Disney Deals:

Room rate discounts are among the best that Disney Offers!

Save up to 30% on Rooms at Select Disney Resort Hotels in Early 2015! Up to 30% off in Deluxe and Deluxe Villa Resort Hotels, up to 25% off Moderate resorts & up to 20% Value resorts. Minimum 1 night stay, number of rooms allocated at each resort is limited.

For stays most nights January 5 – March 28, 2015

Book by December 29, 2014

 

Continue reading for more ideas on how to save on your dream vacation…

Double Dipping….

If your grocery offers bonus gas points for purchasing gift cards, you can pay for a WDW vacation using Disney Gift Cards. Once you have booked your trip, you can pay down a vacation at any point until 45 days prior when the balance is due. I would NOT buy the whole trip in gift cards at once because you would never be able to use the fuel points before they expire. But, you could buy $100 every time you grocery shop and pay it down little by little and continue to get the gas points for months.

In my case, it would be Triple Dipping because Kroger gives my school 4% of my purchases, I get the gas points, and I can pick away at my total for my vacation. Paying the total on day 45 is painful, so little by little feels better to me!

Sams Club is also a place to buy discounted gift certificates!

Planning Ahead….

I have heard people say that 6 months or 180 days is the magic time for planning. I don’t agree at all. The further out you book your trip, the more money you can save. Though it is not advertised, Disney will apply current promotions to your existing reservation.

For example…You book your vacation for September 29th in January for 7 day Magic Your Way package with Dining. Just recently, Disney offered a free dining promotion from August 25-September 29 if you book by May 18. You can call Disney and they will apply this free dining promotion to your trip, saving you around $800. Of course this is based on availability, but as long as you keep an eye on special offers you can save big!

You can look at the historical deals the WDW offers and gauge when they will be offering discounts. If you have a previously booked trip, you can apply those special offers right away!

Ship Some of Your Stuff Instead of Packing

Did you know you can ship items to your hotel before your arrival? The hotel will hold it in bell services or their business center until you check in. You may not think that shipping a box UPS or USPS would save you money, but it really can in the long run. Some airlines charge $25 or more to check a bag, which is $50 round trip. When you have a family of 4, you have just added $200 to your vacation.

In the past, I have shipped boxes that contained our consumables for the trip. This saved room in our luggage and we were able to fly checking only 2 bags for the 4 of us. Here are some ideas on the things you can ship:

• Snacks
• Ziploc bags
• pullups/diapers &wipes
• shelf stable milk & juice
• 1 time use ponchos
• Dress ups for your character meal (keeps the glitter off your clean clothes and cheaper to buy at home!)
• Surprise gifts – keeps the kids from wanting to buy everything
• coloring books and small toys for the hotel and restaurants

To ship a package, look up the address for the specific hotel you will be staying. I always call the hotel directly to confirm the address. Here is a good source for the individual hotel phone numbers and addresses. You always include the name on the reservation, your confirmation number and date of arrival. Here is an example.

BoardWalk Inn and Villas
2101 N. Epcot Resorts Boulevard
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830-1000

Joe Schmo

Reservation # 3LM65689

Arrival 8/6/2012