The best thing I did was book through a travel agent! We booked and then less than a week later Free Quick Service Dining opened during the time we were there. She called me straight away to let me know. She knew we turned it down because of the price, so this was an amazing thing to get. The WDW website wouldn't have told me that! I'll always recommend a travel agent...a real contact person is the way to go!
The American Pavilion at Epcot has a lounge for Chase Visa card holders on the third floor where you can cool off and have complimentary water and soda.. It also helps if you are looking for clean facilities to use that has a little more privacy.. Just show your card , check in, and relax to get your second wind..
For me park hopper passes are totally worth it. You can go to a park in the morning and do what ever you want then when it starts to get crowded in the late after noon and its hot and lines are hours long go back to the resort swim a bit take a nap then head out to another park that evening to see either fireworks or what ever show is happening or what ever park is open later that evening and grab dinner. You just get so much more flexibility to your trip, your not stuck with this is our only day to see this park so we have to push threw and wait in 3 hour long lines filled with hot and sweaty crabby people.
When I look back, my parents were money saving ninjas at Disney. They would get a hotel where breakfast was included, pack snacks, and lunch, and drinks, for the park, and then just pay for dinner. They never got park hoppers, and we rarely bought merchandise.
We love your channel, Pete. Much respect for your business ingenuity and pioneering. Being NYers, we also get a kick out of your snarkiness, as well. Great tips, especially the tips about Amazon delivery and the Target Disney gift cards. The advice to lose the park hopper is also a good one. When we first started going, we barely used our hoppers, if at all. As far as water, I bring a water bottle & fill up at quick service restaurants.
I know people who hide the Disney merch that they got for cheaper and give it to their kids in the parks. It's a lot cheaper to buy those light up toys for the parades at target instead of in the park.
From our experience, we have always bought the park hopper due to the fact that some parks close earlier than others, so we want to take advantage of our time at the parks.
Caitlin 22 Camelback has a great water bottle with a filter that makes the the Florida water taste way better. You can even get stick on names in Disney font on Etsy.
Another water saving tip.me and my boyfriend brought a camel pack,back. Whatever it's called,haha we brought one filled it with ice water from the park stuck it in the back pack it was PERFECT!!! We only got drinks for meals and it keeps us hydrated!
Megan M I've always wondered about those. I always see them here at Disneyland and I'm always curious if people really have water in them or are they chugging booze instead. 😂
i've always said that park hoppers are a waste of money other than the 'slowest' season at wdw. typically the parks are so crowded and the wait times so long you really don't have any 'free' time to hop to another park on any given day.
You can also accumulate the free Target gift cards you get for purchasing certain items on sale, then use those Target gift cards to buy Disney gift cards. Free money!!!!!
for the parkhopper depending on which resort you stay at it is sometimes easier to cut through a park to get to another rather than try to take a bus or ferry around
I am going to WDW next month. Just stopped your video, went to the uniglo website and ordered some Disney shirts - brilliant! Thanks so much for all of these tips!
Great tips!! Quick Service restaurants usually give you water for free too. Bring a water bottle and refill :) You can upgrade to a park hopper when you get there. My sister and I did a 2 day ticket and turned our last day into a park hopper. Also you have about 15 minutes of black at the end of the video...
I took my wife to DW in 2014 for our 20th anniversary and had a great time (my only trip there). We're going again in the fall of 2018 for her birthday. This video is a HUGE help.
I will never book a Disney trip without Dreams. They are flawless. I'd use them even if they didn't support videos like this. Wonderful business model.
What my family used to is load up a Ten Day, Hopper Pass, Waterparks, and No-Expiration Date (when is was still a thing) which was like $550. Then we would be set for 10 visits at Disney, one day at the parks going to 3-4 parks in the day, and one day at one of the water parks. This was such a good money saving thing you could do and is such a shame you can't do it anymore.
I used my park hopper pass all the time. I didn't have any children with me so I wouldn't spend all day in any park especially the water parks.We would get up and go to one park , head back to our room for a swim or nap in the afternoon and then go off to epcot etc for the evening.
Today parking hopping is harder to do... with the crowds of people, and the increased waiting times to ride on 4 rides could possible take 6 to 8 hours, no time to park hop.
I got water, soda and snacks delivered to All Star Sports from a local Orlando place when I went in September. Service was amazing. They deliver it to Disney, they put it in storage and then Disney deliver it to the room. Amazing.
We're going Jan 15th and we used the Hopper app which has the same kind of predictability you're talking about. We actually booked each flight separately, the flight there was $135 per person on virgin America and the flight back was only $65 per person!!!!! Non stops! So happy!
We've bought the park hopper passes each time we went and NEVER used them. So that cost will definitely be coming off this next time. We are not park hopper people lol!
Another water money saving tip is to go into fast service restaurants and ask for water. They give ice water for free. Especially on really hot days, this can save a lot of money.
If you are going to Disney with children or for a long trip with enough days to spend one in each park then yes, the hopper tkts may be a waste of money! But if you are going with only adults in your party and in less days and trying to squeeze all parks in you trip hopper tkts are a must and completely worth it. We always go only adults and we are up and going all day and way into the night! We can do 3 parks in one day taking advantages of the extra hours and special things going on. Even as I plan this trip now we are def doing MK wishes on the day we do AK, because it closes early. (7pm) wishes is at 10pm so we have plenty of time to MK thanks to the hopper pass.
gattirenata my family took full advantage of the park hopper pass to! we had 3 days and on day one we hit hollywood studios and epcot completely and had 3 hours left for magic kingdom.
To save some money, we order groceries online and it's delivered before we get there. The resorts have special areas to store it until you arrive. We buy mostly light breakfast items, drinks, and snacks. But I admit, we spend a lot on lunch/dinner because we enjoy trying the many different restaurants each trip. And of course, the DDP is a big waste of money, but I know some people love it.
Uniqlo's shirts are FANTASTIC. They are super soft and great quality. My boyfriend got a shirt with Oswald on it that he wears all the time. And the Star Wars shirt I have is so rad :)
So my best suggestion for the saving on water, and to keep hydrated, a water backpack like a camelback. I used a small one, was able to have water for my wife and I all day, could keep my camera, sunscreen, and poncho in the bag. I would fill the pouch in the bag with as much ice as I could, then fill the rest of the room with water from a gallon jug. We saved so much money, had tasty water all the time that was easy to carry, and the ice in the back actually kept my back cool on the hot days. We loved it. We were already going to have a small backpack for our sunscreen and ponchos and stuff, a bonus of having water on hand all the time was great. One thing to note with shipping water to the resorts or shipping anything to the resorts, there is now the resort package handling fee to think about.
Park hopper has come in handy on those days when a lot of the rides are closed most of the day due to weather or if we want to do hollywood studios and epcot in the same day or to go back and ride a ride we missed....but that was only happened maybe 3 of the 5 times we've gone. It really helped last year with MK was rained out-we wouldn't have been able to ride splash mountain or big thunder mountain if it wasn't for park hopper! Other than that, I think this year, no park hopper for the first time! let's hope we don't get rained out!
I would add these tips: 1. Staying off property. If you're willing to make the tradeoff of not staying at a Disney owned property, the savings are noticeable. 2. If you are a member of an AFL-CIO affiliated union, look at UnionPlus dot org. You can get sizeable discounts on park tickets and hotels. 3. If you are a member of AAA or AARP, use those discounts.
You can also get a Disney Visa card from Chase. You get points back from each purchase. Just by booking a $3000 vacation you will receive $60 in points. Not "Significant" as Steve put it. However, that can pay for a dinner for 2 people. I use my Disney Visa throughout the year and had $200 in points to use for my upcoming trip.
For the comment on Southwest giving you a credit if your fare drops-- this is not automatic. You have to check the flights and rebook your flight using your existing confirmation number to get the credit. If you paid for your flight with a credit card, the fare difference credit is good for one year from the original day you paid for the flight. If you use Rapid Rewards points and the fare drops, the difference in points will go back to your account. But again you have to check the flights yourself. Definitely check Southwest periodically, even not during a sale, to see if fares changed.
Even if you don't purchase a dining plan, wouldn't you say it's still worth it to buy the refillable mug? Because you could refill it each time you go in and out of your resort, and get a cup of water from the quick serve restaurants or drinking fountains in the park. That way you're not paying $3 everytime you want a soda or coffee.
A Wash That would depend on wether you will use it, if you do use it than great get it. If you don't plan on being at your resort that often and not stopping by your resort food court than no dont get it simple
Hands down on flights to Orlando: Allegiant Air. 35-40$ one way. I've gotten flights for less than $90 from SC to Orlando. I swear by them! The only downside, they only fly on certain days. I will adjust my vacation to fit Allegiant's schedule :)
Thank you for all this information. We had a great trip and one part it is due to RUclipsr's with great Videos. I questioned the park hopper option and went with it, the reason we did and are grateful we did is because we stayed on property at the Beach Club Resort. We would go to a park during the day, go back to the resort and go to Epcot for dinner or get a Fast Pass, go on one ride, eat then back to the hotel. Epcot food is a park in in of itself...Yummo!
We always get all our souvenirs at the Walmart near Disney. They are around $7-8, normal Walmart price. But the location there has so much Disney merch that is way cheaper (and sometimes better) than the stuff in the parks.
glad I'm a Florida resident! tickets are cheaper and it's only a 7 hour drive for me. also not staying at a Disney resort is so much cheaper. some hotels have shuttles for the parks and also buying a hotel is alot cheaper if you get through Groupon! free complimentary continental breakfast is a must as well! can't wait for my trip in 10 months!
I've been a pass holder for years and I didn't know about the Target card and the Amazon water, great tips! It's interesting the Disney dining plan was not mentioned.... I've personally have never use it because I enjoy having the freedom of choosing where and when to eat but I've always wondered if it's worth it. I tried the quick service dining plan at Universal for the first time during the holidays, and i thought it did save us some money.
Or you can either bring in a reusable water bottle or use your first water to replace it at the multitude of water fountains. It may be florida water but you can sometimes luck out at some restauraunts that might have filtered. huge savings that way.
If you have very little kids, you can buy Disney souvenirs before you go (even second hand if they look good) and give your kids the souvenirs in the parks. We did that with Winnie the Pooh plush toys and we gave them to our kids right after going on the Winnie the Pooh ride at MK. To them, it was no different than if we had bought the $30 toys in the store.
Great tips! We already forego the park hopper (we bought it for our first visit and didn't use it). We already buy Disney shirts before traveling and sometimes pins for the kids to trade (disneystore.com, amazon.com, hottopic.com). And, we bring our own snacks into the parks (never thought about using Amazon Prime though). I'm not sure what sites my husband uses to research our flights. This is helpful! Thank you!
I would pack retort packages of tuna fish, sliced bread and bring them into the parks and use the parks free condiment packages of mayo and relish and make the kids hobo tuna fish sandwiches. They loved them and I saved a bundle on in park purchased foods.
Question: It's not worth spending a full day at Hollywood Studios. So isn't it worth purchasing a park-hop pass so one can hop to another park the day one goes to Hollywood Studios?
Ray D if you go during not so scary Halloween party or isnt there a Christmas party to? you have to buy those tickets full price. so go to Hollywood studios in the morning the the parties at night
When we went to hollywood studios we had a nice late sleep in day got to the park at 12 and then did disney after hours in the evening, no park hopper required. You could also skip a party and plan on a nice evening at Disney Springs
Not everyone has a Target near their house...we do not have a Target in our state. We would have to travel to another state to go to a Target. It is a bummer because I would love to be able to do what you suggested in number 1.
Loved this show, great job and tips! I have LOVED Amazon Prime for a long time, but did not know abut Prime Now. I wonder how the new $5 fee for getting stuff delivered to a Disney resort works.
I have used amazon prime now 3 times so far without any incidents. $5.00 resort charge per delivery for outside items, like amazon, garden grocer, etc.
Diane Davis How does that work? do you just enter the resort address ? My family is considering doing this. we have 2 small kids so the snacks for us would be really good.
I haven't done this in a long time, but I'm sure it still works the same way as it used to - if you are not in your room, the grocery delivery places will give your stuff to Bell Services, indicating which stuff needs refrigeration, which Bell Services will do. Bell Services will then bring you your bags when you get in, and call them (they left messages on my room phone before I had a cell phone, which is the last time I did this).
I know I've used grocery delivery services in the past, and they all had all the resort's addresses plugged into their online ordering form. I would assume Amazon might too - I would drop them a quick email and ask, and call the resort for their address, or look it up on the web.
Yep, you just enter the resort address. You have your primary address already on there. You shop by the hotels zip code, then once your order is complete, enter the hotels address for delivery.
You can also save 4% on Disney gift cards at BJs. Depending on the membership you use, your purchases accrue towards BJs credits. You can earn $20 BJ credits which you can also use to buy Disney Gift Cards. If you use a your Disney Visa to make purchases of gift cards, you also save another 1%, plus 4%, plus the BJs credits to use on more gift cards.
Park Hopper: The shorter your stay, the more useful you'll find this. Also, if you're using old Worldpassport or Park Hopper tix with unused days, you'll get fresh Park Hoppers. Pre-2004 Disney tix do not expire.
Park Hopper is now more important because you can only FastPass 3 attractions per day at WDW and the wait times are always long - you'll never get thru Magic Kingdom in one day/visit. And if you don't have 7+ days there - you have to hit 2 parks each day now that there are night events at AKP.
Our first trip to Disney World we didn't know anything about the parks and winged it. (Luckily we still had a good time lol). Bought park hoppers and what a waste of money that was! We had no idea how huge DW is and all that it offered. Now that we have been several times, we have no desire to park hop. We immerse ourself in each park for the day and just enjoy it. Plus save a lot of money! Great tips :)
You don't need to go through Amazon for cheap drinks. If you have a Sam's Club card, there's a store on 9498 S Orange Blossom Trail if you're trying to find one near WDW. Also, Disney kiosks do NOT charge you for a cup of ice water. I tried it at a kiosk and she gave me a cup right there.
On our 7 day with park hopper trip we only park hopped one day and could have arranged our schedule to avoid it. I will not pay extra in future to do so, just plan better :)
The Disney store has sales throughout the year and especially they have two big ones where a lot of their stuff is actually 70% off. Before I went to Disney my last time I had a bunch of Disney t-shirts ordered in advance and some of them were even less than $10. I also bought Disney souvenirs before I left and gave them to my grandsons when I got back and they didn't have a clue that I didn't actually buy them at Disney . Plus if you have Disney Chase card and an item at the Disney Store is marked down in price you can get an additional 10% off. If their sale is based on percentages such as 20% off, then you cannot get another 10% discount. It has to be when they are actually showing the reduced price rather than just a percent off. You can get some really good bargains during their special twice a year sales and can even buy your Disney towels before you go on your trip. I'm sure there's a thrill in waiting and buying something at Disney but you can definitely limit the number of items you would buy at Disney because you already bought them up to 50% off or more. Plus anything that you buy with the Chase Disney card you can earn Disney reward points that convert into money and Disney can send you a rewards card with that amount of money on it and you can use it just like a gift card with some restrictions.
Dustin Decker If you plan on eating steak and lobster every meal it might save you a few bucks. The dining plan is meant to be a convience to have all of your meals prepaid for rather than a "money saving" thing. Plus it can get confusing trying to keep track of meal entitlements. I can't tell you how many times I have seen people arguing w/cast members at food locations about how many food credits they are supposed to have left.
Dustin Decker If you plan on eating steak and lobster every meal it might save you a few bucks. The dining plan is meant to be a convience to have all of your meals prepaid for rather than a "money saving" thing. Plus it can get confusing trying to keep track of meal entitlements. I can't tell you how many times I have seen people arguing w/cast members at food locations about how many food credits they are supposed to have left.
Not sure if Target gift card is really a money saver. When you buy the card you pay sales tax. That is in addition to the sales tax you pay when you use the card. The only way it is a money saver is if you pay less than 5 percent sales tax when you buy the card. A better tip would be to purchase an annual pass and take your next year's vacation a few weeks before the pass expires.
Don't like purchasing Park Hopper but dining reservations are so hard to get at some parks that we end up usually having to go to another park to eat...usually Epcot
Prime Now saved our last Disney vacation. I needed to buy some personal care items (tampons... sorry boys, I know that may have frightened you). The selection in the resort store was pathetic and about 4 times the price you'd pay at the grocery store. Prime Now had what I needed and a great price, plus some snacks for my kids (had to get to the $20 minimum) and the delivery driver what incredibly nice. Looking forward to using it next time we travel.
I think you should explain how your commission works more often. I assumed it would be an additional charge for the people booking trips. I've looked through the site and never saw how it works either. I bet there are a lot of people who resist using your company because, would they rather pay an out of pocket commission, or spend a couple more days in the parks? That's a no brainer - but it's based on misinformation.
there's a Walgreens where u can get toys shirts etec not far from the park....n u can stay at knight hotel which is 5 mins away from disneyworld ..u are just going to spend the night...is a normal hotel is not all that but is cheaper.
I buy my leaving returning flights separately. For my last trip I did Southwests Gotta Get Away and only paid 100 total. Of course I was doing a solo trip so that made it cheaper.
My last Disney trip was only two days. I disagree with the park hopper comments. I think it is a benefit especially if you’re going during a lot of EMH days. It gives you time to take a rest at the resort and explore another park because how much can you do at AK and HS. I don’t do the thrill rides so most of my time is at the shows or at MK. So I like having short hours at those parks to have more st others. Love your videos !
I always buy my daughter a ton of Disney themed shirts at Target and Old Navy and then she has cool Disney clothes and I don't have to buy a ton of expensive clothes to buy on property. I also buy her the stuffed toys of her favorite characters before we go at other cheaper places. She is excited to have Mickey and Minnie and Pooh to snuggle and all three cost me less than one at the parks.
The best thing I did was book through a travel agent! We booked and then less than a week later Free Quick Service Dining opened during the time we were there. She called me straight away to let me know. She knew we turned it down because of the price, so this was an amazing thing to get. The WDW website wouldn't have told me that! I'll always recommend a travel agent...a real contact person is the way to go!
The American Pavilion at Epcot has a lounge for Chase Visa card holders on the third floor where you can cool off and have complimentary water and soda.. It also helps if you are looking for clean facilities to use that has a little more privacy.. Just show your card , check in, and relax to get your second wind..
For me park hopper passes are totally worth it. You can go to a park in the morning and do what ever you want then when it starts to get crowded in the late after noon and its hot and lines are hours long go back to the resort swim a bit take a nap then head out to another park that evening to see either fireworks or what ever show is happening or what ever park is open later that evening and grab dinner. You just get so much more flexibility to your trip, your not stuck with this is our only day to see this park so we have to push threw and wait in 3 hour long lines filled with hot and sweaty crabby people.
When I look back, my parents were money saving ninjas at Disney. They would get a hotel where breakfast was included, pack snacks, and lunch, and drinks, for the park, and then just pay for dinner. They never got park hoppers, and we rarely bought merchandise.
Gwen07 P so you don't think park hoppers is good? This will be our 1st time going.
Azia Bey We just came back from a 1st trip and we did not use our park hopper. I won't buy it again. I like having one day for each park.
We love your channel, Pete. Much respect for your business ingenuity and pioneering. Being NYers, we also get a kick out of your snarkiness, as well. Great tips, especially the tips about Amazon delivery and the Target Disney gift cards. The advice to lose the park hopper is also a good one. When we first started going, we barely used our hoppers, if at all. As far as water, I bring a water bottle & fill up at quick service restaurants.
I know people who hide the Disney merch that they got for cheaper and give it to their kids in the parks. It's a lot cheaper to buy those light up toys for the parades at target instead of in the park.
Sophie Schreiber ha ha! We've done that before. Even the Disney store at the local mall is cheaper than at the parks.
From our experience, we have always bought the park hopper due to the fact that some parks close earlier than others, so we want to take advantage of our time at the parks.
David Todd cool stuff, thanks!!!
Steve should have a shirt that says "Significant" and his fiance should have one that says "Other"
GMTA, Phil! :)
Philip Schoen i
*barf*
Gift card discounts are at Sam's too!! A pack worth $150 is $143 😊 This is my favorite money saving thing whenever I go!
Whitney Clark My Sam's club doesn't carry those😭
Whitney Clark what's that??? giftcard???
You can buy online!!
You can get free ice water in all of the quick service restaurants
GDSineadReilly if you can handle nasty FL water lol
Caitlin 22 Camelback has a great water bottle with a filter that makes the the Florida water taste way better. You can even get stick on names in Disney font on Etsy.
Thats why you go to Starbucks and ask.
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this was a Significant show.
Another water saving tip.me and my boyfriend brought a camel pack,back. Whatever it's called,haha we brought one filled it with ice water from the park stuck it in the back pack it was PERFECT!!! We only got drinks for meals and it keeps us hydrated!
Megan M I've always wondered about those. I always see them here at Disneyland and I'm always curious if people really have water in them or are they chugging booze instead. 😂
sokcheapet 😂😂😂 omg I never even thought of that!! you could totally put alcohol in it.
So glad Steve is back. Enjoy what he has to say & love his writing.Yay Steve🤗👍👏🏻
Thanks Grace!
BJ's also sells $100 disney gift cards for $95, same as the Target saving with the red card.
And Walmart/Sams
Patrick Clark thanks :')
Rollercoaster Rider thanks!!!!
Costco too.
i've always said that park hoppers are a waste of money other than the 'slowest' season at wdw. typically the parks are so crowded and the wait times so long you really don't have any 'free' time to hop to another park on any given day.
you guys have the best informative shows. I've learned so much and I've been going to Disney all my life
You guys should also do one of these for Disney Cruise Line
Watched this before my last trip to Disney. Had to review again. Great Tips guys.Thanks!!!
You can also accumulate the free Target gift cards you get for purchasing certain items on sale, then use those Target gift cards to buy Disney gift cards. Free money!!!!!
sharon underwood I am going to buy my gift cards from target through the sites that give cash back (shopathome or ebates - I hope it works!! :)
It should. Any Target gift card will work.
love the prime now tip I didn't know they delivered to Disney property we will use this tip in the future
You can also skip the rental car -- especially if you're staying less than 5 days at one of the Epcot or MK resorts.
for the parkhopper depending on which resort you stay at it is sometimes easier to cut through a park to get to another rather than try to take a bus or ferry around
I am going to WDW next month. Just stopped your video, went to the uniglo website and ordered some Disney shirts - brilliant! Thanks so much for all of these tips!
Great tips!!
Quick Service restaurants usually give you water for free too. Bring a water bottle and refill :)
You can upgrade to a park hopper when you get there. My sister and I did a 2 day ticket and turned our last day into a park hopper.
Also you have about 15 minutes of black at the end of the video...
I took my wife to DW in 2014 for our 20th anniversary and had a great time (my only trip there). We're going again in the fall of 2018 for her birthday. This video is a HUGE help.
I absolutely love the Uniqlo store. That was a really cool addition for Disney Springs.
Target has a great selection of Disney t-shirts for about $13 a piece as well.
Wal-Mart carries Disney shirts as well. About $7 for adult shirts
Yeah they're at least $30 in the parks.
I will never book a Disney trip without Dreams. They are flawless. I'd use them even if they didn't support videos like this. Wonderful business model.
What my family used to is load up a Ten Day, Hopper Pass, Waterparks, and No-Expiration Date (when is was still a thing) which was like $550. Then we would be set for 10 visits at Disney, one day at the parks going to 3-4 parks in the day, and one day at one of the water parks. This was such a good money saving thing you could do and is such a shame you can't do it anymore.
HashBrown how much does that cost per person
I used my park hopper pass all the time. I didn't have any children with me so I wouldn't spend all day in any park especially the water parks.We would get up and go to one park , head back to our room for a swim or nap in the afternoon and then go off to epcot etc for the evening.
Today parking hopping is harder to do... with the crowds of people, and the increased waiting times to ride on 4 rides could possible take 6 to 8 hours, no time to park hop.
I got water, soda and snacks delivered to All Star Sports from a local Orlando place when I went in September. Service was amazing. They deliver it to Disney, they put it in storage and then Disney deliver it to the room.
Amazing.
We're going Jan 15th and we used the Hopper app which has the same kind of predictability you're talking about. We actually booked each flight separately, the flight there was $135 per person on virgin America and the flight back was only $65 per person!!!!! Non stops! So happy!
Great savings tips. It's amazing how much food and drinks can add up. It's Significant!!
We've bought the park hopper passes each time we went and NEVER used them. So that cost will definitely be coming off this next time. We are not park hopper people lol!
Elaine Davis we did too on our first trip when we didn't know any better.
What Steve said about the park hopper, thats exactly what we did on our first Walt Disney World trip. We dedicated one day to each park
Another water money saving tip is to go into fast service restaurants and ask for water. They give ice water for free. Especially on really hot days, this can save a lot of money.
Curtis M I do that and bring along single flavor packets to add to my water too. Walmart has them for under a buck. 🙂
Just went a couple weeks ago! It was our first time and looking back all of these hacks would help soooo soooo much!
LOVE these, guys! Great job. Lots of fun. Please keep them coming!
If you are going to Disney with children or for a long trip with enough days to spend one in each park then yes, the hopper tkts may be a waste of money! But if you are going with only adults in your party and in less days and trying to squeeze all parks in you trip hopper tkts are a must and completely worth it.
We always go only adults and we are up and going all day and way into the night! We can do 3 parks in one day taking advantages of the extra hours and special things going on. Even as I plan this trip now we are def doing MK wishes on the day we do AK, because it closes early. (7pm) wishes is at 10pm so we have plenty of time to MK thanks to the hopper pass.
gattirenata my family took full advantage of the park hopper pass to! we had 3 days and on day one we hit hollywood studios and epcot completely and had 3 hours left for magic kingdom.
To save some money, we order groceries online and it's delivered before we get there. The resorts have special areas to store it until you arrive. We buy mostly light breakfast items, drinks, and snacks. But I admit, we spend a lot on lunch/dinner because we enjoy trying the many different restaurants each trip. And of course, the DDP is a big waste of money, but I know some people love it.
Uniqlo's shirts are FANTASTIC. They are super soft and great quality. My boyfriend got a shirt with Oswald on it that he wears all the time. And the Star Wars shirt I have is so rad :)
So my best suggestion for the saving on water, and to keep hydrated, a water backpack like a camelback. I used a small one, was able to have water for my wife and I all day, could keep my camera, sunscreen, and poncho in the bag. I would fill the pouch in the bag with as much ice as I could, then fill the rest of the room with water from a gallon jug. We saved so much money, had tasty water all the time that was easy to carry, and the ice in the back actually kept my back cool on the hot days. We loved it. We were already going to have a small backpack for our sunscreen and ponchos and stuff, a bonus of having water on hand all the time was great.
One thing to note with shipping water to the resorts or shipping anything to the resorts, there is now the resort package handling fee to think about.
Park hopper has come in handy on those days when a lot of the rides are closed most of the day due to weather or if we want to do hollywood studios and epcot in the same day or to go back and ride a ride we missed....but that was only happened maybe 3 of the 5 times we've gone. It really helped last year with MK was rained out-we wouldn't have been able to ride splash mountain or big thunder mountain if it wasn't for park hopper! Other than that, I think this year, no park hopper for the first time! let's hope we don't get rained out!
There are Disney stores near the parks that sell last season's Disney souvenirs. They're heavily discounted and accept Disney gift cards.
JetBlue is fantastic and you get 1 checked bag on most of their flights.
I would add these tips:
1. Staying off property. If you're willing to make the tradeoff of not staying at a Disney owned property, the savings are noticeable.
2. If you are a member of an AFL-CIO affiliated union, look at UnionPlus dot org. You can get sizeable discounts on park tickets and hotels.
3. If you are a member of AAA or AARP, use those discounts.
The backpack comment is really good, however there are attractions in AK that you need to locker up for (i think Kali)
Yes omg the water and sodas add up.. especially for those of us not used to hot climate. Thank goodness for free water cups!
Amazon prime student is 50/year!!:)
Great show. If you have Amazon prime now in the U.K. can we use the same account whilst in the US?
Dean Burman did you ever get an answer to this?
Southwest includes 2 checked bags... and a carry-on
Awesome recommendations guys! I didn't know about Amazon Now. I'm definitely going to be using it in June when I go down for my Disney Wedding! :)
This was EXCELLENT!
You can also get a Disney Visa card from Chase. You get points back from each purchase. Just by booking a $3000 vacation you will receive $60 in points. Not "Significant" as Steve put it. However, that can pay for a dinner for 2 people. I use my Disney Visa throughout the year and had $200 in points to use for my upcoming trip.
For the comment on Southwest giving you a credit if your fare drops-- this is not automatic. You have to check the flights and rebook your flight using your existing confirmation number to get the credit. If you paid for your flight with a credit card, the fare difference credit is good for one year from the original day you paid for the flight. If you use Rapid Rewards points and the fare drops, the difference in points will go back to your account. But again you have to check the flights yourself. Definitely check Southwest periodically, even not during a sale, to see if fares changed.
Even if you don't purchase a dining plan, wouldn't you say it's still worth it to buy the refillable mug? Because you could refill it each time you go in and out of your resort, and get a cup of water from the quick serve restaurants or drinking fountains in the park. That way you're not paying $3 everytime you want a soda or coffee.
A Wash That would depend on wether you will use it, if you do use it than great get it. If you don't plan on being at your resort that often and not stopping by your resort food court than no dont get it simple
Hands down on flights to Orlando: Allegiant Air. 35-40$ one way. I've gotten flights for less than $90 from SC to Orlando. I swear by them! The only downside, they only fly on certain days. I will adjust my vacation to fit Allegiant's schedule :)
Thank you for all this information. We had a great trip and one part it is due to RUclipsr's with great Videos. I questioned the park hopper option and went with it, the reason we did and are grateful we did is because we stayed on property at the Beach Club Resort. We would go to a park during the day, go back to the resort and go to Epcot for dinner or get a Fast Pass, go on one ride, eat then back to the hotel. Epcot food is a park in in of itself...Yummo!
We always get all our souvenirs at the Walmart near Disney. They are around $7-8, normal Walmart price. But the location there has so much Disney merch that is way cheaper (and sometimes better) than the stuff in the parks.
glad I'm a Florida resident! tickets are cheaper and it's only a 7 hour drive for me. also not staying at a Disney resort is so much cheaper. some hotels have shuttles for the parks and also buying a hotel is alot cheaper if you get through Groupon! free complimentary continental breakfast is a must as well! can't wait for my trip in 10 months!
I like to bring a Brita filtering water bottle into the park. Fill it up anywhere and it still tastes good!
Also, free ice water is available at any counter service in Disney.
I've been a pass holder for years and I didn't know about the Target card and the Amazon water, great tips! It's interesting the Disney dining plan was not mentioned.... I've personally have never use it because I enjoy having the freedom of choosing where and when to eat but I've always wondered if it's worth it. I tried the quick service dining plan at Universal for the first time during the holidays, and i thought it did save us some money.
Or you can either bring in a reusable water bottle or use your first water to replace it at the multitude of water fountains. It may be florida water but you can sometimes luck out at some restauraunts that might have filtered. huge savings that way.
If you have very little kids, you can buy Disney souvenirs before you go (even second hand if they look good) and give your kids the souvenirs in the parks. We did that with Winnie the Pooh plush toys and we gave them to our kids right after going on the Winnie the Pooh ride at MK. To them, it was no different than if we had bought the $30 toys in the store.
I just clicked dreams unlimited travel to see what my options are and prices will be from Seattle to Disney World 🤞🏾
Great tips! We already forego the park hopper (we bought it for our first visit and didn't use it). We already buy Disney shirts before traveling and sometimes pins for the kids to trade (disneystore.com, amazon.com, hottopic.com). And, we bring our own snacks into the parks (never thought about using Amazon Prime though). I'm not sure what sites my husband uses to research our flights. This is helpful! Thank you!
Lisa Secula
I wish Pete Werner were my uncle 😔
glad i found you guys. love the videos!
I would pack retort packages of tuna fish, sliced bread and bring them into the parks and use the parks free condiment packages of mayo and relish and make the kids hobo tuna fish sandwiches. They loved them and I saved a bundle on in park purchased foods.
Question: It's not worth spending a full day at Hollywood Studios. So isn't it worth purchasing a park-hop pass so one can hop to another park the day one goes to Hollywood Studios?
I would make my second half of the day an early evening pool hanging out and then maybe an evening at Disney Springs .
Ray D if you go during not so scary Halloween party or isnt there a Christmas party to? you have to buy those tickets full price. so go to Hollywood studios in the morning the the parties at night
It might be a full day after the addition of Toy Story and Star Wars lands.
When we went to hollywood studios we had a nice late sleep in day got to the park at 12 and then did disney after hours in the evening, no park hopper required. You could also skip a party and plan on a nice evening at Disney Springs
Ray D😀😀😀👍🏼😏
I'm not sure if it's been mentioned, but you can also get free water at most quick service locations.
I wish I could get a park hopper for one or two days out of a seven day ticket.
Not everyone has a Target near their house...we do not have a Target in our state. We would have to travel to another state to go to a Target. It is a bummer because I would love to be able to do what you suggested in number 1.
I've bought Uniqlo shirts online. They're great!
How do you guys feel about the new bus system available? The one where you can take the bus from inside the park to outside the park? I'd love to know
Loved this show, great job and tips! I have LOVED Amazon Prime for a long time, but did not know abut Prime Now. I wonder how the new $5 fee for getting stuff delivered to a Disney resort works.
I have used amazon prime now 3 times so far without any incidents. $5.00 resort charge per delivery for outside items, like amazon, garden grocer, etc.
Diane Davis How does that work? do you just enter the resort address ? My family is considering doing this. we have 2 small kids so the snacks for us would be really good.
I haven't done this in a long time, but I'm sure it still works the same way as it used to - if you are not in your room, the grocery delivery places will give your stuff to Bell Services, indicating which stuff needs refrigeration, which Bell Services will do. Bell Services will then bring you your bags when you get in, and call them (they left messages on my room phone before I had a cell phone, which is the last time I did this).
I know I've used grocery delivery services in the past, and they all had all the resort's addresses plugged into their online ordering form. I would assume Amazon might too - I would drop them a quick email and ask, and call the resort for their address, or look it up on the web.
Yep, you just enter the resort address. You have your primary address already on there. You shop by the hotels zip code, then once your order is complete, enter the hotels address for delivery.
You can also save 4% on Disney gift cards at BJs. Depending on the membership you use, your purchases accrue towards BJs credits. You can earn $20 BJ credits which you can also use to buy Disney Gift Cards. If you use a your Disney Visa to make purchases of gift cards, you also save another 1%, plus 4%, plus the BJs credits to use on more gift cards.
Park Hopper: The shorter your stay, the more useful you'll find this. Also, if you're using old Worldpassport or Park Hopper tix with unused days, you'll get fresh Park Hoppers. Pre-2004 Disney tix do not expire.
Park Hopper is now more important because you can only FastPass 3 attractions per day at WDW and the wait times are always long - you'll never get thru Magic Kingdom in one day/visit. And if you don't have 7+ days there - you have to hit 2 parks each day now that there are night events at AKP.
Our first trip to Disney World we didn't know anything about the parks and winged it. (Luckily we still had a good time lol). Bought park hoppers and what a waste of money that was! We had no idea how huge DW is and all that it offered. Now that we have been several times, we have no desire to park hop. We immerse ourself in each park for the day and just enjoy it. Plus save a lot of money! Great tips :)
You don't need to go through Amazon for cheap drinks. If you have a Sam's Club card, there's a store on 9498 S Orange Blossom Trail if you're trying to find one near WDW. Also, Disney kiosks do NOT charge you for a cup of ice water. I tried it at a kiosk and she gave me a cup right there.
This is so helpful! Thank you guys! 👍🏽😃
On our 7 day with park hopper trip we only park hopped one day and could have arranged our schedule to avoid it. I will not pay extra in future to do so, just plan better :)
The Disney store has sales throughout the year and especially they have two big ones where a lot of their stuff is actually 70% off. Before I went to Disney my last time I had a bunch of Disney t-shirts ordered in advance and some of them were even less than $10. I also bought Disney souvenirs before I left and gave them to my grandsons when I got back and they didn't have a clue that I didn't actually buy them at Disney . Plus if you have Disney Chase card and an item at the Disney Store is marked down in price you can get an additional 10% off. If their sale is based on percentages such as 20% off, then you cannot get another 10% discount. It has to be when they are actually showing the reduced price rather than just a percent off. You can get some really good bargains during their special twice a year sales and can even buy your Disney towels before you go on your trip. I'm sure there's a thrill in waiting and buying something at Disney but you can definitely limit the number of items you would buy at Disney because you already bought them up to 50% off or more. Plus anything that you buy with the Chase Disney card you can earn Disney reward points that convert into money and Disney can send you a rewards card with that amount of money on it and you can use it just like a gift card with some restrictions.
Also definitely should have mentioned the official Disney parks outlets in Orlando
Gypsy Monster I love the character warehouses at the premium outlets found a nice Disneyland 60th anniversary castle reg. $140 marked down to $30
How do you guys feel about meal plans? I've never done it. It probably doesn't save money but you can pre-pay.
Dustin Decker If you plan on eating steak and lobster every meal it might save you a few bucks. The dining plan is meant to be a convience to have all of your meals prepaid for rather than a "money saving" thing. Plus it can get confusing trying to keep track of meal entitlements. I can't tell you how many times I have seen people arguing w/cast members at food locations about how many food credits they are supposed to have left.
Dustin Decker If you plan on eating steak and lobster every meal it might save you a few bucks. The dining plan is meant to be a convience to have all of your meals prepaid for rather than a "money saving" thing. Plus it can get confusing trying to keep track of meal entitlements. I can't tell you how many times I have seen people arguing w/cast members at food locations about how many food credits they are supposed to have left.
Great video and tips. Thanks for the info.
Not sure if Target gift card is really a money saver. When you buy the card you pay sales tax. That is in addition to the sales tax you pay when you use the card. The only way it is a money saver is if you pay less than 5 percent sales tax when you buy the card. A better tip would be to purchase an annual pass and take your next year's vacation a few weeks before the pass expires.
Don't like purchasing Park Hopper but dining reservations are so hard to get at some parks that we end up usually having to go to another park to eat...usually Epcot
patti McAuliffe that's because many people start making their dining reservations 6 months in advance.
i am planning a trip in June i went to target today for the gift card money saving and they informed us they do not do 5% of with gifts cards anymore.
sarah skinner Go to Sams Club, online they offer a $500 gift card for about $474 from time to time
I just went and did it last night and got the 5% discount.
I got the 5% at Target. Maybe you could check again. I just did this 2 weeks ago.
For flights, use google.com/flights. You set it up to follow flights and it will alert you when prices change. Watches all airlines!
Prime Now saved our last Disney vacation. I needed to buy some personal care items (tampons... sorry boys, I know that may have frightened you). The selection in the resort store was pathetic and about 4 times the price you'd pay at the grocery store. Prime Now had what I needed and a great price, plus some snacks for my kids (had to get to the $20 minimum) and the delivery driver what incredibly nice. Looking forward to using it next time we travel.
I think you should explain how your commission works more often. I assumed it would be an additional charge for the people booking trips. I've looked through the site and never saw how it works either. I bet there are a lot of people who resist using your company because, would they rather pay an out of pocket commission, or spend a couple more days in the parks? That's a no brainer - but it's based on misinformation.
there's a Walgreens where u can get toys shirts etec not far from the park....n u can stay at knight hotel which is 5 mins away from disneyworld ..u are just going to spend the night...is a normal hotel is not all that but is cheaper.
I'm going June 3-8, I went when I was 9 and now I'm 18. What parks should I definitely go to and what parks should I skip on?
I buy my leaving returning flights separately. For my last trip I did Southwests Gotta Get Away and only paid 100 total. Of course I was doing a solo trip so that made it cheaper.
My last Disney trip was only two days. I disagree with the park hopper comments. I think it is a benefit especially if you’re going during a lot of EMH days. It gives you time to take a rest at the resort and explore another park because how much can you do at AK and HS. I don’t do the thrill rides so most of my time is at the shows or at MK. So I like having short hours at those parks to have more st others. Love your videos !
I always buy my daughter a ton of Disney themed shirts at Target and Old Navy and then she has cool Disney clothes and I don't have to buy a ton of expensive clothes to buy on property. I also buy her the stuffed toys of her favorite characters before we go at other cheaper places. She is excited to have Mickey and Minnie and Pooh to snuggle and all three cost me less than one at the parks.