How to Save at Disney (75 Tips)
Fireworks at Disney don’t cost you any money
Disney World is awesome. Disney World is expensive. The goal for a lot of families is to enjoy as much of the park as possible without bringing themselves to utter financial ruin. So if you’re wondering how to save at Disney World, I got an enormous list of tips for you. From how to save money on booking Disney resorts, to saving money on Disney gift cards, to a weird tip about nacho toppings, it’s all here. Be warned though, saving money at Disney usually means sacrificing comfort and convenience, so you have to weigh each tip for its potential value to you.
Jump to Section for Saving at Disney:
Lodging
When trying to save at Disney, it begins long before your trip. For most people the most expensive part of a trip to Disney will be the lodging, so paying special attention to saving money on hotels will be a huge percentage of saving at Disney World.
Stay Onsite at a Disney Resort
Basic Caribbean Beach Room, Moderate Resort
I’m going to list staying onsite and staying offsite as options, and you’ll have to weigh the savings. Disney hotels are relatively expensive, but they do have some cost savings built into them. If you are traveling by air, you can navigate all of Disney without the use of a car using the various transportation systems. This would save you money at Disney significantly if you were thinking about renting a car.
Conversely, if you are driving, Disney hotels offer free parking at the hotel and free parking at the parks for hotel guests. Many offsite hotels charge for parking, and then you would have to pay again at the parks if you drove.
Next, it’s not technically a financial issue, but staying offsite can rob you of extra hours in the park beforehand or after close, as well as lengthening travel time. Therefore, your value for a park ticket goes down.
Speaking of tickets, Disney is known to run promotions that include a discount on tickets and/or dining for guests staying on property.
Stay Offsite
To be fair, it may also be to your financial advantage to stay offsite. There are many options for hotels that are far cheaper than most Disney resorts. You may also consider staying in a rented condo through Airbnb or VRBO, where you can get an entire condo or house for the same price as a Disney hotel. This is especially helpful if you are traveling with multiple families with kids. For some, the best way to save at Disney is to not stay at Disney.
Another cost benefit to staying offsite is if you hotel rewards to use (or gain) such as Marriott, IHG, or Hyatt points. If you are wrestling with whether to stay onsite or offsite, check out my other article, where I enumerate several more reasons both for staying onsite and offsite at Disney.
Disney Value Resort
Amazing theming at Art of Animation, Second Dad to the Right for scale
Well, if you’ve decided to stay onsite, and your goal beyond all else is to save money (this might not be the destination for you), then you should stay at Disney value resort. Disney has three tiers (and some other stuff) when it comes to hotels: value, moderate, and deluxe. The value resorts are the cheapest and frequently dip into the low $100s for a night. There are many differences between the resorts including room size, number of sinks, amenities, awesomeness of the pool, dining options, view options, transportation options, proximity to the parks, external vs. internal entry, and sense of self-image (if that’s important to you). The more expensive resorts also often have other perks tied to dining and tickets. You’ll have to weigh your options and decide if staying at an All-Star value resort is worth missing out on free tennis lessons from Mickey or whatever you get when you stay at Grand Floridian (note: I cannot confirm this is a perk, as I have never stayed there. But I have taken a nap in the lobby).
Rent DVC Points
Another option for staying onsite is renting DVC points. DVC stands for Disney Vacation Club and is Disney’s timeshare opportunity. Basically, instead of owning a timeshare at a specific property, like many timeshares, DVC owners get a certain number of points each year to put towards vacation rentals (there is some sense that you have a home resort with cheaper options). The DVC resort options include much larger rooms than a typical resort. Therefore, if you have a large party, renting DVC points for a one-bedroom or two-bedroom villa will usually be cheaper than getting a suite at a Disney resort, depending on how prestigious the accommodations. DVC properties share all the park perks, amenities, and transportation options of Deluxe resorts, so that’s another benefit.
There are some differences between a DVC property and a regular Disney hotel room. First, a DVC property will at least have a kitchenette, with a fridge and microwave. The larger ones will have a full kitchen. This will allow you to save at Disney because you can store and prepare your own food much better and avoid eating out. However, the downside to a DVC is that there is no daily housekeeping (called mousekeeping at Disney, adorable). You will have trash and towel service upon request.
Time of Year
One of the deciding factors if you are trying to save at Disney is the time of year. Holidays, like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years, will see the largest crowds and therefore the highest prices. Weeks where a large portion of American schools have breaks will also be crowded and expensive. These include Fall Break (first/second week of October), Winter Break (President’s Day Weekend in February), Spring Break (weeks in late March and early April), and breaks associated with the holidays listed above. Summer is usually as slower time if it isn’t Memorial Day or the Fourth of July.
Therefore, the best times to go so you can save at Disney are summer, August and September after school starts, January (when it’s not a holiday), and week 2 and 3 of May. Also, any random weeks that fall between the high times (like, say, the first week of December) are usually cheaper as well.
I’ll mention this in my airline portion, but airline costs can be higher in the summer due to other vacation factors in Orlando and surrounding beaches. Also, the summer is really hot. Remember that.
July is hot
Room View
Picking a specific room view costs more at Disney (or most hotels). Remember that, unless you are staying at Deluxe or DVC resort, you won’t have a balcony. Not to mention, a lot of the not preferred views are also beautiful. If you want to save money, it is unnecessary to worry about the view, especially if you plan to spend a majority of your day not in the room.
Not really a bad view in the Coronado Springs Gran Destino Tower
Camping/RV Camping
Another slightly lesser-known accommodation is to stay at the Fort Wilderness campgrounds. You can stay in a tent or an RV for less than a hundred dollars a night. Then you can use the various Fort Wilderness resort amenities. This is a great option if you have access to an RV, but renting one will add significantly to your cost. Staying in a tent versus staying at a cheap, not Disney, hotel for the same price seems extreme except that you get the onsite perks.
Resort Events
If you do stay onsite, each resort has free events such as movies, games at the pool, and other activities. You can have fun there without spending a dime at the parks.
A terrible photo of my girls enjoying Yehaa Bob, and amazing free act at Port Orleans Riverside
Use the Laundry
In my opinion, using the laundry room is one the least magical experiences at Disney. At the resorts I’ve stayed at, it’s an ugly, undecorated, utilitarian room (that’s a lot of u’s). And it’s usually hot and humid from all the dryers running. On top of that, several of the machines will be broken; several more will have trouble reading your card, and the one you end up using won’t dry your clothes all the way the first time. Finally, you’ll have to pay a good bit of money, especially if you didn’t bring your own detergent (just pack a couple Tide pods).
That being said, if you know all of this going into it, laundry can help you save at Disney. First of all, you can save on airline luggage costs by packing less. Second, you won’t be tempted to buy as many souvenirs if you’re running out of clothes.
Not finance related, but we like to do laundry near the end of the trip, so that we’re not so miserable when we get home.
Avoid Weekends
Weekend air travel, hotel costs, park ticket costs, and Genie+ costs are all typically more expensive than the weekdays (simple capitalism). If you’re planning a weeklong trip, try going Wednesday to Wednesday instead of two weekends. Even if you’re using an agent, you can do your own research by playing around with the dates to see what the cheapest options are. Sometimes, including a weekend day at all can make the cost per night go up and limit availability. Another option, if you know a weekend is involved, is to stay in cheaper accommodations on the weekend and then upgrade during the week.
Bring Your Own Alcohol
If you’re going to drink at Disney, consider that bringing and drinking your own alcohol will save you money, like $10-15 a drink. That’s an individual lightning lane per drink. Please just make sure to drink it at your hotel—not on the road or after you try to sneak it into the park. And be safe and smart.
Air Travel
If you live far from Disney World, saving money on air travel is an enormous factor in saving at Disney. Airlines are fickle and hard to predict, especially post-covid, but here’s the best ideas I can give you.
Time of Year-Cheapest January, September, October
The cheapest time to fly into MCO (Orlando’s airport) is in January, September, and October. Orlando prices fluctuate based on Disney as well as other tourist traffic. Therefore, holidays, school breaks, and summer will be the highest time (even though summer is typically a little lower for Disney). Weekdays and red-eyes are also cheaper. I’ve also heard that Tuesday is the best day to buy a ticket (not fly on a Tuesday, but actually purchase a ticket on a Tuesday for any day of the week). I can’t verify or explain that tip, though.
Second Baby to the Right at the MCO airport
Luggage
Most airlines stick you with tons of extra costs because of checked luggage. This makes a little bit of sense. More luggage requires more jet fuel and more work for airline employees (and more liability when they forget your bags). Therefore, try to cram everything into your carry-ons. Pack less than you need, and use the laundry at Disney. Finally, load up your kids with the biggest bags possible and then carry them for them.
Park Tickets
Multiple Day Tickets
Booking fewer but longer trips to Disney is a way to save because each successive day you book costs less and less. Several years ago, we booked 8-day tickets, and the final couple of days were less than $50 each.
Park Hopper Tickets
Anybody trying to save at Disney should avoid purchasing a park hopper ticket. The price is substantially higher. I can see reasons to want a park hopper on certain days, especially if you’re starting at Animal Kingdom (which closes earlier, typically), but you have to purchase all of your tickets park hopper or all not. It’s possible to book, say, a 3-day regular ticket and one park hopper in a separate transaction. However, you will not be able to save on the multiple day ticket deal for the park hopper.
Don’t Go the First or Last Day of Your Trip
These are called shoulder days. Don’t go to a park on the days that you are traveling. You will have less time and be fatigued from travel. You won’t enjoy it as much, so it’s not worth the cost. Of course, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t cram a last minute park visit in before driving 8 hours back to Atlanta.
Don’t Go to Events or A Park that has an Event That Day
Ticketed events cost about as much as a regular day in the park, but for less hours in the park, so they aren’t really cost effective. Also, don’t go to a park during the day that has an event later. You’ll have to leave the park early and won’t get the full value of your ticket.
However, there are several good reasons to buy event tickets. We often buy them in the summertime instead of regular tickets because it’s not as hot at night. You might also want to go if you’re really into the specific holiday, like Christmas or Halloween. Finally, the ride lines are typically shorter and there are special shows and free snacks, so it might be worth that.
Dining
Dining is another expensive facet at Disney World. Therefore, finding ways to cut costs for dining will help you save money at Disney.
Grocery Delivery
One option to cutting costs is to order groceries to your hotel through Instacart or Amazon Fresh (https://amzn.to/3MiTp0C). Ordering groceries will give you meals to eat in your hotel room and small meals and snacks to take into the park. This could save you $100 or more a day.
Adults Split Meals
Some meals at Disney are huge, and if you’re in a park or don’t have a mini fridge, bringing home leftovers is not an option. You can avoid wasting food and money by splitting meals. Of course, that requires a willing partner with the same palette as you.
A lot of food in Raglan’s Braised Be Beef, especially if you’re getting the bread pudding for dessert. And you should.
Order Kids Menu for Adults
Another option for saving money at Disney Restaurants is to order kids menu items for adults. This probably won’t work at a table service restaurant, but quick service restaurants will never ask you to demonstrate the number of kids in your party. This is a good option if you’re not that hungry.
Have Kids Split Adult Meals
If you’ve got some good eaters in your crew (as in, they eat good food, but not a lot of it), consider getting an adult meal and having them split it. The food is usually better, and the portion will outsize the larger price.
Dining Plan
The Dining Plan is back! The Dining Plan is an option for guests to pay a flat fee for a certain number of either quick service meals or quick service and table service meals. If you want to eat at some of the more expensive restaurants but are dreading the price, this might be for you.
Before the pandemic (and the stopping of dining plans), occasionally Disney would offer dining plans included for free in your package to incentivize guests to go during lower traffic times. At the time of writing this, that hasn’t come back, but be ready.
Second Dad to the Right Tip about Tipping (Tipping Tip?): Tipping is not covered in the Dining Plan, so be ready. If you get your money’s worth and rack up $400 worth of free food at California Grill, you will still need to pay $72 in tip. Don’t be stingy. I know this whole article is about how to be stingy, but don’t sacrifice treating Cast Members with respect for your bottom line. Second Dad to the Right does not endorse skipping the tip.
Quick Service Entrée Only
A little-known trick at Quick Service restaurants is this: if a side is included in the meal, and you don’t want that side, you can ask for an entrée only price and save some money.
Bring Your Own Food
All this talk about how to save in restaurants, but you already ordered groceries like I told you to do. Take them into the park. We keep a cooler bag clipped to the stroller. Eat them for breakfast and lunch, and then you’ll have more money to eat at restaurants you want to go to instead of eating at meh restaurants because you’re too hungry to keep walking.
Water
Drink tap water. I know, Florida tap water has traces of sulfur in it, making it taste like rotten eggs, but squeeze that lemon, and drink in the savings. Alternatively, order a case of bottled water with your groceries I told you to order, and bring those into the park. A 40 pack of Sam’s Club water is the same $4 as one bottle of water at Disney. Reminder, you’re in Florida, in the sun all day. You’re going to need a lot of water anyway to avoid being miserable.
Pecos Bill Toppings and Gaston’s Tavern Cinnamon Roll
Here’s two ridiculous ideas if you want to be the king of cheap calories at Magic Kingdom. You could order nachos at Pecos, then completely cover them with toppings until you have 3000 calories worth of food for the whole family. Another calorically rich option is to go to Gaston’s Tavern split a relatively inexpensive (6.79) “cinnamon roll,” in quotations because it’s really a cinnamon loaf of bread the size of your head. This is sheer desperation for saving at Disney, but it might be worth doing just to brag to your parsimonious friends.
Refillable Mug
If you’re staying at one of the resorts and plan to spend a lot of time at that resort, one way to save at Disney is to get a refillable mug. You can drink as many soft drinks, and as much lemonade, Powerade, Vitamin water, coffee, and tea as you want for free. Again, these only work at the resorts, so if you’re at the parks all day, this won’t be helpful.
Second Dad to the Right Tip: Be wary of using the cup for coffee. Without a dishwasher, it is almost impossible to get the smell out. It will taint all your other drinks. Unless you’re only using it for coffee, just use the coffee cups in your room for coffee.
Popcorn Bucket
This is like a refillable mug but for the park. You buy a cool popcorn bucket, then you can get refills of popcorn for $2.00. That’s a good deal if you eat a lot of popcorn, and you can use it trip after trip (and even on Disney cruises). Just be aware of how much sodium popcorn has so that you don’t get dehydrated or a wicked stomachache (Second Dad to the Right casts quick side-eye to popcorn-loving daughter).
Disney Springs Food
Disney Springs is a great place to spend money, but since we’re trying to save at Disney, here are a few eats that are amazing but cost less than the well-known table service restaurants at Disney Springs.
Blaze is one of those burrito bar pizza places where you get to choose your own crust, cheese, sauce, and toppings. It’s nothing amazing. If you have Your Pie where you live, it’s basically the same. However, my kids think it’s amazing, and everyone can eat for under $10 a person. Therefore, I wanted you to know about it.
The Polite Pig is a barbecue quick service. All the food there is amazing, and it has extremely large portions. Therefore, you can split a delicious quick service meal and make it out of there for less than $15 a person. The Polite Pig also has great beer and is particularly known for their bourbon bar….but we’re saving money at Disney, so we’ll stay away from that (at least in this article).
My final choice for delicious and frugal at Disney Springs is Morimoto Asia Street Food. Located just outside the much more expensive (but also amazing) Morimoto Asia restaurant, you can get decent portions of Asian food for $10-$15 a person. This is my wife’s favorite stop in Disney Springs. She loves the ramen noodles. I love the ribs. This one is a great one to pick up just walking around.
Character Meals
If you are trying to save at Disney, don’t go to character meals. You’ll pay fancy food prices for food that is not that fancy, but that’s between you and your adorable little princesses who will melt if they meet Cinderella. However, you can wait in line to see characters at the parks, too, if that is important to your kids.
Food was good, but people go to Cinderella’s Royal Table for the characters.
Eat off Disney Property/September Orlando Dining Month
Orlando is a big city. There are lots of great restaurants that don’t cost Disney prices. Head to Winter Garden or somewhere near Disney but not in it. From late August to early October, Orlando hosts Magical Dining Month, where around 100 restaurants offer prix fixe, 3 course meals for around $35 a person (varies per restaurant). If you happen to be at Disney World then (which is a great time if you’re trying to save money), then check out those options.
Make Your Own Coffee
This is good advice if you want to save at Disney or save at home. Make your own coffee. Most rooms have a coffee make or at least a Keurig. It’s free. Or you can bring your own stuff (done it before). Buying coffee costs more money, not a lot, but it can nickel and dime you. Also, the lines for okay coffee are insane (Starbucks), and I personally care nothing for Joffrey’s. But if you’re looking for good coffee, get the Kona Press Pot at Kona Café (digression, but I couldn’t help myself). Or, you could really save time and money by taking a caffeine pill, which is what my wife does to avoid a headache from lack of coffee while at Disney.
Door Dash/Uber Eats
I get it. You want restaurant food while on vacation-not groceries, not my weird Pecos Bill idea. Then, order Door Dash or Uber Eats to your hotel. Make your kid or spouse get it from the lobby and deliver it to you. Then, you can pretend it’s room service.
Saving In the Disney Parks
You’ve already put down a small fortune on the hotel and the park tickets, but there’s plenty more opportunities to spend tons of money once you get inside the Disney World parks. So here’s a few ideas to save at Disney while you’re in the park.
Kids Under 3 or Under 10
The first tip for saving at Disney inside the parks is to know how much your kids cost. Kids under 3 are free. Bring as many toddlers as you like. They are free. Also, kids under 10 get tickets at a discount. The discount is not usually substantial, but if you have several park days, you may end up saving upwards to $100. That’s the tip. You can save money have by having lots of kids under 10. Wait, that doesn’t sound right. Let’s try again. If you have kids under 10 already, you can save a little money on them.
Rest Days
You can also save at Disney by not going to the parks every day. It might seem like a great idea to go to Disney for a week and go to the parks every day from open to close, but this will absolutely wear you out. Schedule in some time to rest. Enjoy the pool at your resort. Wander around Disney Springs (without buying anything). Take the buses to other resorts and look around. Do the free activities at your resort. If you opted into Park Hopper Plus tickets, this is the best time to use the free water park, mini golf, or ESPN sports admission. You could also head over to Fort Wilderness for some less expensive (than the parks) recreation like archery or horseback riding.
Regardless of the financial impact, you really need a rest day in the middle of trip to let your tired feet heal, reflect on all the fun you’ve had, and see all the amazing things Disney has to offer outside the parks.
Second Family to the Right needs a rest day
Genie+
Genie+ is a great option if you want to get on and off lower tier rides quickly and enjoy as much of the park as possible. However, if you’ve got a big crew, this could end up adding more than $100 to your park admission. It might be more beneficial to watch the line speeds and choose quick rides. Also, a lot of the rides have amazing experiences inside the queue. For instance, you really need to see the full queue at least once in Flight of Passage, Peter Pan, Seven Dwarves Mine Train, Frozen, Smugglers Run, and even Ariel’s Journey Under the Sea.
Individual Lightning Lanes
If your goal is to ride all of the latest rides at Disney and not spend the entire day in lines for things like Guardians of Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Tron, Rise of the Resistance, or Flight of Passage, then getting Individual Lightning Lanes (ILL) might be a good option. However, if your goal is to save money at Disney World, then you should resist this temptation. These will end up costing the same as Genie+ for each ride. It’s not a cost effective way to enjoy Disney World.
Virtual Queue
The Virtual Queue is a lottery option to get a seat on the newest rides at Disney World. Once you have a ticket and a park selection, at 7AM (EXACTLY) you can try to get a spot on the newest rides. Then you can try again if you’re in the park at 1PM, and sometimes a final time late in the afternoon. This is like getting a lightning lane for free. You may have to wait in a longer line than a lightning lane, but again, it’s free. Definitely shoot for these. In fact, get everyone in your party (and your travel agent) to try to get these each time they are available. It’s a great way to save money at Disney and still get to ride the best rides.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Worth fighting for the virtual queue, not worth paying for the picture…
Skip Memory Maker
Memory Maker is an in-app opportunity to get pictures of your family at various vantages at Disney World. There are Memory Maker photographers at many scenic places like Main Street in Magic Kingdom and in front of the Tree of Life at Animal Kingdom. They are also available at most character interactions, and the in-ride photos are also included in Memory Maker. Sometimes, photographers add “magic shots” that include special digital elements like Tinker Bell into your picture. However, they cost a lot of money, and cast members are more than willing to snap shots with your camera or phone. Therefore, you can still get great shots without having to pay for it.
Recently, Disney has offered to give the ride shots away for free to anyone who has Genie+, so if you decided to splurge on it for that particular day, you can get them for free. That being said, you can take your own pictures with your phone or camera at any ride that has monitors showing the ride photos. Just make sure you’re quick about it because they’ll disappear when other guests finish their rides.
Paying
How you pay for your resort, tickets, and in-park purchases can also save you money. Here a few payment options that may help you save at Disney by giving you discounts, cash back, and other perks.
Credit Cards
Lots of credit cards offer bonuses for travel, which include many Disney purchases. One idea is to find a good card, cash in on the sign-in bonus and reap the benefits of the travel purchase. If you’re the type of person that runs up credit card debt and can’t pay it off before it starts charging interest, this is definitely not for you. You will not save money. Here are some of the best cards to help you get to Disney. However, it’s hard to use points directly at Disney unless you use the Disney Visa.
Chase Sapphire Preferred
This is the preeminent, all-around travel card. It usually has a good sign up bonus that offers you Chase Ultimate Rewards Points. These points are extremely versatile and can be transferred to a wide array of hotels and airlines. You can also use their travel portal to gain more points or use them (but not usually as economical as transferring them).
The CSP also has great travel protections including travel insurance, delayed baggage insurance, lost/damaged baggage insurance, car rental insurance, roadside support, and no foreign transaction fees! So, it’s a great card to use for your travel at any point.
Disney Premier Chase Visa
One of the best cards you can get to use for a Disney World trip is the Disney Chase Visa. Here are a few of the perks.
-You can earn a $300 statement credit after spending $1000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. In other words, if you book your resort and tickets with the Disney Chase Visa, you automatically get $300 back on your statement. That’s awesome. When I opened my card, I got my $300 back within two weeks of using it after booking a cruise with it (but I’m not promising that).
-You can get 0% interest for 6 months on select Disney vacation packages from the date of purchase. For me this has included cruise purchases and hotel purchases (without park tickets included). This means you can finance your trip for six months with no interest. If you’re diligent about paying it off, you won’t pay a cent of interest. This is a great option if savings account rates are high because you can put the money you’ll use to pay off in a savings account, earning interest, and use that and the interest to pay off the trip, long after you pay for it.
You can earn 2% in Disney Rewards Dollars on card purchases at gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants, and most Disney locations, and 1% in Disney Rewards Dollars on all other card purchases. There are no limits to the number of Disney Rewards Dollars you can earn. Use the Disney Card before your trip for things it’s beneficial for, and you’ll have a decent size rewards “gift” card to use once you get to Disney World. On my last trip, I had about $200 in rewards to use for restaurants and other things. You can also use the card to pay off hotel charges if you go to guest services before you check out.
You can save 10% if you spend over $50 at most Disney gift shops and at shopdisney.com. If you’re planning on buying souvenirs at Disney to commemorate your trip, do it all once to hit that $50 (a great place is the enormous World of Disney store at Disney Springs). You can also use this discount at most Disney restaurants. If you were going to spend the money anyways, this 10% can really rack up.
Another random perk is that your Disney Chase Visa will sometimes give you deep discounts at resorts. I called to upgrade a room recently, and I got 25% off the new room because I used the card. It wasn’t advertised, so I was excited.
However, a word of caution about the rewards portion. You can only use the rewards at Disney or online with Disney. Therefore, if you’re not planning on visiting Disney frequently, you may want to only use it to benefit your trip, then switch to other cards to make purchases that don’t give you a deep discount with the Disney card. Otherwise, you might end up with lots of rewards you won’t get the chance to use.
Finally, the rewards card is a separate card from the credit card. You can have one mailed to you after you get rewards, or you can get one at guest services in one of the parks. You can’t use the rewards if you don’t have the card, but once you get it, you can reload it from the app. If this sounds good to you, use this link to sign up.
Chase Business Ink Cash (Business Card)
If you own a small business (even if its a blog that hasn’t made a lot of money), you can apply for the Chase Ink cards. The Ink Cash has a good sign up bonus usually that you can get cash back on. If you also have the Sapphire card, you can convert the cash into Ultimate Rewards and use for travel, which is usually a better deal than just the cash if you use it right.
Another feature that’s useful for saving money is that you get 5% back at office supply stores. Sounds unimpressive until you remember that they sell gift cards at office supply stores. I bought $1000 of gift cards at Office Max and received 5000 points. This is as good a deal as Sam’s and Target if you only get the cash back, but once converted to Ultimate Rewards it’s even better. It also allowed me to pay off my most recent trip and work towards the sign up bonus (which is usually higher for business cards).
Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus
If the main reason you want a good credit card for Disney is for travel, then the Southwest card is the best. You get points towards flights, as well as other perks involving travel. If you reach 135k points in a year, you get a free companion pass that allows you to bring someone free on every. single. flight. It’s good for the rest of the year, plus all of the next year. That’s what makes the Southwest rewards program better than the other airlines. The sign up bonus will typically get you a big jump towards your goal right out of the gate.
Gift Card Discounts
Another way to save a significant percentage of your trip is buy gift cards to pay off the trip. You can go to places like Sam’s Club, Target with the Target Red Card to get around 5% off the gift cards, then use them to pay off a trip. My personal favorite way is to get them at Kroger grocery stores (which we have in abundance in GA). Rather than apercentage off, I can get $1 off per gallon on several tanks of gas (up 30 gallons per 1000 points). If I buy a $500 gift card, sometimes they have 4x bonuses, which will give me up to $60 off gas for 2000 points. That’s 11% savings, which goes a long way since we usually drive from Georgia.
Budget With Gift Cards
Budgeting with gift cards is another way to save a little money at Disney World. If you can only spend a certain amount, you won’t overspend. Plus, it will allow you to budget ahead of time. This is a great way especially if you give your kids a souvenir allowance.
Landry’s Gift Card
Landry’s owns several of the restaurants in Disney World: T-Rex, Rainforest Café (both of them), and Yak and Yeti’s in Animal Kingdom. You can buy Landry’s gift cards at a discount at Costco or you can join their rewards program. Then you can use the discounted gift cards at the aforementioned restaurants and save a little. If you’re part of their rewards program, you also get points towards more gift cards. Landry’s also has many restaurants outside of Disney World and possibly in your hometown, which might help you save money after you leave.
Miscellaneous Saving at Disney
This last section is made up of odds and ends for saving at Disney that can help you get the full Disney experience at a discount.
Buy Souvenirs on Etsy or Amazon
If you know that you are going to want souvenirs, or more likely, you know that your kids are going to beg for stuff, buy it online from Amazon or Etsy before your trip. You can buy autograph books, trading pins, custom Mickey ears, bubble wands, t-shirts, and other things to give you the full experience without paying the high prices. And a lot of the stuff you can find is more unique than what you’ll find in Disney World. Here’s a link to an idea list I put together on Amazon. You can see if there’s anything that looks worth buying. It’s an affiliate link, so I may earn a little for showing you the awesomeness.
Bring Your Own Supplies or Order It
On top of souvenirs, try to bring all the supplies you might need in the park: sunscreen, water, portable chargers, etc. If you forget something, it might be cheaper to order it or go buy it at a grocery store than buying it in the park.
Free Items- Celebration Pins, Bic Pens
There are also lots of free items to be had at Disney that I count as souvenirs. If you’re celebrating anything like a birthday, first visit, wedding, or honeymoon, they’ll give you a free pin for that at Guest Services. While you’re wearing it, someone might do something nice for you as well, like a free dessert or a congratulations. You’re not guaranteed anything, so don’t go looking for it.
I did not write this caption on this button. I swear.
My personal favorite free item are the Disney World Bic Pens they have at all the restaurants. I use Bic pens for everything because they don’t stop writing. Also, I’m left-handed, and they don’t smear when I write. So having Bic Pens that remind me of my vacation is a huge plus. I go up to the bar and ask for a few, and they’re always willing to pass them out. They have tons.
Not sure why Disney Cruise Line puts more effort into their pens than the Resort
Discount Outlets
Another great place to get Disney merchandise without paying the Disney price is to go to a Disney character outlet store. There are many, many shops claiming to carry Disney outlet quality stuff that are really just beach gift shops. The real Disney Outlets, run by Disney, are at two different outlet malls in the Orlando area—one near Disney and one closer to Universal. Both of them will have a limited selection of items, but will have deep discounts on clothing and accessories. So if you are looking for a good Disney shirt, hat, sweatshirt, or Lounge Fly Backpack and want to save a ton of money, head over here.
Bring Your Own Stroller
Finally, if you have little ones (I’ll argue all the way to age 7-8), you should bring a stroller to the parks. You can keep your little ones from getting too tired (i.e., whiny) and store tons of stuff like the groceries and supplies I told you to buy and any souvenirs you pick up along the way. However, renting a stroller costs a lot of money. If you have a good stroller, make space in your car, and bring it. They’ll also help you on the airplanes with it. If you don’t have a good one for some reason, you can get one on Facebook Marketplace or in a Facebook swap group for the price that you’d pay to rent. Or you can grab one off Amazon with one of these affiliate links (I might earn and use the money to go to Disney). I’ll give you a cheap one and a luxury one.
Conclusion
This is about as exhaustive as it gets when it comes to saving at Disney. Follow this advice and….you’ll still spend a good bit of money but not as much. Then you can go back without foreclosing on your house or car. Of course, if after reading this you want to go in the opposite direction, check out this Adventures By Disney Private Flight around the world for $100k per person.
Did I leave anything out? Let me know in the comments, and have a magical time saving money at Disney World.
If you’re thinking about Disney World in July, here’s what you need to know about weather, packing, and events.