Thursday, December 10, 2009

Save Some Money!

One of the hardest things to do when planning a trip to Walt Disney World is save! And I don't just mean saving for that wonderful vacation, I mean savings when you book that vacation!
There are some things I don't recommend cutting and other things I do. First, I don't recommend trying to save money by just buying the base ticket for the Disney parks. The base ticket gets you into one park each day. If you miss the Wishes fireworks in the Magic Kingdom because it rains the day you were there, you won't be able to just bounce back over there the next day after spending the day in Epcot (or another park). Getting the park hopper gives you the most flexibility and is well worth the extra cash.
Where you can save is on the Waterparks Fun and More option. If you only plan to go to one of the waterparks, it's more cost effective to buy a one day waterpark ticket when you go rather than add the waterparks fun and more option to your ticket.
Also, I've said this before and it bears repeating, I don't recommend staying off-site when going to Walt Disney World. You have much better transporation services to and from the parks staying at a Disney resort because the buses run from every resort an hour before parks open till an hour after they close. Having value, moderate and deluxe resorts to choose from means there's something for every budget. Other benefits to Disney guests include one park opening early each day and one staying open late each night just for guests of Walt Disney World resorts!
Disney's Buy 4 Get 3 Free nights promotion is ending Dec. 20th and travel must be completed by March 27th. But there is always the chance that they extend the promotion. If that's going to happen, they would likely announce it just before or after Dec. 20th. I'm going to go out on a limb here and predict they will extend it. Spending in Disney Parks was down by 4% in 2009 and resort occupancy was down also. I would like to see it extended to the end of June so those families that don't want to take their children out of school have some time to get there once school is out.