If you are planning a Florida travel vacation to Disney World in Florida, there are some ways that you can save some money. A family vacation to Disney World can be expensive and it starts with airfare and lodging for the whole family. You then have to set some money aside for admission tickets, meals and snacks, strollers for young children and souvenirs. If you do some planning prior to your vacation, you can save some money without having to sacrifice that dream vacation to Disney World. To help you with your vacation planning, here are some money saving tips. (photo courtesy: Walt Disney World)

Airfare
Like everything else, you have to shop around for the cheapest airfares available especially if you have a large family. Check out Orbitz online as they charge no booking fees and offer price assurance on your purchase. Also check out cheapoair for guaranteed low prices. Although both of these companies offer reasonably priced lodging and family travel deals, also check the hotels combined website for some great lodging packages.

Food and Snacks
Food and snacks expenses can add up quickly. But, did you know that are allowed to bring coolers to the theme parks at Disney? Yes, you can and this can save you a ton of money. Alcohol and glass containers are not allowed but you can bring water, sodas and juice boxes for the children. If you bring a couple of coolers to the theme park, you can also bring lunch for the whole family. Keep in mind that there is a baggage check at the theme parks so just be patient. Imagine saving all that money and not having to wait in long lines to buy some food. If you drink a lot of water, don’t throw away the empty bottles. You can refill water bottles at various fountains and most restaurants will give you some free ice.

Children Strollers
If you have young children that need strollers, try and bring your own to the theme parks. You can rent strollers at the theme parks, but you can same money by bringing your own. Try and keep the children in the stroller while walking around but if you don’t want to walk around with the stroller all day, there are central locations where you can park it. The main thing to keep in mind is that you can save money by bringing your own strollers for young children.

Buying Souvenirs
This is a tough one to deal with because most people want to bring home souvenirs from that dream vacation they just had but it can be expensive. Let’s face it, every little girl loves the Disney princesses and want those outfits. But when will they wear them and how long will these last before they outgrow them? An idea here is to buy your daughters a princess outfit before the trip and let them wear them while at Disney. You will save lots of money by not buying these outfits on the property.

The same goes for little boys who love to wear a Mickey Mouse hat and shirt. And when will they wear these? My advice here is to buy these prior to your trip and have the boys wear them while at Disney too. You can shop online at the Disney store for children’s outfits and find some real bargains, or look around your local stores that carry Disney merchandise. Your children really don’t care where the merchandise is purchased so save some money and buy it ahead of time.

If you feel that your children should have something from Disney World, then consider looking for books about the various characters. This is definitely much cheaper than buying expensive outfits or shirts. The neat thing about books is that your children can have them autograph by the characters in the book. Don’t forget to take pictures while the children are having the books autographed. The photos will always be a keepsake of your unforgettable Disney World vacation.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 5th, 2010 at 7:13 am and is filed under Florida Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.