Posted: 02/09/2007--25/11/2008 || Rate this Article: 3 || Views|| Sign In || Register ||Hello Guest
Disney World, located in Orlando, Florida, is one of the most popular vacation spots in the world. Visitors from all over the globe make the trek to this mega park year round. But even though Disney World is a vacation hot spot, it isnt a cheap vacation. Although tourists can find nearby hotels at sometimes deeply discounted rates, there are many other expenses such as park tickets and food that can raise the expense of a Disney World vacation.
Many times tourists dont want to take the time to plan their vacation, so they use a travel agent to book everything, including rooms, tickets, and even airfares. While this may be your best bet, many times it pays to shop around, especially on the Internet. There are many wonderful websites that can save potential vacationers some money. Be sure and visit any message boards you can find regarding accommodations and airfare for Disney World. Sometimes the best advice you can get is from others just like you who already have experience vacationing in the particular area you want to visit.
While the idea doesnt always hold true, many times you can save money by booking your room, airfare, and tickets separately. If you really want to save money, search for the best rates individually before you resort to buying a package deal online or visiting a travel agent. Again, there are several helpful websites that give you the inside track as to what hotels are available at discount prices. If you want to stay in the park, it will definitely be worth your time to search message boards for the best Disney website. Many times, you can get a room inside the park at a great rate. Keep in mind that you will also be saving time and maybe gas and parking by staying at one of the Disney resorts. You might also get in earlier at the parks. These are all important things to consider.
Saving money on tickets is another story. It is almost impossible to find much variety in the price of buying tickets. You might save a few dollars, but most park tickets, whether they are park hoppers or individual day tickets, can rarely be found at deeply discounted prices. If you are really desperate to save money, however, there are usually free ticket offers at various shops and gas stations in the Orlando area. Keep in mind, though, that nothing is free. You will have to commit to condo tours or other sales ploys to receive these tickets, and they will probably only be for one day passes. When you are planning your vacation, you need to keep in mind that purchasing tickets is probably not where you will save much if any money, but you can cut corners in many other ways.
Food is probably the next item that you will spend the most money on. If you dont plan on visiting Disney again for several years and can afford to splurge a little, you wont regret making reservations for at least one or two of the nicer, specialty restaurants in the park. However, if you eat three meals a day in the park, a family of four can end up spending a bundle.
If you are planning to stay in an area hotel outside of the park, check to see if they offer a free continental breakfast. Depending on how many people are in your party, this could save you money even if you are staying in a slightly more expensive hotel. Some hotel rooms have refrigerators or kitchenettes. If this is the case, take full advantage of it by bringing milk, juice, sandwich meat, condiments, and anything else that you can use to make a cold meal.
Your room doesnt have to have a refrigerator for you to save money, though. Coolers come in so many different sizes. You can replace the ice in your cooler every day of your stay and still keep perishables cold. You can also bring along an electric cooler if your room allows.
It is a good idea to keep canned or bottled soft drinks and snacks such as candy, peanut butter crackers, chips, and fruit in your room so that you arent running to the snack machines every time you or someone in your party gets the munchies. If you plan on keeping milk in a cooler, then bring cereal along with any other breakfast foods. If you eat breakfast in your room, that is one meal that you havent had to buy at the expensive rates in the park.
Have every one in your group wear a backpack if possible. You can fill the backpacks with all sorts of snacks to battle your hunger cravings as you stroll around the park or wait in lines. If you really dont want to use a backpack, at least use a fanny pack. If everyone wears one of these, you can still bring lots of snacks, including crackers, granola and breakfast bars, and candy that wont melt.
Buying drinks in the park can become quite expensive. If you do bring backpacks, put juice cartons in your cooler the night before, then place them in your fanny pack the next morning. One of your best bets is to buy water bottles that are attached to a belt. You wont even notice the water bottles as you walk around the park, but youll be grateful for them, especially on hot days. You can refill them at various areas of the park. With a little planning, you can take care of two meals a day at a minimum of expense, leaving you a little extra cash to splurge on one meal a day in the park, if you choose.
Of course all of the Disney shops are full of tempting merchandise, and you dont want to go home empty handed. Before you ever get to Disney World, however, you might want to check out some of the area discount stores for t-shirts, hats, necklaces, and other souvenirs. Many times you can find the same or nearly the same items at much better prices than the ones you might pay in the parks.
Finally, you need to plan ahead as to how much you will allow yourself and others in your group to spend daily. If you have money left over on the last day, then you can be a little more extravagant. With a little planning and some common sense, you can have a wonderful vacation at Walt Disney World without going broke.
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