Disney is quite the magical destination and there is fun to be had throughout every inch of all the theme parks. However, if you are not careful, any of those Disney theme parks will make your money magically disappear too!
While Disney theme parks are worth almost all the money that they cost, there are thankfully many ways that you can save some of your cash every time that you visit. You may need to plan ahead to see some of these savings or travel at a different time than you planned, but the amount of money that you save will be worth it all!
Here are 8 ways to save money on Disney theme parks:
1. Go Longer than a Day
A single ticket to a Disney theme park can cost approximately $109 and that is only for one park. If you add a park hopper option onto that ticket, it is $60 more, and you will find yourself rushing from park to park. While that might not seem like a terrible price, the price the you pay per day of your visit goes down with the number of days that you purchase.
Each day of fun can be as low as $83 per day if you choose to go for five days without a park hopper feature. If you decide that you want the park hopper flexibility, then it would be $99 per day when you go for five days. That is a huge savings for a ton of fun!
2. Take Advantage of Your Young Children
If you have children who are under the age of three, you should take advantage of that and plan your trip now! Yes, your young children will probably not remember anything that they did during a visit when they are that young, but you will see the savings! Children under the age of three are admitted to Disney theme parks for free, which means you can save a ton of money when you go with them at that age.
3. Purchase Disney Gift Cards at Target
Target is a little-known gem when it comes to purchasing Disney gift cards, but only if you have their Red Card. When you use your Red Card to make your Disney gift card purchase, you will save five percent off the total amount that you are purchasing. Five percent may not seem like much, but when you consider how much that is with a purchase of $500 or $1,000, the savings is a little more significant.
I recommend going into Target and purchasing a couple gift cards at a time to spread out your spending and then using them to pay for your trip later on. This is an excellent way to allow you to save up for your trip. BJ’s also offers a similar offer on their website, which members can take advantage of.
4. Utilize the Disney Chase Visa Card
If you have excellent credit and know that you can pay this credit card bill off every month, then a Disney Chase Visa card is an excellent way to get reward points that you can then use for your Disney vacation. I recommend using this card to pay for everything that you normally buy or pay for each month and then paying the bill in full when you receive it.
5. Check for the Cheapest Dates
Disney has determined when they are the busiest and have adjusted their prices accordingly. Therefore, one of the easiest ways that you can save money for your Disney theme park vacation is to find out when the cheapest tickets are available.
All you need to do is head over to Disney’s website and click through the calendar to see what the prices are for the times that you are considering visiting. You can then choose the cheapest dates and save money right away.
6. Consider Attending a Special Event
The prices for tickets for special events at Disney theme parks are much less than regular tickets, yet you still get all the fun! They have special events a couple times a year, but a personal favorite is the Christmas one. When you purchase a ticket for that event, you do not get to enter the park until four in the afternoon. However, you get to stay until midnight and ride the attractions long after the sun sets. It is not that crowded at that point, as regular ticketed guests have left for the day. The lines are reasonable, and you will not need to wait for more than a few minutes to get on any of them.
7. Add Park Hopper Plus for Water Park Visits
It can get pricey to pay for water park tickets on top of your regular Disney theme park tickets. Therefore, if you plan on going to the water park once or twice during your visit, you are better off adding the park hopper plus pass to your ticket.
What you pay for that upgrade will be much less than what you would have paid for one day at the water park.
8. Consider a Disney Vacation Package
Accommodations near Disney, as well as theme park tickets, can cost a pretty penny and you wouldn’t have even added in the cost of food yet. An easy way to save some cash is to take advantage of one of the many Disney vacation packages. These packages will allow you to pay one low price for your room, theme park tickets, and even your food. The best part is that Disney always offers amazing deals with these packages, so you can save even more! When you take advantage of these deals, you will also be allowed to enter the parks an hour earlier than anyone else, because you will be staying on Disney property.
These are only eight of the ways that you can save a ton of money while visiting the Disney theme parks. There are probably a few others that you will learn about as you are planning your trip or as you are talking to others who have taken advantage of certain savings on their trips and are willing to share their knowledge with you. I would love to hear about any other hot saving methods at Disney theme parks, so feel free to share them with me!
