Today’s questions is from Michelle:
Your blog has inspired me to start saving for something that I really want to do, and feel like it’s just way too expensive: a Disney World vacation!
I have coworkers who travel there all the time, but our budget makes a vacation like that a once-in-a-lifetime trip for us. However, I have NO IDEA what my saving goal would/should be!
I live in Pennsylvania, so we would need airfare for 3 plus a hotel, park tickets, and whatever else you have to pay for when you’re there (food, a few souvenirs, etc.)
So I’m wondering what a practical budget with be for this type of trip… and I’m looking for frugal tips for taking a trip like that without breaking the bank.
Also, I have a couple years to save as my daughter is barely 2, and I think she’d need to be 3 or 4 for it to be worth it. I just really want to be able to do this for my family! -Michelle
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Is there any way the photo with this post can be updated? It seems to be missing now, meaning that Pinterest won’t let me pin the link. I’d love to refer back when I’m in the midst of Disney vacation planning. Thanks!
It should be updated now. Let me know if it doesn’t work.
Perfect- thank you!
I apologize for being completely of topic but do you have similar suggestions for a dream vacation to Hawaii. Are they websites you would suggest to visit. Sorry I am off topic once again 🙁
We took our daughter at four with a stroller and it was amazing! Wonderful memories! We also went we she was older. I see many people suggesting to wait until your children are older, but . . . If you have a daughter(s), one of the most precious parts are the princess meals. When they’re older, they know they aren’t really the true princesses and it is more of an amusement park. We also stayed in Kissimmee in a home and enjoyed the pool and being able to eat some meals in. Wishing you a wonderful trip! 🙂
I agree with the other posts that said wait till they are older. At the time, my boys were 5 and almost 3. They tired easily and didn’t like waiting in lines. Now one thing with my youngest. I only had to pay his airfare. You do not have to pay for park tickets until they are 3 and also they do not charge them for the meal plan. They eat off your plate or if you have a buffet they eat free. Also, in my opinion, the park hopper is not worth the extra cost. The kids were begging to go back to the room.
My Favorite Go-to Disney Sites and Apps
http://happilyeverdisney.blogspot.com/p/my-favorite-go-to-disney-sites.html
I we live in Ohio and we probably go to Disney about every other year. With a family of five, we have given up on flying and always drive down . Although we have drove straight through twice, it is a bit much though. Both times we drove through the night so the kids were able to sleep most of the way.
My kids are now 7, 8 and 14 and I’ve been taking them to Disney since they could walk. I think every child (and adult) will enjoy the experience no matter what their age~
I like couponingtodisney and mousesavers. Mousesavers has great deals on many Florida parks, hotels, tickets and car rentals.
Also, if you have a family member in the Military , there are awesome deals for them too! I think we got our park tickets for June for $160/person for five days!
Good luck! I’m sure it will be a great trip!
If you can be very disciplined with your money and pay it off EVERY month( so you don’t owe interest and run into credit card debt) open a Disney Rewards Visa card and start earning free points. I have over $600 of free money to use at Disney. Just charge your monthly expenses each month and pay it off when you get the bill. I would also suggest waiting until your child is a little older. We are from PA too and are planning to book soon hopefully when (crossing fingers) they offer the FREE dining plan. We are going late September which is typically a slow time and usually the free dining is offered. Your biggest decisions are going to be driving vs flying(I priced tickets for a family of 4 to fly right now for this fall and they are over $1000). You have to decide what is right for your family. We have decided flying is the way to go. Long road trips make our family miserable and we would probably spend at least 4 driving there and back which eats up vacation time. There is also the auto train you can take from VA, but it lets you bring your car. It can be expensive. The 2nd big decision will be staying Onsite vs Offsite. Both have pros and cons. Check out the numerous websites out there for advice. Mousesavers.com is a good one. They have great tips. Have fun planning!
Do the reward points ever expire? Can I save them up over a couple year period?
Yes. The rewards do have an expiration date, but it is 5 years from the date earned, so you do have some time to save up.
My husband’s work sends our family every February from a Thurs-Mon. We get good flights from the midwest at that time of year and stay at a Deluxe resort which is usually 30% off. They pay for everything but food, and it’s usually $3500 for lodging, magical express bus transfer, and 4 day park hoppers for 4 (my kids are 8-10 now), plus $800-1000 for flights. We spend approx 100-150 day on food depending on sit-down options. Good luck and have fun! The bibbity-bobbity boutique is worth it for $50 if your daughter’s into princesses! Mine did it at age 4 and LOVED IT. It was a special memory.
There are lots of ways to save money at Disney. To experience a true Disney trip, do stay on property. It is super convenient and fun. And if you go when there is a good discount (free dining is the best discount available when staying at a moderate or value hotel), you can save big. Fall is usually when free dining is offered. They will be announcing it probably late spring/early summer.
I just guest posted at Motherhood On A Dime for ways to save at Disney. Here is the link: http://www.motherhoodonadime.com/kids/ways-to-save-at-disney/
Have fun!
Ps forgot to include airfare so jump that up to $6200.
We went last October for 7 days. We are a family of 4. It cost $5,000. Tickets were just under $2000. We stayed off property in a townhouse, had a rental car and ate lunch and dinner at the parks.
I didn’t go to Disney until I was 27 and lived in Orlando for a year. I remember how many very small tired children were there and it can get HOT with very long lines. I decided I would not bring anyone under the age of 9 or so and they had to be tall enough to to able to ride all the rides.My stepson went went with his mom’s family when he was five and all he remembers being hot, long lines and arguing with his mother because he wanted something. He wants to go back since all he has is pictures of what he did. If my family ever goes it will be only once so I would wait until kids are older. You will have a great time!
I agree with you and would recommend waiting until a child is at least 4 to remember the experience and really enjoy it. Our daughter was five and does recall the trip. A couple things we did, back then American Express ran some great travel deals with some “extra” like priority seating at parade¸ special excursions, etc. So you may want to check with your credit card holder to see if they have a travel company.
We also rented the stroller, while our daughter was 5, it was SUCH a blessing for so many reason. It helped to keep her contained in the crowds to prevent getting lost in the sea of people, kept her from getting tired out and we were able to keep an adult pace, kept her cool with the canopy and if she wanted to cat nap…no problem. And back then, you were able to bring coolers into the park. I did everyday and the stroller was the perfect place to set so no one had to carry it. I carried in the cooler a frozen was cloth to wipe daughter face to keep cool even in May and was perfect for sticky hands and such, Fruit snacks, suckers for thirsty lil girls and a couple Capri suns, granola bars, etc…… I know Disney now offers food package, not sure if they are reasonable but having a couple things on hand for a grumpy hungry child (and adults) can kept them from melting down. Our cooler was a soft pack than I used as my carry on during travel and brought all my snacks from home which I got on sale with coupon to help keep cost down. I do actually do this with every trip.
We did skip the water park as water parks are everywhere and concentrated on theme park, epcot and animal kingdom.
I just came across a blog post on some great frugal ways to save at Disney on celebrateeverydaywithme.com. Hope that helps!
We went to Disney World last September. We paid about $1000/person including airfare from Seattle, on-property hotel, 5-day park hopper tickets, dining plan, and groceries we ordered from garden grocer and had delivered to our hotel. Because we went in September, we were able to get the quick service dining plan for free. We stayed at the Art of Animation hotel, which is a value resort, but is pretty new and the kids loved it! (My kids were 12 and 9 at the time). I will say that the dining plan was WAY TOO MUCH FOOD for us! We ate and ate and ate and still couldn’t use it all. On the last day of our trip, we still had 18 “snacks” left to use up. We ended up shopping at the hotel gift shop for food items that would count as “snacks” on the dining plan because we didn’t want to waste them. I ended up giving most of our groceries away to a friend because we couldn’t possibly use them.
Good for you to save! So many families throw their credit cards out to pay for such trips. Crazy! We saved and saved and our dream came true last December. I highly recommend the first week of December. It is after the bustle of Thanksgiving and before the chaos of Christmas but you still get to enjoy all the great Christmas decorations, themes and more! The gingerbread houses are amazing!
Highly recommend a later age. Our girls were 7 and 9. We did not have to worry about naps and strollers!! (I feel so bad for the families that have to deal with strollers in crowds, especially at night when everyone is leaving the parks after the night shows.)
We stayed at All Stars Movies. Really we just needed a place to sleep!! It was nice to have the convenience of bus transportation to get you to any of the parks and resorts.
Dollar Tree and Goodwill (or any thrift shops) are great places to find Disney goodies and apparel.
We planned for $5,000-$8,000 and were on target. We did get a meal plan.
I highly recommend WDWPrep for tips and more! And we used an official Disney planner, which was a huge help because she did all the reservations and such for us.
But warning: there are a lot of great sites out there and it can be OVERWHELMING. Don’t feel you have to squeeze every stone to get every drop of deals and steals. You will be swimming in all the planning, which will take the fun out of it. If this is going to be a once in a lifetime trip, then enjoy a couple indulgences.
Driving is usually cheaper and is possible from PA. We’ve done it many times from MI. Also, we usually rent a house or condo that is within 10 minutes of the park. VRBO and homeaway.com have lots of options. This way we prepare our own breakfast and sometimes would come back for dinner. Sometimes we’d fix easy kid food for our children and get carry out for ourselves. Another thing that we’ve done is pack a small lunch that we’d just supplement in the parks. We’d put sandwiches in ziplock bags with an ice pack carried in a back pack. A Disney trip doesn’t have to break the bank.
Consider driving, it will save you a good bit of money and the trip from PA is manageable for most people. If you fly, stay at Disney (the value resorts) and aim for a very affordable time–I know late August is one time that is super cheap rates. Package your tickets and hotel to save and look at the meal plans–depending on your family’s ways they can be wonderful!
About the age of your child. I really think that 3 or 4 is way too young. Kids that young just do not have the energy to go the distance. Not only that, that kids that young do not remember the experience or most of it anyway. I know everyone thinks that it is the thing to do, but in reality between 8 and 15 is so much better. The kids can handle the day and will always remember such a wonderful time.
There are lots of good suggestions so I won’t repeat here, but one of our best tips is that at any park vendor with fountain drinks, you can get free ice water. If you want flavor, bring some Mio. Seems insignificant in the scope of things, but if you save $3 per drink for each meal for 4 days of parks, for a family of 3, that’s $108.
I would stay on property if you fly (no car rental), or off property in a condo or rental house if you drive (cheap meals). We have done both.
Don’t fall for the misconception that you have to take your child to Disney. There are many other “magical” places to vacation. It’s not a right of childhood to go to Disney, but the world sure has most people thinking it is.
I totally agree! I’ve never been there and I don’t feel deprived! Ha! We went on lots of family vacations but amusement/theme parks were not our thing. I don’t have plans to take my kids to Disney either. If it appeals to you, go for it, but don’t feel like you are a bad parent if you don’t take your children there at some point.
Thank you!
Let me suggest Birnbaum’s guidebook and mousesavers website. Your first discount will be going in off season( jan, feb, May and parts of the Fall months) I highly recommend staying on campus. This way you are completely in the “magic” of it.. And you’ll never need your car. You can ride the shuttle buses everywhere. If you’re comfortable in double beds , then go with the least expensive hotels on the value ring. If you need queen beds, you’ll have to move to the moderate ring. We loved port Orleans riverside hotel. Birnbaum’s book has prices so you’ll know how much you’ll be spending.. Plus lots of good tips that you wouldn’t otherwise know.
I’ve been to Disney many times… The key is looking early at the sales and be ready to buy when they come up…also make sure you go at an off peak time…they generally have cheaper rates and sometimes give a free dining plan…the last trip I took we got the quick service dining plan for free and couldn’t use all the meals they gave us! Also check southwest for sales…our airfare was $89 one way
Pick up Disney Tshirts and souvenirs at Target in Orlando. Much cheaper.
Hi Michelle,
I am a travel agent with Liberty Travel in PA. I would love to help answer some of your questions, give you the best times to get the best bang for your buck and tell you lots of ways to save on airfare, hotel and dining. Please don’t hesitate to send me an email at RhoadesL@libertytravel.com. There is no obligation to just talk and we don’t charge a fee to book your trip. If you book your trip and a new promotion comes out we can adjust the price to get you the best deal!
I just save my client $704 off his trip this week because a new summer promotion came out!!
We also purchase Disney gift cards at Target using our Red Card (Debit Card) and then use those gift cards to pay for the trip on the Disney site. It’s not huge but you save 5% of the price of the gift card. We ended up saving over $200 this way.
I am a Disney travel agent so I can totally relate to questions about Disney. Disney offers lots of great savings plans in the summer months and even during the off peak hours. Many people don’t know that if you book your vacation you can pay $200 down and then make payments toward your vacation in the increments that you choose. You must pay off your balance 45 days before you go. If this is your first Disney trip I highly suggest you do lots of research and contact a fee-free travel agent. Fee-free means that Disney pays the travel agent (like ME) and you are not charged. allears.net is one of the best websites out there for Disney planning and of course I am available to help as well since I am a Disney travel agent.
Our first experience to Disney our twins were 3 and to this day they still talk about it!!! Everything was magical to them. they loved the rides but were more interested in the parades and the characters.
I agree about buying souveniers off site. Walmart has a huge disney souvenier section and it’s the same manufacture that sells direct to Disney but for a 1/3 of the cost. We also bought glow sticks/wands at the Dollar Tree for nighttime fun (then you don’t end up buying the $9 one in the park)
We brought food and drinks in with us and rarely ate in the park.
I can’t really help with airfare or lodging because we drove and stayed in our RV at a campground for $125 for the week.
Our second trip included another child so we were a family of 5. There aren’t many ways to save on tickets to the parks but if you buy more days it’s cheaper per day.
Definitely planning ahead will help you. good luck
It really depends on when you want to go. People are always shocked that I took my family of 4 (plus a great grandma so 5 total) to WDW for 9 days and spent less than $3500 total including food (1 table servie, 1 quick serve and 1 snack per day and trust me that was more than enough food for all of us), hotel, park tickets, airfare (fron Texas), plus extras in the park. The key was we went during a off season (fall) when they offered free dining plan.
Since you have time to save start doing your research. Decide what kind of things are important to you for your trip. If you can have flexible dates it will be even better because not only can you get better deals but the crowds are less so it is more enjoyable plus the weather is nice and mild!
If you get the dining plan keep in mind just because you have meals alloted per day you are there that doesn’t mean you have to eat those meals all on that day. You can move them around, and use them on different days and different people. My grandma and I generally split our quick serve because it was a lot of food so we ended up with 9 “extra” quick serve meals we could use at some other point in the trip.
Research is key, once you have your dates nailed down you can start looking for the deals. You can also do “Disney by layaway” as I like to call it. You can put down a $200 deposit then make montly payments towards your trip. You can make changes along the way if you need too.
The main thing is have FUN!
I agree with the free dining! We went in October 2012 for $2200. Caribbean beach resort for 7 days 6 nights. Kids ages 6, 3 and 10 months. With 4 day park passes but with my kids ages we could have saved about $400 and just did 2 day passes and just spent the time at magic kingdom. Our kids would have been happy playing at the resort more and we could have booked character dining outside of the park (cd takes a lot of time so it wastes a lot of your park day).
The key is booking when they announce the free dining for fall usually in the summer. Some sites will email you when they are announced or chech disneys sites daily! Also we booked accouple different dates at cinderellas table in the castle as we had two different wks that we could have gone. I booked these rigtj at 180 days from the potential trip to make sure we would get to eat there! It was $100 deposit but they refunded me the reservation that I didn’t use! Keep in minde that once they announce free dining all the good places fill up fast!
Way to save and pay for the trip! We always pay cash and never regret it!
We have gone twice since 2009 and we go again in 4 weeks. As a graduation present to myself. We r a family of five.our youngest is physically handicap. We have never stayed at the park. For other military families try afvc.com. this time around we paid $269 for 8days 7 nights at an awesome condo that sleeps 8. It is 5 minutes ftom park. We drive from pa. Save up all our has points from our grocery store loyalty card. We only budget for three in park meals pack the rest. We go shopping at Wal-Mart when we get there. And ask family for disney Giftcards for our girls birthdsys and Christmas. We also go to shades of green, the military resort to get reduced tickets. Our trip eill be about $1500 of our own expenses plus each of our girls have $100 in disney gc. Thats my disney on the cheap.
feel free to contact mr thru my page Happily Ever Disney, https://www.facebook.com/happilyeverdisney I post a lot of tips on planning, saving money and more. I love to help people plan for a Disney trip! I am not an agent, just a mom that LOVES Disney and saving money
This might help too: How to save on your Disney trip BEFORE heading to the parks.
http://happilyeverdisney.blogspot.com/2014/03/blog-post.html
Hi- A Disney vacation is worth every penny. We have been fortunate to have visited Disney many times and the 5-6 age is great– there is still so much magic and they will remember it. Travel off peak and stay at a Disney resort. They have value resorts which are themed beautifully and quite reasonable. Many times in Oct-Nov (except for Thanksgiving week) they have package specials that include free dining which is a big savings. You can order a free Disney Planning DVD from the Disney site which is helpful. Also passporters.com, Allears.net, mouseplanet.com are helpful websites. Happy planning!
Maybe wait until your child(ren) is in the 6 to 8 age range? They will remember more and be able to enjoy more of the parks. Plus, that gives you more time to save.
Check out “special” days like Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party (if they still do that). Ticket prices are cheaper and less crowds due to restricted ticket sales.
Agree with others: try to do a package deal during the off-season. Staying on-site may “cost more” but is WELL WORTH IT. Disney provides your transportation all around their property and to and from airport. If you want to go somewhere else for a day, you could rent a car for just one day.
Enjoy it!
I’m a Florida resident, and while I don’t go to Disney often, I’ve been enough times to know a trick or two:
Buy souvenirs off site. The local shops carry the exact same things they have in the park at a HUGE discount. If your little one wants to wear a princess or pirate costume all day, or a Mickey ears hat, or whatever, have them pick them out before you go to the park, or buy them in advance and give them to them at the park as a surprise.
Bring your own food. They allow coolers with sandwiches and snacks and such. It’s a heck of a lot cheaper.
If it’s going to be a long trip, buy the 3 or 4 day passes. It’s more expensive up front, but if you divide the total up by each day, it’s usually cheaper. Also, take my advice on this: Spend the extra $5 for the no expiration option. You may not need it, but it’s cheap insurance. Hubby and I went to Disney for our honeymoon. We were smart enough to get the no expiration option. Good thing we did, because 2 days in, we both came down with the stomach flu. We spent the rest of our honeymoon puking on each other and watching Home Improvement reruns. We finally got to use the last day of our 3 day pass on our anniversary.
There are debates about staying on-site vs. off site. I have no advice here. We own a timeshare, so it’s not even a consideration for us.
The cast members (the name for Disney employees) will happily take your picture for you for free if you hand them your digital camera.
Don’t buy an autograph book. Just bring a plain notebook. Characters are happy to sign pretty much any piece of paper you shove at them.
And if it’s your kid’s first time, or their birthday or something, stop by the welcome center when you first enter the park. They’ll give you a button to wear, and some cast members will give button-wearers special treatment. Even if they don’t, hey, free button, right? (We still have out “Just married!” buttons.)
Have fun. Make memories. Enjoy the experience. And still save a bundle.
We just went last month and spent about $2,500 for our family of 4 (that doesn’t include airfare because we drove from GA). I highly recommend Magical Vacation Homes. You can read more about our trip at http://lifewiththebs.wordpress.com/2014/02/26/animal-kingdom-and-magic-kingdom/.
I can’t give you a firm $ amount, but my husband and I are shooting to save $4-5000 for our family of 4 to go. We have been saving since our daughter was born (3 years ago) and will probably not go for 4-5 more years, giving us lots of time to plan. We started planning early b/c, like you, we knew Disney would be a one time trip.
I would reconsider the age you take her at. 3-4 sounds great, but they’ll tire easily, won’t be large enough for many attractions and will likely not remember the trip long term. We thought that 7-9 was a great age to go, but of course, you know your child best!
Consider taking a flight out of a small airport such as Harrisburg, PA or Hagerstown, MD which take direct flights to Orlando-Sanford airport for half the price as a major airport/airline. Allegiant flies out of these airports and in Orlando it is only about 30 minutes from Disney. Some of these flights may only be during certain times of the year, but it may be well worth it to plan your trip then to save money.
Good point! it pays to check smaller airports. Frontier started flying out of Trenton mercer airport – really closer to Princeton. They have a non stop to Orlando that if you book early you can get really cheap. Also, parking is free which is a huge savings compared to the $13 a day economy at the philly airport. Last year frontier flew out of there non stop to New Orleans and we got round trip tickets for $163. Checked bag fee was $25 and cokes were $1 other then that no hidden fees. Only warning is its a small airport and only frontier operates out of it. Its so small that there are no restrooms or food available past security, just a waiting room, but it was worth it for the savings flying a family of 3.
Flying into Sanford might be cheaper, HOWEVER, Disney doesn’t provide transportation from Stanford. The DME (Disney Magical Express) runs only from Orlando International Airport. Taking a taxi from Sanford to WDW can run well over $100 as it is close to 45 miles one way.
Couponingtodisney.comis an excellent resource
I’m also in the middle of planning a Disney trip so I appreciate this question (& responses!!). One follow-up I have is when is the best time to book to stay on-site at Disney? Do last minute deals pop up?
We went last year and are going again this year. You can book anytime and if a discount comes out you can call and Disney will apply that discount to your reservation. Also, if you book through Disney, you don’t have to pay the whole thing until you are 45 days out. This year I booked in January, but got an offer for 30% off the hotel for the time of year we were going and they changed the reservation to reflect the promotion no problem.
I live in PA too and when we went to Disney in 2011, we drove. For a family of 5 the airfare was over $1000! We split the drive up into two days and brought movies and snacks for the car. I’m sure you will get lots of great tips, but mine would be to consider driving unless you can find incredibly cheap airfare! I live in the north central part of PA, within two miles of the NY state line, and it took us about 19 hours. Even considering the cost of gas, meals, and hotel, driving was way cheaper than flying.
You are smart – save for it now and then enjoy every single minute of it while you are there!
Just make sure the child is old enough to remember it. I am a full time nanny and many many families save & plan , return & say they wish the kids were at least.5 or 6 . If it’s once in a lifetime make sure the.child remembers it, too. Pictures don’t mean the child remember s it. Make it worth your sacrifice ! Best of luck 🙂
I was just coming here to say the same. My husband worked at Disney when he was in college and he would tell you the same.
Exactly this. If it’s truly once in a lifetime, don’t worry about doing it when she’s 3 or 4, wait until she is old enough and BIG enough to ride everything and truly enjoy it all.
We went for the first time last summer to Disneyland with our three kids and our youngest, who was three at the time, was too small to do some of the rides and too young to do other more “thrilling” rides. Our older two kids were 7 and 9, which really seemed the perfect age. Old enough for it to still be “magical” and not just super fun.
very good advice. we went when my kids were 12 and 15 and it was great, also we went in november, it was much less crowded, as a matter of fact, not bad at all, and since its florida it was pretty warm still.
My biggest recommendation is obviously to not go during peak season. The off season Sept. and Oct. is a great time to go. We just did this in October, and the weather was perfect. Another recommendation is to NOT stay on Disney property. Although nice and convenient – EXPENSIVE! Rather, go to http://www.vrbo.com and rent a house for much, much cheaper. Even the houses that have their own pool, and a lanai are cheaper. You can get a 3 bedroom house that rents for $600 for the week. Besides – eating out is very costly – and by renting a house you can cook your own meals, do laundry, and even pack meals to take to Disney – rather than eating on Disney property – which again is costly. What we did was freeze water bottles the night before, made sandwiches (subs actually!), and put the frozen water bottles in with the sandwiches in a backpack. If your husband is in the military, Disney offers a significant military discount. 4 day hopper for $169! You could save money on airfare by driving down. From PA to FL is about 16-17 hours. To drive to FL and even staying in a hotel will save you more than $300. Besides – that gives you a car to travel around down in Florida. There are many things to do on your off time that you are not at Disney. With a 4 year old in tow – I recommend only plan on 4 days at Disney. At that age (heck at any age!)- Disney is very tiresome! ALOT of walking. There will be days that you will just need to “take a break”. And believe me, more than 4 days at Disney you will be very Disney’ed out.
I agree on all of this. We are annual pass holders and DVC members, because I’m obsessed. Couponingtodisney.com is an awesome site. Kristen Cooper works very hard to help people who love Disney get there on a budget. Definitely check out her site. Also, best ticket prices are at Undercovertourist.com. We have used them many times in the past. They are safe and reliable for all Orlando entertainment tickets mailed to your house.
Mousesavers.com is a must see site, as well as Allears.net and Disboards.com
I just returned from Disney last month. I went to visit family, so I didn’t have to pay for a hotel. My child is under 2, so her airfare and park admission were free. That said, one way I saved money was to take my own food into the park. Disney allows you to bring a cooler of food and drinks into their parks. Not only did I save money, but I saved time too. The lines for food were as long as the lines for rides!
My family has traveled to Disney 8 times in the past 9 years. It can really vary in price based on when you go. We have 3 in our family too. We have spent as low as $2000 and as much as $5000. I would suggest going the week after Labor Day, very little crowds and hotel prices are lower. We went for the first time when my son was almost 3. Under 3 gets in free!
I don’t know how much you need to budget for, but a good place to get hotels and tickets to Disney is getawaytoday.com. We have purchased our hotel packages from them when we go and it’s a good bargain. They always have deals like free nights and tickets are included. We always have to buy more tickets (we have 5 kids) but they are discounted also. Sometimes you can get tickets to Disney where everyone pays the child price. Just check them out. We were very happy with them.
We go to Disney a LOT. Prices go up every year, but the experience is worth the sacrifice. I have a family of 4 with two teenagers. We like to stay at the resorts on Disney property. If you go during the off-season, resort prices will be MUCH cheaper. During the peak season, plan to spend at least $120 per night for a value resort. With little kids, the value resorts are well worth the money and you have bus service to and from the parks, saving on gas and parking. I budget $100/day for food, but even with 2 teenagers, we rarely spend that much. We eat mostly counter service meals with one character or special meal thrown in during the week. Tickets are right at $100 for an adult ticket this year. Kids under 3 get in free. I am not sure about the price of a child’s ticket, but it is easy to Google the price. My strategy is to save $100 per month, but save what is doable for you. $100 per month for 2 years would give you $2400 for your vacation.
I highly recommend you purchase the book, The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2014 by Sehlinger. My husband and I found it VERY helpful in all aspects of planning our trip to WDW. It will give you specific cost information about various expenses (food, lodging, etc.) as well as pros and cons to things like staying on site vs. off-site, buying meal plans vs. not, busiest and slowest times of year, etc., etc.
The single best thing you can do to get the most bang for your buck is to go during an off-peak time of year. Seriously. If you go in the summer, you will ride maybe 20% of the rides that you would during October (or another off-peak time). It’s the difference between waiting 15 minutes for a ride/attraction versus 2 or more hours.
It really is a one-of-a-kind place to vacation. Happy planning!
You might be able to find a copy of The Unofficial Guide at your library. I’d definitely recommend that you buy it for the year that you’re going, but I think you’d be fine borrowing a copy to help with research.
Also, I know that people have lots of different opinions, but since you only plan to make this trip once, I’d recommend that you wait until your daughter is a little older. Our youngest was almost 6 when we went 4 years ago. We had a blast AND my daughter is able to remember how much fun we had. 🙂
I’d definitely second that! Our daughters were 2, 5, and 7 when we went. The 7 year old remembers plenty of it, but the 5 year old only remembers a bit.
The nice thing about disney is that the price of almost everything down to the food menus is online so you can just add a rough plan right up. We spent around $5000 for a family of five, including one baby and two preschoolers for 10 days. We rented points to stay at a delux villa. That includes everything down to the costumes I made the kids before we left and the groceries we ordered.
Couponing to disney, my first trip, mouse savers, and touring plans were my best resources.
Couponingtodisney.com has awesome and realistic advice on saving, planning, and costs of Disney. She also has her previous vacations broken down into what they spent for each category like tickets, meals, and hotels. Happy Planning! 🙂
have you checked out the site, couponingtodisney.com ? She’s turned getting to Disney on a budget an art form. There are great ideas there.
Look up richmond savers.com at an 10/13/2013 article on how to go to Disney free step by step. It involves opening certain credit cards to earn points and money to go to Disney. It’s clever if you have good credit.