Doing Walt Disney World without letting them rip you off.

Disney Parks were a great way to spend fun, quality time with the family without having to take out a second mortgage. Then the 'Eisner' crowd took over. Now its about saving money at the cost of awesome rides and jacking up prices on everything.
In Disney's defense, competing theme parks like Universal Studios are just as expensive including tickets, food, drinks, etc. Still though...

There are a few ways to make the trip bearable for your family and your wallet. 

1. Tickets
There are really only two decent ways to get tickets that don't involve taking a timeshare tour or dealing with risky used ticket dealers. The first is to make monthly payments with an annual pass. If you live in Florida and are going to spend more than 5 or 6 days a year in the parks this is a really good way to go. It does add up a bit if you have a few family members but over the course of a year its not much. If you are into water parks your best bet is to get the least expensive seasonal pass and purchase the annual water park pass seperately. 
The other way to get a good deal on tickets is to wait until January or February when they announce their 3 day pass deal. Its normally 3 days for 99 dollars and the pass has to be used by June. But when you buy the pass you can tack on another day for only 20 dollars and FOUR DAYS at the water parks for another 20 or 30. Thats only 150 dollars for 8 days at Disney! (4 really fun weekends!).

2. Lodging
Unless you are just reading this article for fun, you are probably trying to save money. In which case, staying on Disney property really isn't going to work. One exception is the campgrounds. If you book early enough you can camp for around 50 dollars a night. An advantage of this is that you can stay an extra couple of days just to enjoy the campgrounds. I personally stayed there in a tent for about 6 weeks and I loved it! If your family has 4 or less people you should be able to get a Disney hotel for around 80 a night. Your best bet is to stay at an inexpensive hotel just a minute or two from a property entrance for around 40 dollars a night. These hotels tend to be decent and are generally very safe. If you have more than 4 or 5 people you can get a two room place that sleeps 8 or more for around 60 dollars a night. Celebration Suites has really large rooms with a full kitchen and Tropical Palms have awesome cottages with two bedrooms, a loft and full kitchen. Having a kitchen really saves on food.

3. Food.
Eat breakfast before going into the park. If you have a large family, bring a cooler or backpack with food. You can rent a locker for 10 dollars a day near the front of the park as well. If you can snack until its time to leave then eat offsite or when you get back to the hotel. 
If you do have to eat inside the park there are a couple of tricks. If you eat at Peco Bill's in Adventureland in Magic Kingdom you can order a large burrito for around 10 dollars, but ask for free extra shells. I do this sometimes and share the meat from the burrito and make two more out of it. And with all the free toppings from the topping bar you are going to get FULL off just one. Most restaurants and walk up places will allow you to ask for extra sides (maybe not a full side dish but an extra bun or plates). Some people will bring salad dressing packets, ask for just a plate and use the side toppings bar to make a free salad. Disney is quite lenient on these things and normally won't say anything. 

4. Alcohol
Anywhere you go, alcohol is going to cost you. Disney does bag checks but not specifically for alcohol. You could bring a thermos or even a water bottle with vodka or tequila and no one will say anything. The Magic Kingdom park does not sell alcohol (or didn't until recently when one restuarnt is allowed to sell beer and wine), this was a personal wish of Walt's as he didn't want drunk people staggering around with the children. Keep this in mind and don't go crazy!