Ways abound to simply save money at Walt Disney World, but what if you could actually level up your trip for basically no extra cost?
While this idea may sound too good to be true, there are actually quite a few ways to upgrade your next trip to the Most Magical Place on Earth basically for free (or at least at very low cost). Sometimes this may mean taking advantage of smart perks to get access to some of Disney’s best deals. Other times, it may require “buy this, not that” scenarios, where two similar options at Disney cost the same but one is clearly better quality. It can also mean identifying some of Disney’s best hidden freebies—and no, we’re not talking about Ghirardelli samples and stickers.
Curious? Here are eight of the best hacks we found to upgrade your Walt Disney World vacation for almost zero extra cost or at substantial discounts…
1. Upgrade your coffee
Image: Disney
If you’re not a fan of Joffrey’s sugary concoctions or Starbucks, a trip to Walt Disney World might feel like wading into a coffee desert. Everywhere you turn, another Joffrey’s trolley looms with fresh-brewed disappointment heaped with syrup and cream. You can’t even escape Joffrey’s blasé brews at Disney’s resorts—they’re the primary coffee supplier basically for the whole property, with the exception of the four Starbucks locations hidden within the parks and Disney Springs. If you like Joffrey’s, that’s all right—to each their own—but if you want to upgrade your coffee experience at Walt Disney World, you need to be willing to think outside of the box.
Thankfully, there are a few special refuges hidden throughout The Most Magical Place on Earth where you can skip Joffrey’s and Starbucks to enjoy a proper coffee—often at the same price you would have spent on a Joffrey’s brew. For guests visiting Epcot or Disney’s Hollywood Studio, our favorite alternative is the Java Bar at the Walt Disney World Swan Resort. This hidden gem of a coffeeshop recently received an impressive upgrade of its own into a new space, and the coffee is as good as ever, with Lavazza acting as the go-to brew available. This is also our go-to place at Walt Disney World for a quality nitro cold brew.
Alternatively, there are a few other spots throughout the property where you can score a seriously delicious coffee. Within the parks, your best bet will be the Nomad Lounge at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, tucked invitingly next to Tiffin’s near the World of Pandora. The lounge serves an excellent African coffee press pot that pairs well with the lounge’s other delicious snack offerings. At Disney resorts, Animal Kingdom Lodge serves press pot coffee at Boma, Sanaa, and Jiko. For a real treat, try the French press coffee at the Polynesian Resort’s Kona Café made with pure Kona coffee.
2. Get access to the amenities at Senses Spa for wayyyy cheaper
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Senses Spa at both Saratoga Springs and The Walt Disney World Grand Floridian Resort might be the most relaxing place at the Most Magical Place on earth. On top of offering world class treatments, the spa facilities also offer guests access to a whirlpool, steam room, relaxation lounge, and more. The only problem is you can only access this self-care oasis by purchasing a treatment at the spa. The most inexpensive facials and massages start between $135-150—however, if you want to treat yo’ self to a spa day without the whopping price tag, there’s a clever workaround that can get you access to a spa day for far cheaper.
Spa manicures at Senses start at around $55. While that might be more than the average guest might spend on a manicure, the real benefit is that a manicure at Senses gets you all day access to the spa’s facilities—at a stellar price. Oh, and if spas have freaked you out in the past due to clothing-optional policies, you will love Senses. Because Disney offers services for younger guests, it’s a keep-that-swimsuit-on sort of spa. Finally, both annual Passholders and DVC members get access to discounts at Senses spa—if you aren’t one, it can pay to bring a buddy to the spa if you know one!
3. Load up on birthday / celebration freebies
Image: Jett Farrell-Vega (@mykingdomforamouse Instagram)
If you’ll be visiting Walt Disney World the month of a birthday, anniversary, or honeymoon, you can upgrade your trip with some freebies.
The easiest way to access small freebies and VIP treatment at Walt Disney World is to wear a celebration button. Now, these little buttons aren’t as rare as they used to be—these days, it seems like everyone in parks is celebrating something. However, if you will be visiting around a birthday, anniversary, or another significant day, it can’t hurt to make sure Disney cast members know. These buttons are available for free at Guest Services in any of the parks or at the desk and concierge at Disney resorts. Many cast members stay on the lookout for opportunities to share a little extra magic with guests who are celebrating. In restaurants, this may mean a free dessert. On rides, it may give a cast member an incentive to let you ask for front row or a good seat. Your best strategy is to be kind and respectful—there are no guarantees when it comes to celebration freebies, but this always goes a long way. If nothing else, you might get some VIP treatment!
There’s a more surefire way to score freebies, particularly if you’ll be visiting Disney around the time of your birthday. There are a number of restaurants and quick stops throughout Walt Disney World that aren’t owned by Disney—think Starbucks, Rainforest Café, Shula’s, and even the Swan and Dolphin Resorts. Many of these offer excellent birthday freebies if you sign up for mailing lists. A few of the options include free drinks from Starbucks, free cupcakes from Sprinkles, free or BOGO entrees at Rainforest Café and Shula’s, and free popcorn at AMC Theaters. Check out our guide to birthday freebies at Disney parks for more specifics!
4. Upgrade your lunch plans at Epcot’s festivals
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Unless you travel to Epcot smack in the middle of summer, chances are you will visit during one of Epcot’s four eclectic festivals. These include the Epcot International Festival of the Arts in January and February, The Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival in March through early June, The Epcot International Food and Wine Festival from August to November, and finally the Epcot International Festival of the Holidays from the end of November through December.
While all of Epcot’s festivals incorporate booths throughout the parks where guests can dine on creative small plates, none is better for roving foodies than the Food and Wine Festival. If you happen to be visiting Epcot during the ever-lengthening festivities, upgrade one or more of your mealtimes by touring the festival booths. Epcot Food and Wine dishes are some of the best deals for culinary treats within the parks, and there is seriously something for everyone. You can easily put together a full Smörgåsbord of decadent delights for the same price or less than a table or counter service meal. We usually share many of our dishes, and you can always go back around for a second helping if you really enjoy something! Historically, our consistent favorites include the Liquid Nitro Almond Chocolate Almond Truffle, the Chocolate Picante from Flavors of Fire, and literally anything from the Africa or Belgium booths.
5. Get VIP seating for shows
Image: Disney
Now, this one takes a shrewd shopper, but there are situations where a clever Disneyphile can score upcharge reserved seats for fireworks, concerts, and evening spectaculars for the spectacular price of almost nothing—if you choose one of Disney’s ever-changing entertainment-dining packages wisely.
These packages aren’t the same as Disney’s VIP dessert parties or fireworks cruises—those are great, but you’ll definitely pay big bucks to partake in them. Rather, these are packages Disney offers for dining at select restaurants that include exclusive fireworks seating. Some of these honestly aren’t such great deals. For example, a Fantasmic or Festival of the Lion King dining package will almost never be worthwhile. Both of these shows almost always have Fastpasses available for preferred seating, so you’ll be spending extra on a meal for no reason.
The best way to score a super-value on dining packages means you either need to:
A) Choose a dining package that only requires one table service credit per guest if you are on the Disney Dining Plan.
Or…
B) Pay out of pocket for a dining package that costs about the same what you would have spent in the restaurant anyways, such as some of Disney’s buffets.
The best choice for the first scenario is the Rivers of Light Fireworks dining package, where you can use one table service credit to eat at Tusker House then enjoy special seating for the show later on. Honestly, even if you’re paying out of pocket, this package is still a pretty good deal.
As for the second option, you will probably get the best deal at an Epcot buffet location like The Biergarten, which is one of the park’s most solid restaurants—you will definitely get the opportunity to eat to the fill! Usually, Biergarten is an available option for festival concert dining packages and for nighttime shows like Epcot Forever, which costs two table service credits for a package but offer a comparable price if you’ll just pay out of pocket. Always double check and compare prices before making your decision, but sometimes, these packages will work out in your favor!
6. Upgrade your trip by earning points
Image: Jett Farrell-Vega
While there are ways to directly earn Disney gift credits using the Chase Disney Visa card, there is actually a slightly better way to upgrade your trip.
If you are comfortable paying off credit card balances as you go, you can ultimately earn free nights for your trip by earning points with the Marriott Bonvoy Credit Card from Chase—the reason why is that Marriott actually owns the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin resorts ever since they merged with Starwood hotels. The Swan and Dolphin are one of the best kept secrets at Disney, where guests can access Disney-deluxe level rooms and amenities at moderate prices. The resorts have exceptionally close access to both Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios with easy bus transport available to the Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The Swan and Dolphin also host some of the best restaurants on property, including a seriously amazing 24 hour eatery, Picabu Market.
Starwood Points are much easier to earn than Disney Chase credits, and one particularly persistent fellow even reported figuring out how to take his whole family to Walt Disney World for next to nothing by using huge reserves of points from the old Starwood version of the card.
If you will be flying to Florida, you can also save big by earning airline miles either by using an airline specific credit card like the Southwest Rapid Rewards Visa, The American Airlines AAdvantage Citi Card, or Delta’s SkyMiles American Express. For even more versatile options, you can also use a flexible travel card like the CapitalOne Venture or Chase Sapphire Preferred. With enough miles, you can knock down the cost of a flight or even afford a previously-unavailable upgrade.
A note about credit cards and points— tread carefully. Crippling debt is not a pleasant recipe for a Walt Disney World vacation. Your best bet for building up points is to identify regular bills or other expenses that you can pay off immediately so you never accrue interest. If you aren’t able to do this, the interest will ultimately devalue the points and make this strategy not worth it. Only use this route if you’re confident you can pay off the balance as you go.
7. Get free Disney money by buying gift cards at Target
Image: Disney
One of the most popular hacks around for making your Disney dollars go the farthest also involves credit card shenanigans.
Attentive Disney fans have known for some time that Target is, surprisingly, one of the best places to stretch your Disney dollars. The trick involves having a Target REDCard, and it’s pretty simple, even if it sounds counter-intuitive. The only other tool it requires is a solid trip budget.
Simply use a Target REDCard to purchase whatever amount you’re comfortable with in Disney gift cards. The REDcard automatically gives you 5% back, meaning that this method results in a comfortable 5% bump in the value of your Disney funds. You can even get the debit version of the REDCard if you want to skip the credit check.
There is one hidden snag to this trick: some experts feel you aren’t going to get the best bang for your buck if you spend your gift cards on tickets or resort rooms. Unless you’re a Florida resident or Passholder with access to top level discounts, chances are you can get a better deal for tickets or even resort rooms at a site like UndercoverTourist – the discount gift cards don’t make enough of a difference to beat the discounts, especially if you’re pairing them with a small amount of cashback from a cash-back credit card. The only exception to this is if you use Disney Gift Cards towards the down payment on a Florida-resident annual pass, especially if you’re renewing and already getting a discount.
Your better bet is to identify what you plan to spend on dining and shopping at Walt Disney World, then use Disney gift cards to cover that amount. This is a pretty tried and tested strategy, but make sure you use some caution. For one thing, don’t go too crazy purchasing huge amounts of gift cards in one purchase. Some have reported Target employees getting nervous about this and limiting purchases (there’s not supposed to be a limit, but it does happen). Also, keep in mind what the limit on the card is. If you want to skip the hassle, you can just buy e-gift cards on Target’s website, then consolidate them at DisneyGiftCard.com.
8. Use Disney Vacation Club rentals to get access to deluxe resorts for half the price
Image: Disney
Disney Vacation Club rentals are the holy grail of Walt Disney World discounts, and they are undoubtedly the best way to upgrade your vacation without spending any extra cash.
DVC Rentals work using a pretty simple system. Disney Vacation Club owners can use intermediary sites like David’s Disney Vacation Club Rentals or the DVC Rental Store to make their points available for guests to “rent”. This opens the door for non-DVC members to get access to spectacular discounts as well as rooms at the coveted DVC villas resorts throughout Walt Disney World. Some figures tout as much as 65% savings, but even 40% is a substantial amount when it comes to visiting Walt Disney World. You may as well be getting an entire resort upgrade for free!
For some bonus cash, if you’re willing to sacrifice a little time on your trip and have a passing interest in the Disney Vacation Club, you can often earn free Disney gift cards—sometimes for as much as $100—just by signing up to take a DVC Tour and listen to the spiel for guests who want to buy in. While there is a little hard-selling involved, if you’re confident you can navigate it, the DVC folks are generally pretty pleasant compared to the average timeshare jockeys, and the gift card is well worth it!
Have you tried any of these? Have you found any hacks at Walt Disney World to upgrade your vacation for free?
