Visiting Disney World comes with a high price tag. Park tickets and hotel room prices can run hundreds of dollars per person (totaling thousands for a family!). Factor in the cost of food, souvenirs, and other fun experiences and add-ons, and the cost adds up fast. That’s why, according to research from iVisa, a whopping 73 percent of Disney guests are surprised by the final cost of their trip.
That was certainly true of my nephew and his wife, who took their 3 kids to Disney World last year. The trip cost him thousands of dollars. Just the tickets alone were over $1000.
The last time I was there, a bottle of water was $6, a Dole Whip (which is mostly whipped cream) was $14.
I felt like Disney was trying to pickpocket me the entire time I was there.
There is absolutely NOTHING budget friendly about Disney World whatsoever.
In its Q3 2025 earnings report, Disney revealed a massive $9 billion in revenue from its Experiences division (which includes the parks), marking an 8% year-over-year increase. Operating income for this division shot up by 13%, reaching $2.5 billion, signaling not just growth, but profitable growth.
Walt Disney World had its biggest Q3 on record - a 13% jump.
So when my sister and I decided to spend 10 days at WDW I was determined not to allow Mickey and Company put my money in their pockets. And I think I did a pretty good job of it.
Your next Disney World trip isn't of reach if you’re on a budget.
I'll share the tips and tricks I used to keep our WDW spending under control.
Tickets
Tickets are one of the biggest expenses when visiting Disney World, so when you’re looking to save money, this is where I suggest you start. Whether you're stopping by just one theme park
for one or need a full 7-day park hopper, theme park tickets can total hundreds (if not thousands) – but there is one key way to save.
Plan to visit on less expensive days
Disney World ticket prices vary depending on the day of the week and the time of the year. During the most popular times of the, like the holiday season and summer, prices will be higher. But that also means ticket prices are lower during less popular months.
If you opt to visit during a less crowded or non-peak time of the year, you’ll save on each day of theme park tickets you purchase.
Typically, the least expensive times of the year to visit Disney World are:
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The end of January
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The first week of February
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The end of August through September
You can also check out crowd calendars in the Rope Drop Guide app to find out more. Crowd calendars use historical data to predict when Disney World’s theme parks will be less crowded (and cheaper to visit!).
Keep these times of year in mind as you plan your next trip, and you could some money on both theme park tickets and hotel stays. That’s right: With fewer guests visiting, even Disney World hotels are lower in per-night prices during the “off season.”
Buy Multiple Days Instead of Single Tickets
Purchasing multiple-day tickets rather than single-day tickets generally cuts costs. For example, you can save $20 per ticket if you purchase a 3-day ticket or longer. Plus, you can also save if you add a park hopper option after a certain amount of days.
We didn't bother with the hopper option at all. If you plan out your park visit ahead of time to spend at least one day in a specific park you shouldn't have any need to hop from one park to another. And you'll be doing well if you manage to see one park in an entire day!
Use AAA to purchase discounted tickets
Are you an AAA member? If so, you have access to special discounts on Disney World tickets! AAA members can save up to 30 percent on theme park tickets.
You’ll just need to purchase your tickets through the AAA website. These discounted tickets can be linked to your My Disney Experience App for a seamless park experience.
If you don't have AAA but want to know how to get the best deal on Disney World tickets, the answer is simple—shop around! So here are some of the companies I recommend you check out…
Undercover Tourist
Discount: About 10% - Difficulty: None - Risk: None
We recommend Undercover Tourist for discount Disney World tickets. We’ve used them multiple times and never had any problems. We had excellent service from them each and every time we've used them plus gotten the 10% discount.
Besides saving money, Undercover Tourist also usually has one of the best refund policies when it comes to Disney tickets. As an example, five days of park hopping for a family of four in October 2025 would cost $3,425 if tickets were purchased through Disney World's website, but only $3,230 through Undercover tourist, that’s an easy savings of nearly $200. (This is who I bought our tickets through and they were great to work with!)
Visit Orlando
Discount: Under 10% - Difficulty: None - Risk: None
Visit Orlando / Best of Orlando is an option worth looking into. The pricing can be a little tricky to follow since they price, for example, the Park Hopper add-on separately (in the same way Disney is, to be clear). So, as always, make sure you’re comparing final prices with tax to final prices with tax across all sellers.
Get Away Today
Discount: Varies - Difficulty: None - Risk: None
Get Away Today specializes in discounted Disneyland tickets and packages, but they also sell discounted Walt Disney World tickets.
So far, we haven’t seen any shocking prices on Disney World tickets here, but we want to highlight them as an option to check before making your purchase.
Official Ticket Center
Discount: Varies - Difficulty: None - Risk: None
We’ve never bought from Official Ticket Center, but we’ve seen them mentioned over on Touring Plans, a trustworthy site. Like the other sites on this list, you’ll just want to do a quick price check to see if they’re offering the best deal.
Parksavers
Discount: Varies - Difficulty: None - Risk: None
Parksavers is another option we can’t personally vouch for but which is well-regarded in other places. Like the other sites on this list, you’ll just want to do a quick price check to see if they’re offering the best deal.
Opt for an Annual Pass instead of tickets
A Disney World Annual Pass might not be within your budget. However, if you visit the resort multiple times a year and are finding yourself spending thousands on tickets, an Annual Pass might be an investment worth considering.
An Annual Pass will allow you to visit year-round and offers savings on everything from the cost of frequent theme park admission to parking. If you find yourself planning two or more vacations down to the resort each year, break down the cost – divide the total cost of the Annual Pass by the number of times you intend to visit. That’ll show you your per-use cost. If it’s less than the price of the tickets you’d buy, the Pass is the better investment!
Link tickets to your My Disney Experience account. It’s important that wherever you get your tickets from, you link them to your My Disney Experience account. Among other things, this will ensure you’re able to use Lightning Lanes if you choose.
Let's talk water parks
I was tempted to add the water parks option to our tickets but something told me to hold off on that. As it turned out we didn't have time to get to a water park and the day we would have gone, it was pouring rain.
Unless you're absolutely sure you're going to visit a water park, save your money on the water park option.
You can always buy tickets at the gate to the water park.
A one day water park ticket for ages 10+ will cost you $74, For kids ages 5-9: $68. Kids under 3 don't need a ticket.
Money $aving Tip: Save yourself some cash and take them to a nearby water park like Orlando Watersports ($50 - 10+ years old $30 - 6-9 years old) or take advantage of Casey Jr. Splash 'N' Soak Station which is located in Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom park and is included in your Disney ticket price!
There's also a FREE splash pad over in Disney Springs.
Disney Springs splash pad
Accommodations
If you're bound and determined to stay inside the parks at one of the Disney resorts or hotels...
Utilize your member discounts
Whether you’re a Disney Vacation Club (DVC) Member, Annual Passholder, or a Disney+ subscriber, there are often opportunities for discounted hotel stays at various Disney Resorts. Keep your eyes peeled for announcements on these exclusive discounts available for members of certain Disney programs and services – they can be significant! Member discounts are often between 25 and 30 percent off the base room price.
Keep an eye out for seasonal offers
Disney often releases seasonal hotel and ticket discounts, which can save you a percentage off the cost of your Walt Disney World resort booking. It’s common to find seasonal offers in spring, summer, and fall – meaning you can pretty much save year-round, if you keep an eye out!
These seasonal offers are usually up to 25 percent off (or 30 percent if you’re an Annual Passholder), though the discount varies depending on the hotel category you choose. These discounts are usually for specific times of year, so flexibility is key.
Your best bet for cheap hotel stays at Disney is one of the three All-Star Resorts: All-Star Sports, All-Star Movies, and All-Star Music. Pop Century and Art of Animation are both Value as well, though they’re a little more expensive — but also more convenient, because they are on the Skyliner route for fast transportation to Hollywood Studios and EPCOT.
Alternatively, you can pitch a tent at Fort Wilderness or stay off property.
However, we found staying outside of the parks in a WDW affiliated hotel was our best option financially.
We booked at the Buena Vista Palace, a Hilton resort that is an official Disney hotel or what was called a "Disney affiliate" hotel. Both Barb and I are Hilton Honors members so could use our points to help pay for our reservation. Plus we earned double points for each night we stayed due to a special offer they had at the time.
We arrived at Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace by rental car from Orlando International Airport (MCO). The hotel is just over 20 miles from the airport, about a 30-minute drive, depending on traffic.
There was a car rental/return office right in the hotel, which was great. There was plenty of parking right next to the hotel.
The Palace also ran a free shuttle to the Disney parks departing every hour so we never had to pay for parking at the Disney parks.
There was a courtyard across from the fitness center and around the corner from the Disney World shuttle stop.
Our room was a 2 bed queen on the 8th floor of the tower. We never heard a bit of noise from anywhere else in the hotel. There was a balcony, it was small but good enough to see WDW fireworks from.
There’s also a pool, activity lawn, fitness center, arcade, and laundry facilities. Who needed a water park?The pool was extensive, with a main swimming pool, float lagoon with a lazy river, hot tub, and poolside bar. The pool water was heated. There was a small lagoon pool connected to the lazy river that had an accessible beach-entry pool. The main pool was surrounded by palm trees and had 6 cabanas.
The fitness center was on the first floor and had a good selection of equipment, from cardio machines to free weights and balance balls. There were treadmills, ellipticals, stationary bikes, and a Peloton bike.
The first floor had a gift shop, which sold necessities and souvenirs from Disney World and Florida. Near the gift shop was an arcade with prize machines, pinball, racing rides, and Pac-Man.
Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace had a market, casual restaurant and buffet, pool bar, lobby bar, and a sports bar. The grab-and-go market, Citrus 28, was a hub of activity and the busiest dining option in the hotel. Here, we grabbed snacks and had a complimentary hot breakfast in the morning. It was open daily from 6 a.m. to 12 a.m. The market had a seating area with several small tables and bar seats.
The hotel’s main restaurant, LetterPress, was open daily for breakfast, brunch, and dinner. Its hours were 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 10 p.m., and it offered a breakfast buffet and à la carte menu. The hot breakfast buffet was $30 for adults or $15 for kids, and the continental breakfast buffet was $20 for adults or $9 for kids. They used to have Sunday morning character breakfasts when we were there but those have since been discontinued.
The lobby bar, Sunnies, was open from 4 to 11 p.m. and served drinks and bites, including chicken wings, sliders, and salads.
What's a Disney affiliate hotel? (I guess now they're calling them Good Neighbor hotels). It means that hotel undergoes an inspection by Disney execs once a year to ensure it's up to Disney standards. That hotel then has Disney benefits.
Disney World benefits at the Buena Vista Palace included:
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30-minute early access to Disney World parks
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50% off equipment rental when you book a Disney Golf tee time
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Disney Springs savings booklet
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Hotel shuttle to Disney World parks that stopped every hour
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Theme park entry reservations
Our stay ended up costing us under $200 per night. I doubt you'll find that price (or those amenities) at the WDW resorts or hotels, even in their "budget" accommodations.
Not only that, Disney Springs was right across the street from our hotel and we spent quite a bit of time in Disney Springs.
Other Ways To Score Savings
Use your credit card perks
Disney Visa Cardholders are eligible for some special perks at Walt Disney World – including a 10 percent discount on select merchandise and dining locations. Aren’t sure if your restaurant or merchandise is eligible? Just ask a cast member.
Additionally, if you’ve accrued plenty of points on your Disney Visa card, you can use those points towards your next trip. Those Visa rewards points are especially valuable for Disney vacations, theme park tickets, and more. Cashing in the points can slash the price of your
hotel stay, your park hopper tickets, or even merch if you put them towards a Disney gift card!
Cardholders also have access to free photos at Disney World parks. For example, you can take advantage of an exclusive character spot in EPCOT where you can meet your favorites like Mickey and Minnie. You’ll also receive a complimentary download of the photos you take. At Hollywood Studios, there’s a similar location in Star Wars Launch Bay with Star Wars characters to check out.
I'll get into how I used my own Chase Disney Visa card in a bit.
Buy discounted gift cards
Did you know that you can buy discounted Disney Gift Cards? It’s true – you can purchase a gift card at less than face value! It’s a great way to both stick to a set budget and save a little money by paying for your next Walt Disney World vacation with these discounted gift cards.
Stores such as Target, Sam’s Club, and Costco often offer deals like 5 percent off on Disney Gift Cards when you use a Target REDCard or purchase as a club member.
Here’s how that discount works out: If you wanted to purchase $250 in Disney Gift Cards for your trip, you’d only pay $237.50 at Target by using your card. Another great option is BJ’s, Costco, or Sam’s Club. BJ’s often offers deals such as a $100 Disney Gift Card for just $95.99 or a $150 Disney Gift Card Pack for $144.99. While these numbers might seem small, they definitely add up and help you save money paying for food and merchandise at Disney.
Utilize a vacation planner’s help
Another way to save money on a Disney World vacation is to enlist the help of a professional – a professional vacation planner or travel agent! These pros are well-versed in all of the current and ongoing offers, promotional deals, and available discounts. That means they can help you time your theme park visits, offer advice on how to maximize savings, and get more out of both your money and your next Disney World trip.
To book with an expert vacation planner, or even simply see what kinds of great help they can offer, click here.
Use the rope drop strategy
Going to Disney World on a budget means you might not stay as many days as you’d like — and you probably won’t be schilling out for Lightning Lanes to get through lines faster. That means, to see and do it all, you’ll need to plan for full park days, without breaks if you can manage.
Rope drop the parks by lining up for Disney World transportation at least half an hour before it starts running, which will get you to the parks about an hour before they open for early entry. Assuming you’re staying on property, you’ll be able to enter the parks and start knocking out the biggest, most popular attractions before most guests even get in line.
Saving on food and dining
This is one of the easiest areas in which to slash the money you dole out to Disney.
Those staying in Disney Resorts and Hotels will have access to the Disney Dining Plan. The Disney World Dining Plan offers a way to budget for meals during your stay, with
options for quick-service and table-service dining at various locations throughout the resort. Personally, I feel it's a whole lot of hassle and isn't the least bit "convenient" as Disney claims. I don't want to spend my time at the parks figuring out how many credits each person has used for every meal! And it's a big enough hassle as it is just making your dining reservations for any of the parks' restaurants as there are specific times you must make dining reservations by restaurant. If that means being up at 3 a.m. to make your dining reservations for a particular restaurant, so be it. You'd go through several days of this to get your dining reservations made!
If you buy your tickets through Get Away Today they'll make your dining reservations for you.
My sister and I kept the restaurant dining within the park to a minimum: Les Chefs de France, Coral Reef, OHana at the Polynesian Resort, Rose & Crown and Liberty Tree Tavern. Most of our meals were eaten outside the park and we paid little if anything for them. We did do one lunch at one of Disney's walk up counters and it was awful. Soggy flavorless sandwich, small salad and a drink cost us $50.
We ate the majority of our meals in Disney Springs. (No admission fee to get into Disney Springs)
Here's how we spent little to nothing on meals while at Disney:
Book accommodations that include a complimentary breakfast. Then get yourself a good insulated lunch bag and filtered water bottle.
We packed our lunch with grab and go items from the breakfast buffet. By the way, there's nothing dishonest about doing this. If you think the cost of that 'complimentary' breakfast isn't included in the price of your hotel stay, think again.
The lady manning the breakfast buffet even made sandwiches for us some mornings to pack in our lunch bags!
In addition, the hotel had a convenience store.
If we wanted to pick up something additional for our lunches we could do so far more inexpensively at the convenience store than buying food within the parks.
Buy utilizing this strategy we saved a bundle on just breakfasts and lunches alone.
If we needed to refill our water bottles we'd simply go to the soda machine at one of the walk-up park restaurants and refill our bottles with water.
Use your Disney Visa card
I mentioned the Chase Disney Visa card earlier.
My sister had been to WDW 5 times but had never gotten to eat as Les Chefs du France, which she always wanted to do. So I treated her to dinner at Les Chefs, which is the most expensive restaurant in Disney.
I'd piled up enough Disney Dollars on my Visa card to pay for that entire dinner. The only cash that came out of my pocket was the server's tip.
Plus you get all the perks previously mentioned. This is a no annual fee card as well!
The Disney Rewards Chase Visa credit card now has a 10% dining discount perk at certain Disney restaurants (including some great ones like Jiko, Biergarten, and Narcoossee's). The full listing can be found at Chase's site here.
Shop restaurants close to the parks and visit their websites
For example, rather than dine inside Animal Kingdom for lunch (which would've cost us $100) I found a Rainforest Cafe right outside the Animal Kingdom park entrance gate. I went to their website and signed up for their Landry Rewards program for free. Just for signing up I received $75 worth of discounts to their restaurants.
We had lunch for FREE at Rainforest Cafe using those discounts I'd gotten just for signing up for their rewards program.
Not only that, we got priority seating - which is a big plus when dealing with the Disney crowds.
Even if you know you're never likely to eat at a particular restaurant again, if you can apply your rewards to a restaurant near the WDW parks it's worth your time to sign up for their rewards programs. Doesn't cost you anything.
Check out the website thoroughly. I found Rainforest Cafe also has a day of the week where kids eat for 99 cents. So if you schedule your trip to Animal Kingdom on that day, you can save yourself some bucks.
Check out coupon sites
I took advantage of a sale at restaurant.com - $40 off your meal coupons for $10 each. I scored a bunch of them so we only paid 1/4 the price on the majority of our meals. We ate most dinners in Disney Springs at restaurants like House of Blues, for example. That was nearly 10 days of dinners for $100!
Check sites like Coupon Cabin for deals. It's how I scored savings at Planet Hollywood and Earl of Sandwich, both of which we used in Disney Springs. Similarly, check out groupon.com for dining deals.
Current AAA dining discounts using digital gift cards
If you’re looking for a new way to save money at Walt Disney World, here’s something worth checking out — especially if you love eating at Disney Springs. AAA just released several exclusive dining discounts for members, and some of them are seriously impressive. Read the listing here
Check Mousesavers.com
Mousesavers.com routinely posts Disney World restaurant discounts. Orlando restaurant discounts as well. Lots of great WDW tips on this website!
Walt Disney World Resort Dining & Shopping Promo Card
Shop, snack, dine and unwind when you book a Walt Disney Travel Company room-and-ticket package that includes a digital Walt Disney World Resort Dining & Shopping Promo Card.
If you're willing to invest a little of your time, you can save a bundle on food and dining during your stay at Disney and it's one of the easiest ways to help keep you WDW budget in check.
WDW for the disabled
This section isn't about saving money but it's something anyone who is disabled or has a disabled family member needs to know. Disney is anything BUT disabled friendly.
This is what turned me off to WDW more than anything. Luckily I had smarts enough to speak with one of the Disney execs before we went to WDW. She was very pleasant, we shared some ideas as to how WDW was handling disabled guests and she told me to phone her if I had any problems at the park.
It looks as though Disney has since at least tried to improve things on the disabilities front but they have a long way to go yet.
I found a disability pass I needed quite by accident, stumbling over the fact one even existed on a blog about Disney. This disabiity pass was Disney's best kept secret, not even mentioned on their official website!
Apparently a few people had tried to abuse it so WDW just stopped advertising the fact a disability pass was even available! Not even their own park employees knew how to handle someone presenting them with a disability pass! Or even asking for one at Guest Services!
I asked the young man at Guest Services for a disability pass, presenting 3 forms of proof of my disability, including a letter from my doctor.
"You don't need one," he said. If they see you're on a scooter they know you're disabled."
I'm just not that stupid. "No, I'd like a disability pass please," I repeated.
He continued to argue with me, refusing to give me a disability pass. Finally I told him "You pick up that phone over, there, call this number and you tell {Disney Exec's name] that Pat Jackson has a problem and needs to speak to her."
He quit arguing and gave me the pass. At half the rides, we had to explain to the cast members what they were to do when presented with a disability pass.
We had another incident that REALLY ticked me off and turned me off WDW for good, but I won't get into all that. Suffice it to say that if you're disabled, be prepared for a nightmare experience in dealing with WDW.
Now I guess you don't have to present proof of disability to get a pass and they're no longer WDW's best kept secret. How to get a WDW diability pass. If you're going to need a disability pass then you need to get that all squared away before you even get to the park. The link above will tell you how to do that.
I see WDW has now added a page on their website for guests with disabilities as well as a link to help with disabilities: disability.services@disneyparks.com.
However, in their grab for yet more of your money, they've done away with the free Fast Pass that enabled the disabled not to have to wait in line, which many of us are incapable of doing. Now you have to pay for a Lightning Lane pass. As I said, if you're disabled dealing with Disney is an absolute nightmare.
MOBILITY SCOOTERS
WDW does have mobility scooters or ECV's but again, they make things as difficult as they can for the disabled person.
You cannot reserve an ECV. You take your chances that there will be a scooter left for you when you get to the park. And if not? Oh well! Too bad so sad!
Again, what they charge to use the ECV is absolutely ridiculous - $50 per day plus a deposit. Nor can you take the ECV from park to park if you're park hopping. You have to go through the whole rigamarole again to get a scooter at the next park you go to.
We ended up renting 2 scooters from Mobility Plus for $100 each for the entire 10 days. They delivered the scooters to our hotel and picked them up up when we were finished with them. Both were brand new and when we had a problem with one of them starting, a 5 minute phone call had it fixed and running again.
Moral of the story: Don't bother with WDW's nonsense, just rent your ECV from Mobility Plus and save yourself one giant Disney headache.