Four years ago, my daughter (who wasn’t yet two) ran up to me, barely able to contain her excitement. “Daddy said we go to Disney when I’m 5!” she shouted. I looked at my husband, wondering what in the world he committed us to. Sure enough, now that she is 5, we just completed our first-ever family vacation to Disneyland. I wasn’t willing—or able, with our budget—to pay full price for a Disney trip, though, which is why I worked so hard to plan a budget Disney vacation.

I know there are moms out there who know every trick and hack to make the most of every second at Disney. I’m not one of those. But I am sharing the nitty gritty details of our budget Disney vacation—down to the last dollar. In this blog post, I’ll explain how I saved thousands of dollars on our family Disney vacation.

So if you want to go to Disney but don’t think you can afford it, or if you’re planning to go but just want to save on a Disney vacation, you’ll want to read through to the very end. I have so many good Disney hacks to help you save money—so you can focus on enjoying the happiest place on Earth!

Before I dive in to all my money-saving tips for Disney, though, I want you to check out my book! Road Trip Games & Activities for Kids shares 33 fun, customizable games and free printables that will keep you entertained for hours. Driving to Disneyland was one of the big ways we saved on our Disney vacation—and you can, too. Click the image below to get your copy in e-book or paperback!

And if you want to get even more pumped for your upcoming trip to Disney, you’ll want to get these free Disney quote printables. That way, you can download them and put them somewhere you’ll see ’em often, like your fridge or on the wall of your office. They also make great kids’ room decor! Just sign up here and I’ll deliver them to your inbox ASAP. 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼

This post contains affiliate links. When you click and buy, I earn a small commission that helps me continue to bring you free travel content. This does not alter the price you pay. Thank you for supporting To & Fro Fam!

How to plan a budget Disney vacation

Now that you’re ready to save big dollars on your Disney family vacation, let’s jump in. Below, you’ll find out how I saved on Disney tickets, a hotel just 5 minutes away from the park entrance, food both inside and outside the park, and Disney souvenirs.

Don’t spend more than you have to. Take my lead and plan a budget Disney vacation now.

How to save on Disney tickets

Want to know how I paid zero dollars out of pocket for Disney passes for a family of four? Here’s a sneak peek.

Don’t pay retail for Disney tickets

Normally, for two adults and two kids, a three-day pack of tickets would cost $1,088. After a bit of research, though, I opted to save on Disney tickets by buying through aRes Travel. Our three days of tickets cost $1,014.

aRes emailed me PDFs of our tickets, which I printed out before leaving home. Disney staff scanned them at the park entrance and gave us our actual Disney tickets (which I scanned into the Disney app on my phone—don’t want to lose those babies!). That means they were “straight to gate” tickets—we didn’t have to go to the ticket counter outside the entrance first.

So to buy cheaper Disney tickets, I saved $74 using the third party ticket-seller aRes.

(I am not an affiliate for aRes; I was just really happy with our savings and the ease of using their service.)

Don’t buy Park Hopper tickets

With Park Hopper tickets, you can go back and forth between Disneyland and California Adventure, which are located just across a plaza from each other. Some people do this to take advantage of slow times at certain parks. For example, during the Paint the Night Parade at California Adventure, crowds might be lighter at Disneyland.

We were doing Disney on a budget, though. We opted to not do Park Hopper tickets at Disneyland since we have never been to either Disney or California Adventure. We knew we’d have plenty to do within one park without hopping across the way. What’s more, Park Hopper tickets are significantly more expensive, even with discounted tickets through aRes or similar third party sellers.

To save even more on Disney tickets, I saved $110 by not getting Park Hopper passes.

Cash out your rewards to buy Disney tickets

Here’s the big, big, big way I was able to save money on Disney tickets: I cashed out my rewards on my credit card. I use Chase Sapphire, where I get 1% back on all purchases, plus 5% back on select categories each quarter, without paying an annual fee. (I am not an affiliate for Chase.)

I hardly use my debit card; instead, I use my credit card for buying just about everything. Then I pay it in full every month before interest accrues. Over a few years, I earned $1,531—more than the total cost of our Disney tickets! So you better believe I used this “free” money to pay for our passes.

By using my credit card as a sort of savings plan, I saved $1,088 on Disney tickets by using credit card rewards. 

How to save on food at Disney

Save on restaurants at Disney

Food in Disneyland adds up, especially if you’re buying multiple meals a day for a family of 4.

For example, at Racho del Zocalo—a quick-service restaurant in Frontierland—kids’ meals are $8 and adult meals are around $15. But a fountain drink is $4, so with beverages, expect to pay about $60 for a family of 4. Other quick-service restaurants (e.g. Galactic Grill in Tomorrowland) are similarly priced.

Here’s the thing, though. I hate standing in line for food and paying for a full meal my picky eaters won’t even eat. That’s why I packed food for everyone—and saved money during our family Disney vacation.

We would have eaten three lunches at Disneyland, and at $60 apiece, I saved $180 by packing our lunches.

Save on snacks at Disney

I’ll give Disneyland this: Their restaurant prices are actually fairly comparable to food outside the park. That said, though, drinks and snacks are so expensive inside the park!

Disneyland allows you to bring in outside food and drink—so take advantage and plan ahead for a budget Disney vacation!

Bring a variety of snacks you and your kids can eat on the go—and especially in line. While you’re out exploring the park, your kids won’t want to sit still to eat, but while you’re waiting to meet princesses or ride the carousel, you can totally get your kids some calories.

Here’s a list of snacks we brought in:

• crackers—mini-Ritz cheese sandwiches, cheddar rocket ships from Trader Joes, etc.
• granola bars

Level 10 travel tip: I recommend the ones that aren’t coated in chocolate, as they melt in the heat and get your kids’ hands majorly messy

• fruit—sliced apples, grapes
• veggies—cucumber slices, cherry tomatoes, baby carrots
• dry cereal
• tofu dogs
• sliced turkey and cheese
• fruit leather and squeezie fruit pouches
• hummus and pretzel dip packs

It’s hard to say how much we helped our budget Disney vacation by bringing in food. Conservatively, you’d pay $30 a day in snacks at Disney for a family of 4. So by packing food every day, I estimate I saved $90 by bringing our own snacks.

We did end up eating a few snacks bought in the park, though. We bought popcorn ($5 for a medium-sized carton) and frozen chocolate-covered bananas (also $5 each). My advice for buying snacks inside Disney: Choose wisely. I didn’t mind buying frozen bananas for the girls because it was hot and bananas are actually good for you. And I didn’t mind buying popcorn because I love it (YUM!) and I didn’t buy the super-spendy souvenir popcorn “purse.”

Additionally, look for snacks you wouldn’t be able to get outside the park. My mind explodes at the thought of spending $3.99 on a small container of sliced apples, for example, but you can’t get Dole Whip anywhere else.

Finally, avoid buying beverages in the park if you can at all. Bottled water is $4, as are fountain drinks. Bring in your own refillable water bottles, juice boxes, even pop! I brought in bottled iced tea every day because mama needs her caffeine.

Save on restaurants outside of Disney

Now there’s an iHop right across the street from the Disneyland entrance, but I’m not a giant fan of chains, and I’d rather save money than spend a bunch on low quality food. Most hotels have a free continental breakfast, but the hotel we chose—the Grand Legacy—didn’t. (That’s one reason why a night stay at this hotel is cheaper than others in the same area.)

If you go out to eat at breakfast, you can expect to spend about $7 on a kids’ meal and about $13 on an adult entree. Add in beverages—juice for the kids and coffee or tea for the grown-ups—and you’ll probably pay about $55 for breakfast for a family of four, including tip. That adds up!

Instead, I brought food to eat at breakfast. Two mornings we had quick breakfasts, so I had bananas, bagels, yogurt, milk and cereal as options for our family of four. But one morning we planned a leisurely morning at the hotel—my girls needed extra sleep to recover from staying up late for the fireworks show at Disney. So while the girls slept in, I cooked a super-easy hot breakfast in our hotel room!

With a little planning on our budget-friendly Disney vacation, I saved $165 by eating breakfast with food from home.

Additionally, we ate dinner in the hotel instead of a restaurant. We made sandwiches (I even brought gluten-free bagels from Trader Joe’s for myself). I also bought several premade salads before we left and had those on-hand for our meals.

The girls ate instant macaroni and cheese, yogurt, tofu dogs, make-your-own Lunchables (with crackers, turkey, cheese and cucumbers), and “grilled” cheese sandwiches. We were able to warm up food in the microwave, and we made good use of the mini-fridge.

My kids are picky eaters anyway, and they ate much better in a calm, controlled environment of the hotel as opposed to a restaurant (or when watching an episode of Spirit—ha!). And for a family of 4, it would cost about $75 to eat out—and to throw away all that food my kids didn’t touch.

By heading back to our hotel for dinner (which even left time to go back to Disney for nighttime fun), I saved $225 by making dinner in our hotel room.

Other ideas to save money on restaurants near Disney: Search restaurant.com and Groupon for discounted gift cards you can buy. It’s not uncommon to find a $25 card for $10, for example, which saves a ton!

How to save on hotels at Disney

When I was researching hotels near Disney, I found that paying about $150 per night for a standard two-queen room was about average for a basic hotel. I chose to stay at the Grand Legacy at the Park in Anaheim because it’s a 5-minute walk from Disney and it has a pool.

Rooms at the Grand Legacy are $157 per night during the low season of November. (They may vary depending on when you go to Disneyland.) Instead of paying for the hotel nights, though, I used rewards from a hotel bookings website.

You see, I travel for work, and I nearly always book through the same website so I rack up loyalty rewards. Every 10th night I book, I bank a free night. I saved up my free nights and redeemed them at the Grand Legacy for our family Disney vacation. So by planning a budget Disneyland vacation, I saved $471 on hotels by using a hotel loyalty program. 

Word to the wise, though: We did have to pay $17 per day to park at our hotel. When you’re comparing prices of hotels near Disney, double-check to see if breakfast and parking are included. Those factors may influence where you decide to stay on your budget Disney vacation.

If you’re looking for a budget-friendly hotel near Disneyland, compare prices here:

Booking.com

Save on Disney souvenirs

With all the Disney swag being sold on every corner, it’d be easy to double the cost of your Disney vacation just by buying souvenirs! Here are three ways to save on souvenirs.

Avoid the shops

It’s impossible to avoid all the merchandise—after all, every street is lined with shops and stands with blinking, glowing, musical stuff.

That said, the entrances of both Disneyland and California Adventure are primarily stores. They’re not rides or attractions, just places to spend a ton of money! So steer your kids away from these shops and toward the characters who also make this zone their home base.

Buy Disney gear ahead of time

Before we left town, I bought a few items the girls would love—and would want to buy at the park. For example, I bought a plush Minnie Mouse for each child from CVS for $10 apiece—much better than the $30 each inside the park!

I also talked to a few other moms and read up on Disney blogs to find out what other souvenirs kids tend to want at Disney. I went to the Dollar Store and bought glow-in-the-dark jewelry and wands, plus Disney bubbles. When we went to the fireworks show at Disneyland, the first thing they wanted was glowing bubble wands. Lo and behold, I had a version of what they wanted! I had paid $4 instead of $52!

I also brought along crowns we already had so they wouldn’t want to glam out at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique ($$$$$$) or even buy mouse ears (at $28 apiece). And I ordered Disney character autograph books online for $7 each instead of $20 at the park.

The one thing we did spend an exorbitant amount on: glow-in-the-dark Mickey balloons. The girls asked for them every single day, multiple times a day. They finally wore us down. And that, my friends, is how we spent $30 on two balloons. #AndYetShePersisted

So we spent $68 instead of $238, and I saved $170 by bringing souvenirs from home!

Get a Disney gift card

Our family knew we’d be taking the girls to Disneyland, and so for their birthdays, my mom gave them a Disney gift card. I held onto it for something special that would be a gift from their Nana and Grandpa Shempy.

On our last day, the girls found a toy they absolutely begged for: Jessie and Woody from Toy Story. So I busted out the Disney gift card from Nana and bibbidi bobbidi boo, the girls had their precious toys—at no expense to me! We sent Nana a video of the girls playing with their toys on Pixar Pier saying “thank you!” There was even enough left over to buy milkshakes.

So we saved $69 on toys by using a Disney gift card that was given to my girls as a birthday present.

Dollar by dollar: What I spent on our budget Disney vacation

Budgeting is hard. Budgeting for a budget Disney vacation is even harder. It’s difficult to figure out exactly how much you’ll need for every aspect of a Disney family vacation, so I’m sharing it all in this blog post.

Now that I’ve given you a play-by-play of everything I spent on our budget Disney vacation, it’s time for the grand reveal. Here’s the breakdown of what I spent on our budget Disney vacation:

Park tickets: $1,198 $0

Hotel: $471 $0

Parking: $51

Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks: $465 $15

Souvenirs: $238 $68

Cost of our 3-day Disney vacation for a family of 4: $138

TOTAL SAVED on our budget Disney vacation: $2,289

One caveat: I didn’t count the money I spent on groceries, since I’d be paying for that at home anyway. I also didn’t include the gas money it took for us to travel to Anaheim, California, since families travel to Disney in all sorts of ways. So as you plan your budget Disney vacation, keep those details in mind: You’ll have to budget for groceries just as you would at home, and you have to figure out transportation.

If you’re curious about the Disney PhotoPass—the service that gets your professional photos from inside the park—read my post diving into whether the PhotoPass is worth the cost.

The truth of Disney budget vacations

I truly hope that this behind-the-scenes/bank account peek helps you figure out how much you’ll spend on your own Disney family vacation. I also hope it shows there are ways to make even a Disney budget vacation a ton of fun—and that you don’t have to shell out thousands of dollars to enjoy the trip!

I also know that planning a Disney trip can be stressful. In fact, for some of us moms, it can trigger some major anxiety. That’s why I wrote an entire post on managing anxiety at Disney. If you think you’d benefit from the steps I took to get my anxiety in check and actually enjoy the family trip, I know you’ll want to click over to read it through.

So tell me: Have you been on a Disney family vacation? Was it a struggle to pay for it? Do you have any budget Disney tips? Please share in the comments!

PS – I’d love for you to share this post on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter because I’m pretty sure your friends and family would welcome hearing about all these budget Disney vacation ideas!