Category: Disney Series

Previously, I wrote about my amusement park obsession.  In that post I mentioned my ultimate goal of visiting Walt Disney World (WDW or Disney World) in Orlando, Florida.  While reliving that memory, I realized some people may think a trip to Disney World is financially impossible, but I’m here to tell you that might not be true.  If you’ve got wiggle room in your budget and you’re disciplined (and patient), you can afford a Disney vacation.

First, a little clarification.  Disney World is a theme park, not an amusement park.  An amusement park is a place that has random rides and (maybe) shows, whereas a theme park has an actual theme.  The rides, shows, attractions, buildings, and even landscaping are designed to immerse you into a story or experience.  In other words, this ain’t Six Flags, and it’s going to cost a lot more.

Disclaimer:  There’s so much information on the internet about WDW vacations that it’s easy to experience information overload.  Disney Fanatics love to share their tips and tricks, and all that info can quickly leave a person feeling overwhelmed.  Having said that, I’ll try and keep things simple.  And if this post is popular, I’ll consider writing a series of posts explaining how I ‘do Disney.’

Where do I start?

The first thing you need to find out is how much money you need to save.

For the sake of simplicity, when I say ‘pay for a Disney trip,’ I mean a package purchased through the official Disney website, which includes a Disney resort room and park admission for 1-4 people.  If you’re planning for more than five people and you’re a newbie, I suggest you utilize a Disney authorized travel agent (I give tips on this later).

I won’t be discussing how to save for or purchase transportation options or spending money, although I may include some tips for those things.  Keep in mind there are many ways to book a Disney vacation package but I want this to be newbie simple.

You’ll need to go to the official Walt Disney World website and create a Disney.com account first (it’s free).

Next, start booking a trip (don’t worry, you’re not going to pay for it just yet).

Select a minimum of four days.  I would suggest at least 5 days if possible, seven if you can swing it (this is the sweet spot in my humble opinion).  WDW is a BIG place, so the more time you can spend the better.  If you don’t have 5 or 7 days to spend, no worries, you’ll just have to focus on the things that matter the most to your family while you’re there.  Get this in your head now: even if you book seven days or more, you won’t be able to see and do everything.  That would take weeks, and if you can afford that, you don’t need this blog post.

Use general dates based on the time of year that’s best for you.  Yes there are times of the year when packages are cheaper but for now, you’re just trying to get an idea of how much money you’ll need.

Filter the Resort category to only show Value resorts (the most affordable) and select one.  Don’t get bogged down in the details, all you’re trying to do is get a ballpark idea of how much money you’ll need.

NOTE:  If you own an RV or camper (or can borrow one temporarily), WDW has a campground which can save you a significant amount of money.  I wouldn’t suggest renting one as you may come out paying the same amount as having booked a regular room.

You’ll typically see two options at this point: a room only reservation and a package deal. You want a select ‘package.’  You may see some other special rates listed but ignore those.  You want to choose the more expensive option for planning purposes.

Choose a Standard room.  Remember, we’re keeping it simple.  You’ll learn more about all of your options later, while you’re saving up.

Next, you’ll choose the number of days for your park admission. The website will default to the same number of days as your stay, stick with that.  The base ticket is sufficient.  I would not recommend park hopper admission for a newbie, it’s not worth the additional cost for someone who’s never been before.

 

Next, you may be offered some dining package add-ons. Although these may sound like a good idea, skip ‘em.  A dining plan somewhat limits your dining options, and will make your planning a little more complicated (you’ll have to make dining reservations in some cases, which can be tricky).  The only way I would recommend this option is if when the time comes to purchase your package it’s listed as a free add-on (which is rare).  Trust me, you can save more money budgeting for food on your own and no one will go hungry.

On your Vacation Offer page, you’ll see your total and two other options; add a flight and Ground Transportation, both of which you can ignore for now.

Never buy your flight with a Disney package, search around for the best deal on your own.  You will, however, eventually need to add your flight information (if you fly) to your package if you plan to use Magical Express.

All Disney packages include a free service called Magical Express.  It’s a round trip, coach bus ride between the Orlando airport and your resort.  It also means you can check your luggage at your home airport (with select domestic airlines) straight to your room (skip baggage claim in Orlando and head straight for the bus).  When you check out at the end of your stay, you can check your luggage at your Disney resort straight to your home airport (again, only select domestic airlines participate in this program).  You can also choose to put your luggage on the bus with you and check it when you arrive at the Orlando airport.

Some people hate this service but I’ve had good experiences with it.  In fact, we were one of many to use this service on the very first day it debuted back on May 1st of 2005!  Something to note, this bus isn’t specific to your resort, there will be several stops (at Disney resorts located in the same general area).  Your stop might be first, somewhere in the middle, or dead last, it all depends.  Also, on your return trip, you’ll have to board your bus approximately 3 hours prior to your flight.  They want to make sure everyone has time to get through security to make their flight on time.

Magical Express is optional, but as a newbie I recommend it.  If you opt not to use it, don’t sign up for it and get an Uber instead (and keep your luggage with you!).  If you don’t use Magical Express, don’t select any of the other (pay) ground transportation options in the package, you can find cheaper transportation (like Uber) on your own.

The total listed on your Vacation Offer page is the target savings you need to shoot for. I suggest you round-up to the nearest 500 or 1,000.  For example, if the total is $1,234, round-up to $1500.  If the total is $2856, round-up to $3000.  The more you save, the more options you’ll have when you’re ready to buy.  Rounding up will also account for any ticket or room rate increases, depending on how long it takes you to save.

 

Now that you’ve got a monetary goal, what’s next?

Here are several options and tips for saving and paying for your trip.

Check with your bank or credit union to see if they offer a vacation savings account.

I don’t know of a lot of places that offer this perk anymore, but it’s worth asking the question.  The upside of this option is that you’ll earn a little (probably very little) interest on your money while you’re saving.

That package you just stepped through? You can go ahead and book it for a $200 deposit.  Here’s how that works.  Once you pay the $200, the package doesn’t have to be paid in full until 30 days prior to the first day of your vacation.

There are no payment schedules or recurring charges to your debit or credit card, you simply pay what you can (minimum payment is $20), when you can, until you pay it off.  FYI, you can make additional payments through the website or by phone too.

Something worth mentioning here is if the ticket rates go up before you pay off your package, Disney can pass those rate increases on to you.  However, this has never happened to me, and I’ve never heard of it happening to anyone else.  I just think it’s important to note that they can if the choose to, as long as you have an unpaid, outstanding balance.  It says so right in the small print.

If at any point while you’re paying for, or even after you’d paid off your package, you decide to change your reservation, you should be able to do it through the website.  I’ve seen the buttons disappear at times, so if that happens to you, just call them and a Disney Planner will do it for you.  There aren’t any fees to change your plans, however, you’ll have to pay the difference between the changes (you’ll be given a refund if your package ends up costing less).

For example, if you add an additional person, you would need to pay for their park tickets.  If you removed a person from your package, you would receive a refund for the difference.  If you’re within your 30 day window, any additional payment would be due immediately, and some things may have to be completed over the phone (407-934-7639) or in person once you arrive.

As of this writing, you can cancel your package (using the website) and get a full refund as long as you do it 30 days prior to the start of your vacation.  If you’re within the 30 day window you can still cancel, but you’ll be charged a $200 cancellation fee (you’ll basically lose your deposit), unless you have travel insurance and a valid cancellation reason.   Just an FYI, if you cancel within 24 hours of your first day, you will lose the entire amount of your vacation package (again, unless you have travel insurance and a valid, covered cancellation reason).  If you find a better deal, don’t cancel your existing reservation, simple change it using the website (or call 407-934-7639 for assistance if you don’t see the option, or don’t understand how to do it).

You can book your package through the website up to 499 days prior to your vacation start date (so roughly a year and four months in advance).

Let your friends and family know you’re saving for a Disney vacation and if asked, suggest they give you Disney gift cards for birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas, and any other special occasions. The Disney vacation website accepts Disney gift cards as payment for your package vacation.  **Keep any cards you use, in case you run into a situation where you have to get a refund, otherwise it’s money down the drain.**

Disney has a Visa card (through Chase Bank), however the perks aren’t all that great.

If you pay for your trip with a Disney Visa, there is a zero percent APR window for six months.  This could be beneficial if you know you can pay the purchase off before the interest rate kicks in (which is the only situation where I might recommend this option).

Disney Visa cards come with Disney Dream Reward dollars.  Here’s where this perk can kind of come in handy.

You earn either $1 (w/ the regular Visa) or $2 (w/ the Premier Visa) Disney Reward dollars for every $100 you spend. So if you don’t carry a monthly balance, you could earn rewards using your card to buy everyday stuff like gas or groceries, or even to pay a few bills (assuming you’re paying off the balance every month).  You could then use those reward dollars (on a card, just like a gift card) to buy souvenirs during your vacation, or maybe buy something on the Disney store website prior to the trip.  This would be a nice way to announce to the kids that you’re going to Disney, for example, by buying an inexpensive Disney related gift.

The Disney website does accept Reward Dollars as payment (minimum $20) on your vacation package, although it’s unlikely you’ll earn enough to pay for an entire vacation using your Disney Visa.

There are other perks that come with a Disney Visa, but honestly, they aren’t worth picking up another credit card if you already have one.

If you’re one of those folks that receives a tax refund, it’s a great way to pay for, or help pay for, your Disney vacation.  But before you log into the Disney website to pay for you trip, keep reading for ways to stretch your dollars further.

If you’re a Sam’s Club member (or other discount warehouse shopping club), they sometimes offer a discount on Disney gift cards (usually 2-3% off).

For Kroger shoppers: If you purchase Disney gift cards through Kroger, you can earn Kroger fuel rewards points.  Watch for promotions, sometimes you can earn up to 4x the points.  Although you’re not saving anything on the cards, you can save big money on gas, and you could put some of that savings towards your vacation fund.

If you’re a Target shopper with a Target REDcard (what avid Target shopper DOESN’T have a red card??  And to be clear, I’m talking debit card, not credit), here’s a good tip that I’ve used myself. You can buy Disney gift cards from the Target website using your REDcard.  As of this writing:

You automatically save 5% using your REDcard.

The shipping is free using your REDcard.

I bought a total of 14 Disney gift cards and saved $110 using this tip.

With all these references to Disney gift cards, I want to take a moment to point out a few important points.

Disney gift cards don’t have any fees and they don’t expire.  You won’t lose any money on them if you don’t use them within a certain timeframe like some other gift cards.

Disney has e-gift cards available too (save your email information).

If you’re searching the internet for Disney gift cards, be mindful that there are Disney Store gift cards too.  These are NOT the same thing.  Disney Store gift cards can only be used at the physical Disney Stores (found in malls) and on the Disney store online website.  You can use Disney Store gift cards to purchase Disney gift cards through the Disney online store though.  Confused?  Just check the back of the card, it’ll tell you where it’s good for, or call the 1-800 number on the back.

You can use Disney gift cards pretty much anywhere “Disney,” which means at any of their parks (it’s rare but some kiosks and vendors in the parks don’t accept them), Disney cruises, in the physical Disney stores, and online at DisneyStore.com.

Although they’re available in denominations of $25 – $500, a Disney gift card can hold up to $1,000.  According to the DisneyGiftCard.com website, to reload a gift card you have to go to a physical store that sells Disney gift cards (Kroger, Target, or Sam’s Club, for example).  However, your success may be directly related to the amount of experience of the person helping you.  If you’re lucky enough to have one nearby, I would suggest going to an actual Disney store to avoid any confusion or frustration.  You can consolidate several Disney gift cards into one online using the DisneyGiftCard.com website.  I’ve created a how to here.  You should also be able to consolidate Disney gift cards at any Disney gift card reseller (again, pending the level of knowledge of the person assisting you).

I highly recommend keeping ALL of your Disney gift cards in case you run into any refund or rebooking issues.  In other words, imagine booking a package deal, using twenty cards (over a period of several months) to pay for it, then for some reason (maybe some system glitch) having to get a refund and rebook the trip.  The refund will go back to the original source of payment.  If you throw all those cards away, you could be out of a LOT of money.  That’s a pretty far-fetched example (they should be able to reapply those funds without a refund) but I just want you to be aware of how refunds work just in case.

Please review the Disney gift card FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) to fully understand all of the ins and outs of using Disney gift cards.

UPDATE (of 9/3/17):  I previously listed the Disney Vacation Account program as a great way to save for a DIsney vacation.  Unfortunately the program has recently been discontinued, so I’ve removed all references to it from this post.

Here are some of my personal thoughts regarding the information I’ve provided to you:

I don’t recommend Disney trips with small children.  Disney can be overwhelming for adults and older children, let alone tiny human beings that require a lot of extra care.  The minimum age I would recommend is about 10 (think 5^th grade).  If you really want to take youngin’s, I’d suggest a shorter trip that limits your time to the Magic Kingdom park, and maybe Animal Kingdom, if time permits.  It’s just too much trying to juggle little people and making sure everyone gets the proper amount of nutrition and rest.  Also, more than likely little ones won’t even remember the trip, and would be just as happy going to the state or even county fair.  If you’ve got young kids and you REALLY want to do Disney, instead of using the kids as an excuse to go, leave the kids with the grandparents go anyway.  Speaking from experience, the kids won’t remember that either. 😉

Stay onsite at a Disney resort. It’s just easier.  You’ll understand why when you start planning your trip (mid-day breaks and naps are the best).

Educate yourself while you’re saving for your trip. The more you know the less stressed you’ll be.  I recommend picking up the most recent copy of Birnbaum’s Official Guide to Walt Disney World.  This guide will provide tips like the best time of the year to visit (I recommend taking your kids out of school if you can, it’s worth the savings), as well as provide other helpful planning information.  Once you’re educated, you can adjust your monetary goal and vacation package accordingly.

A Disney trip is not for the ignorant or faint of heart, and it’s not just for kids.  You could just ‘book and go’ without any planning, however, you’d probably end up hating Disney and feeling like you need a vacation to recover from your vacation. I can’t stress enough, the more you know ahead of time, the less stressed you’ll be.  Take the time to log into your account and browse around the Disney website.  Your account allows you to mark items as favorites to refer to later.  I highly suggest you study up on what your family will be most interested in (remember I said you can’t see and do it all), the transportation system, restaurants, dinner reservations, and the FastPass+ system (you’ll learn about this while you’re educating yourself).

If you’re not a planner or don’t want to bother with the details, you can utilize an authorized Disney vacation planner.  Let me explain what that is.  If you call Disney to book a vacation, you’ll be speaking with an official Disney travel agent (an actual Disney employee).  However, an authorized Disney vacation planner is just as knowledgeable about Disney packages but doesn’t work directly for Disney.  An authorized planner will manage the details of your trip at no additional cost.  They can handle things like dining and FastPass+ reservations, or make suggestions that may work better for your situation.  They can also automatically rebook or upgrade your package if a discount becomes available.

AAA has specific employees who are considered ‘authorized Disney vacation planners,’ or you can visit this website to find a physical location near you, or a listing of agencies available online or via phone.   I can’t say it enough; make sure the agency is an authorized Disney vacation planner.  Authorized planners know the ins and outs of Disney and will provide you with the best service.  They are also privy to the same discounts and specials as ‘official Disney planners.’  Most of them consider themselves Disney Fanatics and travel to the parks frequently, even though some of them don’t even live in Florida.  If the individual or agency isn’t authorized, run the other way or you’ll be sorry.  You wouldn’t want to get to the parks and be told your tickets aren’t valid.  🙁

Order the official Disney vacation planning DVD (it’s free), especially if you’re a visual person (you can access it online as well).  It’s a nice primer for your vacation (it’ll get everyone excited to go), and it makes for a nice keepsake.

I know this is a LOT of information, but I tried to keep it simple.  My family and I love Disney, and I like the idea of helping other people find a way to make a life long dream come true.  I made it happen several times as a single parent on a budget, so I know others can too.

Consider cutting back on things like eating out, or buying coffee or soda.  Those habits add up.  Also, if you receive bonuses or incentives at your job, plan on putting those funds (or some of them) towards your vacation savings before they even hit your bank account.  You might even consider a temporary second job, like delivering food (DoorDash or UberEATS), delivering packages for Amazon, or driving for Uber or Lyft.  These options can add to your bottom line quickly.

If you have the knowledge, discipline, a little patience, and a bit of disposable income, along with a determined, positive attitude, a Disney trip could be within your reach.

Helping someone else wish upon a star,

Angela

This post is part of my Disney Series.  Once you have your budget and savings together, let’s talk about a place to stay!