We Spent $1,600 on Disney World Trip: How, What We’d Do Differently

I have been to Disney World many occasions, and I wish to suppose I understand how to do it on a “funds” … at the least, a free one.

Just lately, my companion and I deliberate a last-minute journey to the theme park on our strategy to go to household in Southern Florida for the vacations.

Between flights, transportation to and from the airport, lodging, park tickets, meals, and souvenirs, we spent about $1,600, or $800 every … for about 48 hours within the Disney bubble.

Here is a take a look at what we spent, methods we saved, and what we would do in another way subsequent time.

We caught with a worth resort since we would not be spending a lot time in our room

We spent $237 on our flights from Fort Myers, Florida, to Orlando and landed a number of hours earlier than we deliberate to go to Disney World.

By the point we arrived at our worth resort, All-Star Music, our room was prepared for check-in ($319 for 2 nights).

We have a tendency to decide on worth resorts as a result of they’re the cheapest hotels on Disney property. Plus, stays include complimentary bus transportation to the parks and Disney Springs.

All-Star Music was the most cost effective of the 5 Disney value resorts after we booked, and our room offered us with sufficient house for our brief keep.

After grabbing some snacks on the lodge meals courtroom ($25), we took a much-needed nap and received prepared to go to Magic Kingdom.

Since we attended a seasonal occasion, we did not want purchase separate park tickets

Happily, previous me unknowingly helped me save throughout the journey.

I had two unused tickets to final yr’s Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party — an extra ticketed occasion held at Magic Kingdom — that I used to be in a position to put towards a brand new get together date. I simply needed to pay the distinction, which was $21 for each tickets.

These tickets sometimes run $169 to $209 per particular person, and so they felt nearly free since I would already paid for them previously.

We additionally did not want to purchase a park ticket as a result of we have been in a position to enter Magic Kingdom at 4 p.m. on our occasion day — and we may keep till midnight.

A number of drinks and treats have been included with our ticket

Once we arrived at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Occasion, we every received an decoration and a Mickey-shaped peppermint marshmallow.

Our ticket additionally included festive treats and drinks, like cookies and sizzling chocolate, that we picked up all through the night. I would estimate we consumed at the least $30 value of treats.

We received our sugar fill with these and bought a number of savory bites, like my favourite meal at Magic Kingdom, the ham-and-Gruyère croissant sandwich with chips ($11) at Gaston’s Tavern.

We additionally received popcorn for less than $2.50 as a result of we received a refill in our reusable popcorn bucket — it is a must-pack merchandise for each Disney journey.

I stored my memento purchases to a pair of mix-and-match character ears ($46 for a scarf and two characters to go on it) and a commemorative occasion pin ($23).

The get together additionally included performances, a vacation parade, fireworks, character meet and greets, and entry to traditional rides (which generally have shorter waits than a standard park day).

We received to experience all of the Magic Kingdom rides we needed to (some a number of occasions) with out having to pay further for line-skipping Lightning Lane passes.

A Magic Kingdom ticket by itself can run upwards of $200 relying on the day, so the particular occasion add-ons, like distinctive character meet and greets and complimentary snacks, positively make the ticket worth value it.

These occasions are my hack to a cheaper Disney day if you are right down to have a late evening and keep in a single park as an alternative of choosing a flexible-but-pricier park-hopper cross.

If it is your first time at Magic Kingdom and you will get a one-day ticket for a similar worth or lower than the get together ticket, I would persist with the previous so you may go at your personal tempo.

Our second day was centered on consuming all over the world at Epcot, and we did not spare any expense

We bought two single-day tickets to Epcot for our second day, which value us $381.

On longer journeys, we usually go for the flexibleness of park-hoppers, however we did not wish to spend our restricted time touring between parks. Plus, the versatile multi-park ticket would’ve value over $70 extra per particular person.

Since we have been staying in Epcot, we did not purchase Lightning Lane passes.

I do not suppose they’re value it right here as a result of the park does not have many rides — plus, we may use single-rider lanes to skip giant waits at each Remy’s Ratatouille Journey and Take a look at Monitor.

Most of our cash was spent at on meals and drinks from cubicles at Epcot International Food and Wine Pageant.

We revisited competition classics, just like the filet mignon with mashed potatoes ($20 for 2 orders) from the Canada pavilion, and tried some new favorites, just like the flauta de barbacoa ($9) from the sales space in Mexico. We beloved the latter a lot we received it twice.

Different favorites included the nice and cozy carrot cake with cream-cheese icing ($5), which I get yearly, and my favourite drink, the Ottawa Apple ($16.50).

Some bites have been simply OK, just like the rooster dumplings ($6) within the China pavilion.

Nevertheless, I am glad we seemed into competition menus prematurely to plan which cubicles we needed to prioritize. This helped us save money and time whereas getting me extra enthusiastic about our journey.

I shelled out essentially the most cash on collectible pins

Each time I’m going to Disney, I do know I’ll put most of my memento funds towards collectible enamel pins, and this journey was no exception.

Many of those pins can solely be bought at Disney parks, and amassing and buying and selling them is a well-liked interest.

On this journey, I used to be attempting to finish a set and solely wanted another pin, so I purchased a number of thriller two-packs at about $23 every.

Finally, I spent $165 on thriller packs, which is greater than my share of the lodge. I did not full my set and I ended up with far more pins than I needed (or wanted).

Subsequent time, I will purchase one or two pins that I can pick myself as an alternative of thriller packs. I additionally plan to carry off on shopping for extra till I can swap those I do not need at one of many buying and selling stations within the parks.

We ended our journey with a free exercise

After our full Epcot day, our final afternoon was spent strolling round Disney Springs.

The buying and eating spot has free parking and is a pleasant place to wander in the event you’re desirous to be a part of the Disney bubble with out forking over a whole lot for tickets.

Then, we headed to the airport for our flights house ($197).

All in all, we loved ourselves and made essentially the most of our 48 hours

Many individuals may spend what we did on our two-day journey and keep at resorts with nicer facilities or have extra park days and sit-down meals.

Nevertheless, as a result of this journey was last-minute, we have been pleased with something we made the time for, and because it was shorter, we felt higher about having the next meals and memento funds.

These have been our priorities, particularly since we by no means spend sufficient time at our lodge to justify reserving a nicer one at the next nightly fee.

We may’ve made the journey extra inexpensive by spending much less on souvenirs, which we’ll probably do subsequent time. Nevertheless, now I’ve extra pins to commerce for my subsequent journey — and a strategy to bear in mind one among our favorites.