Best Ways to Save

Don't buy a theme-park ticket for the day of your arrival or the day of your departure. It's not worth spending $60 for just a couple of hours in the parks. Instead, use those days to visit Downtown Disney, Disney's Boardwalk, or Universal CityWalk, or lounge around your hotel pool.

Buy your tickets as soon as you know you're going. Prices typically go up about once a year, so you might beat a price hike -- and save a little money.

Avoid holidays and school vacation times, or go off-season. You can see more in less time, and lodging rates are lower.

Choose accommodations with a kitchen or at least a fridge and microwave. You can stock up on breakfast items in a nearby supermarket, and save time -- and money -- by eating your morning meal in your hotel room.

If you plan to eat in a full-service restaurant, do it at lunch. Then have a light dinner. Lunchtime prices are almost always lower than dinnertime prices. Also look for "early bird" menus, which offer dinner entrées at reduced prices during late afternoon and early evening hours.

Watch your shopping carefully. Theme-park merchandisers are excellent at displaying the goods so that you (or your children) can't resist them. You may find that some articles for sale are also available at home -- for quite a bit less. One way to cope is to give every member of your family a souvenir budget -- adults and children alike. Another good option is to wait until the last day of your trip to buy your souvenirs.

Refill your water bottles. You'll be surprised at how much water you drink hiking around the parks under the hot Florida sun. Those $2 water bottles really add up, but you can save a bundle by refilling your bottles at the water fountains all over the parks.

Bring essentials with you. Remember to pack your hat, sunscreen, camera, memory card or film, batteries, diapers, and aspirin. These items are all very expensive within the theme parks.