Question

Needing some tips on Disney! Want to go next year and plan on doing an all cash vacation. I haven’t been to Disney since I was 5 and obviously I wasn’t paying. I have no idea how to even begin to budget for this. Does anyone have any tips for me? Or know of any resources thy can help me plan out a budget? Thanks so much in advance!  

Answer 1

If you go to their website they have a way for you to plan out the hotel, tickets, food, etc so you could get an idea for how much it will cost you.  

Answer 2

Disneyland or Disney World? We went to Disney world and bought the meal plan, I really felt we got our money worth and were able to pick the plan that best met our needs. Also it allowed for us to budget for it and pay it off a head of time, one less thing to pay for while your down there! I don’t think they have it in Disneyland though.  

Comments

@qualify they don’t. We just looked that up the other day at work.  

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Wow! 9 nights at Disney World sounds like a dream!  How fun!  

Answer 3

Rent points from DVc get a room with a kitchen and cook at least one meal a day while there.  

Answer 4

Use a Disney travel agent. we get our quote a year in advance and make payments through the year. It’s paid in full the month before we go.  

Answer 5

Definitely use a Disney travel agent. They can get you the best deals, help you budget for character meals, and help you plan dining

Answer 6

Disneyland you can pack and take your own food in.  

Comments

@attention Disney World allows this too

Answer 7

Join this awesome group Walt Disney World Tips And Tricks. When we went about 3 years ago, I learned a lot from the members in the group. Great suggestions!  

Answer 8

I think that the meal plan is 100% worth it if you plan on cash-flowing the whole thing — always feel it’s so worth the money Also a Disney travel agent for sure! They are free and basically do all the work for tou

Answer 9

Meal plan 100% and if you want to do all cash. you cannot actually book and pay all cash hotel and ticket wise so use the cash to buy Disney gift cards and you can pay for it that way then you can obviously pay cash at the parks. Unless you’re in Florida then I guess you could go to the park and pay cash for a ticket or buy tickets that day (which buying they day I highly do not recommend) And book early and book reservations for rides and meals early. Disney world I not a wing it world

Answer 10

WDW Reservations only require a few hundred dollars for a deposit and you can adjust your plans while paying it. So If you see deals ( free dining) they will adjust your balance. Also. If you buy disneycards at Target you will get 5% off if using the target Debit card.  

Answer 11

We’re Disneyland junkies and heading to Disney World this fall for 9 nights. Before we were ready to book I built a lot of packages on the website to get an idea of cost. It helped immensely.  

Answer 12

A travel agent will help you make the most of your money and be in the lookout to save you money as well.  

Answer 13

Buy Disney gift cards at target you save 5% with the red card

Answer 14

Staying on or off property makes a big difference. How many days will you be attending the parks. Do you want to park hop or enjoy each park each day? What are the ages of everyone going. Are you flying or driving? There are so many ways you can save.  

Answer 15

We started buying gift cards here and there. before you know it, you have a lot saved up and they can be used for almost anything

Answer 16

We just got back in November! 6 days at Port Orleans French Quarter, middle dining plan, memory maker, park tickets, MNSSHP, Bibbidi Bobbity Boutique and made all our shirts. Flew Southwest, rental car. All that jazz. Took 3K spending. $8, 000 total. Best week EVER. We are going again for Christmas 2021.  

Comments

I was just looking at this resort. Did you like it?  

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@jokester oh my gosh. We LOVED it. It was our first time to stay on property. The beds were super comfy and the rooms were clean. The pool is awesome. Our 3 yo loved it. We are big Princess and the Frog fans. She kept saying we are going back to Thanksna’s house! It’s just magical there. I’m a firm believer, there is always money for Disney  

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@maag2038 Awesome! We stayed at Coronado Springs in 2018 and wanted to try something different next time.  

Answer 17

YouTube is my go to! I planned an entire vacation watching those videos.  

Answer 18

is amazing! She can help with everything and be as involved as you want or just offer tips and tricks. Her services are totally free.  
https://www.facebook.com/carlywhite...ions/

Answer 19

Pinterest was a help when I took my oldest too. We went with a dance group so stayed on the resort. Convenient but not 100% necessary. Also a lot of the souvenirs are the same out side of the park for cheaper. You can also see the cost of food somewhere I just don’t remember where I found it

Answer 20

Watch a time share we did. We didn't stay on site but for 5 days 2 days at Disney and 1 day at the water park for 700

Answer 21

Go to the website and pretend to book the vacation you want. That will give you a ballpark price to help you figure out what to put away every month. If you book a package (park ticket, meal plan & hotel) you will need to put a $200 deposit to secure your reservation with the balance due 45 days before check in. If you book a room only you will need to pay for 1 night to secure your reservation with the balance due at check in.  

Answer 22

My good friend is a planner for all things Disney. If/when we have the cash for a vacation, I'll be using an agent like her. I would pay nothing for her services to do all the leg work and get the best deals for wherever we wish to go. Basically, I'd work with a Disney agent in your area as they know every detail and deal available.  

Answer 23

We’ve done Disneyland, but not DisneyWorld. If at all possible I would fly into SNA, LAX is awful but it does frequently save money. When booking hotels, look across the street (on harbor or Katella) instead of on property hotels. Do grocery delivery for snacks for the park etc, many hotels have free breakfast. Getting from airport to Disney if you have kids in car seats is a pain so plan for an expense there. Other than that the website and the app are great for planning ticket and food cost, you can look at menus and plan ahead easily. Dining and character meals open up 60 days in advance if you’re going to splurge. We’re addicted so I keep it as frugal as I can so we can go more frequently!  

Comments

@qualify Dorman we just got back from Disneyland. We stayed at the candy cane inn on harbor (2 min walk from gates). It included a free continental breakfast (that had bread, Pb and jelly so we made sandwiches for lunch) and a shuttle for and from the park. We did single park day tickets, no max pass. I would suggest finding a place with continental breakfast, free shuttle and grocery shopping to bring food snacks and water into the park. Saved us a ton!  

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Do not fly into LAX. I totally agree with this I just went to Disneyland two weeks ago and we flew into Santa Ana, stayed in Santa Ana and took Lyft to Disney both days (each ride was about $20 w/tip. beats parking! ) There are a ton of hotels in the Santa Ana /Costa Mesa area if you’re trying to do it cheaply. However, if you have kids and can swing it, for proximity and ease, staying at one of the Disney Partner hotels is definitely worth it. at least from what my coworkers with kids say  Either way, have fun and be sure to grab that photo pass! It’ll make taking photos a breeze and ensure you can download them all for a fraction of the price!  

Answer 24

I’m a Disney agent/planner and would be happy to answer questions or help you plan Disney has changed so much over the past several years I’m very money conscious and have figured out some different ways to save you can send me a message if you have any property specific questions or want me to give you an idea of cost because there are a lot if factors that go into that also if Disney releases a deal after you book that apply to your trip such as free dining we can go back in and apply it that’s a perk of using an actual Disney agent (and it’s also free which is another ❤️)

Comments

@conah can I pm you?  

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@myca45714 absolutely!  

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Also anyone is welcome to follow my page  I post Disney deals when they release!  
https://www.facebook.com/Jenna-Nass...6696/

Answer 25

Do not buy the experience tickets with the option to hop from Park to park we when last year and we did not have time we got tickets for 4 day one park each day. Also we when to eat we the princess and we paid 800 for 12 people

Answer 26

Smart moms planning Disney is an excellent FB group to join. I’d also suggest finding a Pixie Planner. They are travel agents that specialize in all things Disney

Comments

Beware of Smart Moms! They try to sell you information that is free if you look in other places. The group has helpful people but the mods of the group try to sell you thing and push there own agenda.  

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@labiate yes agree smart moms plan Disney is somewhat of a scam every bit of information she tries to sell is truly free information and can be found for free when talking with a Disney planner or in numerous other Disney planning Facebook groups

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@conah I did not realize it was a scam. I was added to the group when we started planning our trip as an added resource. Some of the ladies in that group are super helpful.  

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@portuguese Lyons oh I’m sure there are some super helpful people on the FB page it’s just the admin push you to purchase the book and will only give limited info so that you will buy the book claiming you’ll save tons (which in reality really isn’t that much) but that info is free public knowledge so I hate to see anyone purchase the book when in reality that’s just a cost that’s not necessary and money they could save! Disney is always going to be an expensive vacation regardless if how you do it but there are definitely ways to save and cut costs and the majority of planners and fb groups will help you with info to save as much as possible ❤️

Answer 27

Use an agent, they don’t charge and walk you through the process and budget

Answer 28

Mousesavers has some great tips

Answer 29

I would budget on the higher side. Definitely check out all the tip saving websites. I was lucky enough to go ffg or a day and didn't get to do everything at Magic kingdom. We were very ill prepared.  

Answer 30

I saved SO much money on our trip in November by renting DVC points! So much. We used the DVC Rental Store. Check them out. Then we do not do the meal plan. We SAVE money by not. And yes. We do lots of character meals. (Disney doesn’t do the meal plan to lose money. lol. It’s convenience. ) We did a memory maker share (saved $130, got the same result). We had groceries delivered to our hotel room. Bought our tickets thru our Sams membership. We lived it up but got everything with great deals! Ballin on a budget!  

Comments

@maag2038 LaPoint Lueck what is DVC rental store?  

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@sulph it’s the name of a company/website you can rent DVC points from

Answer 31

I’m a trip planner, if you want I can help you price out what you want so you can cash roll it (gift cards are the best for paying for Disney! ) and nail down what you want

Answer 32

We always stay off property because we go with 3 kids and 5 adults. We spent 2100 on a house for 7 nights. And stayed 15 minutes from Disney. We have some cheap meals during the week like subs or Wendy’s and then eat at the park. But we bring our own snacks and water. We spent $4k for the week in February. Disney for that many people at a resort would be a fortune

Answer 33

There is such a wide variety on how you can do Disney. It totally depends on how flexible you are with the time of year you want to travel, how much your family eats, if you want to be immersed in the magic (I highly recommend staying on site). Do some research. It's worth it! Mousesavers is awesome and will just get you started!  

Answer 34

I have a whole disney instagram page so i can answer a few questions. 1st off disneyland or walt disney world? 2 totally different beasts? one park is more travel friendly with dining plans, ect and one isnt.  

Answer 35

Here is an award winning disney travel agent. .  
https://instagram.com/disneyplanner...lydia

Answer 36

My family (there are 5 of us, but our youngest will be free) is going next year and even with military discounts (through my brother in law), we are planning to spend $4000. We will drive there and aren’t doing a meal plan.  

Answer 37

Watch Dvbguide on YouTube. They're wonderful, they cover so much stuff from Disneyland and Disney World.