4 Tips to do Disney on a Budgegt

Two types of people exist: Disney lovers and Disney meh-ers.

As a little girl growing up in Orlando, Disney was a yearly excursion for us (if we were lucky, multiple times a year!). Whenever family visited us from Cuba, my Dad insisted we take them to Disney. 

He loved seeing their awed faces taking in the magic for the first time. In our family, Disney was more than Fantasy Land. Disney was what Walt intended all along—progress. 

As an adult, I’ve only been to Disney twice. 

The first was the day after Doug and I had our wedding ceremony in Florida back in 2017. The second, a few months ago. I still love Disney, but Disney as an adult is different from Disney as a kid. 

Some observations I’ve made about Disney as an adult:

• Parents generally look very stressed
• Gift shops are prime tantrum locations for children
• The whole “Disney clout” culture is so real and gross
• Disney is really expensive

As a kid, I remember my parents never bought me any souvenirs in the park. In fact, I don’t think I’d even set foot in any Disney stores until a few weeks ago. 

Seriously, it all looked brand new to me. I don’t remember my parents buying many snacks either. I distinctly remember eating rushed McDonald’s breakfast before entering the park. And, I never, ever, got one of those cute mouse ears to wear on my head.

Now it all makes sense. Those stores are full of $50 souvenirs. A meal at the park costs on average $30 per person. A pair of ears is also about $30. 

The short of it, Disney is expensive. 

Very expensive. 

But, I’m here to tell you  Disney on a budget is possible AND enjoyable. The truth is, if I feel like I’m spending too much, the fun stops being fun. 

I like adventure. This year alone we’ve done a month in Aruba, an all-inclusive in Mexico, Doug went to El Salvador and I spent two weeks in Tennessee and Miami, countless weekends in Chicago, and frequently road-trip through Michigan. 

Our secret? We stay within a budget and don’t spend thousands of dollars on each trip just to spend. We’re purposeful with where and how we want to spend our money. 

I promised Doug I would spend $1,000 total for my weekend at Disney. This was a true feat considering park tickets alone cost about $400 (for three days). But I did it (well, almost—as you’ll see I went $77 over). 

I didn’t include the tank tops I bought to wear in the park (each about $22) but I had some gift cards that covered those. They were a splurge expense that could’ve been skipped (however, I had deep satisfaction every day knowing my tanks were themed appropriately for each park). 

Here are some of my tips for doing Disney on a budget. 

Don’t stay on property (at a Disney hotel). 

Yes, every Disney blog will tell you to stay at a Disney resort because of the experience. Some key reasons people love Disney resorts are easy transportation to and from the parks, exclusive park hours (in the morning), and the fun rooms/pools/restaurants. 

But, is this worth on average $300 at night and couldn’t that money go towards something so much better? 

The truth is, most people don’t get a lot of use out of the beautiful property and awesome pools. While parking at Disney is $25, it’s still cheaper to stay off-property (and, there’s a fun tip you can use to get out of paying for parking). Disney resorts have fun pools (including lazy rivers and slides), but most families only get a day of enjoying these facilities (some plan a resort day to stay in and enjoy the amenities). 

So, you’re telling me you’re going to pay $300 a night for one day of using the pools?

Save your money (about $1,000 or more) and stay at one of the many “off-brand” hotels in the area. Or better yet, get an Airbnb! I’ll be doing a post soon on how to choose an Airbnb that’s great.

Plan to only eat one meal and one or two snacks in the parks.

Disney has some good food. I’m not an advocate of bringing all your food inside (although, if you’re not a big foodie then why not?). But I’m an advocate of bringing most of your food. Here’s why. 

At Disney, you do two types of eating. 

You’re walking a lot, it’s hot, and you get really hungry. Sometimes, you just feel like you need a little fuel to keep going. Other times, you pass by the Cheshire Cat stand and see a stuffed pepper-jack cheese pretzel that makes you feel like your life isn’t worth living if you don’t try it (based on real events). 

Don’t waste money on a $10 snack when you just need fuel. Save your money for the “can’t live without this snack” moments. 

The first thing we did when we landed in Orlando was go to the grocery store and buy supplies. We ate breakfast in our Airbnb or on the go and brought snacks, wraps, water, and energy drinks all three days in the park and we were better for it. I still enjoyed snacks I really wanted to try, but I didn’t spend money during times when I just needed to fuel my body.

Purchase a gift card for your souvenirs.

It’s scarily easy to spend hundreds of dollars on Disney souvenirs. The thing is, their merchandise is adorable, fun, magical, and, for someone like me, basically everything I want in my life. 

But, more stuff is not more joy, and while it’s hard to remember that while in the park, post-Disney buyer’s remorse is real. 

This tip comes from a Disney cast member, and it’s the best thing that happened to me on my trip. When you first start your Disney vacation, go into any Disney store and buy a gift card with how much money you intend to spend on souvenirs. When the gift card runs out, no more souvenirs for you. 

It’s so simple, but Disney is full of merchandise on every corner so this is a great tip to stay within budget. You could also do this with snacks. Get a gift card with how much you want to spend on snacks and when it’s over no more Disney snacks for you… I did this too and it was a good motivator to choose my snacks wisely.

Rent a car or Uber

Both are good options. We rented a car for about $160 for the whole weekend, and since we stayed in an Airbnb close to the parks gas ended up being about $20 total. Parking is $25 at each park, so this may be an incentive to get an Uber instead. We didn’t Uber because getting to your Airbnb or hotel from the airport with Uber can be very expensive (the parks are about 30 minutes from the airport). Also, wait times when the parks close can be very high, and we didn’t want the inconvenience as the weekend was already packed. 

Also, here’s a secret trick for getting out of paying for parking at Disney: park for free at Disney Springs, take the air tram or a bus to one of the Disney Resorts, then take the resort’s free Disney shuttle to the park. We didn’t do this, but this tip was given to us by an insider 😉 

Bring a backpack

Otherwise, you’ll want to buy an adorable (and on average $50) backpack at Disney. I brought a small hiking backpack that packs into a little pocket. Another option is to do your Disney grocery shopping at a Walmart and pick up a cheap Walmart backpack that you can leave behind. Either way, you’ll be carrying your food, water bottle, sunscreen, and all the other things so it’ll still be cost-saving. 

Bottom line: Disney is never going to be a cheap trip. Tickets to a park alone are about $130 per day. But, these cost-saving tips may make Disney on a budget possible for you (and your family).