Money Saving Disney Tips (That Really Work!)

If you go to google, there’s MILLIONS (not an exaggeration) of articles on how to save money on different kinds of Disney Vacations. Here’s the secret though – most of these ‘tricks’, don’t really work. Like, I wish I could tell you that there’s a magical formula, that would let you go to Disney with your whole family for $100, but it just doesn’t work. There ARE tips that WILL save your family money though – and while it might not be a magic fix, those savings can end up being significant.

-Book Your Cruise With Small World Vacations
Going on a Disney Cruise? Good! You’re going to have a blast! Disney Cruises are bar none. If you’re booking a cruise, we cannot highly recommend booking with Small World Vacations highly enough. Not only do they make the process easy and seamless, but they are also the ONLY Authorized Vacation Planners that can offer an on-board ship credit. You can click here, to see how much of a ship credit you could earn for your cruise for your family.

-Consider The Lounge
Instead of making a ton of dining reservations any more, we tend to hit up some of Disney’s lounges that have menus. These lounges tend to have lower prices, while still sharing kitchens with some of Disney’s best restaurants. For example, you can go to the Territory Lounge at The Wilderness Lodge, at get the exact same soup that you can get at Artist Point. At Territory Lounge, it will cost you $12, and at Artist Point it will cost you $13. While that might only be a saving of a $1, the soup, with some bread, is for sure big enough for a meal – but going to a restaurant like Artist Point and ordering only soup, might be a faux pas, while it’s perfectly acceptable at Territory Lounge. Using this trick at multiple lounges, for the same types of food from the same kitchens, will give you similar experiences, and save you a ton of money.-Rent Points
Need more space than a Value or Moderate can give you? Paying full price for a Deluxe isn’t an option for us either. If you have the flexibility to plan far in advance (11 months, to be exactly), considering renting DVC points. You can read all about it here, and how it can save you HALF the cost on your deluxe stay. We highly recommend DVC Rental Store, for this process – we’re using them to rent points through for Aulani, this coming May, for our trip to Aulani, and also rented through them for our Boardwalk stay this past September.

-Ditch the Dining Plan
We think the dining plan is good, under some situations. For example, if you really love an
‘All-inclusive’ vacation feel, and you get easily stressed out on other types of vacations, then yes, it’s definitely for you. But, if you’re looking to save money, I might ditch the dining plan. Disney has really upped their quick service the past few years, with places like D-Luxe Burger, Blaze Pizza, The Polite Pig, and Geyser Point. A lot of these places have options big enough to share, or make tapas style meals, and can save you a ton of money.

-Consider a Long Term Investment
Go to Disney every year? Enjoy Deluxe Resorts? You might want to consider buying into the Disney Vacation Club. I’m sure you’ve heard of it for years, but if you buy it on resale, through DVC Resale Market, it actually is ‘Disney’s best kept secret’, as advertised.

-Embrace the Light Breakfast
We stopped eating breakfast in the parks a long time ago, in favor of coffee and meal bars. Neither of us are huge breakfast eaters at home, and saving $30 a day (or more), just appealed to us.

-Decide Which Coast is Better For You
Is one of the parks within driving distance? If so, maybe consider doing that one, and saving either Disneyland or Disney World, for a different time.

We hope you enjoy our money saving tips – because who doesn’t love saving money?