This is, in no way, an exhaustive list of all of the ways to save money. This post would be way too long to include everything. But, if you don’t know where to begin, these are all good things to think about for simple ways to save money. This list will include ways to save money on hotels, tickets, etc… There are also ways to save money just by doing some simple day to day planning ahead of time, but I will save those tips for another post.
Walt Disney World Website
The first thing you should do is check the special offers section of the Walt Disney World website. Sometimes, you’ll actually find the best deals offered straight from Disney. This page will tell you all of the special offers that Disney has currently announced. Most of the time these offers apply during a certain window of time. This includes discounts on hotels, park tickets, dining, and more. Sometimes, these offers aren’t announced until a couple months before your trip. So, keep on the lookout!
Time of Year
Aside from special offers being offered during certain times of the year, the time of year you go does matter. This used to only apply to the Disney resorts, but, more recently, they also applied this idea to park tickets. Their system is a little complicated these days. There are the traditional “value,” “regular,” and “peak” seasons, but there are also different rates around the holidays, marathon weeks, , and summer. You may not have a choice of when to go. Maybe the summer is the only time your entire family can take time off. However, if you are at all flexible, you can save a significant amount of money by going during the value or regular seasons versus the peak/summer/holiday seasons.
Undercover Tourist
Undercover Tourist is a website that offers discounted Disney tickets, along with other Florida and California theme park tickets (Universal, SeaWorld, LEGOLAND). The discounts aren’t always consistent, so you always want to check that you are getting the best deal possible by comparing the prices on Undercover Tourist to the prices directly from Disney. When comparing prices, keep in mind that all of the prices on the Undercover Tourist website include taxes in the advertised price, whereas, Disney’s does not. Don’t be too quick to buy tickets, however, as these tickets from this website are nonrefundable. Disney may announce a special offer when it is closer to your trip, and you may be required to book a “package” with Disney (resort room + park tickets and/or dining plan) to take advantage of the discounts.
Become a Passholder
Buying an annual pass could save you money, for two reasons. One, if you are staying for more than 10 days, or you plan on taking two trips within the same 365 days, then you will save money just by buying the annual pass.
The second reason is because of all of the discounts offered to passholders. Only one person in your party has to have an annual pass to take advantage of the discounts. Passholders get 20% off all merchandise, discounts on most sit down restaurants, and free parking at the parks (which you would get if you are staying at a Disney resort anyway, but it’s worth mentioning for people that aren’t), and some other random perks. Passholders are also usually offered extra, or better, deals when it comes to the special offers that are offered to the public. For example, instead of 30% off a resort room, passholders may be offered 40% off. It is an expensive price to pay up front, but the benefits could save you money, especially if you only buy the pass for one person in your party.
Rent Disney Vacation Club Points
If you want to stay at a Disney Deluxe Resort but think that they are impossible to afford once you see the price tag, you can save quite a bit of money buy renting Disney Vacation Club (DVC) points. The Disney Vacation Club is similar to a timeshare that people buy into to save money on Disney resorts, for people who go often. All DVC rooms are at Deluxe Resorts, and most of these rooms (aside from the studios) include a full kitchen and living room area. When people aren’t going to use their points for the year, they rent them out to other people to use (usually they end up losing money on this, but it is better than them just losing the point altogether). You can rent directly from the person, or go through an outside website (such as David’s Vacation Club Rentals or the DVC Rental Store). You can save more money by getting the points directly from the person, but unless you know the person personally, I would stick to using one of the reputable websites, because there are scammers out there. The stores sell points that people who are DVC member have already sold them. For this reason, it’s not guaranteed that your first pick will be available (and different sites will have different availability).
This could also save you money on food, because you may have a full kitchen in your villa.
If you are lucky enough to find a good deal this way, then you still get all of the same benefits as all other guests at Disney Resorts. The only thing you won’t get is daily housekeeping. Housekeeping is only done every so often, and the other days only get trash and towel service. Lastly, The only risk to renting points off of a website is that, usually, the points aren’t refundable (some of them do offer insurance, but then you are paying extra for the insurance).
Stay Offsite or a Disney Value Resort
I am usually an advocate for staying on Disney property whenever possible, but, admittedly, you may find it cheaper to stay off Disney property. This is especially true if you have a bigger family. Couples and smaller families may not save as much staying off property vs. staying at a Disney value resort, but this all depends on your situation. You may find it cheaper to stay at an Airbnb, or their may be a hotel that offers cheaper rooms offsite. You do have to weigh this option with the transportation costs and any special offers that Disney may be offering (such as free dining). You likely won’t get free transportation staying offsite (some hotels offer it, but it’s usually on a much less frequent basis than Disney’s, and you will have to waste time transferring buses). You will also be giving up the other benefits of staying on property (extra magic hours, 60 day advance fastpasses, etc…). However, if you are just looking at cost, many people do still find it cheaper to stay off property, particularly bigger families. For couples, and smaller families, it may still make sense to stay at a value resort with the free transportation.
Gift Cards
Buying gift cards in advance can save you money! Who knew? This all depends on where you buy the gift cards. Big warehouse stores, like Sam’s Club and BJ’s, offer Disney gift cards at a discounted rate. You can use these gift cards to pay for your entire trip (depending on how you book your trip)!
The other popular store that offers discounted Disney gift cards is Target. If you have a Target RedCard (which can either be a credit or debit card), the 5% off will apply to Disney gift cards.
Credit Card Rewards/Points
This only works if you pay off your entire bill every month so you don’t waste money on interest. If you are comfortable with the credit card reward game, these rewards can save you a lot of money. A lot of travel credit cards will give you enough points to get multiple free plane tickets for spending a certain amount of money when you first open the card. But, even if you don’t want to continue to open new credit card accounts, points and rewards will add up if you pick one or two that you’ll use consistently. I have a certain method that I use with cards, but I will save that for another post.
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