Going out of town? Make the most of it

We no longer have many grocery options in town and often miss out on all the "good" sales on items we all use every day.  If you are going out of town, make the most of it by buying items you need at a savings to you.  You can put those savings on anything--even a trip to Disney World!  Any dollar for Disney is a good dollar! 

Yesterday, we were going to try a new place for lunch about 30 minutes away.  It wasn't a new place for us totally because we had eaten at a Shane's Rib Shack before, but it was for this place in that town.  I decided to check out the grocery options in that town and got my list ready as well as the coupons I had clipped for items that would coincide with the sale they were having.  I chose Kroger-they are having a Mega sale and mega it was for me!  They also double coupons up to .50.  It was looking good for me!

We went to lunch then off to Kroger.  I was in there for an hour and came out with a buggy full of groceries.  My total out of pocket was $77.42 and my savings with coupons and Mega sale was $144.xx!!  My savings was 65%!  I didn't buy items we wouldn't need but did rack up on stuff we would use, like butter(.39 each after mega sale and coupons), can tomatoes(.49 each), cat treats(-.01 each!!), cat litter (.19 each)refrigerated cookie dough(1.29 each), and toothpaste (.23 each).  I bought lots of great deals, but didn't list them all here. 

Moral of the story is save your coupons and use them where they benefit you the most.  Money in your pocket is what we are after!

So much to see, so much to do...

You want to go to Disney World but don't know where to start.  Either you've never been before or were so overwhelmed when you did go or possibly didn't realize all the options you had when you were there.  Where should you stay?  What should you do?  How many nights should you stay?  Where should you eat?  They have a dining plan?!!  Soooo many ticket options! 

All of these questions can be overwhelming if you're doing this alone, but you aren't doing all of this planning alone.  As the days go on, you will find a lot of information that you can use to make very informed decisions about your trip.  I hope you find it useful.

Chris

Do you Groupon?

Have you checked out groupon.com?  groupon.com is a website devoted to bringing you the best deals for your area or even areas you may be traveling to.  All you do is sign up and when a great deal comes along, buy it.  Deals change daily and some are posted on the sidebar on the right side.  You then print out your coupon and use it ether in the store or online (it will tell you which before you buy it). 

Today's Groupon for most areas is $10 off of $20 or $15 off of $30 worth of Bath and Body Works products from their online store.  I did this deal last time and it was really worth it!  Be sure to check areas that you don't live in also and you will find some great online deals that you can take advantage of too.  I've even bought some from Las Vegas! 

To sign up, go here.  It costs nothing to join, but you could be saving money on things you want to buy anyway.

Disney World-Free or Cheap things to enjoy

Not everything at Disney World is expensive.  In fact, some of the most fun things you can do at Disney World are cheap or free.  Some of these require a park ticket but once you're in, the activities are free.

• Go to the Boardwalk in the evening. This is often overlooked probably because it is at a resort but it is a very relaxing way to spend an evening. It is all lit up and there are carnival-like games that do cost money but also entertainment that is free such as the man that does tricks while on a ladder (a free-standing one). These are interesting! If you want to spend some money there, you could rent a surry and ride around the resort area.
• Take a boatride from Port Orleans Riverside to Downtown Disney. This takes about 30 minutes but is sooooo relaxing!! On the way, you will pass the Treehouses (originally designed by Walt, they were closed due to handicap regulations, then used for college interns, now you can stay there through Saratoga Springs Resort), then Saratoga Springs Resort. You will smell the awesome BBQ cooking at House of Blues as you coming into Dowtown Disney.
• While at DTD, walk around the water's edge near the Lego store and see the Lego art, visit Rainforest Cafe and TRex (you don't have to be eating there to visit), and in the summer, you can enjoy the entertainment at the seating area in front of World of Disney. If you want to spend a few dollars here, you could go to Goofy's Candy Company and custom design your snack. The chocolate dipped Oreo's are awesome and only a couple dollars. Another option is an ice cream from Girardelli's (and maybe a free chocolate sample that they are usually giving out).
• At any park or at DTD, you can buy a bucket of popcorn for $4.50. The buckets are usually cute and you can use it as a souvinier and the popcorn is excellent!! Sometimes all the buckets are one design but usually, each park has a different design. I have atleast 50 of these, after I cleaned out my stash!
• Someone in the party celebrating something? Get them a pin for the occasion. It's free at the resort concierge, guest services, or at City Hall at Magic Kingdom. They have them for first visit, birthday, wedding, anniversary, and several others. They even havce "I'm celebrating" and then is blank so anything could be written in. This one was a graduation.
• Club Cool at EPCOT has free sample Coca Cola products from around the world... be sure you have someone in your family try Beverly but be ready with the camera! (Now that's priceless!)
• At Hollywood Studios, you can go to Animation Station and they have artists teaching you how to draw the characters throughout the day. It's really fun and you get to keep your sketch!
• There are free craft activities for children(called Kidcot) at most of the countries at EPCOT as well as lots of fun stuff to do at Interventions. This is kind of like going to a children's museum, to me, and some of them give you stuff for free! You could also do the Kim Possible missions which are alot of fun for children. There are similar activities in Animal Kingdom.
• Several of the resorts have free activities for children. At All Star Music, they have games by the pool and movies at night (movies at the resorts are happening more frequently and there are many that do this now). At Fort Wilderness, they have movies and sing along with Chip and Dale. You can also check out the horses.
• See the performers at EPCOT. If you're in EPCOT anyway, check these out--the candy lady in Japan, the chidren acrobatics at China, the belly-dancer in Morocco, etc.
• Several of the counter service restaurants serve the kids meals with plastic cups and also in clever "plates" such as frisbees or in blue lunch boxes. These are all FREE to keep and very cute.
• If you are staying at a Disney resort, use the Disney transportation.  It's free and an easy way to get from place to place and still get to check out the scenery instead of looking for the next sign to turn to get from place to place.  The monorail and boat rides are soooo relaxing.  You may find the buses to be more crowded (unless you're on the monorail at park closing!), but it is still convenient.
• Resort hopping is an awesome way to check out the different resorts if you want to see the decorations, check out potential resorts for your next visit, or just relax on the transportation system.  This is especially popular during the Christmas season when all the resorts are decorated so pretty.  It is fun to do this on the monorail loop!
• Take pictures!  If you are taking your camera, go to the different resorts and take awesome pictures of your family and the sites.  We love to go to the Grand Floridian during Christmas and take new pictures in front of the Christmas tree or on the grand staircase.

Have you checked out Zulily?

I love to buy stuff for Aaden!  Anything is good.  Clothes, shoes, toys, it doesn't matter as long as he enjoys it.  Zulily is a great site to buy all that and more.  Zulily has great gift cards for items you can purchase online and even items for grown ups.  If you have a little girl to buy for, you are in luck!!  Zulily has some awesome cute clothes at very reasonable prices.  Check them out here.

Where to begin?

This is a new adventure for me and one I am super excited to begin.  My goal when I start this is to be entertaining and provide my readers a lot of useful information so that you can enjoy Disney (and maybe love it like I do!) all while telling you where the best deals are to save you money on the items you need or just want.  I will make daily posts to the site with the best deals I can find for you (I love to shop and am always looking for a great deal!) and throw in some great Disney World tips and information for fun. 

Please post to let me know you're here and if you have any good deals, let me know so we can add them here too.

Thanks for being with me here and I hope you enjoy it as much as I think I will enjoy bringing it to you.

Chris