Disney Trip Review/ Tips!

Port Orleans French Quarter: 

I would highly recommend French quarter. I loved that it was a smaller resort. It was relaxing which was nice after a long day. We never had issues with the buses to the parks. We even took the boat to disney springs. After staying off property versus on property, hands down staying on property was 100% worth it for the transportation alone. We used the magical Express from the airport. We did get our own luggage since we wanted our things right away. Tip I didn't know for our first trip off property. Disney buses drop you off at the entrance for Magic Kingdom. If you use an off property shuttle or uber you have to take 2 monorails or 1 monorail and 1 boat to get to the entrance. This tacked on an extra hour in and out sometimes with our first trip. Staying on property it took maybe 15 minutes to get to the front of the park. Also another tip, at Port Orleans you can check in your bags with TSA at the resort if flying out southwest and some other airlines. It was so easy and I am glad we used it. 

Droid Depot

We surprised our 6 year old son with the droid build and is by far his favorite memory. He built R2D2 and loves it! His dad did buy him blasters as an extra. We did a 4pm build and then carried him in the box. We brought him on rides and it wasn't bad. There was an area in Star Wars land right outside where they can play with their robots. We sat there for almost 45 minutes watching the kids play. 

Magic Kingdom Food Recommendations

Be Our Guest lunch: French Dip Sandwich and Master Cupcake. We ordered our food 30 days in advance and I am so happy we did because the non pre-order line was long! 

Sleepy Hollow: Spicy Chicken Sandwich and Fruit Nutella Waffle

Columbia Harbour House: Lobster Roll

Alohe Isle: Dole Whip Swirl 

Popcorn Buckets: Get the Buckets so you can do the $2 refill for popcorn good for your entire stay!

Epcot Food Recommendations: 

Katsura Grill: Terkayi Chicken: Sit outside in the zen garden! 

Hollywood Studios food recommendations: 

Woody’s Lunchbox: Grilled cheese and tomato soup and tarts 

Catalinas Eddies: Good pizza 

Pick a Pearl in Epcot: 

This was such a fun experience. You get to pick an oyster in ‘Japan’ then they do a fun chant to open the oyster. You are guaranteed a pearl. Tip: Pick the ugliest hairiest oyster as they usually have bigger pearls. We bought a pearl cage necklace for my daughter and a pearl cage mickey mouse keychain for my son on Etsy prior to our trip which helped save us money.

Fireworks: 

The Magic Kingdom fireworks were definitely worth staying late, it was truly magical! After the fireworks I would highly recommend jumping on some rides. We hopped in line for the Rapunzel pictures. We also got to ride 1 additional ride before the park closed. 

Pixie Dust:

We went to Sir Mickeys and asked for Pixie Dust. They were so friendly about it and put glitter in my daughters hair with a glitter wand. 

Pictures:

We did not do the memory maker but I did purchase our favorite 4 pictures for $34.95. We received 2 5x7 prints and 2 4x6 prints as well as digital downloads. 

Pirate Adventure Map

This was one of my favorite things I did with my son while my daughter was napping with dad. It was late afternoon and super crowded. Instead of standing in line we did the pirate adventure map to get a fastpass for the Pirates of the Carribean line. The map adventure was so much fun! We did 4 maps and my son really liked that we got to keep the maps. 

Check out my other Disney Posts:
How I paid for our Disney Trip (2nd time!) as a Homemaker

How I paid for our Disney Trip (2nd time!) as a Homemaker

This is our 2nd Disney family vacation that I was able to pay for as a homemaker. I have been able to pay for 3 family vacations (2 Disneyworld and 1 Colorado ski trip). Here is how I made this Disneyworld Trip possible: 1. Disney Rewards Visa Card I used Disney Rewards Visa Card points from using my card. Get $150 in disney rewards after you spend $500 in the first 3 months by using my referral link. The $150 will be mailed to you as a Disney gift card. You can use your Disney gift card to help pay for Disney tickets. Please note you need a referral link to get the no annual fee. If you go through Chase's website without one it will be a $49 annual fee. I can also e-mail you the referral link , my e-mail is at moore.savvy.inspiration@gmail.com

Here is the Disney Credit Card link if you would like to sign up for the credit card. 

Other Disney Rewards Visa Perks a. 10% off $50 merchandise purchase at select stores in the parks b. At Epcot if you show your Disney Visa you can get a special meet and greet some of your favorite Disney characters. This is for Disney Visa cardholders only. Usually the characters are Goofy, Pluto, Mickey or Minnie. At Hollywood studios you can meet Kylo Ren with your Disney Visa. This is like having an extra fastpass! We were the only ones there in Epcot and meet Goofy and Mickey. They spent some extra time with us as well!

c. 10% off select dining locations Here is the link for more information about the Disney Visa perks: https://disneyrewards.com/vacation-perks/walt-disney-world-perks/

2. Sell Outgrown Items I sold unneeded items by using these methods: 

   a. Kid and Home Good Consignment sales (I did 6 Spring and Fall Consignment sales in 2019!)

   b. Facebook buy sell trade/ marketplace

   c. Ebay 

   d. Varagesale

   e. Offerup

   f.  Garage sales 

   g. Poshmark- Sign up with my code TN_MICHELLE to get $10 off your first order

3. Southwest Chase Visa  
I used Southwest Airline Points from my Southwest Visa card. I have to admit I was hesitant about this card since it has an annual fee but I am so glad I opened one up. It has definitely paid for itself with free flights. Use my referral link if interested in signing up for this card to get the new customer promotional points. In addition to the points for opening the card, you get anniversary points every year. After you open the card, they sometimes run promotions where you can earn double points by using your credit card for purchases. I opened up this card in 2019 and was able to fly my family to Colorado with my card points.  Again this year, 2020, I was able to fly my family of 4 to Disney with my credit card points. 

4. Non Credit Card Southwest Deals a. Sign up for a Southwest Rapid Rewards for free and sign up for the newsletter to get alerts on special flight deals. Also sign up for Make it Count and Rapid Rewards Dining and link it up to your rapid rewards number. 

b. Make it Count: Get 1 Southwest rapid reward for every gallon of fuel purchased at Marathon. Plus get 40 cents off per gallon your first fill.

c. Rapid Rewards Dining: Earn 3 Southwest Rapid Reward points per $1 spent at certain restaurants in your area.  d. Save 5% on southwest gift cards at Sam's Club. Be sure to note you can only use up to 2 gift cards per transaction with Southwest.com. I used this method to pay for taxes and fees that the 'free' miles from my credit card did not cover. 

5. Cash back Apps. I use these apps after grocery shopping trips to earn cash back. Note you will need your receipt and items to scan barcodes.  

   a. Ibotta is a smartphone application that can earn you money. To earn money with this app you need to purchase specific items (usually grocery items) from certain local stores.  The Ibotta app finds your currently location and only gives you offers to your stores in your area. I have made $340.47 since I have started using Ibotta. How I use Ibotta: I do my regular grocery trip.  While unpacking my food I look at Ibotta to see if I purchased anything they are offering cashback for currently. Next I add the offer to my cashback list. Last step is to take a picture of my receipt and then scan item barcodes. Ibotta usually has at least one item that I purchased without influence from the app. Use this code when signing up: kawqmq. If you are really money savvy and have the extra time look at the app before grocery trips and combine the cashback offers with coupons. To sign up for Ibotta, please use my referral link so I can get credit for the referral! Also when you use my referral link you should get $5 put into your Ibotta account. 

   b. Checkout 51: Use checkout 51 app to redeem any offers for cash back, this is very similar to ibotta.  I have earned $70. Use this referral link to sign up today!

   c. Fetch Rewards: Upload your grocery receipt to Fetch rewards app to earn points to exchange for gift cards. Use this referral code FM1YC to get 2,000 points ($2) when you first sign up. 

   d. Shopkicks: Shopkicks is an app that you get 'kicks' aka points and exchange them for gift cards. Use my referral code BEST712211 or download https://getsk.co/best712211 and get 250 kicks. You get kicks for walking in stores, scanning items and receipts. I traded in my kicks for a Disney gift card.

  e. Receipt Hog: Upload your receipts to Receipt Hog to earn points to exchange for gift cards.

  f. Saving Star: This app is similar to ibotta.

  g. Coinout: Scan your receipts to earn money sent via paypal. Use this referral link to sign up today! 

6. Online Cash Back Rakuten:  I go through Rakuten every time I purchase something online such as through Target, Groupon or living Social. Rakuten gives me a percentage of my purchase for going through their site. For example if I buy a $50 item at Target and go through Rakuten with a 2% cash back I will get $1. A dollar may not seem like a lot but it adds up especially if you buy a high dollar item. Rakuten pays you about twice a year by check or through Paypal. You receive your payment faster through Paypal. I have been paid $600 since I have joined.  I also got a $10 gift card to Home Depot when I first signed up for Rakuten after a $25 qualifying purcahse This brings my total to $610 that Rakuten has paid me for using their site.  If you would like to join click here. By using my link you can also get that $10 sign up bonus. *The link is a referral link please use so I can get credit, thank you!

7. Online Ways to earn Gift Cards

 a. Swagbucks:  You get swagbucks for doing activities such as using them as a search engine, surveys, buying online goods (similar to ebates), watching videos, etc. I like to exchange my swagbucks for amazon gift cards to use for any Disney trip items we may need! I have made $100 since joining. 

Click Here to sign up for Swagbucks. *The link is a referral link. Please use so I can get credit, thank you!

b. Bing: I use bing on my computer as my main search engine. By joining bing rewards for every 2 to 3 searches you get 1 point. Once you receive enough points you can exchange the points for a gift card. I earned $200 in Amazon gift cards. 

Click Here to Sign Up for Bing Rewards *The link is a referral link please use so I can get credit, thank you!

c. Online Surveys: I take surveys through E-rewards.com and redeem the points for Amazon gift cards. I used these amazon gift cards for our grocery purchase via Amazon Prime Now while at our Disney hotel.

8. Disney Gift Cards Save 5% on Disney gift cards by using a Target credit card at Target. You can also buy discounted Disney gift cards through Sam's club. Bonus you can pay for your Disney tickets, Disney hotel and food at Disney by using gift cards (thus saving 5% on tickets/loding/food!). Tip: You can charge all food/souvenirs to your room via your magic band at the parks and at the end of your stay you can pay off your balance with gift cards at the front desk when checking out. 9. Decline Mousekeeping If staying at a Disney hotel, decline housekeeping and receive a gift card*. You get a $10 gift card for every night you decline housekeeping. You cannot decline it the last night you there. We stayed 5 nights, so received a $40 Disney gift card. *This offer is only valid at certain Disney hotels. 10. Disney Movie Insiders Sign up for Disney Movie Insiders. As a member you will receive points for watching Disney movies in theaters as well as purchasing Disney DVDs. I earned a $10 Disney gift card with my points. 11. Money Making Hobby I have a teacherspayteachers store. Feel free to check out my store. You can also make an Etsy store if you are crafty. I hope you enjoyed these money saving tips and have a magical Disney trip!

Check out my other Disney Posts!
Disney Trip Review/ Tips! 

How I earn money Grocery Shopping

How I earn money while shopping for groceries

Tip #1: Shopkicks
Open Shopkick app while at grocery store to get walk in kicks. Shopkicks is an app that you get 'kicks' aka points and exchange them for gift cards. Use my referral code BEST712211 and get 250 kicks. You get kicks for walking in stores, scanning items and receipts. Some online stores like Walmart grocery participate too. I have earned 1,000 shopkicks (almost $5) for going through shopkicks to order Walmart Groceries. https://getsk.co/best712211

Tip #2:  Online shopping for groceries

If you have never shopped Walmart Grocery pick up use my referral link for $10 off your first purchase (minimum $30 purchase). Try it out for yourself! http://r.wmt.co/eK5Eg

If you have a chase visa, check your offers that you will need to click to activate. I had a chase visa offer for $5 cash back for shopping at Walmart grocery pick up. I just had to activate that offer and use that credit card for my purchase. 

Tip #3: Kroger Cash back program

Simply load the cashback offer to your Kroger card like you would for loading Kroger coupons. Then purchase that item (dont forget to use your shopper card). You can then cash out and put on your shoppers card to use the next time!

https://kroger.softcoin.com/programs/kroger/cashback/?banner=Kroger&origin=cashbk

Tip #4:  Kroger Coupons

There is no need to clip coupons now that Kroger has coupons you can load straight to your Kroger card. Same goes for Publix. Lately I have been getting coupons for $2 off $10 with Publix so make sure you check your emails to see if you have a similar offer!

How I earn money after my grocery tip

Tip #5: Fetch Rewards This is a really easy app to use! Upload your grocery receipt to Fetch rewards app to earn points to exchange for gift cards. Use this referral code FM1YC to get 2,000 points ($2) when you first sign up. 
https://www.fetchrewards.com/how-it-works


Tip #6:  Ibotta

Ibotta is a smartphone application that can earn you money. Use this code when signing up: kawqmq.

https://ibotta.com/r/kawqmq

To earn money with this app you need to purchase specific items (usually grocery items) from certain local stores.  The best part of this app is that it usually has 4 or 5 any item cash back offers. Example get $0.10 back for any item or get $0.50 back for any gallon of milk.

The Ibotta app finds your currently location and only gives you offers to your stores in your area. I have made $350 since I have started using Ibotta. How I use Ibotta: I do my regular grocery trip.  While unpacking my food I look at Ibotta to see if I purchased anything they are offering cashback for currently. Next I add the offer to my cashback list. Last step is to take a picture of my receipt and then scan item barcodes. Ibotta usually has at least one item that I purchased without influence from the app. If you are really money savvy and have the extra time look at the app before grocery trips and combine the cashback offers with coupons. To sign up for Ibotta, please use my referral link so I can get credit for the referral! Also when you use my referral link you should get $5 put into your Ibotta account.

Tip #7:  Checkout 51

Use checkout 51 app to redeem any offers for cash back, this is very similar to ibotta.  Use this referral link to sign up today! Use this referral link to sign up today!

Tip #8:  Coinout

Scan your receipt using the coinout app. Scan you receipts to earn money sent via paypal. Use this referral link to sign up today! 

Tip #9: Receipt Hog

Scan your receipt using Receipt Hog app. Redeem your points for Amazon gift cards or cash via paypal.