Guide to Saving Money at Disney World

Shop Around for Resort Prices

You can rent Disney Vacation Club points on the

Go During O� Season

Use Points or Credit Card Rewards

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Part 1: Save on Your Resort

You can rent Disney Vacation on the secondary market. We recommend David’s Vacation Club rentals for this. Using DVC points to book your room typically costs signi�cantly less than paying for the room directly. As a rule of thumb, you can typically stay at deluxe resort for the price of a moderate resort, or at a moderate resort for the price of a value resort. There’s a reason this is our #1 tip!

Disney themselves may or may not have the best rates on Disney World resort packages. Make sure to check their o�ers page. One of our favorite sites is UndercoverTourist.com, which now o�ers up to 30% o� discountson Disney World resorts. Major sites like Hotels.com and Expedia.com also carry Disney World resorts at discount prices

Disney World employs seasonal ticket and resort pricing, with the highest prices during the peak season. Use a Crowd Calendar to look for the lowest predicted crowd levels. You will also often �nd the best incentive discounts during these periods as well. And, your trip will generally be more enjoyable with lower crowds.

DVC members have pruchased shares, or points in the Disney Vacation Club, which is essentially a timeshare system. Points can be used to book vacations at Disney World (and other Disney) resorts. Eash year these points renew. If DVC members don't wish to use their points for the year, they can sell (a.k.a rent) them to those who do. You can rent these points and use them to book your vacations.

How DVC Points Work

Review your reservation monthly, if not weekly. Disney o�ers periodic discounts. If you �nd your reservation at a lower price, Call Disney to have it rebooked at the discount.

Review Your Reservation

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Did you know you can book a Disney World resort with points? Our friends at MouseHacking.com have articles on how to book your Disney World resort with points and how to use credit card rewards to save money. Let them guide you. You can save signi�cant amounts. on your resort booking this way.

Get More from Your Room with a Suite or Villa

Stay at the Campground at Fort Wilderness

Don’t Stay at a Moderate Resort

Get a Free Dining Plan

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If you have a larger party (which can help defray your room cost), getting a larger space can help you save money. For example, you may be able to �t a 25% larger party into a 2 bedroom villa than you can in 2 standard rooms, and be more comfortable. However, the price increase is typically only 5-10% more. If you use David’s Vacation Club to book with DVC points, the cost of the villa will actually be less! All of the Deluxe Resorts have a Deluxe Villa counterpart. Similarly, the largest regular room sizes on property are the suites at Art of Animation, Pop Century and the Cabins at Fort Wilderness. A Cabin at Fort Wilderness can sleep 6 adults. Family suites at Art of Animation and All Star Music can sleep 6 adults. Most rooms at Art of Animation are suites.

If you have an RV or camper, you can park it at the campground at Fort Wilderness for around $100 per night. You will get all of the bene�ts of staying at a Disney resort, plus the comfort of your camper or RV. You can also rent RVs in Orlando if you don’t have one, and still come out cheaper than the cost of an equivalent room size. Or stay in a Cabin that accommodates up to 6 adults.

If you want to upgrade from a Value Resort, go with a Deluxe Resort. With the notable exception of the Cabins at Fort Wilderness (discussed above), Moderate Resorts don’t o�er enough bene�t to justify the price jump. You are better o� spending a little more and going Deluxe. Note: Art of Animation is a Value Resort, but usually priced like a Moderate Resort due to its popularity.

During the slow season and hurricane season in the fall, especially September and November, Disney usually o�ers free Disney Dining Plans as an incentive. The booking period when it is o�ered is usually May and June. Who doesn’t love free food?

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Stay on Property

This is a bit counterintuitive. How does staying on property save you money, when it costs more per night? The answer is that it may not save money, but will signi�cantly increase the value of your dollars spent. You will eliminate the need for a rental car and transportation to the airport, and you will get free MagicBands. But the real value is that you will be fully immersed in the Disney magic, getting in and out of the parks will be faster and much less stressful, park days will be more fun-�lled (due to earlier FastPass booking window), and you will enjoy your vacation more overall.

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Buy Your Tickets from Undercover Tourist

Look Hard at Annual Passes

Buy Multi-Day Tickets

Skip Park Hopper if You Have Young Kids

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Undercover Tourist o�ers discounted park tickets, potentially saving you signi�cant money. They also o�er a 365 day return policy should plans change. This allows you to book when tickets are cheaper, and then plan the rest of your vacation later. When are tickets cheaper? Right now! Tickets prices undergo regular increases.

If you will make more than 1 trip to Disney World in a 12 month period, or if you will be taking a long trip and purchasing Park Hopper, an Annual Pass may be less expensive than buying day tickets. You’ll also get other bene�ts, including 20% o� on select dining and free PhotoPass downloads (free memory maker). When you add up the value of these bene�ts, an Annual Pass can be a great savings, depending on the length of your trips.

If an Annual Pass doesn’t make sense, you should still buy multi-day tickets. You don’t have to use the days back-to-back, just within the same 14 day period. If you plan to visit Magic Kingdom on day 1, Universal Studios on day 2, the pool and rest on day 3, and Epcot on day 4, you should buy a 2 day Disney World ticket. This will be cheaper than buying two 1 day tickets.

Park Hopper is a great way to pack your days chock full of Disney Magic. But if you are traveling with a baby or toddler, you won’t be able to get your money’s worth. Park Hopper is best for adults and families with older children who don’t need to nap or go bed early.

Discount Disney World park tickets bought through 3rd parties can be linked to your My Disney Experiance account and MagicBand

Plan pool/rest days into your trip to recharge. The Theme parks can be overwhelming and exhausting For kids of any age and adults. You’ll save money by Cutting a day o� your park ticket. Enjoy the theming Of our pool and resort, visit another resort, and Have a character meal. Kids won’t feel like They’re missing out on anything. Actually, you’re Missing out if you don’t do this.

Don’t Forget to Rest!

Did you know?

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Check out Disney Springs and Other Options

We only recommend visiting Disney Springs if you’ve already had time to visit the theme parks you wanted to see. But Disney Springs doesn’t require a ticket for admission, so if you head there instead of back to a theme park for another day, you’ll save some money on tickets. Some other fun out-of-the-theme-parks options include: mini gol�ng at Fantasia Gardens, riding the monorail and checking out all the monorail resorts, bars and restaurants, or walking along the Board-walk and checking out the bars, restaurants and resorts over there.

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Part 2: Save on Your Park Tickets

Do Lunch or Breakfast Instead of Dinner

Get a Free Disney Dining Plan

Don’t Buy Bottled Water

Get a Re�llable Mug

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There are lots of great Disney restaurants with great Disney theming, that are worth checking out. If you go for breakfast or lunch, you will get the experience at a lower price than if you go for dinner. Instead, do a quick service restaurant for diner. For example, visit Chef Mickey’s for breakfast (table service bu�et) and Contempo Café for dinner (quick service), instead of the other way around. You still get a great haracter meal, but at a lower price.

Disney o�ers free dining plans as a booking incentive during their slow season and hurricane season. The months of September and November are usually included. October and December are also sometimes included. The booking window for this bonus is usually May and June.

Don’t waste your money (or your snack credits, if you’re on a dining plan) on bottled water to You can get a free cup of ice water at any of the eateries in the theme parks. If you bring a re�llable water bottle, even better.

If you purchase a Disney Dining Plan (which may or may not save you money, depending on how you eat), you’ll get one free. If not, you can buy them for $17.99 for the length of your stay. If you are staying for a week, and you use them for your beverage 2 or 3 times a day, you can save a signi�cant amount.

An exception to our rule of doing Your character during for lunch or Breakfast as if you’re purchased the DDP. In that case, try to get in as many dinners as you can, to maximize your value.

Disney dining plan Exception

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Ship What you Need to Your Resort

Use a service like a service like Amazon Prime or Prime Pantry to ship grocery items and necessi-ties to the resort before you arrive. All resorts rooms have a fridge of some type, so you can ship perishable and nonperishable goods. You’ll save a ton if you don’t have to buy every meal and snack at the resort.

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Part 3: Save Mone y at Disney World

Get Free Photos

Pack Everything You’ll Need

Bring Treats for the Kids

Use Credit Card Perks to Get Even More Savings

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Disney photographers are stationed throughout the parks and resorts, and they are required to take a photo with your camera or phone if asked. So, ask!

Use our Gear Guide and Packing Lists to make sure you bring everything you’ll need with you. If you have to buy things like ponchos and misting fans in the resorts, you’ll spend a lot more.

Make sure to pack toys, treats and delighters for the kids too! The kids will �nd toys and treats in the parks and resorts, and ask you to buy them. Bring a stash to give out to save money. Some essentials: trading pins, glow sticks, glow necklaces, glow bracelets, and autograph books. You will buy glow sticks, so don’t pay the Disney World price!

There are a few credit cards that can be used for more savings. The Chase Disney Visa gets you 10% o� a number of great Disney World restaurants. It also gets you 15% o� most park tours, like the amazing Keys to the Kingdom and Backstage Tales tours.

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Use Discounted Disney Gift Cards

There are a several ways to get Disney Gift Cards at a discount. The most reliable are to purchase them from a membership warehouse like Costco or Sam’s (4-6% discount), or to purchase them from Target using your REDcard (5% discount). These gift cards can then be used to purchase park tickets, goods on the property, or even at Disney World restaurants.

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Get Groceries20TIPS

you can also get groceries delivered to your resort from one of several grocery stores. Garden Grocer is the original, but Orlando Grocery Express is another. Make sure to place your order a month in advance, or you’ll pay steeper fees.