10 Ways to Save Money Going to a Disney Park

1. Stay
   off the Disney campus.  Surrounding hotels have lower pricing to entice travelers away from
   staying at Disney.  Keep in mind that you will need to have a way to
   travel back and forth from Disney if you stay off campus.

2. Book
   your trip during the off season.  Disney has many seasons ranging from “Value” to “Peak”. 
   Unfortunately there isn’t a 3 month period that is considered to be the
   off season.  Weekdays during the fall months are cheaper, and the
   period after Thanksgiving and before December 21^st, when
   “Holiday Season” starts, is cheaper to book as well.

3. Book
   a hotel that includes breakfast.  While breakfast is one of the least expensive meals to eat
   out, it can save you a surprising amount of money by eating at the
   hotel.  Before heading back to your room, grab some extra fruit for a
   snack later in the day.

4. Bring
   along a soft sided cooler.  You are allowed to bring in soft sided coolers to the park, and the
   ones that will fit in a backpack or are a backpack are ideal.  This
   allows you to bring in both snacks and lunch.  Plan to stop at a
   discount store or a grocery store to stock up on some food to take in for
   when family members start to get hungry.

5. Plan
   to eat your evening meal outside of the park.  By dinner time you’ve spent the majority
   of the day at Disney and everyone is probably ready for a break. 
   Take this opportunity to head back to your hotel and let everyone rest a
   bit and freshen up.  Then, before going back to the park, stop and
   eat something.

6. Bring
   a refillable water bottle and flavored packets.  There are water sources around the park
   that you can fill up a water bottle with, but it’s well water and doesn’t
   taste very good, so plan on bringing some flavored packets to sweeten up
   the water.  Staying hydrated at the park is very important since you
   will be outside much of the time.

7. Check
   out local ticket hubs for discounted tickets.  Disney wants you to think that you can’t buy tickets anywhere
   except through Disney and their affiliates, but this isn’t true. 
   Keep your eyes open for ongoing deals.  Sometimes you can make a
   donation to an Orlando hospital and the hospital will give you tickets to
   Disney for your family.  Different programs like this pop up all year
   long so keep your eyes open for deals.  Local ticket hubs can save
   you 5 to 10%, which may not seem like much, but once you do the math it
   starts to add up.

8. Join
   the Cirque club to receive 35% off of tickets.  Joining the club is free and you must buy your tickets 30
   days in advance to receive the discount.  The discount is only
   offered for the Cirque de Soleil performances that are during the Tuesday
   through Saturday shows.  Check the online club for
   applicable dates.

9. Go
   to Disney Quest for half price.  If
   you’d like to check out Disney Quest (a virtual-reality theme park in
   downtown Disney) you can check for a manager’s special.  Often if you
   go within 2 hours or less of closing you can save half off the ticket
   price.  It would be something different to do and if you can go for
   half price it might be worth it.  This discount isn’t always offered
   so check while you are there.

10. When
    renting a car don’t get stuck on size.  If you plan on renting a car once you reach Disney make sure
    to check rental sites often, because specials do change.  Rebooking
    your reservation could save you a bundle.  Compact cars tend to rent
    out first so check the next size up; you can still end up saving because
    the rental companies may have a bunch of bigger cars they need to rent out
    and as such will give you a free upgrade.

Contacts and sources:
Carrie Dotson
http://www.summernannyjobs.com/blog/10-ways-to-save-money-going-to-a-disney-park/