Tyler and I spent our anniversary weekend park hopping and resort dining and residing.
That's right, we went to Disney.
(You already know my feelings about RunDisney, but this is a whole separate ball game. I was totally prepared for the 800 Tinks this time!)
Now, you're probably thinking something along the lines of, "Wow. They dropped a lotta cash this weekend. Probably could have spent the weekend in a less-humid, more-mountainous state for less."
Well, friends. You are right on several levels. Disney is definitely pricey, and other states are most definitely more enjoyable in these summer months -- but we survived both the high temperatures and the exorbitant prices. Not too many burns..or holes in pockets burned.
How to do Disney on the cheap?
Let me first say this is not a blog post you'll want to pin and share with vacationing families. You probably will find it most unhelpful for your specific financial needs. I, however, love a good deal and cannot help but share. I do promise to share our tips from two days at the parks, so those may apply to you.
This is how we spent less than $200 for two days, one night, three parks, one resort dinner, and one quick-service meal at WDW. Quite honestly, we had very little to do with it.
1. We were gifted annual passes for Christmas. Parking: free; Park entry: free
2. We are in close association with a Cast Member. 50% off our resort stay. Resort: $127 incl. taxes
3. We were gifted a dining plan for our anniversary. This covered a sit-down meal, a quick-service meal, and two snacks. Our dinner at O'Hana's (inside the Polynesian) totaled out at $85, and we quickly informed them we were on the dining plan. :) We made out like bandits at that dinner! Tip: $15
4. Our favorite Cast Member gave us re-admission tickets. These are fastpasses to any ride and are handed out to guests when a ride breaks down. We even had leftovers and so enjoyed the pleasure of giving them away. Hooray for recycling!
5. I packed a boat-load of food. Homemade trail mix, granola bars, cookies for Ty, apples, Starbucks iced coffee, champagne, cranberry juice, V8 juice, and muffins. The snacks I carried into the parks, and the others stayed cold in our resort fridge. We bought the famous Dole Whip in Magic Kingdom (Pinterest made me do it!), which cost us $4. Ty spent $15 on resort appetizers, and I spent about $25 buying goodies from home. Total: $44
6. Ty's favorite parents graciously kept Brooklyn for us! Dog sitting: free
7. I wore my bridesmaid dress from Tali's wedding for our dinner out instead of purchasing a new dress. I love it so much that I couldn't wait to wear it again. I did buy a new (pre-owned) pair of shoes from Plato's Closet. I sold clothes at the same time, so my shoes came out free! Apparel: free
(Note: I did purchase some Disney-items last month from Cast Connection - MAJOR discounts! I'm not counting them, since I've worn/used the items other times, but you will notice them in the pictures. I know my shirt was $4.99, and my bag was $9.99. I think Ty's Mickey Mechanic shirt was $14.99. Even if you add these costs, we saved a great deal purchasing from Cast Connection instead of inside the parks.)
You want to know more about my bag? Oh, let me tell you about my bag. Like I said, only $9.99. But it gets better.
This bag is a vinyl, rain-resistant material (covered in hidden Mickeys), which is perfect for keeping camera and snacks out of the rain. This bag saved our PBJs on our previous day-trip. Proved to me right then and there that this was a smart purchase. It would have cost more than $9.99 to eat at the parks because of soggy sammies.
Phew. Are you still tracking? Most of you will probably scroll through just to look at pictures. Perhaps you just scrolled right by this...Ohhhh, only one photo, and of Jessie's legs?! Hey! Those legs are training for a marathon!
Keep scrolling.
Stay tuned for our detailed itinerary, with photos and commentary about the rides. And as usual, some opinions from the peanut gallery (aka yours truly).
In closing, I guess you just gotta have awesome parents like we do. Sorry, they're taken.
Xoxo, Mom and Daddy and Mamacita and Dad!
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| Our 1st Anniversary * July 13, 2013 |
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