted to chip in with helping with the payment side of things which helps plus it heps them appreciate the cost of things

[Catlady]

For the first time our son has said he doesn't want to come with us next year.:( I guess I am a little sad as I won't have anyone to go on rides with (hubby doesn't do faster rides, makes him look like this..:ill: )
However considering he will be 23 tomorrow I think I have been lucky to have his company this far, that said the nearer our holiday gets he could change his mind although I have said he would have to take pot luck on getting a flight out. As hubby said it will be a lot cheaper if he doesn't come out with us although as he is now working and earning a bit more money I would expect some sort of contribution this time!

[Tiggers Friend]

For the past few years we've had breakfast in the villa rather than in a restaurant and generally don't do lunch anyway. We do however eat dinner out - it's part of the holiday and don't expect DW to cook while on hols.

We've also taken to buying a large water bottle and keeping that in the fridge and then filling up smaller bottles each day. You can save quite a lot that way.

We've also taken out teabags as they are definitely cheaper at home than in the US.

Another point, perhaps close to heresy, but there is a lot more to Florida than the theme parks. Do something different and save a sackful of cash by not needing to spend on theme park tickets. I know this may not be a valid strategy if you have kids, but sadly were not in that position any longer.

[loobylou]

You don't have to buy bottled water in the parks. If you go to one of the counters ask for a cup of iced water, they will quite happily give you one for free! and it also saves you carrying bottles around. My friend even keeps a teabag in her bumbag then if she wants a cup of tea asks for a cup of hot water:o!

[palmer gang]

a lot of the kiosks will fill up your souvineer mugs mugs with free cold water also they just advertise the fact ,we always have breakfast at the villa and rarely eat lunch its so hot in august we just stick to some snacks and plenty of fluids

[LeonieM]

We usually aim to buy half our breakfasts and then make up the rest with bagels/rye bread and butter and/or cheese slices or peanut butter bought in from Wal-Mart. We have saved a small fortune doing that the last couple of holidays.

We also bought a super-sub from Wal-Marts last time with beef, chicken, ham, some other meat and cheese in it. Fed all 3 of us comfortably and cost only about $6. To buy the meat inside on its own would have cost the best part of $5, I reckon!!

We always take our own water in with us, refilling at the water fountains when necessary.

[nutsaboutorlando]

when going to any of the dinner shows never pay full price,look out for coupons for money off ,have even found for arabian nights and pirates buy one adult get another free,if going to medevil times go to the wall mart next door to it and go to the ticket stand inside they sell the cheapest priced tickets for the show i have found anywhere ,for capones ,go onto their website they are doing half price entance if you print off the voucher i think its $25 for adults with voucher.if you go through all the coupon books you can find some great discounts and over a fortnight it soon adds up to a decent saving,for exsample if you get coupons for meals and get around 10 or 15% off it pays for the tip if nothing else.

[Susan Veness]

Want to try an airboat ride? Head to Boggy Creek Airboats at Southport Park (Kissimmee area) on a weekday before 11am and get a discounted rate for each person.