How to Plan a Discount Disney Vacation

A discount Disney vacation is possible when visiting Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Disney World has the reputation of being a very expensive vacation destination. With some attention to detail and careful planning, you can enjoy an inexpensive Disney vacation on a budget.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Skip the extras when purchasing your Disney World tickets. Plan on not using the hopper option (when you can visit more than one park in a day) or the no-expiration-date option. Plan your trip so that you see one park per day, and so that you use all of your tickets. This will help you to save money at Disney World, because the extras add up.

2. Consider staying off of Disney property if you have your own car. You can find cheap Orlando hotels on the Irlo Bronson Highway or on International Drive. During slower seasons, you may only pay $30 per night, which will go a long way in making your Florida vacation affordable.

3. Stay on Disney property if you do not have your own car. The car rental costs may be higher than the extra cost of staying in a more expensive hotel. Try to stay in one of the cheaper All-Star Resorts, and use the Disney transportation to get to and from the parks.

4. Pack snacks to bring into the parks. While you can't carry in a cooler, keeping some granola bars and bottles of water in your backpack will save a lot of money on snacks otherwised purchased in the parks. Another option is to rent an inexpensive locker and keep your cooler packed with your lunch in it. This will make your cheap Disney vacation even cheaper!

5. Look into the ticket promotions that hotels and resorts offer. Some hotels will sell you discount Disney tickets for watching a 45-minute timeshare presentation. If you have young children, this may not be for you, but if your kids are older, or you're traveling child-free, it might be worth the sacrifice of an hour. Plus, you usually get a free meal to boot.

6. Forget about buying high-priced trinkets at Disney World itself. Every gift shop on the highways leading into Disney World sells the same things at half price. Buy t-shirts, keychains, mugs, pens, and gifts for your extended family at these shops instead.

7. Consider purchasing the meal plans. While the up front cost is high, chances are that you will save money if you plan on eating at restaurants for every meal.

Tips & Warnings

• Consider breaking up your stay by not visiting a park each day. Go swimming in your hotel's pool or check out one of the other discount attractions in Orlando instead.
• Don't try to save money by buying tickets from non-authorized dealers. Some of these are scams.

[jull14]

on 6/11/2009 This is a very interesting article, I learned so much today, thank you for sharing with me.