How to get the Best Deal on your Disney vacation
Whether you’ve been saving for years or using some of your tax money to plan a last minute trip to Walt Disney World, it’s nice to get the most bang for your buck. So here are some tips on how to get the best deal for your Disney vacation.
Check Walt Disney World Website.
Every couple of months Walt Disney World will release a new deal. Sometimes it’s a reduced cost on accommodations. Sometimes it’s a reduced price on tickets. There is always some kind of offer you should be able to take advantage of. You may have to alter your dates, or your resort location. The featured offer should show up on the main page. If not, you can find special offers under Places to Stay on the top banner. By clicking Special Offers, you’ll be brought to a list of the Special Offers currently available.
Book Now, Save Later.
If you are set on going to Disney for certain dates, and you want to secure your resort, restaurant reservations and FastPasses then book your vacation. Keep checking Walt Disney World website as your dates get closer for new deals that you can apply to your vacation. When an appropriate deal becomes available, call Disney and get them to adjust your cost. They can and will apply offers to vacations already booked.
Theme Park Tickets Separately.
You don’t have to purchase your tickets with your room package. When booking your vacation, your tickets will be automatically added. Creating a Magic Your Way package. You don’t have to do this. And it doesn’t necessarily save you money. You can purchase park tickets whenever you want, and you can even purchase some through third parties. Like Costco. Over the last number of years, Walt Disney World has offered a reduced ticket price for Canadians. You can purchase the tickets and then use them any time throughout the year. So if you know you’re planning on going during the calendar year, but don’t know exactly when yet, purchase the tickets and then you already have them. TaDa! Money paid, is sometimes money saved.
Reduce Park Days.
When booking a package, the tickets automatically generated will be the same number of days you are staying at your resort. For example, you’re arriving Sunday the 1st and leaving Saturday the 7th. Your package will automatically have a 7 day park pass. Now your flight might not arrive until 6pm on the 1st and maybe you’re flying out at noon on the 7th. So there’s no way you’ll use 7 days. So adjust the amount of days. In this scenario I would purchase a 5 day max. You could reduce this even more if you plan on heading to a water park one day or enjoying a non-park day. Want to check out the Christmas party or Halloween party? That reduces the days even more. You can always add more days on after the fact, at the reduced rate they give you for more park days. As a rule of thumb, start with less days and add more when you get there if you want to.
Dining Plan.
If you plan on eating at the fabulous Disney restaurants during the course of your vacation, opt for the Disney Dining Plan. On our last vacation we saved $250 by doing the dining plan. When you choose the dining plan, it gets lumped into your package and you’re paying for it all together instead of paying for it as you go.
Time of Year.
If you’re flexible with your dates for your Disney vacation then choosing the slowest time of year will save you money. The slowest times of year are January, February, September and October. These four months typically have the smallest crowds and therefore the prices on accommodations will be lower then busier months, such as December and July. Another benefit, is the crowds will be smaller, so you’ll have more of an enjoyable experience.
Blogs and Instagram.
There are many bloggers and instagrammers that dedicate themselves to providing people with information about Disney. Myself included. Follow along, and you’ll be sure when a deal comes out they’ll let you know. Saves you from constantly searching.
Friends, there are deals to be had. You do not have to pay face value for your Disney vacation. You just need to use a few tricks to knock off a few dollars. When your spending thousands of dollars on a vacation, every dollar counts. Happy Planning, Friends.
