Our No-Spend park days
Cash and I have been pass holders to one park or another for as long as we’ve lived in Orlando. We love having pre-paid access to the most magical places on earth. It’s amazing getting to decide last minute that you want to hop on a roller coaster, cast some spells like Harry Potter, or visit with a princess, then actually be doing that thing within an hour. The only catch to this way of living is that while our tickets to the park may be paid for, nothing else is. And I don’t know if you all noticed or anything, but theme parks are more expensive places to eat, play and breathe than almost anywhere else (ha ha, sarcasm). I just can’t afford to live on a vacation budget when for us, it’s just a normal Saturday. My normal Saturday budget some days doesn’t even include the price of going bowling. I learned really quickly how to fit a theme park day into our sometimes super low budget, meaning some days we spend hours at the park and spend $0. I wanted to share my “how” with you in case it can help you cut out some expenses or give you a little inspiration that it totally can be done!
Pack food and water.
This is the most crucial tip I can give you. You cannot go all day, or possibly even 2 hours, without having something to eat or drink. At the very least, you should drink lots and lots of water. You can read more about how I pack our bag here, but I always bring at least 5 or 6 bottles for Cash and me. We drink all of it. Trust me; you do not want to wander around a hot parking lot at the end of the day looking for your car (whoops!) and be out of cold water to drink.
I also always pack snacks. I’ve learned that the best plan is to pack snacks we haven’t eaten lately. If Cash has been eating veggie straws all week and smells a churro, it will be hard to convince him that he should eat the snack I packed. Instead, I’ll make ham and cheese pinwheel wraps or surprise him with a store-bought snack we usually don’t keep in the house. He still feels like he’s getting a treat, but it costs the same as if we were eating at home.
Invest in refill cups at the beginning
Refillable Drink Cups
Seaworld and Universal sell refillable drink cups that you can reactivate time after time. Disney does not have a refill cup, but they allow you to bring soda in, as long as it’s not in a glass container. Yes, you can drink water all day (and many times we do!), but sometimes it’s nice to have a little treat in the afternoon and sip an ice-cold soda or lemonade. You can refill these cups by the day, or if you’re budgeting, pay for one refill. It’s not advertised heavily, but I know for sure Seaworld will let you refill your cup one time for about a dollar. This is perfect for when we’re just going to be in the park for a few hours.
Refillable Popcorn buckets
Disney and Universal both have refillable popcorn buckets. They cost between $10-30, but you can refill them for around $2 forever. They both offer themed ones that make fun souvenirs. This has saved us many times when we want a hot snack, and the portions are pretty generous. The only downside to these is that they are relatively bulky. We use the handle to strap it on the outside of our backpack.
Utilize Gift Cards
Most theme parks have at least one Starbucks somewhere. This last weekend, my boyfriend gave me a just-for-fun gift of a Starbucks gift card which I loaded onto my Starbucks phone app. On Sunday, when the sun was hot and we were dying for a cold treat, Cash and I went to Starbucks and got two frappuccinos for $0. I use my card often to grab an Americano on the way out before our drive home. They also have snacks and sandwiches, so it’s a great place to spend that Starbucks card you got for Christmas and haven’t found the time to use.
Make Wish Lists
I try and practice delayed gratification in the parks. If Cash or I see a new food item or a toy he thinks he needs, I note it in my Trello board so we don’t forget. Then if we are planning a visit and I have a little extra money to spend, I suggest we try that dessert at the France pavilion or that he buy a toy from the Pandora gift shop. There are so many benefits to this.
I’m not wasting money on stuff we don’t want/need.
We have something to look forward to for next time.
It keeps us from being too depressed when we can’t afford to eat something fancy. We know it’s okay; we’ll budget to get it next time.
Utilize the “free” stuff!
The greatest thing about theme parks is that because it costs so much to get in the door, they don’t nickel and dime you for every activity. Sure, there are always ways to spend more money, but there are also endless options of stuff to do included in your theme park admission. Besides the obvious rides, here’s a list of stuff we like to do at the big three, and they are all things you can spend HOURS doing. Most of them are overlooked (which means low crowds!) but are still more fun than going to a regular park in your neighborhood.
Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure
Fievel’s water play area and ball pit (Universal Studios)
Take a tour of the MIB ride or the Jurassic Park nursery (IoA and Universal Studios)
Disney World
Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom game (Magic Kingdom)
Dinosaur excavating/play area (Animal Kingdom)
Tom Sawyer’s Island (Magic Kingdom)
All of Epcot is basically one big play area/discovery zone, and I know of at least one park that Cash loves playing in.
Seaworld
The kids play area has a splash pad that Cash likes to cool off in
Most of our free time here is spent watching their amazingly wide array of shows, and visiting the animals.
Don’t go all day.
Technically, you could make this work if you wanted to, but for us, the thought of eating 2-3 meals out of our backpack and not indulging in a hot meal all day isn’t appealing. I prefer to eat breakfast or lunch, then head down to spend a few hours at the park. We have a blast exploring and playing for hours, maybe snacking or eating a PB&J for lunch, but then I still have time to head home, where I can cook a hot meal for dinner.
Don’t even bring it in.
My last tip sounds a little insane at first but bear with me. The best way to have a low or no spend day at the park is to leave your money in the car. Don’t even bring it inside with you. This makes me a little nervous, but it’s okay. There is not one thing in there that you need to buy. There is free water everywhere. You brought food. What else? Every one of these parks is more than equipped to provide medical attention in case you are bleeding. Outside of that, bringing your money in is only going to be a temptation you’ll be ill-equipped to face when smelling a fresh turkey leg. Leave it in the car, and enjoy your day!