Big spender or super saver? There's a Disney World™ trip for you

Here is the truth: Disney World™ in Orlando, Florida is expensive. But, it's not more (or less) expensive than other bucket list trip. And make no mistake, this is a bucket list experience. It's a right of passage.

At four, my daughter refused to watch movies, but she yet was obsessed with Elsa. So, my husband and I took her to Disneyland to meet Elsa and Anna, to see the live show and feel the princess magic. Fast forward six years, and the memory remains so core to us that when we stepped on the Frozen ride at Epcot and Ana started singing "for the first time in forever", we looked at each other with tears in our eyes.

That trip we did when she was four? The whole thing cost us about $1500, and it was perfect. 

Disney World is much pricier, but the principle remains: you can find a way to do the trip your way, on your budget. For example you can mix and match your budgeting options. Stay in a cheaper resort, but book Lighting Lane passes. Pack in all your meals, but book one character dining dinner (or do a character breakfast — it's cheaper and just as fun). Most importantly, do the planning but don’t worry too much — Disney meets you where you are.

Start by thinking about your accommodation

When you start planning a trip to Disney World, start with accommodation. This is a complete destination in itself. Before you start looking in greater Orlando for a place to stay, just don’t. If you book at a Disney resort, your parking (if you’re driving in) and all your transportation within Disney World are included. If you’re flying in, there are plenty of transport options from the airport (for an extra fee). Not only that, but you can get into the parks early and stay later. Trust me it's worth it. 

Save: Like to camp? Book a tent or RV site at Fort Wilderness. You can even bring your beloved pet along for the fun. People love to decorate their sites and get to know their neighbors. There is a huge pool with a water slide and experiences like horseback riding and archery. There is a campfire sing-a-long with Chip and Dale, and you can roast marshmallows under the stars. Wanna know how to get to Magic Kingdom? You ride a boat. Isn’t that so cool? 

Spend: If you’re traveling with the kids and hotels are more your speed, check out Art of Animation. This resort smacks of Disney fun from entry all the way through to your hotel shower. The lobby is lined with larger-than-life sketches of favorite characters pulled from the Disney vault. The pool is filled with Nemo and all his friends. Ursula and King Triton square off in grandiose form, and the rooms are themed. Like really themed. If you ever wanted to spend a night under the sea — this is the place to be. The rooms are on the smaller side, but there are a variety in different configurations, so you can find the one that suits your family best.

Spend more: Animal Kingdom Lodge has my heart. If you’re not trying to stay in a safari park can we even be friends? I’m kidding. A little. There are so many resorts to splurge on at Disney and they all have their own special flair, but if you want to feel like Snow White and fling open your curtains every morning to bird song and watch a slow parade of giraffes glide past your balcony while you sip coffee, I recommend. One morning my kids and I sat on the balcony in our jammies and exclaimed as animal after animal slowly munched their way towards us. On the balcony above us we overheard small children chatting, their tiny voices naming the antelope Annie and Andy made my heart melt into a love puddle. 

But what I cherished at Animal Kingdom Lodge the most was that this resort is so quiet and calm. The music is subtle, and the lighting is a soft yellow, like it's always golden hour on the Savannah and after the crush and rush that is a Disney theme park, this gentle oasis felt like a balm. 

Book your park tickets

Before discussing how many days in the parks, let's talk about Lightning Lanes. I think you should purchase at least one Lightning Lane single pass. If you have tiny humans and don’t need to do the more intense roller coasters, this advice is not for you, but if even one person in your party wants to ride Rise of the Resistance (and I highly recommend you do) you should purchase a Lightning Lane single-pass for it. Time equals money and if you spend an hour and a half in line for a ride, you’ve wasted a major part of your day. 

For families with tiny humans, I recommend getting Lightning Lane Multi Passes. You know you don’t want to wait an hour to ride Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. This will get you into the rides you really want to do and the other standby lines hover between 30 and 45 minutes, and because this is Disney World even the lines convince you the magic is real. 

Save: Get a three-day package with at least one Park Hopper day and Lightning Lanes. You fly in early one morning, drop your bags at the resort you’ve booked and head straight to Magic Kingdom. You can do the second day at Animal Kingdom with an evening at the pool or head back to Magic Kingdom for fireworks and after-dark rides. Use the third day to split between Hollywood Studios and Epcot. If you can manage to fly out late on the fourth day you can squeeze in one more park visit, otherwise, you’ve had three nights in the resort and three days at the park, and I bet you’ll be exhausted. We were. Read about how we did this quick trip here.

Spend: If you have the time, and money, get theme park tickets for four full days and five nights at your resort. If you can squeeze in a fifth day/sixth night, I highly recommend a day just at the resort. But with four full days, you can spend one solid day in each park, which feels downright leisurely. Park Hopper passes are really great for this too. We loved leaving for dinner and then going to a different park in the evenings. It made the scheduling less stressful for me and allowed it all to feel a bit more flexible. I will interject my experience here. My four-year-old was not into this trip like his sister was when she was four. He was great; he had fun, but with more time at the pool and less time in the park, I think his experience would have been better. 

Spend more: Stay a week and get Park Hopper passes with Lightning Lanes Multi Passes and also book the single Lightning Lanes for all the most sought-after rides. Honestly, you could easily fill seven days with Disney magic and still wouldn’t have done everything it offers. But, with five to six you can have a resort day. You can leave the parks early every day and go back to the hotel for a siesta and a swim before heading out for a nice dinner and an evening of rides at Magic Kingdom. You can sink into a Disney experience as if it is your life, and that, my friends, is adding pixie dust to dreams to make them come true.

Decide on your dining options

Disney has more than 550 food vendors on the property, including quick service carts, mid-range restaurants and even a Michelin-star restaurant. Meaning you can eat whatever and however you want. For more peaceful dining experiences, check out the restaurants at the resorts. No matter where you’re staying, you can make a reservation at one of these. 

Save: Did you know you can Instacart your food to any Disney World resort? Most of them have in-room refrigerators or drink coolers that you can use to keep food cold. Disney is more than happy for you to bring your picnic to the theme parks (leave your glass containers at home), plus water bottles and anything else that is non-alcoholic. There are plenty of places to refill your water bottle, so bring your own.

Here’s a tip: there is a lovely spot for a picnic at Hub Lawn near the Crystal Palace at Magic Kingdom, or head to Tom Sawyer’s Island — there are no rides so it stays calm and is the perfect place to settle down for a bit. 

You can purchase a refillable popcorn bucket for $14.99 and each time you refill it it costs $2.99. We kept ours full and enjoyed it between rides. You can also purchase a lidded mug for $21 that you can use to fill up (for free) at any self-service soda fountain in the parks or resorts. Finally, any kiosks selling food can give you up to two cups of ice water. 

Spend: Disney is chock full of quick-service stands, and they all sell different things, making it possible for each stand to do their one thing well. The spring rolls outside Adventureland in Magic Kingdom are a perennial favorite. The fish tacos from the Cantina in Hollywood Studios made a wonderful lunch, and I’ve heard great things about the tacos from Smiling Crocodile in Animal Kingdom. There are blogs about this, so I don't need to tell you which snacks and treats to try around the parks; however, I will encourage you to look at the quick-serve options at the resorts as well. You may find something you’d love to try at a resort you’re not staying at. 

Hot tip: Don’t skimp on the frozen lemonade and popsicles. They kept us going. 

Spend more: The upscale, sit-down dining restaurants at Disney World are thoughtfully designed and add a bit of sophistication to the kitsch. For an amazing view book a window table at Ohana at The Polynesian just before sunset, then make your way to the beach area outside to watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks. The bread service at Sanaa at Animal Kingdom Lodge was recommended to me three times by three different people, and it did not disappoint. But look at the options and book a table at a place that speaks to you, both with the menus and the ambiance, because you can’t go wrong. If fine dining is your thing, this is a worthy splurge.

Let’s talk about Character Dining

If you’re wondering if Character Dining is even necessary, stop wondering. This is the best opportunity to meet characters in a relaxed and easy setting. My kids had a great time dancing with Minnie Mouse and having Mickey come to their table to sign their autograph books. They felt so incredibly special.

Save: Book a breakfast. These are the least expensive Character Dining options at Disney World and the breakfast is a fun and easy meal to get started on the right Disney foot. The Minnie’s Beach Bash Breakfast at the Cape May Resort is the least expensive. The New England beach theme is charming and Minnie, Daisy, Donald and Goofy will entertain you and your family while you enjoy the breakfast buffet. 

Spend: If you want to do it and can handle the budget, look at Chef Mickey’s. Breakfast is served until 12:30pm and costs $54 per adult and $34 per child (3-9 years). Dinner starts at 4:30pm and is $66 per adult and $42 per child. It's a traditional buffet, with so many options for food that tastes better than a typical buffet, in my opinion. There was a tofu curry that I quite enjoyed. But I liked this one because you get to meet the fab five: Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Pluto. Plus, it's at the Contemporary resort, which has the coolest mid-mod design, and you can ride the monorail from Magic Kingdom, which is easy to work into a day at Magic Kingdom.

If princesses are more the goal, check out 1900 Park Fare in the Grand Floridian.  You get to meet Tiana, Aladdin, Cinderella and Mirabelle, which is a great collection of favorite characters. 

Spend more: Can we say Cinderella’s Castle? The ultimate splurge at Disney World is a dining experience at Cinderella Castle. This is one of the only ways to get to go into the castle and it is a grand three-course dining experience set in an idyllic setting. You’ll meet any number of princesses, and although who makes an appearance is subject to change, Cinderella, Snow White, Jasmine, Aurora and Ariel are almost always there. Might I suggest booking your reservation right after a trip to the Bibbity Bobbity Bootique? Costumes are highly recommended. 

You know you want a souvenir 

Save: The pins. Pin trading is an inexpensive and easy way to engage with the parks. Buy a box of trader pins and every time you see the felt Mickey ears at a kiosk you can check to see if there is a pin that calls to you. Simply put one of the ones you’re willing to trade on the board and take the one you love. You can add to your collection with boxes or buy individual ones that start at $12.99. 

My daughter was super interested in pin trading, but we knew nothing about it. We walked up to a pin trading kiosk in Animal Kingdom and asked what it was all about. The cast member reached into his pocket, pulled out three pins for her and said, “I love getting people started on trading.” She took those three pins, chatted with some other pin traders, turned three into four and ended up with two Tinker Bells, an Alice, and a Cinderella pin over the course of our stay. The search for the best trades added value to our trip and cost us nothing. 

Spend: Ears and an autograph book. In my opinion a set of Minnie or Mickey ears and an autograph book is the perfect souvenir. I like the autograph books that are sold at the Dinsey Resorts because they all have sleeves for photographs. We look at our old one all the time and we’ve been home for three days and my kids are pestering me to print out their photos. I place this here because a Minnie headband, autograph book and pen cost me $94, which is pretty pricey. But the memories it created are exactly what we were going for. Experience + nostalgic souvenirs = a win for our family. 

Spend more: Make an appointment for the Bibbity Bobbity Bootique. Your littles will be transformed into the princess or prince of their choice. As they walk around the parks, they will feel as if they have fallen through the imagination portal and landed right smack in the middle of their dreams. And if you’re worried, all are welcome. If you have a princess-loving little one, this is for them.  When she was four, my daughter picked Tinker Bell. She wore the costume for three days, got called "Your Highness" everywhere she went, and Peter Pan took her by the hand, called her Tink and marched with her around the park. When I say she was spellbound, I mean this child believed she was officially Tinker Bell. It was worth the splurge.

You can also design your own lightsaber at Savi’s workshop at Hollywood Studios. This is particularly fun for all the fans of that galaxy far, far away. You get ushered into a secret studio and customize all the different parts of your sabre until you are ready to join the Resistance and learn how to use The Force. 

Finally, the MagicBand+ is totally a Disney nerd thing, but being able to get into all the parks, scan for the photographs and get into my room from this watch-like band made me feel like such an insider, which was a feeling I deeply appreciated.