Today, we will chat about family trips to Walt Disney World. If, like us, you find the planning as much fun as the trip. Then you have come to the right place. We will help you Save Money at Disney World with Kids with our money-saving tricks. Because the little savings add up, making a huge overall saving on your trip. 

A Disney World holiday is an exciting and enchanting adventure for families. Walt Disney World comprises four unique theme parks, Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom, each offering distinct experiences. Disney World caters to all interests, from classic fairytales to futuristic innovations, thrilling rides to immersive cultural encounters. 

Beyond the attractions, the experience includes character dining, dazzling fireworks, and comfortable hotel rooms in themed resort accommodations. The holiday creates cherished memories, bonding families through shared laughter and wonder, making it an extraordinary tale of magic and joy. So grab a coffee and check out our tips on saving a ton of money for your next trip to Disney with Kids.

Save Money At Disney World With Kids Before Your Trip

Air Miles

Plan in advance and collect air miles. This can be done with a credit card or shopping points. We use the British Airways American Express card; the APR fee is high. However, we use it for everyday purchases such as shopping for petrol and expenses and pay the card off at the end of the month to avoid added charges. 

You can also shop online through the BA website and get referral bonus points, which add up. 

It takes a while to save the points, up to a year, but these can then be put towards flights. Our last flight we booked on BA to Orlando International cost £150pp for return flights to Orlando which is a huge saving. 

Use Loyalty Points for Hotels To Save Money at Disney with Kids

Use loyalty points to book hotels. We converted Tesco Clubcard points for our next trip; again, we saved them all year and swap for Hotel.com vouchers. We could put these towards our hotel onsite, bringing the cost down from £1300 to £300. The savings are also considerable on off-site hotels.

Travel During Off-Peak Times:

Visit during less crowded seasons, which are typically outside of major holidays and school breaks. You’ll find lower prices on accommodations and possibly shorter lines for attractions. This is difficult to maximise with school-age kids. However, keep an eye out for those bonus weeks schools sometimes tag onto holidays that are out of peak time.

Stay Offsite When Visiting Walt Disney World With Kids

A villa is always a great option if you are happy to drive between the resorts. This gives you a great space to chill out and wind down after a busy day in the park. Villas are also great for multi-generation groups to stay together and save money.

Plan in Advance to Stay Oniste at the Disney Resorts for Your Walt Disney World Vacation

Book your trip well in advance to take advantage of early bird discounts and better availability for accommodations and park tickets. Stay onsite with Mickey and look for discounted dining offers at Walt Disney World Resort. Usually, the offering differs from the Disney Value resorts where guests may get resort credit for meals. This can vary in value if you stay in Moderate or Deluxe resorts such as Animal Kingdom Lodge. However, it is worth shopping for onsite offers. 

You can also book the Disney Dining Plan or Quick Service Dining Plan if you stay onsite, giving you restaurant credits to use for dining throughout your stay in either quick-service restaurants or table-service venues in the Disney parks, resorts and Disney Springs. This is offered as part of the package at intervals throughout the year. 

Perks Of Staying In An Onsite Disney Hotel At Walt Disney World Resort

• Mickey Mail (A Personalised letter from Mickey)
• Free Transport Around Walt Disney World
• Vouchers and Disney Discounts
• Complimentary WiFi In Guest Rooms 
• Early Theme Park Entry
• Extended Evening Theme Park Hours On Certain Nights
• Early Access to Dining Reservations
• Complimentary Parking at the Resorts and Theme Parks For Disney ResortsGuests

Ask Relatives to Buy Disney Gift Cards as Gifts

Kids don’t need so many toys, right? So we asked close friends and relatives to buy Disney Gift cards to use at Disney World.

Packing to Save Money at Disney With Kids

Bring Your Own Fancy Dress 

We took our Disney fancy dress from home. Like many of you, we will have a full box of fancy dress, so we packed it. If you fold it into a zip-lock bag, it presses down quite small, and your little ones can have their own fancy dress on to meet the princesses/characters. Saving you having to buy it in the shop when you’ve realised they ‘need’ it.

Also, Bring Essentials

Pack essential items like sunscreen, ponchos, and basic over-the-counter medications. Purchasing these within the park can be more expensive. You will always need a poncho, so buy from eBay or Amazon before you go and save money. 

Bubbles are a Great Distraction

In another zip-lock bag ( we took loads of these, too), we packed bubbles and some little treats for them to play with. There is always a balloon or toy request, and deflecting the $20 balloon request with a little pot of bubbles was helpful.

Save Money at Disney With Kids During Your Trip 

Use Refillable Water Bottles

Take refillable water bottles or a refillable mug with a secure lid with you and fill them up during the day from the water fountains. It isn’t that bottles of water at Disney are really expensive. It’s just that you go through a lot of them as it is so hot, and you may not want to queue. 

Disney/Florida doesn’t sell a lot of drinks that aren’t fizzy either, and my 4/5 year olds didn’t like fizzy drinks, so water was the best option in any event.

Take Snacks

Take a huge bag of snacks into the parks every day in a zip-lock bag. We did this for a few reasons, mainly because our three can be quite fussy, and I wanted to know we had things they would eat.

Secondly, I thought snacks would keep them busy in the queues, and thirdly, because in the end, they snacked all day, and we ate lunch late afternoon after leaving the parks. It worked for everyone. We took raisins, squeezy fruit snacks, cereal bars (chocolate would melt anyway), breadsticks and marmite rice cakes! Then the kiddies can choose one Disney-themed treat a day.

Big Breakfast/Late Lunch To Save Money on Food at Disney

Eat a big breakfast at home or en route, then eat a late lunch. The snacks above kept the kids happy; it was too hot for us to want to eat anyway. The restaurants were very busy. It gets the busiest in the parks from lunchtime to early evening, so if you leave and eat on the way home, you win on all levels. 

However, if you want to try character dining book breakfast, as it’s always cheaper than lunch or dinner.

Create a Disney Birthday List 

Another way we deflected the ‘off every ride and through the shop’ toy request was by adding their requests to their birthday list. I make a list on the notes app on my phone. This has killed two birds with one stone as we didn’t buy everything in sight, and now we have a list to show to friends and relatives who ask closer to birthday times. Plus, it’s easier to cull unnecessary items at home and not in the moment.

Head to Walmart for Souvenirs to Save Money on Souvenirs

If the kiddies want to shop, head to Walmart to purchase Disney merchandise. They have a huge Disney section at a fraction of the price. The kiddies get their Disney shopping fix, and parents save a fortune; this is a good idea on either day one or the last day and go armed with a shopping list.

Bonus Tip:

Attractiontix.co.uk offer Disney and Orlando tickets, and there are various types of voucher codes on attractiontix.co.uk

Don’t get me wrong, we still spent a lot of money during our 14 days in Orlando, and we did buy food, treats and snacks, but we spent a lot less and, therefore had more to spend on other things!