Disney on a budget

[fancynewbeesly]

So we are tentatively unexpectedly planning a trip to Disney. We are going to rent a van and drive down with our good friends. It will be a 10 day trip total with 3 days in Disney.

We are looking at mid to the end of August.

Any tips for doing it on a budget?

[lala]

The biggest ways you save money are transportation, lodging & food. Transportation is covered.

Are you planning on staying on site those 3 days?

[Deleted]

What lala said. Drive. Stay at the least expensive resorts (any of the all stars, pop century, or art of animation) and pack your own food. You can bring it in to the park.
You probably won't find a deal on actual park tickets (or not by much), but you can definitely save on lodging, food, souvenirs and transportation.

[fancynewbeesly]

We are staying on site because even though other hotels may be cheaper we would have to pay for parking at the parks plus other small perks.

We will be a party of 7. 4 adults and three kids. Reese and her best friend who are two weeks apart in age and a 2.5 year old.

Definitely not doing park hopper and plan on doing Epcot, Magic Kingdom and Hollywood.

[lala]

So one option is to book a package that you can afford and hope that free dining or another deal comes out in the spring that you can apply to your stay. It might be best to book through an agent because they're used to doing this.

Value resorts are obviously the cheapest; art of animation is a tad more but I think worth it.

Depending on your budget, you can see if renting at the cheapest dvc would work; then you have things like free laundry and sink/fridge/micro/toaster. Old key west is the cheapest.

August is not the cheapest time of year, it's one of the more expensive next to holidays. If you're there the very end, it's a tad less.

Look up what's going on in the studios - they're starting so much work there it might not be worth a day especially when it's only a 3 day no hopper trip.

[rosesandpetals]

Last August, they had a "pre-school family" deal in late August, presumably because school-aged kids are already in school. Free dining started on August 28th this year, so you could get that if you are planning to stay in a disney resort anyway.

I've heard all star sports is really bad because the dance and cheer teams stay there and it just gets really noisy. I haven't stayed there myself, though.