We are always looking for ways to save money when we are heading to Disney World! Over the years we have found some “loopholes” that most people don’t know and we wanted to share them with you!
1. Adults Can Order A Kids Meal
Consider ordering from the kids’ menu when you’re at a quick-service location. Kids’ meals are usually much cheaper, and the portion size isn’t drastically smaller. Plus, they often come with sides and a drink included, making them a great value!
Disney restaurant portions are often very generous so often eating off the kids menu fills you up just fine. If you find you are hungry later, you have extra money for a fun Disney snack!
If that isn’t enough reason, at many places the main dish and sides are healthier for you. Kids meals often include fruit as a side, which is not an option on the adult menu. As a bonus tip – if you mobile order from your phone you will get your food faster!
Ordering off the kids menu isn’t an option every place. For example, if you are eating at a restaurant that has a prix-fixes menu such as Chef Mickey’s or Be Our Guest Restaurant, you will pay the adult price. Most table service restaurants will only allow kids to order off the kids menu – but you can always ask!
2. Enjoy a Campfire and Movie Under the Stars.
At almost every Walt Disney World Resort from 6-7pm you will find a fire going with marshmallows roasting. There are the things you may not know. First, you do not have to be a resort guest to take advantage of this fun activity. Everyone is welcome! If you happen to be at a resort for a dinner reservation head out to see if there are marshmallows available.
Second, (we are not thrilled about this), while the marshmallows are free, if you want to make s’mores, it will cost you about $7. We have found a nice workaround by bringing our own graham crackers and chocolate to make our own and save some money. Alternatively, if you order groceries just add graham crackers and chocolate!
Third, as it gets dark, the Cast Members start a movie projected onto a sheet under the stars which, again, anyone can take part in.
3. Three Easy Ways To Stay Hydrated
Unless you hit Disney World at exactly the perfect time, you will be facing serious heat at the parks! Staying hydrated and cool is essential to your day. Here are 3 things you may not know concerning staying cool.
First, at any park you are in, you can walk up to any quick-service restaurant and ask for an ice filled water and they will give it to you free. During crowed times this can be a bit of a chore but most times there will not be much of a wait.
Second, on display at all the Disney kiosks, there are are waters for sale for $5. BUT at every park and resort there are filtered water bottle refill stations which you can find in your MyDisneyExperience app. The only thing you will need is your water bottle.
Finally, if you are visiting Epcot, there is a place called Club Cool which is right next to the Connections Shop and Cafe where you can walk into an air conditioned room and get samples of Coca Cola drinks in flavors ranging from exotic to outrageous. You can have as much as you want and you can come back as often as you want.
4. $2.50 Popcorn Is Real
How many times have you been walking through one of the Disney parks and you get a whiff of popcorn and go, “Boy that would taste good right now!” But you don’t want to spend a “bucket” load of money on it?
What you may not know is that if you bring up any old refillable bucket that you got on a past trip, the popcorn will cost you just over $2. We have known people who pack their bucket from five years ago and keep getting the 2 buck refills all day long. Don’t have a bucket? A standard popcorn bucket is abut $15 and you an refill it your entire trip!
5. How To Secure Hard To Get Dining Reservations
Some dining reservations at Disney World can be extremely hard to get—especially if you’re traveling with a large group. One strategy that can really help is planning your reservations backwards, starting with the end of your trip.
Here’s why this works.
If you’re staying at a Disney World Resort hotel, you can make dining reservations 60 days before your check-in date. The big perk for resort guests is that you can book for your entire stay at the same time (up to 10 days). So if you’re staying for 6 nights, you can reserve dining for all 6 days as soon as your 60-day window opens.
Because of this, it’s smart to schedule your most difficult reservations toward the end of your trip. Those later days will still have more availability since fewer guests have reached that point in their booking window yet.
For example, we love dining at Cinderella’s Royal Table with a large group. Since it’s such a popular reservation, we usually plan our Magic Kingdom day near the end of our trip. When our 60-day booking window opens, that’s the first reservation we make so we can secure it before it fills up.
6. The buses run earlier than you realize
If you are hard core rope droppers like we are, there are two things that can be annoying that we can help you with. First, It is important to get to the park as early as possible for rope drop.
Cast members will tell you the buses run 45 minutes before park opening, but in reality it’s 45 minutes before EARLY ENTRY…and…we have found it’s almost always an hour before early entry! This is a huge benefit. If Magic Kingdom early entry is at 8:30, busses will be starting pickup around 7:30AM.
Second, if you are getting breakfast for your crew, most quick service restaurants don’t open until 7:00AM, which doesn’t give you enough time to eat, brush your teeth, get your park bag and get to the bus area before 7:30.
One way around this is to either order groceries and have it in your hotel room for the week. The second option is to go to your hotel shop and purchase items like hard boiled eggs, muffins and juice packs the night before. Do keep in mind that many Disney hotels have hotel coolers, not refrigerators. so plan accordingly!
7. Lightning Lane Windows Are Longer Than You Think
You likely know by now that if you have a lightning lane for a particular time, you have an hour to use it. Did you know that Disney has a couple secrets that guests have figured out?
First, you can clock in to your Lightning Lane attraction five minutes before your “official” time. If your LL time is at 3:00, you actually can go in at 2:55. You might not think it is a big deal, but 5 minutes can be gold at Disney World! On the back side, you can actually use your Lightning Lane up to 2 hours after the cut off time. Many people test this strategy out every day, and so far Disney has allowed that expanded window!
8. Being Nice Has Rewards.
We have found that being polite and considerate at Disney World has allowed us some fun perks. Here are a couple you can try to make your trip a bit more magical.
First, if your quick-service meal looks like it’s been sitting a while, if you ask, the Cast Members will usually make you a fresh meal. Second, if there is a particular seat you want to sit in for a ride, if you ask, they will allow you to take that seat. (You may have to wait a bit).
Third, when you are checking out at a merchandise counter, if you ask for “extra Pixie dust” sometimes they will give you some freebies. Don’t expect it though! Fourth, if your room isn’t exactly what you were hoping for, you can ask if anything else is available. Upgrades aren’t promised, but you never know what kind of magic happens when you politely ask.
Fifth, The Cast Members in the Blue Umbrellas can do some pretty great things, especially in the Lightning Lane department. If you are having some issues with anything, they can probably help…but do it with a smile!
9. An Authorized Disney Vacation Planner Is Hugely Important.
Though this last one is not something AT Disney World, we feel it is THE most important time and money saver you can do for a Disney World vacation. Find an authorized Disney Vacation Planner from the start of your trip planning.
A good Agent will be able to book your Resort, park tickets, dining reservations and help you with cost saving ideas that will make your trip easier! They know the ins and outs of Disney World and can answer all your questions. If you are booked to go to Disney and all of a sudden they have some discounts available, your agent will be on top of it and help you make the adjustments to save you money.
If you don’t know of a good Disney Vacation Agent, let us recommend Pixie & Pirate Destinations! Our amazing agent, Lisa Reese, has been helping us for many years and she has saved us hours of time and buckets of money! Best of all, your agent is free! We aren’t getting paid by Lisa to share about her – we are just passionate about you having the best vacation ever, and she can help!
Looking for more Disney secrets? Check out these free things to do in Disney’s Magic Kingdom that you probably don’t know about!