Category — The Tightwad’s Guide to Walt Disney World

THE LEAST EXPENSIVE ON-SITE OPTION FOR LARGE FAMILIES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Welcome to the first stop aboard Magical Blogorail Teal. Enjoy the ride as this month we discuss some lesser known tips and tricks for Walt Disney World visitors.

This site has tons of advice for large families trying to figure out where to stay.  It begins here, then continues with

• Large Families: Value Prices
• Large Families: Deluxe Spaces and
• Beds and Sleeping Spaces

But there’s no great lower-priced answer for staying on site with a really large group–say ten people.

What I recommend on Large Families: Value Prices for groups of this size is a family suite and a standard room at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, at a price (during the 2013 Fall price season)  of $45/person/night. Another even less expensive option is two Alligator Bayou rooms at  Port Orleans Riverside, at $41/person/night.

The problem with both these options is that your rooms might be a real hike apart…and no one would ever call them cheap…

Or ten people could tent-camp at The Campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort for about $62 bucks a night during the same season*…or about $6.20 per person per night.

Fort Wilderness campsites hold as many as ten people, and, in a change from past practice, there’s no difference in cost between one person and ten on the site. That’s my lesser known tip!

However, tent camping at Disney World is not for the inexperienced, and not really a good idea for first time visitors.

PROS AND CONS OF LARGE FAMILIES TENT CAMPING AT FORT WILDERNESS [Read more →]

(This page is part of the series The Tightwad’s Guide to Walt Disney World)

THE CHEAPEST NIGHT OF THE WEEK TO CHECK IN AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Carl at Dad’s Guide to WDW has a great post here on which night to check in most weeks to make your total hotel bill the lowest.

Carl’s suggestion works most weeks, unless, as he notes, your trip is exactly seven nights long, or a multiple of 7,  such as 63 nights. [Read more →]

THE TIGHTWAD’S GUIDE TO WALT DISNEY WORLD

I’ve been publishing material in the series The Tightwad’s Guide to Walt Disney World for months now–giving alternatives to this site’s main guidance on key topics such as when to go, how long to stay, where to stay, how to eat, etc.

But I’ve never properly introduced this series.

So here’s the formal introduction!  [Read more →]

This is the second page on this topic.  For the first page, click here.

GOING TO HESS, ESPECIALLY FOR BEER AND SNACKS

Even well-stocked Disney stores have a very limited selection. Moreover, as noted above, beer and smokes will kill your budget.

So the answer—especially if you are looking for beer and smokes—Mickey would not approve, but Donald would—is to find your way to getting at least some of your supplies outside of your resort.

There are three Hess stores on property—one of which is accessible to all Disney World resort guests, and another to those staying at a deluxe Epcot resort.

Hess isn’t going to solve “food” problems—e.g. you can get bread there, but not butter—but is great for snacks and other convenience store items.

Note also that you can’t get hard liquor in the Hess stores noted below—for these you’ll need to find your way to one of the two grocery stores listed after them, each of which is accompanied by a liquor store. Hard liquor savings can repay the cost of a cab.

Two of these Hess stores are easily reachable to Walt Disney World resort hotel guests without cars—one near the BoardWalk Inn, best for those at one of the Epcot deluxe resorts, and one near Downtown Disney, best for everyone else. [Read more →]

(This page is part of the series The Tightwad’s Guide to Walt Disney World)

EATING ON THE CHEAP AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

This site recommends here that families following one of its itineraries purchase the Disney Dining Plan, and has other suggestions here for those who can’t, or won’t.

This page addresses a different group: those trying to spend the least possible on food at Walt Disney World.

It’s part of the The Tightwad’s Guide to Walt Disney World, a series about the most inexpensive way  to visit Walt Disney World.

BASICS OF DISNEY WORLD DINING

The basic dining plan can be quite expensive unless you were going to buy the same number of sit down meals anyway.  The quick service dining plan is much less expensive, and, particularly if your kids are younger than 10 when they visit, can be hard to beat.

But even so, neither of these plans will cover everything you eat, and some may wish to spend even less than the cheaper dining plan costs.

The only way to do that is to gather and assemble meals and snacks in your room, taking some of them into the parks with you to eat there.  This works very well for breakfasts, sandwiches—which can be either lunch or dinner—and snacks.

Doing so will cost you time, both gathering your foodstuffs, and preparing them.

The rest of this page has some suggestions on how to gather your supplies. [Read more →]

This page is part of the series The Tightwad’s Guide to Walt Disney World

OVERVIEW: AIR TRAVEL 201–THE TIGHTWAD’S GUIDE TO CHEAP FLIGHTS TO WALT DISNEY WORLD

This page contains help for finding cheap flights to Walt Disney World.

It assumes that you know a thing or two about flying.

If not, check out the “Air Travel 101 for Walt Disney World” material that begins here.

If you are an expert on air travel already, or just looking for even more information, a very rich source of advice on air travel and other travel topics can be found in Scott McCartney’s The Wall Street Journal Guide to Power Travel.

[Read more →]