Disney is expensive, ya’ll. Like stupid expensive. And your resident cheapo is going to try and spit some facts about how to save money at Disney. This is a 3-parter (you’re welcome) and in Part 2 we’re forging ahead and talking about the Disney Amusement Parks. If you missed Part 1, you can read that here. If you read Part 1 and CAME BACK, I am flattered!

Disclaimer: 

1. I know a LOT of people who are in LOVE with Disney.  But I am NOT.  

This is probably the fault of my own parents who never took me to Disney as a child. (Ahem… thanks Mom & Dad for ruining my childhood.)  None of my core memories involved iconic Disney and instead involved riding in our minivan to another sporting event for my brother or staying at home on the farm, where I stood in the front yard, looking at the sky with my finger in my nose. (This is how Shawn describes my childhood every time he references something straight out of 90’s pop culture that I am clueless about). We didn’t have cable tv until I left for college so you can also thank my parents for this homegrown, farm raised, weirdness.

I digress…… This is a pretty basic,  “Disney magic” free guide about how to plan for a Disney vacation that fits in your budget.  If you can handle me being pretty blunt about the cost of Disney, read on. 

2. There is SO MUCH info out there. TONS. I am going to tell you what WE did.

Love it or hate it, Disney is a TON different than normal right now. This is the case for how it worked for us. Maybe you can apply some of this info if you travel during Covid. If you are reading this after Covid, glean what you can.  

DISNEY WORLD PARKS

THE AGE OLD QUESTION: Which parks are best?

Disney fans get pretty serious about which park is the best. After our visit, I also had a favorite based on what each park provided to my family and our interests.  We bought four day tickets, and planned to visit each park once.  I was not sure we would be back at Disney anytime soon, so I wanted to make sure we hit each park and got to experience the major attractions at each one. Our kids, ages 10, 7, and 5) they were not fans of Epcot. There were some fun things to do, but not as much as the other parks. My kids enjoyed the other three parks a lot more. 

My absolute favorite park was Animal Kingdom, followed closely by Hollywood Studios.  Magic Kingdom was my third favorite and Epcot was my least. Epcot was under major construction while we were there, likely due to a needed facelift. Magic Kingdom is geared toward younger kids, in my opinion, so plan accordingly. I did research on each park and spent time googling things like, “best rides at each park” and then decided what rides were considered “must-do”  based on my kids’ interests. I also talked to some of my favorite Disney fans and got their input, which was SUPER helpful.  I used this website to do some research on different rides and height requirements. 

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Also, please know that Disney has temporarily suspended the “Park Hopper” upgrade option for Disney tickets. The “Park Hopper” allows you to visit more than one park in a day. You must make a reservation on your “My Disney Experience” app for a park on the day your family plans to be there, so Disney can monitor crowd levels. 

All in all, Disney tickets are, you guessed it, EXPENSIVE. The cost of tickets varies with the lowest prices in late January and higher prices around holidays and peak seasons. Weekend prices are a little higher than weekday prices. Ticket prices for a day at a Disney park range from $109-$174. For our family of five, during low crowds, tickets were $109 a person. For clarity, it cost us $500 a day for each of the four parks……… GULP. 

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Without going into a ton of detail, the pricing of Disney tickets is very complex. The price per day goes down slightly if you are buying tickets for multiple days. My best advice is to pick the time you want to go, price tickets and decide what can fit in your budget for your family. 

One way to save big on your tickets is to have a family member that is a Florida resident buy tickets for you. The ticket buyer must have a Florida drivers license reflecting a Florida address. Florida residents have DEEP discounts on Disney tickets. Also, veterans and active military can enjoy savings on tickets and some employers offer discounts as well. 

WHAT WE DID:

If you are using the Walt Disney World website to make hotel/resort reservations, you can bundle your tickets too. This method is pretty convenient, but I am NOT convinced that it is the most budget-friendly option. Since we do not have family in Florida, nor are we veterans or active military, (and… AHEM….. public education doesn’t seem to participate in discounted Disney tickets for their employees) we bought our park tickets separately from an independent Disney Travel Agent. My sister-in-law told me she used an independent authorized Disney Travel Agent named Janette, to book her trips. I added Janette on social media when we started to plan our trip and periodically peppered her with a million questions (which she graciously answered for me even though I did not make hotel reservations through her). Janette helped me purchase tickets and advised me on pricing, upcoming price increases, and ways to save a few dollars per person. In the end, working with Janette saved us about $100 on tickets. It was easy and seamless and I highly recommend working with Storybook World Travel. Janette can help you book your room, buy your tickets, and is a great resource! I am leaving her information below.  

Final Savings: $100. This was uncomplicated because Janette can buy them for you and help you save for you for FREE. 

Ticket costs: $2072 for 4 day tickets for our family of 5.  

IF WE DID IT AGAIN: 

Since we have experienced all the parks once, if we were to go again, we would likely spend two days or three days visiting our favorite parks and cut out Epcot, which would save us quite a bit of money. Also, right now, I am not sure that more than one day at each park is necessary. We did all the major attractions at each park with time to spare because crowds and wait times were so low. I have heard that under normal circumstances and high crowds, sometimes two days in a park was necessary to be able to do some of your favorite rides.

MY FINAL SAY ON WHAT YOU SHOULD DO: 

If you are in LOVE with Disney and want to spend multiple days at each park and are rollin’ in the dough, or have some killer discounts: buy your tickets on the Walt Disney World website and for as many days as you can fit in your trip.

If you are budget conscious, but have saved money for this trip, and want to visit each park at least once:  Think about four-day park tickets and spending one day in each park. 

If your budget is slim and you are planning this on a whim because 2020 sucks and you’d like to have some joy: Do your research about which park or parks would be best for your family. You CAN have an awesome trip, chock full of memories and a million smiles, without visiting all four parks.

EXTRA TIP: I paid for a subscription for a year to the “Touring Plans” website. This website listed what crowds are like at each park and will let you build a plan for each park. I added what rides were a must,  added breaks we planned to take, and any restaurant reservations we had made. The program then “optimized” and told me what rides to ride first and how to make my way around the park we were visiting for the day. It helped me a TON to know ride names and locations through this subscription. It cost $11 for one year.