We are heading to DisneyWorld next March during spring break. We are staying in one of the moderate hotels with the food package included. We are flying for free thanks to MIL.

Any additional ways you can think of to save money while we are there would be appreciated!

I have read a tip to buy an autograph book and take it with you instead of buying one there.

My neighbor just went during the summer and said don't buy any souvenirs in the park.

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I sounds like you are taking the same trip nex March that we took last March. We stayed at Port Orleans The French Quarter. We had the meal plan too and it was very much worth it. The meal plan includes snacks as well as meals. The snack and quick service meal choices included in the dining plan are denoted on the menu with a purple square with a D in the middle. A snack are things like popcorn, ice cream, a drink etc. Here's my tip....we took water bottles (ie sports bottles) and Crystal Light singles with us. Ice water is free in the parks. We poured cups of ice water into our bottles with a single packet and shook them up. We didn't have to waste our snack portions of the meal plan on drinks.

I saw someone there with a great idea for the autograph books that I will do if/when we get to go back. They brought a hard back Disney story book with them from home. It had multiple stories in it. They had the characters autograph the front page of the story that they were in.

Have fun!!

Okay, we did the Port Orleans French Quarter last March too. My advice, book your dining reservations ahead of time, now if possible. Do not feel like you need to sit down and eat dinner everyday. It takes lots of time, so if you use two sit down credits for one dinner, don't sweat it. We also bought Disney clothes at home at Disney Store and other places. The kids had a whole Disney wardrobe and did not ask for any shirts or clothing there. It was a fraction of the price. I also took a Snow White costome, bought at 75% off after Halloween and used it for my daughter to dress in when we went to the princess dinner. The dress up out there is super expensive and she was perfectly happy with her outfit. I also bought her a matching Snow White doll here. Each of my kiddos only bought one item after we got there and I am sure having this stuff helped keep them from asking for more. I made the autograph books from my Cricut, they were a big hit too.

By the way, not sure how old your kiddos are, but we loved Chef Mickey and the Sci-Fi Restarants. If you want the big Cinderella Castle book it early, it takes two credits, but we are doing that for sure when we go back next year. Good Luck, sorry so lenthy.

I just went in August and I went to the Disney store and stocked up on little sale items that my kids would like (sunglasses, cups, tshirts, tanks...). Each day, we would take a break and I would pull out a bag with a souvenir in it and surprise them. The disney store now has these little "craft kits" with buzz lightyear or ariel on top or about $2.99. They are small and it comes with stamps, scissors, crayons, stickers...and I pulled those out at the character lunch to keep them busy while waiting for lunch.

We brought a soft cooler with juice boxes, waters and snacks. Some days we made sandwiches, but we did do a character buffet lunch there. A little pricey, but the food was good and great photo ops. If you are celebrating a bday..they will bring a cupcake with a candle and a signed birthday card for the bday child/adult.

If you have a baby, there is a great baby station right near where you can rest in chairs and kids can sit and watch a disney movie and they give them coloring pages too!

When you first get in...go directly to the Town Hall on the left. If you are celebrating anything, tell them and they will give you free pins to wear (Happy Birthday, Happy Anniversary, First Visit)

We gave each kid a spending limit of $20 and when it was done, it was done. This included ice cream, treats or a small souvenir from the park. I would recommend the flat pennies...each souvenir shop has them and they only cost about $1. You can buy a book to keep them in for $6.95.

I tried to save money on autograph books and asked family and friends to look in dollar stores and places to find a blank journal book with Mickey and Minnie. My SIL ended up getting them as gifts for my kids, but to be honest, they sell nice ones in the park for about $6.95. (Make sure you pack a few pens).

We bought the cooler fans before we went because they are expensive in the park.

It really is great to take a 3 hour break during the day. We went back to hotel, rested, napped, showered.... and it made the night back again much better than trying to stretch and do the whole day!

I got alot of good tips from the Unofficial guide, but in the end, we kind of made our own plans and it worked out great.

I bought ponchos ahead of time and we kept them in the bottom of the stroller. The strollers that they rent are really nice! (We saved money by bringing our sit and stand)

I brought my daughters princess dress and we dressed her up before we went. Get those pictures done ASAP...the lines get longer as the day goes on. The princesses and fairies were PRICELESS..the BEST! They are wonderful with the kids and spend time with them..it was the best part of the trip for me!

**Another great thing that happened was while in Animal Kingdom, my daughter got sick with a fever (not the great part) and we took her to the first aid station and they were wonderful. They give you free medicine..tylenol and then gave her a great stuffed baby minnie mouse and a "trading" pin..which we traded for Tinkerbell!

I'm taking the kids this year for Christmas. I'm planning on taking all my own snacks and juice bags. I make the kids their own autograph books from what I found at the dollar store. Plus, I've been finding shirts and outfits at Walmart, Disney Store and yardsales. I'm still up in the air about buying the refillable mugs at the park. I have water bottles that have a freezable insert so I plan on using that. We are flying early and late to save on the airfare. Some nights I plan on just having pizza with the kids. Not a sit down every night. I also did tell the kids they are allowed one item the entire visit. I'm planning on doing alot like the parades, the christmas lighting, church etc. Hope that helps

also you will want to plan ahead for character stops since they don't roam the parks like they used to. the fairies is a very long line sometimes up to two hours to wait. but the regular disney princess line was very short so we opted for that instead we only waited 20 minutes. also surf the dis boards if you pm me or facebook me I can give yout he websites they have all the info you will ever need. Plus give you the info on wich parks open and early and stay open late wich if you plan ahead you can kinda make a schedule and hit the most popular rides first wich worked great for us. Also go on to the disney website where you book the trips and when you log in to your acct you can make a custom map of the things you want to see and they will print it and mail it to your for free its a nice keepsake. bring pennies and quarters for the penny presses they are every where it was a cheap fun thing the kids loved to do and they look great in a scrap book of your trip.

also check if epcot is still doing the kim possible missions my boys had a blast doing that as well. Also a great game to play in line is look for the hidden mickeys. mickey heads are hidden in the landscaping ect so its fun to keep your eyes peeled for those. You will have a wonderful time.

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SILENCE IS GOLDEN BUT DUCK TAPE IS SILVER.

If you must buy souvenirs here in FL, go to the dollar tree, walmart, target, anywhere but the parks. If you plan on eating outside of WDW, most souvenir shops in Kissimmee will give a free florida keychain, just check your receipt. Also, before you go to any non disney restaurants, check out the coupon books that are usually at the exits. We live near WDW and occasionally eat at Golden Corral near Disney, to save 10% on our check, we always go to the exit and pick up one of the coupon books. Those coupon books also include discounts on mini golf and lots of other activities including a free go cart ride with no purchase necessary! Buying the costumes prior to your visit and after Halloween this year is a great idea! WDW costumes are very expensive and not any better than the disney store ones.

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"He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money."
Benjamin Franklin

Came across this site in the same article I found mommysavers in.

I live an hour away from Disney World so I checked it out and it has tons of tips.

mousesavers.com

Here are some other great threads to check out:
Disney money/time saving pointers?
We're thinking of planning a trip to Disney...
Calling all Disney World Experts..........
Calling all Disney World Experts..........
Disney World?
Free Customized Disney parks maps!
Going to Disney World

I'll tag them "disney world" so you can refer back to them later.

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