With prices continuing to rise at Walt Disney World, every dollar counts. An ideal Walt Disney World vacation is one where you have a bit of breathing room in your budget to splurge. However, that breathing room can quickly get sucked away by weird incidentals, last minute purchases, and stealth expenses. We’ve talked before on Theme Park Tourist about easy hacks to save money on your next Walt Disney World vacation (in two parts), but the easiest hack of all is to always double-check these crucial areas. You might have been spending money on previous trips that you didn’t even know about.
1. Always see if you have a discount
Image: Disney
This goes both for planning your trip and for once you arrive. Always, always, always see if you have a discount, especially if you are an annual passholder or Disney Vacation Club member.
Walt Disney World discounts may seem hard to come by, but there are a surprising number of ways to find them. AAA is one option, both for getting tickets and for non-Disney owned dining establishments. Undercover Tourist is another way to get ahold of discounted tickets. As for dining, we mentioned in our article about birthday freebies that a number of non-Disney owned dining locations have rewards programs you can sign up for to get discounts. Signing up for Tables in Wonderland is another option for WDW regulars if the math works out in your favor.
If you work for a large company with benefits, you may also have access to a breadth of discounts for your trip including airfare, rental car, hotel, and dining… and never forget the money-saving option of double-checking if you can rent Disney Vacation Club points instead of directly booking a room.
Image: Disney
As for Annual Passholders and Disney Vacation Club members, never take anything for granted. Particularly at counter service locations, you will often be told no in regards to discounts, but I have been surprised more than once. At all merchandise and dining locations, always ask if there is a discount. If you have friends and family with you, ask in those situations too. I have never had a cast member tell me I couldn’t use my discount for something my friend was buying, so long as we approached the counter together. Even if you are just a Florida resident, always call Walt Disney World resort reservations directly to see if they are offering any discounts that aren’t posted online. Go for it!
2. Don’t get charged for fancy bottled water
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We have mentioned before that you can save big by skipping bottled water in the parks in favor of free filtered water from any Disney locations with a soda fountain. However, there is another area where guests can get zinged by surprise charges for water…
Fancy bottled water at table service restaurants.
We first encountered this phenomenon at Morimoto Asia in Disney Springs. One member of our party ordered sparkling water. The rest of us ordered regular water. The server interpreted this as a request for bottled spring water. While we were fine with this for one bottle, I quickly noticed as we finished our glasses that he had a second bottle ready to go. When pressed, he confirmed we would be getting charged by the bottle. He was very quick to stop when we said we were fine with tap water, but had we not been paying attention, this stealthy expense could have fattened the bill quickly.
Keep an eye on this at any Walt Disney World premium dining location. You’re not likely to run into an issue at most buffets and standard restaurants, but all bets are off at premium dining locations. The same goes with refills for fancy drinks. Always double check if refills are free. For iced tea and soda, they usually are, but don’t expect to get free refills on fancy juices. Especially keep an eye on this if you have kids who may have no idea that three glasses of Punch Line Punch will cost mom and dad a whopping $40.
Instead of spending on fancy bottled glacier water, double check to make sure your server is getting you the free stuff and spend that money elsewhere in your meal (like on a gooey, decadent dessert).
3. Always double check before signing up for the Disney Dining Plan
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Oh, the ever-controversial Disney Dining Plan. Whereas once upon a time, this deal was a no-brainer for many families, park visitors are having a harder and harder time working out the math to prove it’s a favorable choice. Most of the time these days, it seems like more of a guarantee to widen the waistline and thin the wallet than a legitimate way to save money at Walt Disney World. Yet still, many families just automatically choose the dining plan without double checking if it is truly the best option for their family.
The confusion largely seems to come for families who had a good experience with the Disney Dining Plan in the past. We used it back in 2004 and loved it, but over ten years, the dining plan just lost its value for our family. Explaining this to friends who recalled our previous positive experience with the dining plan is never easy and generally involves a lot of spreadsheet calculations to show that it just isn’t worth it anymore.
If you are a committed loyalist to the Disney Dining Plan and have a system that makes it work well for your family, then go for it—but always double check to see if it really is the best deal. There are other ways to keep a dining budget, and often when the numbers are crunched, the Disney Dining Plan just no longer holds up. Take the extra time to look through some menus and calculate if the dining plan really is the best option for you or if you will save more money using other methods.
4. Does First Aid have what you need for free?
Image: Jett Farrell-Vega
Many a family has found themselves at Walt Disney World needing an urgent trip from Tomorrowland to Walgreensland. Maybe you forgot pain medication, contact lens solution, band-aids, or even a sewing kit. Rather than scouring gift shops for these items, check to see if Walt Disney World’s First Aid stations can help you out.
With locations in each of Disney’s parks, Walt Disney World First Aid keep a wide stock of items you might normally pick up at a drug store on hand for guests for free. While you should not necessarily expect to use First Aid the same way you would a CVS Pharmacy, they are the first place you should check if you need drug-store sundry items (especially if you get a blister). We were shocked to learn all the things they keep on hand for guests, and we no longer feel the need to carry a giant survival kit of OTC medications, bandages, and odd toiletries with us when visiting Walt Disney World.
On a similar note, if you need mosquito repellent, track down one of Walt Disney World’s mosquito control desks. Ever since the Zika scare in 2016, Walt Disney World parks and Disney Springs have stations set up where guests can lather up in free picaridin mosquito repellent. Rather than rushing to the gift shop to buy your own last-minute sundries, it can’t hurt to see if these Disney resources can off you help for free.
5. Skip the combos and research your snacks
Image: Disney
With most quick service dining locations offering no discounts, it’s easy to assume that there aren’t good ways to save money on Disney counter service dining. However, there is one very easy way, particularly if you aren’t a heavy eater.
Always ask if dishes can be done outside of combos.
Sometimes this works. Sometimes it doesn’t, but Disney has a habit of usually listing quick service items as combination plates. In many circumstances, you can skip drinks or side items to get the dish for slightly cheaper.
As for snacks, while the best way to save money is to bring some of your own before your trip (so you are only splurging on the snacks you love most), do a little research before purchasing snacks. While there are some legitimate cases where you can get a snack cheaper at one location than another (one example would be some of the odd candies you can find in World Showcase vs. standard Disney gift shop candy), the main thing to double check is to see if you can get something better quality for the same price. Peruse menus ahead of time or while waiting in line to get an idea of prices. You’ll often realize that for the same amount you were going to spend on a pre-packaged ice cream bar or a box of popcorn, you can get a school bread, a curry chicken pocket, or a delicious cup of Dole Whip!
6. Double check if you have credit card perks
Image: Disney
While avoiding crippling debt is one of the most important habits a Disney parkgoer needs to maintain, there are some perks that guests with credit cards should always double check when visiting Walt Disney World.
The most obvious is if you have a Chase Disney Rewards credit card. While it isn’t the best travel rewards card on the market, many cardholders don’t realize just how many perks they have while visiting Walt Disney World. Always double check to see if you have access to discounts, special character greet experiences, or if your rewards points can be used at locations you didn’t realize.
If you have a travel rewards card of any type, before you book your vacation see if you can put points towards airfare, a rental car (if you need one), or even a hotel stay. While rewards points don’t help much with Disney-owned resorts, Starwood rewards can be applied to Disney Swan and Dolphin hotel near Epcot.
The easiest way to build up small discounts on a Disney trip is to use a credit card that gives cashback. Particularly if you have rewards for using it at restaurants, these small amounts add up and can give your park budget some unexpected padding. Just be sure to always pay off your balance on time so you don’t lose that cashback to interest.
What are some things you always double check when visiting Disney World?
