Disney World can be a fun, happening place for couples as well as families. Due to the costs of hotels, travel and park tickets, a little planning and research are advised in advance of the trip.
A recent spur of the moment trip to Orlando by car taught us that being spontaneous is great, but planning is cheaper. We should have taken time to review the website for Disney World and decide which parks we wanted to see during the one day we had to spend there. Instead we bought passes to all the parks, yet only got around to 3 of them! This was a total waste of cash because we just didn't take the time to prepare ourselves.
So here are a few things we learned and will apply before our next trip:
- If you're driving, map out your route to include detours if needed. We encountered road work in excess of 50 miles in length, which had traffic literally at a stand still for long stretches. Luckily we quickly figured out detours and avoided a lot of the congestion.
- Reserve rooms at hotels that are NOT directly across from the parks. A few miles away makes for many saved dollars. Parking in the parks is around 10 bucks a day or take a bus (some hotels, even miles away, offer free transit to and from the parks), it's still cheaper than the hotels nearest the parks.
- Eat before you go into the parks. If it's morning, eat a good breakfast, same with lunch. The food is outrageously priced, so the less of that you buy the more you save.
- Be prepared. Sunscreen and lip balm even in January! Good walking shoes and comfortable loose clothes. Sunglasses and hats to keep the sun out of your eyes. A backpack is permitted and can carry all you need for the day.
- Drink lots of water. You can dehydrate faster than you realize.
- Research the parks and rides to decide what rides are not to be missed. Get "fast passes" to the rides that have the longest lines and keep moving between rides for the best chance to ride the ones you want.
- Check for reduced tickets or deals online or through the hotel you book. Sometimes you can save a good bit of money this way.
- Relax. Don't feel like you have got to see every little thing in every park. It's impossible to do on one visit.
- Go easy on the T-shirts and junk offered up in the glitzy stores. You can buy most of this stuff elsewhere much cheaper. If you're taking kids, but them T-shirts and mouse ears before you go; they're much less expensive away from the parks. Your kids will have the Disney swag and you'll still have a few dollars.
- If you're driving, don't forget to stop at one of the many road side stands that sell oranges and get some of the freshest citrus fruits you'll ever taste. Be sure to refrigerate them when you get home, as the bags are packed tightly causing some minor bruising.
The biggest thing is to plan ahead. Do your research on the parks, how you intend to travel and where you're going to stay. There are some great deals on tickets and hotels out there, just waiting for you to find them.
