Planning a Disney World Vacation With a Budget in Mind: Things to Think About

Today I will go over some tips and tricks on how to go to Disney World with a Budget.

1. How much am I willing to spend in all

2. How much time do I plan to spend at my hotel?

   1. Do I want it to be the highlight of the trip?

   2. Will I only be sleeping there and spending the rest of the trip in the parks?

3. How many days do I want to spend in the parks?

4. Do I need a park hopper?

5. Is there any park I don't mind missing?

6. Do I need a meal plan?

How Much Am I Willing to Spend in All

This is really one of the most important question to ask yourself when taking a Disney Vacation. This an important once in a life time trip, like a honeymoon, where you want to go all out and you don't care how much you spend or do have a small budget to use on the trip and you need to plan around that. Depending on the answer to this question, you can plan different aspects of the trip to fit in the budget.

How much time do I plan to spend in the hotel

If you are planning on smaller budget this is a very important question. If you don't think you are going to spend much time at the hotel, and/or you don't care about the elaborate theming of their swimming areas, why not budget less for a hotel. You can stay on resort at one of the cheaper value hotels ($150 - $350 a night). You can also stay off resort or on property in a hotel not owned by Disney. All of these options will help you save money with your hotel room.

Some people want the hotel experience to be the highlight of their trip and are willing to dish out the money on a super expensive hotel like the Grand Floridian or Animal Kingdom Lodge ($700 - $1400 a night). If you have the budget to do it, then why not.

Some people even do trips where they don't go to the parks at all and they just hang out at their resort, if you only do this for a couple days, it can be a relatively cheap trip because you don't have to pay for park tickets.

The cheapest way to stay on Disney property would be to stay at the Campgrounds in your own tent or Camper ($75 - $200) a night.

Also keep in mind that room rates are different depending on the time of year you go. So, if you go around a Holiday it will be more expensive but if you go at a slower time of year it will be cheaper.

How Many Days Do I Want to Spend in the Parks (Do I need Park Hopper, Do I Mind Skipping a Park)

There are 4 parks, some people like to do 1 park in a day, while others decide to skip their least favorite park, some people decide to Park Hop so they can fit more into fewer days, and some people just go all out and spend 2 weeks in Disney going to parks multiple times to they seem everything.

Every time I plan for 7 days. Arrival, 2 park days, a day off from the park, 2 park days, departure. This would give me 4 park tickets and a day to rest before going at the parks again. I like to spend a whole day in each park so I get the most out of the experience. Though 4 park days may be too much for some budgets.

If you have a least favorite park you can choose to skip that park and do 3 park days, or you can grab a park hopper and do 3 park days and do a half day in 2 least favorite parks. The Park Hopper does cost money so getting 3 park tickets with Park Hopper may not save you much money.

Also keep in mind that technically the price per ticket goes down the more tickets you have. So the most expensive ticket will be a 1 day park hopper plus ticket.

You can do a long weekend at Disney, get a lot out of the vacation and not spend as much as you think a Disney trip would cost.

Do I Need a Dining Plan?

This is entirely based on your families eating habits. They have multiple plans and they cost a bit of money. If you think your family will use every dining credit they are given then of course a dining plan is perfect, but if you think you're going to skip a meal or not eat as much as the dining plan allows then it probably is not worth it. You would be paying more for the dining plan than if you had just bought the food yourself.

Quick-Service Dining Plan

2 Quick-Service Meals (per night of stay)

1 Snack/Non-alcoholic drink (per night of stay)

1 Resort-Refillable Drink Mug (This can only be refilled at resorts)

Disney Dining Plan

1 Quick Service Meal (per night of stay)

1 Table-Service Meal (per night of stay)

1 Snack/Non-alcoholic drink (per night of stay)

1 Resort-Refillable Drink Mug

Like I said above, if you don't think you will use all of these credits before the end of the trip or you like to eat at cheaper restaurants than what the plans budget for, you are better off budgeting money for food instead of getting a dining plan.

If you need help coming up with a budget for yourself or planning a trip based on a certain budget, please reach out to me either here or at CatandDemonGaming@gmail.com, I would love to help you plan your next outing to Disney World.