Welcome back to The Sedentary Explorer! Reaching into my imaginary mailbag to answer more of your burning travel questions without breaking a sweat (unless I go to Disney World in the summer).
Now that you have committed to taking your family on the vacation extravaganza known as Walt Disney World, you are now faced with the challenge of paying for your trip. You don’t want to come home to a massive credit card bill because you did not save up. But since most vacations tend to grow in size and price, The Sedentary Explorer has some tips to help minimize the damage.
Some of these tips may be general and widely known, while others have been gleaned from both my experience and others who wanted to make some frugal choices while still enjoying a nice vacation. Some tips will naturally work better than others, based on your lifestyle and vacation preferences.
Money-saving Tip #1: Go Offseason
This first tip is true not just for Disney World but for any vacation. The difference is that while your recreation options are limited in some destinations (it’s hard to swim at the Jersey Shore after Labor Day) Disney World is fully available year round, with the only limitation being the water parks in the winter are questionable. Limiting yourself to the school year sets you up to hit the crowds, and with crowds, Disney has no incentive to cut prices.
Yet in the offseason, Disney offers discounts of 20-30% on their standard packages. I have also received additional discounts during the offseason that were not advertised. Since vacationing is a commodity, Disney will offer varying incentives to keep attendance at their desired levels. Looking at the calendar year, you can consistently find discounts during January-February, after Easter until mid-May, after Labor Day until Thanksgiving week, and the first two weeks in December. When you plan your vacation is likely the single biggest way to save money.
There are two downsides to this money-saving tip. First, some people prefer to not take their children out of school. Most schools will recognize one or two trips to Disney World as an educational trip and allow an excused absence. Our children took a break each day to work on their school assignments while resting up for the second half of the day. Some people may be limited as to when they can take vacations. Second, the off-season is when Disney shuts down different attractions for maintenance and upgrades. Hopefully your entire vacation does not hinge on those 2-3 attractions that are unavailable. One year we put off going to the Hall of Presidents because we just missed the show and did not want to wait until the next show. We returned two days later to find it closed for maintenance. If you can manage your children’s school absence and do not let a couple down attractions affect your week, traveling off-season is a big money saver.
Money-saving Tip #2: The Packages
This tip covers both types of packages: the all-inclusive package or the do-it-yourself package. Which one you choose depends on how much vacation planning you like to do.
Disney through AAA offers nice all-inclusive packages. These normally include your onsite lodging, admission to the parks, shuttle to and from the airport, and a couple bonus items such as a character breakfast. Of course, if you add too many features to your package you are no longer saving money, so watch the total cost as you add items. One year our package deal for an October trip saved an additional $75 per person due to unadvertised deals available only in the packages.
People who like to do legwork often build their own package, generally staying offsite. They find the best hotel rate, get the park pass for only the full days on vacation (Disney includes your arrival and checkout dates in their day-count for passes), and manage their vacation carefully. This option usually works better for people staying offsite because the Disney package lowers the room rate. If you are able to do the research and pull the pieces together, this option can save almost as much as going off-season. We had friends manage their trip in late May this way to control costs.
One package that may or may not save money is the dining package. Disney offers this as a feature to their other packages. My cousin used this once because they built their entire vacation around dining at the nicest restaurants. It may not have been as cheap as casual and fast food dining, but they got their dollars’ worth on the upscale restaurants. The standard dining option includes one sit down meal, one fast food meal, and one snack per day. Watch this deal because it can change. A couple years ago Disney even gave dining credit dollars with their standard package at no extra cost. Packages can save money, but only if you manage the features within the package.
Money-saving Tip #3: Dining and snacking
As mentioned above, dining can be inexpensive or as much as the lodging-theme park package based on your tastes. However there are several ways to manage the dining costs. First, determine your family’s dining style while on vacation. As mentioned above, my cousin built an entire vacation around meals at the finest restaurants in the resort, experiencing hotels and theme parks. Other people see meals as a necessary stop to consume food to reload energy for the next round at the theme parks. Knowing your preferences helps determine how (or if) you can save money on dining.
Our first trip to Disney World was one for which we saved a long time, stretching ourselves to afford it. So food was an additional expense after we paid for the vacation. We filled one suitcase with breakfast items and snacks. We chilled the orange juice and Parmalat (a milk that does not need refrigeration, but still tastes better cold) each day. We then had cereal or donuts for breakfast. Breakfast out was a treat we reserved for twice that week. After breakfast, we loaded our fanny packs with juice boxes and crackers for snacks to save snack costs. Ice cream was also a treat reserved for a couple times that week. This pattern may be too frugal for some people but we felt better eating nicer meals the rest of the day knowing we didn’t spend money for breakfast. An added bonus was when the suitcase was emptied of our food and snacks, we could refill it with the souvenirs we brought home.
Another way to save on dining is to shift meal times. Many sit down restaurants charge less for meals when eaten before 4:00-5:00. So we made lunch time our main meal, usually around 2:30-3:00, often saving 30% on the same meal. We would then have a light snack for dinner, because fast food prices stay constant throughout the day.
Of course, those staying offsite will often get a continental breakfast with their room. Plus, they can pick up snacks and water at lower prices than offered in the park. Families staying at the campground can fix many of their meals while camping. Those staying onsite in a Disney hotel will have to be creative in managing food costs.
The only downside to these tips is if you bring your snacks into the park, you need a fanny pack or knapsack to carry them. Disney can be warm even in the fall, so the added baggage can make you warmer. Plus some people consider dining out a perk of vacationing. As I began this section with, know your family’s vacation dining style when using any of these tips.
When does frugal become cheap?
We have always stayed at Port Orleans-Riverside when going to Disney World, which is a moderately priced resort. Obviously, those staying at the Grand Floridian aren’t worried about saving money on snacks or eating breakfast in their room. For the rest of us, finding ways to save money might mean staying an extra day, or adding a special feature like the luau at the Polynesian resort.
But for many people, Disney World is a special trip that they indulge their family with once or twice while the kids are growing up. It provides a great family time and builds special memories. So each family needs to know when they are having reasonably-priced fun and when they are scrimping too much.
When planning your vacation be sure to consider all the costs, not just lodging and theme parks. Travel to and from the park needs to also be evaluated for the best and least expensive option. We have always flown rather than drive from Pennsylvania since the driving costs equal airfare, and most places offer reasonably priced flights to Orlando. Don’t forget to include travel costs in your vacation planning because many packages do not include airfare.
You want your vacation to be memorable, so take the time while planning to make the right financial decisions. A vacation that is too extravagant places pressure on the parents to pay for it, often after the fun is over and the credit card bills arrive. A vacation where every dime spent is fought over becomes drudgery. Find the right balance of frugality and indulgence to create your special Disney vacation!
Sources:
http://www.centralpenn.aaa.com/disney
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/