Travel: Saving on Walt Disney World
With so many posts about travel deals lately, many people have reminded me that I've promised to post a big "Disney on the cheap" post. Our family loves Walt Disney World in Orlando, but it's one of those places that can definitely be a budget-eater if you let it get out of control. Here are my best tips on saving at Disney:
#1. STAY ON PROPERTY. Don't be lured by cheap hotel rates "one mile from Disney" and all that. Disney encompasses something like 40 square miles of land, and being a mile away means from one of their borders, not from the parks themselves. Plus, there are immeasurable perks when you stay in one of the Disney resorts (there are somewhere around 17-18 resorts if you count the Swan and Dolphin hotels, which I'll get to in a minute.) Staying in ANY Disney property guarantees you free transportation (Magical Express) from the Orlando airport to and from the resort, and free transportation all over Disney property, to parks, downtown, and other resorts. Staying on property also guarantees you admission to the parks if they are filled to capacity and closed to the general public (imagine attending on a high-capacity day when the parks are full? If you're not staying on property, you won't get in.) If you do have a car, staying on property guarantees you free parking as well.
One last great bonus of staying on property - 1-hour earlier admission to theme parks, and up to 3 hours late staying in the parks after they close to the general public. These are "Extra Magic Hours," and you can get SO many attractions done during these times. There is nothing like strolling down Main Street in the Magic Kingdom at 2:30am with no one around, and being able to walk right on all the rides! So stay on property - for us, it is a MUST. :)
#2. NEVER pay full price for rooms. Disney issues -lots- of discount codes throughout the year, in many ways -- email lists, postcards in the mail, and through 3-letter travel rate codes. To get the first two, sign up at Disney.com with just about as many email addresses as you can - the codes get sent out at random, so it's nice to have more chances of getting one. As for the 3-letter general public codes, you can find out what's out at any given time at Mousesavers.com - (link to current rate codes and specials.(
Also, don't get trapped into buying passes, dining plan or any kind of "package" when you call to book a room without doing your homework. With rare exception, we have found that the Disney packages can be a waste of money versus pricing things out separately. More on this in a bit.
For us, personally, our last 4 trips haven't been planned more than 2-3 months in advance -- we always decide to go & book based entirely on what discounts are available -- and most of them are put "out there" about 60-90 days out. For example, this is a current special Disney is running on an email code:
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Disney Value Resorts $59 per night 8/9-8/18 and 8/22-10/1
Disney Moderate Resorts $89 per night 8/9-10/1
Disney Deluxe Resorts $139 per night 8/9-8/15, 8/21-8/23, and 8/28-10/1
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January-August Savings of up to 45% Off
Stay dates: 1/1/10 to 6/3/10. Get a 25%-45% discount off regular "Rack" rates. Percent off varies by resort type and length of stay. Use code QNY. Some dates will be blocked out. Rates not available for all dates and resorts.
* Save 25% at Disney Value Resorts when you stay 1-4 nights; save 30% when you stay 5 nights or longer
* Save 30% at Disney Moderate Resorts when you stay 1-4 nights; save 35% when you stay 5 nights or longer
* Save 35% at Disney Deluxe Resorts when you stay 1-4 nights; save 40% when you stay 5 nights or longer
* Save 40% at Disney Deluxe Villa Resorts when you stay 1-4 nights; save 45% when you stay 5 nights or longer
Stay dates: 6/4/10-8/14/10. Get a 25%-40% discount off regular "Rack" rates. Percent off varies by resort type. Use code QNY. Some dates will be blocked out. Rates not available for all dates and resorts.
* Save 25% at Disney Value Resorts when you stay 1 or more nights
* Save 30% at Disney Moderate Resorts when you stay 1 or more nights
* Save 35% at Disney Deluxe Resorts when you stay 1 or more nights
* Save 40% at Disney Deluxe Villa Resorts when you stay 1 or more nights
You must book by 3/27/10.
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Compare these rates with regular "Rack" rates:
Value resorts: $82 per night
Moderate resorts: $149 per night
Deluxe resorts: $240 per night
These are pretty good rates all around for the different categories. Disney has 4 categories of resorts:
Value are the least expensive and are about Holiday-Inn style in quality, with wild, vibrant, colorful kid-friendly theming and a central food court featuring cafeteria-style dining;
Moderates are the middle quality resorts -- the rooms are only slightly bigger than the Values, but the hotels have many more resort amenities (several restaurants, spa, more ambiance, nicer pools w/ waterslides, etc)
Deluxe are the top of the line resorts, with all that the Moderates have, and then some.
The Disney Vacation Club / Home Away From Home resorts feature full kitchens and have villas that can sleep many people, depending on which size you book. They are the most expensive, usually starting at $400/night for a villa. Each hotel has a different theme.
We like the Moderates very much, and most of our trips have been to the Coronado Springs resort. We have never paid more than $89/night for Coronado.
On a trip in 2006 though, we stayed at the All Star Music resort, a value - because we got an amazing $36/night rate through Priceline & just couldn't pass up the opportunity to go on the cheap! The DIS message board ( www.disboards.com ) is a GREAT place to keep track of the best rates people are getting for certain dates -- we saw that rate posted, decided to go, and booked our trip all in the same day -- the trip dates were a month from the day we booked. BiddingForTravel.com is the site I originally discovered the All Star $36 deal on -- it's a website where people just post the prices and names of hotels they've bid on via Priceline.
Another option for saving money, if you have hotel points with Westin/Sheraton, are the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin hotels. These are official Disney hotels, but run by the above companies -- so you get all the perks of being on property in a Disney hotel, but you can use hotel points to help pay for your room.
#3: TICKETS / PASSES
Don't buy your passes at the parks, resorts, or the Disney store. You will pay more than if you buy through a Florida ticket broker. The Florida ticket brokers are licensed by the state, their tickets are provided by Disney, and they sell only new tickets, but they sell them much cheaper than Disney does. Here are two good ones that we've used:
UndercoverTourist
http://www.undercovertourist.com/united-states/florida/orlando/attractio...
Ticket Mania
Each base ticket can be purchased with various options:
Park Hopper
Water Fun
No Expiration
The thing to remember is, the more you add to the ticket, the cheaper it is in the long run - IF you will use all the features. If you plan to go to one park per day and never "hop" (visit two parks in the same day) you can get by with straight-up base tickets.
But, there are many advantages to having park hopping -- you can visit multiple parks in the same day, or take advantage of the extra hours before/after the normal operating hours.
Example: Epcot opens 1 hour early. You go there, play for a few hours, then hop over to the Animal Kingdom. Take a break, go back to the hotel, then go into the Magic Kingdom at night for the extra 3 hours they're open after the gates close. That all only uses 1 day on your pass if you have a park hop option -- we have found this invaluable.
Water fun and more: This adds "plus" options to your ticket to visit the Disney water parks, Disney Quest, Disney mini golf, and/or Wide World of Sports. These days do NOT count in your number of regular park days. So, if you have a 5 day trip, and you buy a 3-day base pass and add the water fun option, you would also add 3 visits to the water parks or any of the other activities listed above, for a flat rate (when we bought ours, it was $50.) And you would now have activities to do on the other days, without paying for additional "park" pass days.
Now here is where this option becomes a real deal - it's typically a flat fee no matter how big your pass is, whether it's a 2 day, or a 10 day.
Because we go to Disney almost every year, we buy a 10-day pass, then use it over several years. It's MUCH cheaper to do this IF you know you will be returning. So for $50, when we bought our passes we each gained 6 visits to the water parks. With the water parks costing around $35 per person per DAY admission if you paid outright, this is a very good deal.
No Expiration: For the last 30 years, ALL Disney passes were automatically no-expiration. Now, they make you pay for the privilege. But again, IF you will be coming back, it's still a good deal because the daily rate per park and per water fun option is significantly lower than the gate price, and you're "locking in" the gate price at the current rate, then not paying ticket admission increases as they continue to rise each year.
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Other things to remember: I know many people who will plan a "day off" to spend at their hotel, and then book a dinner reservation that night at an Epcot restaurant. There's nothing wrong with this, IF you consider though that you are not only paying for dinner, but also paying for a day on your pass! So if you're a family of 3, you would have paid about $150 just to walk into the park before even having dinner.
Schedule your in-park meals on days you're already planning to go into the park, and eat at the resort hotels on non-park days. The Deluxe resorts have fantastic restaurants (the 'Ohana restaurant at the Polynesian has a Hawaiian theme and is a personal favorite of ours) and many of them have character meals for kids too. You can travel to and eat in any Disney hotel restaurant on property -- you don't have to be staying there to use it.
Eating around the various resorts is a great way to enjoy some of the many resort amenities too - the Deluxe resorts have some fantastic restaurants, many with character or themed meals. (If you like wild, rowdy waitstaff who tease and pick on you, eat at Whispering Canyon at the Wilderness Lodge... make sure to order a LARGE Coke and ask for ketchup too, if you really like being embarrassed!)
So why aren't packages the best deal? Because you end up paying full rack rate for your room, plus you're paying for passes every single day of your trip, and they are "basic" passes, which mean you can't park-hop. If you start your day at the Magic Kingdom, that's the only park you can go to that day. We like the flexibility to start our day in one place, then if that park gets full or busy, hop to another. We may visit 3 parks in the same day, especially when the MK has Extra Magic Hours at night. All the other parks can be closed, but MK will be open until 2 or 3am - and we'll hop back over there if the kids are still up for it, as the ride lines are almost nonexistent.
Because we might visit several parks in the same day, we may only use 3 park "days" on our passes during a 7-day trip. There is so much to do outside the parks in the resort too. Based on the number of days your pass is for, you will get extra "pluses" for free or minimal cost when you purchase it. These "pluses" are good at the two Disney waterparks, the Wide World of Sports, DisneyQuest, and the two mini golf courses on property -- and their waterparks are so big that if you are into waterparks, you'll want to spend a whole day at one. (If you have a regular inclusive package and choose to go to the waterpark, you've essentially "paid" for your regular park pass days that you won't use that day, and you still have to buy the waterpark passes too.)
Now, the Disney Dining plan... again, when we've run the numbers, we've never found this to be more cost effective than doing it on our own. There are times of the year in which Disney offers "free dining," but to get it, you must pay full rack rate for your hotel room. If you use a room discount code, you typically can't also get "free" dining. And, to pay for the plan has never made sense to us financially (if you get a code for free dining, that's another story!)
If you're paying out of pocket per meal, one tip you can use as far as dining in the "expensive" restaurants -- we make our "big" meal of the day lunch vs. dinner, because it's the same food, but you're paying a lot more at night. And we LOVE to eat in the many Disney restaurants, but again, we weren't finding that we would be spending as much eating the way we do as the dining plan costs if you're paying for it.
There are also lots of FREE things to do in Disney for some downtime. The Fort Wilderness Resort has outdoor "drive in" style movies that you watch from a blanket, or bleachers, outside each night. Before the movie, Chip & Dale host a campfire where kids can roast marshmallows, and sing songs. Fort Wilderness also has pony rides for kids that are around $5 - not free, but cheap! The Port Orleans Riverside resort has a fishing pond where you can fish for free. The Electrical Water Pageant is a water parade that shows nightly at the Polynesian, Contemporary, Grand Floridian, Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness beaches. Just show up at any one of the resorts and enjoy it.
Disney's Boardwalk resort is themed like an Atlantic City boardwalk, and you can enjoy the street performers, jugglers, magicians, etc. for free. Or take the kids on a ride on the monorail between Epcot and the Magic Kingdom. It's about a 20 minute trip, with great views.
Mousesavers has a list of even more free things here: http://www.mousesavers.com/freestuff.html
Other money saving ideas: Pack some canisters pre-sweetened kool-aid or lemonade mix & a 1-quart sport bottle (we do this on every trip -- mix lemonade at drinking fountains and have that with us at all times to drink. We'd also mix a batch at the hotel before we went out, and we'd fill the bottle halfway with ice too so that first batch kept cold for most of the morning. I measure the mix into ziploc baggies and put them in our day pack, or you could use premixed Crystal Lite. Drinks get so expensive in the park.)
Other foods that pack well for cheapie meals in the hotel:
Lipton Cup-a-Soup
Instant Oatmeal (to be made at the hotel with water boiled in the coffee pot. We use all of these for quickie meals.)
Granola Bars
Pop-tarts or toaster pastries (can warm them on the coffee pot hot plate by wrapping tart in foil and then flipping it once one side is heated - or, if you are the Value resorts, they have toasters and microwaves in the food court for guest use.)
Vacuum-packed lunchmeats
Mini-pita breads
Condiments (mustard, mayo) in foil pouches
The vacuum meats come in a foil pouch like the tuna-in-a-pouch, but they also have turkey breast and ham. They don't need refrigeration until after they're opened, but we'll eat an entire pouch per meal. We also have taken mini pita breads to make sandwiches with these meats -- the mini pitas are the size of a large cookie, and we just take all the supplies with us into the parks for lunch. Pitas hold up much better than bread, which can get crushed/flattened in a pack.
If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask. We are "old pros" at Disney - I think our last trip was my 14th time there.
Jill, (or anyone else who knows about buying Disney tickets)
We are going to Disney World next month and I was just pricing tickets. (I have read and reread all of your tips!) I am looking to buy a 6 day pass, no hopper, no expiration, add water parks. I went on Undercover Tourist and the price was $454.95/adult. I went on the Disney website and the same tickets was $444. I thought that a broker would be a savings, not $10 more. Granted, the broker has taxes included and free shipping, but I was just surprised. I know you are so knowledgeable about Disney, and I though you might have some further insight on this!
Thanks for all that you do!
When we went last year, I priced it with brokers and called Disney, and they have the BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER. They will give you better deal, and apply whatever promotion is the best at a time, and if anything changes you can always call and adjust. I say stick with Disney. I also agree with Jill to get hopper passes.
As the original Disney post here is several years old, some things indeed can change with time..! It has been about two years since we went to Disney, and the last time we went, we were still using up remaining days on our old 10-day passes that were purchased from a broker -- and back then, the brokers' prices were significantly less. I'm really surprised to see that the opposite is true now. It definitely pays to price-compare.
The reason I am not getting the park hopper added at this time is because my daughter is three and we will only be going to the Magic Kingdom on this trip. Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that I read somewhere that if you want to upgrade your tickets after you purchase them, you can do so on the remaining days left on your ticket. I can always add the hopper on the days left. I think this will make more economical sense, that is, if I have the correct information!! Am I right?
My next question for you all is can I/should I purchase my tickets from the Disney store and pay sales tax with no shipping, or should I order by phone, where they may honor the broker's discounted price but possibly pay sales tax and shipping? How much is the sales tax anyway? In my town, it is nearly 10%. Is it any less in Florida?
Thanks again for any help you can offer!
Since your daughter is so young, you are right, you don't need hopper passes, but you DO need a stroller. My kids were 5, 8 and 9, anything younger in my opinion is too young to remember anything and it is VERY tiring for the little ones. Try to avoid Magic Kingdom between noon and 5-6 PM. It is very crowded and all you see are little kids crying in their strollers waiting over an hour to go on a 2 min ride. For us it really helped to use those a extra Magic hours and go really late. You can easily do all the rides with minimum wait between 10PM and Midnight.
I prefered talking to them on the phone, they are super nice. I don't remember anything about tax and there is no shipping, they just mail you the stuff you need. HTH
Bumping up so we don't get two Disney threads going on the same topic (a new one was started this week...)
I am traveling with 3 little ones and I thought about having snacks and other foods delivered to the room (we are staying on-property at a Value Resort). Has anyone used Amazon.com to deliver items to WDW? If so, did it go smoothly? Did Super Saver (FREE) Shipping apply? Any tips? My backup plan is to use GardenGrocer.com.
TIA!
I have not tried Amazon, but I know there are several grocery delivery places that will deliver to the WDW resorts. You can ship anything to the resort though and have them hold it for you ahead of your arrival - just make sure the address label has your date of arrival, "ALL STAR MUSIC RESORT GUEST" or what not after your name. You may wish to call the resort and ask them specifically if there is anything else they need printed on the package to hold it. :)
We are traveling to Disney in February 2012. I signed up on Disney.com about 3 months ago but have not received any discount codes -- by email or mail. Did I miss something? Is there a specific box to check-mark on their website? Everyone makes it sound like I should be getting codes regularly. Any hints?
Mousesavers had a discount code which made the value hotel $67 (including fees & taxes).
Thanks!
I just got a postcard code last month (in the actual postal mail) that made Values $59/night through January, so your $67 rate is still pretty good for a general-public code. Definitely go with that in the absence of something else if it works out with the dates you want to go.
As far as HOW to get codes, that's kind of a mystery. Disney uses multiple algorithms to determine how they're sent out. Because two of my kids are young, I seem to get codes a lot more often than my mom, who has no small children at home anymore (despite her also being a Disney lover.) I have heard over the years that people who have already been to Walt Disney World once get more codes than people who've never been - but if you go "too often," you might not see codes for a while either. We went last year, but we did not go this year -- and I started getting more codes this year after it had been over a year since our last trip.
Thanks for the response, I'll be using the Mousesavers rate for now, I'm fine with that. Thank you so much for all your help on this site! Your website and your classes are lifechanging.
After we went there back in Feb., we got some codes right after we came back for use in August. But we couldn't go that soon again.:)
That's another thing we do see sometimes - the "bounceback" code. After you've been there, if they're experiencing a slow season, etc. you might get another code for use in the same year. They do that on the Disney cruise too - if you book the next cruise while you're still ON the ship, you get a significant discount.
Walt Disney World in Orlando is one of my dream place to spend vacation with my family. That's why now I have my own work I plan to go there this summer. Though, due to a tight budget I need a careful planning and with the help of this post I can make sure I'll spend a great vacation there without worrying much on the expenses. Thanks a lot!
Going to Walt Disney as they said was too expensive. I never been into this place sadly but my husband and I were planing to spend our next summer vacation for the first on this wonderful place with our kids. I can sense the feeling of excitement from both of us. Hopefully, we could pursue his plan with the help of the great tips above. Thanks for the share!
Great blog! I like all the information that’s being shared, congratulations.
So nice to be here! I did acquire lots of useful info and also meet new friends from this site. I am really glad I decided to be part of this community. God Bless to all!
Mothers & More has a perks program that currently offers deals on Disney and Universal tickets. I know there are other Disney and Universal deal options, but we recently used buy 4 days and get 3 days free (including park hopper) for Disney and buy 2 days get 2 days free for Universal Orlando. They have restrictions, like they expire 14 days after the first day you use them, but they worked out great for our family!
Mothers & More is a national organization with chapters across the country. Each chapter runs differently depending on the membership, but the McHenry County (IL) chapter offers fun activities for families, kids, and only mom each month. Dues are $45/year. Depending on what perks you take advantage of, you can save much more than the annual dues. There are many perks, including a Costco membership for $50 but then receive more than $50 in coupons to use at Costco, a prescription drug perk to be used in combination of your insurance, and many more.
Just a backdoor way to savings with the added benefit of meeting other moms and having some fun activities to do with (and without) the kids!
Some Mothers & More chapters have websites (for McHenry County, IL, go to www.mchenrymothers.org) and some have Facebook pages. You can also go to www.mothersandmore.org and check the map to find a chapter near you.
Jill,
All your hard work and the details have been great! Thanks for all your work! I hope you and your family had a great holiday season, I know we did, thanks to all I learned from you!
We are planning a trip to Disney this summer and want to stay on the grounds. Our big issue is in the past we have been fine with 3 bedrooms and a kitchen in a condo. This year our baby is no longer in a crib, so we need 4 bedrooms. Our 2 oldest daughters 21&13share a room, then my 10 year son gets a room, then my 7,5, and 3 year girls have a room and one room for us. I dont like the pull out beds in the middle of the living space for several reasons. If I put the oldest out there, then dont have a place to go to have space and get woken up at the crack of dawn. If I put the little ones there, everyone feels like they have to go to bed at 8 pm. Any ideas?
Do you know of any places we can stay on the grounds with 4 rooms and a kitchen? Actually 3 bedrooms would work as long as one room has 2 full or larger beds, to sleep the 4 youngest.
OMG, just got off the phone with Disney, they offer 3 room villas that would be perfect, BUT they are $1500-1900 a NIGHT!! Why oh why can families of 6 get a villa for $400-600 a night and we have to get a room for 3 times that price? Its crazy!! Any ideas?
I wonder why they charge so much as well. I can't afford those prices and probably will miss out on Disney.
Bear with me - I haven't forgotten you. You can stay in a villa for MUCH less than that. Let me get some info together for a reply.
Well as a paying adult. We want to check it out, but I have NO idea what a good deal is. On average for a 7 day stay, 2 adults and 2 toddlers, what are we looking at as far as total cost goes.
What did you spend on your last trip. Air-fare, hotel, food, etc Just want to know what we are saving for. thanks everyone.
I just returned from Disney World and was there for 11 days. Since you have never been to Disney as an adult, I think some tips/insight that I have might be helpful to you as well as others with older children. I have three boys ages 13, 10, and 6. (All are close to flipping to the next year of age) First trip to Disney was when they were 5 and 2. Second trip was when they were 9, 5 3/4 and 23 months.
STROLLERS - I've always rented a Disney stroller for ease. This past trip I rented a stroller for my 6-year old as it is so much more stress free to know where he is at all times in a crowd plus my older kids and I can walk much faster than him. Keeps him from getting tired out. Stroller rental cost is very high now - $15/day for a single and $30/day for a double. I absolutely do not recall it being that expensive in the past. I paid for the ten days in full and received a 10% discount. When my boys were 5 and 2 we rented a double stroller. It was a necessity to us. Of course you can take your own stroller. I didn't own a double and after watching people breaking down their strollers to get on the bus and attempt to carry their kids and bags, renting seemed worth it the following years.
ATTIRE Many, many young girls are dressed in princess attire, especially when visiting the Magic Kingdom. I can recall on my first trip thinking what a cost save having boys was. Disney employees are now instructed to refer to all girls as "Princess"...as in, "Princess, please sit down on this ride." If you have young girls and they like to dress up as a princess, make sure you take princess attire with you or surely you will be getting begged for it when you are there. Face painting at Magic Kingdom is also big now. Saw lots of kids with their faces painted. No idea how much that cost.
PHOTOS Disney has photographers at all the parks in many of the most-photographed areas. You get a photo pass card from the first person you have photograph you. You give that card to all other photographers for them to load when they take your picture. When you go to meet the characters there will be a photographer there. When you get home you go online and see how expensive the photos are - $14.95 for two 4x6 prints. You can purchase a CD and copyright of the photos from Disney for $149.95 of all the photos on your photo pass card. Okay, this isn't cheap BUT, point is, these photographers have very expensive cameras that take excellent photos. If it is in your budget to purchase the CD, make sure you have every Disney photographer take your pictures every day that it is possible. The cost of the CD does not change with the amount of pictures on it. You also can email these pictures for 30 days to all your friends and family from your Disney account.
FOOD - Many entrees run around $8 or $9 in the parks. I never purchased drinks but recall they were at least $2.25. I don't know if there were multiple sizes, but I don't think so. Beer is now available at all parks for $7. Hot dogs are almost $5.00 ea. Mickey Mouse shaped eskimo ice cream (vanilla ice cream with a chocolate coating on a stick) is $4. Disney offered coupons for 30% off in selected park restaurants for purchases between 3 and 4:30 PM which I've never heard of before, so our one 'restaurant' meal was usually in the parks between 3 and 4:30 PM every day. (the promo ran the whole ten days I was at Disney) We ate breakfast only once at our value resort. Kid's meal was $5. and adult meal was $8 or $9. In order to purchase drinks you had to purchase an insulated mug for $15 which allowed you unlimited hot chocolate, coffee and soft drinks. Milk and juice had to be purchased separately. Milk was $1.49 for a half pint. Alcoholic beverages could be purchased in the refrigerated section of the cafeteria which really shocked me. I don't remember it being this way in the past.
AIRFARE - I went during the holidays which is peak time. I flew Southwest for two reasons - it was the cheapest and bags fly free. My travel days were flexible and I took my kids out of school for one day in order to save $500. (okay, my choice, but when I tell you that I was able to fly a family of four for $248. each during the holidays, this is why.) If you plan on taking food along with you which is what I did, bags flying free makes a difference. I ended up taking two suitcases of food. Food weighs a lot. If you are considering taking your food with you, get out a suitcase and start filling it up and see just how quickly you get to the 50 pound threshold for luggage. Don't wait to do this until the day you pack!
LODGING - Since I stayed during peak time I paid rack rate BUT, this was worth it to me for several reasons. I love Disney, but I knew this would be our last trip for a very, very long time. I like to vacation in other parts of the country for the most part. I would never visit Florida in the summer. I wanted to get the most out of Disney and leave feeling like we had seen and done everything we wanted to do. The two previous trips we were never able to accomplish nearly close to what we set out to do because of length of stay as well as the kids being younger, tiring much quicker and not being old enough to appreciate all Disney has to offer. I purchased the 10-day park hopper pass through a ticket broker. When you look at pricing, see how cheap the ticket becomes after the third day. I stayed at a Value resort for $139. a night. One interesting side-note, the pools were open 24 hours a day and heated like a hot tub. As my oldest liked to keep saying, "Disney knows how to make kids happy!"
STAYING AT A DISNEY RESORT - I wholeheartedly agree that this is the way to go just for all of the ease of transportation and the perks that you get from being a Disney guest. This said, you don't have a car and you have no means to get to 'the outside world' unless you call a cab. The only way to make purchases of something you may have forgot is at a Disney store. For example, a SMALL box of Nilla wafers was $4. and one roll of Ritz crackers in the snack sized box was $4. Downtown Disney is in the city and you can see businesses across the street, but I don't know what they are and how accessible they are.
PARKS - Magic Kingdom is my kid's least favorite park. It is different for all families and children. We spent the least amount of time at Magic Kingdom. Epcot now has a Kim Possible Interactive Adventure as well as "Kidcot" stations in each of the countries to make it more kid friendly. My 10 and 6 year olds loved the Kim Possible adventure and we actually learned some things and got some free sample products. Hollywood Studios has a new American Idol experience which was very close to the real thing. Whenever we go on vacation we try to visit the zoo in that city, so my kids are very accustomed to this and they love Animal Kingdom. I have one son who probably will end up working with animals someday in some capacity and being able to speak directly to several people at Animal Kingdom who work with the animals was very exciting for him. My kids are all into music so the various musicians at Animal Kingdom really caught their attention. Imagine walking through Africa and hearing recognizable Christmas music being played in reggae fashion complete with bongos or being at Holllywood Studios and hearing a live band play rock versions of Christmas classics. Pretty cool! Epcot also had a special candlelight processional in the World Showcase every evening. My kids all play musical instruments and they were able to see a full band, orchestra and choir every evening we were at Epcot. We saw three different guest narrators - Trace Adkins, Edward James Olmos and Marlee Matlin. The Illuminations fireworks show is spectacular. At Hollywood Studios the Spectacle of Dancing Lights that are only done during the holiday season were absolutely the most wonderful light show I have ever seen. All my kids were in awe.
Be aware that Toon Town is closing next month at the Magic Kingdom - http://www.examiner.com/disney-travel-in-national/walt-disney-world-to-c...
EXTENDED HOLIDAY HOURS - Disney keeps its parks open much later during the holidays on just 'regular' hours. Magic Kingdom was open until 12 Midnight every night we were there for normal hours. Evening Magic hours were 12 Midnight - 3 AM. Animal Kingdom was open until 8 PM every night normal hours and 11 PM during Magic Hours. Hollywood Studios was open until 10PM every night and until 1:00 AM during Magic Hours. Make sure you consult the calendars on the Disney website before you leave on your trip. I recall being surprised the first time we went that Animal Kingdom is only open until 5 PM on most days.
RIDES - Be aware that many rides exit through a gift shop that compliments the ride you just enjoyed. Example - a gift store stocked full of Toy Story gifts after you get off the Buzz Lightyear ride. Dealing with toddlers and kids in general is very difficult in this arena. My kids are very used to being told no and having to use their own money to buy. Not so easy when they are toddlers. The second time we went we brought some of the kids Disney toys with them into the park. Yes, risk of losing them, but they had them and it was easier to reason with them as to why we should leave the store without a purchase.
MEMORIES - Not only have I experienced this myself, I have heard this from others...my kids do not recall much of their Disney experience when they were 5 years old. I saw this firsthand with my ten-year old on this trip. He just didn't remember much. He has good recall and has Kindergarten memories and 1st grade memories, so I was really surprised that he did not have many Disney memories at all. The same happened with my oldest. This is something to consider when planning this kind of trip. I really, really thought my kids would have all kinds of memories from Disney at age 5 and they do not.
Our trip was a great success. We were able to see and do everything that we wanted to do. The cold weather snap was our friend as the parks cleared out as the sun went down. One evening at Hollywood Studios my kids were riding Rock 'N Roller coaster every ten minutes which is almost unheard of. Tower of Terror had no wait time a couple nights as well as Expedition Everest in Animal Kingdom. Same at the Magic Kingdom - we were riding Thunder Railroad with no wait time as well as all the other rides except for Space Mountain. There are now free apps for Disney wait times for smart phones. The wait times on our phones were very close to what we experienced. One great feature is the app would tell us if a ride was down.
I hope some of these tips help. I think Disney is a great value as long as you can keep yourself and family members focused and disciplined. My opinion is that Disney doesn't build and maintain the parks on what you pay for your park pass and hotel. There are countless opportunities for you to spend money in the parks and hopefully knowing some of the above before you go will give you a better idea of how to plan and spend since you already have all of Jill's great money saving tips!
Before I can give you some numbers, understand that there are "seasons" at Walt Disney World. How much you pay depends not only on what season it is, but also what promos Disney's running during those seasons, AND what "level" of resort you want to stay at (Value, Moderate, Deluxe, or Home Away From Home [villas, cabins, treehouses.] The levels are explained in my top post on this thread. (If you camp, Disney also has a campground, but it is not cheap - over $50/night.)
Also, understand that our least expensive trips have been "spur-of-the-moment," things we planned about 6-8 weeks prior to actually leaving. You can take advantage of some really low rates/promos if you watch them and jump on them vs. booking very far in advance, where you'll usually pay more.
Mousesavers.com has a great outline of the various resorts, seasons and "rack" rates. Keep in mind you will NEVER, EVER want to pay rack rates:
http://www.mousesavers.com/roomrates2011.html
There are lots of discount codes available if you register with Disney.com and watch for PIN codes (letter/number codes released to the public, and also to you via postcards and emails if you're on their mailing list. If you've gone to Disney before, you can also call reservations and just ask if there are any PINs attached to your account in the computer for discounted rates.)
Here are some current promos running right now - a "Kids Stay and Play Free" and a 20-40% off room rates PIN code among them:
http://www.mousesavers.com/packages.html#kidsfree
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Our most recent trip to Walt Disney World in Florida was this past June. We spent $224 each on airfare. (I like to stay as close to $200 per person as possible - if it's too much more, we simply don't go!) We stayed at Coronado Springs, a moderate resort. We paid $89/night for our first 5 nights, and $109 for the last two nights, because we happened to stay over the change of the "seasons" from Regular Season to Summer Season. Now, if you look at the rack rates for Coronado, you'll see they're around $200/night. Again, you will never, never want to pay this. With the exception of this trip's last two nights at $109, we've never paid more than $100/night for a Moderate resort in any trip.
We did have a PIN code attached to our account, which was between 40-50% off the room rate per night. This most recent trip was fun because we also had the free Quick Service dining plan attached to our stay, so we had free dining. I would never pay for the Disney Dining Plan, unless you eat a LOT of food -- it's much cheaper to follow some of the tips in my top post vs. paying full price for 3 meals a day. But if you do go planning to eat every single meal in a Disney restaurant, you *might* save some money with the DDP. It's something like $50 per person per DAY though, for the length of your trip (you cannot buy it for just one day) -- with our family of 5, I cannot imagine spending $250 every day on food for a week or more.
We had passes from a previous trip (again, from the first post above -- we know we go fairly regularly, so it was worth it to buy a multiday pass years ago and just continue using it.) So this trip wasn't too bad - for a week, the room was around $650, which included food (! again, don't count on that - first time we ever had a PIN for free dining) and airfare was $1120.
Disney typically runs a "Free dining for everyone" promo each Fall, but you MUST pay rack rate on the room to get free dining. So, if you figure you would eat more than $100 worth of food every day for everyone there, then that might be a good deal for you.
We did not get a car for Disney - they transport you from the airport to the resort free, and on-site transportation is free too. So our entire trip for 5 people was under $1800 for a week. Again, though, we used passes from a previous trip, which made things significantly cheaper.
If you need park passes, figure about $75 per day per person. They're not cheap, but the more days you buy, the cheaper they get. Again, this is why we usually buy a 10-day pass every few years, then use 3 or 4 days per trip until it's used up.
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If you want to stay at the Value resorts, with codes, they're often around $70/night or less - again with a PIN code. The cheapest we ever paid at a Value was $36/night, but that was about 5 years ago.
We stayed at Old Key West one time in a 2 bedroom villa. The parents got the master and the other bedroom had 2 double or queen beds but there was soooo much room that you could have easily put 1 or 2 roll away beds in the room. Had 2 full bathrooms and a kitchen.
Bumping up again by request.
I state right up-front I'm a carseat-safety-paranoid mom. For our trip to DW this spring, (in the works), we'll stay at a resort. I understand the Magical Express picks you up from the airport & gets you around the resort parks. We go to DisneyLand every year, and we just walk to the park (7 minutes) from our hotel, so transportation is never an issue in CA.
What do those of you with little kids (I'll have a 1-1/2 year old & a 4-year old by that time), do about carseats??? Do you take the Disney transporation? Or, do you rent a car & drive yourself everywhere? From what I remember about my last trip to DW (without kids) you pretty much HAVE to be bussed in, or stay at the Contemporary & take the monorail.
This is the one roadblock I've got going right now in my head of renting a minivan vs. using the Magical Express during our trip! I also NEVER travel without our gigantic double-stroller, so that's a whole other issue I'd need to deal with ... seriously takes up 1/2 of my Tahoe, but I DO NOT go to Disney without it!!!
I took 2 different trips with my sons. Once was when I had a 1 month old and 4 yr old. The other time was when i had a 2 yr old and 6 yr old. I did not have a car seat for either one both times and we took the Magical Express with no problems at all. We knew we were staying at the resorts the whole time so the thought of renting a vehicle to just get us back and worth felt like a waste of money. The only difficult part was having to pick up the baby during the first trip and collapse the stroller every time you got on a bus. Our wait time was never more than 10 minutes for a bus and after seeing how complex the whole Disney Compound road ways were, I'd NEVER rent a car. I'll let someone who knows the road ways drive me around.
... know that you will still be riding in some kind of vehicle without car seats to actually get TO your car. The Magic Kingdom's parking lot is ONE MILE (no lie, look it up!) from the main gates of the MK. So, you'll need to ride an open-sided bench tram (with no seatbelts) with your children for that mile just to get to the parking lot to get your car. In contrast, the buses or monorails drop you right at the front gate and you can walk inside. So again... after weighing all the options, we have always just used the Disney transportation.
What I think I would do is rent a car to get from the Airport to the resort, then take the shuttle around to the parks. It is mainly the ~20 mile ride to/from the airport that I really don't like. I know about the trams, not so worried about that. Luckily, our late-walker will be able to stand/walk on his own by then, so the need to fold up the stroller won't also be compounded by the need to carry a little one!!
I too am a car-seat-paranoid mom. Our first trip with our son, when he was 6 months, I went back and forth with Magical Express on the phone (and in person) as to whether he could ride in his seat on the bus -- answer was no, because there truly are no seatbelts on any of the Disney buses or monorails to buckle a car seat into.
It is frustrating. But I guess it's similar to a school bus, most of which also don't have seatbelts, for who-knows-what reason. I ended up putting the baby in a Bjorn and WEARING him when we rode the buses. Now that the kids are preschoolers, I can't do that any more.
If you truly MUST have them in a seat, you will end up having to rent a car and not use any of the Disney transportation as they're not accommodating to car seats.
About 5 years ago I actually had this same conversation with my husband about traveling on the monorail and buses with our then infant third child, LOL! He actually wore the Bjorn with our daughter figuring he can shield and absorb any impact better than I would if anything were to happen (He is 6'0 while I am 5'3.) Whether it was a false sense of security or not I did FEEL calmer with her physically strapped to my hubby.
Sounds kind of funny ... I've done that with my ErgoBaby and my littlest ... between airport & rental car centers in LA and Houston. My ErgoBaby was a lifesaver our past 2 trips to DisneyLand for waiting in lines with the baby on all the rides he could ride as an infant. Just plopped him in, pulled him out for the rides. My little guy, I use that term euphamistically - as he is now 14 months, almost 28 lbs and about 33" tall, will be closer to 2 years old when we travel, not sure I could physically carry him in any type of carrier by then.
Sounds like for us a minivan will be what we need to do. Not too horrible to do, I guess, except the cost. I like being able to come & go as I want without waiting for any bus, or worrying about someone else's driving, etc. Maybe when both my kids are bigger, it won't be an issue, but for now I want the carseats!!!
Looking for info/suggestions/deals for doing an adults-only Disney World vacation. My girlfriend wants to plan a trip to Disney for the adults. DH is not sure that it would be "fun" enough for just adults (I heartily disagree) and he's concerned about the cost of the park passes...seeing that the exhorbitant price does not include beer :)
Looking for tips, tricks & deals for Disney as adults.
FYI, we plan to go in the fall (which I believe is "off season").
Thanks in advance!
Believe it or not, a huge portion of the attractions at Epcot and MGM (Disney Hollywood Studios) are for adults. Ditto several at the Animal Kingdom. On our most recent trip, the kids started waning after a day at Animal Kingdom and then a day at the Studios, wondering "where all the stuff for kids is!"
I have gone to Disney as a single adult, before I had my kids, and had a fabulous time doing the non-kid (and the kid!) stuff.
Bumping this up as someone emailed asking where the "big Disney post" was..!
cant believe the deals i read here...we would drive..which would save on air fare..i have ALWAYS wanted o go to disney..maybe next year we can..thanks jill (yet again) for all you do for us..=)
Being a huge park, if you have little ones - I suggest safetytat.com ... GREAT item!!! We've been to Disneyland several times, and my daughter ALWAYS gets one put on. Luckily, we've never needed them at the park, BUT, when we returned to O'Hare the day after Disneyland last week,(tattoo still on my 3-1/2 year old's arm - I place them right above the elbow), she got separated from my husband entering baggage claim - he went down the escalator with her (NOT HOLDING HER HAND, mind you) I went down the elevator with the baby & stroller. She jumped off the escalator & tried to go back into the terminal to look for me ... the TSA agents stopped her, saw the tattoo & called me - though one TSA agent say my husband & knew that they just got separated. Phew. LOVE THESE THINGS FOR SAFETY!!!
What a great idea! I never knew they had those out there for kids. When we took the kids to Disney the first time, my in-laws were so nervous about our kids being separated from us, that they had the tiniest ID bracelets made for them. Their name is on one side and my cell number is on the other. It even came with adjustable rings in case their arms were to small still. Our youngest was only a month old, so we put his bracelet around his ankle. We use them anytime we go to a place that will be crowded, the zoo, six flags, museums, etc. You never know when a little one might try to take off on ya!
If you have Netflix or another source, a bunch of Disney DVDs released today under the main title Disney Parks, such as Disney Parks: Undiscovered Disney Parks, Disney Parks: Ultimate Walt Disney World and so-on. Might help find little tidbits for your trip.
for Disney tickets is broken, I tried a search and I got Billy Boys discount tickets, is that the same place? I am a little leary buying from a Billy Boy! : )
Undercover Tourist is still very much around - http://www.undercovertourist.com
A thank you to you Jill. You are the only reason I can even think about a Disney trip with my family. You are absolutely wonderful and can not be told that enough! Please ignore all of us all weekend and enjoy your Mother's Day!!!
ticket mania? Though undercover tourist seems to have the better deal anyway, I just wanted to make sure
Hi Jill, took much of your advice on finding a moderate hotel within Disney, curious if you buy your tickets now from those 2 websites of when you get down there? What if there is a blizzard and we dont make it down. The tickets are probably non refundable. If you dont get the parkhopper, do you get to go the whole day or once you go out of that park for the day your done.( Can you come back for fireworks if they still have them?) I know you talk about airfare, but have you ever driven down and did you stay somewhere in the middle. I need to tell you I love the Packing List..you thought of everything and more..one side note..my husband has never been a huge fan of my couponing, but he read all your info on Disney and really thought you and the information was great, just everything where we wouldnt have had a clue. Maybe your changing him. Thank you for adding all the Disney info to your site. We havent been there in over 12 years. Any suggestions you have I would be happy to hear. Also I have always wondered what DH stands for..I know sometimes what I think it is but I think no, that cant be. thanks..
I usually do order tickets ahead of time and have them shipped right to our house before we get there, though some brokers will deliver them to the resort too.
As far as the "what if there's a blizzard" question... once we've decided to go, WE'RE GOING :) I don't worry too much about being "stuck" with passes as we know and plan to return to the resort again at some point.
Have I driven down? Yes - though I think we're at a point where when we begin to plan a trip, we count airfare as an almost-necessity as we'd like to maximize our time in FL vs. in the car. If you camp, though, Disney has an amazing campground called Fort Wilderness that I have stayed at many times too.
I can't take credit for the Ultimate Packing List, but yes, the person that created it did do an AMAZING job of thinking of absolutely everything to bring.
DH stands for "Dear Husband." Not the other thing. LOL.
so now that i missed out on this opportunity any suggestions for getting in expensive tickets? I'm not staying on property - I am staying at a timeshare. I'm going down in August - 3 adult older kids and one child. It can make for every expensive tickets. thanks for any and all replies!
We went last summer. I bought my tickets from here:
http://www.greatorlandodiscounts.com/disneytickets.htm
I have to admit that I was a little skeptical because the website is a little flashy and I hadn't seen much written (i.e. reviews) about this company, but all worked great. When I was checking, these were definitely the cheapest (including the sites Jill listed & a few more I'd seen on Disney-on-a-budget type sites). This site was easiy $20-$30 cheaper per ticket than the others!
We were cutting it a little close for them to ship them to Chicago as we planned the whole trip in about 2 weeks! We opted to have them ship to our hotel (Swan/Dolphin). The hotel instructed us to have certain information on the shipment (reservation number, name, etc.). I asked the ticket company to include this on the box/envelope. They didn't include the info I asked (well, except for the name), but we got it anyways. When we checked in we just told the guy that there should be a package waiting for us, he checked, and gave it to us. The passes worked - all was good! I would suggest adding this site to your list of places to check prices before you buy.
If you're planning a trip VERY soon (before May 13) AND are staying at the WDW Swan/Dolphin (a Westin hotel), this is an interesting offer:
Stay twice at a Westin hotel and get a $100 Amazon gift card.
I have a question about accomadations for a family of 5, can we stay in the Moderate priced places? Do we have to pay for 2 rooms? We might have 6 if we take Grandma along to stay with our littlest one (21 months right now, but we probably won't go until next year at least) if we're out late. I'm trying to get a dollar amount to budget for, so knowing approximately how much accomadations would be would help a lot.
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