Pros & Cons with the ways to save for Disney World

Posted on by Chelsea

If you have done any type of research on ways to save for Disney, you are probably familiar with some of these tips that many bloggers mention.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with these tips! When you start to plan a Disney vacation, you learn very quickly that it is not a cheap vacation. Magical? Yes! Budget friendly? No. There are many great ideas that could save save you hundreds of dollars BUT if you have never been to the most magical place on earth, you need to know what to expect and have realistic expectations. In this article I go over the pros and cons on these popular ways to save for future Walt Disney World vacation!

1. Bring Your Own Food into the Parks

Yes, you can pack an entire 4 course meal if you so wish.  If you are someone who absolutely cannot stand waiting in line for anything, let alone when you’re starving, just make your own sandwiches in your resort room and just take it with you. Large families do this all the time and it’s totally fine.  Keep in mind that you will have to carry this with you and if you plan on going to Magic Kingdom as early as possible and stay until the park is empty, your arms are going to get tired. Theme park food as come a long way with quality and taste.  It’s not just popcorn and hotdogs although those are available!  Part of the experience is the food in my opinion. The idea of bringing your own sandwiches is a great one especially for large families but large families means carrying large amounts of food and on that fourth or fifth day, you might get a little jealous of the family next to eating a BBQ platter and the smell wafting in your face. If you are totally fine with carrying bag of food all day,  go for it. There are lockers available but you do have to pay for them and they are at the front gate, it is worth to do this? If it is, go for it but have you ever had the pot roast at Liberty Tree, the  braised short ribs, or the Char sui Pork ? Disney makes a great New York Strip.  Do yourself a favor and budget for a couple of Table Service meals. It also a guaranteed way to take a break in the AC and let your server take care of you. The good news, I can help you that 😉. 

2.  Staying at cheapest “rack room” price you find online.

Again, there is nothing wrong with staying at non-Disney hotel, I’ve done it myself a few times. Main Street Travel Co has some really awesome condos available for those who need a full kitchen and don’t want the onsite benefits as well as nearby hotels. What is wrong is grabbing that $40/ night motel room before researching the place.  Many, many hotels in Orlando can be misleading.  Every hotel in Orlando while advertise that they are “minutes” or even “less than 5 miles” from the Parks and that may be true but Walt Disney property is laid across 29 square miles and “minutes” can be anywhere from 20 to 90 minutes before you get to the front gate of Hollywood Studios. “Rack Room” is the maximum price a hotel can charge charge for a room and many times you can find discounts which is a good thing but if the published price is already $40 a night, you may want to consider the quality and location your money is getting you. It sounds like a steal but did you factor in your time and cost of traveling to get there every morning, Many Disney guests will take a break by the pool when the afternoon gets hot. That can take ALOT of your time staying offsite, sometimes impossible.  Sometimes you can end up paying the same price for what it would to have stayed at an onsite resort. You don’t to come home needing a vacation from your vacation!

Disney World is big and it takes time to get from one place to another.  Know what you are paying for and one of my jobs as a travel agent at is helping you weed out the tourist dump holes and give you options and recommendations. You don’t have to say yes but dude, why wouldn’t you? I do the dirty work for you. I’ve been going to Disney World since i was kid in 19— well, I don’t want to give my age away, but trust, I’ve been doing Disney for awhile! Let me give you insider tips to be like a pro in the parks and the best part…..it’s doesn’t cost you anything extra! You can book your own vacation but having a Disney Boss in your corner lessens the feeling of FOMO when you get there. 

3. Disney Gift Cards

Paying $475 for a $500 gift card sounds amazing and it is possible to do and you can use them toward your Disney Vacation Package.  Yep, room, tickets and dining! If you are a member of a wholesale store like, Sam’s, BJ’s, or Costco, you can save 4-5% of gift cards. It may not sound like much but when you start to add it up, $2,000 will only cost you $1900.  $100 can be an entire extra meal for some.  The one drawback this option has is if you need to cancel your Disney vacation because of an unexpected financial reason, your refunds will go back on the Disney gift cards. For many Disney fans, this really isn’t a problem. Gift Cards don’t expire and if you know without a doubt that you will be going to Disney World come hell or high water, this simply allows you more time to save up and possible even add more adventure to your vacation like taking a VIP tour or attending a Special Event like After Hours. You could stay at a more luxurious resort with more money saved.  We all know that monorail resorts are the most expensive but have you ever thought about staying  at a skyliner resort? 

4. Credit Cards

Did you cringe a little?  I know I did. Many credit card offer some pretty good cash back rewards.  If you search for best credit cards to use for a Disney World vacation, the 3 most popular will probably be through Chase bank: Chase Sapphire Preferred®, Southwest Rapid Rewards® Credit Card and the Disney® Visa® Card. I personally use the Disney Visa for the park discounts and Southwest Rapid Rewards for points toward free airfare.. As far as  general cash back rewards, it is not the best but if you go to Disney World as often as me, it definitely a money saver. The extra savings and perks in the parks are worth it for me. Note: If you are financially responsible and budget your household account wisely, you can benefit from cash back rewards, but unless you pay it off every month, it will not be saving you anything. It is only saving you money if you pay it off each month for items that you normally would have to buy. 

Use credit cards responsibly for free money!

5. Swagbucks/ Shopkick/ TopCashBack

These are cash back websites that allows you to earn points by scanning items in the stores, submitting receipts, purchasing online or just simply walking in. Depending on how much time you invest (and remember) and what your grocery budget is each month, this can earn you some Disney gift cards for free. Swagbucks is more about doing surveys or watching videos but the rewards are still there if you shop online.  I personally use Shopkick and Swagbucks and while I generally don’t spend alot of time on the apps, it has earned me two $25 Disney gift cards  in the last year and I’m currently working on the third one. That will cover my Starbucks needs on my next trip! If you don’t have Shopkick yet, you can earn 250 kicks just after your first walk-in or scan with the code, KICK718201.  You can use the referral link to sign up for Swagbucks here.  TopCashBack is another cashback website, while I have not personally used, have heard great things about and seems to be popular with Disney fans.

6. Travel Agents who are “Earmarked”

Well, of course I’m going to plug myself on my own page! 
My services are FREE. I do not charge extra to book your package, reserve your dining, and plan your strategy to maximize your time at the the most magical place on earth. I am an independent contractor with Platinum Mouse Vacation, an authorized Disney vacation planner and earmarked.  Using a travel agency that is an authorized Disney planner, makes a big difference in planning and sometimes saving. It means that we have extensively gone through Disney’s training and more than likely, been a few times to their parks. Okay,  maybe more than a few. Going through a travel agency that is not authorized, may leave you out of the loop for promotions and discounts later. I’ll leave it at that and if you are considering a trip, you can request a quote below. It asks several questions to get the most accurate price your vacation needs and takes about 10 minutes. If you have questions you call, email, or message me through my Facebook page.

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