Hi all! I realized just the other day that I never shared our pictures from our ADULT ONLY DISNEY VACATION! What an oversight!
Yes, you read that right- John and I went away, without children, to the happiest place on earth. It was back in May (yes, we paid cash for it, hello no debt ;) ) for our birthdays, 'cuz we share a birthday month. This was the first time we had left Judah for more than one night, and the first time we had EVER left Abram. Guys, I had to wean him before we left! It was hard to leave them, knowing they would probably seem older and bigger after a few days away. BUT IT WAS ALSO SO MUCH FUN. I know not everyone has the luxury to do something like this, but we're blessed to have very involved grandparents who live close by and are more than willing to watch our boys overnight.
Our trip lasted four days, with two days in the park. We explored a lot of Disney Springs, and visited almost all of the Deluxe resorts! Of course, since this was a budget trip, we didn't plan a lot of "extras" but we DID spend one special evening eating a fancy, late-night dinner at the California Grill at the Contemporary Resort while the fireworks went off in the distance of the Magic Kingdom
(Spoiler Alert: dinner, wonderfully delicious and entertaining if you get a seat near the open kitchen. If you can get a reservation around fireworks time, it's really special. BUT- that place is also NOISY and it was difficult to carry out a quiet conversation. Also, expensive- which we were prepared for- probably on par with most upscale Boston restaurants, for reference.)
To prep for this trip, I got a little obsessive and watched tons of videos and read a gazillion blogs on how to save money at the parks. After a while they all start to blend together with the same tips. Here are my own ideas that actually saved us quite a bit of money on our trip!
1. Pack food from home.
This is my #1 tip for a reason! It helped us save SO MUCH MONEY.
We ate breakfast in our hotel room and brought snacks into the park. Protein bars, trail mix, applesauce pouches. Items that were healthy, packed easily, and satisfied our hunger quickly. I double-bagged everything in Ziplock inside our luggage and we thankfully had no leaks. Considering that breakfast easily costs $10+ per person, and snacks add up when you're walking around the parks all day, this was an EASY way to cut costs (we also shared the treats we did buy). When we bring the boys (one day) on a trip with us, you bet I'm bringing a loaf of bread and peanut butter!
2. Bring a reusable water bottle.
Our family LOVES the Brita water bottles- each of us has one, including the boys! We filled and refilled these with water in the hotel rooms and at the park water fountains. A single bottle of water at WDW is almost $3. We drank TONS of water while in the Florida heat. I don't even know how much money we saved per day, but it was A LOT.
3. Don't go to the parks every day.
Disney traps you into thinking you're getting a deal by going to the park every day of your trip, since they drop the daily ticket price for every additional ticket you buy. But, hello, you're still paying for those additional tickets. It's almost like buying something at the grocery store that wasn't on your list just because you have a coupon.
I say pick 2-3 days you want to go into the park and spend your other days exploring the resorts, strolling Disney Springs, and playing at the hotel pool. Those activities are all free, and give you a bit of a rest from the park mayhem.
4. Coffee cups & candy.
We didn't come back with a huge haul from Disney. Coffee mugs were our chosen souvenir because we use them a lot and they aren't super pricey. Also, if you need to bring something back for loved ones, the sweets are unique and special, especially for kiddos. Our 4 year old was thrilled with his Mickey rice crispy treat.
5. Choose your resort and vacation time carefully.
I've heard this tip a ton, but for us it was very important and I'm glad we followed the advice.
Disney jacks up prices during busier season (holidays and school vacation times), so you can save a little if you can avoid traveling during those times. We went down in May, before most schools let out.
Also, John and I knew we were pretty much only staying at the hotel for rest, not recreation. We "skimped" and stayed at Pop Century Resort (which is a "value" resort . . . Disney language for CHEAP). It's what we could afford, but we knew we wouldn't be disappointed since we weren't really going to spend daytime hours there. We ended up with a newly refurbished room that was very comfortable and super clean. While the resort itself was sort of bare-bones, but we didn't care because we were barely there.
At this rate, I feel like I wanna become a Disney vacation planner, hahahaha (just kidding . . . but maybe not ;) ). We missed the boys SO MUCH after those few days, but we came back so energized and the boys LOVED the special time with their grandparents. I know we'll probably try to take them some time in the future, but another "Mama and Dada Only" trip is definitely not off the table, either!
Our trip lasted four days, with two days in the park. We explored a lot of Disney Springs, and visited almost all of the Deluxe resorts! Of course, since this was a budget trip, we didn't plan a lot of "extras" but we DID spend one special evening eating a fancy, late-night dinner at the California Grill at the Contemporary Resort while the fireworks went off in the distance of the Magic Kingdom
(Spoiler Alert: dinner, wonderfully delicious and entertaining if you get a seat near the open kitchen. If you can get a reservation around fireworks time, it's really special. BUT- that place is also NOISY and it was difficult to carry out a quiet conversation. Also, expensive- which we were prepared for- probably on par with most upscale Boston restaurants, for reference.)
1. Pack food from home.
This is my #1 tip for a reason! It helped us save SO MUCH MONEY.
We ate breakfast in our hotel room and brought snacks into the park. Protein bars, trail mix, applesauce pouches. Items that were healthy, packed easily, and satisfied our hunger quickly. I double-bagged everything in Ziplock inside our luggage and we thankfully had no leaks. Considering that breakfast easily costs $10+ per person, and snacks add up when you're walking around the parks all day, this was an EASY way to cut costs (we also shared the treats we did buy). When we bring the boys (one day) on a trip with us, you bet I'm bringing a loaf of bread and peanut butter!
Our family LOVES the Brita water bottles- each of us has one, including the boys! We filled and refilled these with water in the hotel rooms and at the park water fountains. A single bottle of water at WDW is almost $3. We drank TONS of water while in the Florida heat. I don't even know how much money we saved per day, but it was A LOT.
Disney traps you into thinking you're getting a deal by going to the park every day of your trip, since they drop the daily ticket price for every additional ticket you buy. But, hello, you're still paying for those additional tickets. It's almost like buying something at the grocery store that wasn't on your list just because you have a coupon.
We didn't come back with a huge haul from Disney. Coffee mugs were our chosen souvenir because we use them a lot and they aren't super pricey. Also, if you need to bring something back for loved ones, the sweets are unique and special, especially for kiddos. Our 4 year old was thrilled with his Mickey rice crispy treat.
I've heard this tip a ton, but for us it was very important and I'm glad we followed the advice.
Disney jacks up prices during busier season (holidays and school vacation times), so you can save a little if you can avoid traveling during those times. We went down in May, before most schools let out.
Also, John and I knew we were pretty much only staying at the hotel for rest, not recreation. We "skimped" and stayed at Pop Century Resort (which is a "value" resort . . . Disney language for CHEAP). It's what we could afford, but we knew we wouldn't be disappointed since we weren't really going to spend daytime hours there. We ended up with a newly refurbished room that was very comfortable and super clean. While the resort itself was sort of bare-bones, but we didn't care because we were barely there.
At this rate, I feel like I wanna become a Disney vacation planner, hahahaha (just kidding . . . but maybe not ;) ). We missed the boys SO MUCH after those few days, but we came back so energized and the boys LOVED the special time with their grandparents. I know we'll probably try to take them some time in the future, but another "Mama and Dada Only" trip is definitely not off the table, either!
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