When a budget conscious family decides they want to go on a vacation, they usually don’t chose a 9 day trip to Disney World because they automatically assume they would not be able to fit a vacation like that into their budget. Some also assume that Disney is a one time, high dollar vacation. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth. With a little time and a lot of planning, a trip to Disney World can be extremely affordable.
Disney constantly runs all kinds of promotion. Right now they are offering free dining for the duration of your vacation. That is 1 sit down restaurant meal (typically $30 per adult) and 1 counter service meal (typically $10 per adult) plus 1 snack a day. You get this for every member of your party that is over the age of 3 for every day of your stay. You must stay on site though. When we went to Disney in May 2009, they were running a buy 4 get 3 free promotion. You paid for 4 nights hotel accommodations and 4 days worth of tickets and you got 3 days free. Be sure to check Disney.com for currently promotions.
Staying on Disney property is not incredibly expensive if you stay in a value hotel. Disney has 4 value hotels: Pop Century (my favorite!), All Stars Sports, All Stars Music and All Stars Movies. The hotel room runs $109 a night without any specials. But there is never not a special. When we went, we paid $77 a night. But there are numerous benefits to staying on site. Those that stay off site have to pay $12 a day parking. Disney resort guests park for free or can take the free Disney transportation. That automatically saves you $12 just by staying on property.
Now what about the gas you would use going back and forth to the parks? If you take Disney transportation, your car doesn’t have to even be used! That can equal big savings depending on the type of car you drive. If you have to fly to Orlando, Disney will pick you up! That saves on the cost of a rental. By staying on site, you can purchase the dining package which can equal huge savings on your food budget if you like to sit down for a meal in a Disney restaurant a day. And one of the biggest benefits to staying on site is the Extra Magic Hours at the parks. Every day one park will open an hour early just for resort guests and another park will stay open 3 hours later just for resort guests! This could be a huge time saver for your family and time = money.
Disney wants you to say longer. A 3 day adult ticket is currently $219. (Kids 2 and under play, eat, and stay for free! Kids 3-9 are classified as children and pay the child rate ($179 for a 3 day ticket). Kids 10 and under are unfortunately classified as adults.) A 4 day ticket is just $3 more! Each extra day you purchase only costs you an extra $3 once you have purchased a 3 day ticket. Hotel accommodations also go down in price the longer you stay. The dining plan cost never decreases though, but you don’t have to get the dining plan if it is not something that your family wants.
It is very possible to save for a Disney vacation without even going into your regular budget. All you need is some time and the resources. We started saving for a Disney vacation a year in advance. (We like to go once a year) We are putting all the money I save by bargain hunting into our Disney fund.
The easiest ways to save for Disney is to cut down your current expenses and put that money into savings.
1. Save on your grocery bill. If you normally spend $100 a week on groceries and with coupons and savings you only spend $75, the extra $25 goes to the Disney fund.
2. Save on your utilities. Shop around and make sure you are paying the cheapest amount possible for the services you are receiving. If you aren’t, change plans and put the extra into the Disney fund.
3. Use rebates. Any rebate check you receive can automatically get deposited into the Disney fund.
4. Do online surveys. This is a fun and easy way to make some extra cash.
5. Use cash regularly and save all your loose change instead of spending it. This saves me $5-$10 a week for the Disney fund and I don’t even feel the pinch.
Just doing these things could possibly pay for your entire vacation… It just takes some time (about a year) and some serious dedication.
If you are interested in learning more about how to save for a Disney vacation, please visit my blog at http://couponingtoDisney.blogspot.com.
Kristin is a SAHM to 2 kids who love everything Disney! She began seriously using coupons at the beginning of 2008 and she was able to take her family to Disney for 9 nights in May 2009 with money she saved by being resourceful. She decided to start a blog to track their progress for their May 2010 vacation and to teach others how to save for their own Disney fund or whatever they might want to spend their savings on.
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This is a great solution for families that can give their kids the Disney experience without sacrificing too much. I believe that everyone should experience Disney at least once, and with this program it gives everyone the chance to.