9 Compromises You Can Make to Save Money On Your Disney Vacation

[JJZMgailey]

Once upon a time, we Disney fans knew what we were doing when visiting Walt Disney World on a budget. With seasonal specials and predictable events that we could plan for in advance, a trip to Disney could be achieved at certain times of the year on quite a humble budget. Fast-forward to the present time, when it feels like we are constantly being asked for more money on less return, it can be hard to plan from a financial perspective for those Disney Days ahead.

With the upfront costs fairly well detailed before you leave, the expenses you accumulate while traveling creep up on you. To ease the pain, I wanted to look at a few ways to save money while you are away that might make it a little easier to find your way back to the parks on a smaller budget. Let’s check out nine compromises you can make to reduce spending while traveling.

We've got a great article over at wdwinfo.com sharing nine (fairly simple) compromises you can make during your trip to save money. I'll share a couple here, but you can head over and read the article for the rest!

Skip dessert at the restaurant and get something on the go instead.​

When dining at table-service restaurants, the pricing on the menu is far from the final cost of your experience as a whole. Once you factor in tax and gratuity, it is easy for meals to get out of hand. Repeat this a few times during your stay, and that budget can go right out the window. Make a compromise by not missing out on the food experiences you love but limiting them to a manageable level by skipping dessert. It’s all about your mindset; extend the evening festivities by going for a walk after dinner and find yourself a quick-service item to share instead. You will save on the money and the calories while finishing off your day with a calming stroll.

Don’t bring home gifts for everyone you know.​

We’ve touched on this one before in another article about bringing home souvenirs for friends and family being a thing of the past. I know the pressure can be on when it comes to pleasing the expectations of everyone back home, but the truth is, you don’t owe anyone anything. Spend that money enjoying your time away, not taking home unnecessary gifts to remind others of your hard-earned holiday.

Do you have more to add? Please share so your fellow posters can learn too!

 

[MrsPete]

This is a great article. I'll add a couple more ways to save -- note that I lean towards cheap:

- Consider staying off-site. Yes, I know, the Disney resorts are so wonderful, an experience like no other; but they've become ridiculously expensive. We've chosen a 4-bedroom condo (with kitchen, very small private pool, grill, and resort pool) for about $1000/week. Admittedly, that's for fall, which is cheaper than mid-summer, but that's a huge difference in cost. For that price difference, we can drive the 15 minutes to the parks and pay for parking.
- Ask for free ice water from the counter service places. If you don't like the taste of the Florida water, bring along little tubes of drink flavoring.
- Skip souvenirs; they're next year's yard sale fodder anyway. Focus on experiences instead of shopping.
- Time is money, especially when tickets often cost more than $100/day. Order your meals through the apps so they'll be waiting for you upon arrival.
- Consider eating a child's meal. In the Florida heat, we don't want a lot of food during the day.
- We like to get back to the room, shower, then have something relatively substantial. The cheapest option is to order pizza, but ordering subs from Publix is also a low-priced meal. If we have a kitchen, we like to bring homemade freezer meals that we can cook in a slow cooker. We also like to make charcuterie boards.
- Skip dessert + the expensive cupcake you would've bought. Instead, bring a pan of really good homemade brownies and homemade fudge sauce. Pick up a tub of ice cream at a local grocery store. (We don't eat ice cream on a regular basis, but somehow we always want it on vacation.)
- If you have a toddler, you know how easy it is to lose your stroller. Instead of buying a $$$ balloon from the Disney vendors, tie a grocery store mylar balloon to your stroller. Not only will yours be different, it'll cost about $15 less.
- If you want to do a character meal (we love them!), opt for one at one of the Disney resorts. This means you can do it on a non-park day. No point in paying $$$ for a ticket, then spending so much time sitting in a restaurant.

 

[quinncallahan]

Love the character meal on non-park day point!

 

[leebee]

Our way of "Doing Disney" has changed over the years. We visit at least once a year, and no longer travel with children, so Disney is becoming more of a relaxing vacation and less of a do-or-die trip. One thing I've been doing for shorter trips to save some money is getting 2 day park-hoppers instead of 3 or 4 day tickets. We know what we want to do, what we like to ride in each park, and then hop to another park for the evening. I don't think I'd like this if I was marathoning through the parks, having to do everything every trip, but it works for us and gives us a day or two off to enjoy the resort or check out the local area.

We have a 2 hour drive from our home to the airport, meaning leaving home 4 hours before flight time, so we tend to take afternoon flights that have an early-evening arrival. If we are staying onsite, we find an offsite hotel for that first night and check into our Disney resort the next morning. We have rewards points with Hilton, Marriott, and Wyndham so I can usually find a "free" room for that first night, which trims the budget a bit. We'll arrive at MCO, get our rental car, do some grocery shopping (we do breakfast in the room when at Disney), have dinner at a real (ie, cheaper than Disney) restaurant, and get a good night's sleep. The next morning we head for our Disney resort, where we can store our bags and groceries, and head for the parks until we know our room is ready.

I'll second staying off-site. We have a 4 bedroom, 4 bath pool home that is a 10 minute drive to Animal Kingdom, for $1600 for 7 nights. Travel party is DH and me, DD/SIL/7yo, and my sis and BIL. Each couple and the kid has their own bedroom and bathroom, full kitchen, dining area, play room, living room, laundry, and a pool! It's about $535 per couple for the week. Three rooms at AllStars would be $2735. My sister is bringing her minivan so we'd only pay $100 for 4 days' parking at the parks. BIG savings staying offsite. (We are choosing to rent an SUV for convenience, but we'll take the minvan- with all of us in it- to the parks each day).

Plan on sharing lunches at the quick service locations in the parks. Yes, the portions really are large! Of course this depends on the folks in your party, but unless you have teen boys who are eating machines, you can probably share lunches- and then get a snack mid-afternoon (which you're gonna get anyhow, you know it!). Also at table service restaurants, I often get an appetizer and a side instead of a full meal. I don't have a huge appetite, so this saves some money and I don't waste food.