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) in Part 1 we’re tackling where to lay your pretty head.
Disclaimer:
1. I know a LOT of people who are in LOVE with Disney and are total pros. 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 vastly 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 RESORTS & HOTELS
THE AGE OLD QUESTION: Stay on or off property?
First and foremost, the extra magic hours (people who stay at a Disney hotel get to go in early to the parks or stay later) and the dining plans (pay ahead for your food to not have to worry about it later) are temporarily not available during Covid. Originally, I wanted to stay on property because I wanted to take advantage of the extra magic hours and spend the most time possible in the parks.
We first looked at a “Value” resort (Disney’s version of a Holiday Inn) to save money. Nightly rates for when we wanted to go (early September) were about $149 a night. Not awful, right? But then those rooms were not available for my family since we are a family of five. (I thought about not taking one kid, but couldn’t decide who.) In order to stay in a value resort you had to book two adjoining rooms. The price per night for two adjoining rooms was $300 a night plus tax. When I found this out, I started looking at the “Moderate” resorts (think Hilton) because prices listed on the website were around $400 a night.
Also, some moderate resorts are equipped with a kitchenette which would help us save money on buying meals, so I was willing to pay a little more for that feature. I got back on the Walt Disney World website and started trying to find a room at a moderate resort. We needed a family suite for our family of five and a suite with a kitchenette was going for $3000! Yikes! I am going to need an in room fro-yo machine and my own hut tub for that price.
WHAT WE DID:
So I ditched that idea. I ended up renting a villa from a Disney Vacation Club (DVC) owner. This is essentially a timeshare for Disney. There are owners who have paid into the vacation club and have points that they are allotted annually to stay at any Disney resort. If they are unable to travel and want to rent their points to someone else, they can book a stay and put your name on it.
There are several businesses that specialize in renting DVC owner’s points. I used this website, and thought it was a little confusing. I used their website to ask for someone to contact me and give me a quote. An agent promptly emailed me and I told her the three different places I wanted to stay. She found owners who wanted to rent their points and gave me quotes for each resort. She also kept in touch with me about the deposit, the insurance (which I declined and advise you not to decline right now), and the final payment due date.
Final Savings- $1000 (This is NOT the easiest route, but renting from a DVC owner was worth it to save).
Room costs: $1909 for 5 nights at a moderate resort (Disney Beach Club Villas) for a deluxe room that slept five and had a kitchenette.
IF WE DID IT AGAIN:
If we were to do it again and extra magic hours were STILL not a thing, I would stay off of the property. Why? Because of the bang for your buck for our bigger family. If we are not getting extra hours at the parks or the option of the dining plans, paying the extra to stay on the property doesn’t make sense for us. Check out this website that has some pretty awesome hotels, at value prices. These hotels have complimentary shuttle service to all of the parks; some offer free breakfast, and some offer kitchenette options.
Also, I looked into VRBO and AirBnB’s in the area that were even less expensive. There were some great options very near the parks that were as low as $50 a night. If you were driving your own car and could transport yourselves to the parks, a vacation rental by the owner would be extremely economical. You do pay for parking, but If you are paying considerably less for accommodations, paying for parking or even taking an Uber to the parks would not eat into the savings much.
MY FINAL SAY ON WHAT YOU SHOULD DO:
If you don’t care about the price tag, you’ve got money to throw around, or want to have the plushest amenities: Use WDW website for a deluxe resort.
If you are budget conscious but have saved money and want to stay on property to take advantage of the extra magic hours or dining plan (if available): Rent DVC points or book a value resort if you have a party of 4 or less.
If you don’t care about being on the property, extra magic hours, or dining plans and the budget is slim solely because you are planning this on a whim because 2020 sucks and you’d like to have some joy: Book an off-property partner hotel or an Airbnb or VRBO. Here was my favorite hotel that I thought about booking several times. Here is my favorite VRBO that I have saved to my Orlando trip board.
God’s Speed Friends,
Stef
P.S. Stay tuned: Part 2- Booking Disney park tickets!