Find Cheap Disney World Packages

A trip to a Walt Disney World Resort in Florida can be a magical vacation for the whole family, but it can be a costly experience, especially when the travel, accommodations and meals are added in. Yet, instead of putting off that family vacation of fun, it's helpful to know that there are numerous ways to obtain discounts and budget-minded packages that can reduce the cost of this trip considerably. For tips on saving money on transport, lodging, park admission, food, and other entertainment, try some of the suggestions starting in Step One.

Steps

Strategizing Your Search

  1. Decide what you want out of your vacation. The Walt Disney World Resort offers a huge variety of different things to do during your stay, from roller coasters, to sports, to African safaris. Not everything will interest everyone, so by being specific, you can potentially cut down the costs and have a more focused visit. Most of all, it will make it easier to take advantage of specific packages if you plan out what you want to do in advance.
    • Take some time to think about what kind of activities you want to do during your trip, based on the ages and preferences of everyone in your group. The ticket options are explained below under "Purchasing Discounted or Good Deal Park Tickets."
    • If you want to travel cheaply to Disney World, you may have to miss out on certain activities, so prioritize the different activities into categories like “Must Do,” “Maybe,” “Not Interested,” etc.
    • You can learn all about the different parks and activities at http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/ and http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/destinations/.
  2. Understand that ‘packages’ don’t typically come cheap. One of the nicest ways to travel, especially to the Disney parks, is using a ‘package’ vacation. This means that airfare/travel, hotel, food, and park tickets are all included in one package for purchase. While this makes things easier for convenience’ sake, it doesn’t look so good on your wallet. Unfortunately, because so many items are being grouped together, most packages are typically more expensive than each of the individual components are. So what’s the solution?
    • Only book a package if you are certain the total is the same as the sum of all the parts.
    • Consider nixing the complete package, and buying smaller packages to combine together. For example, get an airfare/hotel package combined with park tickets/food package.
    • Create your own package by buying everything individually, and organizing each of the parts for ultimate ease of use.
  3. Plan in advance. Just like prices for airfare, hotels, and tickets individually, the longer you wait the more expensive they become. If you’re searching for a package, you’ll need to start looking several months (i.e, at least 6 months) prior to when you plan to go on your trip. This will allow you to spend necessary time hunting down the cheapest package, and you’ll be looking when the packages are typically at their cheapest.
    • There are two ends of the spectrum: if you plan too far in advance (close to a year or more) or too soon before your trip (a month or less) you’ll be unlikely to get a decent price on any package.
    • Keep in mind that you can start planning early, just to compare prices and see what’s available. You should wait to purchase anything until 4-6 months before your trip, though.
  4. Search the right places. Although your first impulse might be to head to the Disney World website, you’ll be falling into the typical tourist trap and end up paying a lot more money. Because of the ease of finding a package through the Disney website, they are able to increase prices on most all of the items sold, including packages to the parks. Avoid going straight to Disney’s website, and instead look for package deals on other locations.
    • Look at the price that Disney offers for certain packages, so you have a price point to act as a comparison on other sites.
    • Search as many other sites that offer Disney packages as you’re able, in order to increase your chances of finding a good deal.
  5. Determine how ‘cheap’ you’re willing to be. Although it’s unlikely you’ll find a Disney package that has 1-star hotels and cheap food, you may need to consider minimizing your costs in other fashions. Decide what you’re willing to cut out of your budget, or what you can restrict your spending on. Food, for example, can be brought into the park instead of purchased. You can also choose to walk or take public transportation, rather than an expensive hotel/park shuttle. Break down everything you intend to spend money on, and then decide what you can cut from the list.
    • Souvenirs may seem like a necessary keepsake, but are highly overpriced and will rack up fast. Decide to only get ‘mouse ears’ or something of the sort, so that you don’t end up wasting money on things you won’t use in a few weeks.
    • Only purchase food that you need, rather than buying whatever sweet treat looks good. This will save you money, and your body won’t be dragging as much at the end of the day.
    • If you’re willing to simplify your hotel situation, consider getting a single or double room and having everyone share beds. Or, you can go extreme and have a single bed and everyone else in sleeping bags on the floor.[1]
  6. Look for special offers. Throughout the year, the Disney parks have special offers on ticket, hotel, and food prices inside Disney World. Generally, different offers can save you money on lodging, food, activities, and park tickets. Go to http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/special-offers/ to view a list of the special offers currently available.
    • Special offers can be especially useful if you're a member of the U.S. military, as many of the offers are tailored toward this group.

Getting to the Park

  1. Drive, if you’re able. By far the cheapest way to get to Disney World is to drive. Although this might not be a feasible option if you live on the West Coast. if you live in the South or on the East Coast you should definitely try to make a road-trip to the theme park. Driving will save you several hundred dollars on airfare - especially if more than two people are traveling with you. Plus, once you get to the parks you’ll be able to use your own car as transportation, rather than having to hire a shuttle to drive you around everywhere. Calculate the number of hours you’ll have to drive, and split that up into the number of days it would take to get to Disney World.
    • Because driving can conceivably take 2-3 days, you’ll want to try to stay at budget hotels or campsites along the way.
    • If you’re bringing a large family, prepare for the road trip by coming up with games and activities to do along the way.
  2. Book your airfare and hotel together. If you’re not able or willing to drive to Disneyland, you’ll have to fly there instead. It is unlikely you’ll be able to find a cheap Disney World package that includes hotel rooms for a decent rate, but you can get around this by booking a different hotel combined with your airfare. Many websites will significantly discount the combined cost of your flights and hotel rooms if you book them at the same time. Therefore, do a bit of research on hotels in the area, and see if you can combine them with your airfare at purchase.
    • Some search engines will allow you to ‘name a price’ for a hotel+flight, and present you with what’s available.
    • Keep in mind that whenever possible, go for the cheapest hotel and airfare on the market.
  3. Know when you book your airfare. There are many tricks to the trade when it comes to booking flights, and among the most beneficial is simply knowing the right time to book. Flying to a destination is always the least expensive from Monday through Thursday, and especially on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Air carriers typically have deals on flights on Tuesday afternoons, so plan on purchasing your flight on a Tuesday after 2:00PM. Additionally, you’ll get the best price on your plane flight if you book at least three months in advance, but no longer than nine months in advance.
    • Always search multiple search engines for the best deals on airfare. You can also go directly to an air carrier’s website for specific deals on only their flights.
    • Fly out of neighboring airports if there is a cheaper flight departing from there, as you’ll save money even if you have to drive a bit to get there.
  4. Travel during non-peak seasons. One great way to save money on your trip is to go during the down season for Disney World. The Disney World website offers different hotel rates depending on the time of year, and this can help you save money if you're willing to go during down periods. (It can also reduce the amount of time you have to spend waiting in line once you're inside the parks.) You can also save money on flights by flying during down periods.
    • The Disney World website offers two different “Value Seasons” that have greatly reduced rates for hotels. The first lasts from early January to mid-February, and the second one lasts from early August to late September.
    • To find one example of the savings you can realize from traveling during non-peak seasons, check out the difference in cost between a standard room at Disney’s All-Star Movie Resort per night during Value Season, compared with the cost per night during Peak Season. You may find the difference to be considerable.

Staying at the Park

  1. Search for a hotel on Disney’s website. Disney allows you to search for available rooms at all of the Walt Disney World Resort hotels for the dates of your stay. Because you’ll be staying at a hotel inside the park, you can cut down the price of travel to/from and combine your room with food vouchers for a reduced rate. The hotels vary by price, but you can filter your search to prefer the cheaper options.
    • To do this, go to http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/ and then click on the link that says, “Try the Vacation Package Guide”. On the Vacation Package Guide page, you will see four different categories (Vacation Pace, Hotel Experience, Dining Style, Things to Do) with options to choose from. To filter for cheaper hotels, drag the tab for Hotel Experience over to “Basic” (as opposed to “Luxurious”).
    • You can also use the “Budget” tab to set your budget for the entire trip to the low end of the spectrum. This will cause Disney to find cheaper options for all of the different categories.
    • Alternatively, you can find the cheaper options on the Disney website by clicking “Places to Stay” at the top of the homepage and then selecting “Disney Value Resort Hotels” on the next page. This will take you to a list of the cheapest Disney hotels, and offers a “Compare” feature so that you can view them side-by-side.
  2. Look for budget hotels nearby. It is almost guaranteed that you will find cheaper rooms at hotels outside the park than you will inside. If the atmosphere of the park hotel isn’t a primary goal, you should try searching for local hotels that will have discounted prices. Look for hotels that are close enough to the park that you don’t end up using the money you saved on transportation expenses. Try searching in these areas:
    • Disney Main gate - Celebration
    • West Disney Area
    • Sea World - Int’l Drive - Convention Center
    • Downtown Disney - Lake Buena Vista[1]

Buying Your Tickets

  1. Understand the different options for Disney park tickets. The Disney World Resort includes four different parks, as well as two water parks. With all of these different choices, you'll need to be sure of exactly what you're buying when you purchase your tickets. The following explanations may be of help:
    • The Magic Your Way Base Ticket: This is the standard, cheapest option. This ticket type allows you entry into one of the four theme parks per day (water parks not included). With this ticket, you can leave the park and return on the same day, but you must go back to the same park.
    • The Park Hopper: This option adds a premium to the cost of your ticket, but allows you to go back and forth between the different theme parks each day.
    • The Water Park Fun & More: This option gives you access to the Disney water parks, as well as other entertainment such as Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course, ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, and miniature golf courses. The number of entries to these parks that you can make depends on the length of your ticket. For example, a 1-day ticket gives you two entries, while a 5-day ticket gives you five.
    • The No Expiration: This option means that your tickets do not expire, so if you have extra days on your ticket that you do not use, you can come back at some point in the future and use them. Normally, these tickets expire 14 days after they are first used.
  2. Plan your activities. If you're seeking the cheapest option, you definitely want to choose the Base Ticket. If you do this, you will only be able to enter one of the parks each day, so it is important to plan in advance so that you can see everything you want to see during your trip. Spend some time researching the different parks and plan your trip based on the preferences of the different members of your group.
    • Note that you can upgrade your tickets at any time during your stay, but you will be charged extra.
  3. Stay longer to reduce the cost per day. The per day cost of your ticket decreases sharply the longer you stay. The greatest savings occurs with the 4-day ticket, which costs only $14 more than the 3-day ticket. Buying the 4-day ticket is a great way to get a whole extra day out of your trip without adding much in park admission costs.
  4. Look for discounted tickets online. Some websites offer tickets at a slightly discounted rate from the Disney website. A good place to start looking for these is http://tickets.orlandovacation.com/. If you buy tickets on a site other than the Disney site, make sure that they are the correct tickets that you mean to buy, and that they are indeed cheaper than the ones available through Disney. However, do not purchase pre-bought tickets off of websites such as Craigslist.com, as these won’t work when you try to enter the park; the information on the ticket must match your personal ID info.[2]
    • You can receive a discount on your ticket if you are a Florida resident.
    • There are several special programs that allow you to volunteer for a day at a local community center, in exchange for a free basic ticket into the park. Do a bit of research to see if you qualify.

Visiting the Park

  1. Bring your own food. Although you can’t bring in coolers, your best bet on saving money throughout the day is to eat your own food. Pack sandwiches and snacks that you can munch on during your time in the park, so that even if you don’t solely eat the food you bring, you won’t be so reliant on purchasing food. It is also good to bring plenty of your own water and liquids, as keeping hydrated will keep you less hungry, and purchasing liquids inside the park can be quite expensive.
    • Avoid buying food throughout the day if you’re able, especially sugary snacks that will just leave you feeling more hungry afterwards.
    • Set a budget for snacks so that you are forced to avoid spending.
  2. Add dining to your package on Disney’s website. Adding a dining plan to your vacation package is a great way to save money on food if you book your vacation through the official Disney site. Doing so can save you up to 20 percent on food over the course of your stay. To find the cheapest options, go to the Vacation Package Guide page. Adjust the “Dining Style” dial to “Counter Service” to filter for the cheaper dining packages. You can also learn all about the available meal plans at http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/planning-guides/in-depth-advice/disney-dining-plan/.
    • Keep in mind that certain items, including alcoholic beverages, are not included in the cost of any dining plan that you purchase.
  3. Only spend money on necessities. Yes, four sets of Mickey Mouse ears might sound like fun now, but if you’re really trying to budget you’ll need to cut out spending on everything except for what you absolutely need. Of course, it’s totally reasonable to have a budget set aside for certain ‘fun’ things inside the park, but just know how much you’re willing to spend before you start spending. It’s easy to feel like something is worth buying in the moment, but later on it’s likely that you’ll regret your spur of the moment purchase.
    • Look for free pins and items around the park that you can keep as souvenirs. A park map that you mark off along the way may work nicely.
    • Make sure to discuss your budget with your family as best you can prior to entering the park, so as to avoid any possible meltdowns/temper tantrums.[3]

Tips

  • Spend lots of time looking at prices before settling on a particular package or trip.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201302/3359/
  2. ↑ http://www.mousesavers.com/walt-disney-world-vacation-discounts-and-deals/
  3. ↑ http://www.minitime.com/trip-tips/Disney-World-Done-Dirt-Cheap-article
Retrieved from "https://kipkis.com/index.php?title=Find_Cheap_Disney_World_Packages&oldid=317455"