I’m not very good at taking vacations. Often it’s a failure of planning—a trip will go much smoother if everything’s figured out beforehand, especially when I’m on a budget, but I tend to do stuff like getting on an airplane without knowing where I’m going to sleep that evening. But then there are those trips that are just immensely hard to plan. And if any trip qualifies as such, it’s a Disney trip.
It’s not like arriving on a night bus into Marrakech and trying to find a local to lead you to a good hotel; I’ve done both Marrakech and Disney, and I’m pretty sure I’m better at tackling immigration into a country I’ve never been to before than navigating Disney World’s Fast Pass ticketing options.
Can you make Disney World any cheaper?
The thing is, a Disney vacation is incredibly expensive. Park admission for one day for a family of four is likely to run you more than $500, and every option you add on to make that day go more smoothly—line reservations, early entry, prepaid dining—is only going to spike those costs. So unless you have a bunch of wadded up $100 bills ready to toss at Donald Duck’s webbed feet, intense planning is in order.
There are ways to do Disney more cheaply (staying at an offsite hotel with a free shuttle to the park gates, for a start), but also more effectively—or so I’ve heard in surprisingly impassioned Reddit communities. If you don’t want to spring for line-skipping ride access, how can you avoid standing in the heat all day while your kids whine through that Elsa ride at Epcot? Where (and when) should you eat to avoid crowds, spend less, and head off a hangry meltdown? What’s the best way to get a good spot for the parade without wasting hours staking a claim? Where are the best, cheapest souvenirs? And that’s not even considering the new wrinkles the pandemic has thrown into things. It’s enough to make you long for the vacation to end so you can get back to the controlled chaos of work.
So, I’m asking you, seasoned Mouseka-travelers: What are your best tips, tricks, and hacks for pulling off a Disney vacation that will leave you feeling refreshed, in possession of cherished memories, and not flat broke? Please share them in the comments posthaste, and not only because I’m headed to Orlando soon and could really use the help.