There are a million ways to save money during your Disney vacation. Many of these tips and tricks are listed at mousesavers.com. I have included some of the money-saving methods that worked the best for my family.
Bring a backpack and take some food to the theme parks
If you are renting a car, you can visit a local grocery store and do some shopping. Getting a very small refrigerator in your room will cost extra. However, it is still much less expensive than constantly eating at the concession stands or restaurants in the theme parks. Our family would eat a small breakfast in our hotel room, pack some sandwiches and chips for the parks, and eat dinner at a concession stand, restaurant, or the cafeteria at our hotel. You should not deprive yourself completely of the excellent dining opportunities at Disney. However, you can save a great deal of money by eating out once a day, instead of three or more times a day. If you carry in a backpack, it will be searched before you are allowed into the park (this is not a big deal during the value season when the lines are shorter). Make sure to bring some water as well since it is much easier to find a water vendor than a drinking fountain in the parks.
Skip the character breakfasts and meet the characters where they live
We learned this one the hard way. After paying a lot of money for our daughter to “have breakfast with several princesses” we found out that each princess visits your table for about 30 seconds. You can get the same opportunities to take photos of your child with their favorite characters by doing a little homework. If you stay at a Disney Resort, or if you request one before you leave, you can get brochures that will tell you where you can find the characters. You will also find out when the characters will be out and about. If you plan well, your child can be among the first in line to see a favorite character. For example, Belle (from Beauty and the Beast) is often in the French area of Epcot. As you probably know (though your child may not) there are multiple versions of each character roaming around the parks. With some homework, they are very easy to find.
Here is an additional hint about characters. If you have a little girl, bring any Disney princess costume with you on your trip and let her wear it to the park one day. Every Disney employee (Character or janitor) will refer to your little girl as “princess.” This will not save you any money, but it will make your child happier than you can possibly imagine. Make sure, however, that you bring some sensible shoes for your child to put on as they walk through the park. We saw many “little princesses” crying because their feet hurt from wearing princess shoes.