I think it’s safe to assume that many people believe a Walt Disney World vacation is too expensive for average folks. While it is true that a trip to any of the Disney properties is not inexpensive, there are ways to save money here and there to help with your overall personal bottom line. Whether you are traveling with friends, family, or by yourself, there are many small ways that you can keep more money in your pocket while soaking in all the magic. In this post I will cover ten of my favorite frugal money-saving tips for Walt Disney World.
Tip #1. Set your alarm and Rope Drop instead of buying MultiPass. Disney’s skip the line service can cost anywhere from $19 per person per day to $39 per person per day, depending on how busy the parks are that week. Early in the morning, the wait times are notably shorter than later in the day, and you may find that you don’t need MutliPass to experience popular rides. Take advantage of Early Entry if you are staying at a Walt Disney Resort Collection hotel – which allows guests 30 minutes if park access before official opening. On many days, you can accomplish a couple of “E-Ticket” attractions during this early window. Check out my prior blog posts on this strategy: Why You Should Rope Drop at Disney World, and The Perfect Early Morning At Animal Kingdom!
Tip #2. Head to the parks in the evening hours, and ride popular attractions while many guests are sitting down to dinner. Like Rope Drop, using the evening hours can help you avoid purchasing Lightning Lane MultiPass or Individual Lightning Lanes. This is a great time to do rides that can have a moderate wait during the middle of the day, like Spaceship Earth in EPCOT. You can also hop into line for a popular ride right before the park closes. If a park’s posted closing time is 9pm, you can typically enter a queue right up until 8:59pm. (Please don’t give cast members a hard time if the line is closed!) While you are still waiting for the attraction, you’re not waiting during operating hours, and there’s often lower crowds later at night. This is a great way to ride Slinky Dog Dash at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, or Flight of Passage at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Tip #3. Did you know that adults can order off the kids’ menu at quick service locations? It’s true! With many kids’ quick service meals simply being smaller portions of adult meals, this is a great way to save a few bucks on the cost of food. (You can also save a little room in your stomach for another tasty treat if you are minding that budget too!) Kids’ meals also come with one or two sides and a drink, so I typically pick up a small bottle of water to throw in my backpack. Some adult quick service meals are large enough to share as well, so you might consider splitting items with others in your travel party to save a little money (and again save stomach space!).
Tip #4. Have a grocery order delivered to your resort to save money on breakfast items, casual snacks for the room, or anything you really enjoy having on hand. There are several services available, such as GardenGrocer.com, Instacart, VacationGroceryDeliveryFL.com, and others. Bell Services at Walt Disney Resorts can hold your grocery delivery if it arrives before you, though do note that it’s possible they won’t be able to refrigerate items, so don’t leave it waiting for long if avoidable. These services can also deliver alcohol, which will most certainly save you money over buying a 6-pack of beer or cider at your resort. You will need to meet the delivery person to accept the delivery, as bell services no longer holds alcohol as part of grocery deliveries.
If you don’t need or want a grocery order delivered, there are little market corners within the Walt Disney World Resort gift shops, with larger selections at Disney Vacation Club resorts. (This is not so much a money saver as it is a time saver if you need just a couple of things.) Having a few simple breakfast items on hand, in particular, can help you get out the door quicker and make the most of your early mornings at the park – see Tip #1. You can easily spend $12 – $15 each day on breakfast at the parks or resort food courts, so this can really add up. (My personal go-to move is throwing a granola bar and a banana in my backpack for a morning fueling during Rope Drop.)
Tip #5. Bring a refillable water bottle. There are more and more filtered water refill locations popping up throughout the parks, with attractions like TRON and areas like Galaxy’s Edge having easy to locate refill stations. This is not an advertisement – but I do personally bring a Brita water bottle with a filter insert in the straw. This allows me to refill my water bottle anywhere – even the sink! – and know that I will have tasty, filtered water all day. You can also ask for a cup of water from any quick service food location, and they will give it to you for free. You can also have a pack of 12oz bottles included in your grocery delivery, if you use Tip #4. Regardless of how you get your water intake, make sure you hydrate to feel great!
Tip #6. Use your phone or a resort key card instead of buying a MagicBand. It pains me to include this on my list but the reason why is the ever-increasing cost of these bands. The newer MagicBand+ do have fun interactive technology, with vibrations and light up effects on certain attractions, during fireworks shows, and more. With prices starting around $35 (after pre-arrival discount), you can easily find yourself dropping $140+ for a family of four on top of what you’ve already spent, and will spend. In the past, the basic color bands were included with your resort reservation, with those eventually costing about $10-15 when ordering before your trip. Now, the basic solid color MagicBands are no longer available online, and it is likely we will only see the newer fancy MagicBand+ model available from here on out. With Universal employing facial recognition software for park entry and ride lockers at Epic Universe, we could be seeing the beginning of the end of this iteration of hands-free park and room entry. I do love these wearables though, and I’ll continue to coordinate my park outfits to match my old MagicBands until this technology is phased out.
Tip #7. Consider skipping the car rental and use airport shuttle services, and Disney transportation to/from the parks. Disney Bus Service runs frequently, with posted arrival times every 20 minutes. Depending on where you are staying, you may be able to ride Disney’s Skyliner or the Disney Monorail to/from certain theme parks as well. There are also several resorts within walking distance to certain theme parks. Depending on travel size, compare the costs of different transportation options from your arrival airport to your resort. Mears Connect travels from MCO to Disney properties and a few other locations and costs $16 per person each way. While this is the most economical option for a solo traveler, using Uber/Lyft might make more sense if you are a group of 3-5 people. You also want to consider other needs such as car seats, stroller transport, individuals in wheelchairs or scooters, etc. in your cost analysis.
Tip #8. Stay on property. I am a huge proponent of staying on property to get the full effect of being in “the Disney bubble.” While staying offsite will save you some money over deluxe and some moderate resorts, you don’t save quite as much when comparing room rates to the Value Resorts on property. When factoring in the cost of a car rental and parking at the parks, and the added time cost if you are using non-Disney resort shuttles, you may not actually be saving any money at all, and you are most certainly losing precious park time. When you have options like POP Century and Art of Animation with Skyliner access in the Value Resorts category, it’s going to be hard to convince me that you’ll find better value off-property. Disney is running several deals through summer 2025, including the Free Dining Plan, Discounts for Disney+ Subscribers, a 3-Day/3-Park Ticket Special, and 50% off Select Kids Tickets. There’s plenty of opportunities to save!
Tip #9. Since you’ll be staying on property, take advantage of free activities offered at your Walt Disney World Resort. In addition to daily pool activities and games, these resorts also offer free activities like Story Time Yoga at Art of Animation, Purple Martin Nest Check at Caribbean Beach, and a Video Game Dance Party at Polynesian Resort. Each resort also has some version of “Movie Under the Stars” hosted on an outdoor lawn, (which could include roasting s’mores by a campfire!) and this is a great evening family activity. Recently, characters have been visiting resorts more and more frequently, and you could find some of your favorite pals hanging out in the lobby the next time you stroll through.
The activities at each resort change throughout the seasons. Frequently, you’ll see the same activities for 1-2 months at a time, with cast members changing things up seasonally. The activities schedule for each resort is available on the WaltDisneyWorld.com website for your location, and posted around the resort. You can always ask a cast member as well, and they’ll be able to provide you with a schedule.
Tip #10. Use a travel agent. Fun fact! The cost of travel agent services is included in the cost of your Disney vacation, whether you use a travel agent or not. This is the case for all vacation travel packages – Universal, cruise lines like Viking, Royal Caribbean, and more all charge you for these services as part of their regular pricing. Why not actually put that money to use, and have an agent do all the leg work for you? At a place as vast as Walt Disney World (it’s the size of San Francisco!), working with an earmarked advisor will take the stress out of planning and help you navigate the parks like a pro. In addition to having this expertise, a Disney travel agent is able to easily apply new discounts to your booking as soon as they become available, to ensure you are getting the best possible price for your trip. After all, if you’re trying to save some money, you might as well get what you are already paying for.
Ready to learn more ways to save money on your next Walt Disney World vacation? Want a dedicated travel agent to make sure you get the absolute BEST deal on your trip? Let’s map out your next Magical Quest today!
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