7 Tips for Planning a Trip to Disney World on a Budget

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planning a trip to Disney World on a budget

Disney World is the most magical place full of castles and fairytales that bring our childhoods to life. Nothing beats an exciting family trip to Disney World, but prices keep rising every year, and this joyful kingdom has become one of the costliest vacations. Here are some tips for planning a trip to Disney World on a budget to avoid breaking the bank.

1. Stay at the Resorts

Many people argue that Disney’s hotels are expensive, but you get a lot of value by staying in them. There are free shuttles around-the-clock to every Disney park, which means that you do not have to spend anything on parking or rental car fees.

Some resorts are more expensive than others, but Disney World offers a range of mid-priced alternatives with great deals for family packages if you book in advance.

There may also be some DVC points up for grabs that can get you the best deals for rentals. Disney Vacation Club owners usually get a set number of points each year that they cannot use before the expiration date. Then they hand over those unused points to DVC Rental companies to find non-DVC owners who want to book a stay at a Disney Deluxe Resort.

The DVC Shop Rentals work together with the club owners to find local renters who want to take advantage of these extra points. Since DVC Owners already have their stay booked at resorts but cannot attend for personal reasons, you can also request their reservation at a discounted price through DVC Shop Rentals.

This way, you can provide your family with their dream luxury holiday at deals that no one else will believe.

2. Buy Multiple Tickets Early

You can have the best Disney vacation by buying tickets upfront. The rates for each day are much higher than purchasing several days’ admission passes at once. The more days you plan a vacation, the lower those daily ticket prices become.

Staying for five days is much cheaper than visiting Disney World for three days. The parks rack up their admission fees every year, so it is always a good idea to invest in your future trips if you know you want to come back again later in the year before those prices go up.

3. Visit During Non-Peak Times

Going to Disney World during the holidays may seem fun, but the crowds can be intense. It is best to avoid Halloween, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Spring Break, and New Year’s unless you want to wait for several hours to enjoy a single ride.

The best time to go is between Mid-January to early March or late August through September if you want to save good money without waiting too long to enjoy the attractions.

4. Skip Park Hopper Tickets

The Park Hopper ticket for accessing all Disney World parks in a single day sounds appealing. However, if you stay for multiple days, you can buy admission tickets for single parks to save money and take your time going to each one instead of overspending on all the parks and exhausting yourself to do it all in such a short time.

This will help you be realistic about how much you want to get done each day because moving from one park to another is time-consuming, especially if you have little kids.

5. Avoid the Dining Plan

The food at Disney is delicious but prepaying for meals is unnecessary if you want to save money on your trip. You are better off paying for your food as you go with cash. Cash should be king because we tend to spend more when we can quickly swipe our cards around for everything.

It is a nuisance to keep getting money out of the machines. This helps us budget more effectively and control our spending than putting everything on our cards and coming home to a hefty bill.

Disney also lets you bring your own delicious food to the parks, and you can take advantage of this to save tons more money. For a family trip, you should pack a picnic lunch with fruits, sandwiches, water bottles, cookies, and anything else your kids love.

If you do not want to carry all this luggage around, you can keep it in lockers at Disney for a small fee. However, they have a “No Coolers” policy, so you should only bring food and drinks that do not perish if they are not cold.

6. Arrive Early to Avoid Queues

Disney World offers FastPass tickets with the promise of cutting waits for rides. This is one of their best-selling add-ons because no one wants to wait for two hours for a few seconds on a rollercoaster.

However, by going to the parks early in the morning, you can enjoy the major rides without needing a Fast Pass ticket because there will not be too many other people there. This is because others will still be at their hotels having a late breakfast while you can enjoy the rides before everyone else shows up.

7. Spend Less at the Parks

Souvenirs are overpriced at the parks even though these can be bought anywhere else for cheaper. You are better off ordering the cutest Mickey ears online from sites like Etsy at a fraction of the price.

Disney’s PhotoPass photographers will also try and convince you to buy the photos they take of you and your loved ones. However, you can ask them to take some pictures with your personal camera or phone too. This way, you can still get some great shots without buying the pricey professional ones.

Planning a Trip to Disney World on a Budget Is Doable

No one should ever have to give up on their Disney dream because of expenses. These helpful tips are great for planning a trip to Disney World on a budget, so you can give your loved ones the experience of a lifetime full of priceless moments they will never forget.

If these money-saving pointers successfully motivated your next family adventure, check out our website for more travel tips.