FREE Disney Parks Vacation Planning DVD (+ Tips to Save on Disney & More!)
If you have yet to request your FREE Disney Parks Vacation Planning DVD, it is still available! Just click on the banner above and fill out the short form.
Your FREE Vacation Planning DVD will include:
* A complete tour of the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida
* A tour of the Disneyland Resort in California, including 2 enchanting Theme Parks and 3 Resort hotels
* Affordable ways to play and stay during your Disney vacation
* Pocket-sized planning guides, planning tips, and information on special events, and more!
Note that this offer is only available to U.S. and Canadian households. One per household.
And check out these comments left by Hip2Save readers on a recent post for ways to save at Disney…
Bring a water bottle and refill at drinking fountains! Take a break in the middle of the day. Sign up for the Earl of Sandwich club for freebies if you’ll go to downtown Disney. And pack snacks- there’s no reason to buy them there, they’re no tastier. I just got back and it was HOT- bring umbrellas for portable shade & rain!
We brought a small cooler (purse-like cooler) and filled it with ice & drinks. We also brought our own snacks and some Subway (they have $5 footlongs this month!) to save on eating costs. Because we decided to do this, we saved TONS of time (the lines were always long at the Disney food places to eat) and a lot of money. We used that money to go to Typhoon Lagoon instead. The Disney water parks AND Aquatica are A BLAST (and I’m picky!)!
Ride the popular rides when the park first opens the lines will be the quickest in the morning. Eat before you go the park. Food can be expensive in the park. Bring a poncho it rains a lot and it will be cheaper to buy one outside the park rather than having to buy one inside the park. Local Walmart sells Disney souvenirs for a lot cheaper than if you were to buy souvenirs at the park.
A tip for anyone ever going to Euro Disney (Paris): If you get a ISIC (International Studend ID Card, $25) you get 50% off Euro Disney tickets.. plus TONS of other discounts. So, if you have kids.. buy one of them a ISIC card and you get all the tickets for 50% off. I’m planning a 3 month trip around Europe and was excited about that. 
Also be sure to check out these informative guest posts (and all the comments!):
* Hip Tips to Maximize the Value of Disney FREE Dining
* 20 Hip Tips to Save at Disney
* Hip Tips to Save on a Disney Cruise
* Hip Tips to Save at Disney
Do you have any additional tips?! Please share them with us below!
We are planning on going sometime around March-April 2014, we will be going with another couple who have two small children and we have one child. They have gone to Disney four times and this will be our first.. Any tips for us first timers? I do know the family we are going with have some extra perks as they are military. TIA.
We visit Disney a lot. We live 4.5 hours away and it is our favorite place ever! Visit http://www.mousesavers.com for a lot of tips on saving money, as well as ideas for things to do. If you search “free” in the mousesavers search bar it will give you a nice list of things to do that cost little or no money. Our favorite out of park thing to do is go to downtown Disney. Lots of entertainment, food,things to see, etc. The Lego imagination center is our favorite place to visit inside downtown Disney, and its free!!
1. Take your own stroller. No matter how old your child is, they will get TIRED. They are expensive to rent at the parks & clunky.
2. They will give you free ice water at any food place. We get the single serve water flavors at the dollar store to carry with us. Drop it in your free water and go!
3. If staying on property take advantage of magic hours.
4. Take your own food in the park.
5. There is a Walmart down the street (on 535), if you have transportation, go there for souvenirs.
6. Stop by the guest services area for a “my first time” button.
I only live 2 hours away & we used to have annual passes. I’m sure I have more tips, but can’t think if them right now. 🙂
Thank you both for the info!! 🙂
Start in the back of the park first, have a blast
Any tips for saving money on tickets going the week after Christmas??? My dad is a veteran but those are blackout dates for the discount tickets.
I think they offer free admission to active duty…
right now for active & retired military they offer 4 day pass with park hopper for $156 (up to 6 tickets I think).
We normally eat a large breakfast, skip lunch and dinner outside of disney. If you prefer, Pack your own lunches because food and water inside will cost at least $60 for a family of five. We just grab a large sub for $4.99 at a
Supermarket and just divide them up. Also for souvenirs, go online instead where you can get promo codes and score free shipping.
All holidays at Disney are blackout dates, you won’t really find a discount anywhere. If you are military or a vet, chose the 4-day ticket even if you will only be there 2-3 days, it’s cheaper. And be sure to purchase them through your local base Tickets and Sales.
We just went in September for the first time used the service helparoundthemouse.com and loved Judy, her crew and the plan they put together for us. It was super helpful and I it felt great to have it all planned out and her tips are great!
I am a Pampered Chef Consultant and they just announced that our incentive trip will be a trip to Disneyland for FOUR!!! I am so stoked! You are just never too old for the magic of Disney!
That’s awesome – have a blast!
Hey, too cool. Two of those reader comments/helpful tips were from me. 🙂
We live relatively close and drive there often. We use our Target Red Card to get 5% off the Disney Entertainment cards (so $100 in gift cards costs $95) which we use with our Tables in Wonderland card discount (20%) for dining. We saved $100 on food this weekend and did not have to pay for Valet at the resorts where we ate (benefit of Tables in Wonderland). We also try to pay for as much of our Disney Cruises as we can in Disney Gift cards. Over the cost of one cruise we just paid for, that strategy alone saved us $100 on our cruise!
PS Disney’s ‘free dining’ has really dumbed-down the food offerings over the past few years. For example, you used to get 2 inch clams at Cape May Cafe, now as of our last visit in May, they were the size of a dime to a nickel. Their buffet food options have gotten quite cheap. So instead we spend the money on the deluxe restaurants and are much more satisified with the food quality.
We also bring breakfast to the hotel, carry in snacks and water to the parks, eat kids meals for lunch, then splurge on the better restaurants for dinner. Oh! One more important thing!!!! I save all the free Starbucks giftcards that Collin posts about and load them onto my one registered card. The Main Street Bakery at Walt Disney World and the Fountain View Starbucks at EPCOT take Starbucks gift cards! If we needed a snack or breakfast item, we use our free Starbucks $$ to get cookies, brownies, breakfast bread, etc. That brownie I had on Saturday night at 11 pm sure hit the spot and didn’t cost me anything out of pocket! 🙂
On the post about EuroDisney, there is an age limit on the student travel card. I believe it is 28 because my daughter just bought one earlier this year to get great discounts on airfares and more before she went to Europe for 6 weeks.
We just got back from Disney yesterday, here are my tips:
1. Bring your own lunch and drinks or
2. Go to the Be Your Guest restaurant and share an entree (they have free ice water if you ask for it). My husband and I shared a turkey sandwich/fries it was like $12 and pretty large, plus we got free ice water. It made for a $6 lunch per person.
3. Take the monorail instead of the ferry it’s faster
4. If you go to the Monsters Inc. attraction stand on the right of the room that you wait in to enter into the room with the screen-that way you can sit in the front rows
5. If you go to the Haunted Mansion, when you first enter the room with the portraits stand at the back left that way you get into the next room first and don’t have to wait as long to get on the ride
6. I looked everywhere and the cheapest place I could find for tickets was undercover tourist
Tips: don’t eat outside of the parks. You’ll spend too much time traveling (30 min one way to get out of park/resort grounds to get to chain food places). Book EARLY, especially character meals (180 days in advance). Get the dining plan if you plan on character meals–it’ll save you money. Read blogs! There’s tons out there about the best times to go to avoid crowds. Photo pass photographers will take your photo with YOUR camera for no charge.
We just got back from Disneyland a few days ago, I do not know if they have something like this at WDW, but thought I would share. We purchased a toy for my son on our first day there. I noticed at the bottom of the receipt there was a coupon for 20% off entire purchase at select stores before 1pm. (the participating stores were listed) We took advantage of this offer at World of Disney and purchased all of our souvenirs in 1 stop. Saved 20.00! Keep an eye out for offers on your receipts!!
If you think you may purchase PhotoPass Plus, purchase it BEFORE your trip. It is only 69.99, instead of 99.99. You use the pass to get your picture taken at various places throughout the park and then when you get home you can view them, edit them and add borders to them. Then they will send you them on a CD! Most of the photographers take several pictures/poses and try hard to get a good pic for you.
If you want to be organized and get the most out of your day, try Ridemax.com. It is a service that allows you to select the rides you want to do and it plans an itinerary for you for the day. This made our day so much easier since it was our first time at the park. It was easy to omit things we changed our minds about and if we got behind we just skipped something and came back to it during our free time.
We just got back a few days ago too!! haha
My special note, DON’T take foldable wagons, they are not allowed 🙁 (wish i had known before, we have 3 kids and they got tired and we were not gonna rent 3 strollers! we figured they were just like a stroller, but apparently they aren’t…)
Photo pass costs more at DisneyWorld FYI! I think it’s about $120 advance purchase, $160 or so there.
Make sure to get magic bands! My boyfriend and I went this past Halloween and the magic bands were awesome! If you’re staying on grounds and have the dining plan, it loads all of your information right to the band, including as it acting as your room key. You can charge directly to your room, it expedites the process of getting into the parks, and you can load fast passes on them! Also, avoid bringing any baggage into the parks as they search literally everything.
Magic bands are not something one can choose. It’s still in a test run now, and it’s random who gets them. I’m going next month and have them, but I can’t use mine to fastpass lunch like others can since it’s all still in testing phase. It’s expected to roll out to all resort guests sometime in 2014
We just came back from a week at disneyland hotel & Parks in ca. I knew going in it was gonna be $$$but I packed a cooler almost everyday with drinks and snacks. No security issues they just opened it up and said yummy in most cases. For the meals I bought prepaid gift cards at target & with my redcard I got 5% off the preloaded cards. KEEP an eye on your receipts!!!! 20% off coupons print at some restaurants for shops before certain times (ours were before 1) easy way to save on souvenirs. Also I found out when I bought a coffee at any of the hotel “quick service” restaurants you get free refills so for keep your cup for free fresh coffee your entire stay. Also best bets for food while we were there breakfast~cereal at quick service restaurant in hotel box of cereal includes milk in pics and we are the left over cereal as snack. Lunch ~jolly holiday bakery lots to choose from but tomato and grill cheese is soooo yummy breakfast/lunch/dinner earl of sandwich in downtown disney the best food especially after being at disney a week. Character dining – anything BUT Ariel’s grotto ( over priced and gross gross food).
If you’re only going once or twice in your lifetime:
My tip- save save save before you go and then splurge while you’re there- have fun! There is zero fun in running all over the place to buy souvenirs outside of the park (sometimes a kid just wants a dang stuffed animal) and running all over tarnation to find food. Eat at the park! Immerse yourself in the magic. The memories are worth far more than saving money.
Thanks for all the great tips!! I am from the East Coast and we always took our 3 boys to WDW every Spring Break, so I know that area like the back of my hand. But our boys are grown now and my hubby and I have moved to AZ, so for Christmas we are taking our kids to Disneyland! I’ve been researching that Park but nothing beats tips from Hip2Savers!
We are going to Disney World today!! The kids have no idea, can’t wait to tell them when they wake up!!! Thanks for all the money saving tips!
These are all great tips! I am a Disney FANATIC and we go every summer. My advise would be to find and use a GOOD travel agent. You don’t pay anything to use one and you can get great perks and we usually know information about promotions before everyone else. They can also give you tips about parks and dining and even make your reservations for you.
Just to correct a few things. Magicbands are actually being offered to MOST guest. The full roll out is still occurring next year (2014) for all guest. Most Moderate resorts are completely Magicband ready. The only Lunch fastpass being offered is for Be Our Guest and not all guest have that option. All other dining is ADR reservation unless it’s Quick service.
Photopass is $149. There is a new photopass + and Disney memories as well.
I’m a Disney Travel agent! So if anyone has questions feel free to email me!! Anyone who books a trip gets a giftcard on final payment! nikki@playtimevacations.net
I would suggest getting the “PhotoPass” for all the pictures that Disney takes of you & you family. You get a laminated card w/ barcode on a lanyard and just give that to the photographer and all the pictures are on one card instead of multiple cardboard ones. I paid $200 for it but I got a disk of every single picture taken. I didn’t have to go into the photo place at the end of the day and carry the pics w/ us. No worrying about packing/damage to the photos either. When you get home log on put in you info and you get every single picture. Nothing extra to buy. Print out at home save mega $$$ and have great photo memories w/o having to choose which ones. Don’t forget to go to the picture places at the rides and give them the card also. My kids went on the big rides multiple times and we have every single picture from them. I think it was the best money we spent there.
We also bought the water fan squirt bottles before we got there and you can fill them up at the stands that have the “pick your own” bottle out of the ice chest. We also just asked for cups of ice (free at all food stands).
We got our tickets from reserveorlando.com. They have great deals (we bought 5 day park hopper and got extra 2 days free). The have all the parks not just Disney either.
Did you know we are headed to Disneyworld next week?? Thanks for posting these tips!!!
Any tips for New Year’s Eve at magic kingdom? Going two days after X-mas for a week.
Finally found it. When we decided to go to Disney this past summer I did weeks of research to find hidden tips/tricks. This is what I found on multiple sites and re-wrote for my own ease. My husband & I each had a copy just in case our kids wanted to do different things at the same time. Hope it will help anybody else that is going:
I broke it down by park, each park had it’s own page
General
Guests with mobility disabilities or who are traveling with personal wheelchairs is available adjacent to the Entrance Complex at each of the four Parks.
Guests should inquire at the Auto Plaza for directions on parking options.
At many of the rides, if one of the kids wants to ride again but the parents are weary, ask the attendant if he or she can “go around.”
If there are 2 lines and you can’t see the loading area from where you are, take the line to the left
Those celebrating a birthday, anniversary or even a first visit to Walt Disney World can pick up a free commemorative pin that is personalized. This trinket will act as a souvenir that you actually didn’t have to pay for, and it will alert all of the park staff of your special status. Your child will be impressed if she has her birthday pin on, because she will probably have many of the staff members coming over to call her by name and to wish her a happy birthday. The same goes for those in your party who are visiting for the first time. Staffers will go out of their way to welcome you and let you know how glad they are that you finally came to Disney World.
Single Rider Line
If you don’t mind possibly sitting separate from the rest of your party, use the Single Rider line, which is available atTest Track, Expedition Everest and Rock N Rollercoaster. The Cast Members loading ride vehicles draw from the Single Rider line to fill in empty seats, so this line often moves much faster than the regular line.
Magic Kingdom Hidden Tips
Special Birthday Button— Be sure to stop by City Hall on Main Street, U.S.A. in Disneyland Park or Guest Services at Disney California Adventure Park to pick up a special birthday button to wear — and get birthday greetings throughout the day!*
Fireworks–If you don’t need to see Tinkerbell fly or see the front of the castle while watching the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom, go BEHIND the castle to see the fireworks. The view is fantastic, and you don’t have to fight crowds. In fact, we usually grab a seat at one of the outdoor restaurants and enjoy! Nice to sit down after a long day at the MK.
Pirates—old asked the attendant while we were boarding the boat if he said goodnight to George. He said of course! We don’t want the ride to break down! The thread also said that if you yell out George 3 times during the fire scene, something “may” happen.
Are your kids big fans of Jack Sparrow and the crew of the Black Pearl? Let them join the crew and get an Apprentice Pirate Scroll.
Outside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, Jack and his First Mate recruit new junior pirates throughout the day. If your crewmembers join the fun, they’ll receive commemorative scrolls at the end– signed by Jack Sparrow himself!
Riverboat—Ask to ride in the pilot house and receive official riverboat pilots certificates.
Tom Sawyer’s Island—Be the first to find the six hidden paintbrushes!
Take the back walkway from Toontown to Tomorrowland and avoid the Toontown crowds.
If you go to Mickeys Toon Town entrance near the tea cups just before it opens at 10 a.m., you’ll get an escort by several Disney characters to take you in.
Push The Talking Trashcan. He wanders around Tomorrowland and you may get a surprise if you throw something away here!
Epcot Hidden Tips
Perry the Plat-Stop by Perry booth get free cell phone and go on secret mission through-out Epcot
The sidewalks twinkle at night. Take the right-hand path after the Epcot ball. You’ll come upon them. Absolutely magical. And the fireflies in the trees!
American Pavilion–(1) View the American Flag that was taken from the rubble of 9/11/2001. It will put a lump in your throat and a tear in your eye
China—You can purchase a fan, and they will personalize it for free. They write the name in Chinese. The fan is very inexpensive, around four dollars.
Ice Station Cool—(1) When you go into the Coke station, get a little of the “Italy-Beverly” flavor and act like you are drinking it then tell everyone how delicious it is. They will all take a big gulp and gag!!! It is disgusting! I have had lots of fun with this and dh always goes along with me to fool the newbies. The looks on their faces are always priceless! (2) It used to be Ice Station Cool, but now it’s “Club Cool.” If you are walking towards the world showcase from future world it is on the right hand side of the large fountain. If you walk past the fountain you have gone too far.
Italy—(1) If you wander around behind the shops (where the fountains are), look around for little red press-buttons that say “press for a surprise” (or something to that affect). If you press the button, water squirts from a different location.
If you’re thirsty, don’t run straight for a bottle of water. Head over to the water fountains just outside of MouseGear. In the Disney tradition of creating unexpectedly verbal scenery (think Push, quite possibly the most famous trashcan in the world), these water fountains are programmed to spew out a random piece of comedy each time a guest takes a sip
Hollywood Studios Hidden Tips
The Magic of Disney Animation Secret–You can enter from the exit and stand in line for the drawing/rendering opt. w/out going through the animation tour. Just ask a CM for directions. Every 15-20 min. (space is limited). There’s a room where they have pencil and paper and a row of stools and artist type tables, and you get to draw a character while getting instructions from a Disney artist. It’s fun and a great Disney souvenir for the kids! (If you don’t have time right after the tour, you can leave and come back at a slower time.)
Hollywood Hideaway–Do you know where the Hollywood Hideaway is? This private VIP Lounge is tucked quietly away at the Disney-Hollywood Studios for use during private and special events, but it’s really not that hard to find. When Guests need to know how to get to their special event, simply direct them to Drew Carey’s Sounds Dangerous attraction. Radio Disney is right next to it, and behind Radio Disney…is the Hollywood Hideaway!!
While in line for the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! it can pay to misbehave. If you notice a well, find the rope with a sign reading “Do Not Pull”. Pull it. You won’t get in trouble, but you may just find another bit of hidden Disney magic. The same goes for the crates marked “Do Not Open”.
On New York Street, find the “Singing in the Rain” umbrella hanging from a streetlamp, grab it and step on the black square in the cement below.
Animal Kingdom Tips & Tricks:
Kids Discovery Club Passport
Pick up a free map at the entrance of the Animal Kingdom Park and find one of the six locations for the Kids Discovery Club. At these special locations youngsters can pick up a Kids Discovery Club Passport and visit all six of the locations where they will get to participate in a fun and educational activity, according to WDWInsiders.com. They will get their passport stamped for completing the activities. Collect all six and there will be a special prize for them to take home on the way out–and it won’t cost a penny.
If your trip lands you in central Florida in the middle of July, you may be in for a scorcher of a day. Need to cool off without waiting in line for Kali River Rapids? Head over to the Dawa Bar and find the rusty shower heads. No, they aren’t just there for effect. They really do pump out refreshing cold water.
FOOD Options:
Magic Kingdom:
Main Street Bakery is usually your best bet for a cheap breakfast
Tomorrowland Terrace, where you can get mini waffles with fruit or a bowl of oatmeal with toppings for $3.99.
For lunch or dinner, Casey’s Corner (Main Street) has a large hot dog with slaw or fries (and access to the toppings bar) for $7.59.
Get a bowl of clam chowder for $4.69 or a bowl of vegetarian chili for $4.49 at Columbia Harbor House.
Cosmic Ray’s (Tomorrowland) has a half rotisserie chicken with mashed potatoes and vegetables (split it between two people) for $9.99.
Sleepy Hollow refreshments in Liberty Square makes fresh, delicious and large ice cream cookie sandwiches for $4.19 that are very splittable.
Be Our Guest restaurant offers some reasonably priced items at lunch, including soups for under $4 and delicious cupcakes and cream puffs for $2.39.
Epcot –
For breakfast, you can go to Boulangerie Patisserie in the France Pavilion (it opens at 9:00 am, before the rest of World Showcase) and get ham and cheese croissants for $4.75, ham and cheese quiche for $5.20, or your choice of many other breakfast pastries.
For lunch or dinner, Sunshine Seasons offers clam chowder for $4.69 and a half rotisserie chicken with two sides (split it between two people) for $10.19.
At Boulangerie Patisserie (France) consider a light lunch or dinner of ham and cheese croissants for $4.75, ham and cheese quiche for $5.20 or pissaladiere (flatbread with tomatoes, olives and gruyere cheese) for $4.50.
Lotus Blossom Cafe (China) has two egg rolls for $4 or pot stickers for $5.
Walk out the International Gateway to the BoardWalk Pizza window, where a slice of cheese pizza is $3.99 and a slice of pepperoni is $4.49.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios –
Starring Rolls Bakery has lots of inexpensive ($1-$2) mini baked goods for breakfast, and assorted regular-sized bagels, muffins and croissants for under $3.
Fairfax Fare also has some reasonable priced breakfast items like an egg and cheese muffin with bacon or sausage for $5.99.
For lunch or dinner, Fairfax Fare offers a half rotisserie chicken with two sides (split it between two people) for under $10.
Herbie’s Drive-In has a corn dog for $4.29 or nachos for $4, and a side of chili is only $1.
Rosie’s All American Cafe offers a soup of the day for $2.99.
Toy Story Pizza Planet offers filling individual pizzas for $7.49 or less (the menu will say it’s $2 more than that, but ask them to leave off the side salad); also, consider ordering off thekids’ menu at this location.
Animal Kingdom –
For a light breakfast, your best bet is Kusafiri Coffee Shop and Bakery next to Tusker House, where you can get a muffin or sweet roll for under $3;
Pizzafari, which has a pretty substantial kids’ breakfast platter (eggs, potatoes and bacon or sausage – plenty for many adults) for just $4.99.
For lunch or dinner, Anandupur Local Food Cafes (the fast food side of Yak & Yeti) has 2 egg rolls for $4.49 or chicken fried rice for $4.
Pizzafari offers a basket of cheesy bread sticks with marinara sauce for $5, and individual pizzas for $7.49 or less (the menu will say it’s $2 more than that, but ask them to leave off the side salad).
Flame Tree Barbecue has a half smoked chicken with two sides (split it between two people) for $10.49.
Cheapest (and Healthiest) Food Items in the Parks –
Fresh Fruit & Veggies!
Each park has at least one fruit stand. Apples, pears, bananas, and oranges are usually around $1.49, which is very inexpensive compared with other snacks at the parks.
Some stands also sell large pickles for $1.39.
At the larger stands you may find watermelon or cantaloupe slices, grapes, strawberries, cut-up pineapple, yogurt, fruit salad, corn on the cob or even baked potatoes at varying prices, with nothing over about $4.
There are two fruit stands in the Magic Kingdom: on Main Street, U.S.A. and at Liberty Square Market.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios has Anaheim Produce on Sunset Blvd.
At Epcot, fruit is available at the Refreshment Outpost between China and Germany in World Showcase.
Animal Kingdom offers fruit at Harambe Market in Africa, just outside Kilimanjaro Safaris.
Same Item, Lower Price
In a few cases, an expensive table-service restaurant and a nearby counter-service location offer the same food item for two very different prices. At a counter-service location, the item will be typically be presented without any garnish or sides and will be served on a paper plate. Here are some hints (note that prices are subject to change at any time):
At Liberty Tree Tavern in the Magic Kingdom, a bowl of New England Clam Chowder is $7.49 (plus tax and tip) at lunch. Get the same chowder at the nearby Columbia Harbour House for $4.69 a bowl, plus tax.
Kona Cafe in the Polynesian Resort serves its Tonga Toast with a side of breakfast meat for $12.99 (plus tax and tip). At Captain Cook’s Snack Company nearby, Tonga Toast is served by itself for $5.19 plus tax.
At Chefs de France in Epcot at lunch, you’ll pay $14.99 (plus tax & tip) for Quiche Lorraine served with salad and $7.25 (plus tax and tip) for Creme Brulee with a madeleine.
At Boulangerie Pattiserie, located in a building behind the restaurant, the quiche without salad is $5.20 plus tax, and the creme brulee by itself is $4.50 plus tax.
If you’d like to try the famous Zebra Domes desserts, you can get them at the rather expensive Boma buffet at Animal Kingdom Lodge ($32.99 and up, depending on season, for an adult meal, plus tax and tip), or just buy them a la carte at the Mara food court for around $4 each.
Mara also offers soups that are the same as Boma’s, but priced at $2.99-$3.49 per serving.
Rose and Crown Pub in Epcot serves fish and chips at lunch for $17.99 (plus tax and tip). A smaller portion of the same fish and chips (without a side of peas) can be purchased next door at Yorkshire County Fish Shop for $8.99 plus tax.
“extra bun”
trick, which works especially well when you have small kids who don’t eat a lot.
It’s a clever trick light eaters can use at counter-service restaurants at Walt Disney World: order one double cheeseburger combo meal and ask for an extra bun. (The cashiers actually have an “extra bun” button on the register, so this is not an unusual request.) Then take one of the hamburger patties off the double burger, and put it on the extra bun. Most of the counter-service restaurants have a condiment bar where you can add any toppings you like to the two burgers. Split the fries and drink, or order an extra drink.
“cheese slice” button for 50 cents on the counter service restaurant cash registers. He combined that with the extra bun.
Please note:
the “extra bun” trick worked for years, with the extra bun usually costing 79 or 89 cents, but since 2008 some locations have increased the price of a bun to insane levels, with some locations charging as much as $4 (!), so ask the price first.
Club Cool
If you find yourself thirsty in the Future World section of Epcot, head for Club Cool, which is sponsored by Coca-Cola. It’s nice and cool inside, and you can enjoy unlimited FREE samples of various soft drinks that are sold around the world, but not in the US. The options include:
Smart Watermelon from China
Fanta Kolita from Costa Rica
Mezzo Mix from Germany
Kinley Lemon from Israel
Beverly from Italy
Vegeta Beta from Japan
Lift Apple from Mexico
Krest Ginger Ale from Mozambique
I don’t carry water when I go to Disney in CA…just ask for water in a cup at any food place and its free
I am planning on going to Disney next summer for the first time I have a family of 5 and live on the east cost. With plane tickets, a place to stay and Disney tickets what would be my best options and about how much should I pay? I just wanted to ask real people that actually have gone than an agent that would probably try to get me a much more expensive package. Thanks for your advice!
mamacita – if you work with a travel agent and let him/her know your parameters then they can do wonders for you. Honestly, not all TAs are out to make a buck…I know I’m not. I’m out to get you back as a repeat customer and that means creating the perfect trip that is within your budget.
Let me clarify – my goal is to create memories first…make money second. Guess that is why I am a TA who works from home and doesn’t work in some high pressure sales office.