by Brittany DiCologero

One question that I am all too often asked by readers, is how I’m able to fund my Disney trips. It is obvious to most anyone that Disney can be an expensive vacation, and one reason why I am able to fund it fairly easily is because I am only paying for one person whereas many guests would typically be paying for multiple family members. If you’re looking for insight on to how to budget for a Disney vacation for yourself, spouse, and a couple of kids, this post isn’t entirely meant for you, however I hope it will provide at least some helpful insight for the financial planning of your next trip.

Plan ahead using gift cards

I do not generally book my Disney vacations as far ahead of time as the average family probably does, however I do save for them ahead of time. This year, I will likely have visited Walt Disney World four times- January, the end of March into April, August, and either September or October. My January trip was booked in October of last year, my March/April trip was booked during my January trip, and my August trip was booked soon after returning home from the previous trip. I have yet to book my September or October trip.

Without booking the trips, and setting anything in stone, I can still estimate costs and save for the trip. For anything that must be paid for to Disney directly, I either use rewards points from my Disney Visa card, or Disney gift cards. Generally speaking, I pay for the deposit for my hotel room using a debit or credit card, and I pay off the remaining balance upon check-in using a gift card. I do some math and figure out how much it would cost to pay the trip off weekly, and I stop at my local Disney store and add this amount to a Disney gift card.

For instance, if you set aside $50/week on a Disney gift card, this time next year you’ll have $2060 saved. Depending on how frequent my trips are, and how much the cost of my resort stay will be, the amount that I choose to add to the gift card weekly changes, however you get the idea. It’s the same principle as using a credit card to pay off a trip without the interest. I also use the gift cards to save for spending money on the trip. Anything I charge on my Magic Band can also be paid off using the gift card when I check out.

Annual Pass $$$

Because I have an annual pass, I’m also able to book rooms at a discounted rate for most of my trips, and I’m able to use discounts on merchandise and dining. If you’re a Florida resident, paying for an annual pass isn’t all that difficult as you can use the monthly payment plan, however for out of state guests the payment plan does not exist. Since my annual pass was purchased in January (and will therefore be renewed each year in January) Disney gift cards are my Christmas gift of choice. Whatever the remaining difference is that I’d owe on my pass after the gift cards I plan on paying for using my usual credit or debit card.

Having the annual pass takes some of the pain out of paying for a Disney vacation, because once it is paid for you can start planning your vacation without factoring in the cost of tickets. Just be positive that you will go enough to get your money’s worth for the annual pass before purchasing it.

Airfare

I really don’t like discussing airfare, because it is so different for everyone depending on where you’re from and your own preferences. I use a Jet Blue credit card to earn points to put towards airfare, I fly South West when I’m really sticking to a tight budget, and I obsessively check numerous sites for the lowest fares for weeks before booking it. It’s not the most established strategy but it works for me.

But how do you really pay for all this?

What do you mean? I just told you how I- OHHH… you’re wondering how a recent college graduate with a couple of very entry level freelance writing jobs can pay for this. Well, 1. That’s quite rude/nosy of you, and 2. Because it’s what I choose to spend my money on? If you go out to eat once every week, or once every other week, you could literally take that money, save it, and be able to go on vacation. As I’ve mentioned before, I have essentially added paying for my Disney trips into the rest of my bills by adding money to the gift cards on a regular basis.