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Monday 20 May 2019

How To Budget For A Day At The Disney Parks


We all know that going to Disney is expensive. Whether it be Disneyland Paris or Walt Disney World Florida a day in the parks can be expensive. A Casey's Corner hot dog here, a Mickey cookie there and the odd bit of cotton candy all add up. 


Little boy high-fiving Buzz Lightyear


If you're on a budget trip to Disney though there's a few things you can do to keep the costs down, so here's my tips on how to budget for a day at the Disney parks!

Take snacks and drinks
A pretty simple one but taking your own snacks and drinks for a day at the Disney parks will save you a lot of money. I usually take bottles of water and a snack bag for JJ and one for us grown-ups too! We fill the bags with chocolate, fruit snacks and cereal bars to keep us going.

Plan and share meals
So, this one takes a little planning and research but it can massively reduce your Disney holiday spending if you share the meals. Have a look through the parks websites and have a look at the menus. A lot of the quick service meals include sides and desserts, with the main often on the large size. We are big eaters and even we manage to split meals and have full tummies. Now and again we'll add an extra side order if we're really hungry. Have a look on fan pages, Facebook groups or TripAdvisor for reviews and photos of the meals to give you an idea of what you can get. Plan where you are going to eat each day before getting to the parks so there's no wandering around and picking somewhere at the last minute that could be out of budget. On the occasions we've done this it has always cost us more than expected!

Buy a Disney Meal Plan
There's lots of debate in Disney fan groups over whether the meal plans are worth the money or not and to be honest we've always found we could eat cheaper using the tips I've mentioned above, or by upgrading (more on that later). If you want a set amount or certain type of meals, especially table service, a meal plan may work well for you budget wise. Again, research is the answer! 

Budget daily spending
I've already mentioned this in my 5 Things You Need To Know Before Going To Disney With Under 5's but setting yourself a daily budget is must for a budget day at the Disney parks! We budget our whole days including meals, souvenirs and gifts, with us all having a little indivdual spending money for the little bits we'd like to bring home. This has worked so well for us and it stops us getting carried away buying shiny, pretty Disney things!

Consider an upgrade
So, I realise saying you should consider an upgrade on a post about budgeting for days at Disney may seem a bit odd but it could actually save you money in the long run! Depending on when you travel an upgrade to one of the club rooms could cost as little as £50 for the week. We usually visit Disneyland Paris at the end of January and an upgrade is super cheap. Obviously peak season is more but it's worth checking the cost of the upgrade against your daily costs. With a cooked and filling breakfast, drinks and sweet and savoury snacks available throughout the day it could add up to a saving!

Most of all though enjoy your day at the Disney parks. Whether you're on a budget or not, you're sure to have a magical time!

Mummy Snowy Owl
xx

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