It has been dubbed the “Happiest Place On Earth.” Yes, I am talking about Disney World or Disneyland. My family and I just returned from our first family vacation to Disney World. I will say it was everything I hoped for and more. From seeing my daughter hug Elsa for the first time, to having my son and husband enjoy Test Track at Epcot. While making these core memories comes at a price, a new survey found that many families are going into debut when they take a Disney Vacation.
Yes, over the years the cost of a family vacation to Disney has gone up. Everything from tickets to the theme park, flights, hotel stays, transportation, and then you have to factor in food and souvenirs.
However, going to Disney does not have to put you in debut. It just takes some planning and budgeting to make it work in your favor.
Here are some of my tips on How To Take A Disney Vacation without Going into Debt
- Get Your Dates Locked Down. If you can plan at least a year of when you want to go that is best. Also when planning look to go during off-peak times. Mostly those times are when kids are in school. If you can swing it, those times are great because it’s not so hot and the wait times for the attractions aren’t too high.
- If you are flying start looking for deals on airline gift cards. Places like Costco, Sam’s Club, and more tend to run deals where you can get a $500 Southwest gift card for $450. Keep in mind that some of the airlines limit how many gift cards you can use per transaction. Make sure you look ahead of time.
- Disney Gift Cards – Yes, many places sell Disney gift cards as well. While you don’t see much of a discount on these. During the holiday season, I have seen Target run a deal where you can save 5% on gift card purchases if you use your Red Card. Also, places like Metro Market also run deals if you are a Fresh Perks member that you get so many bonus points/Fuel Perks when you purchase certain gift cards.
- Use money-saving apps like Ibotta, Fetch, and more. When buying groceries and everyday items you can earn money back that you can put towards your vacation.
- Paying For All Food, Drinks, and Souvenirs can all be done with Disney Gift Cards. Personally, this is the best thing ever. Because you can combine all your gift cards together to have them with a balance of $1000. When on Disney property when purchasing you just use your gift card to pay with. Even if you charge items to your Disney resort room you can pay off the balance with your Disney gift card. (Just make sure to do it the night before you check out)
- There is more to do than just the theme parks. While everyone wants to go to the parks, keep in mind there is way more to do than just that and some of it is FREE. When staying on Disney properties, several of the resorts offer activities that are free to do throughout the day or night. Like pool games, movies every night, and more. Also sometimes you may catch some of your favorite characters just hanging out at your resort. So even if you don’t have a park day you may just run into Pluto and friends.
- Instead of buying park snacks all the time, look at having some room snacks delivered to your room. We kept bottled water, applesauce, and even some mac and cheese in our room to eat when we were taking breaks from the parks. Most of the resort rooms have microwaves and fridges.
Those are just a few tips that helped keep our trip to Disney more affordable for our family.
