My spring break is being spent in sunny Orlando, Florida. To say that I’m having the time of my life is an understatement. My roommate and I decided to do six days of parks while we’re down here, which is extremely expensive.
Ticket prices for one day are at least $100 for a single park pass. As college students, we had to make the decision to spend more money on multiple days at parks, which come as package deals and ultimately save money, or spend a little bit less on parks and have more days by the pool.
We chose the first option and are feeling the strain of the hundreds spent on park passes. Here is a list of helpful tips for balling on a budget.
1. Water is free.
Many food places around the parks will fill up your water bottle for free. They’ll also put ice in it if you ask. Don’t spend money on a bottle of water. If you forget to bring a water bottle, save the one you buy and ask to have it filled rather than continue buying bottled water.
2. Multiple purpose items are a must.
We bought food items that serve more than one purpose. We bought bread and cheese, which could be used for sandwiches with lunch meat that we bought or grilled cheeses. We also bought tortillas and ground beef to make tacos with, and we used the cheese for sandwiches as the cheese in our tacos.
3. Pack a lunch and snacks.
Buying meals at the parks can be okay if you only do it a couple of times, but keep in mind that one meal is roughly $20. If you do an entire week eating two meals at the parks it adds up to $280. If you pack a lunch and eat dinner in your hotel you can save a lot of money.
4. Multiple day park passes vs. single park passes
When you travel far distances to places with theme parks, you should probably spend multiple days at the parks. Sure it seems like it will be fun to just lay out by the pool, but you’ll probably get bored after a few hours.
In Orlando, Disney World and Universal Studios offer single day tickets or multiple day ticket packages. The websites even break down the amount each ticket costs per day if you buy multiple days.
It’s more cost effective to buy multiple day park passes. In the big picture, it is less expensive to do so and ensures that you get the most out of your trip.
5. Park hopper tickets.
Don’t do it. There are so many rides and attractions in each specific park that a park hopper is unnecessary. You’ll spend a lot of time walking to and from different attractions and waiting in line for rides, so it is unrealistic to finish more than one park in a single day.
6. Buy your tickets online.
Usually at parks, you can buy your tickets online and pay less than what you would if you bought them at the gates. If you do buy your tickets online, you can pick them up at a kiosk or will call rather than pay for them to be shipped to you.
7. Find the freebies.
Find a hotel with free amenities. We searched for one that had free breakfast, Wi-Fi and a shuttle to the parks. This eliminates a meal that you would have to pay for as well as transportation to and from the parks.
8. Always Uber.
Taking an Uber is less expensive than a taxi. Taxis are also kind of sketchy and will do whatever it takes to charge you more.
We made the mistake of letting a taxi wait for us while we did our grocery shopping. We were quick but it still cost us $40, which was insane.
9. Rent a room with a kitchenette.
If you’re planning on cooking dinner for yourself instead of eating out, you should find a hotel that has kitchenettes in each room. It saves money on meals, not to mention how nice it is to be able to eat at any time of day or night.
10. First Aid has free Band-Aids.
If you’re prone to accidents like I am, you’ll be happy to know that each park has first aid stations. On day two of Universal, I developed raging blisters on my feet. I also forgot to pack Band-Aids so I went to the first aid station and they gave me a ton of them.
11. Think before you buy.
Be practical when buying souvenirs. I bought myself a chocolate frog and a wand from Harry Potter World and didn’t let myself buy a robe.
To be honest, I probably won’t use the wand, but it was something that I really wanted for a long time. I didn’t let myself purchase the robe because I knew that I wouldn’t wear it.
Souvenirs inside the parks are unreasonably more expensive than what the souvenir itself is actually worth. Think about what you’re buying before you buy it. You don’t want to find that you’ve wasted your money on something that will collect dust in your closet.
