7 Ways to save money when in Walt Disney World

Jetting off to Orlando to visit Walt Disney World is always going to be expensive, but that doesn't mean you can't save a few pennies here and there to make your wallet feel a bit better. When you're on holiday it is so easy to forget about money and think about having fun and then when you return home you get a nasty surprise. Over the years we've thought about ways to save money when in Walt Disney World and I'm going to share them with you today.

#1 way to save money when in Walt Disney World

Water fountains

There are water fountains all over the parks in Walt Disney World and the water is free. Either bring a bottle into the park with you or simply drink from the fountain whenever you'd like a drink. 

Water is the driving force of all nature. 

Leonardo da Vinci

The bottled drinks in the parks tend to be fizzy, it can be tough to find a drink that isn't either fizzy or filled with sugar. Now I don't know about you but when it's really hot and you're looking for a drink to quench your thirst a fizzy drink isn't what you're looking for. While we were visiting this summer it was difficult for us to find a drink that would quench our thirst and a lot of the time we used the water fountains. LP loved the fact that he could just get a drink whenever he pleased and would often hit every water fountain he could find.

7 Ways To Save Money When In Walt Disney World | Miss Piggy fountain in front of The Muppet Vision show spurts water.
The fountain in front of the Muppet Vision show is so awesome - be sure to check it out!

#2 way to save money when in Walt Disney World

Buy essentials off property

By off property I mean away from Walt Disney World. When you're staying on property (in a Disney resort) it can be easy, and rather tempting, to pop to the shop in the hotel to buy your essentials like toiletries, sunscreen, even pain killers, but I can tell you right now it is far cheaper if you head off property for those things. We liked Walgreens for our essentials this summer, I think we must've visited the store 5 or 6 times during our holiday and always came away surprised by how much we'd saved.

#3 way to save money when in Walt Disney World

Buy pins before you get there

If you're planning on pin trading when in Walt Disney World you'll want to buy your pins before you even leave home. Pins in the shops and hotels can be super expensive but if you buy a large pack of them from Ebay or somewhere like that it is much cheaper, especially when you consider that you're planning on trading those pins anyway.

7 Ways To Save Money When In Walt Disney World | Our pin board featuring all the pins we've traded in Walt Disney World.
This is just one of our pin boards, we've since had to buy another one which is also full!

#4 way to save money when in Walt Disney World

Use Disney Transport

When you're staying on property you can take advantage of the Disney Transport to and from your hotel, but even when you're not staying on property there are still some you can take advantage of. Monorails run from Magic Kingdom to Epcot via one or two of the hotels, which means you could go to one park and go on a few rides before heading to the other, without having to make your way back to your car. There are boats that can take you from hotels to the parks. If you don't fancy driving you could try out the new Minnie Vans they have and before long they'll have the new skyride - which looks rather interesting!

7 Ways To Save Money When In Walt Disney World | The monorail, coming out of the Contemporary Resort, is a great way to get around.
Get on the Monorail and zoom to your next park!

#5 way to save money when in Walt Disney World

Eat big

One of the tactics we used this summer was to have a huge breakfast. It sounds like a weird one but hear me out. We ate at Boma or somewhere like that and ate as much as we could, often when we left we were ready to burst, but this tactic works well. By the time lunch comes around no one is ready to eat because you ate so much at breakfast time, so you get to delay lunch, or even skip it altogether and head straight to dinner. Whether it's skipping lunch, or delaying it til later this tends to work well. A few times we used this for lunch instead - had a small breakfast and a HUGE lunch and didn't need dinner. Places like Via Napoli have great sharing options but also their meals are so big it's easy to share. It certainly saves money skipping an entire meal!

Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food. 


#6 way to save money in Walt Disney World

Split meals

Many of the meals in restaurants around Walt Disney World are large by anyone's standards, but compared to the meals in the UK they are massive. More than once I couldn't finish even half of a meal because they were so big. That's why the Hubby and I decided next time we visit we'll probably share meals. The meals are big enough, most of the time, for two adults to share but if they're not why not share with your kids? I did that too a few times, LP and I shared a meal because one meal each would've been too much.

7 Ways To Save Money When In Walt Disney World | A tower of fiery sushi from Tepan Edo in Epcot.
This tower of sushi rolls actually has 8 rolls with prawns and scallops - definitely enough to share. 
Oh, and it's a starter!

#7 way to save money in Walt Disney World

Head off property

While the restaurants in Walt Disney World are amazing, (there's no doubt about that) they are expensive. Just because you're visiting doesn't mean you have to eat there, and there are plenty of brilliant restaurants to choose from that are cheaper. During our trip this summer we visited places like Chili's, Applebees, Joe's Crab Shack (one of our favourites), and Outback Steakhouse. You can find some of these places nearby on 192 or head a little further afield and find somewhere completely new. There are some great finds to be had, we loved Outback Steakhouse and will definitely be going there again.

7 Ways To Save Money When In Walt Disney World | Want to save a money when visiting Walt Disney World? After visiting many times I've learned lots - and I'm sharing my tips with you!

Like I said, going to Walt Disney World is never going to be cheap but there are ways to save a little money here and there.

Which tip can't you wait to try out?

If you enjoyed reading this you'll enjoy Things to know before you visit Walt Disney World, or if you want to learn more about the magic try out How to make your trip to Walt Disney World more magical.

Do stop by Facebook and let me know which tips you liked.

Heading to Walt Disney World for Halloween? Grab my Halloween Activity Booklet to keep your kids busy on the plane!

Cuddle Fairy


  1. Great ideas...I have used a few of these myself back when I traveled to Disney with my children.

    1. Thanks Barbara, it's always handy having a few of these tips isn't it?
      Thanks for stopping by xx

  2. I have to admit, I’m not a fan of Disney as everything is overpriced but these are great tips so thank you for sharing. #ablogginggoodtime

    1. Aw thanks. I do admit it is very pricey!

  3. great ideas, we always shop in supermarkets when we go on holiday esp if we're self catering as the onsite shops are expensive, another thing we did was to take advantage of the inc breakfast in a hotel stay and then only have snacks during the day (bought from the supermarket also) #pocolo

    1. Oh yes that's a good idea - the included breakfast. :)

  4. I like the idea of the water fountains, saves lugging round a rucksack filled with enough to keep you going.
    We always tend to eat big breakfasts and then snack if need be during the day when out as well. #pocolo

    1. Totally. The water fountains are everywhere so it's definitely something to keep in mind.

  5. Great tips. I’d love to take the boys one day 🌈 #POCOLO

    1. Thanks Catie, I've no doubt they would love it! xx

  6. These are all good tips, Disney can be so expensive. We also shared meals as the portions are huge, and we bought snacks from Walmart and took with us. #ABloggingGoodTime

    1. Totally. The sharing meals thing never occurred to us before this time, I dread to think how much food we've wasted in the past!

  7. Sharing meals and portion sizes generally in America is a great tip - and one we should remember, before ordering!! #PoCoLo

    1. Exactly! We often forget, but hopefully next time we'll think about it more as the cost is rocketing at the moment.

  8. Although I doubt we’ll ever be going to Disney World, I can see that these suggestions are super helpful, and can also be applicable when visiting other large amusement complexes! X #PoCoLo

    1. Totally! I have no doubt these tips would work for other amusement parks too. xx

