A family trip is a great way to spend quality time with the whole family. What better way to spend quality time with your family than a trip to Disney World. I agree, getting the cost for such a trip is essential so you don’t end up blowing your budget. Not to worry, this article will give you in-depth knowledge of the cost and budget to take you and your family of four on a mind-blowing trip at Disney World.
First off, you have to start by defining which Disney destination you want to go to. There are two states where Disney theme parks are located: California and Florida.
CALIFORNIA
Anaheim is Disneyland and California Adventure. An hour’s drive (depending on traffic) is Universal Studios Hollywood Park.
FLORIDA
There are four Disney theme parks in Orlando: Magic Kingdom (commonly called Disney World), Epcot Center, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios. Also, there are two water parks: Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon and Disney’s Blizzard Beach. You can also visit the Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, SeaWorld, and Aquatica.
What Is the Average Cost of a Disney Vacation
To calculate how much it costs to go to Disney, I recommend planning to spend $ 200 and $ 250 on a person each day for a comfortable budget.
If you have a family of four and they are going to visit for four days, then calculate to spend about $ 4,000, if you want to travel “at ease”. By this, I mean that you bring money to pay for the trip and you are not super short.
But your trip can be cheaper or more expensive; it all depends on your taste and budget. For example, some do not have to pay for a hotel because they can stay with friends. Others can travel by car and save on the expense of the plane.
Here I make the report of these expenses during the trip to Disney. The list is ordered from the most expensive to the least expensive because nothing is cheap at Disney.
If what you spend seems exaggerated, I can tell you that we plan that you travel at ease.
Accommodation
When you start planning the trip the prices of the hotels may scare you. The ones that seem like good options and are located near the parks cost $150 to $200 a night.
How much you’re willing to spend on your accommodations is really going to depend on the type of vacation you are looking to have. You can go from $30 per night to over $500.
If you are not going to spend much time in the room, try not to spend too much. Better, I recommend you look for other lodging alternatives. Instead of getting to a hotel, try contacting a Disney Travel Agent or using Airbnb.
You can decide on a condo with two bedrooms, a living room, dining room, full kitchen, two bathrooms, and also, with washer and dryer. Now you know why you should pack lightly. This is because you can save about $ 400 in baggage charges and there is no need to turn the dirty socks over to repeat them because you can wash in the store.
In addition to the amenities of having more space and not being crowded in a hotel room, the condo will cost you much less than the hotel. In total, for eight nights and nine days of lodging, you may pay approximately $ 800.
Park Tickets
It’s hard to believe, but people spend more on theme park tickets than on airline tickets from Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas to Orlando, Florida.
A single admission ticket to Disney World parks costs between $100 and $120 per person, depending on the season. Children over 9 years old pay an adult ticket, but the difference is not great, it’s like about $5.
If you are going to visit Disney for several days, which is the joke of making the trip there, I recommend that you buy an admission pass for multiple days because it is cheaper. You can get affordable tickets Undercover Tourist and Getaway Today.
DISNEY TICKETS
You can purchase a five-day admission pass to the Disney World parks. It will cost you about $370 per person, for a total of $1,480 for all four.
This pass can be used to visit the Magic Kingdom, Epcot Center, Hollywood Studios, or the Animal Kingdom. Some families go two days to Magic Kingdom, two days to Hollywood Studios, and one day to Epcot.
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS TICKETS
Ticket prices at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure are comparable to those at Disney World. A single ticket costs $110 for adults and $105 for children. Although they sell a pass for $165 per adult and $160 per child, that allows you to visit both parks on the same day. However, I do not recommend buying it.
There are too many games and attractions to see in each park, plus too many people. Considering the time you spend waiting in line to enter each attraction, I recommend dedicating a day to each one to enjoy yourselves well.
If you have to choose between Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, I would recommend visiting Universal Studios.
Do not miss the secret world of Harry Potter, which is so secret that we hardly found it. How can you imagine, there is a hidden gate in the park to enter. I’m not telling you cos I wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise.
However Tickets to Universal’s parks may cost you almost $800. In total, you can spend $2,280 on tickets for seven days.
Food Costs
If you arrive at an apartment with a kitchen, this will allow you to buy food in the supermarket and make all the breakfasts and several dinners in the store. Those who have gone to any theme park will surely agree with me. The food is very expensive and not very good. On average you can spend $100 a day inside the park buying lunch and a few snacks.
To give you an idea, a bottle of water or soda costs $5 inside Disney World, and a hamburger costs like $15. Someday, for three smoked turkey legs that are irresistible to the eye, you may pay almost $50. This in my opinion is an eye to the face!
Although Disney offers food packages, after reviewing the menus and the price, you may decide that it is not the best option for you. If your budget is very limited, consider preparing your sandwiches at the hotel, or wherever you are staying. Also, pack a plastic bottle to constantly fill it with water, and don’t forget to pack snacks in the bag.
At Disney, they let you in with food, as long as it’s simple, like sandwiches, fruit, and snacks. In addition to the meals in the parks, your budget can include enough to eat in restaurants for several days during the trip. If you follow these guidelines, you may spend about $1,400 on meals and grocery expenses during the days of your vacation (9 days according to my calculation).
What Is The Cheapest Time To Go To Disney World?
Undoubtedly the best months to travel cheaply to Disney are January and September as the number of visitors falls on these dates. This low turnout is due to the school calendars. For the first weeks of these months children have already entered class, so the Parks have a moderate number of visitors.
This makes it easier to access attractions, shorter lines, and a quieter environment. Another factor is the weather, it would be winter and autumn respectively and that makes the walk through the parks more bearable. At this time, humidity and heat have decreased so it is an excellent time to withstand long walks.
Finally, the best reason is that prices for everything go down to the maximum -except the entrances to the parks that remain constant throughout the year.
How Can I Go To Disney for Cheap
I know you’re wondering if there’s a cheaper way to spend quality time with your family at Disney World, well your right. Below are some tips you have to follow to make your family trip appear a bit on the cheap side.
Travel in the cheap months
Like we mentioned earlier, the best months to travel cheaply to Disney are January and September. This is because, there is always a low turn up of visitors at this time of the year. As a result of these prices of everything within that period drop, allowing you to spend less.
Buy the right tickets and from one of the above retailers
Plan your stay well, the more days you buy the cheaper the tickets to the parks if you want to visit 3 Disney parks it is better to buy what you need and nothing more. For example, I have never purchased or found the need for park hoppers. You can get affordable tickets from Undercover Tourist and Getaway Today.
Save on transportation when booking your hotel
If you are going to stay in one of the Disney hotels, the price you pay for your stay includes transportation to the parks, whether by bus, boat or monorail. If you stay in independent hotels, many of them also have this service included. Make sure of that before making your reservation.
Take advantage of the coupon book
In almost every hotel, warehouse, or restaurant you will find notebooks with discount coupons. You can find good savings on restaurants, transfers, tickets to other attractions and shows to travel cheaply. It does not hurt to take a notebook of those, they are free.
Find a hotel with breakfast included
Something else your cheap Disney trip can do is saving you money for breakfast. Many hotels have a continental breakfast option, which is quite attractive. If you go to another place, the bill will be more expensive, while if you do it with the hotel, you will eat what you want to eat without paying more.
Take your food to the parks so you don’t spend a lot
Disney is one of the few parks in the world to let your food into any of the parks. Inside the parks, restaurants (even the simplest ones) turn out to be expensive: a hamburger, a soft drink, or even a bottle of water can cost more than double their real value. That is why you organize your backpack very well from the day before and prepare yourself some good sandwiches, snacks, and drinks.
Is The Disney Dining Plan Worth It?
This question has no correct answer because the importance that each person gives to food on their trips is different. From our point of view we can suggest the following:
1. If you are one of those who care more about the experience inside the parks and do not care about food, you have to choose the Disney Fast Service Meal Plan.
2. If food is an important point for you and your companions but you have a somewhat restricted budget, then the Disney Meal Plan is the ideal one for you.
3. Finally, if food is a decisive factor in your vacation experience or you will spend more time in hotels than in parks, the Disney Deluxe Meal Plan would be your ideal option; Of course, as long as you are also willing to spend a good part of your budget on this service.
Example Budge
As you can see by looking at the expenses drafted above in detail, this is a trip that requires planning. The plan is to enjoy yourself without feeling limited.
After all, if you are going to make the trip of your dreams to Disney, in my opinion, it is not enjoyed the same when you are limited in money.
How much it costs to go to Disney depends on the plan of each family. You can design your trip to Disney according to your budget. Below is a simple budget draft for a family of four.
Ticket Fee for 7 days: $2,280
Feeding: $1,400
Accommodation: $800
Car rental and transportation: $540
This brings the total budget to a sum of $5,020 for a trip to Disney World.
