Visiting Disney World can be expensive. We’ve been there and know what budgeting for Disney is like. We’ve done the same cost-crunching that you’re likely doing today, have searched out every discount, looking for the cheapest way to go to Disney World.
Fortunately, there are multiple ways to save money on a trip to Disney World, AND we’ve put them all here in one place. Find the tips you need to reduce your costs and make a trip to Disney World on a budget an actual reality.
How Much Does a Typical Disney Trip Cost, Anyway?
If you’re planning a trip to Disney World on a budget, you first need to understand the average costs. From there, we’ll show you how to trim dollars off of Disney prices and where you can save big. Let’s follow the Howards Walt Disney World vacation planning.
•Family of four, 2 adults, 2 children over 10
•5 night trip – Saturday to Wednesday in JUNE at Port Orleans Riverside
We’re booking our sample family of four into one of Disney’s moderate resorts: Port Orleans Riverside. Moderate resorts offer fair-sized rooms and immersive theming at a mid-sized price. Here is what the Howards can expect to pay for a Disney World vacation package including 4-day park hopper tickets.
| FAMILY OF 4 2 adults, 2 children over 10 June 2-26, 2024 | 5-Night Stay at Disney Port Orleans Riverside | 4-day park hopper tickets | $3300 |
Planning a Trip to Disney World on a Budget: How to Shave Dollars off Those Costs
Now, you understand the costs for an average family vacation for four, but if you’re planning a trip to Disney World on a budget, you’ll want to shave as much as you can off of typical expenses. Fortunately, you can trim the cost of a Disney World resort stay. In fact, it’s the first place to start when it comes to reducing your overall costs.
So, let’s start by reducing the cost of the vacation package. Here are the steps we’ll take:
1. Consider Changing Your Dates: What’s the Cheapest Month to Go To Disney
Disney World accommodations and ticket prices are based on a sliding scale. Generally, the more popular the travel time, the more you’ll pay and the bigger the impact will be on your Disney budget. However, by simply changing your travel dates from the peak JUNE timeframe to late AUGUST, for example, our sample family of 4 would shave around $450 off the total cost of their 5-night vacation package.
As it turns out, timing is crucial when it comes to budgeting for Disney World. Since resort rates are cheaper during less popular travel times, our sample family would save on their Disney World resort accommodations by moving their trip to a less traveled time of year.
If you’re looking for the cheapest months to go to Disney, try August or September. By this time of year, families are thinking back to school, so vacation traffic is light. Scheduling your trip for late August or early September is a great way to do Disney on the cheap.
However, don’t purchase your tickets or make any bookings just yet. There are ways to save even more!
2. Look for Discounts on Disney World Travel
Saving several hundred dollars off the cost of your Disney trip is no laughing matter, when you’re looking for the cheapest way to go to Disney, but planning a trip on a budget requires a cost conscious mindset. Fortunately, there are ways to save even more.
The previously mentioned prices for hotel accommodations were based on rack rates. However, Disney often offers discounts that can drastically reduce the cost of your stay.
For example, by taking advantage of a Disney World special offer for the Howards’ dates in August (often 15%-20% for value resorts), we can save the family $600, possibly more. (We track Disney World discounts and regularly publish them.)
That’s a lot of Work. Is There an Easier Way to Budget Hotel Accommodations?
If scouring the web for discounts and continuously watching pricing is not your thing or you simply don’t have time, there is an easier way. Try booking with a Disney World travel agency that will do the leg work for you.
Travel agents that are authorized by Disney World have access to the same discount specials as you’d find on the Disney World site, with one big bonus. Some will continuously check for discounts after you book and rebook your reservation if they find a cheaper rate. Mickey World Travel, for example, includes a price monitoring feature. That means if a Disney special is released after you book, your Walt Disney World vacation planner will automatically apply any applicable specials to your reservation and let you know.
Best of all, you won’t pay more to work with a travel agent, but you will receive help finding the best travel dates and opportunities to save money.
3. Opt for Cheaper Food Choices
Finding the cheapest way to go to Disney World means reducing each and every cost you can. Fortunately, there are many steps you can take to reduce your meal costs.
First, consider skipping breakfast in the parks or at your resort in favor of bringing some things from home. A simple box of instant oatmeal could easily last you your whole trip, and since most Disney World resorts provide a coffee maker or microwave, heating up water is a snap.
But there are more steps we can take when planning a Disney World trip on a budget to slash costs.
Did you know that a simple cup of coffee could cost you $4 or more at your resort or in the parks? Consider brewing that cup of Joe in your room in the morning while everyone is getting ready. Disney provides coffee, cream and sugar as well as a coffee maker in most resort hotel rooms. You’ll get your caffeine fix before heading out for the day and save some money in the process.
Also, consider carefully where you splurge on dining dollars. While everyone should do at least one character meal, you can save money by opting for a breakfast over lunch and dinner. The cost of a standard breakfast buffet at Chef Mickey’s for example, is around $54 per adult, but prices can jump to $66 per adult if you decide to enjoy that same character experience over dinner.
You will also save money by eliminating or limiting the number of alcoholic beverages you purchase. We included 6 alcoholic libations in the Howard’s plan, but by removing these, the Howards can easily shave $60-$85 of the cost of food during their trip.
If you’re serious about finding the cheapest way to go to Disney World, you’ll need to do some legwork. Researching restaurant costs ahead of time and pre-selecting the most budget-friendly locations can save you significantly over popping into the first restaurant you see while on your trip. You can find current Disney dining menus and pricing online.
Budgeting for Disney World: Consider Other Opportunities to Save
By booking our Disney World resort during value season, taking advantage of special discounts, bringing some food from home and employing our other dining tips, we’ve significantly trimmed the cost of the Howard’s trip, but when it comes to planning your Disney World vacation on a budget, you’re probably looking for every chance to save that you can find.
Fortunately, there are plenty of other options to shave a few bucks off the cost of your Disney trip.
The Right Disney World Theme Park Ticket Can Save You Money
Tip: Disney World base tickets cost less than Disney World park hopper tickets
Disney World tickets come in a few basic varieties. Travelers residing outside the state of Florida will be able to purchase a base ticket or a park hopper ticket.
Base tickets allow you to visit one park per day, each day of your trip. On the other hand, park hopper tickets do exactly as the name suggests: allow you to hop from park to park. With this ticket, you can visit multiple parks in a single day.
There are a number of advantages to this ticket type, but from a budgeting standpoint, the main benefit is the ability to visit multiple parks in a day. By squeezing more into each day of your trip, you may be able to shorten your stay.
However, this won’t always work to your advantage. Park hopper tickets cost more than base tickets, so you’ll need to compare the added cost of parking hopping to what you’d save by dropping an extra day. Believe it or not, you won’t always save more.
Where you will trim your costs is by eliminating the park hopper ticket in favor of a base ticket, no matter the length of your stay. Just be sure you aren’t shortchanging your family’s by cutting your stay too short. You’ll want at least 1 day in each park, and for most, 2 is preferable.
Use the Right Credit Card to Save Money at Disney World
Tip: Points earned on purchases using a Disney Visa card can be used to pay for your vacation.
If you’re in the habit of using credit cards to pay for certain expenses, make sure you’re using a rewards card. There are many on the market, so choosing the one with the best advantages can take some researching. For example, Chase offers the Disney Rewards Visa. The Chase Disney card benefits offer 1 percent back on most purchases and provide 2 percent back on things you buy through Disney. That includes the cost of your Disney World vacation package. You’ll also receive discounts on some restaurants, purchases made at certain stores within the park, and Disney World tours.
We’ve been Disney Visa card holders since the card’s inception, but since then, rewards cards with far better offers have emerged. If you plan to fly, for instance, airline cards offers the opportunity to receive up to tens of thousands of points for signing up and 1 point for every dollar you spend. When booking airfare with the sponsoring carrier, you will usually earn more points.
If you plan to travel a lot in the coming years, in addition to your Disney World vacation, consider instead a rewards card such as Chase Sapphire Preferred. The Points Guy, the guru on making credit cards work for you, lists this as the top travel card. Why? Because it can really help you stretch money you would normally charge into travel dollars.
Here’s how:
Chase Sapphire Preferred works on a point system. You will earn up to 80,000 points for signing up after you spend $4,000 in the first three months. You’ll also earn points for every purchase you make. These points can then be used to cover certain travel expenses.
If charging $4,000 over three months to receive the sign-on bonus seems like a stretch, take the card out prior to paying for your Disney World hotel and theme park tickets. These two purchases should push you well on your way toward meeting the qualifications for your 80,000 point bonus.
You can also think about applying other expenses to the card, such as auto and home insurance payments, food, cell phone and internet bills. Keep the money you would have spent in your account and then pay the credit card bill in full when it is due. You’ll make 80,000 points without having to pay interest or finance charges.
According to The Points Guy, these points are redeemable for a wide variety of options, including cash back. However, you’ll realize the most benefit when you transfer points to rewards programs, such as those offered through hotels, airlines and rental car companies.
Chase currently has 10 airline partners which means you might even be able to pay for most, if not all, of your airfare using points you earn on your Chase Sapphire card.
Of course, before taking out any credit card, do your research. The Points Guy has taken the time to do an in-depth analysis of rewards credit cards, so check out his reviews before making a move.
Also, make sure that you are prepared to pay off any balances in full by the payment due date. Racking up interest and finance fees on a credit card balance is a very quick way to derail your Disney World budget planning.
Buy and Use Discounted Disney Gift Cards
Buying discounted Disney gift cards isn’t going to score you significant savings, but when planning a Disney World trip on a budget, every dollar off is a bonus. Disney gift cards can be used within the parks to pay for anything you would buy with cash, including food, beverages and souvenirs. You can also use gift cards to pay for your trip.
We know a family who was planning a trip to Disney and asked for nothing but gift cards the year before their trip. They were able to make a serious dent in the cost of their vacation thanks to generous gifting.
Fortunately, there are also ways to save extra cash when purchasing gift cards:
- Target Red Card: If you’re a holder of the Target Red credit card, you’re eligible to purchase Disney World gift cards at a 5 percent discount.
- Sam’s Club: If you’re a member of Sam’s Club, you can usually purchase Disney gift cards at a 4 percent discount.
Other stores also offer deals, some with deep discounts. Be sure to keep pace with the likes of Costco and Best Buy for sudden discounts. For instance, in late 2023, Best Buy offered 10% off the cost of a $50 Disney Gift Card.
Book a Different Resort
We booked the Howards at a Disney moderate resort. Moderate resorts are the mid-tier when it comes to Disney World resort pricing.
However, Disney’s value resorts can be booked at a serious cost savings. For example, if we had booked a standard room at All Star Movies resort, we could have trimmed nearly $500 off of the cost of their discounted resort stay (according to rates in effect at time of writing). That’s before applying any discount offers that may become available.
Skip the Memory Maker
One of the questions we get asked most often is whether the Memory Maker is worth it. By purchasing the Memory Maker, you gain access to all of the photos taken by Disney in-park photographers, including those taken at character meals. As a bonus, these shots will sometimes include some magical effects. You’ll also receive all on-ride photos.
However, Disney’s in park photographers will also take the same pictures with your own camera free of charge. You’ll miss out on the magic shots and ride photos but could save yourself as much as $199 ($169 if purchased in advance). This is a serious strategy to consider when budgeting for Disney World.
Bring in Items from Outside the Park
If you’re looking for the cheapest way to go to Disney World, bringing as much as you can from home will save you on high-cost in-park purchases. We recently put this to the test by packing a suitcase full of water bottles.
Since the average cost of a water bottle in the parks is over $3.00. By purchasing water before we left, we saved $2.80 a bottle. Of course, this only worked because we were flying Southwest and had an extra free bag we could pack. If you are flying another airline, the $60 in bag fees could cancel out your savings depending on how long you plan to stay.
Another option if you plan to drive or rent a car, is to make a grocery run for items such as bottled water or pre-packaged snacks once you arrive. There are several stores near Disney World where you can purchase items at normal prices.
Don’t Eat at Disney World
One of the biggest ways to do Disney World cheaper, is to eat off site at local Orlando restaurants. It is often worth the cost of an Uber or Lyft for the money you’ll save.
Of course, if you are driving a car to Disney World, traveling to nearby hotels is a breeze, and one tha twill help you maintain your Disney World budget.
Additional Dining Tips for Saving Money
While eating in the park, keep in mind that Disney World portions can be quite large. Sharing an adult entrée or a combo meal from a quick service restaurant could save you quite a bit over the length of your trip.
You can also save by ordering menu items individually. Even when combo meals are the only items listed on the menu, you can order just a sandwich, salad or plate without the added sides. Your costs will be adjusted accordingly.
Of course, one of the easiest ways to slash your dining budget is to book your vacation during one of Disney’s free dining promotions. You will pay full price for your Disney World resort and theme park tickets but will be provided 2 meals and 1 snack daily, at no additional cost.
Think About Payment Plans
While payment plans won’t necessarily save you money on your Disney World trip, interest free financing or other no fee payment options can make it easier to budget for and pay for your vacation.
When it comes to financing, the Disney Visa card discussed above offers 6-month interest free financing on any vacation package booked through Disney or a qualified travel agent. Best of all, the option to pay over time is set up automatically once you make the package payment.
From there, you simply have to pay the statement balance each month to pay over time with no interest or fees. Since package payments are due 30 days prior to arrival, you’ll also extend your payment runway by paying with the Disney Visa. You’ll pay the final balance shortly before your vacation starts, and can then make payments once you are home.
Another way to pay over time is to work with a travel agent. Most travel agents will work with you to set up an automatic payment schedule that works for your finances. This approach allows you to budget more effectively by creating a series of scheduled payments. You can do the same yourself by booking online and making your own payments, but you will need to remember to make these payments on a regular basis.
Consider Off-Site Accommodations
While staying at a Disney resort has its advantages and is considered the premier way to experience a Disney vacation, it isn’t always the right option for your budget. Booking an offsite hotel may be a cheaper alternative for you, particularly if you can turn loyalty rewards points into free night stays.
However, keep in mind that most offsite hotels charge for shuttle service to and from the park. If you’re driving to Orlando and plan to motor over to the parks, be aware that you’ll be asked to pay a parking fee for the day. Make sure to factor these costs into your budget when comparing the cost of an onsite resort to one located nearby.
Many local hotels also charge a resort fee of $25 or more. Since this is assessed upon check-in, many guests are surprised to find their bill higher than they anticipated.
The easiest way to find an affordable and reliable hotel offsite is to book a Disney World Good Neighbor Hotel Package or a Gateway Hotel Package. Both are booked through Disney or a travel agent authorized in Disney vacations. Your room and your tickets will all be rolled into one package payment. Best of all, you’ll be asekd to adhere to Disney’s easy package terms, which include:
- $200 depost at booking
- Final payment due 30 days before arrival
- Fully refundable cancelation up to 30 days before arrival
Booking a Good Neighbor or Gateway Hotel vacation package is just another tip for doing Disney on a budget.
Final Thoughts on the Cheapest Way to Go to Disney World
While you’re considering your vacation and searching for the cheapest way to go to Disney World, there is one overarching message to keep in mind: Don’t go so cheap that you sell yourself short. Much of a enjoyment of a Disney vacation comes from little details and doing the things you really want to do.
We suggest that clients first determine a realistic budget. Then jot down a list of all must-do experiences. This will give you an idea whether your expectations align with the money you have available for a trip. For instance, if your must-do list dictates a 7-day trip, staying at Disney’s Flagship Grand Floridian Resort and 5 charcter meals, but your budget is only $3,000, you’re not going to be able to take the trip of your dreams.
When this happens, you have 2 choices. You can re-evaluate your list and see if you can make compromises without significantlly eroding the enjoyment you hope to gain from the trip. The other option is to wait a little longer and save a little harder, so you can have the experience of your dreams.
