Disney World is a magical family vacation destination for kids and adults alike. The cost however can be anything but magical. A family of four can easily expect to spend $6000 and that’s before you factor in souvenirs and photos. Take a deep breath, we are here to assist you in how to enjoy Disney on a budget and not feel like you are missing out on anything. Here we will break down your biggest expenses and show you how you can save some money.

●Hotel
This will be the most expensive expense and there are more options than you think for where you can stay. Most people think in order to enjoy the best experience at Disney you need to stay at a Disney property. Well, that could not be further from the truth. The Disney resorts usually come with a high price tag unless you can catch a sale. What’s a better option you ask? Disney good neighbor hotels! These hotels are non-Disney hotels that meet Disney standards of quality and service. And the best part is they enjoy most of the same perks you’d receive staying at a Disney property.
That’s right, you can still get free transportation to and from the park, enjoy early access hours and have access to fastpass and fastpass+.

●Park Tickets
Regularly throughout the year Disney runs promotions on multi day park passes aimed at saving park goers a few bucks. But there is one place that can help you save even more money and it’ll probably surprise you…..TARGET!!! How? They sell Disney gift cards and if you have a Target Redcard you will receive 5% off those gift cards. Those gift cards can then be used to purchase your park tickets directly from Disney. Take for example Disney’s current promotion of 4 park magic tickets starting at $360.00. Subtract the 5% savings you get by purchasing the gift cards and your average ticket cost is now less than $90 dollars per day. Factor that into a family of four and your savings is now over $72.

●Food
This is by far one of your top three expenses and if you don’t keep track your budget it can all go here. Some people say to get a hotel with a full kitchen but who wants to cook on vacation? This is supposed to be a time for everyone to relax right? When choosing a hotel seek one with multiple food options. Often times kids eat free or at a reduced rate usually during breakfast and/or dinner which is typically when you would be at the hotel. Lunch will usually take place in the park so you will not have a ton of options. To assist with some of those costs use those Disney gift cards you
bought from Target to cover at least a few meals in the park. If a character meal is on your to do list then you may want to purchase an extra gift card just for food purposes, those character meals are costly and definitely need to be reserved ahead of time. Dinner in most cases will take place at your hotel after a nap, walking in that sun will take a toll on everyone. Now is when the benefit of having a hotel with multiple food options will come in handy. Not many people want to have the same food every night no matter how big the discount.

●Transportation
One of the things you do lose by not staying at a Disney resort hotel is the free transportation to and from the airport. Luckily there are many budget friendly resources for transportation to get you to your hotel. One can get an Uber or Lyft with enough room for the entire family but our personal recommendation would be Mears transportation. They offer vehicles in many different sizes and online bookings so you know your pricing upfront. Although they have a base inside the airport it’s actually cheaper if you make a reservation online. The further in advance you plan your trip the better. Signup online now, the chances of you getting a coupon via email prior to when you actually need to book your vehicle are great.

●Merchandise
A Disney trip isn’t complete without some fun gifts. But once you walk into any Disney gift store some of that excitement quickly leaves when you see the prices for these items. The solution? Purchase all your gear ahead of time online. You can even involve the kids and let them pick out their own stuff. So throw those Mickey or Minnie Mouse ears, t-shirts and anything else you can think of in that cart then click submit. You’ll thank yourself later as you walk through the park with all your gear and realize just how much money you saved yourself.

Bonus
Fast passes, magic bands & the Disney app are all great resources. Magic bands are not just a cool souvenir, they can also make your life a lot easier. Standing at the front of the line fumbling with multiple access cards for your entire family is a recipe for a headache before entering the park. Save yourself the headache and time, once you link your admission cards to the magic bands you just scan and walk. Best part is everyone can choose their own band in different styles/colors making them easy to tell apart.

Fast passes are a way to skip the line passes and can be scheduled up to 60 days in advance. You can only schedule 3 per day in advance so choose wisely. These should be used on the park’s most popular rides as those lines can easily exceed an hour wait. The good news is once you’ve used those 3 you can continue to schedule more but only 1 at a time based on availability.

The Disney app is your mobile park map with live updates. Here you can schedule your fast pass rides, schedule sit down meals and even see how long the wait for any particular ride is. Download it in advance to schedule your fast passes and get a feel of how it works.

Essentials

As always we’ve put together a list of essentials items. These items are an absolute must haves on this trip and believe me when I tell you that you will appreciate each and every one of these items most days. But we’ll let you be the judge…