1. Travel during value season

The easiest way to save money on your vacation is to visit during the value or off peak season. At certain times of the year Disney offers value rates at it’s Resort hotels offering considerable savings. The other bonus to travelling during these off peak seasons is that the crowds are lower meaning you can see and do more during your stay.

2. Stay offsite

Another alternative is to stay in a hotel in the surrounding area. Kissimmee, Lake Buena Vista and International Drive are all within a few miles of the Disney World Resort and you can find rooms for less than $69 a night.

If there are more than three people in your party you might want to consider renting a private home in the Kissimmee area. You’ll have much more space without spending a lot more than you would for a hotel room, and with kitchen facilities you can save money on eating during your vacation. Many homes also come with private pools, perfect for cooling off after a day at the parks.

3. Use a Disney Vacation Planner

It is possible to seek out discounts on the Internet but one of the best ways to save money when booking your vacation is to use a Disney vacation planner like Whimsical World Travel. The Concierge team have access to the latest Disney World discounts and will help you book your vacation at no extra charge to you. Better still if a discount becomes available after you have booked your trip they can apply it to your booking and save you even more money!

4. Save money on your park tickets

Many people waste hundreds of dollars on their themepark tickets because they don’t take the time out to think about what they actually want to do on vacation. The ticket options can appear confusing at first but once you understand the pick and mix approach it is possible to tailor a ticket that suits your family’s plans without wasting your money.

There you have it, four ways you can save money and make your dream Disney World vacation more affordable.

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1. Affordable Disney Vacations – 5 Ways to Save Money
2. Disney World Vacation Tips – How To Avoid Parking Fees
3. Ten Top Tips for Making the Most of Your Disney Vacation
4. 5 Ways to Cut the Costs of Your Disney World Vacation
5. Affordable Trips To Disney World

When you are planning your Disney vacation you need to think about eating – after all dining costs will probably amount for a significant amount of your vacation budget. These days most Disney vacation packages come with the Disney Dining Plan option.

All of the hotels in the Walt Disney World Resort are booked on a room only basis – but with the Disney Dining Plan you can make you vacation package feel like an all-inclusive option.

The Disney Dining Plan is an easy and affordable way to pay for your snacks, quick counter service meals, and table service meals up front before your vacation. The plan will allow you to eat at some of the Disney World Resort’s most renowned restaurant without worrying about how you will pay the bill after dinner! From contemporary to casual, elegant to enchanting, there is something to suit all styles and schedules and you can even dine with your favourite Disney characters at some of the venues.

The Disney Dining Plan will be perfect for you if:

• You would like a convenient and flexible way to budget for your meals during your Disney vacation
• You would enjoy the choice offered by the 100 participating restaurants throughout the whole of Walt Disney World, including the Disney Parks and Hotels.
• You don’t want to worry about carrying cash on your vacation.
• You want to save 20% on Quick Counter Service meals or 40% with the Disney Deluxe Dining Plan.

It’s really easy too:

• Simply present your Key to the World card (your hotel room key) to your server before you order. The card includes your family’s alloted meal credits electronically.
• You can easily track your meals and remaining credits with the receipt that your server will give to you.
• You will be given a set number of snack and meal credits and can redeem these as you choose throughout your Disney vacation.

Keep in mind that many of the table service restaurants are extremely popular so you will need to make reservations. Call 407-WDW-DINE (939-3463) up to 90 days in advance to make your dining reservations.

Find out more about how you can book the Disney Dining Plan with your Disney vacation package.

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2. Disney Dining
3. Disney Launches Online Advanced Dining Reservation System
4. Book Your Disney Dining Reservations 180 Days Before You Travel
5. Walt Disney World Packages – Free Disney Dining Plan

If you’re staying at one of the Walt Disney World Resorts you may decide to take a vacation from driving – and simply use Disney Transport to get between your resort and the parks. But how do you get from the airport to your hotel and back again?

That’s where Disney’s Magical Express Transportation comes in.

Forget about waiting in baggage claim watching cases go round and round on the conveyor belt – simply exit the airport and board the Magical Express bus and Disney will retrieve your bags and deliver them directly to your room. At the end of your vacation they’ll transport you and your bags back to the airport.

How it works

1. Make a Magical Express reservation online or by calling the Disney Reservation Center.
2. They will send you some luggage tags which you will need to attach to your luggage.
3. You will also receive some vouchers which you will need to take with you to the airport.
4. When you land at Orlando International Airport skip past baggage claim and go to the Disney Welcome Center (Side B – level 1).
5. Board the air-conditioned motor coach and sit back and enjoy the journey to your Disney Resort. The journey will take between 45 and 75 minutes and stop at up to three Resorts.
6. Disney will collect your luggage and deliver it directly to your hotel room within three hours of check in.
7. At the end of your vacation board the coach and it will transport you back to Orlando International.
8. You may be eligible to check your luggage and receive your boarding passes using the Resort Airline Check In Service.

It’s as simple as that!

Remember that your luggage may arrive at the resort up to three hours after you do so you might want to pack a swim suit in your hand luggage. If you are planning on heading straight for the parks ensure you have everything you need in your hand luggage.

If you prefer to collect your bags yourself you can do that – they’ll simply load them onto your coach with you.

Oh and perhaps the most important point – Disney’s Magical Express is currently free for all Walt Disney World Resort guests arriving into Orlando International Airport.

More detailed information can be found here.

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5. The pros and cons of staying on Disney World property

Pros of staying off site

• Well the obvious one is cost – there are plenty of hotels, motels and private villa rentals available for less than the cost of staying in a Disney Resort
• Easier to visit other attractions – there is life outside Disney World and you can choose your location depending upon the other attractions you want to visit on your trip – such as Sea World, Universal Studios, or the malls!
• Access to cheaper restaurants – there are lots of “chain” eateries available to help you keep the costs down
• More space – if you are travelling as a family then you may want to consider a villa – why cram yourselves into a hotel room when for a similar price you can have a whole house??
• Breakfast facilities – you need to be at the parks before opening to avoid the lines – so you don’t want to waste valuable time eating breakfast in a restaurant – so choose a villa or a suite with kitchen facilities and you can fix yourself toast and cereal instead
• Private pool – most villas come with private pools – so there’s no fighting over the sun loungers ;0)

Cons of staying off site

• You’ll need a car (I don’t really see this as a con but some people can’t/don’t like to drive on holiday) – although you can get a coach or town car transfer from the airport, and many hotels do shuttle buses to Disney and the other parks you’ll be pretty stranded without your own transport
• Takes longer to get to the parks – so you’ll have to forfeit a little of that lie-in!
• No Disney perks – you’ll miss out on things like Extra Magic Hours
• You’ll need to stick with your party – when relying on a car it’s less easy to split up
• No Disney Magic – the extra magic you’ll experience by staying in a Disney resort just can’t be found anywhere else!

So there you have it – personally I am a BIG fan of staying off property; we usually hire a private villa and I love the convenience of the kitchen, the pool, and the extra space! We stay in Kissimmee and from most of the villa locations you can still be at the park gates within 20-25 minutes.

That being said we travel as a couple – and as we holiday there so often we have just invested in the Disney Vacation Club programme (timeshare) which gives us the luxury of a villa on Disney Property – the best of both worlds!

If you are planning a trip and you are looking for a private villa with a pool then you really can’t go wrong with this 4-bed in Cumbrian Lakes, Kissimmee. We stayed there for three weeks in May 2007 and loved it; I’ve stayed in a lot of villas over the years and this one put all of the others to shame – if we weren’t in the DVC system now I’d want to stay there every trip :0)

Any questions?

If you have any specific questions about staying off-site, or you just want to share your thoughts on which you think is best then post them down there in the comments section.

Tags: WaltDisney World, Villa, Kissimmee

Related Disney Vacation Planning Articles:

1. The pros and cons of staying on Disney World property
2. Disney World Vacations: 5 Reasons Why You Should Stay in a Disney World Resort Hotel
3. Make Your Disney World Vacation Affordable – 4 Tips for Saving Money