5 Tips To Save Money On Your Walt Disney World Trip

July 13, 2018 Leave a comment

How to save money during your trip to Walt Disney World? Look no more. As teachers, we usually have to travel during prime time vacation weeks. We spend almost as much on the airfare than the trip itself. (Massachusetts to Orlando isn’t cheap during vacation weeks) We have found lots of ways to save a few “pennies” while we enjoy our trips of a lifetime!

Here are 5 tips to saving money and having an incredible time…

Deals R Us – look through deals through AAA or Walt Disney World itself.You may be able to get free dining, an extra park day, or up to 35% off your Disney Resort. That’s correct. When traveling during summers or April school vacation week we were able to get 25 – 35% off our room rate.

Coronado Springs , a moderate resort, went from $209.00 a night to about $160.00. You will have to look for these deals which are widely advertised on commercials and the Walt Disney World webpage under “special offers” but they are there and waiting. You may have to change your resort to one with offers available or you could have the chance to upgrade. So keep your eyes peeled for a deal!

Keep your eyes peeled for a deal!

2. Resort Choice – While I don’t advocate staying off Disney property, I do recommend choosing your resort wisely. While the Polynesian Village Resort is at the top of my bucket list, it is at the bottom on my budget list. Research your trip with a few resorts in mind. Use your calculator or just keep logging into the Walt Disney World web page. How much time will you be in your resort? How much room do you need? What amenities are you looking for.

We usually stay at one of the moderate resorts. Our last trip we stayed at Art of Animation in a Little Mermaid room which was considered a value resort. My husband missed the coffee pot in the room, I missed the storage (drawers) and the kids missed a waterslide at the pool. So do your research and find a resort that matches your budget!

One of our favorite resorts Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside

3. Pinch Pennies – Every bit counts! We ask for family and friends for Disney gift cards for holidays and special occasions. It took a bit of convincing but now everyone realizes our obsession with Disney World and these gift cards feed right into it. We also have a Disney Rewards Visa Card which we put everything on. We obtain points each month and before our trip we request them. They usually are a few hundred dollars and we put these reward points right to our character dining as that can be pricey! Lastly don’t under estimate the power of change! Every time we fill the change jar we take it to the grocery store we cash our change in and it goes directly to a Disney gift card. Just last week I cashed our change in for $137.25 – every bit counts!

4. Snack time – there are many ways to save on snacks. Our favorite is to order from Garden Grocer and have our snacks delivered on the day of our arrival. While there is a fee to order and deliver and the items are a tad more pricey, the convenience is worth it. We eat breakfast on the go each morning and make sure we have plenty of snacks at the park each day – we still splurge for those Mickey ice cream bars!

Here is a list of our standard items: apples, bananas, raisin boxes, small cereal boxes, yogurt, milk, granola bars, muffins, drink boxes, fruit snacks, goldfish, peanut butter crackers, ziplock bags, and a case of water.

5. Bring on the RAIN! If you travel to Walt Disney World in the summer months like we do you will need a poncho. It’s true that you can buy a yellow poncho with Mickey on it pretty much everywhere in parks if it’s raining (umbrellas too). However, we bring them from home. We always buy a bunch of cheap ones and carry them with us throughout our trip. These are great to cover your stroller too!

As for saving money on souvenirs on your trip – here’s my tip!

Go often enough that you already have every souvenir that they sell. I mean how many t-shirts, stuffed animals, kitchen utensils, and light sabers can you possible need?