How to plan a budget-friendly trip to Walt Disney World

Walt Disney World is a great place to visit whether you going solo, as a couple, or with family. A trip to Disney world doesn't have to break your budget, it can be quite affordable if you plan it right.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• access to internet
• phone
• travel agent
• ability to be persistent to get the best deal

1. Start planning your trip well in advance of at least 6 months to one year. Research on the internet all the information you can find about the Walt Disney World resort. Send away for brochures about it as well.

2. Decide when you want to go. Depending on the time of year you go, you can gain access to some great deals. A rule of thumb when bargain shopping for deals with WDW is if you can, look for times during the fall or early spring as many of the children are still in school at this time. In addition, keep you eyes open for great deals. Right now until March 29, WDW has a discount going where you can buy a four night package and get 3 nights free, which includes the tickets. Check out their website, http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/ for more details.

3. Decide what hotel to stay in. A great about Disney world is that if you stay on property, you get to take advantage of all sorts of extras like Disney transportation and extra magic hours, when one of the parks stay open three hours later in the evening or one hour early in the morning.
   If budget is a priority, check out one of their Value hotels, Pop Century or one of the All Stars hotels. These hotels offer a food court, laundry services, pizza delivery, pools, lounges, and Disney's transportation all over the park. Pop Century is themed after the innovations of the 20th century. It's rooms feature artwork and attractions form the 50's to the 90's. The All-Stars hotels are broken up into three categories: Music, which is based on different genres of music, Sports, which is based on sports activities, and Movies, which has a theme of great Disney movies we all know and love.

4. After you have decided what time of year to go and where to stay, you need to decide what kind of package you want. Disney offers the one day tickets where you can visit one park a day. You can also get the Park Hopper where you can visit more than one park daily. They have another ticket option called The Water Park Fun & More ticket which can get you into the water parks and downtown Disney. You can pick all three or any one of these you want.

5. When you are ready, you can call 1-407-WDW-Disney to book or go online and book through their online site.

Tips & Warnings

• Although it isn't required, a travel agent will really help you to save money. They can find you great deals and can help set you up with accommodations, special requests, and anything else you can think of. A great travel agency that specializes in Disney is Magical Journeys. Their agents are always on hand to help you find the best deals and design your vacation just the way you want it. Check out their website at www.yourmagicaljourneys.com
• Be sure to check out the Disney dining plan. They offer a variety of plans that cover everything from counter service meals to fine dining to dinner shows.
• Be aware that depending on the time of year you go, you may not get the best deal. Summertime is high season for vacations, so if you go in the summer, you may not get the best deal.
• Book directly from Disney or a reputable travel agent, not one of those banner ads, otherwise, you could get roped into going to a timeshare presentation.

[christye]

on 6/2/2009 Great tips! My husband wants to go to Disney World again, I'm going to share these tips with him.

[lacurcio]

on 1/29/2009 Wonderful tips! I think it will be years before we ever make it to Disney, but I will remember your advice.