Last week, my sister and I spent 3 days in Disney World (one day in Disney Springs and two days in the parks). She recently graduated college and I'm in my third year, so we were determined to have a piggy bank-friendly vacation at the most expensive place on Earth. So, how'd we do? Well, not including the flight and souvenirs, we spent about $830, so less than $500 each.
We could have saved more, but we did our best under the circumstances (I don't have a car and we didn't rent one). Read on for a breakdown of our spending, saving tips, and what we wished we did differently.
The Flight
Although I didn't include the flight costs in our total, I will say that we came all the way from California and our direct flight was a steal, especially for the peak season. We purchased Southwest "Wanna Get Away" tickets (the cheapest option) and bought them around a month before our trip. I love Southwest for the open seating and the fact that peanuts aren't their only free snack offering.
What we wish we did differently: We wish we had been able to follow the 54 day before rule to potentially maximize our savings.
The Park Tickets
I didn't want to risk buying tickets from a third party, so we bought our Animal Kingdom tickets from the Disney World website and had them emailed to us ($240).
Luckily for me, my university offers 2 discounted theme park tickets per month to students, so we scored Epcot tickets for almost half price ($140 total).
The Hotel
Even though I live in Oviedo, I wanted to save time and possibly money by getting closer to the parks, so we booked a 2 night stay at the Champions World Resort in Kissimmee ($130) through Expedia. I later discovered the hotel on Groupon, but it only would have saved us $15, so I didn't cancel and re-book.
All I can say is, we survived. There were no bedbugs, but the place was obviously more of a motel than a resort. If you plan on staying there, remember to bring your own conditioner, because they apparently don't believe in giving it to guests.
Saving Tip: Always check Groupon first. $15 could be a few coffees in the parks, so if you aren't lazy like me, make sure to shop around and re-book if necessary to maximize your savings.
What we wish we did differently: We could have tried to find an Airbnb close enough to one of the parks to get there for under $10 with Lyft, then use shuttles to get to the other parks and Disney Springs.
Transportation
With hotels, you really do get exactly what you pay for. The shuttle service at the so-called "resort" only went to Hollywood Studios and only left a couple times a day. When we got on the bus, we were lucky to have seats. But when the already-packed shuttle stopped at a nearby hotel and a mother with a four year-old got on, we were the only ones who gave up our seats. The bus then proceeded to go to TWO more hotels, even though it was already full after our hotel (the first stop). The driver barked at everyone to squeeze in and move back as far as possible, even though there was nowhere else for us to go. People were smushed up against the door and I felt like we were just a bunch of cattle. The driver had no regard for our safety or comfort whatsoever. There were no handles or railings, so we were clutching the narrow ledge of the overhead bins and hanging on for dear life each time the bus turned and braked. By the time we got to Hollywood Studios, we were feeling lucky to be alive. We skipped the bus to Epcot and instead walked to the Boardwalk so that we could go through the other Epcot entrance, which had no line even at 10:30am.
To get home that day, we hopped on the Animal Kingdom Lodge bus to get as close as possible to our hotel before requesting a Lyft. Lyft was awesome and sent me a 25% off 10 rides promo just in time for our trip.
Here's a breakdown of our fares with tips included:
From the airport to my apartment: $35
From my apartment to the hotel: $33
From the hotel to Disney Springs: $13
From Disney Springs to the hotel: $14
From the Animal Kingdom Lodge to the hotel: $8
From the hotel to Animal Kingdom: $11
For the most part, we had great drivers and we were super pleased with the low fares. If you have never used Lyft before, get started by using my code KRISTEN194170.
Food
Dinner #1
Our first meal in Disney was at the T-Rex restaurant in Disney Springs. Normally, I would advise getting a reservation (I've been twice before), but it was like 4pm so we waltzed right in and got a coveted table next to the aquarium and dined next to Nemo and Dory.
I ordered the quesadilla off the appetizer menu and my sister ordered the Omnivore's Delight salad and a side of fries for us to share, as well as a Diet Coke. Our total came out to about $50 including the tip, which isn't bad considering the entrees run between about $20-$35.
What we wish we did differently: We wish we ordered only appetizers and water. Then our bill would have been around $35-$40.
Dessert #1
We went to Sprinkles and I got a gluten-free chocolate chip cookie ($3.50) and my sister opted for a banana cupcake ($3.50). I'm not usually a one cookie kind of girl, but I wasn't feeling up to paying $7 for two.
We had bought snacks ($10 total) at the Publix near my apartment, so our breakfasts consisted of Ritz cheese crackers and Whenever Bars (really balanced, I know).
What we wish we did differently: For a more healthful and less expensive morning meal, we might have considered a hotel that included a free breakfast buffet.
Lunch #1
We spent the first day in Epcot and took a much needed break at the sit-down quick-service Tangerine Cafe in the Morocco Pavilion. My sister got the chicken platter and a drink, and I got the vegetable platter for a total of about $28. If you want healthy-ish food that isn't $20 or more an entree at a place where you can sit down, Tangerine is one of your best bets in Epcot.
Snack #1
My sister is a pastry fanatic, so it would have been a crime not to take her to Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie. She ordered a hot coffee and a yogurt mousse parfait ($10).
In the China Pavilion, a Malaysian mango juice with pulp ($3.50) piqued my interest (if it has mango in it, I'm all over it. It's even in my body wash). The drink was refreshing in the Florida heat and at only 50 cents more than a bottle of water, I decided it was worth the dough.
Dinner #2
After our cheap lunch, we weren't sure we were going to get away with spending less than $30 per person for dinner, but we found a gem in the Land- Sunshine Seasons. The buffet style place reminded me of Sweet Tomatoes, but the menu immediately told us it was a sophisticated buffet, the hot sister of all other buffets.
I ordered the vegan flatbread pita filled with grilled veggies, tofu posing as feta cheese (but tasting delicious in its deception) and a black bean hummus-like spread, and my sister ordered fish tacos. Our total came out to about $23 and the food was way better than either of us imagined it would be.
Lunch #2
We stopped at the Harambe Market in Animal Kingdom. My sister got the sausage in naan and a soda, and I chose the only thing I could as a vegetarian: the roasted vegetables ($25 total). My veggies came served over rice with a side of naan and a wonderful yogurt drizzle.
We felt very fortunate to have found another cheap, sorta healthy meal option in the parks. My sister had expected our diet on the trip to consist soley of French fries and other "theme park" foods.
I was also delighted to see PAPER not plastic straws in the dispensers at the restaurant. If only all of Disney had them!
Snack #2
My sister had never experienced the magic of Dolewhip, so we got a cup to share ($5).
Coffee & Water
We found ways to save on these two necessities. We bought one horrendously overpriced bottle of water at each park ($6 total) to share and filled them up at the drinking fountains throughout the park (yes, the water is actually cold and no, it did not taste like toilet water). I would have preferred to have used my reusable and adorable S'well bottle, but you can't remember everything.
For coffee, we got our first fix at Disney Springs on the first day for about $10. I tried the new summer drink, the iced coconutmilk vanilla bean latte, and was extremely pleasantly surprised considering I usually hate vanilla in my coffee. My sister just got a basic black iced coffee 'cause she has no soul.
We skipped out on Starbucks in Epcot because the line was cray, and although we considered other small coffee shops, none of the reviews were that convincing, and so I ended up forgoing coffee altogether that day (don't ask me how I did it) and my sis was happy with the hot super strong coffee from the French bakery.
In Animal Kingdom, Starbucks or should I say Creature Comforts, was our second stop after getting our water bottle because my sister was about to flip if she went another hour without coffee. She got iced coffee again and I got a grande double shot of espresso on ice ($7 total). Although I would have preferred soymilk, I saved a few bucks by adding in skim milk from the counter to make myself a cheap latte.
Saving Tips: Budget for Starbucks with gift cards, or buy canned coffees ahead of time (this would have also solved my sister's dilemma of needing caffeine immediately after waking up). Or to save even more, you could drink hotel coffee with ice from the machine, but I am of the belief that life is too short for bad coffee, so I don't mind paying $2-$5 for the good stuff.
More ways to save:
I'm pretty sure the hotel convenience store was marking up snacks from the Dollar Tree, so we should have walked there from my apartment and bought cereal, granola bars, crackers etc.
To help with budgeting, we could have bought Disney gift cards for food and souvenirs.
I wish we had paid a little more for a Disney hotel with a better shuttle system. We would have had to have booked it sooner, but we didn't plan our trip until May.
Taking Disney shuttles to the nearest resorts to save on Lyfts/Ubers was a great strategy and we could have done it to get home from Disney Springs too. It is just a matter of how flexible you are with your schedule.
Don't write off Disney Springs. Incorporate it into your vacation because 1) It's free to get in and park 2) There's a million incredible places to eat dinner and dessert and 3) There is a ton of great shopping and you can get all your Disney merch and apparel there before even stepping foot in the parks (not to mention any snacks and essentials you may have forgotten).
I hope this blog gave you hope by proving a $1,000 or less Disney vacation for two is possible and that you can learn from our mistakes to save even more moola while still enjoying the magic!