What else can I cut down on??

[Deesdisney]

Well I should have told you that we will be staying at a DVC 2 bdrm or on property. We usually do not leave the park in the middle of the day to have lunch at our resort. WalMart thing is really good. I went there last year to get all the T-shirts. However it just didn't feel Disney to me. That is why I want to go to the Disney store. I read on another thread about making my own gift basket. I am thinking about doing this and filling it up with stuff for our trip. Maybe even ask the grandparents to cut back on Christmas and donate Disney dollars or gift cards.

Keep them coming my mind is getting a lot of good ideas. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

[SFTrny]

We save money at FW by having dinners in the room most nights. It's a great way to recharge before going back into the parks and dinners seem to be the most expensive meals in the parks.
You could also look for ways to save on travel so that you don't have to cut back as much while you are Disney. If you are flying in, use remote parking or look into an airport shuttle service. At our airport, a week of parking can easily be over $100. We pack snacks for the airport and plane too. (no drinks...liquids, gels, aerosols)

[Taja]

Purchase glow sticks and similar items at home--Tinkerbell can leave them, particularly for the youngest child. Take them to the parks for use in the evening--SpectroMagic, Fantasmic, etc., rather than purchasing the glowing items at WDW.

[jonahbear2006]

we dont buy anything in the park. other than food and usually not even that. We eat at the resorts but anyways, we have the kids get $1 coupons for each selfless deed they do 2 weeks before our trip till the day we leave. Each coupon they get they can turn in for $1 to spend on a souvenirat wdw. Other than that, they don't get anything else during the trip. The trip is their gift.
We bring lots of food with us but we drive, as well. Target does sell glow sticks for camping that we got last time and ponchos for super cheap. Take your own pictures and hand your camera to the photo pass people and dont buy photo pass pics. that will save you money. They are pretty much the same pics anyways. Walmart in ORL. does have great disney stuff. We got our lanyard pins there last year. they were 1/3 of the price and the same thing. They were even pinned to the same cardboard. Talk about goofy. haha. We spent about $20 on stuff in there at Walmart and wouldve spent $80 at WDW. Just bring everything you will possibly need and dont buy anything there. simple eh? haha

[MickeyMousse]

Buy ponchos and bring them down with you instead of buying them at the resort or in the parks. We would spend close to $25 on them at WDW...once they ripped/got too small I went to our Dollar Store prior to our trip and bought some. A big $$$$$$ saver there!

Pack your own snacks, try TS lunch vs dinner.

If you are going to stop at a grocery store, try Winn Dixie down the road rather than Goodings. (The closest Winn-Dixie to Walt Disney World is located at 11957 S. Apopka/Vineland Road (SR 535), about 3 lights north of the intersection with Hotel Plaza Blvd and just north of the intersection with Lake Avenue, on the east side of the street.)

Have a great trip!

[gmgdisneymom]

you didn't say whether you were staying on or off property, if you are staying on then go for the meal plan, it is by far the best way to save money.

We buy our shirts at the disney store as well (right now they are having a big sale 2.99 per shirt here) if you are going to be bringing water bottles, you might want to also bring the straps to hold them - or you will end up holding everyone's water

[TammiMcMan]

you didn't say whether you were staying on or off property,

In the above post, the OP mentions staying at a DVC 2 bedroom .

[DisneyMama18]

When we went in June I sent down a box to the resort ahead of time so it was there waiting for us when we arrived. In the box was a case of water, juice boxes, granola bars, crackers, cookies, breakfast foods too. It cost me $15 to send a 30 pound box. It also had baby supplies that I needed.

We also spent a ton on souveniers while we were there. For our upcoming trip in October I decided that I was not spending that much of stuff for the kiddies. I went on ebay and found a ton of stuff for a fraction of the price. I am going to take it with me and give it to them once we get there. I bought a princess pin lanyard for $2, pins as low as $3, the cutest autograph book with a matching pen for $4. That was just some of what I purchased. Ebay had everything that I wanted and more, even plushes of all sorts.

[mdhiggin]

I try to save money on my trips, as well, but I agree with PP about saving on a lot before the trip. We're on a budget now that has really helped us cut expenses like eating out, groceries, impulse buys. We were surprised how much we wasted on just eating out whenever the urge hit. Now we right everything down to keep track, even down to the $1.50 spent on our Sunday paper for it's coupons.

[CleveRocks]

If you are flying in, did you reserve your FREE Disney's Magical Express airport transfers, or are you paying to get to and from the airport???

[Dakota Rose]

We're going in January too and we plan to cut back on Christmas gifts and give Disney dollars and gift cards.