I wanted to start this series off with how we saved the MOST money – lodging and meals. Our family is pretty big so I have to figure out how and where to save money. My husband and I have 3 young children (7 year old and 2, 3 year olds) so a lot of this also has to do with the ages of my children. I’m sure when they get older, some things might change. I have done Disney with an infant all the way up to the last time I had all of them! So if you are looking at taking young children, THIS IS THE BLOG FOR YOU!

Side note about tickets – we were able to get some discounted tickets from my husband’s job but it didn’t help that much (if you are traveling with someone in the military – THAT discount is definitely worth it).

Back to lodging and meals…..

For many people, the first thing they do is search the Disney Resorts. For our family, we found the we would have to spend a lot of money to stay in a one room hotel (with really awesome themes, though).

I quickly realized that this was NOT feasible for our family. All of my children have never shared a bedroom before a few months ago so all of us staying in one room is just a nightmare to think about.

VRBO
For us, we have had great results using VRBO. For our last few trips, we have gotten a minimum of a 4 bedroom house for close to $100 a night. Everyone gets their own rooms, we enjoy a full kitchen, and there is a heated pool!

This also means that when the kids go to bed, we don’t have to go to bed! Everyone has their own rooms! I was also able to do laundry throughout the week which meant I packed less clothes for everyone.

The pool is a must for us. We usually go for an entire week but only go the park 4 or 5 days. I like to plan a day in the middle of the week where we don’t do anything but hang out at the house and play by the pool. It gives everyone a chance to rest and recover.

Parking
You will have to drive into the parks which for some people is a hassle. I will tell you that we have waited longer waiting the shuttles and monorail to our resorts than we have driving back to our rental home. The cost is around $25 a day to park so make sure you include that in your budget (if you leave, you don’t have to pay again when you come back)

Fix Your Own Meals
I don’t know about you but I can’t stand taking my kids out to eat (and I’m even talking not at Disney) and they take 4 bites of their meal and say they are full. I just paid for the entire meal for them to eat a few bites! When the get older, we might consider a meal plan but for now, it is cheaper to do our own.

Since we rent a house, it is easy to do this with a full size refrigerator and kitchen. I usually fix a good many crock pot meals and I also bring freezer meals (already fixed ahead of time so all I have to do is cook them in the over for about 45 minutes).

We eat breakfast at the house and then take sack lunches into the park. We will purchase ice cream or special drinks in the parks as little treats.

***Just these few tips has literally saved us a minimum of $1000. For us, that is HUGE!

What are some ways that you have saved money on your Disney trips?? Comment below!