Happy Throwback Thursday! Today we'll be traveling back to two separate Disney World trips to visit Port Orleans Resort - Riverside and Port Orleans Resort - French Quarter. Since they are sister resorts you can use the amenities at both as long as you're staying at one - aka the pools! It's also easy to walk between the resorts to enjoy different dining options. They are both "Moderate" resorts meaning they are slightly fancier than the cheapest options but still fairly affordable if you are able to use an offer or split the cost with a group (of up to 4 people for normal rooms)
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| Royal Guest Room |
Riverside was actually the first Walt Disney World resort I stayed at! Previously, my friends and I would stay at Universal and Uber over to Disney but for this trip my best friend, sister and I decided to "splurge" on a Royal Guest Room. We paid around $420 each, $1,326 total with Passholder discount, for 5 nights in December 2017. Christian and I stayed at French Quarter for two nights in May 2020 for $630 with Passholder discount.
Continuing on with our Throwback Thursday Disney hotel overviews! Today we've got another Disney Vacation Club stay. For our anniversary we finally stayed at one of my top bucket list hotels - Animal Kingdom Lodge! We rented DVC points and stayed in a Deluxe Studio Villa with a Savanna View at Jambo House (you can also stay at Kidani Village, a DVC section of the resort that's a short walk from the main building.)
Since it's Thursday, I decided to do a throwback to our stay at Disney's Riviera Resort. It is a goal of mine to stay at (almost) all of the Walt Disney World Resort hotels. So far I've stayed at eight of the twenty, not counting Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser or doubles of the same hotel (BoardWalk Inn vs BoardWalk Villas.) There are different levels of resorts - Value, Moderate, Deluxe, Deluxe Villas (DVC) and Campgrounds. My current list, in alphabetical order:
Continuing on with the Disney trip recaps, let's talk about FOOOOD! One of Christian and my favorite parts of a Disney trip is trying all the new treats and snacks. We had a quicker visit this time and focused mainly on Animal Kingdom Lodge restaurants and the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival. Outside of that we did have a few snacks at Magic Kingdom, the Grand Floridian and Animal Kingdom.
Now that you've seen our couples Halloween costume and Wild Africa Trek tees it's time for the rest of the outfits we wore to Disney. Also sharing those two outfits again just so everything is all together. I packed light this trip with just 1 pair of shorts, a pair of jeans, 2 pairs of sandals, workout pants, my Halloween costume and tees for each day. I also had to bring sneakers for the first time on a trip so I wore those on the plane so they wouldn't take up valuable suitcase space.
EPCOT - Day 5
Most of our time not at the hotel was spent at EPCOT so we could snack on as many Food & Wine goodies as possible (and ride Guardians of the Galaxy a bunch)
Tee: EPCOT Food & Wine Passholder Tee 2018
Shorts: Madewell
Sandals: Ancient Greek Sandals Alethea perforated sandal
Sunglasses: Ray Ban 'Erika' c/o Shopbop
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| EPCOT Food & Wine Festival Outfits |
Magic Kingdom - Evening 1
Right after we arrived to the Riviera Resort on Wednesday (at 7pm) we headed to EPCOT via the Skyliner to make our way to Magic Kingdom for Extended Evening Hours for Deluxe Resort guests. Along the way we stopped at a gift shop to pick up Annual Passholder magnets. We opted to go through EPCOT so we didn't have to take any buses. Once at the front of EPCOT we took the Monorail over to Magic Kingdom to spend a few hours with less people in the park.
Sweatshirt Tee: Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary Fireworks Pullover (was only available 10/1/2021)
Jeans: FRAME 'Le Skinny de Jeanne' (Shopbop)
Sandals: Ancient Greek Sandals Alethea perforated sandal
One of the things I was most excited for on our recent trip to Disney World was FINALLY doing Wild Africa Trek. The moment I learned what it was it has been on my Disney Bucket List. I almost did it for my 30th birthday in 2018 but my friend and I decided to do character meals instead. Christian and I had booked it for our May 2020 trip that got cancelled. When we rescheduled the trip for the May 2022 we decided to skip it that trip and plan a special Disney World vacation for our wedding anniversary. Thus, our Animal Kingdom-centric trip was born!
We decided to do it up big and stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge with a Savannah View room, booked through David's Vacation Club Rentals to utilize Disney Vacation Club points to stay for lower than Disney rack rates. We paid $900 for 3 nights compared to $2381 if booked directly through Disney. We planned our meals just at the hotel and wanted to spend a bulk of our time there. Since we're Annual Passholders (well, were until September 30th) we were able to use our Passhoolder discount on Wild Africa Trek tickets and paid $360.28 vs $423.88.
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| This sign look familiar? See photos of our shirts below if not ;) |
I'll do my best to walk you through what happens during this amazing three hour tour. If you don't want details so you can be pleasantly surprised on your own Trek feel free to just look at the images. The short description of the tour from Disney is "Encounter exotic wildlife on a guided expedition with African-inspired snacks and photo keepsakes."
On our Disney trip last month I made sure we got tickets to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party! Tickets for the rest of the parties this month are sold out, but if you happen to be at Magic Kingdom on the night of a party you could always ask guest services if they have any day-of tickets (unlikely.)
Christian and I are at Disney World this weekend for our anniversary and I thought I would share outfits from our last two trips because somehow I never did blog posts after we got back... whoops! It's also because I was lazy and didn't have Christian take individual outfit photos of what I wore (although we did do videos for a Reel in May!) Shame on me! I guess that means you guys get Disney couples outfits in addition to Disney outfits for women. YAY!
As those of you who follow my Instagram know, I was at Disney World last week (and beginning of this week) for the 50th anniversary of Magic Kingdom! While that was the main purpose of the trip I was also very excited for EPCOT's Food & Wine Festival, one of my favorite times of year to go! I'm going to reshare some tips I've posted in the past for those of you that will be going to Food & Wine for the first time.
This year I went equipped with an empty stomach and my wishlist full to the brim of tasty food options! Christian decided to go with the flow and picked up one of the Festival guides when we arrived to decide what he wanted as we went.
My Food & Wine Tips
1. Download the WDW - Food&Wine app to keep track of everything you want to try and have tried! Before our trip I wish-listed everything I wanted to try so I wouldn't have to think about it while in the park. As I tried things I marked them off as "Tasted." The app also gives you a running total of what you spent which is pretty fun (and can be scary!)
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| WDW Food&Wine (this is not an official Disney app) |
2. Buy a gift card.
I find it helpful to buy the special festival gift card on a wrist
coil. You have to load them with at least $15 but you'll spend that if you eat a few dishes (and you don't just have to use it on food!) They
always have a cute design. It's a great way to
control your spending because you can load it with whatever your budget
for the day and reload if needed. This year I didn't get the festival gift card and opted for the special 50th Anniversary gift cards. There are 5 in total but we only found 4 of them, darn!
3. Pace yourself. Spread Food & Wine eats out over a few days of your trip if you can! Park hop back to EPCOT once you're done at another park for a couple snacks. If you only have one, day don't try to eat too much or you'll only remember the stomach-ache you had. We spent one full day at EPCOT and visited again for two half days (plus a quick evening trip where we rode rides instead of trying food.)
4. Share bites with others so you can sample even more! If multiple people want to try the same thing why not split it so you have room for even more snacks? And, if you happen to really like it, go back to get a second if you're still hungry at the end of the day! Christian and I shared a lot so we were able to get more from our lists. Unfortunately he had to eat the cheesy items on his own!
What We Ate
Time for the fun part - talking about everything we ate! Let's go by country and in order of the Festival Guide.
Shimmering Sips
Shimmering Strawberry Soft-serve served in a Waffle Cone
This was one of our most instagrammable treats, look how fun and sparkly! I'm not usually a fan of plain strawberry ice cream (gelato, yes, ice cream, meh) but this was too fun to pass up! I really enjoyed it. Pro tip - make sure you have a water cup or bowl to dump your ice cream into and eat it with a spoon so you don't become a drippy mess.
Australia
Grilled Sweet and Spicy Bush Berry Shrimp served with Pineapple, Pepper, Onion, and Snap Peas and Deconstructed Pavlova served with Pastry Cream, Citrus-macerated Berries, and Lemon Myrtle Meringue
Australia usually has some sort of "bush berry" shrimp on the menu and it's always tasty. Also a good way to get a few veggies if you're mostly eating fried foods on your trip. Mine seemed to be mostly snap peas but was still delicious. I would definitely buy this again. The deconstructed pavlova was fun but I wasn't a fan of the meringue. The berries were so fresh and sweet so that made up for it.
Refreshment Port
Traditional Poutine - French Fries, Boursin Cracked Black Pepper Crumbles, and Cheese Curds
This was a Christian-only treat because I am not a fan of poutine. He said it was pretty good, although the poutine he had when we went to Montreal was obviously better.
Belguim
Belgian Waffle served with Warm Chocolate Ganache
Christian and I shared this after he scraped away the whipped cream (I know, I'm weird.) The waffle was fluffy and the ganache tasty but this was overall just okay. But for $4.50 it's one of the cheaper items we tried.
Tangerine Café: Flavors of the Medina
Grilled Kebabs with Couscous, Tomato-Onion Salad, and Garlic-Aioli (Lemon-Garlic Chicken)
There were 3 different kabob options and we went with the chicken, it was very tasty! I'm always a fan of couscous and the salad was nice and refreshing. If we had stayed longer I might have also tried the Harissa-marinated Beef Tenderloin tips. They also had a Moroccan Spiced Lamb option.
Greece
Lamb Moussaka
Ever since our honeymoon Christian has become enamored with moussaka. Any time we see it on a menu he has to try it to see how it compares to the amazing one he had in Santorini. He said this was good but seemed to be a bit more Americanized than other dishes we tried. It reminded him of lasagna.
Japan
Teriyaki Chicken Bun - Steamed Bun filled with Chicken, Vegetables, and Teriyaki
A great choice for the picky eater this has a very subtle flavor. We thought it could have used more of a kick but overall it was still tasty. I do think it was a little expensive at $6.50. I would much prefer one of my other bites for that price if we were to go back.
Spain
Spanish-style Paella with Rice, Chorizo, and Shrimp & Charcuterie with a selection of imported Spanish Meats, Cheeses, and Olives with an Herb Vinaigrette
I always have to stop in Spain at EPCOT Food & Wine for their delicious Paella! The festival has included it every year I've gone and I'll be very upset if they ever stop! The meats used are always slightly different but it never disappoints. It's so tasty and a great portion size. Christian and I also got the Charcuterie to share (he ate all the cheese, I had the olives.)
Germany
Roast Bratwurst in a Pretzel Roll
Another simple snack for the less adventurous eater. This comes with mustard but since I'm not a fan I asked for mine plain. Obviously without the mustard it's a little dry but I still found it very tasty.
The Alps
Blueberry and Almond Frangipane Tart with Crème Fraîche
This was probably the most disappointing item we got. It came out and looked totally different from the photo example and the texture was off. There wasn't really a tart crust, it seemed to have melted from the blueberries and frangipane. I only tried a tiny bite because Christian warned me it had a weird texture (I don't like things that are too creamy.) The flavor was good but overall it was just "meh" because it was a little too mushy.
Kenya
Piri Piri Skewered Shrimp with Citrus-scented Couscous
Apparently we had a shrimp theme this trip. I was super excited to try this and it was amazing! If we didn't get this on our last day I would have gotten it twice. We had some of the EPCOT birds eyeing the plate as we were eating this on a bench, they thought they were going to get some - wrong!
India
Warm Indian Bread with Pickled Garlic, Mango Salsa, and Coriander Pesto Dips & Korma Chicken with Basmati Rice, Crispy Chickpeas, and Spiced Yogury Sauce & Madras Red Curry with Roasted Cauliflower, Baby Carrots, Chickpeas and Ben's Original Basmati Rice
We tried all the food at the India booth and everything was great! I think our favorite may have been the curry but everything was good. I loved the coriander pesto dip that came with the warm bread while Christian thought the mango salsa was best. All of these were great for sharing and we would get them all again.
China
Pan-fried Chicken Dumplings served with House-made Sweet-and-Spicy Sauce & Crispy-fried Pepper Shrimp served with Spicy Sichuan Noodles
China always comes through with delicious dumplings and some sort of noodle dish. Both of these were great, although Christian balked at the $5 price-tag for 2 dumplings. But who cares, they're so yummy!
The Donut Box
Sriracha-glazed Donut & Strawberry Smoothie
One of the most anticipated things at the Food & Wine Festival was this sriracha-glazed donut. It comes with a piece of fried chicken inside and a slaw with some aioli and who knows what else. This was a Christian-only treat but I did try a bite of just chicken and donut. He looooved it and we almost went back for a second one on our last day. The smoothie was delicious and very refreshing.
Mac & Eats
Cowboy Macaroni and Cheese with Smoked Pork Belly, Brisket Burnt Endss, Pickled Peppers, and Onion Straws
This might have been in Christian's top 5 favorite items. The portion was great for $6.25 and he said it was very tasty!
There were a lot more things we would have tried (and eaten again) if we had more days at the park but sadly we had to come home. I'd consider living at Disney during the Food & Wine festival just so I could pop into EPCOT every day for a random treat.
I hope you enjoyed coming along with us on this culinary tour of the world!
EDIT: Much of this has changed since the pandemic, make sure to check and see if all of these still apply when you're booking your trip. Some experiences/discounts are not available at the moment.
People are constantly amazed/shocked by how often I go down to Disney World. Starting in 2014 I went around three times a year (mixed with Universal Orlando Resort.) The past couple years I've just been visiting Disney since we focused more on Universal on previous trips.
I think it's time for me to share how I plan and save for these trips as well as how I save a bit of cash along the way because, as we all know, Disney is expensive!
In the future I won't be going nearly as often because of adult responsibilities like mortgage payments and saving for new (but still used) cars. It was also cheaper for me in the past because I split hotel bills with friends. So that's my first tip - share hotels with friends and make it a friend's getaway! I'm determined to still get down to Florida on occasion to check out the new rides/lands/etc. (I'm looking at you, Ratatouille ride opening this Summer!)
This guide will not go into the Disney Dining Plan or buying hotel packages with tickets because that's not how I plan my trips. But definitely google if you want to learn more about DDP!
My Disney Travel Trick to Saving Money!
Here's my Disney travel secret - I save money by buying Disney Gift Cards! How does buying gift cards save money, you ask?
If you are a member of BJs, Costco or Sam's Club you can buy discounted Disney gift cards. At BJs you can get a $500 card for $479.99. That's an extra $20 you can use for food or souvenirs. You don't save as much on the $25 or $50 cards (the $100 is comparable to the $500.)
Don't worry if you aren't a member of a cost club - many send out free trials that you can take advantage of. For example, BJs often offers 3 free months. Pay attention to any coupon books you get in the mail! My mom and I share a membership that we paid $25 for with a deal. You can also use a Target Red card to get 5% off the purchase of any gift card.
Once you have all your gift cards, head over to DisneyGiftCard.com and combine them! You can have up to $1000 per card so you may have a few fully loaded ones. Then use these to buy your tickets, pay for your hotel and on your trip for food and souvenirs!
Slowly buy these throughout the year or do what I do - save per month in a Capital One 360 Savings Account (this link should give you an extra $25!) Before my trip I make a spreadsheet of the costs I know and estimate for food, souvenirs, etc. so I know how much to save. For this particular trip I saved almost $100 on Christian's park ticket and our hotel by purchasing gift cards.
When it's time to get your park tickets - buy that amount of gift cards and continue to save in your account. Buy the rest of your gift cards as you get closer to the trip so the money you saved gains interest instead of sitting in a gift card gathering dust. Take note of purchase limits, some stores only allow you to buy a certain number of gift cards.
And now on to the rest of the planning process!
Where to Stay
Disney World Hotels
I prefer to stay on-site at Disney World hotels even though they are usually more expensive than other options. For me, the benefits of staying on property outweigh the slightly higher cost.By staying at a Disney owned hotel you don't have to worry about transportation. Disney provides a free shuttle service - Disney's Magical Express from Orlando airport. It can also take care of your checked baggage so you don't have to waste time waiting.
Disney World also offers a few forms of transportation to and from the parks. You can take buses, boats, the monorail and even the brand new Skyliner. If you want a more private form of transportation you can still pay for an Uber or a Lyft Minnie Van.
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| Disney World Skyliner transportation |
Hotel guests can also take advantage of early Fast Pass booking for popular rides. Instead of the usual 30 days regular ticket holders get, you can book your Fast Passes 60 days ahead of your check in date! This comes in super handy when trying to experience popular rides like Smugglers Run, Flight of Passage, Slinky Dog Dash or Seven Dwarves Mine Train.
Another great perk of staying at a Disney hotel is Extra Magic Hours. On certain mornings and evenings hotel guests are able to go to the park before any other guests or stay past traditional park closing time. This is a great way to have less wait time for rides and enjoy a slightly less crowded park. Once EMH begins you have to scan your magic band before getting in ride lines to prove you have a hotel reservation.
When to book?
A lot of people don't realize this, but you are able to cancel Disney hotel reservations up to 5 days before your check-in date. You can also update your reservation if a deal is released.NOTE: I'm not sure if this applies if you buy your park tickets and hotel as a package.
I like to book the cheapest on-site hotel (except All Star Movies/Music - not a fan) for the dates I want as soon as I decide when I want to go. Then I keep checking for Disney to release their seasonal deals or Annual Passholder deals and update my reservation. Usually it's the same hotel but sometimes I change if another is cheaper or if a hotel I really want to stay at has a good deal.
Sometimes I book trips for two separate date windows if I haven't decided on flights yet. You have to put down a one night deposit upon booking, but when you cancel that is returned to you. I find this helpful in planning trips with multiple friends until we can fully nail down dates.
My past few trips I stayed at Pop Century Resort but I've also stayed at Art of Animation and Port Orleans Riverside (both are usually too expensive.) In the future I plan to splurge on a couple nights at Animal Kingdom Lodge and spend the rest of that same trip at a cheaper hotel.
Staying Off-Site
If staying on property isn't possible for you, there are other options. You could stay at a Disney affiliated hotel, another local hotel or even an airbnb. I am not the best person to ask for this type of advice as I have only ever stayed on property at Universal or Disney. (I've also stayed with friends a couple of times)If you don't stay on site keep in mind the other costs involved. How will you get to and from the parks? Will you rent a car or Uber everywhere? Same with getting to your hotel from the airport.
By staying off-site you also lose out on other benefits of staying at a Disney hotel - Extra Magic Hours and early Fast Pass access mentioned above (Disney partner hotels do offer 60 day Fast Passes.) You also won't get a complimentary (or discounted) Magic Band.
Flights/Driving
I won't go too detailed into traveling to Disney because everyone has their favorite airline or way to travel. I will say I haven't paid for a flight to Disney - and most of my US-based trips - since January 2014. I signed up for a Southwest credit card when they had a 50,000 point sign up bonus and have used points to pay for my flights ever since! It is my main credit card so all my purchases gain me points for flights. I even used my points for Christian's flights this year.Southwest currently has a 40,000 point bonus if you spend $1000 in your first 3 months - some cards are higher than 40K. I also have their business card since I'm a freelancer so I got another 50,000 points with that.
Park Tickets
Regular Tickets
You can buy your park tickets as part of your hotel reservation or purchase them separately. Since I'm an annual passholder, I book separately for everyone else in my party. The more days you buy, the cheaper the daily price becomes.For my upcoming trip I bought Christian a 6 day pass even though we were originally going to get a 5 day pass because it was only $13 more. Now we can go to the parks the day we arrive instead of just going to Disney Springs or checking out other hotels. We may only use it to see the Magic Kingdom fireworks, but it's better to have the option than regret not having the extra day.
Disney also offers ticket deals from time to time. Right now they are offering a 4-Park Magic Ticket for $338.77 that let's you enjoy one admission to each of the 4 parks (one per day.) Sometimes they offer Mid-Day magic tickets where you can enter the park after 12pm for a cheaper price. Florida Residents also get great deals more often. Keep an eye out!
To hop or not?
I usually buy park hopper tickets because I like being able to visit more than 1 park in a day. But if you know you will only be heading to 1 park each day there's no need to spend extra for a hopper ticket. You can always upgrade it at a ticket window if you change your mind!Annual Pass
If you are planning on going to Disney more than twice in a 12 month period, an Annual Pass will most likely be cost effective for you. Basically, if you plan on going to the park more than 10 days in a year you will save on normal ticket prices. It's not an exact science because ticket prices vary based on how many days you buy at once and what time of year it is, but generally 10 days will make it worth your while.Not everyone in your travel group needs to have one either. So if you know you'll be going multiple times in a year go ahead and "splurge" on the annual pass. It will save you money in the long run.
Unfortunately, Disney likes to raise the prices on APs frequently, as of writing this post they've just updated the cost of a Platinum pass (cheapest non-Floridian's can buy) to $1,272.68 with tax. When I first bought mine it was $829 and my second pass was $952. BUT as long as you go a certain number of days you can make it worth it.
With the current prices you would have to go on 2 trips for 4 days each to make up for the price of the annual pass. Easy peasy!
Discounts
You'll be able to let your friends share in some of your perks - like dining (10% at select restaurants) and merchandise discounts (20% at most stores - but you will have to make the purchase) Some tours have Annual Passholder discounts as well. You can also get up to 3 extra discounted tickets for special parties (holiday or after hours events.)
Photopass
Annual passes also come with access to all your photopass photos. This means you can take as many pictures as you want with Disney photographers and download them for free! Plus any rides that take a photo of you will also be included. If you want this ability without an annual pass you pay $169 for 30 days of Memory Maker or pay for each photo you download. |
| A fun photopass spot (it also comes with a zoom out video) |
Example
Prices have since gone up but, in 2017, I paid $829 for my annual pass (technically $817 because I used my gift card trick above!) I went to the park 18 days bringing my cost per day down to $46. I also used my discount on merchandise, hotel stays and food.Over the course of the year I saved $1158 vs normal ticket prices, accommodations, merchandise and food. Calculating only what I spent on food, extras and merchandise I saved $244. This is not counting what I saved by having access to Memory Maker each trip (that would bring it up to $1834.)
This trip I'm using it to save 15% on the Wild Africa Trek at Animal Kingdom, a safari tour I've wanted to do for YEARS! (still saving up for a real safari but that's a pipe dream if I'm being honest with myself, especially since I'm married and we would need to save for 2 people now)
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| Savings on 1 visit to Disney World with Annual Pass |
Fast Passes
Fast Passes are they key to not wasting time waiting in lines. The gist is - you get to pre-book 3 fast passes per day at one park. After you use those 3 you can book 1 at a time for the rest of the day. You can only book your first 3 at one park but after that you can switch.
If you are staying at a Disney hotel you can do this 60 days before your trip. If not, be ready to book 30 days before your tickets are active. You can also book them the day you visit the park but the options will be pretty limited by that point, still worth using them though so don't miss out! Fast Pass availability opens up at 7am at your designated day.
Depending on which park you are at there are different "tiers" of Fast Passes. You can only book one Tier 1 fast pass in your block of 3. As an example, if you get a Slinky Dog Dash fast pass at Hollywood Studios you cannot book a fast pass for Smuggler's Run or the new Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway (opening March 4th) until after you use your first 3 fast passes. You can find a list of current tiers and available fast passes here.
UPDATE: Fast Passes have been replaced by Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lanes
Advance Disney Dining Reservations / Disney Dining
There are 2 different types of restaurants at Disney - Quick Service and Table Service. Quick Service restaurants are great for fast bites and do not take reservations. Some will let you order your food through the Disney app so you don't have to wait in line to order. One of my favorite QS restaurants is Cosmic Rays Starlight Cafe, I love their condiment bar (I always grab a huge pile of pickles and fried onion sticks and get made fun of by my friends)
If you want to eat at some of the more popular Table Service restaurants within Disney World like Be Our Guest or Cinderella's Royal Table you will most definitely need an advanced dining reservation. They open up 180 days in advance and are available whether you are staying at a Disney hotel or not. Some restaurants, like Cinderella's Royal Table, require payment upon booking, but most you will pay at the restaurant.
If you know you want to eat at a popular restaurant be ready to book 180 days in advance. If you are unable to score a reservation keep checking in the weeks and days before your trip. I've gotten random reservations up to a day before my visit. You can also set up alerts on MouseDining to be notified if a reservation for your party size and date becomes available.
You can also use this handy Disney Dining Calculator to find what it may cost your family for your trip! It let's you plug in specific restaurants or choose the average cost per meal type!
Other Ways to Save
Spoiler Alert: Most of these are going to involve food
Opt out of Housekeeping (suspended since Covid)
If you're staying at a Value or Moderate resort at Disney World you can save a bit of money by opting out of Housekeeping. In doing this you will receive a gift card, the amount will depend on the length of your stay. To figure out how much your gift card will be, multiply the number of nights you are staying times $10 and then subtract $10 from that total. We are staying 7 nights on our next trip so we will get a $60 gift card. Hello, free dinner!What this means is your room won't be cleaned through the duration of your stay. Your sheets and towels will not be changed, your trash won't be emptied and your bed will not be made (unless you make it!) You will be able to call down to the front desk for anything you need (like new towels or sheets) but a member of the housekeeping staff will not make the bed for you.
If you check-in on your phone you can select the "Service Your Way Program" option and if you check in at the hotel your cast member will most likely ask if you would like to opt out of housekeeping. If not, ask to sign up for the Service Your Way Program.
Bring Your Own Snacks/Food
One of my friends likes to bring her own snacks that she can eat for breakfast or between meals at the parks. Some people also like to go grocery shopping when they get to Disney so they can bring things like sandwiches for lunch and not spend a fortune eating out at every meal. Amazon grocery delivery could also be an option.Eat Off the Kid's Menu
This is my personal favorite way to save a few extra dollars. I order off the kid's menu when possible. It's still a good amount of food, especially if you want snacks like pretzels and ice cream during the day. Most quick service restaurants will let you do this, but if you dine at a restaurant with a buffet or Prix Fixe you will have to pay the adult price. I frequently order off the kid's menu at Be Our Guest (Lumiere's Delight for lunch or French Toast at breakfast for the win!) |
| Kid's french toast with the pastry plate they include with all breakfasts (and The Master's Cupcake) |
Share Food/Snack at the EPCOT Festivals
Sharing meals with friends at quick service spots can also help to save some cash and leave room for lots of desserts and snacking. We all need a couple Mickey ice cream bars and some popcorn, right?EPCOT often has festivals going on where you can try sample sized foods from outdoor kitchens throughout World Showcase. Whenever my friends and I go during a festival we don't plan on eating at restaurants. Instead, we visit all the kitchens and snack on the offerings. We'll often share things that we all want to try. It makes for a cheap-ish day and instead of having 2 big meals you can just snack throughout the day.
