Tips about Epcot, Mousecellaneous, Planning, Resorts, Rewards and Souvenirs
Boardwalk Villas - I have a money-saving tip for all of the BoardWalk hotel guests staying without cars. As DVC members we almost always stay at our home resort, the Boardwalk. We also use Magical Express and never bother to rent a car while there. (Gotta love that free Disney transportation!) Luckily there is a Hess station across the street from our resort entrance. On our first day there my husband and I will unpack one of our large suitcases and wheel it on over to that Hess station where we fill up on gallons of water, bottles of soda, orange juice and beer, plus some snacks and simple breakfast foods to stock our hotel fridge. We may look a little strange loading all that up into a suitcase and walking back to our hotel but we are able to stock up on drinks for a whole week at less than half the cost of the resort. - Erin
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It's great to be on vacation knowing you worked ahead of time to pay the trip off in advance and won't have a large bill waiting upon your return. However, I earn a bit more by saving the cash/expense money I expect for tips and other spending and add it to my credit card right before I leave. This way I charge the tips and other items and earn the "points" on my card for a future use! And there are no worries about losing the cash. Same planning, just getting a little "extra" for another trip! - Lisa
Don't forget to take advantage of any discounts when you're shopping. There are discounts of 10 percent or more for Annual Passholders, Disney Vacation Club members, Disney VISA Cardholders and D23 members, possibly even AAA members. Sometimes the cast members are nice enough to remind you, but sometimes even they forget, so always be sure to ask! - Debbie
Ever since my son was small, I have purchased Disney plush characters at home, at either a drug store or when The Disney Store has sales. I bring them hidden in our luggage and surprise him with one every day we're at WDW. He believes it's Disney magic that he gets a fun, new toy every day! He doesn't ask for as many toys from the parks and I save a ton of money not having to pay retail prices! - Nancy Cohan
A great way to save money is pre-purchase Disney souvenirs for your kids before you leave for your trip. You can then surprise them every morning with something new. Whether it just be a dollar store Mickey sticker book or a new t-shirt, your child will love it and you will save money! My mother did this on our 1998 trip and to this day I can remember receiving something every morning from a character. - Jessica Stahl
The $1 section of Target and Michaels craft stores always have Disney items. Check out your local Disney Store and Disneystore.com to buy items for the kids before you get there and present them as a gift. I am not going to lie, we still buy stuff at the parks, but give the kids a limit. Also if you drive like we do, check out the Disney outlets in St. Augustine and Orlando. - Michelle G.
For someone who wants to visit the parks often and have a souvenir each time without spending a ton of money, postcards are the key! Postcards are like miniature art. Upon your return, they can be framed, made into a collage, or even turned into a border around the room. On the back, you can also write the date or even a message about unique details from that trip. - Crissy Stout
Put money you would spend on food onto American Express gift cards, especially if they can be purchased as part of a school fundraiser (http://www.shopwithscrip.com)!. - Cindy
We have learned how to do "Disney on a Dime". All my husband's business expenses go on our Disney Visa Card so that we can get about $1000 a year in reward dollars to put toward our trip (you could also do this with personal expenses). We pay the entire balance every month so there are no charges. - Tammy Wilczek
A way my family saves money is by using Mypoints and cashing in our points for gift cards. I have been able to redeem my points for $50 gift cards to BP and Shell gas, $50 Visa gift cards and gift cards to restaurants, i.e. Rainforest Cafe, Subway, etc. All you have to do is click on emails, take surveys and buy through Mypoints from your favorite retailers to earn points on purchases. For our trip this March, my mom and I cashed in points between the two of us for $200 worth of Visa gift cards that we are using for food, gas and souvenirs in Disney World! - Shannon Mason
We rack up Disney Reward Dollars on the Disney Visa like mad for the time between trips. We recently upgraded to the new premier version of the card, and that has helped immensely! Two percent back on groceries and gas? DONE! We use it like a debit card and just pay it off each month. That really helps! Then we cash it in right before the trip and use it for food, souvenirs, park tickets, etc. - Faith
The best thing we ever did was to get a Starwood American Express card. Starwood Hotels runs the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin. You accumulate points through purchases. We haven't paid for lodging on our last two Disney trips. And I think we found out about it on AllEars.Net! - Julie Maguire
