Spending Tips for Amusement Park Vacations
As mentioned in my previous post, we are enjoying a 7 day Disney vacation compliments of my in-laws (Christmas gift). We are responsible for extra events we attend as well as our food costs. We learned early on that Disney allows families to bring food and drinks into the park. What a blessing! We are under budget thus far. Rule #1: Call ahead and find out if the park you're attending allows food items and coolers to be brought in. Below are some tips I hope you find useful if you're considering an amusement park experience for your next vacation.
1) Eat breakfast in your room. We brought pop tarts, cereal and fruit. Eating these items takes care of breakfast expenses.
2) Use cash only. I've heard it said that we spend 10-15% more with plastic than we do with the greenbacks. Don't venture into the plastic for vacation unless you can pay it off completely when that bill arrives.
3) Plan your vacation. Those that fail to plan, plan to fail. The most costly vacations are those 'spur of the moment' trips that happen at a moment's notice. Things like cheap hotel fares, and discount deals often get overlooked because you did it suddenly. Your vacation needs a budget as well. You need to have marching orders for every dollar. Example: X amount for food, X amount for souvenirs, X amount for gas, etc.
4) Take a stroller. This especially applies if you can bring food and drink into the park. This Many of them have storage space below. You can also hang bags off the handles as well. Kids can be transported on these as well. If you have a preschooloer (as I do), this item is a MUST.
I hope you found a few tips that can benefit you. Vacations are great when they come in under budget. I hope your next one does. What about you? What tips can you add to my list to make a vacation affordable. Please feel free to add to the conversation.
Bringing breakfast along is one of my top money savers too on a trip of any kind. Plus it’s doubly beneficial when you have young kids because they can eat as soon as they’re hungry without having to wait for everyone to be ready. (Reducing crankiness.)
I also find it helpful to state a set amount that can be spent on souvenirs or whatever. That way the answer can be “sure, do you have the money for that?” or “sure, if that’s what you want to do with your money” instead of constantly saying no or spending too much.