There are a lot of tips to save money on a trip to Disney World floating around out there. Some of them obvious, some of them less so. I thought I’d add one more to the list, because, seriously, who can have too many money saving tips? Not I. This turned out to be quite lengthy, so I decided to split it into two parts.
First, people are always saying it’s soooo expensive to go to Disney World. I don’t think it’s just Disney World… it’s expensive to go practically anywhere. Gas is expensive, plane tickets are expensive, and I live too far away and am too heavy of a packer to walk or bike there.
In the words of Julie Andrews, let’s start at the very beginning… of your trip that is.
Stay tuned for part 2, coming soon!
First, people are always saying it’s soooo expensive to go to Disney World. I don’t think it’s just Disney World… it’s expensive to go practically anywhere. Gas is expensive, plane tickets are expensive, and I live too far away and am too heavy of a packer to walk or bike there.
In the words of Julie Andrews, let’s start at the very beginning… of your trip that is.
- Flying there… fly into MCO. There are two airports located in Orlando, one of which is MCO. This is the airport Disney’s Magical Express serves. So, unless you want to rent a car or take a taxi, make sure you buy plane tickets that are flying into MCO!
- Consider your baggage. Most airlines charge for bags. Because not all airlines serve all airports, you have to do your own research on this one. See what airlines serve your airport. Then, see if any offer free baggage, or, cheaper baggage.
- Consider not checking a bag at all. Sure, you may have to do laundry on the trip, but all resorts have coin operated laundry facilities. If you bring powdered detergent from home, this may save you significant money. I have gone on a trip to Disney World where we didn’t check any bags. Because you can only bring liquids that are 3 oz. or less, we needed a way to bring sun screen. I found it was significantly cheaper to ship some to the resort (I just looked up the resorts address online and wrote: ℅ guest: Name; check in date: date). It was waiting at the resort when we checked in. We didn’t have to worry about shipping anything back because we used it all up.
- Resorts…. obviously values are cheaper than moderates which are cheaper than deluxes. Pretty self explanatory on this one. However, if you’re just dying to try a more expensive resort but can’t afford to stay there your whole trip, stay the first part of your trip at the less expensive resort, and the latter part of your trip at the more expensive resort. Disney will transfer your bags for you. Note: you need to have your bags to bell services by a certain time the day BEFORE your transfer… put the things you need for that night in a backpack, or something similar, and just bring that one bag with you for the day.
- Time of year… again, another obvious. If you’re trying to do Disney on the cheap, don’t go around Easter or Christmas or the 4th of July. In general, it’s cheaper when school is in session. If you have to go in the summer, try the very beginning of June or the very end of August, whatever works best with your schedule. That is your best bet for price and crowds.
Stay tuned for part 2, coming soon!