Yes, Disney World isn’t cheap, but it also doesn’t have to be expensive. If you’re trying to plan a Disney World trip, you need to start with a realistic budget.

Now, that isn’t always easy to figure out because there’s so much to consider and involve decisions about where to stay, what tickets you’ll need, how you’re going to get there, and more. BUT we’re going to break down the costs for you to give you a budget you can get started with and work from there. 

Of course, costs are going to vary for things like tickets, airfare, and hotel, depending on WHEN you decide to go to Disney World. Some seasons are going to be more expensive (say the holiday season), while others will cost less (personally, I’m a big fan of January travel when costs are lower). But let’s take a look at everything you need to think about and what it’s going to cost you.

Hotel Options

Okay, let’s start thinking about hotels. The cheapest hotel option on Disney property will be Disney World’s value resorts:

• Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort: this is usually going to be your cheapest option. A standard room will run around $191 per night. It might be the cheapest option, but keep in mind that you’ll still have access to free transportation to the parks and Disney Springs.

However, if you have a larger family and need more space, you do have other — albeit more expensive — options.

• Disney’s All-Star Music Family Suite: These suites run around $434 per night, but you get a living room with two Murphy beds, two bathrooms, a kitchen area, and a master bedroom. If you have a larger family and need more beds, this could be your best option.
• Disney’s Art of Animation Family Suites: These suites are a little pricier at around $587 per night, but the suites have some pretty awesome themes, including Cars, The Lion King, and Finding Nemo. They generally sleep around six people, but this is also about the same price as a standard moderate hotel room.

Another option is to stay in a standard room at Disney’s Pop Century Resort, which runs around $239 per night. This hotel is directly on the Skyliner, which means you have convenient access to EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

For the sake of our budget, though, we’re going with the cheapest option at All-Star Sports. A family of four staying six nights from June 15th through 21st will pay $4,218.42, which includes hotel and standard park tickets for five days.

Payment Plan

So, yes, that may seem like a lot, but you don’t have to pay it all up front. You can reserve your Disney World vacation with a $200 deposit and then pay the rest over time through Disney’s website or app, as long as you have it paid off 30 days before you arrive. This can help keep that cost more manageable.

Disney will also release deals and discounts fairly often, including free dining and room discounts of up to 25 to 30 percent. We do our best to keep you updated on those deals, so you’ll want to make sure to follow us so you don’t miss out! However, if you book your vacation through our friends at Small World Vacations, you’ll automatically get those deals and discounts, even AFTER you book your trip.

Dining Plans

Another thing you may want to consider is if you want to purchase the Disney Dining Plan. The dining plan is a way for you to pre-pay for meals and snacks before your trip even starts. You have several options, including the Quick Service Dining Plan, which gets you two quick-service meals per day, along with one snack or non-alcoholic drink, and one resort-refillable mug per person. There’s also a more expensive plan that allows you to have 1 table-service meal per day.

However, for this budget, we’re going with the Quick Service Dining Plan, which adds about $1,008 to our vacation total, bringing us to $5306.88. Note that you do not have to purchase the Dining Plan, and it may end up saving you money if you don’t, depending on how much you expect to eat at Disney World’s restaurants.

Travel

Okay, the next thing you have to figure out is HOW you’re getting to Disney World. Depending on where you live, your most affordable option may be driving over flying. Gas prices in Florida are running around $2.60 per gallon right now, so you’ll have to consider that cost, but you might also need to book an overnight stay at a hotel on your way (around $100-$200 per night).

The good news is that you’re staying on Disney property, so you’ll get free parking at the theme parks. That’s a savings of around $30 per day.

For travel, let’s budget around $500, which brings our grand total so far to $5,806.88.

Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single Pass

Once upon a time, you could get free FastPasses for Disney World rights. That program was replaced with Lightning Lanes, which help you skip the regular lines at many popular attractions…but it’s going to cost you. However, if you’ve got younger kids, this could prove very helpful. So let’s budget four days of Lightning Lane access at $30 per person, per day. 

That comes to $480, which brings our total up to $6,286.88.

Souvenirs

Okay, you KNOW you need to buy some merchandise while you’re on vacation, and we can guarantee your kid will be begging you for a bubble wand. Then there are Mickey ears, lightsabers, pins, clothes, and so much more. For this trip, though, we think a realistic souvenir budget is $50 per family member, which adds an additional $200 to the overall budget.

Pro tip: save money on Disney souvenirs by getting them ahead of time on Amazon or The Disney Store website You could save SO much just by doing that.

Okay, with souvenirs, our budget is $6,486.88

Extras, just in case

Life happens, as do unexpected costs, even in Disney World. So we’re going to add an additional $200 for anything that comes up, whether that be buying something we forgot to pack, first aid items, satisfying a craving for a Mickey bar, tolls (because Florida does have toll roads), etc.

That brings our total to $6,686.88.

Grand Total

So our grand total for a family of four visiting Disney World from June 15th through June 21st will cost roughly around $6,686.88. Note that it could cost more or less, depending on when you plan on visiting, but there are ways to save even more money.

Tips on how to save money

Okay, so you want to save more money for your trip. Here are our best tips:

• Look for discounts. Disney often offers deals and discounts throughout the year on rooms, as well as free dining plan offers.
• Travel on weekdays. It costs less to travel on the weekdays than it does on the weekends. You’ll find cheaper prices for everything from airfare to hotel rooms to park tickets.
• Get a travel agent. Using a travel agent like our friends at Small World Travels means you’ll always get the best rate, no matter what. Their services are completely free, and you could end up saving hundreds on your trip.

Planning a trip to Disney World can be…well…a lot. There’s so much to figure out, and yes, sometimes it can be a little confusing. If you’re looking to plan your next trip, we suggest contacting Small World Vacations (yep, we’re going to keep mentioning them). They can help you navigate the whole process, make sure you get the best deals, and take a lot of the stress out of planning a Disney World vacation.

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