“How to Save Money at Disney.” Sounds impossible, right? Well, I think there are ways to cut down on some of the costs, so please take a look at my list and tell me what you think!
1. Stay on property. You can spend $100 or less a night at the lowest tier property, or you can spend $1000 a night. WDW offers all price ranges. No matter what the cost of your hotel, from $100 to $1000, you are eligible for the Magical Express, free round-trip transportation to your hotel from the airport. That is a big savings that you cannot get at Disneyland! You also get free bus service all day long to and from your hotel to the various parks and Downtown Disney. I would never rent a car to then have to pay for parking at the parks, which then leaves you further away from the entrance as well! We call that a win/win!
2. Plan to stay for a long time. A four day base adult ticket costs $294. Every day after that costs $10 more. No one I have spoken to seems to realize that, for example, a 10 day ticket costs $60 more than a 4 day ticket! At that point your average daily ticket cost drops from $73.50 to $35.40. Most of us see $99 for the first day and think this is an incredibly expensive proposition.
DAYS TOTAL COST DIFFERENCE
1 $94-99 99
2 188 89
3 274 86
4 294 20
5 304 10
6 314 10
7 324 10
8 334 10
9 344 10
10 354 10
This is the best example I have found at “How to Save Money at Disney!”This info is straight from the ticketing website, nothing new here, just a small fact that very few people realize! This past Summer we stayed 8 days, last year we stayed 10 days. We had realized that our daily average ticket was much lower than we imagined. You hear that one day is $99, but that is not true. The first day is $99. That little change in language will change your perception and people will then realize that the above shows you that a week ticket does not cost 7x$99, almost $700, but rather, less than half of that, $324 which is a daily average of $46. Suddenly ticket prices don’t seem so scary.
3. Eat breakfast in your room. There is always a kitchenette. I bring coffee and coffee filters and save a few dollars a day that way. I will go to the store at the hotel and buy basics, which, while they cost more on property, still saves me from spending $40 in a theme park to eat breakfast. That also saves us time!
4. Stay in the luxury of a DVC property for half price. It is no longer difficult to find travel agents that can do this for you. Sorry WDW, but if I can get a room at the Old Key West or Saratoga Springs for half price without buying the DVC membership, I am going to. Last year we had a full one bedroom at the Saratoga Springs for less that $250 a night. Full kitchen and laundry, two bathrooms and a Jacuzzi. This year we had a studio at the Old Key West for slightly less than $200 a night. Both of these were rooms that would normally cost double. This is our budget. Don’t worry if this is still double of what you can afford, my friend paid $85 a night during the same period at the end of the Summer. This is “How to Save Money at Disney ” in style!
5. Kids meals. My son and I both had a kids meal in Epcot. We had a cup of macaroni and cheese, a yogurt, apples slices, and a drink. That was half of the cost of an adult meal without a drink! And it is plenty to eat. I did that again at the Animal Kingdom. It only took five trips to WDW to figure this one out!
These are my top 5! There are other folks who would add to this list. Last year we took car service from the airport to save time. The car also stopped at a supermarket for us to stock up on food and drink. That did not seem to be worth it.
BUT WAIT! WE HAVE ONE EXTRA TRICK! We enjoyed free refills at all our sit down meals in Walt Disney World. We also stumbled upon the fact, thanks to some nice waiter, that we could get a to go cup when we left. So we all walked out, full of liquids, and with full containers of beverages in hand! For our August trip when the weather was 140 degrees, this was a huge help and beverage money savings!
If you have your own money saving tips on “How to Save Money at Disney,” please leave it in the comments!
You;re so smart. We go ever year and do all of those things. We pack lots of snacks to eat at the parks, too, which saves tons of money.
I’ve never been to Disney World (I know, crazy), but hope to soon and thanks to you I’ll be able to save a little. Great tips!
I’ve taken to ordering kids’ meals myself. It’s actually all the food I need anyhow. I don’t think I could stay as long as you do though. Five days is my absolute max and then I need to escape.
You can get a kids meal even though you area grown up nice to know nie to know
Disney is really expensive. I know quite a few people who buy groceries at the market and prepare some meals in the room as well as pack snacks in their purses and strollers.
We are going to Disney in November. Thanks for sharing these tips!
Love these tips Mitch! I remember you telling me a few years ago that you had run the numbers and no matter where else in Orlando one could stay, the free transportation on the Magical Express and parks’ buses always makes Disney properties the most affordable choice. How nice that you did all that work and math for us! Now I can blissfully – LAZILY – simply worry about which WDW resort to pick!
I love Disney and I can’t wait to go back! These are all great tips! And it is great that the ticket price goes down daily! Disney wants you to stay haha!
I have to check out the DVC options next time we plan to travel to Disney! One money saving tip that works for our kids has been buying Disney themed goodies before leaving on our actual trip. We then wrap the prezzies and leave them hidden in the room every morning. We just tell them Mickey left the same there while they were asleep!
Wow this is just great! I’ve never been to Disney but am planning on it within the next few years! Would love to save as I know it can cost, especially for our huge family! Thanks for the great tips!
I love those tips!! One other that we use, is if you go this time of year (fall) then you can usually get the meal plan for free when you book your vacation. That is a HUGE savings for us!!
One day I hope to go to Disney World, so I will definitely keep these tips in mind! Thanks for sharing this great information
Those are great tips to save money at WDW. I hope to take my kids there some time.
Great tips! My one addition would be to try and go during free doing so you can get the meal plan for free!
These are fantastic tips! I would definitely have breakfast in my room and bring my own snacks. Park passes for an extended period really makes it a better deal and lets you see much more of the parks.
Thanks for these great money saving tips! I love the idea of getting kid’s meals.
Great tips, didn’t know that about the tickets being cheaper if you go for more than a few days. I haven’t been to Disney Land in over 10 years, never to world. Love your pictures.
Great tips, Mitch! I get the kids meals too 🙂
I love going to Disney World, in fact we just went this year and brought our kids {and all of my in laws}. It was great. When we got home we talked about it and decided that next time we needed to stay a little longer. I had no idea that the ticket pricing went down so significantly the longer you stayed! Thanks for sharing.
I love learning new ways to save money at Disney. I am going to be planning a trip soon and will be using some of these tips. Thanks for sharing.
These are fantastic tips! Helps make it a little more affordable so you don’t have to miss out on the fun!
I would SO order a kids meal at Disney. That’s an awesome tip. I’ll be there in October.
Love your tips! You are right on spreading out the cost like that, it does make the trip seem less expensive. I’ll pin your post,
I would never have thought staying on property would save you money. Great tips!
At some point, I would love to go to Disney World–saving money makes it even more enjoyable! Thank you for sharing!
These are great tips! From what I’ve heard you’re right about the longer you stay. I’ve had a few friends tell me that’s the best way to get your money’s worth.
If you are willing to stay off property, there are many Disney Good Neighbor hotels that range from $25 a night that also have free transportation to the parks. For example, we stay at the Champions resort. We’ve paid anywhere from $30-50 a night for this hotel. It sleeps six!!! It’s such an incredible deal, and with 3 pools, hot tub, restaurant, bar, beautiful landscaped park in the back… I hardly feel like I’m missing out.
Staying for a longer time to save money is a good idea. Plus you could go every day and probably still not see it all or do everything.
These are great tips! I don’t have anything to add since we have never been. We are hoping to go in the very near future.
These are ALL so great! My favorite is #4. We, too, have stayed at Saratoga Springs and LOVED it! It was at a great cost, as well!