Disney…the
Happiest Place on Earth. It’s where everyone dreams of visiting and wishes to
go back, but anyone who has ever visited a Disney Park knows how expensive and unaffordable
it can be. This post is for anyone who wants to make the big trip to Disney
World, or any Disney park for that matter, but is hesitant because of the cost,
and even the person who isn’t too concerned about the cost, but is still hoping
to spend less overall. Over the many years that I have religiously gone to
Disneyland, I have acquired some money saving advice I would like to share with
you to make your Disney experience magical while still keeping in within the
budget and to make your trip possible to begin with. So let’s get started!
#1 GET YOUR TICKETS IN ADVANCE
Almost
always, you can buy amusement park tickets at a lower cost. Disney World is no
different. Before buying your Disney tickets, shop around online. Go on the
Disney website to see Disney’s ticket prices, then look on other websites to
see if you can get them at a price cheaper than that. You may not save much,
maybe only $10 per ticket, but it is still worth it especially if you are a
budget traveler and trying to lower the overall cost of the trip. Even if you
do decide to buy your tickets at Disney’s full price, do not wait to get them
at the gate. Still buy them online that way you can avoid extra wait times to
get into the parks. You’d have to wait in line to get your tickets, then wait
in another line to check your bags, then another line to get inside the parks. By
getting tickets in advance you can eliminate one of those lines. We purchased
our Disney tickets at the parks when I was growing up and this added 1-2 hours
to get inside the parks once we got there. Now that we always buy our tickets
in advance, it only takes us 20 minutes max to get inside.
#2 SKIP PEAK TIMES
Peak times
are the most expensive time to travel to Disney. The tickets, Disney restaurant
and park food, hotels, and sometimes even flights, will all raise prices. Check
out this website on the best and worst times to visit Disney World to plan your
trip accordingly and make it budget-friendly for you. Even if you can afford the
extra cost, keep in mind how much longer lines will be during peak times, which
is never fun.
#3 DON’T GET THE PARK HOPPER PASS
One last tip
on buying your Disney tickets is do not get the park hopper pass. Hopping
between parks at Disney World is time-consuming and expensive, as the park
hopper pass adds $55 per ticket. You will save money by visiting one park per
day and in turn will also experience more by not rushing around from park to
park.
#4 STAY AT AN OFFSITE HOTEL
While there
are many advantages to staying on property, including quick and free
transportation to the parks, extended park hours not available to regular Disney
guests, and complimentary airport shuttles, the extra cost isn’t worth it if
you’re going to spend most of your waking hours at the park. Disney resorts and
properties start around $200 a night, so staying off-site will certainly save
money. We stayed at the Enclave Hotel and Suites which was about 15-20 minutes
away from the Disney parks and around $80 per night, and we loved it. We stayed
in a two bedroom room on the top floor with a balcony overlooking a lake, equipped
with a kitchenette and utensils, and accommodations included free breakfast, a
gym, restaurants, a pool, and more. This hotel is also down the street from the
world’s largest McDonald’s, so that was kind of an interesting attraction all
in itself. Staying at an off-site hotel also means you will be in the center of
more attractions, if you’re planning on travelling to Orlando for more than
just a Disney vacation. Even if you do decide to stay at a Disney resort, do
not reserve it from the Disney website. Use booking.com, expedia.com, or
another website for discounted prices. Also use Ebates to get cashback on your
hotel reservation.
#5 DRIVE INSTEAD OF FLY
Although you
can find cheap flights online, it is still hard to beat the cost of driving.
For my family of 3, it was worth 9 hours of driving from Tennessee to Orlando
to save the cost of 3 plane tickets and a rental car. We only spent about $80-90
on gas roundtrip, which saved us hundreds compared to flying. Of course you
shouldn’t do this if you live all the way on the other side of the USA. It
would still be cheaper to drive but it would also take about two days there and
two days back, taking up half the trip just in travelling. If you live
relatively close to Orlando however, or even a few states over, then driving is
the way to go.
#6 BRING YOUR OWN FOOD
A big money
saving tip is to bring your own food as Disney food prices are high. Just a vegan
hot dog and small fries was about $15 and I was still hungry afterwards. A
drink from another place was about $6. Small fruit cups and pineapple spears
can be $5. All this really adds up over the course of the day and for each
family member, so bringing your own food could save you a lot of money. My
family and I bring reusable water bottles so we can fill up at the parks for
free, as opposed to soda and juices which aren’t free, and we bring our own
snack bars and fruit to eat during the day. I’m not saying to deprive yourself
and to not try Disney food, because Disney food is amazing and you need to
experience it if you haven’t! We will eat one to two meals at the park ourselves,
but we’ve saved a lot at Disney parks by eating food we’ve brought ourselves for
most of the day. This is better for our family anyway with mine and my daughter’s
food allergies and with all of us being vegan.
#7 AVOID THE SOUVENIR SHOPS
My last tip
is to avoid the souvenir shops because you or your kids will end up wanting
something and end up spending more than if you just stayed out of them in the
first place. We ended up walking into some of the shops “just to see what they
had” since we had never been to Disney World before, and wanted to compare the
shops between Disney World and Disneyland, and I ended up buying a sweatshirt
and a picture frame, and just those two together were over $100. Another money
saving tip is to bring your own sunscreen, strollers, and any essentials you
might need so that way you don’t need to buy or rent anything last minute. Ask
Disney workers to use your camera to take your picture with characters instead
of having to buy them. Bring jackets for everyone for later in the night, even
if it was hot during the day, so that way you’ll have one if you need it and won’t
have to buy one last minute, like my $80 one.
The Disney
parks are such a magical place, but are also money-suckers and can break the
bank if you’re not careful. Although this was my first time to Disney World, I grew
up with Disneyland and went almost every single day for years. So having some
Disney experience, these tips not only apply to Disney World, but other Disney
Parks as well. I hope you enjoyed this post and be sure to check out my YouTube channel for a video on this topic as well as some of my other Disney videos
that I will link below. Be safe, have fun, and save lots on your upcoming trip
to Disney!
