The Costs of Going to Disney!

Probably one of the most important questions anyone has before making the decision to travel to Disney is....how much does it cost? Everyone knows this is one of the most expensive trips you can take as a family compared to a quick trip to the beach or to the mountains. The real sadness that comes from talking costs isn't the initial price tag, it's the much smaller prices that creep up on you when you're not expecting them! Here are a few things below to be mindful of when preparing an honest Disney budget.

Parking Fees

No matter where you stay, there will be parking fees! One of the biggest misconceptions about staying on versus off property is that you will save money by not having to pay the fee and in some cases you end up paying more!

• At all Value Resorts you pay $15 (plus tax) per night.

• At all Moderate Resorts you pay $20 (plus tax) per night.

• At all Deluxe Resorts you pay $25 (plus tax) per night.

• If you stay off property and are driving into the theme parks you will pay $25 per day to park, with preferred parking being $50.

Parking at Disney Springs is completely free!

Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lanes

I know this topic has been talked about to death, but it is something worth mentioning in the sneaky category because Genie+ is no longer an add-on to Disney World packages. When it was included, you could pay for it in advance and have it ready to go for your entire trip (if you needed it). Now it can sneak up on you and adds another thing you need to remember to get each park day! Let's do a quick refresher...

• Genie+ is the new paid FastPass system. It is $15 per person, per day and can be purchased starting at midnight for each day. Only certain rides are eligible for Genie+ and utilize what they call "Lightning Lanes" which is the physical entrance you would use to get on the ride. You must have Genie+ for your entire party in order for you to utilize the Lightning Lane.

• Individual Lightning Lanes are NOT included in Genie+ and you do not need to purchase Genie+ to access them. These are separate purchases you can make to skip the line one time at certain attractions. As of July 2022, there are only 4 of these attractions: Rise of the Resistance, Flight of Passage, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. There are 4 more attractions typically reserved for this service, but they have been moved over to Genie+ temporarily. We do not know if they will come back to being Individual Lightning Lanes or not, but stay tuned! Those rides are: Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, Space Mountain, Frozen Ever After, Remy's Ratatouille Adventure, and Expedition Everest. The prices for these rides range from $7-17.

MagicBands

When entering a Disney Park you have two options in order to tap into the park, and check in for your Lightning Lanes (if using Genie+). You can use your Key to the World card which is either mailed to you if you booked a package, or given to you at check-in at your resort. These are the little plastic cards that will act as your room key, park ticket, and your entry to the Lightning Lane. If you don't want to mess with the card, you can purchase a MagicBand. This will do everything that card can do: open your room door, charge to your credit card, tap into the park and Lightning Lanes and the benefit to this is you can wear it! Instead of pulling out a card you just tap your wrist to the touch points.

• Regular MagicBands can cost anywhere from $20-35.

• MagicBand+ (debuting July 27th) will cost $34.99. This new MagicBand will do everything the original MagicBand can do but will also have new interactive features within the parks. You can play a new Bounty Hunter game in Galaxy's Edge, interact with the Golden 50th Statues, and it has a light up feature that is said to correspond with fireworks.

You do not need a MagicBand to enjoy Disney, but it does help a lot! I have seen many people (and I have been one of those people) breeze on through that park gate and Lightning Lane entrance, while I have seen many more people struggle to get that card out of their wallet, backpack, etc.

Food

Hear me out, because I know this sounds like an obvious statement...food costs money in Disney World! Crazy right? What I'm really trying to say is that your food budget needs to be decided well in advance and I feel like a lot of people don't prepare enough. Disney kind of helps with that by providing all of their food menus on the My Disney Experience app. I like to go through those and pick a few things I want to try, or price out how much my lunch would be at the parks and add that to my food budget. They also let you book your Advanced Dining Reservations 60 days out so you can look through those menus and gather prices as well. One of the things to be mindful of is that many restaurants around Disney have set prices for adults and kids. This can make it easier for you to add that cost to your budget. No matter what you do, make sure to pad that budget a little! You want to be covered in the event a new snack comes out right before you go, or if you spot something interesting strolling around the park! I would rather have a bigger number in mind, and spend less than to overspend and be upset!

Merchandise

Hopefully you are aware that buying merchandise around the parks is not cheap! This is why you want to tell yourself ahead of time how much you want to spend. Come up with some souvenir ideas, then do your research to find the costs! If there is a particular thing you are after (such as a custom lightsaber from Galaxy's Edge) you can find those costs online easily and even book the experience ahead of time. The responsible thing to do is to set a dollar limit per person if you aren't looking for anything in particular.

Saving Money

What can you do to possibly save money when traveling to Disney World?

• Budgeting - all the budgeting tips I mentioned above, please use them and when in double - pad the budget if you are able!

• Do Your Research - if there is a restaurant you want to try, snacks you have your eye on, merchandise you are hoping to score - please research those in advance and add that cost to your souvenir budget.

• Member Discounts - If you have an Annual Pass, DVC Membership, or a Disney Visa you might qualify for discounts on food and merchandise and depending on the time of year you might have resort stay discounts as well!

• Disney Gift Cards - you can save 5% by using your Target Red Card to buy Disney Gift Cards! This has helped people save money and can turn that $200 souvenir budget into a $190 cost which is amazing!

Conclusion

The moral of the story kids is the better prepared you are, the happier you will be at the end of your vacation! Don't get spooked by the sneaky costs. As always, if doing Disney research and planning for any and every scenario sounds terrible - then link up with a Travel Planner that specializes in Disney (like me)! We can take the hassle away from that castle and let you enjoy your trip! There is no such thing as asking "too many questions" and we can do as much or as little of the planning that you need. You want to know the best part? It doesn't cost you a single cent more! That's right! You do not pay me, Disney does! So your vacation budget won't go up, and thanks to my expertise it could cost less!

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