the disney website
- pricing and savings: look for the best offers and savings (see our 2025 resort savings page). the disney website provides you with important booking windows and upcoming events.Â
- resort and ticket options: search the different resort and ticket options that are best for your budget. search the website for park hours, closures, & event calendars. if you are first time visitor, we recommend purchasing the single day ticket option so you can spend each day of your visit exploring one of the 4 disney parks. you can customize your ticket purchase to fit the amount of days you want to visit the parks.
- resort and park dining options:Â explore popular restaurants, character dining, and food menus & pricing on the disney site.
- things to do: view special events, attractions (types, height requirements, & ages), entertainment (live action), character experiences (dining and in the park locations), tours (behind the scenes and groups rates).
- my disney experience account: to create an account go to -disney world website-my disney experience-drop down menu-create account.
- the my disney experience app: download the my disney experience app to your phone. this is where you will link all your disney vacation information to have at your fingertips: your resort stay, tickets, dining, lightning lanes, special events or tours, mobile app to quick service ordering, and connections to family & friends.
having a budget in mind
- resort pricing: resort pricing is broken down into 3 categories: deluxe, moderate, & value resort stays. your budget depends on you. navigate and search for resort and ticket prices that fit into the budget you have set aside for your trip. resort fees are based on the number of people in your party.Â
- ticket pricing values are broken down based on the number of days you plan to visit, how you want to access the parks (single day base park ticket or park hopper), the date of your visit (resort fees and ticket prices tend to be higher during peak seasons). ticket prices generally decrease per day when you buy multiple day tickets. the longer you stay the cheaper per day the price of tickets.Â
- dining options: disney offers two different dining packages at a cost per person. dining packages are an extra added cost to your resort package. unless, disney is offering a free dining plan with your resort package, the add-on dining plan can cost you up to $95 a day for adults and $30 a day for kids. that is a significant cost increase to your disney stay. Â
- disney quick service plan—2 quick-service meals (per night of stay)-1 Snack/Nonalcoholic Drink (per night of stay)-1 Resort-Refillable Drink Mug.
- disney dining plan—1 Quick-Service Meal (per night of stay)-1 Table-Service Meal (per night of stay)-1 Snack/Nonalcoholic Drink (per night of stay)-1 Resort-Refillable Drink Mug.
- dining savings & experiences: the disney dining plan is not for everyone, especially if you have picky eaters in your party. the cost savings compared to paying for meals out right are not that significant. we recommend budgeting for your meals and booking just one great dining experience. you can find menus and meal prices directly on the disney website. this allows you to know how much money to put aside before you leave for your trip.
- cost savings meals: if you opt out of the disney dining plan, you can purchase & share meals (no one one wants to ride on a extra full stomach), or even snack though your day ( you can find good portioned disney snacks for under $10 around the parks).
- bring your own food: did you know you can bring your own food into disney? bring foods like sandwiches, peanut better & jelly, and snacks, snacks, snacks.Â
- who are you paying for: disney pricing for tickets and meals are based by age groups. kids under 3 visit disney for free, kids 3-9 pay a youth price, & 10 and up pay adult ticket and dining prices.
- how are you going to get there?: when planning your trip, you need to consider how you will travel: by air or by car.Â
- airfare: although flying saves time, this does not mean it saves money. you need to evaluate what is most important to you when planning your trip. if you want to fly then it is best to check calendars for the cheapest times and prices airlines offer to get the best cost savings on flights. check airfare prices often because they are constantly changing. it is best to book at least 4 months in advance. search promotional fares, & sites like priceline, expedia, orbitz, travelocity, & cheapflights.com., and save up airline points. discounted airline sites offer the best prices and discounts. look for flights into the orlando airport (MCO). consider the following when flying: added cost of airfare, shuttle or rental car cost, & limited luggage and extra bags space.
- driving: driving offers more flexibility on controlling your own schedule of when you will arrive at your resort. you can determine how many stops you will make along the way, it is more cost effective per person, and gives a bit more room for luggage and extras. it gives you easier access to groceries or other supplies you might need while on your trip. we have always preferred to drive later into the night while the kids slept.Â
pick your dates early
- dates: the earlier you can plan the better. you can book a disney vacation 499 days in advance for a room-only reservation at a disney world resort. you can book a vacation package, which includes theme park tickets, 365–499 days in advance.
- on-site deposit: you are only required to put a $200 deposit on your on-site booking. booking early will give you time to save money, make frequent payments on your stay, or pay off your balance before you arrive for your stay. disney resort balances are due 30 days before your check-in date.
- off-site stays: booking early for an off-site stay saves money. usually the earlier you book, the cheaper the price. hotel prices tend to go up when you book closer to your visit. most hotels do not require a deposit, but do require a credit card hold for your room. this gives you ample time to save and/or cancel if needed. make sure to check your hotel’s cancellation policy.
- Â don’t wait for discounts: if you have a budget in mind, book the trip! many people wait for discounts to be posted, but discounts can easily be added to an already existing reservation by logging in to your disney account, calling disney direct, or contacting your travel agent to make the necessary adjustments of applying the savings. discount savings is just a little extra added bonus.
- disney is flexible: once you have your dates and resort locked in the rest is easy. disney will easily make adjustments to your stay as needed. if you are not sure about the dining plan book without it. you can always add it later. you can even take it off. book the single day ticket option and add the park hopper later. unfortunately, you can not remove the park hopper option after purchasing your tickets.Â
- easy cancellations: for some reason, if you have to cancel your reservations and paid your disney resort balance in full (including ticket purchases), no problem. you can get a full refund if you cancel 30 days prior to your stay. this includes your $200 deposit. if you cancel less than 30 days prior to your stay, then the $200 is nonrefundable, but the rest of your money goes back to you. total balance is nonrefundable if you cancel less than 1 day prior to your stay. this does not include airfare or any other bookings not associated with disney.Â
pixie dust tips
- if it is your first visit to disney world: we recommend purchasing a five day, single day park ticket. single day park tickets allow you to visit one theme park each day of your ticket. we suggest setting aside one day for each of the four parks: magic kingdom, epcot, animal kingdom, & hollywood studios, & the extra 5th day for a second visit to magic kingdom. this option will relieve any stress of miss out on the magic of each park. single day park tickets are the most cost savings option. we recommend planning for a 6 to 7 day visit with this option. with this option you can still leave and come back to the park you are visiting as many times as you want within that day. take a break or a nap and return back for a evening in the park.
- park hopper option: not your first visit to disney? then the park hopper option might be an extra added benefit to your stay, although, it is an upcharge to your ticket pricing, the park hopper option allows you to hop to multiple parks in a day. you could hit an early theme park entry at magic kingdom then hop to epcot at night. this option allows flexibility with length of your visit. visit for a 3 or 4 day stay and enjoy all the magical park experiences by hopping to your favorite parks throughout your park visit.
*we do not recommend the park hopper option with small children especially if it is your 1st visit.Â