Last year my nephew took his wife and 3 kids to Disney World. Just admittance to the park cost him nearly $2000.
The last time I was there, a bottle of water was $6, a Dole Whip (which is mostly whipped cream) was $14.
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. More impressively, 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.
When my sister and I went to Disney World for 10 days we were determined to keep their hands out of our pockets and as much of our money in our own pockets as possible. With some strategic planning I think we did a pretty good job of it.
Tickets
WDW tickets come in a dizzying array of configurations and are the least flexible part of planning your trip. With flights, hotels, and dining, you have a variety of really good options and ways to save. But your options for deals on Disney World tickets are more limited.
TICKET BASICS
Ticket prices vary by start date. This is the most important point. If you want to compare prices between different sellers you need to make sure you check the same start date. There may be flexible date tickets available, but their prices will typically make them a bad option.
Remember, too, that this means you’ll want to compare prices
from different sellers, but you’ll also want to compare prices for different dates. You might find that changing your trip date by a week or so saves you a lot of money.
Ticket prices vary by length and ticket type. Relatedly, there are different types of theme park tickets, primarily standard (one park per day) tickets and “park hopper” (multiple parks per day) tickets.
And those tickets can cover anywhere between one and ten days. Moreover, once you’ve selected a start date and length, you’ll have a range of dates during which you can use those tickets.
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.
August and September tend to have the cheapest prices. But Disney can release discounts at any time, so you very well might be surprised by lower prices at any time.
It’s important to remember that these tickets are good only for access to Walt Disney World theme parks:
Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Epcot.
For multi-day tickets, all four of those Disney parks are under a single pricing structure.
Disney Springs is not a theme park, and no ticket is needed to access it. It is an outdoor shopping and dining district.
Finally, let’s talk water parks. Disney used to have a “water park fun and more” option where you could add water park access to your ticket. That disappeared, but they’ve since added the Water Park and Sports ticket add-on for $70+tax. This allows you a fixed number of visits to the water parks and a few other experiences
Which of the park hopper / water parks & sports / park hopper plus options works best for your trip can be a tricky question, but it basically boils down to:
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If you want to park hop, get park hopper
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If you want to go to the water parks, get the Water Park and Sports ticket option
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If you want to park hop and go to the water parks, get Park Hopper plus
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If you 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.
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.
HOPPER PARK OPTION
Save yourself the money. If you plan your itinerary right you won't need or have time to hop from one park to another in one day.
WATER PARKS OPTION
Again, save yourself $70. You can buy entrance tickets at the water parks. We found we didn't even have time to hit the water parks and the one day we might have, it was raining.
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.
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
My sister, Barb and I bought straight park admission tickets, no add-ons. If you plan your itinerary right, there's no need for the Park Hopper pass because you won't need to hop between parks. We passed on the water park tickets as well and it's a good thing we did because we ran out of time to be able to hit the water parks and even if we hadn't run out of time, there was a thunderstorm the day we would have gone to a water park.
Ways To Save On Food & Drink
This is one area you can really beat Disney at its own money grabbing game - as long as you don't let Disney lock you into their Dining Plan.
Barb and I chose only specific meals in the parks at restaurants we wanted to try: Les Chefs de France, Coral Reef, OHana at the Polynesian Resort and Liberty Tree Tavern. And the dinner at Les Chefs was FREE.
Our breakfasts came with our hotel reservations and nearly all the meals we ate during our 10 day stay were deeply discounted or FREE. And let me tell ya, we ate well!
As I said, I plan my trips a year in advance to take advantage of deals. Here's how I/we paid next to nothing for food.
#1 - I got a Chase Disney VISA card that awarded me Disney Dollars for every purchase I made on it. I charged all my necessary daily or weekly purchases on the card and paid off the balance in full every month so as not to accrue any interest charges or go into debt.
Barb had been to WDW five times, had always wanted to eat at Les Chefs de France but had never been able to. We had dinner at Les Chefs and my Disney Dollars paid for the entire meal.
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.
#2 - I took advantage of a sale at restaurant.com - $40 off your meal coupons for $10 each. I scored a bunch of the 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. (Our hotel was right across the street from Disney Springs)
#3 - We mapped out restaurants near the Disney Parks we wanted to eat at. I went to the websites of each of those restaurants and signed up for FREE for their customer loyalty programs.
For example, rather than spend $100 or more on lunch inside the Animal Kingdom park, there was a Rainforest Cafe right outside the park gate. I got $50 in rewards just for signing up for their loyalty program plus another $25 because it was my birthday that month. Plus we got priority seating - a big plus when it came to the WDW crowds.
Above is the burger each of us had for lunch, (plus a large drink) completely FREE.
#4 - 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.
There was also a convenience store inside the hotel that if we wanted to pick up something to add to our lunches we could.
There was only one day inside of Magic Kingdom where we got lunch at a park walk up counter.
#5 - We both got insulated lunch bags and a filtered Kleen Kanteen water bottle.
We booked at a hotel that provided a complimentary breakfast
buffet and 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 morning to pack in our lunch bags.
We both had a soggy sandwich that was barely edible , a small salad and small drink. It cost us $50 each.
Pack your own lunch, find a nice scenic spot in the park and eat your lunch and you'll save a bundle of money over the course of your stay. We saved well over $1000 during the 10 days just on lunch alone.
MAKING DISNEY DINING RESERVATIONS
What a pain in the a$$ that was and we weren't even eating at that many park restaurants! You must make your dining reservations in advance of your trip. Thing is, there are only specific times for specific restaurants that you can make those reservations! This meant you may have to get up a 3 a.m. to make your dining reservations for Les Chefs, let's say. You'd go through several days of this to get your dining reservations made!
However, if you purchase your admission ticket(s) through Get Away Today I believe they'll still handle making your dining reservations for you. At least they used to.
Accommodations
While it's more convenient to stay within a Disney park at one of their resorts, like everything else you'll pay more than top dollar to do so, even at their "budget" resorts.
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 an 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 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 this hotel 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
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Theme park entry reservations
Our room rate was under $250 per night with our Hilton points.
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card
An excellent high-earning Hilton credit card that comes with perks like Hilton Honors Gold status and up to $200 in Hilton credits every year.
The participating Official Disney Partner Hotels are:
• B Resort & Spa Lake Buena Vista
• Best Western Lake Buena Vista
• DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Orlando
• Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace
• Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista
• Holiday Inn Orlando
• Wyndham Lake Buena Vista
• Wyndham Garden Lake Buena Vista
• Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel
• Walt Disney World Swan Hotel
• Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek
• Waldorf Astoria Orlando Bonnet Creek
• Four Seasons Resort Orlando
• Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando Lake Buena Vista
• Walt Disney World Swan Reserve
If you want to be really budget conscious then staying at an affiliate hotel is your best bet.
However, if you're dead set on staying at a resort within the Disney parks then check out the Value Resorts, particularly Pop Century and Art of Animation, At the value resorts, you get all the perks of a Disney stay, like free transportation and Early Entry.
You might also want to check out the Gran Destino Tower at Coronado Springs. Make no mistake, this “moderate” option is definitely more luxurious than some of Disney’s deluxe hotels.
While it has downsides—the transportation is less than ideal and the pool is a walk from the tower—it’s moderate pricing more than makes up for these shortcomings.
Gran Destino
Disney for the Disabled
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.
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.
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.