Disney for Cheapskates #1

For about 2 years now I have wanted to take T to Disney World. Specifically bring her on her birthday. This year it is going to happen!!! She will be 9 and I will never be able to top this. She is being set up for years of disappointment but a week of pure princess fun!

We are doing this on a budget…and I plan on helping other “money tight” families learn how. We are splurging on a few items so I am interested in a running total of how much we spend and how much someone could spend if they took out those “THE BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!!” splurges.

To date I have only set up two things for sure:

1)      Disney pins on ebay. 10 for $12.74. $1.28 each.

You can read all about the pin trading here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_pin_trading

Basically pins cost around $7.95 and up. If we waited until the day we were at the park to buy them it would total $79.50 to purchase in order to trade!!! CRAZY! Not happening. This was we spent about $13 bucks and Lula will have a memory that lasts a lifetime. And cool pins!!

2)      Eating out for less!! Let me say this...I have no shame and will not hesitate to pull a sammich from my fanny pack if it saves us a butt load of money!! I first looked into the Disney Dining plan… I thought it would be awesome to always eat at the parks and not to worry about money while we were there but $515.75 for the cheapest plan they have is it really worth it?? Not for us. So this is what I did.

Resturants.com offers discounted gift certificates. I had some that I had purchased years ago and never used so I was able to exchange them. They NEVER expire either which is great!!

·         $15 L’ italiano’s Chicago Pizzeria & Italian Restorante

·         $10 Geneva Pizza

·         $25 one80 Sportsgrill

This cost me nothing but would normally run (with a coupon code that is readily available about $9-10 ). There is a catch. You have to spend normally twice as much as the gift card when you go. After going through the menus and coming up with a plan our meals should come to about $109.25 including 15% gratuity. $59.25 after gift certificates!! The best part is that it is PLENTY of food for us to pack up and take for lunch/snacks at the parks the next day. So for the three of us we are looking at roughly $19.75 each  for 2 meals a day for 3 days or $3.30 per meal. Um…YEAH I’ll take it!!

So that is all that is confirmed so far. Coming soon:

·         How to get discounted tickets

·         How to get a Disney Deluxe Villa for the Value Resort price

TOTAL:

Disney pins

Paid : $12.74

Normal Cost : $79.50

SAVED: $66.76

2 Meals a day for 3 days

Paid: $59.75

Normal Cost: $109.25

SAVED:  $49.50 (but actually will save $456.50 by not doing the meal plan. )

TOTAL SPENT: $72.50

TOTAL SAVED: $523.26