Driving: If you re driving, visit AAA s Fuel Cost Calculator to determine gas costs (30 seconds). If

If you re thinking about a visit to Walt Disney World, the first thing you re likely to ask is, How much will it cost? As with all things Disney, the answer to the how much does a Disney World vacation cost question is: it depends.
The price for a Disney World vacation could be anything from about $500 to $50,000 (or more) depending on the number of people in your party, the length midtown atlanta of your visit, where you stay, what you eat, and what you plan to do with your time.
The 10-minute way gets you a ballpark budget number that s sufficient for many people s planning purposes. The 10-hour way gets you the best possible price for your needs, and is very educational, but it may not be necessary unless you re interested midtown atlanta in close budgeting, or if you have a lot of time you have on your hands.
Driving: If you re driving, visit AAA s Fuel Cost Calculator to determine gas costs (30 seconds). If you re driving more than 12ish hours, do a gut check and figure out if you ll need to stop for the night (15 seconds). If you do, choose a layover point and visit Expedia.com to find a mid-priced hotel near the highway (2 minutes).
Flying: If you re flying, visit Expedia.com. Input your start city, MCO as your destination, and your travel dates, then choose midtown atlanta the least expensive or most convenient flight (2 minutes). Text a friend who knows how much it costs to park at the airport midtown atlanta and note what she tells you (45 seconds).
midtown atlanta Use our standard estimations to determine how much you ll likely spend on food during your trip. The average price of a day’s worth of counter-service meals, plus one snack, is $45 for adults and $30 for children. The average price of a counter-service midtown atlanta breakfast and lunch, a snack, and a table-service dinner is $65 per adult and $45 per child. Multiply these prices by the number of adults and children in your party and by the number of days of your visit (1.75 minutes).
Tally the numbers you wrote down in steps 1-5. If you re feeling extra prudent, add 5-10% or so to that number to cover unforeseen circumstances and emergency Mickey bars. That s how much your Disney World vacation will cost!
Gather midtown atlanta supplies (10 minutes). This includes purchasing The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World and its Color Companion , as well as downloading the Lines app for your smartphone or tablet . You ll also gather family calendars, general office supplies, and a calculator. Set up a spreadsheet. Order Disney s free propaganda planning video . Consider purchasing the Disney Food Blog Guide to Disney World Dining .
Based on the family s priorities, use our Trip Planning 101 Guide to determine the best dates for your visit and the related pieces on whether your child should skip school for a Disney vacation to how to decide HOW LONG to make your Disney vacation (20 minutes).
Decide whether you ll be researching packages (which include the dining plan) or purchasing components of your trip separately. Many guests will find that purchasing vacation components separately makes the most financial sense, but some will feel that convenience outweighs price differences. The steps below assume that you ll price vacation components independently.
Visit the Touring Plans least expensive ticket calculator . Based on your research, input the number of days you re actually visiting the theme parks, the type of tickets midtown atlanta you need, and the number of people in your party.
Driving: If you re driving, visit AAA s Fuel Cost Calculator to determine gas costs. If you re driving more than 12ish hours, figure out if you ll need to stop for the night. If you do, choose a layover point and visit Expedia.com, Travelocity.com, Orbitz.com, travel pricing apps, specific hotel chain websites, and TripAdvisor.com to find an appropriately midtown atlanta priced hotel near the highway. Consider pricing for dining and entertainment while on route to Walt Disney World.
Flying: If you re flying, visit Expedia.com, Travelocity.com, Orbitz.com, travel pricing midtown atlanta apps, and specific midtown atlanta airline midtown atlanta websites to input a range of scenarios. Input your start city as your nearest airport, as well as additional scenarios using other airports in a 100 mile radius of your home. Input MCO ( Orlando International ) as your destination, but also try Tampa and Sanford, Florida as options. Vary your travel midtown atlanta dates to see if staying a weekend or not matters in your pricing. Choose midtown atlanta the least expensive or most convenient flight. Investigate car services, taxis, and on and off site parking fees at your departure airport and make note of those prices. Figure out if you ll need to pay airline baggage fees and add that amount to your tally (our piece on doing laundry at WDW may help with your decision).
Finalize your decision and tally the results midtown atlanta of your research. If you re driving, include the cost of gas, any mid-trip hotel stay, in-transit food and entertainment, tolls, and a buffer for wear and tear on your vehicle. If you re flying, include the cost of the flight, airline fees, parking at or transportation to your departure airport, possible car rentals and tolls at WDW, or taxi fees .
Decide whether you re going to stay at a Disney World on-site hotel or consider off-site accommodations. midtown atlanta To help you do this, skim Part Three of the 2105 Unofficial Guide, then skim these articles to help inform your decision:
Skim Part 10 of the Unofficial Guide, skim the Touring Plans main dining information page, and flip through the Disney Food Blog Guide to Disney World to gain an understanding of the types of dining available at Walt Disney midtown atlanta World. Then skim these articles:
Consider which extras you might want to add to your trip. Extras might include behind-the-scenes tours, sports activities, spa treatments, souvenir purchases, in-room gifts, midtown atlanta and more. Skim parts 19-23 of the Unofficial Guide, as well as the following articles to get a sense of whether you ll add bonus items to your trip.
Tally the results of your research in Steps 3-8. If you re feeling extra prudent, add 5-10% or so to that number to cover unforeseen circumstances and emergency Mickey bars. That s how much your Disney World vacation will cost!
In reality, most people will probably evaluate their Disney World vacation costs using some mash-up midtown atlanta of the 10 minute and 10 hour planning versions. First timers, frugal shoppers, or detail oriented folks typically midtown atlanta take more time planning their budget. (Some hardy souls will happily turn the 10 hour version into the 100 hour version. I ve done it myself once or twice.) While repeat guests probably know the drill; they understand when discounts midtown atlanta usually occur and are poised to take advantage of them.
Again, remember that the price for a Disney vacation ranges from just a few hundred dollars for a single person staying for a day or two at budget accommodations midtown atlanta in the off season, on up to tens of thousands of dollars for a large family making an extended stay at deluxe accommodations in the peak season. Your choices will inform how much YOU spend.
Which method do you use to price your Disney Vacation? Quick and dirty or into the weeds? If you re a frequent WDW guest, has your budgeting strategy changed since your first visits? If you were guiding a new guest on how to plan their Disney vacation midtown atlanta budget, what would you recommend? Let us know in the comments below.
In step 7 I would add Memory Maker as a potential extra. I m sure there are lots of others, but if you book a room online you ll see the memory maker advertisements, and it would be nice to know what it is in advance.
I would also add a step 0: Figure midtown atlanta out what your goal is for the vacation. Someone who wants a week of excitement for the lowest price is going to make very different choices from someone who wants to relax and ignore the outside world for a week, budget be damned. Once you figure out why you re going it becomes easier to make the other decisions.
This seems to approach budgeting your trip based on purchasing hotel/tickets separately. If a family of four is travelling, one of the best deals you can get is the Free Disney Dining Plan package. I think you really need to mention certain disney package deals can be a really great buy. Your link to mousesavers vacation package writeup hardly mentions it at all.
Well, yes, if you re one of the very few Disney guests who can take advantage of FL resident tickets, they re a great deal. Likewise, if you re one of the few who can take advantage of Shades midtown atlanta of Green, it s one of the best deals for on-site hotels. They aren t typically included in these though it s like listing Club 33 as a place you should try to go in Disneyland simply midtown atlanta not an option for most guests.
There are actually quite a few Floridians (like me) with annual passes who go do WDW very frequently. I usually make my way over to the world for the day about twice a month. A few times a year I may splurge and spend the weekend or stay overnight
The dining plan does not work for every family. You need to look at the age of kids (are they considered adults now), how much each person eats (not everyone eats dessert for example), and the room rates at the time. Often you can save more by paying out of pocket for food and getting a better room rate. For an upcoming trip where I had a pin for free dining, I actually saved more with a room rate and buying tickets from a third party vendor. You have to run the numbers for your particular family, know where you are going to eat before just saying a package is the best.
Thank you ! Thank you! I have been sending links to old articles of yours on the Disney food blog to help a friend determine character meals for her kids. This is a great resource to link on lots of topics. midtown atlanta I like to remind friends that a value resort may not be one when you consider longer bus rides ( more stops) and only getting the basic dining plan. Often a moderate resort can come down to only $15 more a day than value due to larger discount off on rooms at a moderate compared to a value.