Paying FULL PRICE for souvenirs, believing Disney’s marketing schemes, and wasting precious park time. It’s SO easy to waste money in Disney World!

Spending money in Disney World is easy. TOO easy. And before you realize it, you’ll find yourself spending WAY more on this vacation than you were wanting to pay for. Luckily, we’ve already been there, bought that, and regretted it terribly for you.

We’ve compiled a list to help YOU stop from falling into the same money pitfalls that we’ve stumbled into before. That way you and your wallet can have a magical & enjoyable vacation together.

Purchasing Genie+ Too Late

Ever since we first met Disney Genie + back in 2021, we’ve had a fickle relationship with it. On the one hand, you gotta pay for it. And that’s blah. On the other hand, it’s still a good tool to use when you’re not wanting to wait in all those massive ride lines.

But there is a WRONG time to purchase Genie+ on the day of your visit, and that’s midday or later. Lightning Lanes DO book up — especially during a busy park day. So if you plan on arriving at the parks later or thinking about purchasing Genie+ when it’s already getting into the afternoon, you’re gonna start off at a MAJOR disadvantage. There’s a good chance that many of the rides you’re wanting a Lightning Lane for might’ve already been taken.

Buying Genie+ later also means you’re not gonna be able to use that 120-minute rule to your advantage. Normally, you’re only able to book your NEXT Lightning Lane after you used the LAST one. But you can also book your next Lightning Lane AFTER a 2-hour cool-down period. So if you book a Lightning Lane for, say, Slinky Dog Dash in Hollywood Studios and the return time isn’t for another 3-4 hours, you’ll STILL be able to stack up on Lightning Lane reservations and make a SECOND selection after 120 minutes have passed.

And THAT’S why it’s better to purchase and start using your Genie+ as EARLY as you can on the day of your visit — to get the MOST bang for your buck! You can start making reservations as early as 7AM, though the 120 minute rule won’t kick in until after the parks officially open for the day.

Paying Full Price For A Shortened Day

You purchase the park tickets. You arrive for a more-than-magical day. You fill your day with rides, snacks, and shows. And then all of a sudden… the brakes SLAM on your perfect Disney park visit. OUCH. It stings when you’ve gotta cut your park day short, but, on occasion, you might have to.

During seasonal after-hours parties — like Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween/Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom — the park will have to close SUPER early for all regular day guests. And that means non-party guests will have to leave by 6PM.

Of course, you can always buy a party ticket and join in on the late-night fun yourself, but if you’ve already paid for a regular day ticket, a party ticket on top of that will be DOUBLE the cost you’d normally pay for a one-day ticket. And that’s…. A WHOLE lotta money to spend on a single park day.

So I’d suggest choosing one park ticket or the other… but maybe not BOTH on the same day, if you can avoid it. After all, even with just a party ticket, you can still enter into the park a few hours BEFORE the event kicks off — giving you some daylight hours to enjoy the park, too!). But it’s not JUST holiday parties you need to be on the lookout for. Sometimes, the parks have to close earlier for cast member training or other special events, as well.

Just make sure you’re keeping a close eye on the Disney World hours and events calendar on their website so you’re not caught off-guard by these early closing times (and that you’re able to plan around them, if need be). Worse comes to worst, if you’ve got a park hopper add-on handy, you can always jump over to a DIFFERENT park that’ll stay open later so you can eat dinner, watch the nighttime shows, and grab some late-night rides over there instead.

Overpaying For Souvenirs

I get it. You’re caught in the heat of the moment. You’re in Disney World, about to have the time of your life, and the first gift shop you wander into is like a TREASURE TROVE of must-have items.

But don’t put your vacation blinders on yet folks! Oftentimes, you can also look to see if the same items you’re trying to buy in the parks are available online (for a discounted price). Be sure to scope out which disneystore.com sales can lead to the biggest savings before you head into the parks. That way, you’ll know whether or not that Loungefly bag you’re currently eyeballin’ on the store shelf is gonna be cheaper if you just purchase it through the Disney Store website instead.

You may also find fun Disney toy and accessory options for way cheaper at places like Target, Walmart, or Amazon. If you’re looking to buy items for the little ones in your group — and you wanna steer them away from the overpriced balloons, bubble wands, and Minnie Ears inside the parks — consider buying them some souvenirs from cheaper spots online or locally ahead of your trip. Then, you can pack those items with you and, during the trip, you can take ‘em out as a fun (and much more affordable) SURPRISE!

Paying For Extras With “Good Intentions”

Those “magical” Disney add-ons ain’t so magical when they come back to bite’cha. For example, purchasing Memory Maker for $185 BEFORE your vacation may SEEM like a good idea — since it’ll give you unlimited downloads of all your PhotoPass pictures that you take around the parks — but if you only wind up taking one or two photos that you actually wanna keep, it’s a much BETTER deal to just pay for those downloads individually (which typically costs around $20 per picture).

Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in Magic Kingdom for $100+ may SEEM like a good idea — since your little prince or princess will get a magical Disney makeover from their very own Fairy Godmother — but if your kiddo ends up HATING the fact that someone else is messing with their hair, or they don’t wanna wear their costume around the park because it’s too hot, and end up not enjoying the experience whatsoever, then there goes hundreds of dollars down the drain when you could’ve just stopped at one of the face paint booths for $15-$20+ OR gotten a little sprinkling of pixie dust in your hair FOR FREE from one of the Fantasyland gift shops.

It can be tricky to figure out which add-ons are actually gonna be WORTH those steep price points or not, but the truth is… each family is DIFFERENT. So you’re gonna have to talk about these add-ons with your group beforehand and decide which offerings are actually gonna be worth setting aside that extra money for.

Wasting Your Disney Dining Plan Purchase

If our relationship with Genie+ has been fickle, then our relationship with the Disney Dining Plan has been a downright puzzle. The Disney Dining Plan returned to the Disney World scene this past January. And you know what? It CAN be a great investment… but only IF you know how to use it correctly.

If you’re not careful, this Disney Vacation package add-on (that allows you to pre-pay for meals and snacks before your visit) could become a MAJOR waste of money, when all is said and done. You might end up wasting your snack or dining credits by not using them all, you might choose the wrong dining plan for your family, or you might use dining credits to purchase inexpensive meals and menu items that you could’ve purchased for MUCH CHEAPER if you’d just paid for them out of pocket.

What you need to do is take the time to break down the Disney Dining Plan and see which option (if ANY option) is gonna be a good fit for your family.

Paying For Park Hoppers Too Late

Genie+ isn’t the only add-on that could become a major money-waster if you procrastinate on purchasing it. You can purchase park hopper add-ons when you’re buying your theme park tickets online. But here’s the thing. When it comes to park hoppers, it’s all or nothing.

You can’t pick and choose which days you want to use park hoppers. So even if you just wanted to use it on one day of your 5-day park ticket, you’re still gonna have to pay the extra $65+ for ALL FIVE DAYS. If you’re iffy about adding a park hopper to your trip, you can always purchase the one-day tickets for now and wait to add the park hoppers on when you get to Disney World if you change your mind while you’re there. But if you do decide to add park hopping capabilities to your tickets at the last minute, make sure you do so at the VERY beginning of your trip BEFORE your first park day. Because the price you pay for park hoppers will still be “based on your original number of ticket days, not how many days you have left.”

So if you’re on day three of your 5-day park tickets — and you suddenly decide you wanna hop between parks — you’re still gonna have to pay the price difference for ALL 5 park days (including the first two days you didn’t use it for). Talk about a MAJOR money-waster!

Paying For Water

HYDRATE, DON’T DIE-DRATE! If you buy a bottle of water at one of the park kiosks or quick services, we aren’t going to slap your hand or anything — because we WANT you to stay hydrated. However, you really don’t need to be spending $5+ on water each time you’re in need of an H20 replenishment.

Instead of trashing your hydration goals during your visit because a water bottle costs an arm and a leg, you can grab free cups of ice water from almost any Quick Service restaurant around Disney World, as well as from the snack stands that have drink machines, too.

And for those of you who choose to bring refillable water bottles into the parks instead, there’s now an EASIER way to track refillable water bottle stations at the parks through the My Disney Experience App. In the app’s search bar, type “water bottle.” The first option that pops up should be “Water Bottle Refill Stations”and this will lead you to the app’s specific Water Bottle Refill Station page. Tap on the “map” option and it’ll show you ALL of the refill stations around Disney property. Easy & – the best part – free!

Believing You HAVE To Pay For Disney’s Food

Controversial take, because we are Disney FOOD Blog, but you actually don’t HAVE to pay for Disney food for each of your meals. You are totally and completely allowed to order food from outside places and have them delivered to your Disney World hotel to help you save money.

You can always take a quick trip over to one of the Big Box Stores outside the Disney bubble to pick up groceries and cheaper snack items or you can order groceries from online services. Whatever option you choose, having your own groceries back in your room means you can prep your own food to take into the parks with you and avoid having to spend $15-$20+ per quick service entree, or $20-$40+ per person on each table service meal.

So maybe pick a couple of Disney Restaurants you for sure wanna prioritize, and then stock up on sandwich ingredients, protein bars, trail mixes, beef jerky, or whatever other sustainable snack and food options you want to bring with you into the parks for a nice little picnic!

Buying Necessities At Hotel Gift Shops

Sometimes, you don’t have a choice. When you’re in desperate need of over-the-counter meds, or more diapers, or stronger sunscreen — and your Disney resort gift shop is literally right there, then it’s understandable that you’re gonna pay for the necessities you can get in an instant. But if you can AVOID doing that, you should. Because those hotel gift shop necessities are gonna be more expensive than paying for them at a big box store or nearby drug store.

Much like you can grab groceries at big box stores or order them through delivery apps, you can do the same for non-food essentials, too. Just keep in mind that there are occasions when simply buying a necessity or two at your hotel gift shop may STILL be the smarter option for you, depending on your circumstances.

For example, if something gets in your eye last minute while waiting for your resort bus to a park, we wouldn’t suggest putting your whole day on pause just to drive over to a pharmacy. So, in these situations, it’s easier to bite the bullet and pay an extra couple of dollars for an overpriced bottle of eye drops at your hotel gift shop rather than making it a whole extra ordeal that sucks precious time out of your Disney day.

Driving Around In Circles

We know that Disney has all those directions listed on their overhead signs above the roads and we know that the GPS tells you which exits you need to take, but when you’re feeling the PRESSURE of the moment — trying to get to the parks before you miss your Early Theme Park Entry opportunity, or Advance Dining Reservation, or whatever other reason you might be pressured for time — the nerves might get to you and you’ll find yourself missing an important turn and getting yelled at by everyone in your car while your GPS desperately tries to reroute you on the fly.

Time is MONEY in Disney World. So when traffic and directions aren’t on your side that day, money might be wasted just because you didn’t get to use your Early Theme Park Entry that comes with your Disney World hotel stay, or you missed your Advance Dining Reservation (which typically charges $10 per person as a no show fee. So, yeah, you have to pay a fee to the restaurant just for NOT SHOWING UP).

A late arrival because of an easy mistake adds a sour note to the beginning of your vacation, so make sure to factor in that extra time when creating your park schedule to allow yourself a wrong turn or two. And don’t forget, if you’re staying on Disney property you’ve got ACCESS to FREE park transportation! So if the thought of driving in Disney is already giving ya pit stains, see what free transportation options are gonna be available for you at YOUR resort.

Booking More Park Days Than You Need To

Disney has incentivized going to the parks for more days by decreasing the price of a park ticket per day the longer you stay. Sounds nice at first. But just wait until we break things down:

A Disney World park ticket for one park per day starts at $109 (That price can vary based on the day you pick to go, but we’re going to work with $109 for now). If you decide to go to the parks for 10 days (which is a LOT of days, folks) that price drops down and can get as low as $65 per day. (Not including park hoppers or any other ticket add-ons, of course).

But keep in mind that you’re not just paying $65 for a ticket. You’re paying $65 per day across TEN DAYS. So really, instead of $109 for your trip ticket, you’ll be spending $650 per person instead! Sure, TECHNICALLY that per-day ticket price is cheaper, but overall you’ll still be paying more for your tickets as a whole.

Now, let’s consider all the other expenses you would have to factor in for those days, too. You would need a hotel for each additional day, you need food for each additional day, you may even need Genie+ (or some other added cost) on those additional days as well. So, even though the ticket price DOES drop the more days you spend in the parks, don’t fall for this EASY trap and EXTEND your trip, just because you THINK you’re getting a good deal in the end.

Only book the amount of days that’ll work for YOUR group’s specific timeline — and check out Disney’s Special Offers, Deals, and Discounts page online for extra ticket, hotel, and vacation package savings opportunities.

Purchasing WAY Too Many Full-Sized Drinks

Drinking Around the World in EPCOT might sound like a fun time with friends… until you’re four countries in and realize, “Man… these drinks are starting to give me a tummy ache.” Some of the drinks you’re gonna find around the World Showcase pavilions are HUGE. Shareable, even. So if you keep buying giant drinks across each of the 11 pavilions, only for them to keep making you kinda queasy — or force you to throw them away after just a few sips — you’re definitely not gonna be getting your money’s worth out of this Drinking Around the World venture.

Here are some ways to make your spirited EPCOT challenge a lot more efficient (AND affordable):

1.) Find the smaller options. Lots of the limited-time spirited drinks offered at the festival food booths around the World Showcase are gonna be more of a sipping size rather than a full cup commitment. So make sure to study up on the festival menus IF you’re planning on going to EPCOT during one of its festival seasons.

2.) Order flights. Not only are drink flights gonna give you sample-sized portions of typically full-sized drinks, BUT they’re also easier to share amongst the people in your group (who are 21+).

3.) Alternate between cocktails and mocktails. Nobody said that drinking around the world HAD to be strictly a spirited pursuit. Not only are Disney’s mocktails HALF the price of a regular cocktail, BUT they also allow EVERYONE to join in on the drinking around the world fun! Also — don’t be afraid to ask if a certain cocktail can be made without the alcohol. While some cocktails are pre-mixed (so that the booze can’t be taken out of it) many others are made fresh at the bars — meaning you could order a cocktail with everything else still in it EXCEPT for the liquor and get it for half the price!

No matter how you decide to take on the Drinking Around the World challenge, just remember to pace yourself and — above all — Drink Responsibly.

Staying At A Deluxe Resort For No Reason

There are some folks out there who absolutely MUST book a Disney deluxe resort for their vacation because of their top-tier amenities, club-level accommodations, high-end dining options, multiple transportation perks (for some), larger guest rooms, and Extended Evening Hours benefit. But before you up and say, “Wow, I wanna be bougie and get the VIP treatment, too,” keep in mind that these resorts are called DELUXE for a reason.

They’re so. stinkin. expensive. Typically, the lowest-priced deluxe hotel rooms (without any discounts applied) are gonna be standard rooms at $500+ per night. This is important to keep in mind not only from a purely financial perspective but also from a value perspective in actually getting your money’s worth out of ‘em. If you are NOT planning on spending any time at your hotel and you’re likely going to be in the parks from rope drop ‘til close, then a Disney deluxe hotel stay is probably NOT worth $500+ per night. You can easily stay at a Value or a Moderate Resort for less – or even a much-cheaper Good Neighbor Hotel – and get more nights out of the price you pay.

Wanna have your cake and eat it, too? (Ie: wanna pay less but STILL get a deluxe hotel experience?) The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotels can hook ya up with JUST that.

The Swan and Dolphin are two separate hotels — owned by Marriott — that are placed right next to each other, smack dab on Disney World property (within walking distance of both EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. While these hotels have solid restaurants, classy vibes, and the convenience of the Skyliner system (which is, again, only steps away from the hotels themselves), one of the BEST parts about staying at either location is the fact that they’re treated like a DELUXE Disney World resort, despite only having a moderate price point (or even LESS than that, depending on what time of year you visit)

Rooms at the Swan tend to start at around $206 per night, while rooms at the Dolphin tend to start at around $273 per night.So, in summary, the Swan or Dolphin can literally be HUNDREDS of dollars less than a regular Deluxe Disney resort — and will still give you those deluxe resort perks (including Extended Evening Hours — which allows deluxe resort guests 2 hours of extra time inside select parks on select nights AFTER they close for everyone else)

 

No matter where you’re planning on staying, it’s important to do your research ahead of booking a Disney World Deluxe Resort. These hotels cost several pretty pennies, and they aren’t all created equal.

Hopefully, the pressure of overspending during your Disney World day feels a little (or a LOT) less pressuring than before. But if you wanna start on your vacation savings NOW, don’t forget to check back here for more Disney deals and the best ways to save during your trip to Walt Disney World!

What’s your favorite tip from our list? Let us know in the comments!