Vacations are expensive, and a Walt Disney World Vacation is one people save years for. Between flights, car rentals, hotels, tickets, and all the other things it really adds up. I am a huge lover of all things Disney. If I could go to the parks every day I definitely would, but it can easily burn a hole in your pocket. Luckily, I have a few great tips to keep in mind when planning your trip. Let us go over some of the ways to save money on your Walt Disney World vacation.
Disney Chase Visa
The Disney Chase Visa is a great credit card to have. Especially if you are planning a trip to the beautiful place of Walt Disney World. There are so many great perks of having the card. As you spend on Disney purchases you will earn points for cashback or Disney gift cards. The best part about the card is that you will receive 10% off most dining locations and on merchandise. Just another way to save a few bucks. The chase visa also has a lounge in Epcot where there are charging stations and you can get free beverages.
Hotels/Resorts
If you decide to stay in the Disney resort area I would recommend not paying for the higher end rooms. They are way more expensive and not that many benefits. The rooms are very similar to the cheaper rooms in layout and size. I would say the biggest benefit is that they are usually closer to the parks, and have nicer amenities. If you are looking to save money I would recommend going for the moderate and under price range. To be honest you probably won’t be spending enough time in the rooms to get your money’s worth on a higher end room.
Tickets
I always tell people to do some research before buying tickets. Many people want to buy 4 days worth of park hopper tickets for their trip. For some reason, people seem to think its the best way to get the most out of their trip. I personally think you get a better experience of visiting one park a day and taking your time.
Think about these things before buying your tickets.
- If you haven’t been to Disney before, you want to see as much as you can. It takes almost a whole day to get through each park if done correctly. By correctly I mean really taking your time to enjoy everything.
- EXHAUSTION is a real thing. Too many people are in the parks running around from sun up to sundown, 4 days or more of park hopping back and forth. Disney is not a relaxing trip, its a lot of walking, and most younger kids can’t handing running around that much. If you have small children keep in mind that they probably won’t be able to handle multiple parks in one day.
- Park hopper tickets are twice as much, and although you can get to do two, three, or even four (which I wouldn’t recommend, I have done it) parks in one day, you only get fast passes for one park per day.
So, here’s what I recommend. Do your research, look at the maps, look into the rides, and shows you will want to do. Figure out what parks you want to spend the most time in. Buy a one-park ticket for the parks you want to spend the most time exploring. You also do not need to do 5 or more days in the parks, that is a lot of money spent on tickets. Take a day in between your park days and spend a day at your resort relaxing, laying by the pool, or do something less exhausting (which costs nothing btw).
I recommend 3 days of parks, no more than 4 if you are doing a full week of vacation. If you continue to do parks from sun up to sun down day after day, by the third day everyone will be miserable and exhausted. Plus the fewer tickets you buy the less money you spend.
Food/Drink
When visiting the parks most people don’t know that you can bring a cooler of food and drinks in with you. You do not have to eat in the parks. Trying to eat three meals a day in a theme park is really expensive. Besides, who wants to spend a bunch of money on food and drinks.
I recommend planning one meal in the parks, or less if you can, but one meal is possible. You don’t even need to pack a whole cooler full of stuff. I would say the best way to take up the least amount of space is to pack a cup like a yeti or the Ozark trails tumblers that hold ice all day. Fill it with ice and utilize the water fountains or free water cups from food locations. That way it will also keep it full and cold all day. You can always pack sodas, Gatorade, or any other drinks with you if you please. I personally hate lugging around a bunch of stuff. So usually my yeti full of ice, a sandwich, and some snacks like a banana, or some veggies will get me through most of the day. You would be surprised at home much money you saved by just doing little things like this.
Merchandise
If you are interested in any merchandise, I would recommend buying some things ahead of time. Pin trading is a super fun thing kids love to do. Cast members all over the parks wear pins for kids to come up and trade with. You can buy a good package of Disney pins super cheap all over the internet rather than spend a bunch of money getting them in the parks. Many people also want to wear matching t-shirts or mickey ears both are another thing I suggest getting outside the parks, even the Disney store online has discounts you can get sometimes.
Photos
Photopass Photographer. Another great photo that we didn’t have to pay for.
Everyone wants great photos of their trip and Disney offers options to make that easier on you at a cost. I personally would recommend taking your own photos. The best part about this is, many people don’t realize you can ask most cast members to take photos for you and they gladly will. Also, when meeting characters, the photographers will have their own camera they will take photos with but you can also ask them to take a few with yours as well. Another great bonus is if you signed up for the Chase Visa I recommend at the beginning of this article then you can get one free 5×7 photo printed every day at the photo location in the park just by showing your card.
