Best way to save on Disney?

Tallis said:
:sad1::sad2: What resorts would that be? This is certainly disappointing to hear for those of us that always stay on site.

We only live 2 hours away, but still always go and stay on site, as it just doesn't seem the same not to.

@KearneyFam02 , moving to Florida brought down our costs dramatically. :rolleyes1 Obviously, not a feasible option for everyone, but now we pay the cost of a fast food meal, monthly, for our weekday APs and go all the time. We have a camper and eat our meals there, instead of paying crazy Disney food prices. The only exception is fish at Yorkshire County in UK, Epcot. We always eat there once per trip because ... YUMMY! :mickeybar
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I found this for you, I know the Bonnet Creek resorts are also being added to this list:
The Disney Springs Resort Area Hotels are: B Resort & Spa; Best Western Lake Buena Vista; DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Orlando; Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace; Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista; Holiday Inn Orlando; and Wyndham Garden Lake Buena Vista.
I don’t know too much about this, but I am sure someone more knowledgeable her on the Boards will know more.
 
Best way to save on Disney? Don't go. Disney is a money suck, plain and simple. I have tried to budget it out and I just cannot figure out how to get our trips for less and have the vacation we want so I just suck it up and pay.
 
DisneyWorldbuff said:
I found this for you, I know the Bonnet Creek resorts are also being added to this list:
The Disney Springs Resort Area Hotels are: B Resort & Spa; Best Western Lake Buena Vista; DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Orlando; Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace; Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista; Holiday Inn Orlando; and Wyndham Garden Lake Buena Vista.
I don’t know too much about this, but I am sure someone more knowledgeable her on the Boards will know more.
Click to expand...

This really bothers me. Am I the only one? Everything has gotten so crowded at Disney, and now they are adding outside resorts to EMH. It's awful. They do have those new after hours events that cost extra. People off Disney property should have to pay for those instead.
 
DisneyWorldbuff said:
I found this for you, I know the Bonnet Creek resorts are also being added to this list:
The Disney Springs Resort Area Hotels are: B Resort & Spa; Best Western Lake Buena Vista; DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Orlando; Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace; Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista; Holiday Inn Orlando; and Wyndham Garden Lake Buena Vista.
I don’t know too much about this, but I am sure someone more knowledgeable her on the Boards will know more.
Click to expand...

I believe the Four Seasons was added to this list as of this year, but I don't think Wyndham Bonnet Creek made the cut.
 


I booked a discounted room only at CB and plan to buy tickets through Sam's Club. For my hotel balance, I'm going to use gift cards purchased through Kroger during their 4x fuel points promotions. This will give us about 14% cash back for fuel.
 
Tallis said:
:sad1::sad2: What resorts would that be? This is certainly disappointing to hear for those of us that always stay on site.

We only live 2 hours away, but still always go and stay on site, as it just doesn't seem the same not to.

@KearneyFam02 , moving to Florida brought down our costs dramatically. :rolleyes1 Obviously, not a feasible option for everyone, but now we pay the cost of a fast food meal, monthly, for our weekday APs and go all the time. We have a camper and eat our meals there, instead of paying crazy Disney food prices. The only exception is fish at Yorkshire County in UK, Epcot. We always eat there once per trip because ... YUMMY! :mickeybar
Click to expand...

We live in Ohio so that would be quite the move but my kids would love it I'm sure! ;)
 
Tallis said:
This really bothers me. Am I the only one? Everything has gotten so crowded at Disney, and now they are adding outside resorts to EMH. It's awful. They do have those new after hours events that cost extra. People off Disney property should have to pay for those instead.
Click to expand...

This isn't new, it has been this way for at least a year, probably longer. We no longer stay onsite or at those hotels, so it doesn't affect me at all.
 


Is the Dining Plan really worth it? The last time I was down in the World was 18 years ago and they didn't have that, so I know nothing about it. My last trip, like I said, 18 years ago, I did all quick service, with the exception of maybe 1 sit down somewhere, and did just fine. I don't eat a ton so I'm not sure if it's worth it.
 
I feel like the only thing I can control is the room price, so if I want to save, that is where I would cut costs.
 
CapeCodTenor said:
Is the Dining Plan really worth it? The last time I was down in the World was 18 years ago and they didn't have that, so I know nothing about it. My last trip, like I said, 18 years ago, I did all quick service, with the exception of maybe 1 sit down somewhere, and did just fine. I don't eat a ton so I'm not sure if it's worth it.
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Some people feel that it is convenient and worth it for that reason. Others book a ton of character dining and might find it saves them money. We have found that we have never spent more out of pocket than we would have on the DDP, even with tips. We eat what we want, when we want. We used it once when it was "free" and it was too much food. I also felt stressed trying to balance ADRs with FP. We were not always hungry when it was time to eat. We usually just figure out what the DDP would cost, plus tips. We use that to base our budget off and always have money left over, even if we have a glass of wine with some meals. We use the extra cash for souvenirs.
 
OP, if you want to stay onsite, have you considered trying to rent from DVC? If you are willing to book in advance you might be able to save there if you stay deluxe (providing there is availability).
 
Magical2017 said:
Some people feel that it is convenient and worth it for that reason. Others book a ton of character dining and might find it saves them money. We have found that we have never spent more out of pocket than we would have on the DDP, even with tips. We eat what we want, when we want. We used it once when it was "free" and it was too much food. I also felt stressed trying to balance ADRs with FP. We were not always hungry when it was time to eat. We usually just figure out what the DDP would cost, plus tips. We use that to base our budget off and always have money left over, even if we have a glass of wine with some meals. We use the extra cash for souvenirs.
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I've done a lot of reading on this since I've posted this question, and while I'm finding that a lot of people might find it convenient, the reality is that you save by not getting it. And like you said, a lot of people will book character meals and such, but I don't want to have to try and manage that along with FP's. Thanks for the response.
 
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Do you really save staying off property? After the price of a rental car and parking at the parks each day is there still savings?
 
Magical2017 said:
I feel like the only thing I can control is the room price, so if I want to save, that is where I would cut costs.
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^^ I agree. If someone is locked into staying at Disney, the majority of the cost is already determined.

Part of the off site savings is for meals, so you have to look at it in total. Compared to eating all meals at Disney and/or buying that dining plan, you can certainly save eating breakfast in your room and having dinner at a local restaurant.

The 'best' way to save is by understanding what the various costs are and deciding based on your budget.
 
birdmom said:
Do you really save staying off property? After the price of a rental car and parking at the parks each day is there still savings?
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Only when we compare a one bedroom onsite to a one bedroom offsite. We stayed at Wyndam Bonnet Creek for the price of a standard room at Pop (900 square feet versus under 300). The car rental was under $200, although I would use Uber next time. We paid to park at Disney. That saved us thousands last summer. I am not sure I want to go back to a standard room without the W/D. We were pleasantly surprised that the hotel was next to CBR. My kids loved the pools and lazy river The service at Wyndhsm was on par with Disney

Would I stay onsite again? Absolutely! I just need to remember that it would be about 3k more for a comparable onsite resort and make some choices about other trips we usually take over the summer
 
birdmom said:
Do you really save staying off property? After the price of a rental car and parking at the parks each day is there still savings?
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That depends. Not everyone needs a rental. Some buy an AP so they don't have to pay for parking. Also depends on what on property resort you are comparing it to. we are a family of five, so if we stayed on site we would need two hotel rooms or a suite. That is super expensive. We stay off property in a 4 bedroom house for less than $100/night. Plus we have AP, so no parking fee. Just lodging alone saves us 50-75+% vs being on site. Add that to the money we save on food... Top it off with the fact that we love staying off property for so many reasons, we wouldn't want to stay on property even if it was cheaper. We get the things we want for a fraction of the price of on property, it's a win-win for us.

However if you are comparing one room at a value resort to off property with a rental car, parking fee and buying all food on property it may not save much.
 
birdmom said:
Do you really save staying off property? After the price of a rental car and parking at the parks each day is there still savings?
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Why do you need a rental car? With all the hotel shuttles, Lyft, uber? When you sign up for Lyft and uber they give you really good discounts...
We use hotwire.... most of the time our rooms are about 50.00 for rooms that are normally over 100
 
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