Walt Disney World is such an exciting and magical place, sometimes I believe it runs on pixie dust. It is very easy to forget that the Walt Disney Travel company is a business. And business runs on money.
My goal today is to show you what your options are to get the most bang for your buck while making good financial decisions for your family.
Families come in all different shapes, sizes, and budgets. What is right for one family will not be right for another. AND THAT IS OKAY. You will not experience any less magic on your trip because of your budget.
The big components of establishing a budget are choosing a hotel, how your family will eat, what type of park tickets are needed, and transportation.
1. Choosing a hotel
You can choose to stay at a Deluxe, Moderate, Value, or off site hotel.
Deluxe is the most expensive option for a hotel on Disney World property. They boast many hotel amenities, nicer room quality, and the option to travel to the parks in more than one way (bus, monorail, or boat). Some parks are even within walking distance. These resorts have table service restaurants. Expect rates to easily run $400+ a night.
Value Resorts are the least expensive resorts on Disney property. These are usually very theme heavy (kids LOVE them). The rooms have all the essentials; they aren't fancy. The beds are usually full size instead of queen. The resorts are very large so expect a walk. The resort transportation is buses only. Expect roughy $120+ a night.
There are places to stay both on and off Disney property that are hotels that are not run by Disney and therefore are cheaper options. However, this comes with a tradeoff. You are not eligible for the Dining plan and can make Fastpass+ reservations 30 days in advance, while onsite get 60 days in advance.
2. How will your family eat?
There are multiple ways to feed your family at Walt Disney World. Disney pushes their dining plan. There are 3 options for that: Least Expensive - Quick Service dining plan (two counter service meals, no sit down with a waiter restaurants with snacks thrown in per day), Mid expense - the Disney dining plan (one sit down with a waiter, one counter service meal with snacks thrown in per day), or the most expensive - Disney Deluxe dining plan (two sit down meals with a waiter with some snacks thrown in per day). While these are convenient, you have to decide if convenience is worth it as it might not be the same value for your dollar.
There are many alternative ways to feed your family rather than the dining plan. Disney allows food that is not in glass containers in the parks. They allow soft sided coolers in.
Another way to save money is to ship groceries to the hotel with Amazon or something like Garden Grocer. That way you can eat breakfast in your room.
3. What type of park tickets do you need?
There are 3 types of park tickets that Disney sells:
1. Least Expensive - Base ticket
2. Mid Expense - Park Hopper
3. Most Expensive - Water Parks and More
Keep in mind what you really plan to do on your trip. Park hopping can be time consuming. Please remember that tickets become cheaper per day you are there.
4. Transportation:
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles!
Choosing how your family will get to Disney World can make or break the bank for a lot of families. Driving will definitely be cheaper, but what value do you place on your time? I live in Texas; it would take two days to drive to Orlando. For me personally, flying makes more sense because that is what I value, but that would DEFINITELY be different if it were possible for us to drive to Orlando in one day.
Example Trip:
To give an idea of how much a Disney trip might actually cost, I ran some numbers.
I chose to price out a trip from July 29 - August 5 of 2017 (7 nights) at Caribbean Beach Resort (a moderate) for a family of four with 6 days in the theme parks. Two adults, two kids. The kids are aged 11 and 7 (a child 10 or over is considered a Disney adult and gets an adult ticket).
Moderate Resort (7 nights) with base tickets for everyone (one park per day): $3,3134.62
Moderate Resort (7 nights) with park hopper tickets for everyone: $3,428.54
For this example, I have chosen park hopper tickets (what I would normally purchase).
With no dining plan, the cost is $3,428.54.
With Quick Service dining plan: $4,542.92
With Disney Dining Plan: $5,011.99
With Deluxe Dining Plan: $5,866.63
These numbers do not include transportation.
Overall Thoughts:
You decide what is important for you and your family. If the dining plan is a perk you're willing to save for, do it. If you want to stay at a Deluxe resort because it is convenient to ride the monorail to Magic Kingdom, don't get the dining plan. There are a lot of ways to make sure you get what you need. Your Disney vacation will be magical no matter what.
Have a Zippity Doo Dah Day!
