How I save at Walt Disney World & Universal Orlando.

We are planning a Walt Disney World vacation, I am such a frugal person I save even when there. When we were on a budget I did Disney cheap, when we had no budget I did Disney expensive. This vacation will be a bit of both, the frugal will never leave me.

We are thinking of staying off-site, well not really off-site Downtown Disney, Hilton in Downtown Disney, I am a Hilton Honors member & I have 2 free nights, so it looks like we'll use it sooner than I thought we would.

How do I save when I go to WDW? I am going to post a few articles that are how I save. As a South Florida resident I go to Disney, 4 or more times a year. I try to be frugal, so that I can go to WDW as much as I want to. But I do not even think I begin to know all there is about saving, so if anyone has any tips, please share.

I was shocked when, several years ago I looked at the receipts in my pocket when I got back to my hotel room. The receipts I had in my pocket, were only for bottled water we spent $60.00 in water, 2 bottles for 5.00 x 12 times. Granted it was a hot day 99 degrees humidity 98%! This was the first day of the vacation! I had a budget - No way could I afford this added expense for the rest of the 7 days in Orlando!

Quick thinking let me remember I had coffee maker, microwave oven & refigerator in room, I asked front desk at the hotel, for directions to Walmart, picked up bottled water, bottled soda, juice, coffee, milk, cereal, muffins fruit, snacks.

The next day we went to Magic Kingdom I had a tote bag with six bottles of water, three were frozen from the tiny freezer. I put the water in a zippered plastic bag (I saved from sheets I had purchased), to prevent leekage, I tossed some fruit & granola bars.

At the entrance to MK, they looked in my bag, said it's gonna be a hot day, smiled at me & said have a nice day. I then learned a secret, you will not be prevented from bringing water or snacks into the parks! Wow I thought!  I did the same thing at Universal Orlando.

I have seen people eating Peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, crackers, granola bars, drinking from juice boxes or bottles of water, all pulled from tote bags, back packs, even small coolers. I have seen people eating popcorn from microwave popcorn bags also. If you ask Disney or Universal they offically they say you will not be allowed to bring in hard sided coolers, large coolers, glass containers, or alcoholic beverages.

On our last vacation at Magic Kingdom I did see a large family with a large cooler on wheels, sitting at outdoor tables in tomorrowland eating food from the cooler. I also saw a family with a stoller, no child, pushing their cooler in the stoller.

I have seen people walk in with a insulated type of plastic water bottle with ice, & seen these people asking for a cup of ice to refill this, then they use fountain water to fill the bottle back up.

So If the water you bring in get's warm, ask for a cup of ice, it may be a small cup, but it will chill the water.

A great money saving tip Rent a refigerator for your hotel room, at 5.00-10.00 a day your cost will pay for it's self in drink & snack savings, Super Walmart, Publix, and Super Target are all close by. Purchase - Bottled water (pour a crystal lite packet in for an instant drink), Bottled iced tea, fresh fruit, sandwich fixings, fresh veggie's all good snack options, get cereal & milk, muffins, even bagels and cream cheese, this can & will money. I was shocked that vending machine sodas were over $2.00 on-site Disney! (recently).

The Disboards have a frugal comments, and they also have refigerator swaps (refigerator is paid for) at certain Disney hotels. You will need to join the boards:

www.disboards.com

The Next article will deal with Dining, on & offsite.