Disney World Done CHEAP

I have not read it but there used to be a book called 'Disney on a Dime'. You may google it. Have fun!

If you are still active duty, you can get FREE tickets to Sea World at http://www.herosalute.com/cavatx/index.html . Pack your own lunch or dinner to save a LOT of money and carry water bottles to refill at the fountains. For the princess makeover, pack a princess dress to take with you (new ones are inexpensive at Target) so you won't end up paying $70+ at the park. Buy a small pack of glitter and some sparkly lipgloss so you can refresh the princess look later in the day or the next day. Buy some character shirts before you leave and surprise the kids with them as somethinhg new to wear to the park that day. Pick up some Disney trinkets before you leave home so you can bring them out and avoid park prices. Have fun! We've been 3 years in a row without going broke :)

We always go to the grocery store after checking in and stock our hotel room with quick in-room breakfast foods. We do a quick service meal in the parks for lunch, and a table service meal only for some of the dinners. Some dinners we eat outside of WDW (we like Ci Ci's Pizza and Sweet Tomatoes, both near the International Drive area), and sometime we just eat very casually by the pool. If you take a backpack into the parks, you can pack your own snacks, and also we bring paper cups to share beverages. The kids meals are mostly typical chicken strips,PB&J and such. The kids can only eat so much of those things, so we order things to share with them instead of the kids meals sometimes. We skip the park hopper option because there is way enough we can do just keeping it to one park per day and still keeping our sanity with rest breaks. You can also skip DisneyQuest and the waterparks option if you have a nice resort pool, that is plenty of water fun if you're on a budget. If you stay on Disney property, you save the cost of parking at the theme parks. Check mousesavers.com for rental car discounts, I found the car rental prices for spring break season to be outrageous before I found a discount code. Plan for a limit on souviners and announce your rule to your daughter before you begin the day.

Can't really help with the Disney vacation. Just wanted to mention that if you are active military you(or your spouse) and three dependents can get into Sea World for free. I think you have to order them ahead of time. http://www.herosalute.com/cavatx/index.html

www.mousesavers.com has some good ideas. Hope you have fun!

we actually do the Disney Dining plans. They are alot of money upfront...but you get SSSOOOO much food and never have to be hungry or want for anything. The character breakfasts are covered, sit down or quick service is covered, all you have to do is tip. You have to be staying a disney resort though i think...but i'm not sure. check into it. The other thing is, you have to plan your meals in advance and make reservations.
but i tell you what...we eat like kings, and see all the characters and its wonderful!

We only eat no more than one meal at the parks, per day. Usually we like one character breakfast per trip where we get great pictures and then don't have to wait in lines to meet characters so it is a double investment, food and time. Breakfasts and Lunches are cheaper than sit down dinners so we try to have our big meal earlier in the day and then graze later as we get peckish. The $6.00 Turkey Legs are a good investment for us, usually it is one per child and then the parent can finish it off, and it is a protein which helps give them energy and carries them longer. We usually will have meals while watching a show or parade. In a hotel room I bring instant oatmeal packets which we mix up in hot cups with boiled water from the coffee pot from the room. I always carry fresh fruit, fruit leather and energy bars so I know that when they are showing signs of hungry I can deal with it quickly and not have a meltdown in front of Mickey. Food is the easiest way you can cut costs, but sometimes the investment is in the experience and not the nutrition, choose where you eat and when you eat wisely and you get more bang for your buck. Also watch out for extra charges, arcades, cookie painting, 3 D climb in machines (that one got me at a science museum recently, I didn't catch it until after the 4 minute ride that I had paid about $35 for less than 5 minutes of entertainment, not one of my finest budgeting moments). Sometimes the extra expenses are worth it because of the experience, sometimes not. Have a great time. The truth is, I'm a little jealous, you have it to look forward to and then to cherish as a memory, I'm sitting here wishing we knew when we could go back.

Enjoy!

P.S. Bringing your own costumes and/or matching shirts for everyone adds to the fun as well as saving money and it helps in being able to locate each other. If my kids were not in costume they were dressed in bright matching outfits so they were easier to locate quickly in crowds.

P.S.S. Usually once a trip when using early admission or eating Breakfast with Minnie we would get up early, put the kids in the car in their pajamas, drive there and wake them in the parking lot, get changed in the car and surprise we here and ready to start the day. It is neat to be in the courtyards before admission even starts and all the crowds arrive; listen to the bands play the music and the folks that are there countdown to the gates opening it adds to the magic. My kids always talk about how cool that tradition is.

That sounds awesome but I'm fairly sure there is no cheap way to do Disney. Just enjoy it there

If your AFVC has a kitchen then plan to take your meals there. You don't mention the age of your daughter, but if she is young like mine 3 or under then, going back to the condo for nap time is a must. We have been the past 2 years and are going again this year. We exit the park and go back to the condo for lunch / nap; then return to the park. The only exception is Animal Kingdom, which closes early when we go in Sept. Also, Disney parks will let you take food inside if your child is in a stroller. Some days we pack a sandwich lunch and find a spot for lunch / rest time. We have eaten in the parks twice and both times the food was not good, but was expensive! Once was a quick service and the other was the Oktoberfest buffet in Epcot. If possible see the parade at Animal Kingdom -- my friend told us about it and it is great! The parade "animals" and characters really interact with the kids. We have lots of wonderful photos from there. Have fun! Oh -- we also like the Unofficial Guide to WDW book. It gives touring plans on how to tackle the parks with nominal lines. If you spend the time in advance to plan, your day will go much smoother. Cheers!!

My Mom and sisters-in-law and I think even my nephews went to the Princess Breakfast. It's $50 per person, but my mom said that it was well worth it. I think it was like 3 hours and she said that the girls and even the boys absolutely loved it as they got to be "knights" and were treated as such by the Princesses. Now, mind you, my nephews were 3 at the time so it was totally fun for them. Maybe it was Princess lunch or Brunch, but it was a meal with all of the Princesses. We didn't get to go because I was only 4 weeks postpartum at the time.

Are you going to be staying at one of the outrageously inexpensive condo's in Kissimee or Shades of Green? Shades of Green doesn't have microwaves in the room (some kind of regulation, I think), but they do have one in the LAUNDRY ROOM (of all places). I capitalized Laundry Room because I was delighted that they have one; I would have packed fewer clothes and sitting around waiting for the clothes to dry was a very nice break. If you are staying at a condo, of course it will be cheaper to fix your own food in the kitchen ( betcha a washer and dryer are available).

You can take in your own food and drinks into DisneyWorld. You just can't drag in a refrigerator and a grill. Naturally, who wants to be lugging a lot of food along with the kids? If each of you brings in a backpack with some waters (frozen water on your back in the Florida heat feels wonderful), some sandwiches and some snacks, you'll really save on food costs. Also, don't be afraid to share or split food for the times you don't feel like packing lunches. My husband, daughter and I went three years ago (has it been that long?). The first day my husband and I split a Caesar salad, and added some chicken tenders that our daughter couldn't eat. One day my husband and I split a taco lunch which came with two tacos; he turned his into a taco salad at the fixin's bar. I don't think we were too outrageous with our food costs, and would have saved more if we knew we could bring in food. I just cringed when I heard a family order six hamburger platters for the six little kids in their group. I know they probably spent $100 on lunch and then threw away most of it because the kids only picked at the burgers. They would have been better off ordering three platters and splitting the food. We ate a light breakfast in our room, so that saved money.

Also, I've ordered meals at a restaurant and split it with my daughter. I've selected food that we both like and asked for an extra plate. The waitress understands that my girl won't eat a full meal.

A Walmart is near DisneyWorld. I have no idea how to get there, but they have fairly good prices. Bring paper coffee filters from home or you will have to buy a pack of 1,000. Buy a case of bottle waters and freeze them the night before. The price of water in the park is ridiculous. Our daughter wasn't into the characters or being a princess, so we didn't have to do the character meals. She went on "Behind the Scenes" at Living with Land in Epcot (she was five at the time). Go figure.

Hope this helps.