Walt Disney World on a Tight Budget Part 3

Walt Disney World on a Tight Budget – Part 3 

Welcome to Part 3 of Walt Disney World on a Tight Budget. This week, we will discuss where to stay:  Free hotel breakfast or stay on Disney property with Disney free transportation, deals, and how to find them. (see part one for Disney on a Tight Budget here)

There are many benefits to staying on property at Disney.  Disney has an excellent “internal” transportation system  that takes resort guests between the theme parks and resorts at NO charge. There are also no parking fees at the resorts or Walt Disney World theme parks as a registered Walt Disney World resort guest .  That is a nice daily savings considering that the daily rate for parking at Walt Disney World for guests visiting and staying OFF Disney property is $15.00 a day.  Additionally, only guests of Disney resorts get the benefit of Extra Magic Hours (hours before and after Walt Disney World Theme parks are officially open to the public) and the Disney Dining Plan (a discount food option for Disney resort guests). If you are flying, Disney’s Magical Express will even pick you up at the airport so there’s no stress of renting a car, driving a half hour from the airport, and possibly getting lost! Since very few things are truly “free,”  I highly recommend taking advantage of these free services.  The Walt Disney World transportation is so easy to follow and convenient.

Resorts at Walt Disney  vary a great deal – from the basic “motel style” but highly- themed Value Resorts to top of the line resorts with full kitchens.

Walt Disney World Budget Resorts: The All Stars Movie/Music/Sports, Pop Century, and the newest Art of Animation resort. The value resorts share buses with one another, so while transportation tends to run more quickly, be aware that in many cases it is busier.

Walt Disney World Moderate Resorts: Moderate resorts offer slightly larger rooms with a mini-fridge standard in each room, nicer pools with water features and more amenities such as walking trails. If you are a tent, cabin or RV camper, Disney even boasts their own Ft Wilderness Campground that is wonderful.

Walt Disney World Deluxe Resorts: Disney’s Deluxe Resorts offer world-class amenities such as some resorts with a spa,  lots of extra touches and added transportation benefits because The Polynesian, Grand Floridian, and Contemporary are directly on the monorail line, and all of the Deluxe Resorts offer water transportation to at least one of the parks as well. Begin your search for Walt Disney World Resort hotel special offers here:

If you choose to stay off property, you have two basic options – hotels/motels in the area (of which there is no shortage), or a vacation home rental.  If you plan to fly, you will need transportation to the hotel or vacation rental – the airport is about a half hour from the Disney area, and very few of the hotels near WDW offer free shuttles. Mears Transportation  is one of the most highly-recommended and affordable services. The other option is obviously to either drive to Central Florida or rent a car.

Disney Vacation Homes are priced as low as $69/night. Many of these offer semi-private or private pools, hot tubs, and game rooms. They are usually within a ten minute or less drive from main gate. Some benefits of this: having separate bedrooms and lots more living space to really be able to relax and unwind, a full kitchen for meal preparation can be a great financial savings especially for larger families, and a private pool / hot tub available 24 hours a day and just steps from your bedroom.

There are hundreds of motel and hotel options near Disney. You can go as low as $29/night for a basic room, or anywhere up from there. Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn Express , and Comfort Inn  are among the national hotel chains that tout a filling free breakfast.  Whether or not your pets are allowed, microwave and refrigerator availability, bed type, and free transportation to Disney are all important things to ask when booking a reservation with an outside property.  Just be advised that most hotel shuttles only run a couple of times per day, which may be less than ideal if you plan to take rest breaks away from the park during the day.

One very important note here: Either at a Disney resort or an offsite hotel, you will generally incur a “resort fee” of up to $25 per night. Many times it is NOT noted in the reservation charge, so be sure to contact the hotel directly  for fee rates and travel/tourism taxes.  It can turn what seems like an excellent deal into a not-so-great one. Also ask about parking fees. Don’t forget, staying off property also means paying the daily parking rates for the Disney parks.  Many off property resorts offer transportation to Walt Disney World every 20 to 40 minutes. Some offer the service free of charge and some charge $7 per person. “Know before you go” is what I always say. I’m not a big fan of hidden fees so here is a check list of things to ask before you book your dream Walt Disney World family vacation.

 

Next Monday Part 4 of my series in planning your budget vacation to Walt Disney World: How to save $ for your trip, coupons, rebates, cutting back, using credit cards with reward programs. ☺

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