How to do Disney on a budget: Money-saving tips for your upcoming vacation

Avoid extra ticket add-ons

The best way to avoid adding more to the already pricey Disney park tickets is simply avoiding any add-ons. That includes special events like holiday parties or dinners. There’s also deciding that Genie+ and Lightning Lane are simply not worth it and putting up with the regular lines.

If you’re able to hit the parks at the “off-season” times, the crowds are less and thus, you can handle the lines better. So while the add-ons may cut down on wait times, putting up with the standby lines is an old-school method that saves you a lot of cash. 

Skip Park Hopper tickets

Here’s another ticket trick that may be overlooked but is good to use. It often seems best for guests to buy the Park Hopper ticket as, indeed, many will decide to do two or more parks a day. If you're only doing one park a day, then you can actually save money by just buying a one-day park pass to each park. Even with a single-park ticket, you can exit the park and return later in the date. This allows you to explore more of the Disney World property or enjoy some of your hotel amenities.