Bring a Coverup If You Get Cold Easily

Many people, including myself, feels the cold more easily than others. If you are someone who gets a chill even on breezy summer nights you may want to bring a light jacket or sweatshirt. While the afternoon heat can be blazing in Florida the air conditioning in the indoor attractions, shops, restaurants, and the buses, can be very cold (sometimes downright arctic), especially when you are dressed lightly for the Florida sun.

Sandwich Bag Leftover Snacks

Many times you will find that your kids (or you!) won’t finish all of your quick service meal while in the parks (hard to eat when there is so much excitement around). Don’t throw away good food (and money), just make sure to bring some zip-lock sandwich bags with you and put your leftovers in them. That way you can snack on leftovers later in the park and fend off the “I’m hungries” with your kids without having to pay for another full meal.

“Overlap” Annual Vacations & Buy an Annual Pass

“Overlap” your yearly Disney Vacations to make annual passes save you money. Most people think annual passes are not for them since they are only staying a week or less a year. But if you are planning to spend 10+ days at Disney World on two years of vacations an annual pass may save you money by just coming a week or two earlier the following year.

Take a trip to Disney World this year and buy your annual pass (example: the 2nd week of June), then plan on coming to Disney World a week or two earlier on next year’s vacation (example: 1st week of June) and use the passes again before they expire. Not only will this save you money on passes, but the Annual Passholder discounts on food, hotels, and merchandise will add to the overall savings. You can also buy a “Tables in Wonderland” card as an Annual Passholder (only AP, DVC and Florida residence can buy this) which saves 20% on all table service restaurants and that adds up fast.

Value Resort First Night

If you’re staying at a Deluxe Disney Resort this tip alone will save you hundreds of dollars your first night. If you’re taking a red-eye flight, or you are planning on getting to the Orlando area late, you can save a good amount of money staying at a Disney Value resort that first night, and then moving to your Deluxe hotel first thing in the morning. You can even pack a small “overnight bag” with just what you need for the night and next morning so you don’t have to unpack at all. The small hassle of the quick move the next morning will be worth the money saved for a great first morning breakfast, too!

Toy Story Mania Fastpass

Make sure to grab a fastpass for Toy Story Mania as soon as you get to Hollywood Studios. The ride is so popular many times they run out of fastpasses by noon. The wait without a fastpass can sometimes be more than 90-120 minutes so it’s a must have fastpass!

Free Collector Cards Souvenir

While in Magic Kingdom be sure to visit one of the two Sorcerer of the Kingdom kiosk locations to get a free pack of cards. You can get one pack of 5 cards each day you visit per guest (valid park ticket required). It’s part of the interactive game through out the park, but even if you don’t play, or your kids are too young, they can still collect the character cards for a great take home souvenir.

Free Filtered Water

Don’t spend $2-$3 for a bottle of water, most of which are just bottled tap water anyways. Get it for Free! Asking for a cup of water at any quick service counter will get you a full sized (same cup they sell soda in), filtered cup of ice water for free. It’s filtered so it usually taste pretty good and will be ice cold.