Walt Disney World may very well be the self-described place “Where Dreams Come True”, but it’s also the place where wallets get lighter. Disney World is expensive, and getting more so every year. As a couple of annual pass holders, we’ve learned a few tips and tricks that could help take a bit of the edge off your expenses when planning your trip, whether your coming for a vacation or a local who comes to visit often.
10. Don’t buy a park-hopper ticket
This is one that can save you a substantial chunk of change during your visit to Walt Disney World. Adding the park-hopper option can add nearly $60 to the price of a one day ticket, and all that gives you is the ability to hop to another park at some point in the day. If you’re going to be spending a few days here, and want to see every park, just get the one-park per day tickets and plan your entire day at the one park. Not only will you save money, you’ll be able to fully experience each park without rushing around. And moving from park to park not only costs money, it will also cost you your precious and limited Disney time. Walking to the front of the park, getting on a bus, your car, or monorail, then heading over to another park can eat up nearly an hour. Instead, just do the one-park ticket and plan for a full day in each park where you can (hopefully!) see and do everything.
9. Bring in your own food
As annual pass holders this is one we do all the time. When you visit the parks often, eating lunch and dinner there with a family can get really expensive. But Disney World actually lets you bring in outside food (just no glass or alcohol) without any hassle at all. One our favorite moves is grab some Publix subs, stuff them into a small backpack, and have them for lunch inside the park. Sometimes we’ll save the second half of the sub for later, or sometimes we’d have dinner on property after bringing our own lunches. Still, eating one meal in the park is a lot cheaper than two or three. There’s no need to feel sneaky or cheap if you do decide to bring in your own food. Florida residents with annual passes do this all the time. Those passes aren’t cheap! But being able to eat for less money makes it easier to afford those annual passes in the first place if you know you won’t be blowing another $100 (at least!) on food every time you go.
8. Use Shipt for on-property grocery delivery
If you’re staying at a hotel on Disney property it can be really inconvenient to drive off property just to find a grocery store to pick up some food to bring into the park. You might not even have access to a car and need to rely on Disney World transportation or even Uber to get around. That’s where Shipt comes in. Shipt is a grocery delivery service that partners with Publix, Target, Winn-Dixie, and Costco to do all of your grocery shopping for you, and then deliver everything to your door. And yep, they do deliver to on-property Disney World hotels! You can use Shipt to order those previously mentioned Publix subs, maybe some cereal or muffins for breakfast before you hit the parks, or maybe just some snacks to keep on hand during the day.
7. Free Ice Water
It’s hot, you’re thirsty, your kids are thirsty, and a bottle of water or a Coke is three or four dollars each. Buying drinks for your thirsty crew over and over is going to get expensive in a hurry. So just ask for a cup of ice water instead. Yep, ice water is free at any counter service location that has fountain drinks. This is another thing that frequent visitors know all about and take advantage of while in the parks. Just walk up to the counter and ask for as many ice waters as you need and that cast member will be happy to hook you up. Often times you’ll see some restaurants already have cups of water lined up and ready to go for anybody who asks.
6. Free soda at Epcot
Ok, so yep, water is free at all the parks but sometimes you just really need something sweet. If you’re at Epcot, head over to Club Cool in Future World where you can try free samples of Coca-Cola products from around the world. Most of them are really good and interesting, but at least one of them is what we’d generously describe as an “acquired taste”.
5. Stay at an off-property hotel
We can all agree that Walt Disney World hotel resorts are amazing, and super convenient since you’re right there on-property and just minutes away from the action. Amazing yes, but they can also be incredibly expensive when compared to other hotels and resorts around Orlando. When planning your trip, take a look at some other hotel options in the area, price them out and ask yourself if staying on-property is worth what can be a significant extra cost. Fortunately, Orlando is right up there with Las Vegas as far as hotel choices go, and you’re sure to find a decent place to stay that’s in your price range. Maybe you’ll want to explore Universal Studios and Sea World too, so staying on Disney property isn’t even a big deal? Or maybe the hotel is just a place to crash at the end of the night so a no-frills option works best for you. Some off-property hotels include shuttle service to Disney World and Universal as well, so your transportation needs are all taken care of too, which is one of the big perks of staying on-property anyway.
4. Free souvenirs
If you don’t want to spend more money on souvenirs, but absolutely MUST take something home from Walt Disney World (and who can blame you!) there are a few ways to bring home free souvenirs. Our favorite way is to ask one of cast members at the ticketing centers for a free button. You know the ones we’re talkingabout. As you’re spending your day in the park, you’ll see plenty of people with buttons that say “1st Visit”, “Happy Birthday”, or our favorite “I’m Celebrating!”. Even if it’s not your birthday, anniversary, or first visit, you can still use the fact that you’re at Disney World as a reason to celebrate! Just ask for a button, and they’ll be super happy to give you one. But if it is your birthday, we’ve found that some cast members will occasionally hook you up with some extra perks like a surprise fast passes, and even free food on occasion if they see that button on you. Disney calls these “Magical Moments” and wearing that button is nice way to try and invite one your way.
3. Discounted Disney Gift Cards
Look for Disney gift cards at places like BJ’s & Sams Club where you can often find them at a discount off the face value of the card. Sams Club often sells a $500 gift card pack for $480 and BJ’s sells $100 Disney gift cards for $95.99. These cards are good for booking your hotel, buying your park tickets, or within the parks themselves, so you could use them for an instant discount when planning your trip. Using them within the park also makes everything just about 5% cheaper as well.
2. Children under 3 are free
Maybe you’re planning a trip with your toddlers and trying to figure out the time to go when you’ll get the most value? Well kids under 3 are free, so if you get them there before their 4th birthday, you’ll be able to enjoy the parks without buying them an expensive ticket. After that, there is no kids price vs. adult price. Everybody 3 and up pays one full-price admission.
1. Plan for rain, and bring your own poncho
There are only a few certainties in life; death, taxes, and that it will pour rain for about 30 minutes every afternoon in Florida during the summer. You can plan for this a couple of different ways. The first way is to bring your own disposable dollar store poncho in so that if (when!) it does rain you’ll be prepared and won’t need to shell out $9 per poncho in the park. The other way is to plan around the rain, understand that it probably won’t rain for that long, and use that time to see a show, eat, or wait it out while in line for an indoor ride like Space Mountain.