Richard, I don't think we can assume that Peter was being unethical at all. Many of my clients ask t

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This is the last post in my three-part series on how to stretch your vacation budget when you're planning a trip to Walt Disney World.  In Part One , I talked about how to save money in the planning stage of your trip.  In Part Two , I discussed ways to stretch your budget before you leave for your vacation.  In this post, I plan to offer advice on how to save money while you are on your Disney trip.
One of the most common complaints that I hear is regarding the cost of food at Disney World.  While dining at Disney can be expensive, it doesn't travel agent jobs pittsburgh have to be.  The Disney Dining Plan can be a money-saver in some circumstances, especially for families with young children who plan on enjoying travel agent jobs pittsburgh a few character meals. travel agent jobs pittsburgh Alternatively, you could forego the character meals completely, as most of the same characters are available for meet-and-greets elsewhere in the parks and are free with admission.  To save even more money on food, online services exist that will deliver reasonably-priced groceries (including bottled water) to your hotel room (our favorite is Garden Grocer ).  If you've rented a car, stop at a grocery store on the way to your resort instead of using a delivery service.  With a few food staples, you can eat breakfast in your hotel room and pack a lunch to enjoy at the theme parks each day.  For dinner, travel agent jobs pittsburgh if you've rented a car, consider dining at a more economically-priced offsite chain restaurant instead of in the parks.  Finally, devote a carry-on piece of luggage to prepackaged snacks and juice boxes.  Instead of splurging on pricey food items from vendor travel agent jobs pittsburgh carts in the parks, bring your own snacks and drinks with you.  The same piece of luggage can be filled with souvenirs on the way home.
Speaking travel agent jobs pittsburgh of souvenirs, offsite stores are generally much cheaper than theme park gift shops, and while offsite merchandise is not "official", much of it features the same characters as the onsite goods.  It's also important to set a budget for souvenirs before you depart for your vacation…and then stick to it.  On our first Disney trip, we went a little overboard with souvenirs (it's easy to do), so we came up with a solution to limit them on our subsequent vacations.  We now give each of our kids a predetermined amount of money (enough to cover one item).  If they'd like additional items (or a more expensive item), they are responsible for the difference.  When we have a Disney vacation coming up, the kids usually start saving their own money (allowance, travel agent jobs pittsburgh birthday money, etc.) for their souvenirs.  Even though our children are still young (five and seven years old), this system works well.  Since they are using their own money, travel agent jobs pittsburgh they are more likely to make sure that their purchase is something that they really want.
When it comes to Disney apparel, DO NOT purchase it in the theme parks (where it is incredibly expensive).  Instead, take a trip to your local Disney Store (or visit it online) before your trip.  Twice a year, the Disney Store has a massive clearance; during this time, it is often possible to find official Disney apparel for a VERY reasonable price (sometimes less than $5)!
Finally, if you have a Disney VISA card, bring it along on your trip.  You can save 10% on purchases of $50 or more at most retail locations in the Walt Disney World Resort.  To take advantage of this benefit, however, you will need to use your Disney VISA and tell the cast member that you want the 10% off (they will not always give it to you automatically).
Meredith thanks for another great article. We're heading there in February. Another tip - if you're buying goodies at Disney Store online, travel agent jobs pittsburgh access it through Box Tops Marketplace to earn points for your school (must register first - easy)! www.boxtops4education/earn/marketplace
You are allowed to bring food that does not require heating into Disney's theme parks. You can bring a small soft-sided cooler and carry it with you or put it in a locker. travel agent jobs pittsburgh You are right that there a few additional restrictions for Disney's Animal Kingdom. To protect the animals, straws are not allowed in the Animal Kingdom. You can bring a beverage (water bottle, juice bottle, etc), but it cannot have a straw. You are also not permitted to bring a cooler into Animal Kingdom.
Your last question is a tough one to answer. For quick-service travel agent jobs pittsburgh meals, there's not much difference between resorts and parks (in both quality and price). For sit-down meals, I think it completely travel agent jobs pittsburgh depends on which hotels and which theme parks you're referring to. It's hard to beat the diversity and quality of Epcot's World Showcase; some of the best restaurants on property are there. Animal Kingdom also has some interesting sit-down restaurants. Many of Disney's deluxe travel agent jobs pittsburgh resorts feature award-winning restaurants as well. Nevertheless, if you asked me to pick my top five favorite sit-down restaurants, three of them are in the resort hotels.
Check Ebay for this year's refillable mug before you stay at a Disney Resort Hotel. On Ebay, you can get them cheaper than at the Hotel and take them with you. When you get there you can fill them for free! More start showing up there after Easter -- it's too early right now to find 2013 mugs.
Hi Peter. While buying refillable mugs from a third party seems like a good idea, I strongly caution against it. Disney does not allow this, and they have recently started putting precautions in place to ensure that people to not bring prepurchased travel agent jobs pittsburgh refillable mugs. The mugs in many resorts now contain microchips that are encoded for a specific resort and timeframe. If you attempt to use your mugs outside that timeframe, the self-serve soda station will not function.
Richard, I don't think we can assume that Peter was being unethical at all. Many of my clients ask the same question about the refillable travel agent jobs pittsburgh mugs because they don't realize that Disney travel agent jobs pittsburgh does not allow this. Peter, thank you for your comment. I hope my response was helpful!
I know you hold yourself out to be a can't we all just get along kind of person, but Peter is completely wrong. He knows it. This mentality is why we are where we are in this world. travel agent jobs pittsburgh Disney shouldn't have to go microchip on us, but they do not want to get scammed by the likes of Peter. He will teach his kids this behavior and they will undoutedly perpetuate it. Great future for us all! We CAN and SHOULD assume that this is unethical and that if Peter is over the age of, say, 12 that he should know that it is STEALING. We need to call this out and not pretend that people don't know the difference between right and wrong. travel agent jobs pittsburgh They justify it with the hotel costs a lot I paid X for my park tickets or I have multiple kids , or in the name of recycling . Maybe Peter wants to buy the McDonald's cups I have on Ebay for his next family outing to the Rochester Micky D's. Only dif between him and the recent robbery suspect there is the violence used by the robber.........
And dextermom: I have seen (others do it) . That makes it ok??? You cannot control what other people do with the mugs?? Does that make it ok for them to use them to STEAL??? I feel bad for dexterchild(ren).
Richard, I am not a can't we all just get along person, contrary to popular belief. travel agent jobs pittsburgh I AM a firm believer in giving people the benefit of the doubt until I'm proven otherwise. Since I don't know Peter personally, and he has always seemed quite friendly to me, I have no reason to assume that he was being malicious or dishonest. And let's put this in perspective--we're talking about a refillable mug here. I have bigger fish to fry. Finally, I am not interested in starting a war regarding ethics. My post was about saving money at Disney World. I'm hoping to keep it on-topic. If you'd like to discuss ethics, you can message me personally at any time, and we can discuss some of your previous comments travel agent jobs pittsburgh to me.
When we were in Disney 5 years ago (originally thought it was 3 years, but was wrong -- time flies), the lady working the cafe register at the hotel asked us if we wanted to purchase $8 re-fillable mugs that could be refilled at any Disney travel agent jobs pittsburgh Resort Hotel during our entire stay. She even said that if we came back later in the calendar year we could bring them with us and use them again. Therefore, it appears that buying the mug once entitles it to be used the entire travel agent jobs pittsburgh year. Does it matter if that user is another person? So, If I buy the mug, then I am the only person who can use it? My kids wife cannot use it??? Please.
Richard - take it easy....there travel agent jobs pittsburgh is nothing unethical about recycling reusable mugs. Disney has no signs posted where you buy the mugs that they are not for resale later. travel agent jobs pittsburgh My mug.....my business what I do with it after I buy it.
My kids are proud. After my son and I went to Universal Islands of Adventure (wife and other 2 kids went to Epcot....boring place) we bought the two $30 speed passes so we wouldnt wait in line all day. By dinner time we were ready to leave, but didnt want to just throw the speed passes away......we ran into a newly wed couple that wanted their pic taken....we gave the passes to them and they were very happy to get them (no charge), since they said they were tight on funds. I taught my son that it is right to do nice things for random people (yes, the Universal speed passes do say 'not transferrable'...arrest me Richard)
Our family of 6-7 visits Disney World every other year and receives 6-7 refillable mugs with our vacation package. So, I usually have a cabin full of refillable mugs. I have sold them on ebay just to get rid of them. What people do with them I cannot control. travel agent jobs pittsburgh Disney offers cup washing stations near the soda machines. Also, I have seen mugs from the 80's being used at the refill stations. Maybe the people just want to