How Much Does Disney Cost???

I decided to write a post on the cost of our Disney vacation.  Lots of people seem to be curious about the price of a Disney trip and have asked me how much it costs, so let me explain how we're paying for it.  You probably wouldn't believe it if I said our family of four is going on an all-inclusive Disney vacation, flights and all, for less than $1500, but it is true!  That's staying at a Disney resort, tickets to all the parks for our whole family, all of our meals, and all of our flights!  Yes, there are a few catches, but I will explain them all.  If I was being honest, we actually could have gone even cheaper but chose to upgrade on a few things!  So I actually think a Disney vacation can be affordable if you plan carefully!  Just think how much you spend on "small vacations" between hotels, travel, food, entertainment... it adds up quick!  A couple years of doing that and maybe you could go to Disney... given that you even want to go to Disney.  I know, not everyone loves it as much as we do :)


We are going November 13th-19th.  That is 7 days/6 nights.  We are staying at a moderate resort, which is a step above the value resorts.  We are getting park hopper tickets, which means you can go from park to park each day.  We also opted for the free dining plan which is available at that time, which did mean giving up our 35% discount on our resort stay, but we thought it was well worth it!  And, we are flying!  So, right in that description, I gave several ways you could go even cheaper if you're on a tighter budget (stay shorter than 7 days, stay at a value resort or stay off-site, don't get park hopper tickets, eat "cheap").  Obviously, I think our upgrades are worth it, but I could do without them if I wanted to save more money.  There are so many extras you could add to this which we are "doing without"-nicer resorts, tickets to the water park, the "deluxe dining plan," tickets to the Christmas party, etc., etc.  Yes, you could just as easily rack up a $5,000+ trip, but I'd rather go several times for the cost of one expensive trip.


So, how did we do it "so cheap"?  Well, first of all, the actual regular cost of our trip without flights (hotel and tickets) is $2,058.  Then, we have a Disney Visa credit card, which we have put all our monthly expenses on for the last couple of years (and of course, we pay it off in full each month or it wouldn't be a good deal!).  In the last couple of years, we have racked up $588 in Disney Dollars on this card.  That takes us down to $1470 plus flights.  The week we are going, they are offering their free dining plan!  So, our food is covered-we're talking steak dinners, desserts, drinks, snacks-everything!  But, I said less than $1500 total, right?  And I haven't mentioned the cost of flying.  Well, Josh researched it, and Southwest had some great credit card rewards.  We signed up, used the credit card for 3 months, and earned enough for 3 round trip tickets (with some leftover) which is all we need since Jacob flies free!


(SIDE NOTE:  If you think your family will be going on a Disney trip in the next 5 years, and if you can handle a credit card, I highly recommend signing up for the Disney Visa.  As an extra bonus, if you enter my card member number, we'll both get $25 Disney Dollars!  here is the link: www.disneyrewardsfriends.com Just enter code CZSL along with my number 17738658.)


ALSO, here's another deal we found out about this year:  We are members of Sam's Club, and they sell $100 Disney gift cards for $98 and some odd cents around the holidays.  However, each one also comes with a bonus $10 Disney Store gift card!  The $10 card is not good toward your vacation or in the parks but is still a very nice bonus for money you are spending anyway!  The $100 is good towards your vacation.  So, we purchased 14 of these cards.  They are worth $1400 towards our vacation plus $140 towards the Disney store ($1540), and we paid $1384.  That was a fun little bonus!  Now I can get some fun clothes or something for the kids before our trip!


I should also mention that Jacob goes to Disney for free since he's under 3.  If we would have gone 3 months earlier, Hannah still would have been free too, which kills me just a little bit.  But, we wanted to wait until November since the lines will be shorter with kids back in school and the weather should hopefully not be as hot!  Plus, a major bonus is that the Christmas lights will be up, and that is supposed to be amazing.  I can't wait!


I still am no expert, so if you have any money saving ideas that I'm missing, please share!  I'm sure I still have tricks to learn... but maybe something I said will help your family start to plan your Disney vacation on the frugal side.