March 2010 April 2010 May 2010 June 2010 July 2010
August 2010
September 2010 October 2010
November 2010
December 2010 January 2011 February 2011 March 2011 April 2011 May 2011 June 2011 July 2011 August 2011 September 2011 October 2011 November 2011 December 2011 January 2012 February 2012 March 2012 April 2012 May 2012 June 2012 July 2012 August 2012 September 2012 October 2012 November 2012 December 2012 January 2013 February 2013 March 2013 April 2013 May 2013 June 2013 July 2013 August 2013 September 2013 October 2013 November 2013 December 2013 January 2014 February 2014 March 2014 April 2014 May 2014 June 2014 July 2014 August 2014 September 2014 October 2014 November 2014 December 2014 January 2015 February 2015 March 2015 April 2015 May 2015 June 2015 July 2015 August 2015 September 2015 October 2015 November 2015 December 2015 January 2016 February 2016 March 2016 April 2016 May 2016 June 2016 July 2016 August 2016 September 2016 October 2016 November 2016 December 2016 January 2017 February 2017 March 2017 April 2017 May 2017 June 2017 July 2017 August 2017 September 2017 October 2017 November 2017 December 2017 January 2018 February 2018 March 2018 April 2018 May 2018 June 2018 July 2018 August 2018 September 2018 October 2018 November 2018 December 2018 January 2019 February 2019 March 2019 April 2019 May 2019 June 2019 July 2019 August 2019 September 2019 October 2019 November 2019 December 2019 January 2020 February 2020 March 2020 April 2020 May 2020 June 2020 July 2020 August 2020 September 2020 October 2020 November 2020 December 2020 January 2021 February 2021 March 2021 April 2021 May 2021 June 2021 July 2021 August 2021 September 2021 October 2021 November 2021 December 2021 January 2022 February 2022 March 2022 April 2022 May 2022 June 2022 July 2022 August 2022 September 2022 October 2022 November 2022 December 2022 January 2023 February 2023 March 2023 April 2023 May 2023 June 2023 July 2023 August 2023 September 2023 October 2023 November 2023 December 2023 January 2024 February 2024 March 2024 April 2024 May 2024 June 2024 July 2024 August 2024 September 2024 October 2024
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31
News Every Day |

My family tried 5 hacks to save time and money at Disney World. Most of them failed, but we learned tips for next time.

My family tried a few tricks to save money and time during a Disney World trip.
  • My family of five tried money-saving and time-saving hacks during a trip to Disney World.
  • Ordering groceries to our room backfired, and we wish we had just paid for PhotoPass in advance.
  • Not working with a travel planner was a mistake — and it would've been free. 

If you've been to Disney World, you know those memories come with a high price tag. 

Even regulars can feel it, as Disney just raised the prices of its annual passes — some by $100. 

Planning a trip is anything but easy, and going isn't cheap, so after reading countless articles on both time- and money-saving hacks for the parks, my family thought we'd give some a go.

Here's why they generally weren't worth the effort (and what we found worked instead).

Ordering groceries to our hotel sounded like a good idea, but it backfired 

Trick: Order groceries and snacks to your hotel to save money on food and drinks at the parks

Ordering groceries to be delivered where you're staying sounded like a good way to save money instead of buying pricey food at the parks, but it didn't work for us.

Unfortunately, the order we placed with a nearby supermarket got lost. By the time the store located it, we were back home.

On our next trip, instead of risking our groceries not getting delivered, we took advantage of free checked bags on Southwest and packed a suitcase filled with snacks. This saved us money throughout the day when our kids got hungry. 

We also brought along reusable water bottles and filled them up at breakfast and for free throughout Disney at filling stations or quick-service restaurants. This saved us money on drinks and kept us hydrated in the hot Florida sun. 

We skipped the PhotoPass to save money but regretted it and spent more to buy it later 

Disney has professional photographers that can be paid to take pictures of guests.

Trick: Save money by taking your own pictures instead of paying $170 or more for the PhotoPass Memory Maker service, Disney's professional photography service offered throughout the parks.

Skipping this service seemed like a no-brainer way to save money since we could just take photos on our phones.

As it turns out, professionals take way better photos than we ever could. More importantly, the PhotoPass photographers can take photos in places where visitors can't, like on rides. The pros also made it way easier for my whole family to get photos together without asking strangers to take them for us. 

Once we realized how awesome PhotoPass pictures were, we bought the package. It cost us $200 in the parks, which was $30 more than if we'd just bought it in advance.

We also missed out on a lot of photo opportunities. Had we been on board right away, we would've stopped and taken more pictures. Essentially, we paid more money for fewer photos, and it was our own fault.

We flew in early to have more time at the parks on our first day, but it kind of backfired 

We didn't see much of Disney World at night because our kids got tired.

Trick: Get an early flight on the first day of your vacation to maximize your time at Disney World parks

We got a 5 a.m. flight to Orlando, stopped by our resort to drop off our bags, and got to the parks before noon. I really thought we'd won this one ... but it all fell apart shortly before dinner.

The kids got cranky. They were exhausted, not only from walking around the park all day in the sun, but also from being awoken from their slumber at 3:30 a.m. to go to the airport.

We ended up going back to the resort much earlier than anticipated, missing all of the nighttime fun, including the fireworks. This trick might be better suited for teens or adults. 

Planning the trip on my own didn't save me money or time

Trick: Skip the travel planner and book a trip on your own so it's personalized and as affordable as possible. 

I have always been a do-it-myself type of travel planner. And not to brag, but I nailed it on our first trip to Disney. Everything went great, and my family had a fabulous time. But looking back, I'm not sure I did. 

I made great memories, but it wasn't a vacation — it was a quest to get the best deals, the right reservations, the perfect meals, and more.

But at least it was cheaper than hiring a travel planner, right? Nope.

For our next trip, I enlisted a Disney trip planner who did all of the work of making reservations and got us a lot of the best rates available.

This isn't the case for all travel planners, but the Disney trip planner cost us nothing. Since we stayed on Disney property for three nights, she earned a commission from Disney — not us. 

For free, she booked our trip and answered questions throughout the entire vacation. I was way less stressed and more present with my kids because I didn't have to spend time buried in my phone figuring out the next plan. 

Using Disney gift cards for souvenirs worked for most of our kids 

We all know Disney isn't cheap.

Trick: Give your kids Disney gift cards with a set amount so they can buy souvenirs while sticking to a set budget. 

Some travel blogs suggest buying your kids Disney gift cards before the trip so they can use a set amount of money to purchase souvenirs. The gift cards can be purchased in advance at stores like Target and Walmart. 

By giving your kids gift cards, they know exactly how much money they have to spend during the trip, and you easily set a budget. For a minute, I thought this one would pay off.

Two of our kids took those gift cards down to almost nothing, but our third just isn't a big shopper, and he left a bunch of money on the card.

The cards don't expire, so technically, we aren't out anything, but now we have to figure out what to do with this gift card back home. If this was cash, we could spend it where we wanted, but since it's on a card, we're forced to figure out how to spend it on the Disney website. 

Overall, after experiencing the ups and (mostly) downs of these travel hacks on our first adventure, we decided to just embrace spending more on our next visit to Disney World.

This story was originally published on October 2, 2023, and most recently updated on October 30, 2024.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Киев

Раздача тысячи гривен от Зеленского оказалась западней: так Киев отчаянно пытается отловить уклонистов

Lindsay Hubbard's Baby Shower Details Revealed, Including Which 'Summer House' Co-Stars Attend

Bay Area high school football: Weekend scoreboard, how Top 25 fared

Revealed: SC Freedom Caucus leader had numerous electronics seized by federal officers

You need the eyes of a movie hero to spot the 5 horror villains lurking near the crime scene in under 90 secs

Ria.city






Read also

Corpus Christi Catholic Church Chambersburg Mass Times

TUI Airways returns to small UK airport for the first time in 15 years – with new flights to Spain

Transcript: Trump’s NYC Rally Could Cost Him Must-Win PA, GOPer Says

News, articles, comments, with a minute-by-minute update, now on Today24.pro

News Every Day

Lindsay Hubbard's Baby Shower Details Revealed, Including Which 'Summer House' Co-Stars Attend

Today24.pro — latest news 24/7. You can add your news instantly now — here


News Every Day

Bay Area high school football: Weekend scoreboard, how Top 25 fared



Sports today


Новости тенниса
ATP

Карен Хачанов выиграл девять из последних десяти матчей на турнирах ATP



Спорт в России и мире
Москва

Мебельная компания «Мария» поддержит шахматистку-вундеркинда из Саратова



All sports news today





Sports in Russia today

Москва

Слушатель «Авторадио» едет в Абу-Даби на «Формулу-1»


Новости России

Game News

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 meta guns and loadouts


Russian.city


Москва

Заместитель управляющего Отделением Фонда пенсионного и социального страхования Российской Федерации по г. Москве и Московской области Алексей Путин: «Клиентоцентричность - наш приоритет»


Губернаторы России
Петербург

Орловчанки завоевали золото в женских соревнованиях по боксу в Санкт-Петербурге


РЭО определил регионы с нехваткой контейнеров для ТКО

В Мытищах состоялась отчетно-выборная конференция профсоюза жизнеобеспечения

В Москве открылась выставка «Трын*Трава. Современный русский стиль»

В Мытищах состоялась отчетно-выборная конференция профсоюза жизнеобеспечения


Полиция привлекла к ответственности рэпера Noize MC* за дискредитацию ВС РФ

Рэпер Тимати показал, как выглядит без усов и бороды

«Какая же она взрослая»: Волочкова показала 19-летнюю дочь (фото)

Суд в Москве оставил под стражей женщину-курьера по делу квартиры Ларисы Долиной


София Кенин впервые за 13 месяцев вышла в финал WTA и вернётся в топ-100

Познер о включении Шараповой в Зал славы: «Представители тенниса умнее и дальновиднее своих коллег по другим видам спорта»

Рахимова обыграла Приданкину и вышла в 1/4 финала турнира WTA в Цзюцзяне

Карен Хачанов выиграл девять из последних десяти матчей на турнирах ATP



Объемы продаж цветных бриллиантов в России выросли на 43%: лидируют Краснодар, Казань и Воронеж

Лидером по наличию мусорных контейнеров стала Амурская область

В Москве и Московской области жилищные условия за счет материнского капитала улучшили свыше 537,8 тысячи семей

Заместитель управляющего Отделением Фонда пенсионного и социального страхования Российской Федерации по г. Москве и Московской области Алексей Путин: «Клиентоцентричность - наш приоритет»


РЕАЛЬНАЯ ПРЕМИЯ MUSICBOX возвращается: 20-летие канала в ритме хитов

Телеканал ТНТ объявляет дату премьеры сериала об эйджизме в личных отношениях «Макрон» с Алексеем Лукиным и Мариной Александровой

Телеканал ТНТ объявляет дату премьеры сериала об эйджизме в личных отношениях «Макрон» с Алексеем Лукиным и Мариной Александровой

«Грузовичкоф» на круглом столе РБК Петербург


Зачем туристы едут на Алтай, и сколько стоит отдых там осенью?

В Подмосковье рассказали, можно ли принимать антибиотики во время беременности

NewsNN: нижегородцы считают Автозаводский район лучшим для жизни

Компания «Мария» рассказала о новых решениях для девелопмента на конференции Московского Бизнес-клуба



Путин в России и мире






Персональные новости Russian.city
Песня

Песня «Ставрополье» прозвучала в Государственном Кремлевском Дворце



News Every Day

Revealed: SC Freedom Caucus leader had numerous electronics seized by federal officers




Friends of Today24

Музыкальные новости

Персональные новости