Does anyone want to share tips to save money on a Disney trip?|162634

I am planning a vacation with my 3 children ages9,8 and 5. would like some savings tips to make the best out of our vacation.

bring your own snacks, water and stuff ( sam_s, cosco , bj_s) that way you don_t have to order room service or buy overpriced theme park food.

eat at more counter service restaurants if you want to save money but the sit-down dining is more fun.

Sure! Pack snacks in your bag at the theme parks and bottled water (refill them throughout the day), and eat at any Disney quick service restaurant -- which are the cheapest and are listed in their park maps.
When visiting any of Disney_s 2 water parks (Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach), pack a lunch for everyone in a disposable cooler (which can be purchased at a nearby wal mart or grocery store). While you can_t bring in coolers into the theme parks, they do allow it in their water parks. You_ll save quite a bit of money and your food will better than what they serve there (not the best).
Also, be sure to purchase ponchos, batteries, and film ahead of time at a target or wal mart. The parks will charge an arm and a leg for items like these.

If you would like help planning your trip, or would like some more tips and ideas, visit my Disney Vacation Blog, I_m All Ears at:


http://im-all-ears-disney-vacation-servi��


Have a great time!

Yes, buy the books. BUT here are some tips I_ve not seen anywhere else that I actually got from a Magic Kingdom employee! If your family is addicted to soft drinks and refuses to drink water - prepare to pay about $3.50 for a cup of soda. HOWEVER, if you buy a large soda with NO ICE and order cups of ice -as many as you need because they are free, you get A LOT more soda for the price. BUT, if you can get them to drink water, KoolAid or something like it that makes the little drink packets you can slip in your backpack, you can walk up to any counter service restaurant or snack location and ask for a glass of ice water. Drink it plain or drop in your packet and you have just saved $3.50 PER PERSON PER DRINK!!! We save hundreds each trip by doing this. Buy the packets of flavoring before you go and they cost about 10 cents.

ALSO, you will see EVERYONE with their fancy little water bottle misting fans. They cost about $16 at the parks. Stop at the local Wal-Mart and pick one up for $5, we did and it shut my kids up in a hurry AND felt really good in the hot sun.

I also recommend staying ON PROPERTY because you can go back and forth easily to/from the parks to play, rest and eat. You can count on a good hour or more to travel to/from hotel if you stay off property. If you have a car, just outside the Downtown Disney entrance is a road which will take you to an area with a TON of inexpensive restaurants. We brought coupons from home for Steak N Shake and ate there a time or two. Also, there are 2 McDonald_s that I know of on property.

In Magic Kingdom, we eat at Cosmic Ray_s in Tomorrow Land because they have great baskets of hamburgers/fries or hot dogs/fries with ALL the toppings on a condiment bar including melted cheese and fried onions. It was great and not overly expensive - about $7 or less for a good sized meal.

If you are going to watch a parade at night, pick up some inexpensive glow necklaces from the Dollar Store at home or order from Oriental Trading or similar and bring them with you - save $3-$5 per child on them and they WILL want them.

Side note: buying bottled water runs about $3 as well so the glass of ice water is my MAIN money saver - and it works at EVERY theme park I_ve ever been to because they don_t want people to get dehydrated. My in-laws were amazed.

Most of all, remember, this is a dream trip and dreams fulfilled don_t come cheaply. My husband and I easily drop $3000-$5000 on a trip to Disney for a week with two kids but that includes EVERYTHING.

HAVE FUN!

First purchase the Unofficial Guide to Disney and make that your bible.Secondly visit a you local disney store and splurge on sale items.Purchase Mickey dollars from that store and have the kids buy souvenirs on the LAST Day a $40 limit is good.Every ride you get off has its own souvenior stand dont buy the Mickey water spritzer a piece of junk and $20!!!!! Hva the kid look for the hiddden Mickeys .These are mickeys ears hidden in signs all thru the park amd in statues.Every time ech kid finds one $1 Mickey dollar reaward.Give them on the last day.Bring your own bottled water, who will save about $100 depending how much you drink.a bottled water $4.

Well, you will spend a fortune on water and refreshments walking around the parks. And if you havent bought the Disney Meal Plan, you will spend even more on food. My husband and I went to DisneyWorld last October and didnt purchase the dining plan, and wished we would_ve. Also, with the kids, I_d suggest trying to get them to wait untilt he end of the day/trip to buy souvenirs b/c more than likely they_ll find something they like better by the end of the trip.

Some of the best values in the Disney Area are the numerous vacation rental home/villas available. There has been a bit of a price war amongst vacation rental home owners that have REALLY brought the prices down. Don_t pay for a hotel when you can rent one of these beautiful homes!

For instance, I rented a 4BR home that I found on www.GotYourSpot.com for just $120/night plus a small cleaning fee. The house had 4 bedrooms/ 3 baths and its own private pool _ hot tub. Plus it had a game room with a big screen TV, pool table, ping pong table, _ air hockey. Plus it was less than 10 minutes from the Disney World, Sea World, MGM, _ Univeral Studios!

The whole family loved it!

Check out this website for some GREAT $$ saving tips. Good luck and have fun!


http://www.mousesavers.com/

Bring ur own food. instead of buying an autograph book go to a gift shop and get a cheap 1.get a ticket hopper cuz you wont have to wait in line. And wear a hat, comfy shoes,sunscreen, and bring a fan.

You could probably save some money by staying at a resort on property. It may not seem like that would be the best choice, but there are many benefits. For one, as a Disney resort guest, you can take advantage of the Magical Express, which is a shuttle service that will transport you from Orlando International Airport to your resort. And with the transportation provided on Disney property, you won_t have to worry about renting a car, unless you plan on going off property. But there are also taxis available too.


http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/res��


Resort guests also get Extra Magic Hours, which let you enter the parks early or stay late after closing. This lets you get more use out of your park tickets, by enjoying the park less crowded. There_s also a meal plan option that you can purchase for eating at the restaurants on property.


http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/tic��


It also makes sense to bring snacks and water, which you can take into the park. The meals at the Disney dining places are quite large, so you should be able to have a big breakfast, snack for lunch and then another big meal at dinner. This can also save money because snacks and drinks in the park can get expensive.

Also, try to schedule your trip during the off season. The resort rates are usually lowest during the fall (except for holidays) and Jan-Feb. There is a promotion going on now that you may be interested in. It_s a week long resort stay for less than $1,500 dollars.


http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/res��


I hope these tips help.

don_t stay on Disney property i just got back and we stayed at lake buena vista courtyard Marriott 5 minutes from Disney they have lots of food like pizza hut,olive garden,mcds,Bk, and we saved about a 1000 dollars and they have free shuttles to the park, also buy ponchos now don_t buy them in the park very expensive,bring a couple waters and just fill them up drinking fountains. WEAR COMFORTABLE SHOES. Have fun

I would advise staying on Disney property for several reasons. (this only applies if you are only going to Disney-if you want to visit other attractions such as Universal, Sea World, or anywhere offsite, find cheaper lodging) The best reason for staying onsite is that you wouldn_t even have to rent a vehicle (big savings there). When you stay at Disney, you can get the Magical Express from the airport. They pick up you and your luggage (you don_t even have to go to the baggage center- they get it for you) and take you to the resort, and after you check in, your luggage is brought to the room for you.

Once there, Disney has many modes of transportation from the resorts to anywhere in the World. Mostly busses, but there are boats and monorails, too.

You get the use of the parks during Extra Magic Hours. These are times that the parks open early or stay open later for resort guests.

Another benefit is you can have most purchases delivered to your resort. So if you buy the perfect gift for Grandma, you don_t have to carry it all over the park, at the end of the day, you go to the gift shop at your resort and the purchase you made at say, Epcot, is there for you.

While there, you might want to share some meals. (especially with kids that might not eat everything). Portions are usually pretty big. In 2004, my son (who is 24) and I did that out of necessity as we were starting to run low on cash. We found that we were quite satisfied. What we did was take turns making the food choices, (he likes hot dogs, I like burgers) so we compromised and it worked out well.

Let the children know ahead of time how much money that they can spend on souviniers. Maybe even give them little notebooks to keep track. That way, they might understand that you are not going to buy that $25 Lego set, because they already picked out a $25 t-shirt.
I think this is the hardest expense to control. (at least for me it is.)

Good luck, have a great trip!

(1) Avoid the snack bars and restaurants.

Stock your room as a pantry with fruits, cold cereals, meal bars, boiled eggs, crackers, etc. If you can bring an ice chest, an electric kettle, a small microwave (hide the cooking items in the car so the maid won_t see them) so much the better. Eat hearty before going to the theme park, pack HUGE snacks for during the day, and have sandwiches or something waiting in the car for the end of the day.

Now is a good time to start training your family to drink WATER. Your other options will be (a) carry those heavy drinks around or (b) spend at least $5/day/person buying drinks.

If your packed snacks aren_t making it, the _sundries shop_ of the closest WDW hotel (like, you can walk from Magic Kingdom to the Polynesian) will have convenience store type items like prepared sandwiches, drinks by the quart, boxes of crackers, sliced cheese, etc.

With 5 people to feed, even driving _off campus_ to SR 192 for a meal and them paying to park again will be a big savings.

(2) Avoid the gift shops.

Again, start training your family now. Gift shops and snack bars are _conveniently_ located so that you must pass through them to enter and exit the rides. Everyone must learn to simply walk through with eyes forward, not slow down and look around. (However, you CAN have designated times for _browsing_ the shops, especially in Epcot.)

Hint: Go ahead and spring for ONE character breakfast. It_s a little overpriced (and hurried) but it will give you lots of photo op, thus saving you standing in line for the _free_ photo ops -- plus, it gets you into the park early if you book the first seating.

Stay in an area away from Disney and International
Drive.
You will save mega bucks in hotel fees.

Buy anything you can before going there. Snacks for at the Parks and the Resort, drinks, ponchos, anything. If you can_t pack it all with you, you can have some stuff shipped to your Resort before you leave, so it_s there when you arrive. I_m from New Hampshire and not used to all the taxes, so it helps a lot to buy what we can here at Wal*Mart, or something, and take it or ship it down. Just a bottle of Dasani is $3.00, and it really adds up.

Also, get Disney_s Dining Plan. It_s adds up to less than $40 per adult, even less for children, which is an awesome deal, considering my boyfriend and I alone racked up a bill of about $140 at Narcoossee_s one evening.

Definitely stay onsite at a Walt Disney World Resort. You_ll save money on transportation and/or gas. Walt Disney World has a very large fleet of over 260 buses, as well as numerous boats, and the monorail. There_s even transportation from Orlando International Airport. Disney_s Magical Express Service will pick you up, bring you to your Resort, and even bring you back to the airport when you depart.

We used to go to Orlando from Europe 4 to 6 times per year. Now living in Australia so once a year is a treat.

Great money saving tips for a fantastic holiday

1. Accommodation - has to be Timeshare. Find someone who is a member RCI or II (Timeshare exchange companies) where you can rent surplus space. A two or three bedroomed luxury apartment in a World-class resort will set you back about the same as a cheap motel room. Otherwise a Villa rental in Kissimmee is best. Ignore any that say _less than one mile to Disney Parks: the disney parking lot is more than one mile from the parks.

2. Car Hire - do not consider renting when you get there, the rates can be extortionate. Book through a UK company online. The rates are great and include mileage and insurance. Just do a yahoo search for Florida Car Hire. Of course bring your own car is cheaper.

3. Research the Disney Passes online before you go. They aren_t cheap and you could easily buy extras that you will not use. Annual, or Multi Park passes are best for Universal and SeaWorld.

4. Buy bottled water before going. The bottled water in Disney is sourced from a swamp in New Jersey (no kidding!) and is only slightly cheaper than the ink they use in inkjet printers. Food in Disney Parks is pretty disappointing and expensive. Fill up at breakfast (for a filling breakfast try Ponderosa). Take snacks and plan on eating out for dinner.

5. The outlet malls have inexpensive gifts, including the Character Warehouse that sells Disney Merchandise at 20-70% off retail.

Can you recommend a good moving company in Texas?|162237

I am moving from the Dallas/Ft Worth area to the panhandle. I have never used a moving company before, as I_ve always moved short distances, but I have two young children and need to do it in one trip.

Any suggestions for a reliable and inexpensive moving company? Thanks!

The most reliable and inexpensive way would be to rent a big uhaul and hire some chaps off of craigslist to load it for you then do the same to get it unloaded.
That being said Pod moving companies might be another resource for you to check out.

UHAUL PODS.

How can I find housing for a month in seattle?|111723

How can I find housing for a month in seattle?
I go on college break in december and I need to find housing near the university of washington campus. How can I find housing for a month long period? Do people rent rooms out for a month?

Maybe you can try Craigslist. Or if that doesn_t work out look in the UW Daily newspaper.

http://dailyuw.com/

You might see if you could swing a reduced rate at a cheap motel on Aurora. Motel owners whose rooms aren_t full are often willing to offer drastically reduced rates for extended stays.

How can I make someones first clubbing experience memorable?|184768

I am taking a coworker out to go clubbing for the very first time in New York City tonight and would like to know how to make him comfortable and get into it while we_re there. I tend to get really wild at clubs so I_d just like to know how to engage him in that.

Dont do drugs thats just stupid. Just be yourself and have fun, try not to ditch him and leave him alone while you go off with a chic.

A few drinks will get him into it, doesnt take long for one to enjoy clubbing.

just have alot of fun and dance and drink.

It depends on if thats what he_s into. I_m not a huge club fan so I usually just get a bottle and a table.

just go have a good time if you have fun together you shouldn_t worry PARTY PARTY DANCE DANCE DANCE!

give him a party pill or two =]

and get a hot chick to talk to hmi or something

http://www.yard9.com/category/tourism/ne��

Can illegals travel from Calif to Texas via greyhound without getting caught?|185437

My girlfriend is an illegal alien and wants to take the greyhound bus to move to Texas with me and wants to know if there_s border check points.

There ARE check points.

It_s risky, especially California to Texas. I don_t think she should risk it unless ABSOLUTELY necessary. Wait till she has a Visa.

P.S. If you get married she IS NOT _automatically_ a citizen! People have been sent back who have been married for a long time but never filed the official paperwork w/ICE.

There is always a risk. There are no border checkpoints from state to state. Only from country to country. However there still may be reason to be concerned.

It depends on where the coach sotps, if there are police there (eating, taking a break, getting gas, etc.), what the local policy at the stops are and if the police notice anything suspicious.

Unless you are traveling close to a border town, there are generally no check points set up between states. An example, outside of Eagle Pass, Texas, there is an immigration site to check people to ensure those who traveling into the interior of the state, have the necessary documentation. Barring any criminal or terrorist activity along the way, she should be ok traveling on a bus. Prior to your travel, I might suggest you check the web for any activity around the country, concentrating on the areas you will be travelling through. Good luck.

They didn_t used to but with all the commotion with illegals and what not, they have started to. Can_t say if they will search your bus because it is random but, why take the chance?! Get married and then you won_t have to worry, or have her follow the immigration rules and get her citizenship. Or you can go to Mexico with her and you be illegal:)

Anybody should be able to, there should be no such thing as an _illegal_ person. We are all people, and nobody should have the right to tell you where you can and can not live.

But anyway, I_d imagine that there is a border check point there, there are usually multiple check points between most states in the region.

And don_t worry about the asshats below me, they seem to think Americans are somehow more valuable human beings then others.

I like the marriage suggestion. Just get married and bingo she is automatically a citizen and you don_t have to worry about it. You can always have it annulled if it doesn_t work out.

Thanks to sanctuary cities it is illegal to ask about a person_s immigration status. California is one as is most of texas. I would not bet my life on it but I_m sure there arent checkpoints. Just have a legal person buy her ticket and go w/ her.

I think your biggest problem would be the produce check point in CA...but mainly that is checking produce coming in to CA and not going out. America is filled with a diversity of people, races, colors, creeds etc.

Unless your girl does something to cause a search she should be fine.

There are no border check points, but it has happened where INS does inspections on Grey hound buses. It would be a risk. It_s not very common though. It depends on the route.

As far as I know you don_t need a passport to travel between states. Unless you need ID to but a bus ticket, then I don_t see why not.

To buy a greyhound ticket they check if you are legal
they are some people who would take you for about the same price

Why you all dont get marriage

yes there is a border check point

i no a way ............ phone me take my address find me i can help call 999 and ask for I_mmigrant service im sure they can help you

Hey Phil, you_re an idiot. There is too such a thing as an Illegal Alien.

Anyway, no there are not border checks in the US for citizenship.
She_s no more likely to get caught on that bus, than she is shopping or whatever.

get the hell out of our country jesus people like u are the ones that ruin america for the americans idiots