Budgeting for Disney

I’ve shared how I planned my Disney trip from last year, so now I want to give a full breakdown of how much a trip can cost. Specifically, for a group of four. I’m hoping to do all the unnecessary digging for you so you won’t have to.

All prices are based on a 7-day Disney World trip taking place in September 2023 (which, as of June 5^th, Disney is offering 25% off for stays booked within the dates of July 11^th-September 28^th 2023).

Flights/Transportation to Orlando

Flights are hard to calculate since the price varies depending on where you’re flying from. I suggest using Skyscanner or Google Flights to find the best prices (if you aren’t picky about your airline like I am).

As an example, I used Skyscanner to see flights from various different departing airports. Washington D.C. had the cheapest option of $94 per person round trip, while Minneapolis had the highest option of $228 per person round trip. Both were for direct flights.

The cheapest option maybe to drive but it will also take longer.

Accommodations

First, choose your lodging. If you’re filling most of your day with being in the parks and doing activities, you may not fuss about certain amenities where you stay but it’s still good to have a nice place to rest your head at the end of a long day. Do you want to stay on the Disney campus or stay close to it? Besides the Disney resorts, there are the good neighbor hotels, Airbnbs, and the cheapest option, staying with a friend or family member in the area.

Airbnb

While looking through different Airbnbs and trying to find a decent price that can accommodate four people, I picked two that I thought were the best value. Apparently, they’re hosted by the same person which makes me hesitant but they both had a good price (as of June 6th, 2023) for what they offer.

Entire Townhouse – Festival Resort

Total: $970 (not including tax) for 6 nights ($117 per night + cleaning and service fees)

This price is based on the “early bird special” they’re offering (it’s normally $143 per night). It includes three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The first bedroom has 1 queen bed, the second has a double bed, the third has 2 bunk beds, and the living room has a sofa bed. That is a total of seven beds.

This Airbnb is 8 miles from Disney World which is nice. Its amenities include:

• A private screened in pool
• Central AC
• A wash and dryer
• Full Kitchen
• And more

The Festival Resort community amenities include:

• A water slide and pool
• Fitness Center
• Volleyball Court
• And more

The listing also provides varies restaurants, shops, and other activities that the townhouse is near.

Entire Rental Unit – Lucaya Village

Total: $970 (not including tax) for 6 nights ($117 per night + cleaning and service fees)

This price is based on the “early bird special” they’re offering (it’s normally $143 per night). It includes three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Two of bedrooms include 1 king bed. The third bedroom has 2 double beds. This makes a total of 4 beds.

This Airbnb is 5 miles away from Disney so it’s a little closer than the first one. Its amenities include:

• Gated community
• Central AC
• A wash and dryer
• Full Kitchen
• And more

The Lucaya Village community amenities include:

• Pool and Hot Tub
• Lake
• Fitness Center
• Bakery and Cafe
• And more

These are some of the closest Airbnbs I could find with a price a little less expensive than hotels.

My Feeling Behind Airbnb

I’ve only stayed in two Airbnbs in my life and while neither experience was necessarily bad (actually one of them was pretty great), I still prefer a hotel. It can be cheaper most of the time but some of the Airbnbs I came across in my search were more expensive than the hotels. At first, I thought, “Why would I pay more for an Airbnb?” But there are some factors that I can see why you’d pay (a little bit) more.

Pros

• It includes a washer and dryer and a full kitchen.
• More freedom to do activities outside of Disney World.

Cons

There’s no transportation from the airport or to the parks so you’d either have to use a ride-share everywhere or rent a car which is an additional cost that can add up.

Outside Hotel

For hotels I wanted to focus on proximity to the parks and that at least includes a shuttle to the parks. Keep in mind these prices are from the hotel websites but you can always use discounted sites to get a lower price.

Wyndham Lake Buena Vista Disney Springs Resort Area

Total: $1,074.83 for 6 nights ($125.23 per night + taxes and the $34 resort fee)

This price is based on the hotel 15% discount with a 24-hour cancellation notice. It’s a standard, non-smoking room 2 room with 2 queen beds.

This hotel is, as you can tell, in the Disney Springs Area. It’s about a 9 minute walk to Disney Springs where you can shop, eat, bowl or watch a movie.  This is a nice amenity if you want to take a day to rest from the four parks.

Other amenities include:

• Shuttle to the Disney Parks
• Two outdoor pools and a Jacuzzi
• Fitness Center
• Tennis and Sand volleyball courts
• Arcade
• And more

B Resort & Spa – Disney Springs Resort Area

Total: $849.75 (non-refundable) or $1,133 (refundable/Free cancellation) for 6 nights ($188.83 per night not including taxes or $38.25 resort fee).

This is for a “captivating room” with city view that offers 2 large double beds.

This hotel is also in the Disney Springs Area. It’s bit further out from Disney Springs than the Wyndham. It take 15 minutes to walk to Disney Springs.

The resort amenities include:

• Complimentary shuttle to Disney Parks
• Heated, zero entry pool
• Fitness Center
• On-site restaurants and bars
• A kid’s zone
• And more

Hotels off the Disney campus makes the trip more affordable and you’re still close enough to the “Disney Magic”. However, if you want to go all out, you have the option to stay at a Disney Resort.

Disney Resort

For the Disney Resorts I’m going to show three options instead of two. Disney offers value resorts, moderate resorts, and deluxe resorts. They also have villas and campground options. I will admit for some of their resorts, you are paying for the aesthetic. You’ll have to determine if that’s worth it for you.

All Disney resorts have the perks of early park entry and early access to restaurant reservations.

Disney’s Pop Century (Value Resort)

Total: $1,266.32 for 6 nights ($187.60 per night + taxes)

This price is based on a standard room for 1 queen table-bed and 1 queen bed or 1 king bed.

Pop Century is located in the Wide World of Sports Resort area. It’s a little further from the four parks but it offers the skyliner and bus shuttle as forms of transportation to get to them.

Dining options here are a bit more cafeteria-like which might be a let-down if you want plenty of food options in one area.

Some amenities include:

• Pools
• Campfire Activities
• Jogging Trail
• Playground
• And more

The resort’s fun theme is a perk for those who enjoy high-themed hotels (like me).

Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort (Moderate Resort)

Total:  $2,270.28 for 6 nights ($336.33 per night + taxes)

This price is based on a standard view room for 2 queen beds.

Coronado Springs is in the Animal Kingdom Resort area. This means it is close to the Animal Kingdom Park (although, it looks like it’s closer to Hollywood Studios or the Blizzard Beach water park). With that being said, it offers bus transportation to all parks. Meaning there isn’t a skyliner or monorail option.

There are a plethora of restaurant and lounge options here compared to Pop Century that are more centered around Spanish cuisine.

Some of the amenities are similar to Pop Century however, there are additions:

• Painting and artistic workshops
• Volleyball
• Spa Services

This resort, while still fun for kids, looks to be more geared towards the adults having some fun of their own. It’s not necessarily “fun” themed but it does have beautiful décor.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge (Deluxe Resort)

Total: $3,669.78 for 6 nights ($543.67 per night + taxes)

This price is based on a water view room for 2 queen beds.

This resort is also located in the Animal Kingdom Resort area (of course) so it also only has bus transportation to the parks. This resort, however, is much closer to the Animal Kingdom than Coronado Springs.

Animal Kingdom Lodge also offers plenty of restaurant options, many featuring African cuisine.

The amenities here are also similar to Coronado Springs but it leans more into Lion King themed activities. This resort also offers a spa if you’re interested.

There are different room views like the Savanna. If you choose this view, you might be able to see some of the animals from your room. Of course, this will cost a little more than the price above.

Tickets

Disney’s Prices
Standard Ticket prices for four 4-day park tickets is $1,686.96. This is with Disney’s discount that they’re offering. Regularly, it would be $2,048.12.

If you want add a park-hopper option, meaning you can go to a second park in one day (after 2PM), it is $2,410.24.

Disney World also has water parks and a sports area. If you wanted the four standard 4-day park tickets and 4 chances to visit the water park and sports areas it is $2,346.32.

If you want the park-hopper tickets and the water parks and sports, which is called the Park Hopper Plus Option, the total would be $2,495.44.

These are all prices from Disney’s website but if you have a AAA, Sam’s Club, Costco, or similar membership, you may be able to get a discount.

Food

I think I’ve said this already but one of my favorite things to do while on vacation is to eat and try new foods.

The price of food can vary and luckily Disney posts the prices of all restaurants on their properties (except for Disney Springs)

Prices can range for $13 per person to $65 per person. Make sure to account for tipping.

I used the maps on Disney’s website to figure out the restaurants I wanted to try in the parks and picked out the menu items I wanted to eat to gauge how much I’d be spending.

There were also some Disney snacks I wanted to try like the Dole Whip ice cream and the giant turkey leg. I made sure to add those to my food budget.

I’ll share the food budget I came up with when planning my Disney trip.

Disclaimer – I think at the time I was under the impression that I would eat dinner back at the resort but I sorely underestimated how long I’d be at the park each day:

Day 2: Animal Kingdom	Option 1			Option 2
Restaurant	Item/Food	Price	Restaurant	Item/Food	Price
Rainforest Cafe – Brunch	Tonga Toast	$14	Creature Comforts	breakfast sandwich	$7
Isle of Java – Drink	Monster	$9	Isle of Java	Frozen Coke with rum	$11
Yak & Yeti – Lunch	Chicken Tikka Masala	$26	Yak & Yeti Cafe	Korean Friend Chicken Sandwich	$14
			Yak & Yeti Beverage – Snack	Turkey Leg	$14
	Total	49		Total	46
Day 3: EPCOT
Breakfast – Crepes A Emporter by La Creperie de Paris	Hazelnut/chocolate spread crepe	$8
Day 4: Hollywood Studios
Lunch: ABC Commissary	Frozen Apple Cider Whisky		$14
	Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese		$11
	Total		$25
Day 5: Magic Kingdom
Snack – Aloha Isle	Pineapple Dole whip		$5
Snack –	Beignets		$5
Be Our Guest – Lunch/Dinner	Pre-fix meal, lobster bisque, sea scallops, dessert trio		$74	$62+12.40 (tip)
	Total		$84

You can come up with a food budget like this, or you can just do a gauge of $15-$30 per meal per person. $40+ is if you’re going somewhere on the higher end. Account for snacks and drinks as well which could be $5-$16.

Disney Meal Plans

Disney also has meal plans that you can use if you think that would work better for you but these can only be added if you have a Disney vacation package (meaning you get your tickets and lodging through Disney).

They have two options: Quick-Service Dining Plan and Dining Plan

The quick-service dining plan includes two quick-service meals, one snack or beverage, for each night of the stay and a refillable mug.

The dining plan includes one quick-service meal, one table-service meal, one snack or beverage for each night of the stay and a refillable mug.

Quick-service is equivalent to fast food like McDonald’s and table-service is equivalent to a sit-down restaurant like Applebee’s.

They don’t list the prices of the meal plan on the site so if you do decided to get a vacation package through Disney you can compare the prices of the meal plan and see if it’s worth it. I would suggesting building out your food budget first to properly compare.

Groceries

You can also utilize grocery delivery or grocery stores to cut some of the cost on food down.

Transportation To and From the Airport

I’ve mentioned this in my previous post of how to get transportation but I want to share it again to have it all in one place.

If you aren’t driving down or taking another form of wheels (bus or train), you’ll most likely fly into Orlando.

 Mears Connect is what you can use for your transportation to and from the airport. At the time when I used them it was $16 per adult and $13.50 per child (3-9 years old) one way. They have a spring sale that shows the same price but the regular price is $20.90 per adult and $14.85 per child one way. Children under 3 are free. A round trip without the sale is $39.90 per adult and $28.35 per child.

Another option is a ride-share or taxi which can use estimator to figure out how much that could cost.

If you catch Mears Connect on sale it’s is cheaper for 3 or less people. A ride-share or taxi is cheaper with 4 or more people (but keep in mind the surcharges) because you can split $60 with 4 or more ways as opposed to two or paying the full amount yourself.

Total for the Trip

Now, let’s get the total for the trip. This will exclude the flight price and spending money for souvenir.

Low End

The absolute least you can spend for four people based on the prices listed above is: $2,971.71 ($742.93 per person)

Here’s the breakdown:

Accommodations: B Resort & Spa – $849.75 (non-refundable)

Tickets: Standard Ticket 4-day ticket – $1,686.96

Food: 3 meals a day, with one snack or drink – $1,260 = $315 per person ($45 per day, $15 per meal)

Transportation: Ride-share/taxi – $120 ($60 from and to the airport).

High End

The absolute most you can spend based on the prices listed above is: $9,684.82 ($2,421.205 per person)

Here’s the breakdown:

Accommodations: Animal Kingdom Lodge – $3,669.78

Tickets: Park Hopper Plus Ticket – $2,495.44

Food: 3 meals a day, with three snacks or drinks – $3,360 = $840 per person ($120 per day, $30 per meal/snack or drink)

Transportation: Mears Connect round trip – $159.60 ($39.90 round trip per person from and to the airport).

Keep in mind these are just based of the prices listed in this post. It can cost more or less.

Is Disney World pricey? Yes, it certainly is but it’s quite the experience and it’s something you can always save up for if you give yourself time.

If you want to stay at deluxe Disney resort but don’t have the money right, maybe plan to go for next year and start saving!

I hope this helps to give you an idea on how much to save for your next Disney trip!

If you’ve visited Disney, how do you spend your time? Do you go for the full out Disney experience in the resort or do you stay off property? Leave it the comments below!