Here are 10 Money Saving Tips For Disney World Vacations:
- Stay at a Disney Value Resort – While on property you still get all the extra’s as someone staying at the larger resorts. Such as Disney Transportation, extra magic hours, Disney meal plans, and much more. The rooms might be a little smaller but your just there to sleep right?
- Stay at a resort or vacation home off Disney property. If you have to there are plenty of decent hotel rooms available all around Lake Buena Vista. If you have a larger family (more than four people), the savings are even greater. You can get a vacation home with a private pool for a week but remember you will need your own transportation.
- Watch for Disney Promotions. Disney has been known to release promotions that will save you a big chunk of change such as FREE dining plans when you travel and a percentage off the cost of your room.
- Purchase a dining package. Disney offers dining packages to guests staying at their resorts. These packages have to be booked in advance and you can save 30% or more on your dining if you buy one of these plans. Essentially the dining plan is a meal plan that you pay for in advance. Sorta like a lay-away.
- Travel during the “off” season. Disney resort and dining prices fluctuate depending on what time of year it is; the same trip over Christmas week will cost you a whole lot less the first week of December. There is much debate when the off season is. One guideline to follow is when school is out it will be busy. If you check on a Disney Cruise you will see the same trip almost double for Spring Break or in the Summer. OY!
- Use Magical Express. If you are staying at a Disney resort you have access to Magical Express, a free transport from the airport and back. This will save you on renting a car, taxi or hiring a limo to transport you.
- Eat meals outside the Theme parks. Plan to eat at least one meal a day in your room, breakfast being the most obvious choice. Most Disney rooms come with an in-room fridge or access to get one (make sure of this in advance if you aren’t staying in a Disney resort) You can stock it with milk, yogurt, fruit, water or drinks. Add a loaf of bread, some peanut butter, cereal and breakfast pastries and you will save a good bit of money. Use those snack credits! If you are staying off Disney property you also have access to all the fast food restaurants and buffets in Orlando. I love Sweet Tomatoes! We even make a pilgrimage here even if we are staying on site! This is another expense category where renting a vacation home has an advantage a kitchen. With a kitchen you would be able to eliminate a lot of your eating-out expense; however, you also have to look at how much time you are spending driving back and forth to your room from the parks. Oh and the cost of parking everyday.
- Flash your Military ID. If you are an active or retired member of the military, there are lots of discounts available to you. To start with, there is Shades of Green resort, a resort on Disney property only for the military; it is a really nice resort, and the prices are even nicer. You are also eligible to get discounts on other Disney resorts and on tickets.
- Book through a Disney vacation planner. A Disney vacation planner (a.k.a. travel agent) can help you save on your vacation by watching for promotions and ways to save money for you. Their service is 100% free (their commission is paid by Disney) and they also offer a number of excellent perks too.
- Save on airfare. All of the carriers that fly in and out of Orlando airport offer decent rates if you do a little research and plan far enough ahead you can save some good money. Check the airports actual website opposed to the travel Discount sites. For example in Greensboro Allegiant Air is not listed in Expedia but offers flights for $29, 39, and 49 if you fly on certain days of the week and Southwest only sells through Southwest.com.
Don’t forget that you can also save money by eating in your room.
Learn more tips and tricks for your next Walt Disney World vacation. Destinations in Florida can also help you add tips and tricks to your next vacation.
I would love to stay at the Animal Kingdom, where do you find these renting sites
I need a bit of advice about the dining plan.
A good friend and I are taking a trip to WDW in May of next year (2013). We are staying on-property in a value resort (We are thinking Art of Animation!), and we will be there for 5 days. We are hesitant about getting a dining plan though. We both work and are full-time college students, so we do not get the opportunity to eat 3 square meals a day. Usually, we have a light lunch or a snack and dinner each day- barely more than one meal per day. I understand that we will be burning a lot of energy walking around the parks, so I wonder if we will feel more hungry on our trip than we usually do, or if we will still feel ok with only eating 1 meal and a snack.
We’ve heard such great things about the dining plan, but do you think it will be beneficial to us to purchase one? As I said, we are college students and looking for ways to save money, but we wouldn’t want to waste money paying for too much food!
We went during one of the times they had free dining and it saved us a ton!! 8 people eating at Disney can get very pricey!! I loved that you can use your snack credits on things other than pocorn, drinks, & ice cream bars. MAy don’t realize that since those seem to be the only ones mentioned, but you can use them really for almost anything that is under I think it was $4 as long as that is on the plan (they make it easy by putting a little picture by it on the menu) We were able to use them at the Food and wine festival booths for a lot of little snacks. And we used them to stock up on snacks and water for our trip home. 7 people(youngest was only 2 so he didn’t pay) for 8 days lead to a lot of snack credits!!!
do they ever have free dining option anymore? how do I find out about that/
The link for “To Meal Plan or Not to Meal Plan” isn’t coming up. Thanks.
Love the tips! Planning to go to Orlando this September and I am really interested in the article about parking free! That will save us a lot!
Renting points from a DVC member is an awesome way to save huge on the really expensive resorts. We will be doing this for the third time in December. By doing this, we are paying $154 per night for a savanna view room at Animal Kingdom Lodge as opposed to $360 by booking directly through Disney. You also don’t have to pay tax on the room and the DVC member can arrange the dining plan and magical express bus service.
Active Duty military get into the parks for free (5 day park hopper) and significant discounts on family member passes. I’m active duty and I took my little sister to Disney World after my last deployment. Between her hotel discount (she works for Marriott) and my military discount, the trip was super cheap and tons of fun. It was such a great way to come back to American life!
The Military Salute ticket changes every year. This year, it is not a free ticket for the servicemember.
In reference to #8 – Department of Defense civilian employees can also stay at Shades of Green. A very nice place to stay, and only a short walk up to the Poly or the TTC where you can use the Disney methods of transportation. Can’t beat the price for the size of the rooms and proximity to the parks as well as being able to participate in EMH!
where is the link for How to Park at Disney for Free?
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