Disney World!!! - Cortland,IL

Eat at "the land" for lunch in Epcot if you go there. They have decent prices and a bit broader selection in terms of "healthy". They have a hydroponic garden and the fruit/veggies are from there, I believe :)

Not sure how cheap you can do it with 3 kids and 2 adults. We did Disneyland with one kid, stayed offsite, drove, and it was STILL expensive! Our first trip was the trip where we didn't try to go as cheap as possible. We did all the fun stuff, like character meal and princess makeover and souvenirs. That being said, we will do it on the super cheap next time, since we'll have already been before. We did carry water and protein filled snacks in a back pack and ate off site quite a bit. We only ate once or twice in the park.

We booked our hotel and tickets through getawaytoday.com. I think it saved us a little bit of money, and they did everything for us. Not sure if they do World, but it might worth checking out. AAA didn't end up saving us any money.

Oh, and I second disboards.com. Amazing tips and advice from seasoned Disney vets!

mousesavers.com will give you some good information on saving money at WDW. The trip will be expensive, but will create some wonderful memories for your family. How long are you planning on staying in Orlando and how many days are you planning to go to the parks. The tickets are expensive, but there is a rate for under 3 "free" and under 9 at a reduced rate, so you will probably just have to buy 2 kids and 2 adults. I don't know if you have to show a birth certificate for the kids, you might ask. you can call a toll free number and ask! Decide if you are going to stay in one park all day or change parks. If you switch parks, you will need a "park hopper" ticket which costs more. Check with Disney to see what the rates are at the Value resorts. Sometimes you can get some good deals on those. Resort guests get free transportation on the Disney Express from the airport to your hotel. You can also take free Disney bus transportation from the resort to the parks. If you stay off property, parking is $14 a day and you would need a rental car.
Stay out of the gift shops because you can spend a lot of money there. As others have suggested, shop ahead and pick up some Disney souvenirs (the dollar stores have some good stuff) and bring it with you. Surprise your kids with it in the hotel room when you get back at night so you don't have to carry stuff all day. Bring some water bottles and snacks with you into the park. The quick service restaurants do have kids meals.
If you call Disney, ask for a free video on planning your trip. That will give you some ideas on what to plan. Good luck and have a wonderful trip.

Go to touringplans.com and get the subscription for $11. It's worth it's weight in gold. Helps you plan your schedule for each day in each park with your kids. Offers suggestions on which rides to get Fast Passes for and has a free mobile app to check the wait lines times.

We just got back and we stayed at Pop Century which is one of the value resorts. It was nice for the price, and the resort transportation to and from the parks was great! The food court there was better than the fast food restaurants in the parks by far. Better choices and prices for what you got.

Look on the Disney website under special offers for a week that might be discounted or a promo for the meal plan - usually it's like book a 5 day and get a meal plan free.

mousesavers.com!!! Have a great time!

The Safari at Animal Kingdom is my favorite thing. Appropriate for all ages.

www.disboards.com

Everything you want to know about disney. They even have a budget board.

Get an insulated backpack (even kid kind) and pack your lunches (sandwiches etc..) and snacks. You can take them into the park :) We have passes and do it all the time.

My daughters all have the sling type sport bags ( http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?produ...# ) *this is just an example* to carry their snacks and water bottles in (we use reusable/collapsable ones & they also can take 1-2 soda bottles with them if they want)

When they empty their bags - we can throw them into my purse or Dad's backpack (which is the insulated kind so we usually put a few frozen water bottles in to it to keep the sandwiches cool)

It has saved ALOT. of money and helps when you are having to wait in line for rides or for the parades/shows.

For snacks I would suggest going to a local grocery store and buying the bulk size items and using sandwich bags to portion them out. If the hotel doesn't have a shuttle to the store then see about going to your local store and buying a bunch of stuff and sending it to the hotel before hand (I have friends from out of state that do that alot)

For hotels - stay off site - just check with them for shuttles to/from the parks.

Animal kingdom does NOT allow straws unless they are attached to the sports bottle. (just an fyi)

Magic Kingdom has a great game - http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Sorcerers_of_the_Magic_Kingdom

We always had reservations, etc done about a year in advance. Many dinners, etc are booked well in advance.

Disney is very expensive...and I don't see how a family can go cheap at Disney. If you are staying offsite, then you will be paying to park daily if you are not at a place with the shuttle service.

If you fly, there is a free shuttle to your Disney hotel from the airport. We never took that because we liked a straight shot to our hotel so we always took a private taxi.

I suppose you can save if you have most of your meals at your hotel room after grocery shopping. Do get autograph books for the children ahead of time, rain ponchos, etc before you get there because little things add up SO fast.

I always worked directly with the WDW customer service in booking reservations,etc. We always stayed at the Polynesian which is on the monorail line. It is pricey but SO worth it.

Limit your character dinners, etc to 1. We enjoy Chef Mickey at the Comtemporary, breakfast at O'Hana in the Polynesian, the regular luau at the Polynesian and breakfast inside MK with Pooh and friends.

We love Animal Kingdom and the safari ride. We started going when daughter was 2 and went every 2 years until she was almost 16. As the children get older, they like the bigger parks, etc and you can adjust where you visit. Things we ALWAYS did were... see the 3pm parade at least once while there and nightly fireworks.

I hope you have a great trip.

A meal at Cinderellas Royal Table with the princesses is the most magical thing I always recommend. You must book this online about 6 months in advance. It is worth every penny when you see the looks on their faces when the princesses visit every child individually.
I would stay on site at Disney. I heard the Port Orleans resort is really great and somewhat reasonable.
We stayed in Celebration, FL (right outside Disney) and it was pretty shady.

I would stay away from character dining, IMO it's a waste of money. For your age group I would Definatly go to Hollywood Studios and animal kingdom. Hollywood studios you could easily get through in half a day.At animal kingdom theres a dinosaur section which my son loves! its always the first place we go. We go there a lot! Sometimes it's not worth the drive lol. The new fantasy land will be open, haven't been since it was finished because its been a mad house there the last month. I would also check on disneys website for current promotions.