Walt Disney World- Savings Discovered

Disney – Savings Discovered

 

 

   When we were at Disney World in February, one of the Rainforest Café waiters told us the best times to come to Disney!  He suggested visiting Disney toward the end of January/ beginning of February and also in September right after school starts.  Of course, In my Disney-addicted head, I immediately thought, “ we’re planning a vacation for September!”

 

 

    We all love Disney World.  It’s one of our favorite vacations, and somewhere that I want to take the kids every year till they feel they are “too old” ( I’m 26 and will NEVER  be too old for Disney), and then they can go every couple of years; although I still think my husband and I will continue to go every year!

     As we returned home,  my husband and I started talking about planning a trip for September. We also decided that once a year to Disney is how we wanted to do our vacations, so of course we then decided to plan for September 2014 ( ONLY 13 months, 17 days, 15 hours, 33 minutes, and 45, 44, 43…. seconds). Being the Disney World addict that I am, of course I want to start planning our trip now  to get a general  idea of what it is going to cost us because we only have a little over a year! We like to plan ahead for trips so every vacation can be perfect so that we can do whatever we want and buy whatever we desire while we are away.  In order to do that, we need a lot of time to save!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

     In planning our Disney 2014 trip, I have already found some great information.  With the purchase of tickets and hotel accommodations for September, Disney offers a FREE DINING PLAN! That alone will save so much money!!! You will have a few options to choose from for accommodations and ticketing and that will help you determine which Disney Dining Plan is best for you as well.

-          You must stay 5 nights/ 6 days

-          You will get a Quick Service Dining Plan if you stay at a Value Resort and a stay at any of the other hotels, Moderate, Deluxe Resort, or Deluxe Villa Resort, will receive a Free Disney Dining Plan which will also give you the option to eat at some amazing restaurants that are available at Disney - even the Character Meals are included.

Now, if you aren’t familiar with the Disney Quick Service Plan or the Disney Dining Plan, check them out here- Disney Dining Plans . These are the 2013 Dining Plans but they should stay very similar.

 

 

 

 

    My family and I always go with the Disney Dining Plan because we really enjoy trying out all the restaurants and the kids love the character ones!  Without the Dining Plan, the meals for a family of 4 are always $100+. With the Dining Plan,  the cost of your meal has been covered and  a dessert is included! YUMMM!

 

 

 

   We usually stay at a Disney Value Resort. So far, we have stayed at Pop Century, All- Star Movies, and the Art of Animation! All of the hotels are gorgeous.  As a bonus, if you are a hotel guest on the Disney property, you can also visit all of the other hotels, take a look around  and see  what they all have to offer!

 

     With the Disney Dining Plan only being available at the Moderate, Deluxe Resorts, and Deluxe Villa Resorts, that is what we will be choosing for our vacation in September 2014; however, I will quote the prices for both the Value Resorts and the Moderate Resorts.

    Our last vacation for a week at the Disney Art of Animation Hotel with 5 people ( my mother went with us) cost $4500.00 which is really not bad at all given that it included the  tickets, the hotel, and the food.  This ended up being $120 per person per day that we were there and included everything that we needed.  When I began checking the prices for what it would potentially cost us in September 2014, I was astonished at the difference.
     To go during the second week  in September for 7 days and 6 nights, staying at the All-Star Movies Resort, 7-day tickets with Waterpark and More tickets, and Quick Service Dining included for a family of 4 would cost $2232.50. That is an amazing deal!!!! You could lower that even more if you wanted to drop your tickets down to less days (be careful of the special offer, make sure you stay within their limits). I highly suggest this Disney Vacation package. These really are probably the cheapest Disney rates you will find. 

   On our next  vacation we really want to stay at the beautiful Polynesian Resort. It has an amazing view of the Magic Kingdom and also of the fireworks each and every night!  Now if it were a traditional Disney trip, the above vacation package with food included would more  likely be about $4000+. In one respect, of course, I want to save money. But in another, I look at it as we could spend what we normally would yet get to stay at a hotel we normally would not be able to afford and still save about $2000+. This will definitely be a topic to discuss with my husband because it is so important to us to make everlasting memories for our family.  We also will talk about staying at other hotels, but it’s never really in our budget.  Again, this would be one way we  could enjoy a hotel we wouldn’t normally be able to stay at and still pay less than we did on our previous vacation.
     There are many other ways of going on a Disney Vacation and saving lots of money.  You just have to take the time to look at all the options available to you. There are so many extra activities available at Disney also. Just plan it out and plan what is best for you and your family! I will definitely keep everyone updated on how the trip planning goes. We have several other vacations we’re planning on between now and then; however, as I said, the Disney planning and countdown have begun!
     Also, if you have any questions concerning Disney, where to stay, what to eat, what to do… feel free to ask! If I don’t know the answer, I will know where to find it or who to ask! You’re never too old for Disney, and, personally, I never get tired of seeing the smiles on my children’s faces and the sparkle in their eyes! Just wait, you will see it the moment they see their favorite character or the Magic Kingdom down at the end of Main Street.

Walt Disney World – we will see you real soon!!