Walt Disney World On A Budget

As I mentioned in the post below- I am busy with finals, The Goof's birthday, and a wedding all in the month of May. So I was super happy when Hayden from Disney with Babies, Toddlers and Preschoolers came to my rescue with a guest post.
As you all know, I specialize in Disneyland. While many of my tips can be used for your Walt Disney World vacation as well, there are some things unique to "the World" that are good to know. Hayden is going to give you a quick run down of how to save time and money at Walt Disney World, even when you have kids in tow. 

Disney World allows guests to bring their own food and drink into the parks so be sure to take advantage of this! The average family of four will spend over $100 on 1 meal for the family and 1 snack per person in just one day at a Disney park. Coolers must be soft sided and no glass items are allowed. I recommend packing a cooler each day with plenty of water bottles, juice boxes for the kids and lunches. 

Another great money saving tip at Disney World is to set a budget!

Have You Missed Me?

Have you missed me? I have been kind of MIA. Well, there is a lot of reasons for that. I have a friend getting married soon and I have been spending many weekends traveling for dress fittings, bridal shower, etc. The Goof's birthday is also coming up. But the biggest reason for my absence....

That is right- I am in college (and sadly not at Monsters University) and it is the end of the semester. That basically means I have no life and no free time. Between 5 big projects/papers and studying for finals, plus regular weekly homework, I have found myself very busy.

I hope you understand! From now until Memorial Day I will be pretty MIA on the blog. I can usually get a facebook update in a few times a day, so be sure to join us over there. Also, we have a lot to look forward to in June. I am working on a Monstrous giveaway for you, taking lots of pictures of crafts for the Goof's party (that has a Disney theme) and so much more.

So until then, please check out some of the old posts. You can use the tabs up top to find things that are crafty or about saving money on Disney, or to catch up on the new series A Year to Disney On The Cheap.

Have a Magical May and I will try and get on here before the end of the month!

A Year to Disney on the Cheap Month 2

Hello Disney Lovers! Welcome to Month 2! Don't forget to catch up on what this series is all about and what needed to be done for month one!

This month we will start to look a little more at your options, talk about a timeline for doing certain tasks, and also look at some ways you can help save even more money, or have your little ones earn money for their souvenirs.

My Top 5 Disney Movies for Sick Days

I have been quite under the weather this week. It has not been fun. As a mom, I don't get a day off when I am sick either. Instead, I usually try and talk the Goof into a couch day where we lounge around and watch movies. Luckily, Disney Daddy gets home early, so I only have to do this from breakfast until lunch/nap time.

We have watched several Disney movies the last few days. I have decided to share my favorite 5 to watch when I am feeling under the weather.

*This list may or may not be influenced by the level in which they keep The Goof's attention, therefor keeping him from destroying the house.

Peter Pan

I can't help but feel a bit better being swooped off to Neverland. The songs in the movie are not to loud or exciting. The beat doesn't annoy me if I have a migraine. Though the tick tock of the crocodile could get annoying if I were to watch the movie more than once without some Excedrin.

A Year To Disney On The Cheap FAQs

Hi everyone! I have been getting  a lot of questions about the new series-
A Year to Disney On The Cheap
So I thought I would make a page answering the frequently asked questions. I will continue to add to this list so if you ever have a question- check here. If no answer- please do not hesitate to email me at becca@loveourdisney.com with subject line Year to Disney Question. If you have a question- someone else might have the same one.

So let's get started.

Q. Why do you say $100 for first 1-2 adults rather than $50/each?

A. I know this wording can be confusing (some have thought it means $100/each) but here is why I word it this way- You have to get a hotel room. So even if you are just one person- you need to be saving enough to book your hotel room. This assumes both adults will be in the same hotel room, and so the only additional cost for adult number 2 would be the park ticket.

Q. How many days/nights is this vacation going to be?

A. You can change it, but for the purpose of this series, we are using a late February early March 2014 vacation that will be 6 days and 5 nights long. Even if you want to go longer, you can do so on this budget if you are willing to decrease your hotel level.

Q. What kind of hotel level will you be using in the series?

A. I will be using Hotwire Hot Rates and most likely be looking at 3* hotels when it comes time to book. Though, if there is a great deal on a 2.5* or 4* hotel I might book that one during the series.

Q. How should I find the extra money to save the $150 my family of 3 needs each month?

A. I recently did a post about ways to find the money in your budget. Also it is worth noting that once your hotel is booked (about 3 months in) and your tickets bought (another 3 months) the amount you need to save will go down a little bit. Also remember that this budget is going to include your spending and food money.

Q. Are you actually going to be working to book a vacation, or are you basically going to be doing a mock one?

A. As of right now, my family is hoping to visit at this time. However, this is a ways off for us to 100% commit to a trip. We will know by the fall of 2013 if this is a trip we will actually be taking.

Q. Why Disneyland?

A. Disneyland is my "home park." It is also generally cheaper than Walt Disney World. Also, most people who go to WDW prefer to stay on-property, which leaves little room for my money saving tips. That said, this series can easily be adapted for WDW, or any vacation, if you are willing to use my tips for hotels and travel. The budget may be slightly different though.

Q. Why February?

A. A few reasons. This time of year, Disney often offers discounted park tickets. Also, the crowds are low so you can spend less days in the park and get more stuff in. Finally, hotel prices, and sometimes airfare or gas, will be cheaper because again, this is the off-season, so they need to fill rooms, seats, etc.

Q. This budget seems large. I thought this was Disney on the Cheap?

A. I know this budget seems large for some people, however, you could easily save this amount by starting to coupon, cutting back on things that are not necessary ($5 coffee/day=$150/month), and more. Disney on the Cheap is about doing it for a much less price than a travel agent or the Disney site will give you. Travel will never be free, and there is no magic way to make all of the costs go away. Also remember that after the hotel is booked and the park tickets are purchased, the amount will go down.


Don't forget to send me your questions!

Surviving Disney's "On Season"

We have all heard "go to Disney in the off season" as one of the main tips given by any Disney Blogger. There is a good reason for this- hitting up the parks during a time like Spring Break may actually classify you as INSANE!
I guess we are insane. We have gone the last 3 years during Spring Break to Disneyland....but this year was different.
I don't know if it was the fact that Cars Land opened last June, that Thunder Mountain was closed (so many didn't even go near that part of the park and therefor were packed more densely in other parts) or if it was because Easter fell somewhere that schools tried to plan their spring break around. I don't know what it was, but this year was crazy packed!

You should always try to go in the off-season. After this trip we have sworn off "peak time" visits. But sometimes, spring, summer, or winter break are the only time a family can go. So what should you do?

Here are some tips for surviving Disney when it is crowded.

A Toddler's Review of Disneyland Part 1

Hey everyone! It is me, The Goof! Today I am taking over the blog and writing my review of Disneyland. I am here to give you the low down from down low (near the ground) about Disneyland and what it entails.

Hidden Mickey Search Giveaway

Somewhere on this blog, is a Mickey waiting to be found. It is great fun to search out Hidden Mickey's while in the park. I thought I would bring this fun search to the blog.

So somewhere in a post from 2013 is a hidden Mickey. He looks like this:

What's the Big Deal About Disney?

There is a special breed of people out there. I am proud to be one of them. People who LOVE Disney and would choose to visit a Disney Park over almost any other vacation.
This leaves normal people wondering what the heck is wrong with us. Well, I am here to explain why the Love Our Disney family loves OUR Disney so much, and to share some quotes from others as well.

A Year to Disney On The Cheap - How To Start Saving

Follow my blog with Bloglovin If you are following the new series- A Year to Disney On The Cheap- you probably are hoping to go to Disney, and do so on a much cheaper scale than the packages offered by Disney.

So when I tell you to save $100-$200/month (based on family size) you might be thinking "yeah, right."

So I am here to tell you some ways to save money in your budget to have that extra money.

For those who don't know me in real life, I am a crazy coupon lady. Well, probably not "crazy" I guess. I am not TLC worthy or anything. But I do coupon. Couponing saves me $350/month on our groceries and household items for about 10 hours of work. That is like being paid $35/hour.
While I have taught couponing classes, I honestly am not the best person to explain it all, or to tell you about the good deals. But I do have some sites I highly recommend.
A Thrifty Mom
Couponing To Disney
FabuLESSly Frugal
None of these sites have asked me to advertise for them. Just want to make that clear. There are several couponing sites. These are just my favorite. Couponing to Disney even launched a new "Track Your Fund" feature this month that you can use to track your coupon savings and put into your fund.
A Thrifty Mom is my favorite. Her writing style worked for me when I first started couponing 3-4 years ago. In fact, she inspired me to find a way to do Disney for cheap.

Cut back on your spending. Do you really need that $5 coffee? If you drink one every day- just giving that up gives you your $150 a month (5x30=150) to put towards your trip.

Do you need that large of a cable/satellite package? Last summer, we shut off our DirecTV and went to just using Hulu and Netflix. Guess what? We didn't miss it. We did turn it on again once football season started up, but with a much lower package, and we still prefer Hulu or Netflix most nights. We will be shutting it off again this summer.

Re-evaluate your plans. Call your phone, internet, cell providers and see if there is a cheaper plan or something to better suit your needs. We have had out internet bills greatly reduced for a 12 month period by doing this. You can also do this with your cable/satellite provider if you aren't willing to go down in your package size.

Use CASH! I know that most everyone uses debit cards now days. I know we do. But using cash is a key to spending less. It has been proven over and over again that people who use cash instead of checks or debit cards tend to spend more wisely. Then take the change you are given back and put it in a Disney Fund Jar like the one pictured above. In the next year you may save a ton of change. We have paid for all our gas money doing this before.

Ask for gift cards for birthdays, Christmas, etc.

Let family who ask what they can get you know that you are saving for a Disney vacation. Gift cards can include Disney gift cards, gas gift cards, visa gift cards, or airline gift cards if you will be flying. If you are taking children- give them Disney gift cards for their birthday and holiday gifts.

Start using places like swagbucks. Swag bucks is a rewards program. You use their toolbar to search and searches will randomly be rewarded with bucks. You can take a daily poll, watch videos and more for more swag bucks. They also have special offers that earn you swagbucks (including booking your hotwire hotel). Swagbucks can then be cashed in for gift cards. You can either cash them in for Amazon, etc gift cards and then put that towards monthly necessities (diapers, etc) and put the same amount of YOUR money into your Disney savings. You can join swagbucks by clicking HERE. This also helps me. If you sign up using this link, you will count as my referral. It doesn't do anything special, except, when you earn money for a search, I do too.

Finally, the last thing I offer is to find a way to increase your income. Take on some part time work, work a little overtime, babysit. Increase your household income. Encourage older children to earn their monthly amount. Babysitting, mowing lawns, or a part time job are all great ways for teens to earn money for Disney.

Do you have any additional ways to save money? Let me know.

Spring Fling Giveaway!

If you are a fan of our facebook page, you know that when I go to the parks I like to play a game called Where In The Park is Love Our Disney where I post random pictures and people guess what ride/land/event I am at. Well, my phone kept uploading the photos to my personal page (even though I was using the Page Manager App) so I was unable to post more than 1-2.
So the plan was to do the game when I came back...except facebook started cracking down on giveaways on pages. So, in order to be safe and keep my page from possibly being shutdown....I had to cancel the game. But instead- I have this fun giveaway for you.

Disneyland's Plaza Inn Character Breakfast

This may come as a shock to some of my readers, but we have never done a character dining experience. Okay, so some of you are probably not shocked because you know how cheap thrifty I am with our Disney trips. So then, maybe this next part will shock you- We FINALLY did one on Easter while in Disneyland. Yes, we spent $25 per person to have breakfast.

Want to know if I thought it was worth it? Was the food good? Were the characters plentiful or rare?

We did the Minnie and friends Character Breakfast at the Plaza Inn.

 Now, Minnie herself, obviously not too rare. But let me tell you about the other characters, oh, and about the food.

Cars Land-A Disney Lover's Review

By now, it is no secret that I am a Disney addict, and that our park of choice is Disneyland. Well, even though the new Cars Land has been open for nearly 10 months, we did not visit it before our most recent trip.

I am super excited to give you our review of Cars Land. I will let my family tell you what they liked and disliked about it, and then I will give you my more in depth review.

Here is what the family had to say:

A Year to Disney On the Cheap Month 1

First off, Happy Easter! I hope Spring brings you much joy!

Welcome to Month 1  of a Year To Disney on the Cheap! If you are wondering what this is all about, you can check out the introduction of this series HERE. Basically, we are going to get you to Disney by spending a little every month and using my save money tips to get you a great Disneyland vacation you can afford.

Now on to month one!

A Year To Disney On The Cheap

Hey everyone! Right now, my family is enjoying some much needed Disney Time! I hope you are all doing well.

Today, I am super excited to introduce a new series to you! Over the next year, we will have a series called A Year To Disney On The Cheap.
If you are like most Americans, you do not have $2000-$5000 to spend at once to pay for a Disney vacation. So, in this series, we are going to help you plan a Disney Vacation over a year. Why a year? So you can do it without putting a strain on your everyday budget.