Disney Money Saving Tips

My family has been lucky enough to visit Walt Disney World almost annually for the past 10 years. Why so often? Not only is it so much fun (for all ages) but it’s a true vacation for my gluten free family. We don’t worry about buying food for meals, preparing meals, or researching places to eat (other than to decide what suits our preferences). Disney has dietary restrictions down to a science. And that’s the definition of vacation for us.

How do we afford to go so often? We’ve learned quite a few things over the years that have helped. Here are our favorite money saving tips, I hope they can help you as well!

Use a Credit Card with Rewards

Find any card that gives money back and bank the money you earn for your trip. Think it as your own Disney Savings account, a sort of  ‘Christmas Club’ for your vacation. We find our main savings through cash back earned using our Disney Visa^® Card. I am not an affiliate for this card, we have just found it works well for our family and we enjoy the perks it offers. We use it on all of our purchases throughout the year, especially large ones.

The Disney Visa card has no annual fee. It earns 2% cash back on purchases made at gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants and most Disney locations, and 1% back on all other purchases. At the time of this publishing, there’s an introductory bonus offer of a $200 statement credit after the cardholder spends $500 within the first three months of opening the card. The card also has special Disney perks:

* A 10% discount on $50 spend at select gift shops on property.

* Exclusive photo opportunities and meet and greets with characters throughout the parks. On our visit last year, we were able to get a special photo with Star Wars characters.

* Disney Rewards Dollars can be redeemed for Disney theme park tickets, resort stays, dining, souvenirs, costumes, movies and more.

* A 10% discount at select dining venues at Disney World. Last year, we used this discount when we ate at Jungle Skipper Canteen in the Magic Kingdom.

* Best Perk (in my opinion): early access to room sales.

Whatever credit card you choose, have the goal in mind that the money you earn back will be set aside for your Disney trip. Of course, please use credit cards wisely and pay card balances off monthly.

Book Disney Property Hotels on Sale

My family likes to stay at one of the three Disney resort locations closest to the Magic Kingdom and monorail, which are slightly more expensive than Disney’s other options. So we are always on the lookout for a hotel room promotion. Having the Disney Visa helps because they notify – and give early access – to room sales.

We wait for that sale to come up to book. It requires vigilance to get those rooms when they go on sale because when they do, they go lightening FAST. It’s important to be ready to act on the sale because there are only a limited number of rooms and people are waiting on them. Just like you.

You can find Disney’s current hotel rates and discounts on the company’s website. Ideally, we look for a 30% room discount.

Food and Drink Savings

One of the main reasons we visit Walt Disney World so frequently is the safe and plentiful food options for our gluten free family. And it’s not just gluten free they handle well: their allergy free menus accommodate peanut/tree nut, soy, milk, egg, and fish/shellfish and wheat/gluten. Every quick service and full service dining venue has an allergy menu and staff and chefs are trained with tight cross contamination protocols. We relish being able to sit down to meals in fun venues and consider that a significant part of our vacation.  Because dining is such an important part of our vacation at Disney, we find ways to cut spending on food in other ways throughout the day.

One of our savings strategies is to get groceries delivered to our hotel room. In the past, we’ve used the Garden Grocer, an Orlando-based grocery delivery service.  The bags of food are delivered to our room upon check in, and we’ve been happy with our orders. We purchase items like bottled water, fruit, cheese sticks, yogurt, snacks, a few breakfast items and things we can heat up in our hotel room microwave. The Garden Grocer has a decent selection of gluten free items that are perfect for a quick breakfast or snack at night. Tip: they offer discounts the farther in advance you place your order.

This year, we’re trying Amazon Prime for grocery delivery because their prices are a bit more competitive. People report success with delivery to the major Disney resorts. Another option is Instacart, people have reported the same success.

We also bring a carry-on bag on our flight filled with our  favorite snacks to eat throughout the trip. I like to pack almonds and harder-to-find gluten free snacks like our favorite bars and Lance Peanut Butter crackers. Bonus, at the end of our vacation, we have an extra bag for souvenirs.

We’ve determined that the Disney Dining plans don’t make financial sense for our family. However if you like to know exactly what you’ll be spending on the trip for food, or have a trip budget, the plans may be right for you. The dining plans go on sale as well and sometimes are offered at no – cost! Dining sales typically occur at off-peak times. Check various Disney travel sites regularly for sale notice.

Wait Until the End of Your Vacation to Buy Souvenirs

One lesson our family learned on their first trip to Disney World:  buy souvenirs after you’ve seen all of your options.

Especially when my kids were younger, they would find something cool and buy it as their souvenir. The next day, they’d inevitably see something they wanted more than what they’d already purchased. The result? Wasted money, tears or both.

Now, we buy souvenirs only after visiting all of the parks. Because we use a park hopper pass we can go back to wherever the best souvenir they found was and visit the same park multiple times. We remind everybody (including ourselves) before the trip that it’s going to be exciting and so many cool things and we have time to look around and think about the best options.

Disney Gift Cards Make Great Presents

If friends and family are looking for a birthday or holiday gift for you or your kids, suggest a Disney Gift Card. You can apply the cards to admission tickets, annual passes, hotel rooms, spa experiences, merchandise, dining, and recreation. The kids can pick up some fun souvenirs too.

In true Disney fashion, you can pick from hundreds of fun designs online and even personalize the gift cards, with free shipping.

I hope these tips are helpful. Let me know if you have any tips that have helped you save money for your Disney trip!