This is part 2 of how to save money while taking a trip to Disney World. Last week I wrote about how to save money for a Disney vacation in part 1.
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Tickets
So many people wait to take their children to Disney World until they are older. If you are only able to visit once then waiting until they can remember the visit may be important to you. However, did you know that children under 3 are free to get into the parks? Yes, there are still some free things at Disney World. We took S five times before she turned 3 and even timed our one trip when she was 2 weeks from her third birthday.
Taking a longer trip to Disney World is more cost effective than a shorter trip. The more days of admission you purchase the cheaper each day is.
We have taken advantage of the military promotional tickets several times which is a huge savings! Side note: if you purchase a military promotional ticket, you can add your tickets to your magic bands and schedule fastpass+ but you will need to activate the ticket at a ticket booth prior to entering the park.
Hotel
We always stay on Disney – it makes it easy to get from hotel to park by using the free buses that run constantly, we get extra magic hours, we get our purchases from the parks delivered to our hotel (which means we don’t have to lug them around all day) and we are completely immersed in the Disney experience. We are hardly in our room, therefore we also usually book a value hotel. Our favorite is the Pop Century. With that being said we only visit Disney World during slower times of the year. The volume of visitors affects the cost of the hotel. We always book with a room discount, so that the cost of our room is even cheaper. We also minimize the number of Fridays and Saturdays we book because those nights cost more.
I know a lot of people love the free dining promo that Disney runs usually in the fall; sorry but I do not! In order to qualify for free dining you have to pay full price on your hotel room. The dining plans do not fit how my family eats (I will share more with how we save money on food below).
Transportation
We save money by driving to Disney World. This is much cheaper for us than flying. Once we arrive at Disney World, we park our car (Disney is now chargering to park your car at their resorts) and use Disney’s free buses or monorail that magically whisk us from hotel to park, from park to park and from park to hotel. The buses are constantly running and we usually do not have to wait long, however at night after the evening entertainment or the park has closed the line for the buses can get long.
Food
I mentioned previously that the way we eat at Disney World is not conducive to having the dining plan. We usually bring Starbucks Frappuccinos and drink them in the morning. About mid morning, we may get a pastry or cream cheese pretzel. I never buy S a meal at Disney World (unless we are going to split it), she always shares with us. And truthfully my husband and I have split counter-service meals. We do this for a couple reasons, usually, we’re not overly hungry especially in the heat of Florida, the portion sizes are generous and we like to sample a lot of different foods. For example at Epcot, we may get an order of fish and chips in England and then we go to France to share a pastry or ice cream. We may hit Japan for some teriyaki chicken and stop for Schoolbread in Norway.
Instead of buying bottled water, we bring a refillable bottle and ask for ice water for free at any counter service location. You do not even need to stand in line, just ask at the food pickup window for a glass or two of water.
Souvenirs
Who doesn’t want to pick up some souvenirs to remember their trip? Well make sure to check the bottom of your counter service receipts. You may find coupons for purchasing made in certain shops prior to a certain time of day. On our last trip, I got 20% coupons on almost all of my counter service receipts. This is a great way to save money at Disney World.
Photos
I love the PhotoPass photographers around Disney World. They allow the entire family to be in the vacation photos. But did you know they will also take photos with your camera if you ask? Yep, so I do not pay for the Memory Maker (PhotoPass) photos, but I still get photos with the whole family!
I hope some of these tips help you in planning a trip to Disney World and saving money while doing it! Let me know if you have any questions or if you have any trips planned to Disney World.
As always, your photos are beautiful and all your great tips are spot on for the way I like to do Disney . I have one more tip to add…if you do fly and you stay at a Disney Resort your transportation to and from the airport is free on the Magical Express:) book it when you book your hotel.
You are right, great tip!
Great tips! It sounds like you had a wonderful trip.
Thank you Trish!
Love this list! Im planning a trip in the spring will def be referring back to this awesome list. thanks for sharking 🙂
Thank you Trish! I know that you will have a wonderful trip in the Spring.
Love and agree with all of this! We don’t use the dinning plan either, and I honestly thought we were the only ones! haha Thank you for sharing your tips!
Unless I am wrong, I believe another way to save money on tickets is to buy them as early as possible. If you know you will be going in 3 years buy them now before prices go up, I believe they do not ever expire… Don’t count this as fact but I believe I heard this from a Disney Podcast.
You can purchase non-expiration tickets it does cost more but if you go often and for short trip this can definitely save money.
My family loves Disney. I too, don’t like the dining plan. I love to snack around instead of big meals. We have also saved money with the never expire tickets. You do have to pay more to make them never expire, however it still saves you money if you go to Disney often.
Yes, Julie that is so true about the never expire tickets especially if you like to take short trips to the World.
First of all, S looks SO cute in her little Anna costume! 🙂 And secondly, I’m SO glad I’ve finally found a kindred spirit on the Disney dining plan. So many people rave about it, but (as you mention) it doesn’t fit into how we eat. (And I don’t want to pay full price on my room!!) We like to split things, bring our own food, and get snacks as well. Great tips, Paris–pinning this! 🙂
Thank you Natalie! I think we could definitely be best friends 🙂
Great tips! I took advantage of the free admission for under 3 last year and love the military discount tickets. They also sometimes run military specials for hotel rates too if you call them to book over the phone.
Thank you Kristina for the tip!
I read your part 1 and part 2, and these are awesome ideas. I’ve done a few of them, but I’m going to try doing a few more.
Thank you Stephanie! I hope your next trip to Disney is awesome!
I love saving money going to Disney> We are due for another trip to the world in 2 more years> I want to wait for my littlest to turn 3, so he can enjoy it. Thanks for sharing over at the Snickerdoodle Sunday.
Thank you Felicia! I know you will enjoy your trip with your little ones.
This is a great post today. Loved hearing your thoughts about the dining plan.
Thank you Leigh! I know a lot of people like it, it’s just not for us.
Fantastic tips! Thanks for joining us at the #HomeMattersParty! We hope to see you again next week 🙂
Thank you Kristen!
I didn’t have my first Disney trip until I was hrmmm… 31? In fairness, I did grow up in Australia! hehehe. But these tips are just fantastic for a young family.
Thank you Jess!
We are planning a trip for next year…thanks for the tips!
You are going to have so much fun at Disney World!
Great and practical ideas! I went with my family last year for the first time–we were a group of 12, so it was better for us to just rent one house off Disney property and stay together rather than deal with a bunch of hotel rooms, but I’d love to stay on Disney property someday!
I bet that was a wonderful trip! The resorts on property are great – I hope you get to stay in one of them one day!
Planning ahead and doing your research definitely helps! Your tips are great. I live 2 hours from Orlando, so that makes the trip much less expensive! It doesn’t cost much to get there and we don’t have to get a hotel unless we want to. Plus they occasionally offer Florida resident tickets.
Thanks for joining us for Hump Day Happenings!
Thank you Jenna! I wish that I lived within Florida or really close to WDW 🙂