Hi, has anyone done Disney World on a budget, can it be done? We have put it off and put it off but I think we are finally going in November. Our daughter will be starting Kindergarten in 2008 and I will be going back to school as well and this is about the best time we can go. I do not want to go when its so hot and crowded. Any suggestions on a budget and also suggestions on things that you loved with a 4 1/2 year old as well.

Thanks, Susan
DH Mike
DD Sami

Here's an article that may help you:
http://www.mommysavers.com/travel-fr...ing-tips.shtml

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We bought a package and stayed at one of the cheapest Disney resorts. If you do that, there is a bus that picks you up at the airport and takes you back as well as shuttling you back and forth to your hotel and between parks and Downtown Disney. (If you have a park-hopper pass, you can move between parks in the same day.) This saves renting a car. It was also stress-free not having to drive when you don't know where things are, but to just follow a bus schedule to get where you want to go.

I brought cereal, sugar, plastic spoons and paper bowls in our suitcases. If you go into the gift shop (not the food court), you can buy a quart of milk for about $2 (this was the price in Jan. 2006). In the food court, an 8 oz. milk is almost $1. In the fridge case in the hotel's gift shop, the quart was the best buy. We ate breakfast in our room without having to rent a fridge at $10 a day. Either my husband or I would go buy the quart of milk first thing in the day at the hotel's gift shop.

There is a refillable plastic travel mug in the food court for $12.95 (again price in Jan. 2006). The purchase of the mug allows you unlimited free refills of all drinks at the food court. (The food court at the hotel is open from about 5 am until midnight.) It is worth the price if you are going to be there several days. The mug is also has a nice Disney print on it. (Don't put the top in the dishwasher at home after your trip - it melted).

Look around at the parks for the best deals on food. Different restaurants and food court areas have very different prices. We did not buy meals with our package deal.

Saving on the rental car by staying at the cheaper Disney hotel, bringing most of breakfast from home, buying the mug at the hotel to get unlimited drinks, and buying a package including the park-hopper passes are all things I would do again.

If you want to do some character meals, you should buy the meal pass - it will save you a lot of money. You can trade your table service meals for character meals. However, you should make your reservations now - you can probably still get a lot of cool ones. I'm sure that Cinderella's castle is booked, but you can get a nice Princess meal at Epcot - I know that sounds weird, but it's true.

I was shocked at how much we love DW - and we are already planning to go back. I've heard that it is unbelievable that time of year - the lines are almost non-existant. You might want to check on some of the disney boards though - I think they do more renovations that time of year and you don't want your DD to be heartbroken when you get there and something that she wants to do is closed.

The thing that saved us the most time/money in the parks, was telling our 3 kiddos that we would buy one "prize" at the end of the week at downtown Disney, the night we were having dinner there. The toy stores there were the biggest I've ever seen and had some really unique items. (I also refused to buy something that we could get at home for less $) We bought them mouse ears at the first of the week and then did not spend any time in shops or stores until the end. Bring some of her disney dolls/stuffed animals from home and she will be fine in the room - you are hardly there anyway!

You can find a lot of Disney things at the Dollar Store and bring them with you or clearance racks at the Disney Stores in the mall. I bought a few packs of the Dollar Store light up bracelets/necklaces and brought them with us. That way we didn't have to buy any of the outrageously priced ones there. We did the Disney dining plan and that saved us as ton of money. We stayed at a value resort, Pop Century and went in Jan so it was off-season. We don't drink a lot of pop so we didn't buy the souviener cups at the resort. I didn't think it would be worth the money since we just drink water most of the time. But if you do than it's a good idea to do. Check out disboards.com, it's a great site with a lot of helpful tips.

we went to disney last may. it was the perfect time because the park isn't that crowded and the weather isn't too hot yet. I would recomment getting the book"the unofficial guide to walt disney world" by bob sehlinger. it was lots of get tips. the meal plan is really great, you get alot of food for your money.my kids are 6 and 3 and found it was a good age. we stayed in the "world" in a moderate hotel and never needed a car, take the bus to everything, do'nt stay on a none disney hotel. not worth it no matter what you save, the bus is really easy to use believe me! you may e-mail me for any advise, my husband calls me the "queen of disney".

I have to disagree with staying on Disney property, there are hundreds of hotels in the area and since you are staying off season, you can get some fantastic deals. You can also rent a house for less money than staying at Disney. If you rent a house,make sure the pool is heated because the water will be too cold if it isn't. Parking at Disney is $9 a day, unless they raised it again. November is a good month to go but avoid it during the week of Thanksgiving. Buy all of your souvenirs at places like Target and Walmart and the dollar store while you are down here. Every store has a Disney section. There are coupon books at every hotel and restaurant, grab them and use the coupons to save money. Some are good some aren't. If you do stay at a disney resort, you can buy the refillable mugs on Ebay for a fraction of the cost. I personally do not like the value resorts because the rooms are too small. Of course you won't be in there much, so that isn't a huge problem. All Disney pools are heated and so are the water parks. Downtown Disney is like a huge Disney Store mall, It is free to visit and they have all the same things as the theme parks plus a lego store where the kids can play for a while. There is also a clearance store there where you can save some money. If you buy your ears there, do that first, the wait for them is usually an hour or two.