One of the biggest questions Disney fans have is how to save money at Disney World. Disney vacation deliver unparalleled memories, but do have a higher price tag than a road trip to your local amusement park. To keep a healthy budger, many travelers look for savvy money-saving tips. So, we’ve put together every big and small trick we’ve found to trim costs to help you plan a trip to Disney World on a budget.
Table of contents
1. Planning Ahead Helps You Save Money at Disney World
Plan ahead on your Disney vacation and you will save. Before you spontaneously book your trip, check for discounts on hotels, tickets, transportation and more. Planning ahead will also allow you to choose the least expensive time to go, most affordable hotel, and which tickets work for you.
2. Watch Your Travel Dates
One of the biggest ways to answer the question of how to save money at Disney World is by choosing your dates carefully. Prices vary depending on time of year and weather. Prices are the highest around Thanksgiving and Christmas, as are crowds. Another price spike can be seen during common spring breaks times. The lowest prices for hotels and tickets are usually found in the “off” season, typically January, February, August and September, depending on the demand.
3. Avoid Weekend Stays
How to save money at Disney World depends on your dates as mentioned above, but traveling over the weekend can also bump up your costs. If you can confine your trip to weekdays, you will avoid the higher weekend room and ticket prices.
4. Use Hotel Discounts and Our Cost Saving Guide to Save Money at Disney
During down times when there are fewer visitors, Disney often releases hotel discounts that can be as high as 35% off. These discounts are huge considering the hotel cost will be one of the most expensive parts of your stay.
More extensive tips for how to save money at Disney World using these discounts can be found in detail in our Disney World Cost Saving Guide.
5. Use an Authorized Disney Travel Planner
When booking a trip to Disney World, you have two booking options. One is to book through the Disney World website. The other is to use an authorized Disney vacation planner. The cost is the same, but a travel agent will provide you with additional options and services that booking alone won’t provide.
A Disney travel agent can help you locate and book a discounted stay and will even monitor discounts as they are released to rebook your reservation if they find a better rate. Travel agents should also provide you with planning tips and help with booking other reservations, including airport transfers and dining. With these added services thrown in at no additional cost, you could say you’re actually paying more by booking directly through Disney.
Ready to Book Your Disney Vacation?
Let us help! Free vacation planning included with every Disney vacation booking. You’ll never pay more booking with a travel agent like us, but the added insight you’ll receive could be invaluable.
Contact us for a quote today. Click here to be taken to our quote form.
5. Do You Really Need that Park Hopper?
Saving money at Disney World can also be achieved by skipping the park hopper option on your theme park ticket. Unfortunately, it does mean you will be limited to visiting only one park per day, but for many, this added expense is not worth it, and rarely used.
6. Find the Right Resort Hotel
There are 25 resorts on the Walt Disney World Property and each one offers a different immersive theme. These resorts reside in three different categories: Deluxe, Moderate, and Value. Value resorts are just that, a better value. Moderate resorts are more mid tier price wise, and deluxe resorts are the highest tier. You may find more amenites at a deluxe resort, but you will also pay more.
It is up to you whether or not the higher cost is worth the extra extravagance of the higher level resorts, but you can shave a significant sum off your travel costs just by choosing a value or moderate resort over a deluxe option.
7. Bring Things from Home to Save Money at Disney
This tip on how to save money in Disney World may seem fairly obvious, but it can be tempting to forgo packing those sunglasses, hats, or ponchos. If you do plan to purchase those in the park, your wallet may never forgive you. Park ponchos were over $20 each last time we visited.
When compared to purchasing them at a Dollar store or online prior to your trip, this is a huge cost if you hit a rainstorm. Disney prices for other common items like sunglasses, hats and toiletries can be more than double of Walmart or Target.
8. Use PhotoPass Photographers to Your Advantage
Purchasing the Memory Maker can be worth it for some guests, but not if you’re on a budget. While you may not have it in your budget to purchase the memory maker of PhotoPass photos, do not let that stop you from utilizing Disney photographers.
Photopass Photographers will always take photos of your group with your phone at no charge. And the best part is, these photographers are always positioned at the best views around the parks.
9. Use Water Wisely
Water, everyone needs it, but it can be one of the easiest tips when considering how to save money in Disney World.
Buying bottled water while inside the Disney Parks adds up very fast. Each bottle costs $3 or more. When buying two a day for each person in a family of four, that adds up to $24 a day, or $120 over the span of a 5 day trip.
We often skip buying water inside the park by purchasing a large case to keep in the room. We then bring bottles in a backpack or fill a larger refillable insulated bottle to take to the park. Considering that a large case of water purchased at Walmart or even a grocery store is a fraction of what you’d pay in the park or at your resort, this can be a big money saver.
10. Pre-Bought Souvenirs
Buying Disney souvenirs at park or hotel stores can get costly. The best advice to save money is to skip them entirely and just cherish photos and memories as your souvenirs.
That being said, it can be really hard for kids to forgo a memento. One trick is to purchase Disney stuffed animals, clothing, etc. prior to your trip and gift them to your kids during the trip. Disney themed items purchased online or outside the parks can be more than half the price when compared to items purchased inside the resort.
Seconds to Go Exclusive Merchandise Line
Disney inspired merch for an economical trip to Disney.
11. Use Disney Transportation
Getting to and from the parks is an essential part of the day on a Disney vacation. But if you are not using the complimentary transportation, you are blowing your budget up.
Using Uber, Lyft, or Minnie Vans to get to the Disney parks and back each day can typically cost $8-$15 for one way. Peak times bringing in even more inflated prices. (We compare each service against Disney World transportation here.)
For a trip of five days, that can range from $80- $150 or more for the trip. By using Disney’s transportation system that includes buses, water craft, the skyliner and monorail, you can save a bunch.
12. Free Dining Promotion- Will it Save You Money at Disney?
Occasionally, Disney offers the free dining promotion which provides a Disney dining plan for free when booking a Disney World hotel package that includes theme park tickets and a room at a Disney resort hotel. At deluxe and moderate resorts, the dining plan offers two meals a day. One meal is counter service, and one is table service. The plan also provides one snacs a day.
This is wonderful promotion that can save you a huge bundle on your Disney trip. The only drawback to this free promotion is that table service restaurants can really fill up when it is offered.
13. Plan Your Meals While Still at Home
If you’re working on a plan on how to save money at Disney, consider planning out your meals and what you will order prior to your trip. By having a plan and a menu in place, you will know exactly what meals will cost before setting foot inside the park.
All Disney World restaurant menus can be found online for easier planning.
14. Bring Your Own Breakfast
Eating out for three meals a day can really drain your wallet. One way to combat this is to enjoy breakfast from home, in your room. We often bring granola bars, instant oatmeal, or even fruit to snack on for breakfast before heading to the park.
15. How to Save Money at Disney with Grocery Delivery
If extra baggage fees prevent you from bringing breakfast and snacks, consider utilizing a grocery delivery service that can deliver groceries to your room, or at least the lobby for you. These services will be more expensive than driving to the store, but will save you money if you don’t have access to a car.
16. Share Meals at Disney
Another option to save money at Disney World is to share meals. At most dining venues, meal portions are huge, especially in the table service restaurants. Sharing meals can distribute the costs between two people and cause less food waste. Win. Win.
17. Save Money at Disney with Counter Service Restaurants
Table service meals are great, large portions, exotic food choices, amazing chefs, but they are expensive. Disney’s Counter Service meals can cost half as much, and Disney has really expanded the options in recent years.
Gone are the days of endless fast food burgers and bland salads. Today’s Counter service meals can save your budget without feeling like a sacrifice.
For delicious Counter Service options try Satu’li Canteen, Harambe Market, Pecos Bill, or any of the restaurants inside the World Showcase.
18. Go Off Campus for dinner
For another tip on how to save money at Disney, try going off campus for some of your meals. It is a bit of a sacrifice considering how good Disney World food is, but it will help your budget. By dining off the Disney resort, you will find cheaper meals and many more options.
You can also utilize services such as uber eats, or other food delivery apps to have outside food delivered to the lobby of your hotel. Unfortunately, these services are not allowed access directly to your room door but meeting your driver in the parking lot or lobby is a small price to pay for the money you could save.
19. Skipping the Parties is How to Save Money at Disney World
Disney feels like a great place to party! The Christmas and Halloween parties are a great way to enjoy extra time inside the Magic Kingdom with less crowds. But this perk comes at a budget busting cost. To save your budget, utilize Early Theme Park Entry and skip the parties.
20. Take a Pool Day- Avoid the Park
It may seem counter intuitive to visit Walt Disney World and skip the parks for a day. However, skipping the parks means you do not need to buy a ticket for that day and can avoid all the inside park costs like high meal prices or those tempting souvenirs.
Instead, you can use that day to explore Orlando, or get the most out of your hotel stay and enjoy the pool.
21. Skip Lightning Lane Multi Pass
Multi Pass can help you skip lines inside the parks, but, it does come at a price. Starting at around $22 per day per person, this cost adds up. Not to mention, the individual lightning lane fees for popular rides. For full details on Multi Pass, click here.
To save money, you may find it is best for your group to wait out the lines, rather than pay for the Multi Pass fees. Instead, you may opt for one or two Lightning Lane Single Passes for your favorite rides.
22. Share Transportation from the Airport
There are many ways to get to your resort from the airport and back again. While many people choose ride sharing, it isn’t always an easy option for families who need to use car seats. Instead choose a shared shuttle service, such as Mears Connect. You won’t need the car seat and costs are quite reasoanable.
For more information on Disney World ground transfers, read our guide to airport transportation.
Final Thoughts on How to Save Money at Disney World
Walt Disney World can be an expensive place, but we hope our tips will ease your budget worries. If there’s anything we haven’t thought of, drop us a note in the comments. We’ll add it to the list and be sure to give you credit!
