It’s almost time to deck the halls and break out the Christmas tree! Well…sort of. The holiday season might still be a little ways away, but the Disney experts know that when it comes to planning a trip, the earlier you can get started, the better. So we’re here to help you get started on your festive vacation!

Traveling during the holiday season can be very expensive in general, so travel to Disney World around the holidays is extra pricey. But exactly how pricey are we talking? We’re breaking down a budget here to find out exactly how much it costs to visit Disney World during the most wonderful time of the year.

To plan out this budget, we’re taking a hypothetical family of 4 to Disney World from December 23rd through December 26th. This family has 2 adults, 1 12-year-old child, and 1 7-year-old child. That way there’s one child that will be adult pricing and one that will be child pricing for the tickets and meals. (Disney World applies adult pricing to anyone ages 10 and older.)

This family will arrive at Disney World early on the 23rd and depart late on the 26th, so they’ll need park tickets for all 4 days, a hotel for 3 nights, and food for all 4 days. There are a few extra expenses to consider as well, such as Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (which actually ends on December 22nd), souvenirs, and additional experiences like tours.

Of course, one of the biggest expenses when it comes to Disney World vacations can actually be getting to Orlando in the first place. This might not apply to everyone, as some people live close enough to easily drive to the parks. But just in case you’re looking at flights for this time of year, we priced out the tickets and will include that expense as part of the budget.

Ready or not, let’s get started!

Flights

The first step is getting to the parks, so let’s begin by looking at airplane ticket prices. Like we said, some people will choose to drive to Disney World instead, so in that case, you’ll need to determine the cost of gas for your road trip.

When looking at flight ticket prices, we decided to check out a variety of airports and airlines so that we’ve got options. We used both the airlines’ websites and the flight tracking app Hopper to find these prices. Each price represents a round-trip ticket to the Orlando International Airport for one person, with the flights departing on December 23rd and returning on December 26th.

Here’s a breakdown of what we found:

• Chicago Midway to Orlando International Airport: Delta Air Lines – $785; Frontier Airlines – $803; Southwest Airlines – $444
• Los Angeles to Orlando International Airport: American Airlines – $758; Delta Air Lines – $888; Spirit Airlines – $1,017; Southwest Airlines – $1,418
• Atlanta to Orlando International Airport: Delta Air Lines – $391; American Airlines – $450; Spirit Airlines – $630; Southwest Airlines – $350

As you can see, the cost to fly will vary wildly depending on where you’re flying from. For the purpose of this article, we’ll choose a median cost to add to our budget total.

Let’s say the family is flying out of Chicago on Southwest Airlines, which will cost them $444 per person. That means the total cost to fly round-trip to Disney World is $1,776 (before taxes and fees).

Total Cost So Far: $1,776

Park Tickets

Next, the family will need tickets to get into the Disney World parks! Disney World tickets operate with surge pricing, so although 1-day tickets start at $109 per day, you can expect to see higher prices around the holidays since demand is higher with more people visiting the parks. The good news is that you’ll save a little bit of money by choosing multiple days instead of a single-day ticket.

There are a couple of options for Disney World park tickets. You can choose a single-park ticket, which allows you to visit 1 park each day. Or you can pick Park Hopper, which means you can visit multiple parks in a single day. The best option will depend on your personal preference and how much time you have in Disney World.

Also keep in mind that the price for a ticket is a bit lower for kids under the age of 10. However, you’ll also need to factor tax into the price. For the family of 4, we looked at a 4-day ticket with admission to 1 park per day (not Park Hopper), and the total came to $2,357.51.

When we added Park Hopper, the total jumped to $2,719.60.

Because the family will be in Disney World for 4 days, they can spend a full day in each park. So we’re going to choose the 1-park-per-day ticket option! If you’re going to be in Disney World for just a couple of days but still want to visit every park, you’ll need Park Hopper in order to accomplish that.

Total Cost So Far (With Flights): $4,133.51

Total Cost So Far (Without Flights): $2,357.51

Hotel Reservations

The family will also need somewhere to stay! With just 4 people, a single Disney World hotel room will be sufficient for their needs. We just looked at Disney-owned hotels for this budget, but remember that there are a lot of other hotels located on Disney World property or close by. Booking a non-Disney-owned hotel could save some money!

Let’s compare some different Disney World hotel prices. We’ll look at one hotel in each of Disney’s 3 categories: Value, Moderate, and Deluxe. The Deluxe hotels are almost always the most expensive, but remember that guests at these hotels get some extra perks, like access to Extended Evening Hours. Deluxe hotels also often (but not always) have the best transportation options. For example, all 3 Magic Kingdom Monorail hotels are considered Deluxe.

Here’s a breakdown of the prices at various Disney World hotels for a visit where the family checks in on December 23rd and checks out on December 26th (remember that you can still visit Disney World parks on the day you check out — just ask the front desk to hold your luggage so that you don’t have to bring everything to the parks!):

• Value Hotel — Disney’s Pop Century Resort: $305/night; after taxes and fees, the total comes to $1,029.39
• Moderate Hotel — Disney’s Port Orleans – French Quarter Resort: $374/night; after taxes and fees, the total comes to $1,262.25
• Deluxe Hotel — Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort: $983/night; after taxes and fees, ​​the total comes to $3,317.64 

For this trip, the family decided to book Pop Century Resort at $1,029.39.

Not only is this the cheapest option that we looked at, but guests at this hotel can take advantage of Disney’s Skyliner, which provides transportation to both EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

It’s often faster than Disney buses, which makes it a huge perk for both Pop Century and Disney’s Art of Animation Resort (as the hotels share a Skyliner station).

Total Cost So Far (With Flights): $5,162.90

Total Cost So Far (Without Flights): $3,386.90

Dining

And now we’ve arrived at what is (in our opinion) the most important part of any Disney World trip: the FOOD! There are a LOT of great places to eat in the parks and hotels, but we’re going to balance our love of tasty eats with keeping costs reasonable. For the purposes of this budget, we’re going to look at the cost to feed a family of 4 at 1 quick-service restaurant and 1 table-service restaurant every day.

We’re assuming that the family brought their own breakfast or had groceries delivered to their hotel! There are a ton of different ways to plan meals in Disney World. Maybe you’d rather have 3 quick-service meals instead, or maybe you’ll opt for a cheaper hotel and splurge on more table-service meals.

However, having a single quick-service meal and a single table-service meal is a pretty fair, middle-of-the-road plan when it comes to keeping costs reasonable while still enjoying a lot of great food.

Generally, you can budget about $15 per person for a quick-service meal and about $35 per person for a table-service meal.

For example, the family could get Corn Dog Nuggets (a personal favorite), fries, and a soda at Casey’s Corner in Magic Kingdom for $14.78. On another day, they can grab the famous Totchos and a drink from Woody’s Lunch Box in Disney’s Hollywood Studios for a total of $13.98. Some quick-service spots have kids’ meals (such as Woody’s Lunch Box), which will usually be under $10.

In terms of table-service meals, our family might want to visit Skipper Canteen in Magic Kingdom, where they can get entrées like Sustainable Fish for $32 or “Hardy Har Char” Siu Pork for $26. They might head to La Hacienda de San Angel in EPCOT and get Tacos de Camarones for $31 or maybe Pollo Poblano for $30. Kids’ meals at table-service restaurants tend to be $15 per child or cheaper.

Note that some specialty dining (and particularly character dining) will cost more than $35 per person; Be Our Guest Restaurant, for example, currently costs $62 per adult and $37 per child for the prix-fixe meals served there.

With our general plan of $15 per person for each quick-service meal, $35 per adult for each table-service meal, and $15 per child for each table-service meal, that brings our dining total to $720. We’re going to add in a bit more for snacks (because who doesn’t want snacks?) and round up to $800 total.

Total Cost So Far (With Flights): $5,962.90

Total Cost So Far (Without Flights): $4,186.90

Now, we could stop there and it’d be a great vacation for this family. They’ve got flights, a hotel reservations, park tickets, and a budget for food. But there are a few extra things to consider that could increase the cost if you wanted to add these to your budget.

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party

This year, Disney is bringing back Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party! This party takes place in Magic Kingdom on select nights from November 8th through December 22nd. Sad news: our hypothetical family of 4 missed the event, as they flew in on the 23rd.

But if you wanted to attend this event, tickets range in price from $149 to $199 for adults (ages 10 and up) and $139 to $189 for kids (ages 9 and under). The prices vary by date, and they’re generally more expensive on the weekends or the closer you get to December 22nd.

Guests with tickets to the event can enter Magic Kingdom starting at 4PM (even if they don’t have a park ticket), and the party lasts from 7PM to midnight. There are special holiday ride overlays, limited-time treats, entertainment, and a holiday parade!

When we priced out the event for a family of 4 (3 adults and 1 child) on December 22nd, the total (including tax) came to $837.11. So if the family were able to attend (even though the party is the day before they arrived), their total vacation cost would be $5,024.01 (without flights) or $6,800.01 (with flights)

If you are going to attend Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, you can buy your tickets now!

Other Things to Consider

A few other things you might want to consider include the cost of merchandise in the parks, special tours, and stroller rentals. Stroller rentals cost $15 per day for a single day or $13 per day for multiple days.

Souvenirs in the parks can cost as little as under $5 for a magnet or other trinkets and as high as thousands of dollars for designer collections. Make sure to set a souvenir budget before you visit so that you don’t accidentally spend too much on fun collectibles!

Disney World also has various tours throughout the parks where you can learn more about the history of Magic Kingdom, see Disney’s Animal Kingdom animals up close, visit the greenhouses in EPCOT, and more. These tours usually cost between $100 and $250 per person, depending on the tour and time of year. We expect the tours to book up fast around the holidays, so make sure to reserve your spot ASAP.

And that’s a wrap on our budget for the family of 4 trying to do Disney World at Christmas. Here’s a grand total for the cost of their trip, which doesn’t include the extras we mentioned at the end (like souvenirs, stroller rentals, or tours) but does include a visit to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party:

Total Cost (With Flights): $6,800.01

Total Cost (Without Flights): $5,024.01

Remember that there are other ways to save if that total still looks too high. You could consider off-property hotels, opt for a road trip instead of a flight, or cut back on the table-service restaurant reservations. We’ve got some great resources for saving money in Disney World that you can check out here:

• The Best Disney World Souvenirs for Every Budget
• How to Feed a Family of 4 for Under $100 a Day
• 15 Cheap but Filling Disney World Snacks for When You’re Ballin’ on a Budget
• 19 Disney Snacks for Under $10 that We Like MORE than $50 Meals
• These Hotels Are Worth the MONEY According to Disney World Guests
• Expensive Disney World Snacks Aren’t Always the BEST Disney World Snacks
• Full List of Disney Deals and Discounts
• How to Get the MOST Discounts During Your Disney World Trip

Keep following DFB for more tips on how to save on your upcoming Disney World vacation!

Click here to see everything returning to Disney World for the holiday season in 2022.

Are you visiting Disney World this holiday season? Let usk now in the comments.