PLEASE. I’m BEGGING you. STOP paying for these totally, completely, unquestionably UNNECESSARY things at Disney World!

As experts in Disney World vacation planning, we know exactly how much it costs to go on a Disney World vacation, and we also know how to cut that cost down by a LOT. One of the easiest and quickest ways to get the expense down to a more manageable budget is to cut out all the little extra, unnecessary add-ons that too many people spend money on. Here are six things you might THINK you need to buy in Disney World, but you really DON’T.

A quick caveat before we fully jump into this post: If you love buying any of these things in Disney World, that’s totally OK! When we say “unnecessary,” we mean that you really don’t HAVE to buy these things, but if you have it in the budget and want to use your vacation funds on any of these items, who are we to stop you? You can always trim the budget elsewhere to prioritize these things.

These are just our suggestions for things that some people think they HAVE to buy in the parks when really they’re not required at all, or there might be a better place to get what they need!

We’re starting off strong with a potentially controversial souvenir.

A MagicBand or MagicBand+

MagicBands are the wearable technology (a band worn on the wrist containing a Radio-Frequency Identification or RFID chip) that connects — or “unlocks” — all the experiences booked through My Disney Experience once you arrive at Walt Disney World.

You can use your MagicBand to unlock your hotel room, get into the parks, scan into a ride’s Lightning Lane, and more. If you link a method of payment to it, you can even pay for stuff using your MagicBand! Sounds pretty handy, right? But there are two reasons why you might NOT want to buy a MagicBand.

Reason #1: You Already Have One

Some people might think that MagicBands expire and you have to get a new one every time you go to Disney World. That’s not true!

You can keep reusing your MagicBand over and over again, so there’s no need to buy new ones.

Reason #2: There Are Other Ways to Do Everything a MagicBand Does

Even if you don’t own any MagicBand at all, you can still do everything you could do with a MagicBand using your smartphone, Apple Watch, or physical cards.

You can use MagicMobile on your smartphone or Apple Watch to do everything a MagicBand could do. And even if you don’t have a smart device, you’re not out of luck: Disney will give you physical room keys and park tickets if you request them.

So although MagicBands are Disney-themed and pretty convenient, you can save money by skipping on that particular souvenir. They cost anywhere from $30 to $45, so if you’re paying for one for everyone in your group, that cost can add up quickly.

Check out our ULTIMATE guide to MagicBands here.

A Poncho

Please don’t misunderstand this next one: You DO need a rain poncho or rain jacket in Disney World, so we’re not telling you to skip packing one altogether. But you should NOT wait until you’re at Disney World to buy one!

The weather in Orlando is pretty changeable — it’ll be bright and sunny one minute and dark and stormy the next. If you’ll be in Disney World for a few days, you can bet that it’ll rain at least once while you’re there. So rain gear of some kind is essential! However, ponchos and rain jackets are MUCH more expensive inside Disney World than they are at your local Walmart or on Amazon.

In Disney World, you’ll pay $12 for a rain poncho ($10 for child size), but we found this pack of two ponchos on Amazon for about $12, which makes them HALF the price of the Disney ones.

That’s a pretty major price difference, so we highly recommend getting the cheaper ponchos and using the money you saved on something more fun, like snacks!

Get the Amazon rain ponchos here!

Non-Disney Snacks

We’ll be honest with you: When we go to Disney World, we’re mostly there for the food. Sure, the rides are fun, but have you ever tried a Fresh Fruit Waffle Sandwich (with NUTELLA) at Sleepy Hollow? Or Corn Dog Nuggets with Plastic Cheese from Casey’s Corner? Our snack budget takes up a fairly sizeable portion of our overall vacation, but one thing we’ll NEVER spend it on is non-Disney snacks.

You can pick up generic snacks like bags of Lays chips and M&Ms in the theme parks, but when you can also grab those at any convenience store back home, why spend the money on them in Disney World? There are so many better options for snacks and treats!

The main reason why people buy those non-Disney snacks is probably because they just don’t know about all the better options in the parks, so here are a bunch of posts to help you track down those tasty eats:

• Best Snacks at Magic Kingdom in Disney World
• Best Snacks Disney’s Hollywood Studios
• Best Snacks at EPCOT
• Best Snacks in Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Bottles of Water

A bottle of water at Disney World can cost you anywhere from $3.75 to almost $6, which really adds up if you keep buying them during your trip.

There are two very simple solutions that will save you a lot of money but still help you stay hydrated:

Solution #1: Bring Your Own Water Bottle

Disney has lots of water bottle refill stations throughout the parks, and they even have a handy tool on the app now that will let you know where the nearest refill station is located! You can bring your own bottle into the parks and then refill it for free whenever you need to.

If you don’t already have a water bottle that you love, check out this Owala bottle that several members of our team highly recommend.

It has a cool FreeSip feature that allows you to either sip from the straw or take a bigger gulp by tipping the bottle up. Plus, it comes in lots of fun colors! You can grab it on Amazon.

Check out the Owala bottle on Amazon

Solution #2: Get Free Water from Quick Service Restaurants

Every quick service restaurant in Disney World will give you free cups of water, even if you didn’t buy anything at the restaurant.

It’s not quite as convenient as bringing your own bottle, because you do have to find a restaurant and potentially wait in line to get the water. However, it might be worth it to you if you don’t want to carry around a bottle all day!

Everywhere You Can Find Free Water in Disney World

Sunscreen or First Aid Items

These items have the same caveat as the poncho: We’re NOT telling you NOT to buy sunscreen and first aid items, we’re just telling you not to buy these things inside Disney World!

Although you’ll see sunscreen, bandaids, some medicine, and other first aid essentials for sale in the parks and at the hotel gift shops, you’ll also notice that the prices are quite a bit higher than you’d find at your local Walgreens. You can buy these items at home or on Amazon instead and save a lot of money! We found a super cute travel first aid kit online that you could throw into your park bag so that you’re prepared for any situation.

If you find yourself needing extra first aid supplies in the parks, you can head to one of the First Aid stations!

At these centers, they have a few items available for free, like sample sizes of all kinds of common medication (we’re talking staples like pain relievers) and band-aids.

Everything First Aid Centers Can Do for You at Disney World

Genie+ at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

It’s time for some real talk. Personally, I LOVE Animal Kingdom. In fact, it’s my favorite park. However, I rarely (if ever) buy Genie+ for this park.

Genie+ is the skip-the-line service that you can pay for to gain access to Lightning Lanes and thus skip the normal standby line. It can be tricky to master, so make sure you check out our complete guide to learn all the hacks and tricks.

Click here to see our full guide to Disney Genie+!

You can’t buy Genie+ for your whole trip all at once — you have to purchase it day-by-day. I usually do buy it for Magic Kingdom (because there are so many rides to use it on there) and Hollywood Studios (because lines can get very long at those popular thrill rides), but I almost never buy it for Animal Kingdom. There just aren’t a ton of rides in Animal Kingdom, and the park is usually the least busy out of the four theme parks, which means wait times are often lower here compared to Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and EPCOT.

If you don’t have very long in Animal Kingdom and you really want to maximize your time, you may want to purchase Genie+ to get on rides like Expedition Everest and Kilimanjaro Safaris with the shortest wait time possible. But don’t forget that the most popular ride — Avatar: Flight of Passage — is not included with the normal Genie+ and instead has an Individual Lightning Lane, which you have to pay for a la carte.

My strategy at Animal Kingdom is usually to rope drop Flight of Passage (which means I get to the park before it opens and head straight to this ride once it opens), then go to Kilimanjaro Safaris right afterward. Everest generally has a fairly low wait time even in the afternoon, but I’d head there next, just to be safe. After that, I just enjoy the delicious snacks, awesome shows, and chill vibes of the park!

If you want to learn how to save even MORE on your upcoming trip, we recommend reaching out to our friends at Small World Vacations. Their travel agents can take the stress out of planning your vacation, and they’ll find you all the best discounts and deals along the way. The best part? Their services are completely FREE!

Stay tuned to DFB for more money-saving tips for your next Disney World vacation!

Click here to see 7 things you don’t realize are making your Disney vacation more expensive! 

What are your favorite money-saving tips for Disney World? Let us know in the comments.

The post 6 Completely Unnecessary Things People STILL Pay for in Disney World first appeared on the disney food blog.