The 7 Best Ways to Save Money on Your Disney Vacation
These tips will help you budget better, spend less and enjoy more!
Over the last couple of years, Disney has gotten more and more expensive. Ticket prices have gone up along with flights, hotels, and food. But regardless of your travel budget, it’s important to know how you can make the most out of your time in the most magical place on Earth. Here you’ll find tips on how to get the best deals before, during and after your vacation.
Know When to Go
This should be the starting point of planning your Disney trip. Before you book that flight or reserve a hotel, make sure you know how much the tickets for the parks will be on the week you plan to visit. As an example, taking a trip to Disney in September will be much cheaper than December. And going during the week will be more affordable as well. If you’re able to have flexible dates, take advantage of that to save money right from the start.
For more details on optimal dates to visit Disney Parks, read this post about The Best Times to Visit Disney World in 2024.
Stay on Site
You’ve decided on when to go. Now you’re on to the next step of the planning process: where to stay. As a Travel Advisor, I can tell you that so many people have the misconception that staying on Disney property is more expensive. I’m here to bust that myth! I have stayed off-property and on-property and the savings are real.
When staying on Property, I can A: Pay for my vacation over time. B: Have complimentary transportation. C: Enjoy free activities in the hotel. D: Enter the parks before non-resort guests. I could keep going, but I’ll stop here and spare you.
When staying off property, the cost of renting a car and paying for tolls + gas + parking made my vacation more expensive than if I had stayed at a Disney hotel.
When staying off property *again*, the “free shuttles” ran once in the morning and stopped several times before getting to the parks - I ended up taking Ubers everywhere, which ended up making my whole trip about the same price as a Disney package vacation — minus the magic and convenience.
Never pay full price for rooms: Disney is always posting new offers and package deals. Even if you have already paid for your deposit, your Travel Advisor can still apply discounts to your reservation.
Know Where You {Don’t} Need Genie+
Yes, Genie+ is a fantastic tool if you want to make the most out of your time in the parks and don’t want to stand in long lines under the hot Florida sun. But you really need to know how to use it to your benefit. It might not be worth it for your family to get Genie+ at Animal Kingdom, for example. The park, home to the iconic Tree of Life, doesn’t have a lot of heavy hitter attractions with excruciatingly long lines (with the exception of Flight of Passage, which is not even part of the Genie+ package).
Avoid buying Individual Lightning Lanes for the newest attractions by learning how to book Virtual Queues. Your Travel Advisor (AKA, me!) can give you all the insider tips about the skip-the-line system.
Grocery Delivery
Don’t worry if you flew into Orlando and couldn’t pack all your favorite pantry items. You can always make use of Grocery Delivery Service to get food delivered to your hotel. You can often find great online coupons and free delivery promos. My go-to in Orlando is Kroger. They have their own delivery service, so you don’t have to pay a third-party app to get your goodies. Kroger also has fantastic prices for groceries, as well as coupons that you can apply right into their super user-friendly app.
Skip the Park Hopper
If you’re spending at least 5 nights at Disney, and going to several parks on the same day is not your cup of tea, I’m the first one to say: take your time and visit one park per day. Park Hopper is not for everyone. Think about your needs and the needs of your family, how much time you have in Orlando and what your goals are for the trip. If you want to enjoy the entire day on each one of the parks, the Base Ticket is the best — and the cheapest option for you.
Use Disney’s MagicMobile
No, you don’t need to spend $35 on a brand new MagicBand+. Multiply that by a family of 4, and you’re dropping at least $150 (with taxes), when you could simply use Disney’s MagicMobile. The experience is really great! You tap your phone to enter the parks, enter Lightning Lanes and open your hotel room. If you have an iPhone, you don’t even have to use Face ID, as it works in Express mode — and even if your phone battery is dead, it will work. But I hope you won’t let your battery die in Disney World. Bonus: If you have an Apple Watch, you can actually add your MagicMobile to your watch wallet and use it as you would use a MagicBand.
Bring Snacks + Your Water Bottle
Many guests don’t know that they can actually bring food to the parks. It’s worth reminding everyone: be reasonable. Guests are allowed to bring outside food and nonalcoholic beverages into the parks, provided they are not in glass containers, do not require heating, and do not have strong odors. When going through security at the entrance, remember to remove it from your backpack so a Security Cast Member can check it. You can pack up a sandwich in a Ziploc bag, bring granola bars, or even snacks to munch on while you wait in hour-long lines. Don’t forget your Water Bottle. The only water Disney sells in the parks is Dasani, which by the way has salt in it (who puts salt in their water?) But you can find several water refilling stations across all parks, which will save you a lot of money.
Budgeting for your vacation really depends on what is important for you and your family. There are several different ways of saving money at Disney, and what works for some may not work for others. But knowing what to do and what not to do is a great starting point to save you hundreds of dollars. I hope this list is helpful to you!
I’m sure you also have great ideas on how to budget at Disney! What is your favorite tip to save money in the parks during your vacation? Drop it in the comments below!