How to Plan a Budget Friendly Disney Trip

Looking to plan a budget friendly Disney trip? These tips will help you plan a magical Disney trip without breaking the bank.

Planning a budget friendly Disney trip was the only way I knew we would be able to swing bringing our three kids to Disney. We live just six hours from the magical place so it is a natural vacation spot, however factoring the cost of it all has always caused us to put on the breaks.

After receiving an amazing deal on Legoland tickets, we decided to see if it would work to spend one day at Disney. Our kids are ages 9, 7, and 4 so it naturally seemed like a great time to introduce them to the world of Disney.

As I researched, polled Instagram, and asked friends I started to get excited as I realized it was possible to plan a budget friendly Disney Trip! So we started to prepare for our road trip! 

Ready to hear the tips?

How to Plan a Budget Friendly Disney Trip

Use a travel agent.

Honestly, I had no idea a travel agent could help you save money until my friend, Whitney, shared this with me! She connected me with Amy (email me for her email!)  and I was so grateful for Amy’s wisdom and help. I did chat with another travel agent as I was deciding who to choose, however the other travel agent only would book the tickets if we stayed on Disney property. Amy went above and beyond to help us find the best route for our family!

Pick just one park to visit.

Yes, you can save money by visiting Disney for multiple days. However, it still adds up! Since we had never been to Disney and were planning a budget friendly Disney trip, we decided to just pick one park. We choose Magic Kingdom as our park to visit. If you have a little more spending room, definitely take advantage of adding on extra days for the lower rate. For our family, visiting Magic Kingdom for a day was the perfect fit for our budget and our family!

Stay off Disney property.

I know, everyone raves about staying on Disney property. However, I did have a handful of friends say they did not think it was necessary. We stayed at the Comfort Suites and were very pleased. It will definitely be where we stay again next time! You save a lot of money by staying off Disney. We could park at the hotel for free and the room was huge with a nice couch sitting area and mini fridge to keep our snacks we brought cold.

Get a hotel that includes free breakfast.

Before we headed to Magic Kingdom, we went down for breakfast at the hotel. We were so impressed with the breakfast at the Comfort Suites. Every single morning they went above and beyond. You could eat in their lovely dining space or out around the pool. The kids loved the Mickey Mouse waffles that were always there.

Purchase snacks and water bottles ahead of time to bring with you.

This is a key point! You can bring in whatever food you want into the park and water bottles. They search all of the bags upon entrance. We used a collapsible cooler that fit under the stroller. Another idea would be a backpack cooler.

You can refill your water bottles throughout the park which saves you tons of money! I gathered up tons of snacks ahead of time and choose a mixture of snacks I knew they would love and be excited to have. We packed lunchables for the kids for lunch and sandwiches for Nick and I.

Pick one meal to eat in the park.

You can pack all of your meals to eat, but we choose to eat one meal in the park. We spent $30 on our dinner in the park, which we thought was very reasonable for our family of 5. One tip for this is to check out the menus and see if you can split up the food. We ordered 2 burgers and then a chicken tender meal. They gave us so many chicken tenders. The kids split those and they had plenty to eat. We also all had fries.

Give your kids a souvenir budget.

If you plan to let your kids get a little treat, then plan to set a budget for them. You can also buy some Disney themed items ahead of time to help save money. 

Bring your own stroller.

You can rent a stroller at the park or you can bring  your own. Since we were focusing on a budget friendly Disney trip, we brought our own. It is A LOT of walking so I highly recommend bringing a stroller. Plus, it is nice to put the cooler in it. I would suggest putting a ribbon or something on your stroller to help you pick it out from the stroller parking lot. I wish I would’ve taken a picture, because it is unreal. At one point I could not find our stroller, but thankfully my husband did.

Bring ponchos.

While we thankfully did not have any rain, there still can be pop up showers. After all, you are in Florida. The rain ponchos in the park are expensive, so hit up the Dollar Store beforehand and grab some $1 ponchos to bring with you!

Do you have a tip for a budget friendly Disney trip? If so, share in the comments below!

We had such a great mini Disney trip and we definitely caught the Disney love bug! I cannot wait to go again on a family trip and try another park!

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