Never did I think that we would be able to do a Disney Vacation (DV) anytime soon. Much to my surprise after checking into things I discovered I was VERY wrong!
Disney offers MANY options when planning your vacation. I am going to tell you what I did, how we are paying for it then I am going to tell you some things I learned AFTER I booked our vacation.
Did you know that when booking your DV you do not have to pay the entire amount up front? I didn't either! You only have to put $200 down then you can make payments as you go. The final payment MUST be paid 45 days before your arrival date. The reason I like this option is because we did not have the $2043.90 to pay right then and there but knew we would have it by the 45 day mark. We are not using a credit card to pay for this trip, we are using cash. By being able to make payments really helps. I booked our vacation directly from DisneyVacations.com.
Our package includes 4 nights at Disney's Pop Century Resort, 3 days of park tickets and the Deluxe Disney Dining Plan which includes 3 meals and two snacks per day per person. The DDDP also includes a refillable mug for each person, the refills are free at certain locations. Because we get 3 sit down meals a day we have LOTS of options for our meals. We have opted to have 7 character meals and 4 regular meals. Yes, I know that only adds up to 11 meals and we should get 12 per person but one of our meals "costs" two points instead of one like all the others. I am MORE than happy to pay the 2 points though, it means we get to have dinner IN Cinderella's Castle!
Now, here are some things I learned AFTER I booked everything.
You can purchase gift certificates from Restaurant.com for many of the restaurants on property for just $2!! There are restrictions and often times you do have to pay 18% gratuity (automatically added to your bill) and you do have to purchase a certain amount at the restaurant. But, it is still a really great deal!
You ARE allowed to take soft sided coolers into all of the Disney Parks. This is great! A picnic under a tree with a view of THE castle anyone? How fun!
If you don't want to haul a TON of things with you to the park each day (like water bottles) you can go to any quick service cart and ask for a cup of ice water. A bottle of water in the park will cost you $2, a bottle of water brought from home (you can purchase cases on sale, check Wags) will cost at least $0.10 plus you will have to carry it around with you all day, but a cup of ice water is totally FREE!
There are TONS of other ways to save and you can check them out on sites such as mousesavers.com, allears.net, couponingtodisney.com and from those sites you will find a ton of others.
Only 129 days to go!!!!!