How much does it cost to go to Disney World? Example trips from $2,000-10,000.

88 Comments

1. Amy Trafficante July 14, 2018 Reply

   About how much would a week cost at an on-site hotel for 4 adults during the week between Christmas and New years

2. Renee Eshnaur July 16, 2017 Reply

   Hello wdwprepschool!! I have a few quest hoping you can answer.. I’m flying Into Orlando Sunday morning July 23 @ 4:45 am with two adults and two kids ten and two years old. I’ve booked a room for 5 nights at Wyndham garden lake Buena vista Disney springs resort for $356 is this a smart move compared to staying onsite and spending twice as much? What do we do at 5 am to get to our hotel with a 4pm check in time? Rent a car and wander, eat breakfast lol? Other ride alternatives with suitcases and car seat? So sorry it’s so long hope someone has suggestions one week to date I’m so excited!

3. Csmith May 10, 2017 Reply

   Doing Disney in July! We’re staying 5 nights/6days. Here’s our breakdown so far…

   2 adults, 2 kids:

   park tickets: 1120
   memory maker:150
   vrbo house (for 13) our portion:500
   plane tickets: 1200
   Dining reservations: 250…that’s a rough estimate..3 restaurants.
   Rental car for 6 days: 260

   Extra stuff so far such as BB Boutique, universal studios tickets, groceries, etc.-1500

   All in all, we will probably be in about 5k after it is all said and done.

   Thank you so much for all of the wonderful tips! You have made planning this trip so much easier.

4. marks March 1, 2017 Reply

   Planning our 3rd trip to Disney. First was super cheap, stayed at an off site hotel. Whole trip was about $2k. Second time was more like $3500, stayed at a moderate Disney hotel. This third time will now exceed that, mostly because since the 1st trip we’ve added another child and they are all getting older (and more expensive for tickets and lodging). Will probably be about $4500. And I think we are doing it while being budget conscious, we drive down (12 hours), don’t get the dining plan and stay at modest hotels (less then $300/night). I googled Disney vacation costs because I’m having a hard time wrapping my around the fact that families stay at much nicer hotels, for longer, fly in, do all the character dinners AND do it yearly! I’m wondering if I’m not in on some secret Disney savings or if average families really drop $5k+ on a yearly Disney vacation. We are an upper middle class family, have an expendable income and have a healthy appreciation for Disney but I still have a hard time understanding the more “luxurious” Disney vacations/resorts. At some point the benefits don’t outweigh the costs and that right around $700/night for a hotel you’ll mostly just sleep in. 😉

5. Alayna February 28, 2017 Reply

   Driving to Orlando; 2 adults with 2 days at the parks over Thanksgiving 2016.

   gas and food for 7 hr drive there and back; 300
   hotel was a steal four nights; 250
   http://www.qualitybytheparkskissimmee.com/
   base tickets for two adults x 2 days; 430
   uber 1 day and parking 1 day; 40
   food and drinks; 450
   souvenirs; 50
   total 1,510

   I did pay about 60 bucks for memory pics after the fact. We didn’t get the memory maker. Probably worth it for a longer trip.

   this was our first trip in years and we wanted to see how cheap we could do it…. we did eat two nice meals at the parks and some other nice dinners including one at Disney springs. We also had mucho drinks at Epcot. Cutting out food and drinks could bring things down.

6. David Felix February 15, 2017 Reply

   I was just wondering how much will it cost to go to Disney world for a family of 30? 14 kids 16 adult.

• Shannon Albert February 15, 2017

  Hi, David – due to the complexity of planning a trip like that, I’d highly suggest filling out a quote request form so you can work with one of the handpicked agents that help my readers. You can do that at http://wdwprepschool.com/get-quote-now/

7. Tabitha December 22, 2016 Reply

   Planned my own WDW trip 8 weeks in advance for my mom, me and my daughters first time in late October 2016. I really wanted to stay under $3000 and I was able to hit my goal. My daughter was 2 at the time (she didnt turn 3 until after we got back from our trip) so she didnt factor into theme/party tickets and meals.

   Trans: Flights for me and daughter including luggage fees&taxes: $400
   (my mom flew in from another part of the country to meet us)

   Hotel: Pop Century Preferred Pool View 4 nights including tax: $615

   Park tickets: 2-day base tickets for 2 adults (daughter was 2 yrs old): $430
   Mickey’s Halloween Party for 2 adults: $203×2= $406
   (so nice we went to the party twice!)total for park/party tickets: $836

   Food: Opted out of the dining plan (next time we visit will defintely book a Free Dining Promo). We enjoyed 5 table meals (Boatwrights, Cinderellas Royal table, Disney Jr Play n Dine, Minnies Seasonal Dine at H&V and Chef Mickey’s) various QS meals/snacks.Used Prime Now for water/snacks delivery to room: $600

   Souvenirs/Spending Money/Tips: $500

   Total for a 2 adults and a child under 3 for 4 nights: $2,951

   After writing it all out I see places where I can save even more money (taking my own food into the parks/buying costumes, ears etc before coming to Disney/only going to the Halloween party once lol) but was the MOST amazing time I could ask for and this site made my planning soo much easier! Thank you Shannon!

   PS: we LOVED the halloween at WDW and weather so much we are making it a yearly trip during this time!

8. Arlene October 25, 2016 Reply

   Going with my husband in May 2017 for 6 nights! It’s his first trip so I’m spending more than I probably would if it weren’t.

   Non-stop Airline tix from NYC area – $200×2
   DVC Studio rental at Animal Kingdom – $1120
   5 Day Park Hopper Tix through work program – $807
   Budget for Food/Souvenirs – $1000
   Memory Maker – $149

   Total $3,476

9. Amanda L July 27, 2016 Reply

   Family of 4, 2 adults 2 kids (one under 3) going in November 2016 for 5 nights. We lucked into an extremely affordable trip, but I’ll share how much it would have cost as well.

   Transportation: Flying from Washington, DC, 4 tickets – $750 (used credit card rewards point for cost of flights)

   Lodging: 5 nights at Boardwalk Villas DVC – $2420 (No cost to us, a sweet relative is letting us use her points)

   Park tickets: 5 day base tickets – 2 adult and 1 child – $1065

   Food: $600 (two character breakfasts, otherwise eating quick service and grocery delivery)

   Souvenirs/spending money: $400 (including $150 for Memory Maker)

   Total: $5235

10. nicole July 16, 2016 Reply

    Hubby and I September 2016

    Transportation: nonstop spirit flight from Detroit $306 total with luggage (sharing one checked bag)

    Lodging: 4 nights at Boardwalk (can’t wait to walk to parks) $1300

    Tickets: 2 day, one park per day $400
    Arrive evening Fri, Sat HS, Sun relax and DS, Mon Epcot food and wine

    Food: Budget $500 (high because, food and wine!)

    Misc: $300
    Total: $2800

11. Megan June 8, 2016 Reply

    2 adults and 2 children at the Animal Kingdom Lodge
    (Savanna view room)
    November 26- December 2nd (6 nights)
    Deluxe Dining Package (free promotion)
    Memory Maker
    Transportation to and from the airport
    =$4110.62

    Flights are “free” & booked due to airline miles. bags are free due to having a united credit card.

    I am thinking we probably need $1,000.00 cash for “Extras”

    What am I missing? Is $1,000.00 enough? My kids are 2 & 3.

• Megan June 8, 2016

  Forgot to mention 6 days of park hopper tickets included in the $4110!

12. Carly March 9, 2016 Reply

    I found this to be off for us personally. We had to include costs of driving 3 hours to the airport (and driving home from the airport) with gas and tolls(luckily my m is driving our van home and back up so we don’t have to spend hundreds on a rental plus carseats rentals), a 3 hr flight for four both ways, 6 nights at coranado springs with park tickets for 5 days, and the deluxe dining plan. What I would encourage anyone to do though is factor in tips and taxes on everything. We planned many table service meals that require tips, plus mousekeeping, checking luggage, tipping for luggage, etc.

13. Dana Hobbs March 2, 2016 Reply

    I guess maybe I find these to be way off. We have spent 4,230 with trip insurance for an 8 night stay in pop century Oct 20-28th of 2016. this includes park hooper+water park, the disney dining plan with table service and quick service and memory maker. When we add in the flights i have found for 1000.00 we are only looking at 5,230. For all 3 of us to go. So i feel like these are a bit off. i mean why not show the value resorts. We would rather do value and have more money to spend on things in the park.

14. Yvette D. Jordan December 15, 2015 Reply

    I have 5 adults ,and 4 grandchildren two who will be 5 and two who will be 2 in April of 2018. I have never been to WDW and feel my first experience will be shared greatly with our children and grandchildren. I will be graduating from college in Orlando at that time. What clubs should I join to help my family be able to afford at least a weekend stay off site and still enjoy the theme park for 2-3 days? All Sincere help will be welcomed!
    Thanks ~Yvette

• Brian Atkinson December 28, 2015

  In my humble opinion. Nobody does it like disney and their Christmas decorations are nice. Your value sense it going to be mostly taxed by lodging and food. Resort lodging is a categorical rip off and eating on site follows close behind. Minimize those those two things and that will go a long way to help your value sense. Also pay attention to crowd statistics…. that will go a long way to aid your pleasure meter. Crowds are the quintessential buzz kill and watch the weather (temperature stats). I may be one of the few people that put a number on things in terms of “value”. When it’s all said and done…. what number would you like too see vs what you experienced. To some… that number is high…. you can spend over $20,000.00 for a week at Disney… I couldn’t imagine. Is your number $2k, $4k, $6k, more? I’d be hard pressed to say that $2k for two people is worth it. So many people get dreamy…. we had a private tour of Egypt with our own Egyptologist….. that trip was almost $20k…. was it worth it…. nope.

15. Fiona December 7, 2015 Reply

    We joined a pretty awesome travel club that has TONS of Disney trips (Disneyland and Disneyworld). We just booked march 14-17th 2016 3 nights 4 days at Disney Paradise Pier Hotel with 2 day park hopper passes for 3 of us, $180 Disney dollars, 2 adults one child = US$1190 + our flights. SO EXCITED!!!

• Amanda December 29, 2016

  Would you mind sharing the name of the travel club you booked with? That’s a great deal! If I could get a deal like that we could go (we are also a family of 3) in 2017 instead of waiting another year or two.

16. Caitie December 3, 2015 Reply

    We went in the off-season- September 2015- for our honeymoon! We spent 5 days and 5 nights. We had the Deluxe Dining Plan and used park hopper tickets- and flew all the way from Idaho! Total cost? $1,569.23!!! We are hoping to go again in May and stay in a DVC rental. We’re currently on a budget of $2,500. I will say though, that there’s only two of us, and that brings the cost waaaaay down.

17. Kristen October 30, 2015 Reply

    ◾Transportation: We drove from West Virginia. Gas, food, and a hotel on the way back came to $400.00

    ◾Lodging: Rented DVC points from my sister. Animal Kingdom Lodge for 5 nights was $690.00. 58 points at $12/each.

    ◾Park tickets: 4-day base tickets for 2 adults, 2 children (used my Target Red card to buy Disney gift cards, saved 5%): $1,194.00

    ◾Food: Disney Dining Plan, plus one QS meal out of pocket and tips (again, paid with gift cards purchased at a discount): $860.00

    ◾Souvenirs/spending money: (Gift cards again…) $285.00

    Total for a family of 5 (one under 3) for 5 nights, 6 days: $3,429.00

    I love this post. I think so many people think you have to have thousands and thousands of dollars to go to Disney World, but it can be done with a very reasonable budget.

18. Lindsay C October 21, 2015 Reply

    We are spending 6 nights at All-Star sports with free dining and 7 day park-hoppers for $2200. I think I paid about $250 to upgrade our dining from only QS to include 1 TS each day for character meals. We are driving and visiting a friend for a night along the way. We planned everything back at June on a whim to celebrate our daughter’s 7th birthday next month.

    Next year I would really like to stay at Wilderness Lodge for 6-7 nights, but we’ll see. We haven’t even been this year and we are already planning for next year.

19. Kate September 27, 2015 Reply

    The Y.E.S. Program prices for 2016 tickets have increased. (Hardly a deal anymore) They actually charge more for the adult attending the program than a regular park ticket. The only way this might still be a good deal is for a group of older children that don’t require adult attendance bc you would save on not buying an “adult” ticket and be getting a discounted yes child ticket.

20. Don September 14, 2015 Reply

    We are DVC Members and get outstanding value from our membership. In the past my wife would tag along with me when I was on an Orlando business trip (sometimes at Walt Disney World!) to save money. Other times we booked to get the free meal plan f possible and stayed at Deluxe Resorts. It only took a few times to realize that we wanted to continue to go regularly to WDW, but do it cheaper. We investigated the DVC but thought it was expensive. However, after working the numbers we realized if we were going to continue to go to WDW, the costs were adding up– and that is when the DVC made sense.

    After more research we decided to purchase after-market DVC. Why? Because it is half the cost of a membership purchased from Disney and it (at the time) had exactly the same perks. Also we didn’t need 40 years of points, only 30. So it made sense to purchase from a family who no longer treasured their membership.

    Now our costs are much, much better, and with the points we purchased we can go for 20 or so days a year. DVC provides a discount on annual passes, and instead of purchasing a meal plan we buy a Tables in Wonderland card, the cost with a DVC discount is $100. The Tables in Wonderland card gives us a 20% discount on food and drink, including alcoholic beverages!

    So based on annualized costs of our DVC membership, including dues, we can stay at a Deluxe WDW resort for $80 per day. We also usually spend $50 to $100 per day on food for two of us. So add an annual pass it comes to about $55 per day for two of us. Add travel costs (we will go two to three times a year) so we usually try to travel for $500 round trip from North Central Texas (Dallas area) for each trip. In Orlando we always use Magical Express so pickup and local travel is free. So with transportation we spend on average $283 per day. That’s around $5,640 per year for 20 days at WDW during low season! (We seldom buy souvenirs.)

    As I said, for us it’s a good value and was near the cost that we have spent for a single 7 day trip for two of us before. The only downside is that with the DVC you need to use the points regularly, but that’s no problem for us.

    .

• Christina December 23, 2015

  I have heard a lot about TiW but am still fuzzy on the details. How exactly does it work — is it like a credit card that you use to pay for meals? We had a DDP on our trip just now, so I am comparing it to that.
  Thank you for any insight you can provide! 🙂

21. AMY BAIER August 8, 2015 Reply

    So our budget is very different than any of yours. We are a family of 4 from Canada, 1 under 10. We fly $500 each, $2000 total 14 days staying on site at a moderate hotel with free dining package. 10 day park hopper plus water parks and more, Halloween party tickets and La Nouba tickets $7050. Plus the Canadian dollar is only worth $0.73. We also are going to Universal for 2 days with meal plan and spending a day at Clearwater with the dolphins (about $2000) This is a VERY expensive holiday but we probably won’t go back again. Once to Disneyland(2013) and once to Disney World now it will be all inclusive hot holidays because it will be much less expensive to go to a 5star in Mexico!

22. HatMaven August 7, 2015 Reply

    My budget looks quite a bit different that yours – we are a family of 5 (2 kids over 10) and we live in Idaho.

    A 40 hour drive each way is not possible, so we have to fly.
    Value on-site rooms are too small.
    We have to go during summer because of school schedules.

    Transportation: 5 airline tickets at $400 each = $2000
    Lodging: 7 nights at POR – $1750
    Park tickets: 4 adults/1 child – hoppers $2154
    Food: $2000 (QS plan / 1 out of pocket character meal / airport meals /breakfast)
    Souvenirs/spending money: $500 (includes Memory Maker)

    We are looking at $8400 – which feels like a pretty hefty price tag for a week of vacation.

    I really don’t want to stay offsite because we would prefer to not rent a car and want EMH. I supposed we could cut food, but again you almost need a car or stay somewhere with a kitchen to be successful at that.

    Anything I’m overlooking?

23. ATLmom August 5, 2015 Reply

    Thanks for this guide! My family always has about a $2000 budget and we do a combo of your example 1 and example 3. We drive, then spend four nights at a value resort with a two-day ticket package. On our “off day” we hang out at the pool and arcade, explore other resort hotels, and go to Downtown Disney. We eat breakfast in our room and stick to mostly counter service meals. Our kids save up for their own souvenirs. By going the value route we can go to Disney more often, so I’m all for it! (Although I’m daydreaming about the $7,000 budget …)

• Misty December 4, 2015

  We are doing the same thing you describe (2 day park, one day at resort Art of Animation). Any tips for this being our first visit with an 8 and 3 yr old? Anything to hit, anything to miss?
  Thanks for your time!

24. Gabby August 5, 2015 Reply

    My husband and I are going in mid-September, 2 adults, on-sight Value Hotel, flying from California and we’re coming in at just about $3,000…

    Transportation: $710.00 It was a great deal with Jet Blue and a random flight path (Long Beach – JFK – Orlando)

    Lodging/park tickets: $1,730 ( booked as a package through Disney online) Includes: 7 nights at All-Star Sports, Free Quick Service Dining Plan deal and 2 adult 7 day park hopper with water park fun and more option.

    Food: $200 (ish) We like to eat, so even with free quick service dining we’re budgeting that additional expense

    Souvenirs/spending money: $300 (ish)

    Our friends think we do such extravagant vacations and then are shocked to hear how little we end up paying… it’s all about planning and being willing to make little sacrifices (like flying to New York from Southern California on the way to Orlando haha)

• Mark August 8, 2015

  Probably should have purchased 5-6 day passes since Water Park & More attractions do not count against number of days.

  (Your 7 day pass could actually be used for 14 days – 7 days of 4 major parks plus another 7 days of water parks.)

25. Tarantula August 5, 2015 Reply

    Great post, helps with realistic but creative planning!

    Here’s our usual trip budget for reference for others with our circumstances: We are a young couple with no kids, living in SC at NC border. We only sleep and shower in the room so don’t care if it’s cheap. And we eat at signature restaurants a lot of the time, we are foodies. We don’t really buy souvenirs or anything else while on trips, would rather save for next trip!

    Transport: $70 – we drive 8-9 hours each way in our hybrid.
    Accommodation: $200 – we find somewhere cheap but safe and clean on hotels.com for around $50-60 per night x 3-4 nights.
    Tickets: $250 – we bought annual passes and used them for 5 short trips, so our average cost was about $125 per person per trip.
    Food: $400 or so – we order pretty much whatever we want because our other costs are low. Food is by far our biggest expense coz we never have a budget in that area.

    TOTAL: under $1000. Annual passes were paid for long ago, so our out-of-pocket expense each time is really only $270 plus whatever we spend on food 🙂

    Family and friends are jealous and sometimes bitter that we get to go so often, but its coz it only costs a few hundred dollars each time. If you are willing to cut some corners and make a few sacrifices you can do Disney on a pretty tight budget! Great post of comparisons Shannon, you clearly showed how to choose where to save and where to splurge, according to each family’s priorities and personal taste.

26. Sherry June 12, 2015 Reply

    My husband and I and our 3 children are driving from Michigan to WDW for my daughters 6th birthday November 2015. We are staying at the Polynisian Resort on the Monorail with the deluxe dining plan along with 5 day park hopper passes. Our bill to WDW is 4800 dollars. Flying right now is not possible with our peanut allergy child (accidental reaction 5,000 miles in the sky is bad news) and even if we did fly, tickets 5 people could eaisly cost us 1800-2000. We would rather spend that on vacation.

    I should add that if you have a child with a life threatening food allergy, Disney is one of the few places that welcomes and accomdates families. (Chefs come to the table and take your order, they prepare your food seperate from everyone else, Disney Allergy Menues and careful cleaning of hotel rooms prior to your arrival) We have an AWESOME Disney Agent who is also part of the allergy community who is making a Dream Come true trip for our family.

27. disneymama2 January 7, 2015 Reply

    Great article! Also, if you (or a family member) are in the military, there are so many great discounts for members of the armed forces. We have stayed both on and off property at a steep discount. Also, Disney offers great prices on discounted tickets for military families. You can even get discounted pricing for special events like Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party 🙂

    As far as the souvenirs, I always check out dollar stores, the dollar section at Target, the Disney Store for clearance items, etc. before we go to Disney. I buy a few little things to give our kids each day of the vacation and then allow each child to pick out one souvenir while we are there. It takes a little self-control (I want to buy everything while there) but saves a lot of money in the end.

28. sharon December 30, 2014 Reply

    Going in the winter time to Disney world is the best No crowds. Me I want the cheap vacation.com. all I want to see is Harry potter and Small world and I will be done. But carry one bag on board the plane, and it will be just me going anyway

29. Margaret Abel December 22, 2014 Reply

    Dear Shannon,
    My adult daughter and I will be visitingDisney World (my 22nd visit) this summer from August 26 to 31. I am a Disney Vacation Club Member. Is there any way to take advantage of the free Dining Plan if it is again offered?
    Thanks,
    Margaret

30. Lori December 12, 2014 Reply

    We are planning a trip to Disney World in 2017 with our children and grandchildren. There will be 18 of us altogether, provided there are no new additions between now and then. The group will be made up of 10 adults, 1 teenager and 7 children (ages 5 to 11 at that time). Some may be driving and others flying since we will be coming from 3 different states to meet up. Any suggestions on where we could all stay together? Are there any large condos or houses that would accommodate so many people? We would also appreciate any tips on tickets, dining, activities, etc.

• Shannon Albert December 12, 2014

  Hi, Lori –
  This post about doing Disney w/large families should help – http://wdwprepschool.com/doing-disney-duggar-style/

31. scott October 23, 2014 Reply

    What is wrong with us. Can a family of 4 kids(10,12,12,16) and 2 adults, with a monthly income of $6300, go to Disneyworld? If so, what are we doing wrong with our money? Both house and cars are paid for. Help.

• T. C. November 30, 2014

  OK, so you’re saying your cars and house are completely paid for, and you have $6,300 per month, which adds up to $75,000 per year, but you can’t find the money to go to Disney World for $10,000 – $15,000?

  To me, this can only mean one thing, and this is assuming you have no other costs except for living costs, saving for kids’ college, retirement, etc., but I’m pretty sure you can max out on all those items, and still do this very comfortably.

  As I alluded to, your question probably means one thing, and that one thing is you have no budget, nor do you follow one. Everything you buy is on a whim, you don’t shop sales, there is no accountability financially, and so on.

  “You Need a Budget” is budget software that could help you, but you need to stick with it. Dave Ramsey (www.daveramsey.com) has a way to look at finances that blows everything away that I once believed regarding debt, credit, loans, getting on top, and staying there. I would suggest it all. Good luck.

• Christy February 3, 2015

  T.C. is spot on. Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University saved my marriage! And we are going to Disney now stress free.

32. Riwade June 26, 2014 Reply

    We are wanting to go in October to take our 6 yr old son for the first time. we only want to go to the Magic Kingdom for 2 days and Animal Kingdom for 1 day. So, basically staying 3 nights/4 days…what is the most affordable wdw resort to stay at? Where do they offer teacher discounts? and do they have websites for discounted park tickets? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

33. Ginger Carey June 3, 2014 Reply

    What is a Y.E.S class? We always stay on site…but would consider off site if savings were significant

34. david May 27, 2014 Reply

    When a road trip is involved in a vacation, that’s part of the fun and family time together. Plan fun activities and stops along the way. I don’t think that that time is a chargeable item.

35. melissa May 24, 2014 Reply

    I have used http://www.smartypig.com for savings. It is very neat site. Mobile and computer based. I put X amount in weekly direct deposited. Whenever you need a withdrawal for the WHOLE amount, you can do so but takes a few days to hit your checking account. I opened one for my daughter to direct deposit her allowance and her dog walking money. Very cool graphics to show how close you are to your goal – cute visuals, etc. So this is an option instead of the Disney account that seems to be having problems…

36. Dsnyrn May 23, 2014 Reply

    Current upcoming trip plan November 2014- 2 Adults, nonstop airfare, Park hopper, dining plan,Wilderness Lodge standard room, Keys to the Kingdom tour, MVMCP $4000 (Souvenirs not included).

    My thoughts about planning-
    I have been to WDW 3 times, planning my 4th trip for November 2014. This is the first time I am using a travel agent specializing in Disney-totally the best idea ever. I felt like I had to be knowledgable the other times, and this time I can sit back and enjoy the planning more.

    This is also going to be my first trip NOT using the delux dining plan (3 table service, and 2 snack credits), and am using the regular dining plan (1 quick, 1 table, 1 snack). I like the delux plan because you really don’t have to think about anything. If I wanted to plan a meal-I could. My daughter and I had 9 character meals in a 6 day/5 night trip (took each daughter for a mommy and me trip for 2 of my vacations). I know I am going to save money this time-even though I plan on paying for some extra table service meals, but I miss the ease of the delux dining plan-I got spoiled.

37. Kelly May 16, 2014 Reply

    ok, I’m replying to my own comment. again. I’ve done some more research as suggested by Shannon… and it turns out that the DVA might not be the greatest thing. It is relatively new and seems like there are A LOT of issues to work out that might actually turn it into a nightmare for some! DOH! Hopefully, the bugs will be worked out soon. I recommend doing some thorough due diligence before signing up. I’m glad I haven’t signed up yet.

38. Kelly May 15, 2014 Reply

    I included the website, but didn’t realize it was going to link it to my name- click my name (in red) to go the the Disney Vacation account website. (I’m not a disney travel agent or employee, I don’t get any compensation for referring people. I’m just a single mom trying to find all the ways I can to be able to afford taking a wdw vacation).

39. Anne May 11, 2014 Reply

    Why would lost wages matter? Each family is obviously taking time off, and it’s assuming that their socioeconomic statuses are all the same.

40. Jamal Thompson April 16, 2014 Reply

    How much would it cost for me and my 2year old to go to Disney world flying,hotel and tickets

41. MG April 16, 2014 Reply

    Question- we are Marriott Vacation Club owners and were thinking about trading out one of our weeks for one near Disney. Does anyone know which Marriott Vacation Club is closest? Is it even worth it to not stay on property?

• barbara steinour October 27, 2014

  the imperial palms and royal palms are right outside the entrance to the resort property- 1 is all two bedrooms the other 3 bedrooms. you will need a car

42. Sherry March 26, 2014 Reply

    hoping to get to Disney World this summer. We have 4 kids ages 6 thru 11. Any recommendations on parks and hotels? My kids are not huge on thrill rides. They love the water – we have a pool at home. They will do one (or 2) and then lose interest. My boys are the oldest and into everything from nemo to star wars. My daughter who is 6 is not a girlie girl. She loves her some toy story! We also want to maybe do a day at lego land. All love animals and any super hero of any kind. Also thinking about driving but not too thrilled about 4 kids asking are we there yet for the trip from nj to fl. Also, any restaurants off the resort like steakhouses or red robin? are there coupons anywhere?

• AlternaKat March 28, 2014

  Sherri,

  The Texas Roadhouse is a steakhouse just outside of Disney with affordable prices and if you sign up on their website they’ll send you a coupon for a free appetizer: http://www.texasroadhouse.com
  Hope that helps!

43. LM February 26, 2014 Reply

    Love this site! Very helpful and informative. We are driving down from GA (w/a toddler, so different scenario vs families where the children expect to visit a park each day) and are saving money by doing a few of the following:
    -driving down in a hybrid car=gas savings
    -we are a day’s drive from FL but are staying an hour away from WDW in a cheaper hotel the night before so that we can arrive for a full day the next day.
    -one day a character breakfast followed by a day at our hotel pool
    -another day will be DT disney T Rex cafe and hotel pool
    -bringing cereal and PBJ supplies for easy meals and snacks
    -one, maybe two days in a park
    I feel like in our case these options will be a good pace for our kid and they also happen to lower costs for our family. Just thought I’d share if others have kids of a similar age. I think we are spending $1200 for five days in May, 4 nights @ value resort with spring promo discount. 🙂

44. Aimee Morrison February 25, 2014 Reply

    Love this! I want to take my family this April! Just don’t know where to start with all this planning and booking!

45. AlternaKat February 25, 2014 Reply

    Chuck – I stayed at the Orange Lake Resort (Holiday Inn Vacations) in Kissimmee a 2-bedroom villa suite in April/May 2013 and LOVED it! I am going back again with my family this June. We are renting from a timeshare owner via redweek.com. Good luck!

46. chuck macdonald February 24, 2014 Reply

    great summary , love the different scenarios, Planning a trip in August with 11 year old grandson and 3 adults….Are there vacation Condo’s that you would recommend?

• KGS May 31, 2014

  My family and I have stayed at Liki Tiki Village many times.
  It is about a 15 minute drive (you will need a car) to Disney. It is a great place and very affordable. They are all little condo’s with full kitchens and laundry in the condo.
  The resort is nice too….swimming pools and activities.

47. AlternaKat February 23, 2014 Reply

    What a great resource! For our upcoming trip in June 2014, I already have airfare, rental car, hotel, and park tickets purchased, so these are the “knowns”, but I am struggling with some of “unknowns” — mostly the food budget! I can look at menus all I want and guess where we are going to be at any given time, but the question is: how do I not over-plan every single meal and food decision (we are not staying on site and thus no Disney Dining Plan) but still accurately plan a reasonable budget for food? There are 5 of us – my husband and me, two 13-year olds and an 8-year-old. There are a couple meals I definitely want to “splurge” on and already have ADRs for, but I’m not even sure what is reasonable for the rest of the food budget. Anyone else have this problem? Any suggestions would be awesome!

• AlternaKat February 25, 2014

  So I have been working on this budget and here’s what I’ve come up with: I have 3 nice table service ADRs planned, we plan on eating breakfast in the room (suite has a full kitchen), and then of the remaining meals, about half will be counter service in the parks and half will be outside of the parks (a combination of fast food and sit down restaurants). Therefore, I am estimating my top-end budget should be around $200 per day for the 5 of us. Does this sound reasonable?

48. Joy February 17, 2014 Reply

    I love your site! So helpful, and well done.

    My family of four; 2 adults, and twin girls (6), are going to Disney for the first week of December 2015! It sounds so far away, but in Disney planning time, not really! My husband and I have been to Disney before, but never with our kids. We are super excited, and I’ve been planning like crazy. After running many scenarios of what it would cost to stay in value, moderate, and deluxe thru Disney…discounts included too…I was really shocked by how expensive it can get. Because of my background in timeshare before I became a SAHM, I did some research in those roots. I’m so thankful I did. I was able to nab a great timeshare deal with BlueGreen Vacation Club, and we’re planning to exchange into the DVC thru RCI. We’re hoping to get the Wilderness Lodge, but will be happy being on any Disney property. We needed to join a vacation club anyway, to save money, and this will save us serious Disney money. We will have access to all the perks of being on property, which the DDP was something we really wanted. Plus, because it’s at the DVC, we don’t have to make it a package and buy our tickets thru Disney…I’m leaning toward using the Undercover Tourist for our park tickets. I believe we’re looking at a savings of around $2000 by choosing to go this route, plus we have a vacation ownership that we will use for other trips too.

49. Amy K. January 28, 2014 Reply

    Great website and incredibly useful. Thank you! I must have about a dozen different tabs open, all with information from your site. 🙂 My family of four moved to Ft. Lauderdale from Ohio back in August. Our extended family and we pooled our holiday gift money to buy four yearly passes! We used gift money as the down payment and the rest we pay monthly so it doesn’t hurt the wallet too much. So far we have only used the passes to go to Epcot as a day trip, but found the 6 hour round-trip drive too much. Also, we went on January 20th, and the crowds were pretty heavy. Now…I am in the midst of planning a trip for Feb. 4-7. I am pulling the kids out of school because of the predicted light crowds. We’re a “Frugal Family”. I am, admittedly, horrified at the prices of Disney hotels! I lucked out and found a good deal on Groupon for a Walt Disney World Good Neighbor Hotel. That is good enough for me. In addition, I just went grocery shopping to purchase food for the trip. We don’t plan on eating any meals or snacks in restaurants. It’s just not in our budget. I spent about $260 for groceries, and some of that was “convenience” items, like V8 in cans, or tuna and chicken in ready-to-eat pouches. I feel like I’m going camping…but camping in a hotel room. Which is my kind of camping. 🙂 My one huge splurge was going to the Disney outlet store at the Sawgrass Mills Mall in Sunrise, FL. I bought three Disney t-shirts apiece for my daughters and myself. Matching. My husband refuses to participate in that weirdness. 😉 I am CRAZY excited about the trip. I’d live at Disneyworld if I could.

50. Meredith Raber December 9, 2013 Reply

    We are planning a trip for our family of 7, kids will be 13,11,8,2, and 1. We want to stay in park and go in the summer…where is the best place to stay with a large family and is the free dining plan available for the summer?

51. Carla November 26, 2013 Reply

    We are a familyof 4. Traveling from Oklahoma. Vacationing December 18-26 (Woohoo… Christmas at Disney World!!!). We checked on several ways to take this vacation on the “cheap” as we, like many Americans, are working class people 🙂 Here is a breakdown of our trip details:
    We will be driving to Dallas, TX to fly out of DFW, as this was cheaper than flying direct from OKC. Booked our flight with Spirit Airlines for around $200/pp ROUND TRIP! Bought our hotel off Groupon for around $400 total. We booked a rental car using our airline miles from past vacations and paid $0. Our WDW tickets were purchased through “Undercover Tourist” and that was around $1100 (saved us a little of gate prices). We are planning to only eat at the parks once or twice and nothing requiring reservations. Every other meal will be quick and easy. We are planning to purchase a $50 WDW gift card from Walmart for each child to spend on what they choose and that will be it for gifts. Adding to a total of around $2400 (not including our quick meals daily). Again, this is for a family of 4 for 10 nights and 11 days. Coming to around $55/pp per day!!

52. Mark S November 21, 2013 Reply

    We are a family of 4 going in mid-January 2014, with kids aged 12 and 14. We are staying 4 nights/5 days at Art of Animation Resort with 5-day passes (no park hopper) and planning on doing a half day in the parks both the day of arrival and day of departure, flying from Columbus, OH.
    Here are our costs:
    Southwest Airlines: $1039
    Tickets through undercovertourist.com via Mousesavers: $1120
    AoA Resort: $574
    No dining plan, as our kids are kind of picky eaters. We plan on shipping some snacks to save some money and we have one dining reservation at Hollywood Studios, but still plan on spending $500-600 on food.
    Not planning on a lot of $ for souvenirs, but I still expect it will end up being $150-200.
    So we’re looking at a grand total between $3400-$3500 for everything. I guess I would consider us a mix of moderate and frugal.

53. Irina Anthony November 14, 2013 Reply

    I am reading to make sure I didn’t over pay but I feel like I got a good deal. We are going for 2 weeks (13 nights) to Orlando, staying at a trip advisor’s number 1 rated family resort (Floridays). We picked this place because it has a kitchen and two bedrooms, our son still likes warmed milk so we need a stove plus we want to be able to make our own quick meals. I cant imagine eating out for 2 weeks with a 3yo. The resort has sandbox, splash area and a pool so that will be nice for our son. With savings deals we spent $3460 out of pocket now, this includes the most basic car rental, 3 plane tickets from Seattle to Orlando and the Hotel. It does not include another $190 the hotel will charge us in resort expenses. I am okay with this because I will be using the in unit washer and dryer, kitchen, plus their shuttles to Disney World and other major attractions. This was the best resort deal I can find, they are running 60% off promo for the hotel right now through travel sites.

    Right now we are out of pocket the 3460 I mentioned (hotel, flight, car).
    We project the following out of pocket expenses there:
    shopping (100 – 200)
    Resort fees (190)
    Food (300-500) We will probably eat at attractions so this will take some $ but we will also eat often in our hotel and pack fast lunches. I am just planning this budget range. When eating at restaurants, I usually share my meal with my 3yo. We only order water to drink and “cheaper” meals.
    Gas (80-120)
    Fun (1000-1200) We plan to go to 3 different parks, we will enjoy lots of free things like different beaches. I am guessing this cost, I will research groupons, call Costco (sometimes they sell resort tickets), basically research to get the best deals on tickets in advance.

    That’s around another 2k on top of what I already paid.

54. Adriana November 13, 2013 Reply

    I have 7 kids going with me and my husband 4 are above 10 and three are younger then 10 we want the cheapest hotel for a week how much would it be for our family to go

55. shawna November 7, 2013 Reply

    I love this my biggest thing right now is I know how much its going to be for the trip and the room I need to know for a family of 5 how much extra money should I bring with me if we have a dinner plan that gives us 3 meals and 2 snacks and refilled cup. I have 3 kids ages 5,6,9 at time of trip and then my husband who likes things. so I was planning my trip but need to know how much extra money to take what is the lest amount of money I am thinking somewhere from 2,000-5,000.

56. Crystal November 2, 2013 Reply

    I’m trying to plan our first trip on a budget and I’m hoping to be able to squeeze it for $2000. We’re a military family living in Pensacola and we’re moving next summer so I want to be able to go to WDW before we PCS. There are six of us (but one of us is only one so at least she’ll be cheap!) I’m budgeting to use the military four day park hoppers at $169 a piece and I’m looking to stay off site because even Shades of Green can’t give me the kind of deal that I’m finding at the vacation homes with washer and dryer. We’re driving from Pensacola (6-7 hours depending on how many times the kids have to pee) and we’re hoping to go in Feb for moderate crowds. I want to just do one character dining experience and only eat lunch in the park. I’m hoping I’ll be able to manage since we really don’t have money to burn. I already feel nine months behind since I just started planning for a trip in Feb. Your site has been so helpful but now I’m worried that we won’t be able to hit all the rides my kids want. Yikes! I didn’t know it was so much work to plan this vacation!

• Heather November 13, 2013

  Look at http://www.extraholidays.com it is wyndham timeshares they are beautiful. There are several resorts in the Orlando area~ good luck

• Stephanie December 21, 2013

  We used blueribbonmanagement.com to find our accommodations. They had a 4 bedroom condo with 3 1/2 baths and a full kitchen plus washer/dryer for $100 a night when we went the last week of February 2013. It was only about 10 minutes from Disney, and since our vehicle was parked right outside our condo door (we drove down), I think that put us as close to Disney as the people who stay in Coronado Springs, but have to walk 10 minutes to catch the bus or get to the parking garage.

57. Vacationingjim September 24, 2013 Reply

    I’ve helped many of people as I build these packages, I always recommend Allegiant Air as they’re almost always cheapest and only do direct flights (though they don’t seem to run everyday) and places like timeshare resorts when on a budget cause it does save a bunch of money. If you got money to burn a 2 bedroom place on Disney for $1100 a night is fine, but if your spending that a night you probably have your secretary book your vacations anyway. Great breakdown I did laugh a bit at the crossed out section.

58. Sarah September 21, 2013 Reply

    In November 2013, we are staying on-site at a Moderate (Coronado Springs) for 6 nights/7 days, with park hopper, and we got the free dining package that includes table service meals (we are doing several character meals). Our bill to WDW is $2400. We are driving from Illinois in a fuel-efficient car, staying at a hotwire hotel (under $50/night) each way, eating on the road and also buying some snacks and probably a couple souvenirs, so hoping to keep it around $3000 total.

    If you stay at a Value resort during free dining and just get the quick service plan, and don’t get the park hopper, you can save even more. That is what we might do next time – but this is our first trip and we wanted to do character meals, the slightly nicer resort, etc. I have heard the Value resorts are great too, and I can’t wait to check them out next time. 🙂

• Stephanie October 4, 2013

  Did you book this directly through WDW’s site? I would LOVE to get this same price. Was this for a family of four?

• Erin November 21, 2013

  Sarah,
  Hope you had a great trip. How many were in your group? We are a family of 4 going to Disney for our 1st time in February. Would u recommend staying at Coronado springs?

  Thank you.
  Erin

59. Pattie July 17, 2013 Reply

    Totally love this post! I have booked an 8 day trip with dining plan and hotel stay. Anyways , I was worried because I thought a $1500.00 budget for souvenirs and the occasional extra like Bibbity Bobbity Boo Boutique was to frugal. We are a family of three, thanks for putting my mind at ease!

60. Michelle Harless June 6, 2013 Reply

    You left out Value Resorts. They usually have better buses than moderate, great atmosphere (if you’re a kid), and allow you to have access to Extra Magic Hours. My family which I would call the Disney on Budget is going in June 18-23, seven nights, dining plan, stay at Art of Animation Little Mermaid Rooms for $3100.00. I budgeting $500.00 for travel, which is a sixteen hour trip from KY with a night on the road both ways.

61. jennifer Irving June 5, 2013 Reply

    We have 3 kids 3,7, and 10. We want a deal but we want to stay at the park. What is the best deal for 5 people? Is it staying in 2 value resort rooms or finding a wdw resort that can have 5 to a room?

    thanks so much!

• Mike August 9, 2013

  Port Orleans Riverside has a trundle bed that helps the rooms support 5 people for the same price as other 1 room moderates like Port Orleans French Quarter. Also there are some new Suites at Art of Animation that can handle 5. But those are little pricier.

• Vacationingjim September 24, 2013

  You got a few options I’d say. Look at some of the hotels on Disney that aren’t owned by Disney. Near downtown Disney there are a few and they still offer Disney transportation that runs often but normally are a bit cheaper than Disney owned and operated stays. With 5 people your in a sticky spot where you can get a roll away bed or have someone sleep on the floor (which I don’t recommend), or look outside that magical barrier at multi-bedroom places. Bunches are around that still offer transport if you need it and still have great on-site amenities. LBV resort village and spa is a personal fav, but look around there is great stuff around Disney just check the reviews cause photos can lie sometimes.

62. Hayley April 29, 2013 Reply

    I do not agree with these prices- we live in Canada and the hotel and flight alone is 5,000 for two weeks (and we are only two people)

• Shannon Albert April 29, 2013

  You’re in another country and doing 2 weeks instead of 1. Totally different situation.

• Kelly March 5, 2014

  I don’t agree with Hayley at all. I’m from Canada’s East Coast and two of us went for two weeks for just over $6,000.00. This included park tickets with the hopper option, we stayed on the Disney property and had the standard meal plan. This cost also included our travel insurance. We got a local travel agent that specialized in Disney and she was able to save us quite a bit.

• Kelly March 5, 2014

  I’m from Nova Scotia (east coast Canada) and I paid just over $6000.00 for two weeks for two people. We stayed on Disney property, included the park hopper and opted for the standard dining plan. This cost also included travel insurance.

63. Shugz Villegas April 10, 2013 Reply

    Thank you for the round-up. I have been looking for such detailed budget idea in planning our Disney trip. We are planning to go on 2015 or 2016 since our children is still young to go (4 & under) I know prices will change by then but we are now trying to save for this vacation. And this post really would help.

64. Lisa September 27, 2012 Reply

    I love it! Just what I was looking for… we are planning a trip for 10 and this was really helpful coming up with a $ goal. Thanks!

• Shannon September 27, 2012

  You’re welcome, Lisa! Glad it helped. You may also like this post about traveling w/large groups. http://wdwprepschool.com/doing-disney-duggar-style/