The internet can be deceiving when it comes to showing what a Disney vacation “should” look like. This can cause families trying to plan a vacation to be overwhelmed by the planning and, most importantly, the cost! The good news is that vacationing at Walt Disney World is not a one-size-fits-all scenario, and there are ways to save money! We’ve got all the tips and tricks you need to know for planning a trip to Disney World on a budget in 2025.

Ways to Budget Before Your Trip

When budgeting for a Disney World vacation, you may be unsure where to start. Before stepping on the Walt Disney World grounds, there are multiple ways to plan ahead and save money.

Book Early

One of the easiest ways to save money on your vacation is to plan and book your trip early. Not only are rates typically at their lowest when they are first released, but trips to Walt Disney World do not require full payment when booking.

If you book a Walt Disney World vacation package that includes the resort room and park tickets, you will only need to pay a $200 deposit; the rest is due thirty days before your trip. If you book a resort room only, you will only need to pay for one night, and the rest will be charged on your arrival day.

This will help you determine exactly how much money to set aside each week or month to save up for the total cost of your trip, making budgeting easy. Plus, the further out you book, the more time you have to save!

Travel During Non-Peak Times

If you are planning a trip during the holiday season (Halloween, Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Year’s, Spring Break, etc.), don’t expect the vacation to be budget-friendly. These are some of the busiest—and most expensive—times to visit Walt Disney World. Since Disney operates on dynamic pricing, the more rooms are in demand, the more they will cost.

While we know it’s not feasible for everyone, traveling during the school year is your best bet for your budget. Months such as September or February are some of the slowest times at Walt Disney World, so you’ll not only save money on your room rates but also make the most of your time by not waiting in long lines!

Stay at a Value Resort

Disney divides its hotels into three categories: Value, Moderate, and Deluxe Resorts. Value resorts are the cheapest, while Deluxe resorts are the most expensive.

Currently, there are five value resorts on property including Disney’s All-Star Movies, Disney’s All-Star Music, Disney’s All-Star Sports, Disney’s Pop Century, and Disney’s Art of Animation. Value resorts cost anywhere from $180-$400 per night, with the All-Star trio being the cheapest and Art of Animation being the most expensive value resort. For comparison, deluxe resorts cost, on average, upwards of $500 per night.

Value resorts still offer the same benefits as Disney resorts, including complimentary transportation around Walt Disney World, early entry to the theme parks, the ability to book lightning lanes seven days in advance, and more! However, value resorts do not have water slides, hot tubs, or table-service dining on site. Quick service dining and large pools with poolside activities are still available to keep guests entertained, making staying at these hotels one of the easiest ways to save money without sacrificing on the full Disney experience.

Take Advantage of Special Offers

Every once in a while, Disney will run special offers for resort guests or guests booking vacation packages. These special offers typically run during the slower seasons to entice guests to come (another reason to vacation in non-peak times), but occasionally you’ll see them year-round.

Special offers often include big savings such as free Disney Dining Plans included with your stay, or 30% off of resort stays. Planning your trip around these offers can help make a trip more affordable.

Dining Plans

Disney Dining Plans allow guests to pay upfront for most, if not all, of their dining, by paying for a certain number of dining credits per day to utilize during the trip.

While this isn’t necessarily going to save you any money, it can be a great way to budget for your food.

When booking a Disney dining plan included in your vacation package, you’ll have the entire time from the time of booking to your paid-in-full date to make payments, just as you do with your resort room and park tickets, as we’ve mentioned above. Then when you get to Disney World, your main meals such as lunch, dinner, and even a few snacks per day will already be covered. No out-of-pocket expenses will be needed (aside from tipping at table service restaurants if you have the Standard Dining Plan)! This relieves the stress of meticulously looking over food menus, avoiding certain restaurants due to cost, and maybe even skipping out on some incredible experiences.

Use a Travel Agent

Though you can book everything yourself, booking through a travel agent can make your experience go from stressful to seamless. Travel agents dedicate their time to finding the best deals, special offers, and other accommodations their clients need!

Our friends at MEI Travel and Mouse Fan Travel can create free travel quotes and personalized experiences, offer recommendations, and ensure you don’t miss a thing during your vacation!

Buy Souvenirs Ahead of Time

You likely already know at least one person in your travel party will want the famous Mickey or Minnie ear headbands, your kids will want a bubble wand, and the Disney water bottles and coffee mugs are sometimes hard to resist.

Buying these items ahead of time can save hundreds of dollars! Retail locations such as Amazon, Target, and Walmart sell most of these items for less than half the price. For example, versions of Mickey or Minnie ear headbands are available on Amazon for $10-$20, while purchasing them at the parks will cost $35 or more.

Gift Cards

Purchasing gift cards can be a great way to save Disney money, especially if you aren’t great at saving cash. Not only can you set Disney gift cards aside as you purchase them, but wholesale stores such as Costco, BJs Wholesale, and Sam’s Club will often offer discounted gift cards, saving guests a few bucks here and there. Additionally, those with a Target Red Card can save 5% on all gift card purchases. That adds up!

One thing to note about gift cards is to be sure to keep the gift cards somewhere safe until the trip is complete. If, for some reason, you do have to cancel your trip, any amount paid by Disney gift card will be automatically refunded to the original gift card. If you throw them out upon payment, you may lose the money if something happens.

Ways to Budget During Your Trip

We’ve gone over ways to save before you arrive, but there are also plenty of ways to save while at the parks!

Bring Food and Drinks into the Park

For those who didn’t purchase the Disney Dining Plan or anyone who just likes to snack a lot, you can bring your own food and non-alcoholic drinks into the parks! If you are driving, bring whatever you like to drink and snack on your journey. If you don’t have access to a vehicle, resort guests can get groceries delivered right to the hotel through multiple grocery delivery services.

Depending on the brand, a water bottle in the theme parks costs between $4.50 and $8 compared to ordering a 24-pack of water bottles from the grocery store for the same price. Additionally, purchasing quick, on-the-go breakfast items such as oatmeal, pop tarts, cereal, and protein bars can significantly cut costs, as you have eliminated the need to purchase breakfast!

For anyone who wants to be extremely frugal, bringing in deli sandwiches or PB&Js would be a great way to save money on lunch or dinner. A picnic on the Hub grass of Magic Kingdom while the castle show is going on sounds like heaven to me!

Skip Lightning Lanes

Don’t get me wrong, lightning lane passes are nice to have. But when we are talking about budgets, they aren’t a necessity. Whenever people ask me for tips on planning their Disney vacation, my number one advice is don’t expect to do everything. Pick five attractions per park that are your must-dos, and everything else is just extra. When using this approach, a lightning lane pass isn’t needed!

Every ride in the four parks has a free standby line and paying to skip those can be expensive. For Magic Kingdom, a Lightning Lane Multi-Pass can cost as much as $40 per person. For a family of four, that’s an extra $160 in luxury spending. Purchasing a Lightning Lane Multi Pass for all four parks could cost over $500.

So skip the lightning lanes and focus on the main priorities for your family if you want to do Disney as cheaply as possible.

Skip the Park Hopper

Hopping to multiple parks on the same day may sound fun in theory, but it can be exhausting. And when you purchase the upgraded tickets, it’s only normal to feel the need to use them. Instead, only plan to visit one park per day. Not only will this save you money, it will save you energy!

For example, a One Day Magic Kingdom park ticket in June is $179. A Park Hopper option for the same day is $243. Magic Kingdom is absolutely an all-day park, making the park hopper not even worth the money.

Include Rest Days

The resort stay is likely the main expense for your vacation, so why would you not utilize its amenities?! The average Disney vacation length is one week. With only four theme parks, you will have multiple days to explore the resorts and non-theme park amenities Disney World offers!

Every resort has a spectacular pool area, daily free resort activities, nightly movies under the stars, and much more. Disney Springs is also a quick bus ride away from the hotels, and activities like mini-golf, award-winning golf courses, or exploring other resorts you aren’t staying at are just a few ways to spend your rest days.

Instead of purchasing theme park tickets for every day of your vacation, stick with one park per day and scope out what else Disney has to offer. You might fall in love with a new resort and start planning your second vacation early!

Order Kids Meals

All quick service dining locations allow anyone to order from the kids’ menu. For anyone with a small appetite or if you’re just looking for a snack, be sure to check these out. Kids’ meal offerings come with two sides and a drink included.

At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, if you head to Backlot Express for lunch, an adult chicken tender meal costs $10.99 with fries but no drink, while a kids’ chicken tender meal costs $8.49, including fries, a fruit, and a drink. For a healthier option, an adult Southwest Chicken Salad is $12.99, while a smaller portion of the salad is $7.79. Over a week, these savings can add up!

Skip Character Dining

Character dining might sound enticing (and I can confirm they can be fun!), however, the reality is that these meals are among the most expensive in Disney World, and most of the characters can be met for free in the parks.

For example, Chef Mickey’s is located in Disney’s Contemporary Resort and is an icon for Walt Disney World travel. Guests meet Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, and Donald throughout their meal. But you can meet all five of these characters throughout the theme parks, without paying extra. Meanwhile, breakfast at Chef Mickeys will cost you $60 per person and $70 per person for dinner!

So, unless you’re desperate to meet a character at one of the restaurants, save your money and skip the character meals.

How Much Money Do You Actually Need to Save?

Ultimately, the final number needed to save for a Walt Disney World vacation will vary depending on your vacation choices.

For research purposes, I’ve priced out two seven-night stays for a family of four in June 2025: two adults and two children. Each stay includes four park days. One stay is at a value resort, and the other is at a deluxe resort.

Value Resort Price: 7 nights at Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort, Standard Room, Four Four-Day 1 Park Per Day Theme Park Tickets. Total Cost: $4,003.58

Deluxe Resort Price: 7 nights at Disney’s Polynesian Resort, Standard Resort View Room, Four Four-Day 1 Park Per Day Theme Park Tickets. Total Cost: $8,300.00

Neither of these prices includes any special offers that Disney may be running or any type of dining. A good rule of thumb, including dining and souvenirs on a budget for your 2025 trip, is to plan for $6,000-$10,000. However, depending on where you are traveling from, your travel costs may impact this.

The three main factors to consider when planning your 2025 Disney World on a Budget vacation are the time of year, resort category and special offers, and dining options. With some time spent planning ahead and discipline, doing Disney World on a budget can be done and just as fun!

Comments

What is your go-to tip for doing Disney World on a budget in 2025? Let us know your favorite money-saving hack in the comments.