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[bellefan75]

My two nieces (late teens) and I are planning a three night trip for my (ahem) 40th birthday in 2015.Yes I know that's ages away, but they'll be students by then so we're starting the 'fun fund' now!
Any budget hints & tips will be greatly appreciated. I want to make this my cheapest trip to the Magic so far!
We're aiming for the Halloween festival btw.....

[gemma2806]

Definitely aim for weekday stays rather than weekends however if you arrive on a Sunday this works out slightly cheaper for some reason. If they will be Uni students, these tend to finish slightly earlier than schools so try to avoid the half term school break.


If you're staying on site then try and stock up for lunch, if you're not embarrassed by it then make sandwiches for lunch from the breakfast items ( the staff almost expect people to do this now, so they won't try and stop you).


The counter service meals aren't brilliant and don't keep you full for long, so if you want to have a nice meal aim for table service or buffet restaurants and just have one really nice meal a day to save money. You could even eat at these restaurants for lunch so you may only want a snack at dinner, maybe from McDonalds or Earl of Sandwich etc.  This will save money.


If, like me, you spend most of your money on souvenirs then try to minimise the damage to your purse by writing a list of things you'd like to get to save you buying everything in sight ( can't guarantee this would work though as it hasn't really with me so far but the intentions were good!)


Hope this helps!

[daddyof2]

I'm less experienced at doing DLP than many, but what are your transport plans? Coach is possibly the cheapest travel, but has its drawbacks. As it's a girls trip, you could make the first bit into a "road trip". Also, I assume staying at a non-Disney hotel is cheaper than even the Santa Fe?

[amanda08]

Gemma, have to correct you on the making lunch out of breakfast. Apart from the fact I would not want to eat a squashed sandwich that has been floating around in my bag for several hours    and apart from the fact that if more and more people insist on doing this, DLP will eventually end up like the American parks with breakfast no longer be included , the CM's do frown on this and on my last 2 trips have seen people being "told off"and made to leave the food behind


I personally would die of shame if this happened to me!

[GeoffD]

Tip 1: Book as soon as you can. If you are going by Eurostar, fares start at £69 each return which is maybe £10 more than a coach (and a lot quicker).  (That's assuming you're going from the UK. But same applies with the Thalys).  --- Driving is by far the cheapest way though, and it's so easy to get to!

Tip 2: Off site is cheaper, and not really any less 'magic'. There's a plenty of great hotels on a budget in Val d'Europe and slightly further afield. Local area transport is cheap too! If you do want to stay in a Disney hotel, again book early and like others have said, arrive mid-week (and avoid major European school holidays if possible).

Tip 3: Buying food in a supermarket (Auchan in Val d'Europe) and taking it in saves a few euros. Obviously you can still have the add Disney meal, but even if it's one a day, or you buy your snacks outside the park. You'll save so much money.

Tip 4: Annual Passports - they're cheap and offer great advantages. Providing they don't go up, annual passports are currently cheap. Just make sure you aren't there on blackout days (Francilien and Fantasy only. Dream has no blackout days), and enjoy your savings in shops and restaurants too!

Tip 5: Booking things individually can be cheaper, but not always.  Don't hesitate to look at packages and individually.

Hope some of those helped

[orangarnold]

The overnight Megabus from London starts at £1, so if you want cheap travel thats the cheapest way from the UK to Paris.


My tip is get the overnight bus so you can just sleep the hours away

[gemma2806]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience amanda08 in regards to the breakfasts. I have taken pain au chocolat and croissants as snacks on every visit and have on every trip seen families less discreet than mine actually making mini production lines at tables to stock up on the food for their lunch and snacks.


On my last trip the manager actually came out and told one of the waiters and a family that it was fine for guests to take the breakfast items as they are included in the price of your stay and any items that don't get used are just thrown away on a daily basis as they can not be put out the next day.


Each to their own at the end of the day but I'd rather stock up on food that has already been paid for and not have to buy counter food that isn't so great at lunch and use my extra euros on table service or buffet meals every evening and on buying more souvenirs!

[ed-uk]

We always have a big breakfast in the hotel, because as has been said we've paid for it, personally i wouldn't butter rolls and take them into the park for lunch. I don't like to see people having a picnic (there is a picnic area outside of the park i believe) in the park. If its a few croissants i don't have too much trouble with that, but if it's a packed lunch and families spreading themselves out over tables and chairs outside restaurants, when other people have paid for a meal to eat there, then no, like with smoking. Not even to save money.   There are no signs in the parks saying "Picnic Area" or "Picnicers Welcome." They should try McDonalds in Disney Village, that's cheap.

[gemma2806]

If you're staying for Halloween itself then I'd try to get tickets for the Halloween party as this is something I'd love to do and they're not that expensive. You could then have dinner in the park and make a real evening of it. The buffet restaurants would be good for this and they're very good value for money if you go with an appetite.

[ed-uk]

We go to the all you can eat buffets, they are good value for money and we're eating in a beautifully themed Disney restaurant like Plaza Gardens, which for us is all part of the Disney theme park experience. There are cheaper, fast food, beautifully themed restaurants in the parks for people on a different budget. But there is no picnic area inside of the parks for people who want to bring their own food. Okay, i know people can buy cheaper food outside of the parks, supermarket sandwiches for example, but they can do that all year round. How often are people on a budget going to get the chance to eat in a Disney restaurant like the Lucky Nugget Saloon or The Cowboy Cookout Barbecue?

[bellefan75]

Thank you all for your hints & tips!

We're travelling by Eurostar into Paris (really cheap if you book early enough). Having used the direct to Disney Eurostar with and without children, I have no idea why anyone would bother with it, unless your children are too small to drag around the Paris Metro; the best word to describe the Disney Direct to the Magic Eurostar is a ZOO!!!!

We're staying on-site at either the Cheyenne or Santa Fe, and I have to agree that I'd be too embarrassed to take breakfast food into the park for lunch! In my experience most adults can manage on two meals a day. Being a shareholder, I get discount at the restaurants anyway.

Going to look into the overnight magic bus though....... could be perfect! 

[artoises]

I wouldn't recommend taking breakfast food into the park. Not only does it make you look rather cheap to the crew and other hotel guests, but it's also not very yummy to eat sandwiches that have been in your bag all morning.

As far as I go, I always eat breakfast at 10AM (less kids around, it's much more quiet at this time) and leave right afterwards to the park. Usually I don't get hungry 'til about 3-4PM. I tend to just buy a hot dog or a small pizza from a cart or from Casey's. We stay in the park 'til closing time and eat either in the hotel or in Disney Village. The parks have got good food, but if you want to avoid long queues and hereby missing out on a lot of fun at the parks I'd suggest you make a reservation at your desired restaurant. (And once again; the hotels and Disney village restaurants have less kids than in the parks imo.)
Another good idea is perhaps talking to your travel agent about meal vouchers. If you order them in advance you get a 20% (or more) discount.

There's really not that much you can do to not spend that much money, except not spend it. By that I mean, don't go on shopping sprees when you're in the stores. Buy your presents/etc. on your last day. If you really want something you can always buy it then. I've saved tens of euros every single visit by not buying things impulsively.