From a family who travels on a budget but has been to Walt Disney World many times, we have some favorite Disney World money saving tips for you! We’re covering everything including resorts, parks, non-park fun, eating, and souvenirs!

This is a sponsored post in partnership with UrbanFarmhouseTampa. We also participate in affiliate programs, including the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. If you don’t have Prime, you can try it 30 days for free here!

We have visited Walt Disney World a lot. Not as much as some who live closer or those who travel like money is not option. A lot compared to most people nonetheless.

Do we travel like money is no option? Heck no! I am a thrifty lady in all areas and Disney is no exception. Over the years we have been able to visit Walt Disney World as often as we have because we have a few tried and true Disney World Money Saving Tips.

Also Read: Our 2019 Walt Disney World Vacation to see all of these tips in action!

Disney World Money Saving tip #1 – Have fun without the Parks

Once you are on the property, there is so much to do! Beyond the parks, which are so expensive, you could plan a whole vacation around everything else Walt Disney World has to offer!

Enjoy your resort

We love to stay at Walt Disney World resorts. Obviously, you can save even more staying off property. However, for us, the savings come in from being immersed in Disney from the moment we step off the plane and onto the Magical Express. We find we don’t

You don’t need to spend as much money on activities and parks when you are already immersed in the Disney magic at your own hotel. Plus, each Disney hotel offers activities that you can take advantage of for free or very little cost. When you stay at a Disney resort, just walking around the grounds and the pools will immerse you in the Disney magic.

Also Read: Walt Disney World Christmas – why to visit Disney for the holidays

Enjoy other resorts

It is free and perfectly acceptable to visit other resorts while you’re at Walt Disney World. The best part is that they all have different types of transportation.

You can take the monorail to the Contemporary, Grand Floridian, and Polynesian. We always do this each trip because the kids love the ride and those hotels are gorgeous!

You can take the boat from the Magic Kingdom to Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground. You can also take a boat from the Hollywood Studios to all the resorts around the Boardwalk. We did both of these, along with a Minnie Van ride to Animal Kingdom Lodge our our last Walt Disney World vacation.

Yet another ferry will take you from Disney Springs to Port Orleans. Which I didn’t know about until recently – we will definitely be taking that route next time!

Best of all, they now have the skyliner to travel to many of our personal favorite resorts, such as Art of Animation.

The Art of Animation resort is one not to miss! Especially if you have little kids. The themeing of that resort is incredible! They have life-size Cars characters and larger-than-life Nemo, Lion King, and Little Mermaid characters. You could spend a whole day at that resort!

Also Read: Art of Animation Cars Suits | Big Blue Pool | Landscape of Flavors

Disney Springs

Disney Springs is the perfect first stop to any Walt Disney World vacation. It is always our first stop! The Disney shops and atmosphere put you right in the Disney magic. Because there is no admission, it is the perfect stop for a non-park day.

Our kids love to walk through the giant World of Disney store, ride the carousel (there is an extra charge), and build at the Lego Store. There is so much to do!

Also Read: Disney Springs and Things to Do

Boardwalk

This is another gorgeous Disney spot that doesn’t need admission and is just as full of Disney magic. Just walking around and stopping in the different resorts makes for a great day or night.

There are often performers on the boardwalk or inside the resorts. We ran into a juggler balancing a few feet in the air on a round tube by accident passing through the Yaht Club Resort.

The Boardwalk is right between Hollywood Studios and Epcot. You can get to it by a boat or walking from either park. Best of all, you can catch some of the fireworks or music from each park if you’re there at night.

Disney World Money Saving Tip #2 – Park Tickets

So, you’re probably wondering… Do you ever go to the parks?

We do, but not as many as most Disney vacationers. There is so much to do outside the parks, and it’s probably one of the reasons we’ve been able to take as many Disney vacations as we have.

When the kiddos were babies we visited the resorts and did a character meal only. When the kids were toddlers, we took them to the Magic Kingdom for the first time. Since then, we make sure to visit the Magic Kingdom and only one other park each trip. First it was Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom, and last year is was Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. Next trip will be there first time at Epcot.

This keeps everything new and exciting and gives the kids new things to look forward to without having to do it all.

Also Read: Disney with a Baby & Disney with Toddlers

Park Tickets

The best money-saving advice for the parks is to check the calendar.

I always look to see ticket prices during our trip and purchase them for the least expensive day. If you only visit one or two park like we do, this is the way to do it.

However, if you’re purchasing 2-day or more park tickets buying as a package does come with the perk of free mini-golf. This is worth it if you’re sure you’ll use them. You don’t start really saving money on park tickets until you book multiple days at a time, so I will book separately even for two park days.

Disney World Money Saving Tip #3 – Eating

In addition to lodging and park tickets, spending on food at Disney is where the money can really add up! We have some money saving tips for that too!

Is the Dining Plan worth it?

In our personal experience, it’s not worth it to do the dining plan. With the exception of our 2019 disney vacation, we have always driven down to Florida and were able to easily bring our own food.

Having the dining plan can eliminated some stress, but it probably isn’t the best way to save money in Walt Disney World.

Even when I added up all the food we bought last year, it was way less than if we had done the dining plan. Plus, the offers we used on our room were much better than those that added the dining plan.

Another thing we found was that portions were so amazing at Coronado Springs we often split the breakfast and burrito bowls. Both were SO amazing, by the way!

Also Read: Dinner at O’hana in Walt Disney World

How to get your own food

If you don’t have the option to drive down and have a lot of your own food available, there are a couple options. Before our trip last year, I looked into Amazon delivery, other delivery services, and taking a cab to the store.

First, I think Amazon will deliver to Disney now, but I couldn’t get it to work last year. The other delivery services stressed me out and I never got it together. Taking a cab seemed like too much of a hassle because we didn’t want to leave the property once there.

Instead, even though we checked only one bag for our family of four, I packed snacks into the suitcase and every bag. It was so nice to have things to hold us over in the parks and during the day. I think I mentioned the snacks we brought in that post linked above.

Also Read: Walt Disney World with Grandparents

Money Saving while eating on Property

As mentioned above, some of the portions found at Walt Disney World are fantastic for sharing. This is coming from a family of big eaters!

My husband could have probably demolished a Coronado Springs burrito bowl himself, but he would have been hurting. It was the perfect size for us to split. Along with the breakfast bowls – which are also amazing!

Kids meals are a pretty good price and they get a decent amount of food. They often come with something like a Gogo Squeeze pouch or a Cutie that can be saved for snacks later too.

Our favorite money saving food find from our last trip was Peco’s Grill in the Magic Kingdom. With the exception of my husband, the kids and I all got kids portions and loaded on the toppings from the free toppings bar. Then, we saved our cuties, waters, and applesauce pouches for park snacks the rest of the day.

Also Read: Raglan Road: Our favorite Disney Springs restaurant

Disney World Money Saving Tip #4 – Souvenirs

Not only do you have to budget for a hotel, park tickets, and food. You also have to plan to spend a bit on all the fantastic souvenirs at Walt Disney World.

Don’t worry we have some money saving tips for that too!

Also Read: Surprise Disney Vacation! and the little toys leading up to the reveal

Buy surprises before you leave

One of the most helpful things to do to keep the spending down is to find some Disney merchandise before you leave for your trip. Disney goodies are going to be sooo much cheaper at home!

Little surprises for the kids along the way can really cut down on the amount of asking they do. It also helps to think of the kind of things they may end up asking for and bring something similar.

For instance, it helps to have glow-in-the-dark or light-up toys because you will pass A LOT of these – especially as it turns to night. (I hesitate to link to these because there are no reviews yet, but two Mickey light-up wands for less that the price of one at the park!)

One of our biggest sanity-saver moves at Disney World is to take a midday break from the park and return to the hotel. When we go back in the evening we usually give the kids something then.

Here are a few ideas…

Our favorite Disney souvenirs

Let’s face it, you have to buy souvenirs when you’re at Disney! We usually let each kiddos get one larger/medium item and something small.

It can be tough to swallow because a stuffed animal the same size at home is half the price, but it’s part of the fun.

Our favorite Walt Disney World souvenir, hands down, is the silhouettes.

We collect them every year. They are such a special memory that we can display at home. It’s so fun to see how the kids have grown. They are also a really reasonable price for something so special. Since you get two prints, we always get another frame and give one to my parents for Christmas.

The BEST Walt Disney World Money Saving Tip! – Plan Ahead

The most important tip for saving money at Walt Disney World is to plan ahead.

The times were we have had to spend the most is when we were in a jam. If we didn’t plan ahead with food, we had to buy more meals. When my husband wasn’t feeling well, we had to spend a lot of time and more money than at home to find medicine.

As much as you are able to plan before you go, the better! For instance, we have a list of overlooked things you should have in your Disney bag to help get the ball rolling.

Also Read: Allergy Relief at Walt Disney World

Disney Fun at Home

If a trip to Walt Disney World still isn’t in the budget, we have a ton of Disney projects and treats for a fun Disney movie night at home!

Are you planning a Disney trip? Leave a comment telling this Disney fanatic all about your plans – where you’re staying, what parks you’re visiting, ect. I’d love to hear it!

Pin it!