How I do Disney on a Budget

 

Ah Disney... they most magical place on earth. And also one of the more expensive. 

I'm going to share my tips for how I budget for my Disney trips, and we'll start with the most expensive: The park tickets. Unfortunately Disney has gotten INCREDIBLY greedy (Thanks Bob Chapek Edit as of Nov '22: Welcome back Bob Iger!!) and their prices for park tickets have gotten very expensive over the last few years. And not to mention that it's basically an extra dash of salt in the wound when you go to buy your tickets online and see this:

"Oh look, tickets for $109."

Think again. Most tickets for weekends and during "nice weather" average more like $139-154 BEFORE taxes. (Add on about $10 per ticket per day for taxes)

So unfortunately the park tickets don't see really any discounts (and even for military, it's only a couple bucks for "weekend warriors") though they do offer better discounts for 4-day tickets with park hoppers:  

vs the regular price...

So anyway, I usually just suck it up and buy 1 park per day (no park hoppers) and that price ends up being about $300 or so for 2 days if I'm just going for a weekend:

This price sucks. But it is what it is. 

It can always be worse... when you add on Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (which is a separate ticketed event) So spending 1 (half) day in Magic Kingdom and 1 evening in MK for MNSSHP can add up to $190.64 for the evening ticket + $150.67 for the daytime = $341.31 to spend a FULL day in Magic Kingdom during days that host MNSSHP... OUCH.

I've done this before... honestly I don't recommend it. Just go for the Halloween Party event in the evening by itself, because these prices are outrageous. 

Ok so let's get in to where I DO find my savings:

Flights. I have tons of points and the Companion Pass on Southwest (see my other post on how to earn these to fly for free on Southwest). This saves probably about $335 or so in flights every time my husband and I fly from our home base in Atlanta to Orlando. Literally all we pay are the taxes and fees for the flights which ends up being $23 and change for the both of us. In this way, it's FAR cheaper for us to FLY to Orlando than drive. (Driving would cost about close to $200 in gas etc.)

Hotels. We never ever ever stay on Disney property. That's the trick. That's it. 

Ok honestly let's break this down and look at options. For this example, I've picked a random weekend in October and selected one of the cheapest Disney properties I could find: The All-Star Music Resort.

Ok so after taxes, this resort is $351.86 for 2 nights. Honestly this is NOT bad. (I'm actually sorta amazed I found something as cheap as this because most of the time, Disney property resorts are far more expensive). But we can do better. **Oh and there's no breakfast included for this hotel either... I'll talk more on this in a second.

So I usually search for something in the $100/night price range that's just as close to the parks. The All-Star Music Resort is 6.1 miles to the Ticketing & Transportation Center at Magic Kingdom. I found a Fairfield Inn in Marriott Village (which I HAVE stayed at before, and can vouch that it's perfectly nice as far as my hotel standards go) for only $209.25 total for 2 nights after taxes. It's only 1 mile further. However this hotel happens to be much closer to Disney Springs, which we go to often (1.3 miles vs 6.5 miles for the All-Star Music Resort). 

Transportation. I know what you might be thinking... but the Disney property resorts have shuttles! Off-property doesn't! This property actually DOES have a free shuttle to Disney Springs & the parks. And with The Magical Express Bus gone, everyone's in the same boat paying for their own transportation from the airport. I recommend Lyft/Uber here. It's about the same price as the shuttle offered by Mears Connect (only you get the car to yourself with Uber/Lyft). We also opt to take these around instead of renting a car as well, because most of the time, it just ends up being cheaper once you factor in gas and parking costs. (If you DO have a car, parking costs = $15/night at the All-Star Music Resort**, $17/night at Fairfield Inn, $25/day at the parks... it adds up quickly.) **Update as of Jan '23: parking costs at Disney Property Resorts are now gone! Free overnight parking for guests again! Everyone rejoice!**

Food. Ah food. I'm such a sucker for Disney snacks. Let's start with the Mickey Waffles.

Ok so bottom line, I won't stay at a hotel around the Disney area unless they offer Mickey Waffles. 

Point-blank.

Luckily the Fairfield has FREE Mickey Waffles for bfast, as do the other hotels (Courtyard/Springhill Suites) in the same Marriott Village complex. However the Disney property All-Star Music resort... well, here's their pricing for Mickey Waffles (and other bfast items)

Now if I was trying to feed multiple people breakfast, this gets expensive FAST. It's a TOTAL money-saver to stay at a hotel that has breakfast included. If you're trying to be even MORE frugal, you can always pack a lunch and take it into the parks... yes, Disney lets you bring in your own food if you'd like! This can also be a huge money-saver. Now I'm usually not that stingy when it comes to eating lunch at the parks, but I AM that stingy when it comes to my water. 

Enter: The CamelBak (or whatever off-brand pack you like best)

Yes, this handy thing will save you LOADS when it comes to staying hydrated! Y'all. Bottled water is $3.50 per bottle in the parks! 

You can carry as much as 5 Dasanis worth in your CamelBak... for FREE. Added bonus: put ice from your hotel's ice machine in the water bladder first thing in the morning before hitting the parks. Having this thing sit on your back keeps your core cool all day in that hot Florida heat! Savings: up to $17.50 per day of bottled water you're not having to buy! 

Ok so let's go over a "typical food" day at Magic Kingdom. (Obviously I have my Mickey Waffles at the hotel) and then I get a mid morning snack once that sun starts to come out high overhead and heat things up: Dole Whip... it's a must. And it's a splittable portion at $5.99 as a snack for 2 people. Next I might head over to Pecos Bill's, where you can load up your toppings at a build-your-own-nacho bar: 

$11.49 to get a small mountain of nachos to split with my hubby? Yes please.

Of course we'll get a midday snack of a churro ($6.50) or Mickey Pretzel ($7.25) and maybe a Sbux iced macchiato: ($5.69)... usually we split all options.

For Dinner, if we're feeling "budgety" we might head over to Casey's Corner and split a chili cheese foot-long hotdog and fries for $13.99. If we're feeling less "budgety" we could head to Tony's Town Square and get a Chicken Parm dish to split ($28) because usually that's all we'll want when we've been snacking all day. So all in all, we can get away with spending around $45-60 for 2 people all day in Magic Kingdom without feeling like we're too deprived.

Now there ARE cases where we've gone COMPLETELY overboard especially in Epcot getting drinks and experiencing the Food & Wine Festival... here's an example:
Each getting our own Sbux: $5.69 + $5.69
Kālua Pork Slider with sweet-and-sour DOLE pineapple chutney and spicy mayonnaise: $5.75
Warm Chocolate Pudding Cake with Irish cream liqueur custard: $4.75
San Angel Inn: Tostadas de Pollo: $15 + Blood Orange Margarita: $17 + Classic Marg: $16.50
Schofferhofer in Germany: $10.50
Mini Piña Colada Funnel Cake with piña colada ice cream, whipped cream, toasted coconut, and maraschino cherry drizzled with coconut-rum sauce: $9.50
Le Cellier: Poutine appetizer + 2 steaks + 2 glasses of wine & tip: $220
= $310.38 for 2 people

(We try not to do that too often)

So all in all, for 2 people for a typical weekend:
Flights: $23, $210 for hotel, Park tickets: $600, $60 per day for food, $68 for Ubers to and from airport = grand total of $961 (or roughly $480 per person)

**Or if you can go during the week in an off-peak time, this can save you a decent bit off your park tickets. This is an example price of two 2-day tickets during the week at the end of August:

This would bring your total cost down to $813 total, or $406 per person
So that's how I do Disney "on the cheap".
I hope my tips and tricks have been helpful in planning your next trip!