Disney World is very good at separating us from our money. One minute, you’re walking down Main Street, U.S.A., responsibly minding your own business. The next, you’re holding a bubble wand, a churro, a holiday popcorn bucket shaped like a character who has never once asked to be a bucket, and a $5 bottle of Diet Coke.

Main Street Confectionery

It happens. The parks are hot. The nostalgia is powerful. Your budget is a delicate little paper boat in a hurricane. But if you’re a Disney World Annual Passholder, there’s one shopping rule I use all the time, and while it’s not going to buy me a vacation home in Celebration, it has saved me real money over time.

[Read more…]