Wondering how to set your Walt Disney World budget? Let’s be honest. If you were to go to Disney.com to book your vacation at rack rate (regular price) your mouth would drop open and you probably wouldn’t even consider going. Their regular price is HIGH!
But Disney is great about giving specials! You just have to know where to look for them. You can find the current list of specials here. You must click through their link in order to have the special applied to your quote. Otherwise you are going to pay rack rate.
They also offer special discounts to the Disney Visa credit card holders. These specials are often offered to card holders before they are offered to the public. (I used an exclusive discount code for card holders for my 2010 vacation.)
Also Disney issues exclusive, one time use codes called PIN codes. These codes are randomly emailed or mailed to people. There is no known rhyme or reason to who gets these codes, but you can read tips on getting a pin code from Disney.
Also while you are at Disney, they often offer you a bounceback offer. This is an exclusive discount only available during specified dates and YOU MUST book it before you check out.
There are also discounts offered through AAA, your employer, etc etc. You can buy your tickets from Undercover Tourist and pay less than you would pay at Disney. If you are in the military or a resident of Florida, there are even more discounts available to you. There are so many discounts to Disney!
But how much does Walt Disney World cost?
Disney can be done cheaply. You don’t have to break the bank. There are many things to factor into the cost of your vacation, but let’s see how cheap we can do Disney for a family of 4.
Family #1
They have 2 kids ages 6 and 3. They want to stay on site for 5 nights. Staying September 19th to September 25th, 2016, with NO SPECIAL.
For $2527, they get 6 nights at Pop Century plus 6 day park tickets (2 adult and 2 children) for the entire family! They plan to use the fridge in their room for soda, bottled water and juice boxes. They have purchased breakfast foods such as pop tarts and cereal bars for breakfast. They also plan to pack their lunch and bring it to the parks with them. (If they are flying, they will order groceries ahead of time from Garden Grocer.) They will eat counter service restaurants for dinner (approximately $40). They plan to spend $50 total on souvenirs (they bought a few at home at the Dollar Tree, Michaels $1 spot, Target’s $1 spot and on clearance at major department stores). They also have $100 budgeted for miscellaneous expenses.
Without any transportation costs factored in, Family #1 can do Disney for $2957.
*Keep in mind that this is without a special.
Family #2
They have 2 kids ages 6 and 3. They are willing to stay off site for 6 nights. Staying Staying September 19th to September 25th
They found a great rate of $53 a night at the Ramada Kissimmee Gateway that is about 4 minutes from Disney property. After taxes it comes to about $373.63 for 6 nights. They bought 2 adult tickets and 2 child tickets for 6 days from Undercover Tourist and paid $1577.80. The total for hotel and tickets is $1951.43. They then have to pay $20 a day for parking ($120 for 6 days). That brings their total up to $2071.43.
They plan to use the fridge in their room for soda, bottled water and juice boxes. They have purchased breakfast foods such as pop tarts and cereal bars for breakfast. They also plan to pack their lunch and bring it to the parks with them. (If they are flying, they will order groceries ahead of time from Garden Grocer.) They will eat counter service restaurants for dinner (approximately $40). They plan to spend $50 total on souvenirs (they bought a few at home at the Dollar Tree, Michaels $1 spot, Target’s $1 spot and on clearance at major department stores). They also have $100 budgeted for miscellaneous expenses.
Without factoring in transportation expenses, family #2 can do Disney for $2501.43
How much should you budget for your Disney fund?
To figure out your budget:
- Go to the Disney website
- Price out a stay at your favorite resort during the dates you are considering and include the number of guests and their ages
- Make sure you select the cheapest room type under Room Type
- Now add $500 to the figure for dining (just like our 2 example famlies), souvenirs and miscellaneous expenses
You can also reprice the trip and select select the Magic Your Way Package Plus Dining under Dining & Entertainment (this includes 1 table service, 1 counter service and 1 snack per day).
Keep in mind that there will be a special for your dates that will lower your cost.
So how much is your Walt Disney World vacation? (Please be sure to include all the factors of the overall cost!)
Our May 2010 trip was $3085. It was for 2 adults and 2 children. We stayed 11 nights at Pop Century and had 10 day park hopper tickets. We also had 2 quick service (also called counter service) meals and 2 snacks per day (10 days) per person. We also ate at Chef Mickeys ($80). I budgeted $150 for gas and I think $100 for souvenirs.
How Much Did Your Disney Trip Cost?
Learn more about planning your Walt Disney World vacation. Plus overwhelmed with all the planning? Destinations in Florida can help you plan your perfect trip and their service is FREE!
Donna Neace says
Thanks, Kristin for your very informative post. If anyone wants to go to Disney World this year on a limited budget, that time this content would be effective for them?
Shauntee says
Any special bundle deals for parks and hotels during the 2015 spring break season? 4 adults and 3 children aged 5, 3 and 6 mos. We are from Ohio and would appreciate any deal ideas. Also, restaurant deals inside the park. Thanks in advance!
Latiffa says
I am the most upsessed disney fanatic there is. My daughter is 5 last year in May2012 we went for 8 days. Total cost for 5 people, rountrip airfare, hotel, car and taxes and fees was $1600. i stayed offsite because i found it cheaper with american vacation homes. i booked my vacation package through expedia. We decided to purchase food from walmart and dollar tree to save on spending un necessary money in the parks and i used undercover tourist for my tickets. 5 parks totaling $300pp with taxes and fees. As far as souvenirs was concerned we went to the dollar store and walmart and save over $140. Total cost of trip was about $3500 and I came home with money in my pocket. I love disney and so does my family. I am planning our summer vacation now for 10 days… and this time the budget is smaller.
Mrs Victoria McGill says
Hello, I just saw your post and it caught my attention I was wondering what would be the best way to save me my husband and two god kids will be going next year of 2015 in June July or August food will not be a problem will cook our self we want to fly don’t want to drive from Chicago to Florida love road trip it’s just neither of us ever flown thanks.
Mrs Victoria McGill says
Hey I was wondering if you could tell me what airline did you go with the name of the hotel was the car rental reasonable thanks.
crystal says
Hello all- I am planning a trip to Disney in Florida for Sept 2013. I am trying to keep costs low, however have never been there before an don’t really know where to start. I do have access to a time- share condo, but feel like we may miss out on a lot staying off site. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Priscilla says
Mousesavers.com helped me out and as far as hotels staying off property can be just as great. We are going in may 2013 and after plane tickets, hotel,tickets, stroller rental, car rental and even tickets to universal and sea world we have spent $1500! We still have food to purchase and souvenirs to buy.
Barb says
My family and I and our friends are going to be going to Florida to Disney in 2014. None of us have ever been there so I am looking for some good pointers on where to stay, what to see, where to eat and where to get suvioneers? Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Yolanda says
Any suggestions on a 5day vacation 1 adult 1 9 yr old 1 16 yr old? Seems like everything is based on 2 adults or can I use the 16 yr old as the adult?
Amanda - Destinations in Florida says
Hi Yolanda, I travel alone with my 5-year old quite often and when staying at Walt Disney World you are paying for the room and then purchasing the rest of the items (tickets, Dining Plans) based on the person’s age. With your family you would be 1 adult, 1 junior and 1 child according to Disney. The junior (ages 10 – 17) will be paying the same as an adult.
Emily Browning says
My sister and I found an after-Christmas bus tour from Wytheville, VA to Disney World for $800 each with a 5-day park hopper and a stay in the Disney Resort included. I think it’s a pretty good deal. What are your thoughts?
shenika says
I’m taking my family in july of 2012 as a surprise!! I been planning since october of 2011..so i purchased my tickets(3-days&1waterpark) once a month starting in oct..So i didn’t have to pay for all 3 tickets($586) at once. (2 bedroom resort 7-days $600) Made a rental car reservation($234) months in advance for cheaper rates(suv for 7days) And i will be buying food for the condo to cut down our food budget( i already have cereal and breakfast bars etc. packed away in my vacation cooler) And went to get the free mouse ears and disney shirts($3-9) And i will be going to get the free disney reuseable bag this saturday..i also added alot of free samples to my vacation cooler!! All i need is spending money($1500) which im adding to my fund with spare change,couponing and having dinner sales once or twice a month!
Tavia says
I’m really interested in your post from Apr. 16 and am wondering if you could clarify a few things. Here’s a bunch of questions, answer any or all if you want to. What 2 bedroom resort is $600? Is that a Disney resort? You mention its a condo, is that a DVC property you rent from someone else, and if so, how did you find someone you could trust? What are you talking about when you say you went to get the free mouse ears and shirts? Or the free bag? Where are these freebies from? Lastly, how do you get such great results from couponing, and what is a dinner sale?
Thanks for any help you can give.
Rebecca says
I have no clue where she stayed, but I’m planning a trip this May and Calypso Cay has 1 or 2 bedroom Villas for around $600-$700 for 8 nights (you get every 4th night free). It’s not a Disney resort, but doesn’t seem like a bad deal so thought I’d share! It’s partnered with Buena Vista Suites, which I’ve seen someone else talk about in past comments.
Rebecca says
I am looking at taking the family to Disney World in 2013. I will have 2 adults and 2 kids (3 and 8). Because I have to fly from Des Moines, Iowa I am thinking I need a bigger budget. I have been looking at the new value resort Annimation with the Nemo room. We are thinking of staying 10 days and hoping for a free dining package special to save on funds. I am interested in learning all I can as the last time I was there I stayed at the Grand Floridian and I don’t want to be disappointed.
Marie says
We had a little family reunion down there a few months ago and we had 8 kids total with ages 2-13. One sibling stayed at one of those huge off site resorts with to water park on-site and spent $1700 for 9nights. Another sibling stayed at a Condo and payed $900 for 12nights. WE stayed at all-star movies for 9night on the Deluxe dining plan with 10day tickets and spent $2300. It was AWESOME and everyone agreed it was a good price. We had nothing to worry about, tickets 3 meals(any kind QS or sit down) and 2 snacks per day per person (3andup). We did all the character meals you can do with the dining plan plus a lot more. We also asked if my family could going swimming one afternoon and Disney had no problem with that. All the kids thought our pool was way cooler then the ones at there hotel/condo, even the 3 kids who had the water park. If you get a free QS dining plan upgrade it to the Dining plus or deluxe you could stay in the Little mermaid rooms and save a ton of money since you wont need the kitchen. It should cost right around the same amount but you will get a whole lot more bag for the buck and some Awesome character dining.
Patti Blackwood says
I am planning our first WDW trip for March of 2013. AS of now, I have a little over $1000.00 saved since the beginning of 2012 for 3 adults and a 6 year old. The part I’m stressing over is airline fares. The cheapest I am finding is about $500 per person round trip from New Orleans. Any suggestions? Even if I streamline everything else, I’m looking at almost $5000. I need to keep it as close to $3500-4000 as possible. Thanks!
Kristen says
Does Spirit Air fly out near you? I was able to get round trip tickets for my family of 5 for $614!!! I was amazed!!
Priscilla says
I planned a trip for Disney world from may 5- may 10 2013. We haven’t gone yet but as far as tickets it’s a hit or miss. I looke numerous times a day starting in January. I finally found 4 roundtrip tickets from Colorado to Orlando for $158 a person. Right now tickets are over $240! But when I started searching they were around $200 as well. Good luck!
Heather says
Thanks for all the advice! We just had twins and won’t be going to Disney for several years, but it’s good to know that there is already advice here for how to get a cheaper trip than we may have otherwise.
Kim W. says
Thank you for this info, My dream/goal is to take my family to WDW someday. We are a “Disneyland” family..so this info helps me out so much because I know NOTHING about WDW!!! :)
alley says
thanks for the post. Setting a budget is a hard task for me. I have 2 kids and if we go i want to go for at least 10 days. knowing that its maybe the only vacation we will go on. I want to pick the best time and best deal. If you are waiting in lines the whole vacation its not worth the savings.
Liz Sledziona says
Thank you for posting this info. I’ve been reading your training guide and I didn’t realize that there were so many reasonable ways to cut back and save in order to make it less than $2500 for the 3 of us. I’m glad I found this site and thank you for all your time and effort to help those like me who are pretty new to this. = )
Andrea says
Thank you for this information. We are planning our trip for Feb 2013 and I am anxiously awaiting for Disney to release their package prices. Thanks for all the great tips on this site, I have been couponing with you and have been adding to my fund! DisneyWorld, here we come!
yesenia says
im obsessed with planning my trip! :]
Erin L says
Great advice! Thanks!
Heather S. says
Thank you so much for this series, Kristen! We are going to Disney in November this year, and I can use all the tips I can get! =)
meri says
Thanks for all the information. We’re planning on going at the end of the summer for my Step Mother’s birthday. I’ll have to look into all these deals.
Jenny says
Thank you so much for this! Great info for me to use to get started
Michelle says
We took our family to Disney World in the summer of 2010, and I thought I’d be able to wait until 2015 to go again, but lately I have really been feeling the urge to start planning a trip. Thanks for all of your work, it’s made it easier to start saving!
Also, one other question – we had two children in 2010, but now have three, which makes the vacation much more expensive – are there any tips available for planning a trip for a family of 5?
Jenni says
I moved to Florida just this past December. We now have a Season Pass to Disney. Setting a budget is more important than ever. We needed this! Thanks!
Betsy says
Desperate help.
We truly want to go to Disney in May. I have been following ur blog for almost two years and have learned A LOT! However, all the information is in regards to more than a five day stay. HAS anyone been to disney for only 3-4 days. We really just want to take our 5 yr old daughter to Magic Kingdom. She has been talking about it since she turn 4. We cant make her wait another year. Any suggestions on purchasing tickets? R they really that expensive? It just seems impossible. I am trying to keep a budget of 1,000 for 4 days and 3 nights.
thanks
betsy
Jasmine Johnson says
I have a question:
If I were to purchase discounted Disney World tickets from another website (Undercover Tourist, etc), would I still be able to add a dining plan? A dining plan is important to me for my May 2012 Disney trip, but I see that on discount sites, I am only able to purchase tickets. Disney does not allow guests to buy a dining plan without purchasing tickets on the website. Any suggestions? Thanks!
Bree says
Okae everyone I want to take the family to Disney world during Christmas like for that week it’s my grandmother, father,ages -3,5,17 sister n 1 cousin(15 yrs) n myself 16 how much do u think that would cost???? Please let me know about hotels watermarks everything!!!!
Dina says
I’m a Florida resident and just returned from a three-day vacation to Disney May 19-21, and with Florida resident discounts for a family of five, two adults and three children – one under three and two under nine- we spent the following:
$296 total for nice room at Buena Vista Suites – off-property, but very Close to the parks, newly remodeled, two televisions, two queens beds plus sofa sleeper, microwave, refrigerator, and FREE daily breakfast!
$506 for 4 four park tickets (one park a day for 4 days)
$140 for gas
$300 on meals, snacks, souvenirs, and tip for housekeeping
$60 on snacks purchased at grocery store for hotel and parks
So, approx. $1300.00 total
Tip: I didn’t use it because I didn’t want a to pay for room in full before checking, but you can find discount codes online for Hotels.com that will take a chunk off your bill.
Cynthia says
Hello,
I just read your comment and it was by far the most helpful.
We are going Wednesday and i have been doing alot of reasearch on approximately i would be spending when i came across this i feel alot better
We spent $635 on tge 4park 4 day passes
$318 for the hotel (5days 4 nights)
But my biggest thought was what food pricing and souvenirs were going.to cost.
If you have any tips i would appreciate it.
Thank you
Mrs Victoria McGill says
Hey, I just saw your post and it sounds really great I was wondering what hotel is that for the 5days and 4nightsiI would also like to know how many ppl are included for the 4park and 4days pass for the $635 going next year between June and August me and my husband a taking both of of god kids however there are at least 20 that want to go but not sure how all of that would turn out with the planning thanks.
Krista says
I think we spent $5000 for 5 adults and 3 kids, We used timeshares on site and purchased flights, meal plans, 6 day passes, 4 with waterparks & souveniers. Is that about right or are we doing something wrong. We are planning another trip next July. any suggestions would be great. Thanks
Tavia says
May I ask how you used timeshares on site? Did you buy points from a stranger?
shannon says
all of these sound really cheap to me. we have never gone before, but we will have 2 or 3 adults (not sure if mother in law will come or not) and 4 children (8,4,2,infant). i was getting figures in the 4,000 range. maybe its the extra adult i guess.
shannon says
yeah i just re-entered it on disneyworld.com and its 4600.00 for 8 days 7 nights in all star music with magic your way plus dining, with park hopper and water parks. or 4020.00 with no parkhopper or water parks. i am hoping if i go through AAA that they will offer the dining plan for free maybe, or a better discount.
kelly says
We went the end of Sept 2009. Our total trip for 2 adults and1 child 5 years of age was $1998.00. We had the free meal plan deal and this included airfare which was $110 per person. We stayed at Value Movie Resort. We stayed 6 nights and had park hopper tickets for 6 days. We were shuttled to the resort and to the airport with the Disney transporation. Before we left for the park I bought the picture CD at $99 which was a special rate and my mother paid for that for us. I also have the Disney card so I had 6 months 0% finance and the trip was paid for before we went. With the earned money on it we used it for souviniers. My husband also had his birthday while we were there and they were having the year of b-days so we also got a $75 gift card which we also used towards souviniers.
Dana says
We go in off-season to keep prices (and lines) down. We are a family of 2 adults and 1 child. Our 2010 trip was 8 days/7 nights, $1584 for tickets, room and the dining plan. We stayed in a value and paid to upgrade from the free QS plan. Trips, gas, food that wasn’t covered by our plan (while we were traveling, etc) was about $4-500. We did a lot of expensive table service meals, so our tips ran $10-15 per meal. That added up quick! Our trip was still under $2k which is the budget for our 2011 trip as well.
Shonna Johnson says
We went to Disneyland in January 2011 and just booked our next visit for Disneyland for September 2011 through Costco Travel. We are staying at a Good Neighbor which offers a nice hot breakfast and is within walking distance. Because we booked through Costco Travel, we are getting a free Character Dining and a $20 gift card in addition to a laynard and pin for each of us, one magic morning entry and Mickey’s Toontown entry. We are flying on Allegiant Air where you can save hundreds on flights. And of course I am making my own Mickey T shirts for my family. We cannot wait to go! We almost waited and went to WDW but my son is only 5 and is just now tall enough to ride the Disneyland rides and he would not yet be quite tall enough for all of the rides at WDW. Also, I think Disneyland and California Adventure are much more managable for small kids his age.
Tricia says
We are saving a ton on lodging by using DVC rental.com which is renting DVC points and AAA for tickets is just a few $$ different than undercover tourist but I feel safer using AAA. We also have a chase Southwest visa that we earn flights with and we have 2 out 4 free!!
Tavia says
I was just wondering what it was like to rent points from strangers. I have heard that you do that at your own risk, and Disney will not help you if the person you paid screws you out of your money. I’m scared to do it, but I know its supposed to be the cheapest way to stay on site. Did you also buy a dining plan through the person?
Lisa says
I know that your post is old and you might not see this, but I want to reply for others who might see your comment.
I just sold my DVC points just a month ago. I did it through Dave’s Vacation Rentals. The company is the middle man to make sure everything goes smoothly when selling or buying DVC points.
Being the one to sell my points, I made the reservation for the family that purchased my points. Once Dave’s Vacation Rentals had the reservation confirmation, I received half of the payment for selling my points. I later added a dining plan for the family. I received the other half of the payment on the day the family checked into the Disney resort.
Everything went so smoothly that I highly recommend them. All payments went through Paypal. Going through a rental company is probably the safest way to buy someone’s DVC points.
BTW…I am not affiliated with Dave’s Vacation Rentals in any way. I just had a great experience selling my DVC points through them. I wasn’t able to use my points this year, I made a little extra money, and a family was able to stay on property at a huge discounted price.
Nina says
I just saw your post and am not sure you’ll see this but was hoping you could answer my question. We are looking to rent DVC points in Dec next year for 2 weeks, yep 2 whole weeks. Is it hard to find people who have that many available points to rent? Thanks!
Lindsay says
Denise,
We do Disneyland regularly and you can do it for super cheap. There are great hotels that are even closer and are a great price. Read reviews on the hotels. Some that are only 2 or 3 stars have the best reviews out of the higher rated ones.
We did Disney World in May 2010 and for 4 adults, 2 children we stayed off site (in a 2 bedroom/ 2bathroom condo that was amazing) for 9 days, 8 nights with 8 day park hopper passes plus we did a water park. For air, hotel, park hopper passes, van rental, gas, parking, food and $500 spending we spent $4000 total for the entire vacation.
karro says
what was the 3 bedroom condon that you stayed at?
Patti says
I would NOT recommend Champions World Resort to anyone!! We attempted to stay 1 night there on April 1st 2011, and checked out within an hour of checking in… WORST nightmare hotel come true… Thankfully we were able to stay at Baymont Inn, which was 100% better!!! (and for the same price range).
Jill says
Oh goodness, I just saw this posted from you and I just made a reservation for 4 nights here a few minutes ago. Can you tell me what was so bad about so I know if I should cancel it now? I did get a great rate of 29.99 a night by clicking their special tab. We buy the annual water park tickets (we’re Florida residents and it’s super cheap) so we try to stay in a cheap decent hotel since we try to go often. I have never stayed in this hotel nor saw it since it’s on the other side of Disney. We usually stay right across from Old Town. Kinda sleazy hotels but super affordable and right next to everything.
Patti says
Upon checking in, we had reservations for 2 a-joining, first floor, poolside rooms… 1 room was ready, the other was not ready at 3:30pm. So I requested to get the key to the room that was and they were to call us when the other was available… When we got into our room… it wasn’t very clean… STUNK… the rooms were NOT a-joining, NOT on first floor, NOT poolside, we actually looked out the window and seen nothing but the back/roof of another building, but we were just there for the night, (as we had reserved a vacation house for the rest of the week but decided to leave a day earlier than we originally planned) so we unloaded the car.. the kids got dressed and went to the pool… the pool was down.. the hot tub was down… we over heard another couple complaining while we were at the desk asking about the pools, that their TV wasn’t working and the hotel management did nothing for either of us… by this time our other room was still not ready… and I had had enough!!! DIRTY DIRTY place and management wouldn’t do anything to attempt to make things better… not to mention that most of the rooms were storage rooms with doors all wide open so every time we walked by them we saw all there junk stored away… I would cancel and stay any where else!!!
Denise says
No offense but this is high in both scenerios. We used http://www.getawaytoday.com you just have to check it and play around with it for several weeks. Play with the dates.
We had 3 kids (one was free) We didn’t have to buy airfare. We went to Disneyland and got 5 days for the price of 3. We stayed at a 4 start hotel 1 mile from Disneyland that had a shuttle but we walked. We purchased a special dinner with princesses for daughters birthday. We spent 1245.00 for hotel admission, hopper passes and then added in about 200.00 or less for food. 1445.00 dollars for everything (not counting gas to drive there). They give you hotel specials, flight specials, food specials, park specials, and we also got 3 backpacks with buzz lightyear on them which we put our lunches in and we got the lanyards and collectable pins for the adults to carry our passes in. I do reccommend you check it out and play with the dates and rooms. We could have done it for a lot less if we had picked a lesser hotel and would’ve been fine, all of the hotel’s were rated and checked out for quality by their staff. They do it for Disney World too I think.