The Dark Side of Disney - Leonard Kinsey [17]
AAA Diamond Pass:
This isn’t free parking, but can be used in conjunction with the above tips. If you book your vacation through AAA you will receive a parking pass that allows you access to the Diamond Lot at each park. The Diamond Lot is usually right up front near the entrance so you don’t have to fight your way onto the tram, you can just walk to the entrance. If you’ve ever waited for a WDW parking tram you know that they can be extremely crowded, and with all of the stops it can take you 30 minutes or more to get to the actual gate.
Although they don’t advertise this fact, you actually only need to purchase your Park Hoppers through AAA to get the Diamond Pass, not your entire vacation. AAA offers a decent discount on Park Hoppers, although not as much as Undercover Tourist, so it’s up to you to figure out if it’s worth the extra expense of booking through AAA to get this convenience.
However, eBay again comes to the rescue. You can buy a AAA parking pass on eBay for less than $30, which is good for the length of your stay. If you’re renting a car, staying a week, renting a DVC, and purchasing your tickets via Undercover Tourist (or have Annual Passes) this is probably a great deal for the convenience it offers.
EATING/DRINKING THERE
There’s no such thing as cheap food or booze for sale in WDW. Sure, there might be bargains that bring the costs down a bit, but compared to your local grocery store, corner bar, or chain restaurant, all consumables in WDW are way overpriced.
On their end, the reasoning for these high prices is “You’re stuck here, suckers, so deal with it!” They know the chances of you leaving the WDW Resort for a meal are extremely small (especially if you’ve used DME and couldn’t drive off-property if you wanted to) so they jack up prices to crazy levels. And unfortunately, with the advent of the Dining Plan and “Free Dining”, prices have continued to go up over the years as quality and portion sizes have decreased.
If you went to a restaurant at home with such high prices and mediocre food, you’d likely complain to the manager and would never go back there again. So why put up with it at WDW? “Oh, we’re on vacation, we can splurge a little,” is the typical response. Well, sure, that makes sense if you’re splurging on high quality food with excellent service, but it seems like the days where management saw the restaurants at WDW as a source of pride instead of a cash cow are mostly gone. There are a few exceptions – a certain entrée at a certain sit-down that is world-class, or a certain appetizer at a counter service that’s a hell of a bargain, but those exceptions are quickly disappearing.
So stop throwing your hard earned money away! I can’t tell you how to make the food any better at WDW, but at the very least I can tell you how to come away from your vacation with a full stomach and a lot more cash in your pockets.
“Free Dining” is Not Free!!!:
If you really think that Disney is going to give you something for free, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I’d like to sell you. Their “Free Dining” promotion gets everyone up in a tizzy, because they hear the word “free” and start freaking out. But there’s nothing “free” about it. You’re actually paying out the ass for it!
The way the deal works is that you buy a package that includes your room, tickets, and the Disney Dining Plan, aka DDP (Quick Service if you’re staying at a Value Resort, or the regular plan if you’re at a Moderate), except the DDP is supposedly “free”. So they give you a single price for your entire vacation, and aside from souvenirs, once you hit the ground everything is already paid for.
The problems with this are numerous:
1. You’re not allowed to use any other discounts on top of this “free dining” promotion. So the “buy 4 get 3 free” deal, where you get 7 days at a resort for the price of 4? Nope, can’t do it. $500 gift card if you reserve a 7 day vacation? Nope. 40% off code? Not a chance. You have to pay