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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
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    Default Items you pack that save you money

    My question is...are there any items that you pack for Disney World that save you money while you are there?

    My number one thing is medicine....if you ever need it you would pay a bundle for it there. What are your money saving items?
    Off-Site several times between 1983-1992
    1993-Grand Floridian
    1996-Poly
    1998-Poly
    2001-Poly
    2004-Pop
    2008-Pop "First MNSSHP"
    2009-Coronado Springs" MNSSHP"
    2010-Pop Century "MNSSHP"
    Next Trip 10/01/2011 MNSSHP !

    "Now approaching carousal of progress."

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
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    4,877
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    Because most airlines charge for baggage now I pack as little as possible. With the exception of prescription medication, I only bring advil, anything else can be purchased at Walgreen's in Fl for about the same cost at home. Years ago I brought everything but the kitchen sink, not only did we get tried of carting so much stuff, we found that 80% of what we were bringing never made it out of the suitcase. I made myself stop the "we might need it" mind set and I think it has made everyone happier.

    Our vacations are 10 days long and consist of 4 people. I have one semi large (not huge)and 1 medium suit case for all of our cloths and bathroom products. We have one small carry on for snacks on the plane, cell phones, a camera, ipods and DS's. I don't even bring a purse anymore.


    I do have Garden Grocer deliver water, soda, a few snacks, bagels & cream cheese. This is more of a time saving thing, because it really doesn't save any money.

    BTW we will be arriving Sept 29 and leaving Oct 9th this year so we will be there the same time as you!
    Rita (aka NJGIRL)

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Lafayette, Louisiana
    Posts
    6,624
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    Default

    Since we drive I can bring pretty much anything want. I tend to have a "medicine cabinet" packed on all our trips. We also bring drinks and snacks for the room, as well as breakfast items. We find having breakfast in the room while getting ready not only saves money, but more importantly saves tons of time. We also throw a few snacks in a back pack for the parks. Not that we mind paying for snacks in the parks, but sometimes its just easier to grab something we already have, plus my kids can have their favorites at any time.
    Denise

    Resorts we've stayed at in 20+ trips: ASMo, ASMu, ASSp, PC, CSR, CBR, POR, POFQ, WL, AKL Jambo, AKL Kidani, Poly, Contemporary, BC, YC, BWV, OKW, SSR, Swan, Shades of Green, Vero Beach, Disneyland Resort

    Next Trip: ???

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
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    ON, Canada
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by buzznwoodysmom View Post
    Since we drive I can bring pretty much anything want. I tend to have a "medicine cabinet" packed on all our trips. We also bring drinks and snacks for the room, as well as breakfast items. We find having breakfast in the room while getting ready not only saves money, but more importantly saves tons of time. We also throw a few snacks in a back pack for the parks. Not that we mind paying for snacks in the parks, but sometimes its just easier to grab something we already have, plus my kids can have their favorites at any time.

    We find that by having breakfast in our room sure does save us a ton of both time and money. Now that the mods have fridges, cold drinks are always an hand as well.
    Brian (aka CanadianWDWFan)
    INTERCOT Staff:Theme Parks, The Water Cooler & Trip Reports
    DVC-BWV, Riviera
    Next Trip:DLR

  6. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
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    169
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    Default

    Purex washing detergent sheets. The kind that have the fabric softener in them also. I pick up a sample size at Walmart for 97 cents. It has 2 sheets in the package. This saves about $3 on just detergent and fabric softener per load. the detergent at the resorts are $2 a box

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    New York
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    Default

    I try to not go with the idea that we might not need it, because as I learned on our last trip, we did need it.

    This actually was a Cruise we took to the Bahamas last week. Me and DD did a horse and carriage ride and she got an allergic reaction from the horse. She had her asthma inhaler of course, thank goodness. But we then had to get back to the ship to get her some allergy medicine, because her eyes were at that red teary itchy stage. I realize thats a cruise ship and things may be different, but we were also in Disney for a few days before the cruise and I was hoping to buy her some sudafed because of some nasal issues. But could find none.

    Anyway, I just picked up a $.97 bottle of 20 oz Wisk for our next trip.
    Offsite...(12/97 & 10/99)
    DL...(10/02 & 5/05)
    CBR/Disney Wonder 2004, AllStar Music 2004, AKL 2006, POP 2006, POP 2007, Poly 2007, BWI 2007, WL 2008, CSR 2009, Poly 2009, CBR 2010, AKL 2011...

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    McHenry, MS-594 miles from the World
    Posts
    6,950
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    All kinds of things:

    1. Cereal bars, pop tarts, juice, fruit etc. for breakfast in the room
    2. Ibuprofen, imodium, benadryl just in case we don't feel well
    3. bandaids in case we get a blister
    4. Can sodas-its lots cheaper than vending machines
    5. Batteries for my camera
    6. A case of bottled water-we take one into the park every day and refill it at the water fountains


    Dec.11-18, 2021 Port Orleans Riverside
    Jan. 25-Feb. 1, 2017, Port Orleans Riverside
    Oct. 29-Nov.4, 2014-Yacht Club
    Dec. 17-23 2011-Wilderness Lodge
    Dec. 20-30, 2008-Pop Century
    Dec. 25,2005-Jan.1, 2006-Coronado Springs
    Jan. 1-7, 2003-All Star Movies

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    N.C.
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    Default

    There are two things that I've found that if I pack saves me a lot of money. The first is quick and easy breakfast foods/snack foods. My kids were brought up on instant oatmeal and love it to this day. Between this and pop tarts we can get from bed to lunch without being too hungry. I also try to pack some snack bars or microwave popcorn for a snack during the evenings

    I also bring along the Purex laundry sheets. They're easy to pack and between them and the washer/dryer in the villas, we can get away with packing less, thus avoiding extra baggage charges should we have to fly other than SWA. We can also leave space in our luggage on the way there that gives us space for those things we purchase during our trips. At $25 per bag/person (4)/direction (to & from) this saves us about $200 alone.

    Personally, I learned to take cheap sunglasses because I always break or misplace mine on rides. I can't afford to loose my "good" glasses every trip as that can get really expensive, too.
    °O°Amy °O° DVC Member
    2011 Dec-Poly with the grandparents--whoo-hoo!!!
    2011 June-SSR!!!!!
    2008 Aug-Colbey&Gray's Birthday surprise-SSR/OKW
    2008 June-SSR
    2006 June-Port Orleans Riverside
    2004 Easter-CSR
    1988 May-Graduation
    1982 Offsite
    1980 Offsite

  10. #9
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
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    At the Edge of Reason
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    My mantra is you pack it, you carry it.

    That has cut down on what we bring, plus I tend to edit what other people pack anyway. This can save on airline fees, BOTH WAYS unless you're flying Southwest. Also, anything heavy or expensive goes in the carry-ons. This too saves on airline fees.

    Time and convenience are money. Anything in the IF column goes through a price check. IF I might need it, what would it cost to get it. If the price isn't that bad, then it stays home. Also, if something doesn't get used for a trip or two, it goes in the DO NOT BRING column.

    On a cruise though, all bets are off. They got us one time for $12 I think it was for a small bottle of Aloe. Hundreds of miles out at sea, they really got you! WDW? Civilization isn't that far away from the gates.

  11. #10
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
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    ON, Canada
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    Default

    Something else that I have always gone with is to pack half the clothes you want and take twice the money you think you need.

    Seriously though, just about every time there is always something that was never worn while on vacation. So in recent trips we have dratically cut back on the amount of clothing that we take and always do a laundry at least once.
    Brian (aka CanadianWDWFan)
    INTERCOT Staff:Theme Parks, The Water Cooler & Trip Reports
    DVC-BWV, Riviera
    Next Trip:DLR

  12. #11
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
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    Illinois
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    Default

    I use to pack full bottles, etc. of medicine. Now I take one small ziplok baggy with a few bandades, a small bottle of Advil; small bottle if Exedrine, one "sheet" of allergy pills, Imodium, etc. Just putting a portion of the medicine we might need as opposed to the whole container really saves room and money if we would have to buy it there.

    We also pack plastic utensils, bowls, cups, plates, etc. and snacks.

    Also, we use gardengrocer to bring us a case of water, gatoraid, gallon of milk, juice, cereal, beer, etc. That is the biggest saver for us!
    "Dream'nDisney"
    1989 HJ (Downtown Disney area)
    1991 CBR
    1997 CBR
    1998 CBR
    2000 POFQ
    2002 CSR & Poly
    2004 POR
    2006 AsM & BC
    2010 YC
    2011 YC
    2014 YC
    2016 YC

  13. #12
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Indiana
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    529
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    Default

    As a couple of previous posters have said, we bring breakfast foods with us (mainly cereals & raisins). We buy milks and bananas / apples at the resort. This saves time & money. We generally look to eat an early lunch and early dinner to beat the crowds.

    We also bring extra hangers to hang up all of our clothes.

    Finally I bring ziplock baggies for use when we are on water rides (or for rainy days).
    POR 3/2006
    GF 12/2010
    CSR 3/2011
    DLH 6/2012, 6/2013
    POFQ 3/2007, 4/2008, 12/2008, 3/2010, 10/2011, 4/2013, 3/2015, 5/2017
    BC 3/2014
    AKL 9/2015, 5/2018
    BW 9/2017

  14. #13
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Chicago, IL
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    Smile

    We don't do the ddp, so I ship a case of water to myself via Costco.com ($7) and bring along those individual servings of powdered drink mixes, in case someone wants more "flavor". I also bring my own ground coffee in a ziploc bag b/c I don't care for the WDW coffee.

    I bring a travel amount of every type of OTC medicine we may need.

    I think this trip I'll also bring breakfast bars to get us past through the early mornings w/o having to hit the cs at the resort-that will save time & money!

    If possible, ds continues the same autograph book from trip to trip, and he uses the same xtra chubby markers.

    We also bring 1-2 of the few light-up souvenirs we've bought over the years before we realized we should just recycle them each trip. Ds always wants one, but doesn't play with them at home. I put them away when we return home & I break them out again after we've arrived at the parks!

    Tess

    poly07

    poly08
    pop09
    popChristmas09
    contemporaryJune10
    wlOctober10
    wlChristmas10
    polyMay11
    wlOctober11
    bcJune12
    dreamThanksgiving12
    bcJune13

  15. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    QUEENS,NY
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    DW and I joined DVC a couple years back, and we book a 1 BR, with a full kitchen, and laundry room. We drive from NY so we pack whatever we want.
    DW and I are both handicapped, and use ECVs for getting around. With the ECVs, we carry two one gallon jugs, one with ice water, the other with a drink. We also carry a small cooler bag with sandwiches and snacks. We have our breakfast in the room which saves both time and money. By doing this, we can afford to splurge on supper if we want. You can save a small fortune by purchasing your souveniers off property, the same merchandise for a lot less. If you are a member of AAA, you can get your park admission tickets at a discount.
    If you have small children, bring your own stroller, renting at the park ain't cheap. Besides, a stroller can also be used as a pack mule.
    PETE FROM NYC
    DISNEY NUT SINCE THE 1950s.
    I AM POOH SIZED AND PROUD OF IT.
    FORGET ABOUT THAT OTHER FAT GUY ON TV.
    I AM THE REAL KING OF QUEENS
    TWELVE TRIPS FROM 1975 - 2007 all by plane
    Drove down 2009,2010,2012,2014.
    DVC since 9/09. We own at BLT.
    Next trip: 11/1 to 11/12. BLT

  16. #15
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    Valdosta, GA
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    Case of water is a necessity!
    October 2000 & 2003 CBR
    March 2004 Offsite
    May 2004 AK Lodge
    July & Sept 2004 Pop Century
    Nov 2004 Offsite
    Dec 2004 Coronado Springs
    March 2005 Contemporary
    July 2010 Contemporary
    May 2011 AK Lodge
    Nov 2011 POR-Riverside
    Feb 2012 Polynesian
    April & May 2012 Boardwalk

  17. #16
    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Location
    Edwardsville, IL
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    I've really cut down on the stuff I bring. After a couple of years of having gaggles of snack crumbs in the bottom of my backpack at the end of the trip, I realized I was wasting money. The only thing I bring extra now is a pack of cereal bars for emergencies.

    I always carry a little emergency medical kit in my backpack anyway.

    Like everyone else, the fact that we have to pay so much for baggage on the airplane has caused us to cut back.
    Diane
    ~•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•~
    When your heart is in your dream, no request is too extreme.

  18. #17
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Maryland
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    Default

    Water bottles with filters.
    Kate

    First visit: 1974 (off property)
    In between: 6 visits (off property), then:
    POR 2002
    CS - 2003
    AKL - 2005
    POR March 2006
    POR August 2006
    Upcoming: August 2010

  19. #18
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Henderson, KY (but retiring @ WDW)
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    Default

    All the items you pack save you money. We pack it all. Medicine, breakfast foods, snacks, paper plates, towels, utensils, drinks, adult beverages, toiletries, detergent/softner sheets, even prevoiusly purchased WDW items. The only thing we buy when we get there is milk, bread, and lunchmeat.
    1974 - Off Property
    1975 - Poly
    1980 - Golf Resort (Honeymoon)
    1881 - Golf Resort
    1982 - Poly
    1983 - Contemporary
    1989 - CBR (10th anniversay)
    1998 - CBR (DD 1st trip )
    2001 - CBR
    2003 - WL
    2004 - WL (25th anniversary)
    2005 - WL
    2006 - WL
    2010 - WL

  20. #19
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Elgin, Illinois
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    Default

    I love these lists guys. Thanks for your suggestions...I love the purex one.
    Off-Site several times between 1983-1992
    1993-Grand Floridian
    1996-Poly
    1998-Poly
    2001-Poly
    2004-Pop
    2008-Pop "First MNSSHP"
    2009-Coronado Springs" MNSSHP"
    2010-Pop Century "MNSSHP"
    Next Trip 10/01/2011 MNSSHP !

    "Now approaching carousal of progress."

  21. #20
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    erie, pa
    Posts
    119
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    Default

    Batteries, memory cards and toiletries
    Polynesian & BLT October 2011!

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