What is the Cheapest Way to go to Disney World in 2024?

What is the Cheapest Way to go to Disney World in 2024?

What is the Cheapest Way to go to Disney World in 2024?

This article is your complete guide to knowing the cheapest way to go to Disney World in 2024! The Park Prodigy team has been traveling to Disney World for over 20 years. So you can believe us when we say we have found countless ways to ways to go to Disney World cheaply. While we also understand that “cheap” is a relative term, our list includes tips that can apply to any vacation! You don’t necessarily have to sacrifice the magic to save a couple of bucks. The number one tip we can tell you right away is to know the best time to visit Disney World. This will usually be the cheapest way to do Disney. But our list is full of cheap ways to go to Disney World!

We hope you find this post helpful! And if you are planning a trip to Disney World be sure to check out our other FREE vacation planning tools. Our goal at The Park Prodigy has always been to help you save time on your next vacation and find the cheapest Walt Disney World vacation packages!

SPECIAL NOTE: If you’re looking for the best time to visit Disney World check out our Disney Crowd calendar!

 Disney World Crowd Calendar

How to go to Disney World for Cheap 2024

It’s no secret that the Disney Parks get more expensive every year. This can make it incredibly difficult to continue saving up for your dream Disney World vacation. But with some helpful planning tips and inside information, you can find ways to still know how to go to Disney World for cheap. Before you start planning ways to save, it’s important to first determine the best way to go to Disney World for you or your family by solidifying how many days you want to spend on vacation. On average, families typically spend about 5 to 7 days at Walt Disney World. We understand this can take years to save up for! That’s why this complete guide will go over some of the best ways to learn how to go to Disney World cheap!

Below are some of the best ways to help you know how to go to Disney cheap while you’re still in the planning process.

Book Your Vacation in Advance

• It’s common to wait until 7-8 months before your trip to book lodging for your vacation. But one of the best practices when trying to save money on your Disney World vacation is to book your vacation at the 11-month mark. This is when hotel rates will usually be the cheapest time frame for your trip.

Buy Your Tickets Through a Ticket Discounter

• Keep an eye out for special promotions from certified travel agents like The Park Prodigy. For example, if you use magic10 at checkout when you purchase tickets from The Park Prodigy, you’ll receive $10 off your ticket order! You can also sometimes find flash offers that will save you money on tickets used within a year. So keep your eyes peeled because sometimes there are more fleeting ways to find the cheapest way to do Disney World.

Have a Park Plan to Avoid Genie+

• If you haven’t heard, in 2021 Disney Parks retired the free FastPass+ system at Disney World and Disneyland and introduced a new paid “FastPass” program titled Genie+. While this program can be helpful, it’s a variable cost that can be up to an additional $108 per day for a family of 4. The best way to avoid this additional cost is to have a park plan. These can be self-made or by a professional Disney travel agent to help you plan your day around what interests you the most. All while spending the least amount of time in line. Try out one of our Park Plans for free here!

Bring Your Food

• Depending on the type of lodging you book for your vacation, bringing your food is a great way to do Disney World for cheap. This isn’t going to be a practical step for everyone to take. But this is a must-do if you’re staying in any type of extended-stay resort or family suite with a kitchen or kitchenette. While you can travel to pick up food from the store yourself, the cheapest way to go to Disney and bring your food is to order it for delivery online. We have done this in the past through Instacart and Walmart+ and have been able to save money on snacks and drinks in the parks!

Related Post: What are the Rides Included with Genie+ at Disney World?

Travel During the Off-season

The best way to find the cheapest way to visit Disney World is to use a crowd calendar or know the right times of the year where when park attendance is low. Low attendance is important for a few reasons. Not only are you going to have a more enjoyable experience, but it also means that the cost of tickets and hotels will be less! Knowing how to travel during off-peak travel times is key to knowing how to go to Disney for cheap. Some key times to travel will be during the school year while school is in session, in between major holidays and weekends. Another factor to keep in mind specifically for Disney World is the large conventions being held in the area. Avoiding these will give you the best bang for your buck on travel costs!

What’s the Cheapest Month to go to Disney World?

• The cheapest way to book a Disney trip is to book your trip in  September. This is the sweet spot of the year to visit Walt Disney World. It’s in between the start of school and Halloween. September crowd levels are historically similar to January’s levels. Plan a visit around this time with caution though! It may be wise to book your trip with travel insurance since September is hurricane season for Florida. You can also find less expensive pricing in January, February, and August. 

What is the Most Expensive Month to go to Disney World?

• When planning your Disney World vacation, be sure to avoid booking the months of March & April. Spring break is a very busy time of year at Disney World. If you are trying to avoid the crowds, travel when the majority of the country’s schools are in session. Specific dates to avoid would be all of March & April, November 17th – 26th, and December 8th – January 2nd.

Related Post: When is the Best Time to Visit Disney World?

Cheapest Way to Travel

Something that can sometimes be forgotten about when finding the cheapest way to book Disney World is your travel to and from Disney World. Your transportation costs can add up quickly. Especially if you’re flying into Orlando. While people who choose or can drive to Florida have it a bit easier, flying in comes with a full set of expenses. Not only will you have to pay for your airfare, but you’ll have to find a way to get to Disney World from the Orlando International Airport (MCO). If you’re unaware, Disney no longer offers complimentary transportation from MCO to the Disney Resort. So getting to the resort means either renting a car, booking bus fare, or scheduling a Lyft or Uber.

Flying to Disney World

• When choosing what airline to take to travel to Orlando, look into what airline has the most flights departing your home airport. Airports usually partner with specific airlines to fly in and out of. This means that the more flights an airline offers between airports, the less expensive your flight will be. For example, Frontier Airlines flies out of McArthur Airport in Long Island, NY more than any other airline. And you can book a one-way flight from Long Island to MCO for as little as $25.

Driving to Disney World

• This can be the cheapest way to enjoy Disney World from a travel standpoint. We understand this isn’t a viable option for everyone, but if you live within an 8-hour drive from the resort, it can save you tons of money! Not only will you save on travel transportation, but you will also have the freedom to go out to eat at local restaurants. Or even make grocery store runs to get food or emergency needs for your family!

Use Points at one of the Hotels

• If you’re part of the Marriott Rewards program, you’re in for some of the biggest savings to be had at Disney World. On Disney World property you can redeem your Marriott BonVoy Rewards points for nights at the Disney Swan, Swan Reserve, and Dolphin Resorts. These are the only non-Disney hotels situated on Disney property where point transfers are accepted. These three hotels are located on Half Moon Bay near the Disney BoardWalk, with walking paths to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios.

Stay Off Property for Your Hotel

• Staying at a hotel off-site can help you know how to get a cheap Disney vacation but only if you don’t stay too far off-site. While this is a good option, be careful. Staying too far from the Disney Parks can result in spending more on transportation to and from the parks or other areas. The closer-of-property hotels generally offer complimentary scheduled bus service to each park as opposed to the lodging options further away.

Don’t Rent a Car

• Like airfare, car rental prices are at an all-time high. You could potentially be spending anywhere from $40 – $100 per day on the car rental. This doesn’t include the cost of gasoline, parking at your hotel or the parks, or any tolls you may need to pay on the road. Right now, standard parking at Disney World theme parks will cost you $25 per day. And the average off-site resort parking can be anywhere from $10 – $25 a night. If your hotel is on the high end, you could end up paying more in parking fees than you’re spending on your car per day!

Related Post: 10 Best Off-Property Hotels Around Disney World

Free Activities Near Walt Disney World

Nothing says the cheapest way to go to Disney World like free activities and Disney World offers a lot of them! The great thing about a Disney World vacation is that there are so many places to explore. Most of which require very little or no money at all to enjoy. When planning out your vacation itinerary, make sure to schedule days when you aren’t in a theme park. This will not only save you money, it will save your sanity. Rest days are extremely important on a trip to Walt Disney World. But we also understand making every moment count! That’s why the list below is full of Disney-related activities to do for free outside of the parks. All while staying in the “Disney Bubble” and making a rest day just as memorable as a day in any park.

Explore Different Resorts

• There are over 20 different extremely themed, well-designed, and unique hotels to experience at Walt Disney World. One of my favorite things to do on a rest day is to resort hop. This is when you take a bus from your resort to another for each meal of the day! Not only do you get to get out of your hotel and feel like you’re taking part in the magic, but you’ll also get to experience new restaurants you normally wouldn’t have access to! I’ve found some of my favorite hotels this way and have been able to find hidden spots to relax in as well.

Visit Disney Springs

• Disney Springs is the dining and shopping location for Disney World. There is so much to do and see here that you can make it a full-day outing. Not only is there the world’s largest Disney Store, World of Disney located here, but parking is complimentary and you can get here for free by the Disney Bus system! I will give a word of caution if you do plan on visiting. This is an “open to the public” location so it does get extremely busy. It’s best to make it a morning trip and go when everything first opens to enjoy it with low crowds.

Walk Around Disney’s Boardwalk

• This is a less public version of Disney Springs and therefore maybe a better option! This quarter-mile promenade of unique shopping and dining locations is located right next to EPCOT and is attached to the BoardWalk Inn Resort. This location gives the perfect mixture of resort hopping and free activities making it the best option when it comes to how to do Disney World cheap on rest days. There are over 10 dining locations and 5 hotels to explore in this one area alone! Not to mention you can also hop onto the Disney Skyliner and continue the adventure.

Take Advantage of Hotel Activities

• Disney hotels offer an array of free activities for all guests to enjoy. For adults, the resorts are full of lounges for you to enjoy delicious appetizers and specialty drinks. An honorable mention is Trader Sam Grog Grotto at Disney’s Polynesian Resort near Magic Kingdom. This impressively themed lounge transports you to a South Pacific paradise bar with themed food and drinks! And for the family, you can partake in free tours open to any Disney Resort guest at hotels like the Animal Kingdom Lodge, BoardWalk Inn, Wilderness Lodge, Grand Floridian, and Yacht Club.

Related Post: Complete Guide to The Disney Boardwalk

Cheapest Way to Go To Disney World FAQ

Q: What is the off-season for Disney World?

A: Historically, the off-season for Disney World has been late January – early February. In recent years, mostly due to revenge travel from the 2020 shutdowns, there hasn’t been a true off-season time. We recommend planning your visit sometime in September. This is the sweet spot of the year to visit Walt Disney World. It’s in between the start of school and Halloween. It may be wise to book your trip with travel insurance since September is hurricane season for Florida. You can also find less expensive pricing in January, February, and August. 

Q: Does Disney Have Free Transportation?

A: Yes! Disney offers free in-resort transportation. However, Disney no longer offers complimentary transportation to or from the Orlando International Airport via the Magical Express. The only free transportation offered by Disney World is within the Disney Resort property. There are many ways to travel around the Disney Resort for free. You can enjoy a bus or boat ride, fly through the air on the Disney Skyliner, or travel via Monorail between EPCOT and The Magic Kingdom.

Q: How Far in Advance Can I Book My Disney World Vacation?

A: The sweet spot to book your Disney World vacation is at the 11-month mark or as early as you can. Typically, Disney World will open up its reservation system a year ahead of time around the beginning of June. For example, the 2024 booking calendar starting January 1st, 2024 opened on May 31st, 2023. So if you’re planning on visiting in 2025, start paying attention to the booking sites around the end of May/beginning of June to get the best prices.

Q: How Much Money Should I Save to go to Walt Disney World?

A: While it will depend on individual-specific information, a good starting point is to plan to save about $250 for each day you’re on vacation. This amount will cover one park per day park tickets, meal costs, and slotted daily spending money. This figure is per person. So if you’re traveling with a family of four, try to save an equivalent of about $1,000 for each day you’re on vacation. This figure does not include hotel stays since that is one of the greatest variable costs when planning a Disney vacation.

Q: Why is Disney so Expensive Now?

A: This is a loaded question, but to put it simply, Disney World bases its ticket prices to compensate for its billion-plus dollar marketing budget to advertise Disney Parks. The theme parks are Disney’s most lucrative branch of the company. Therefore, most of the advertising budget goes into getting guests to the parks and resorts at Disney World and Disneyland.

When is The Best Time to Visit Disney World?

Our Disney  World Crowd Calendar is the best tool to help you get the most out of your time in the parks. We break down park crowds, park hours of operation, ticket prices, and average temperature. We also break down the best time to visit Disney World based on specific times of the year and special events.

Are You Ready to Plan Your Next Disney World Trip?

Are you planning a trip to Walt Disney World? Be sure to speak with a Disney World Travel Agent for the most recent deals and promotions. The Park Prodigy will provide a Free Quote for all Disney World Vacation Packages. The Park Prodigy can also help you save up to $20 per ticket when purchasing your Walt Disney World Tickets, and we offer promotional discounts for special events such as Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party Tickets and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party Tickets.

Don’t forget to check out our wonderful friends over at Theme Park Today, as well!