Disney World Honeymoon

We are doing a Disney/Universal Studios honeymoon and we saved a ton on the hotel by booking in advance and it being during the off season. We're going the week of September 24th and the hotel and park tickets were super discounted. If you go during the summer you will pay more.

Disney Experience. Look it up. Fabulous way to pay it in chunks headed up to the trip.
If you are foodies GET A MEAL PLAN. It pays for itself if you love to eat.
Go in the off season for sure. You can google budget days at DisneyWorld and tons of people have done the work to lay out calendars of the least expensive times to take the trip.

As far as saving get a Disney credit card and earn reward dollars. I put monthly bills (cell phone, internet, etc) on mine and pay it off each month. I get about $5 each month. If you put wedding expenses on it, it'll add up quicker. They will put the reward dollars on a gift card when you're ready for it. We use ours towards food when we go! With their cc you also get some discounts at the parks, just make sure you ask.
If you want to stay on property, which i would, check out renting points for their time share, DVC. You can get a delux hotel for about the price of a value. Google DVC rental, I think there are 2 sites for it. If you don't care about being on property there are lots of cheaper places to stay. My parents got a marriot card and are staying at the swan and dolphin for free when they go because they earned enough points.
The dining plan is a good deal ONLY if you do your homework to make the most of it, otherwise you waste money.
Make sure you download the app, it is helpful in the park, not money saving but helpful. After you scan for your third fast pass you can book another while you're still in line, saves some time. On that same theme bring a power bank. They have them in the park but they're expensive, but you can change them out when they die.
Bring a backpack and bring your own drinks/snacks. Water is free at all the quick service locations even if you don't buy food. Ask for gift cards for birthdays and Christmas and put those towards your food/souvenirs.
Disney can be done "cheap" you just have to find ways to do it.

Actually call Disney and see what deals they have for hotels. I got a better deal on a moderate hotel than I did on the economy hotel we had originally selected.

I would delay the honeymoon and NOT go at any point during the summer. 1)FL is hot, humid and brutal that time of year 2) although Disney is always busy that is traditionally one of the busiest times of the year due to schools being our and families traveling etc.


Pro tips from someone who has a father who works for the airline and has flown standby for more than half her life:

Your hotels, flights and car will be cheaper and to have the least amount of long lines go to DisneyWorld september-October or if you do 2nd week of Jan-1st week of March then avoid the month of March because of spring break and then April/May is usually good ...Nov and Dec can be fun times but you want to go the week or two before thanksgiving/Christmas as people who travel during those months usually do so the week of the holiday and the few days after

Brianna, you may also want to check out a thread titled “Disneyworld input!” Posted by Stacie a few days back. There was a TON of helpful info on it.

We're doing Disneyland. Our travel agent was able to get us perk thrown in (like our meal plans are included). We are also going in Sept, which is off-season.

Also consider hiring a disney travel agent. Their services are free because Disney pays them a commission. If you're ok with not going right after the wedding like a traditional honeymoon I would suggest going the last 2 weeks of september. Also look into the free dining plan. Every April Disney announces their free dining promotion at certain hotels. If youre able to book when they announce their dates for the year you can save like $1200 on food. Only bad part is you have to wait until April to book for that which makes some people antsy. But September is definitly the best time to go for value, the hotels and park tickets are a little cheaper and its not as crowded because all the kids are back in school.
We're planning our wedding for 9/20/19 just so we can take advantage of all of what I just mentioned and hopefully the Star Wars Galaxy's Edge expansion will be open by then.

I'm a DisNerd so buckle in.

We are also doing a little belated 'honeymoon' to Disney World in November this year, just booked it. We want Hawaii for our official vacay but that will be a few months off. In terms of frugality there really is no way to be super frugal at Disney. Have you been before? After all is said and done, planes, resort, food, park tickets, etc, it does tend to add up so start saving YESTERDAY. We are DVC (Disney Vacation Club) members so we use our points for the resort. I think if it is your honeymoon, stay on property. Disney has so many amazing resorts to offer and many are budget friendly, but you really get the full Disney experience as opposed to if you stayed in like a Holiday Inn or Marriott or something. Plus there is free transportation at all resorts to all parks. Some budget resorts include the All-Star resorts, Port Orleans, Caribbean Beach, Coronado Springs, Pop Century, Art of Animation. Go on off season. DO NOT go to Disney World in the Summer. You will battle crowds, long waits, higher pricing, and just all around discomfort because it is so hot and muggy and it rains at some point almost every day.

I'd recommend going in the fall months, as the Food and Wine festival is open at Epcot and kids have just started school so you don't have as many around. I've been at all times of the year and by far this has been my favorite. It is still nice weather, less rain, and the F&W is AMAZING - you get to eat and drink around the World Showcase, some awesome cuisine and alcohol you won't get normally.

Get a park hopper pass. Do you know anyone in the military? You can get SUPER discounted park hoppers at the Disney Shades of Green resort (it is specifically for military) but anyone you know/with you who has a valid ID can help with this. A park hopper allows you to jump from park to park any time any day you want, so you don't have to stay at Magic Kingdom all day if you don't want. You could hit a park in the morning and enjoy a water park or something in the evening. It's very flexible.

Dining: someone said do the meal plan. If you are a family with kids I get it but I would not suggest it for two people. It can actually get expensive. We did the meal plan once and we found we had WAY too much food and didn't eat half of it, spent money we didn't need to. I'd choose maybe one or two special meals and the rest just get from a cafeteria or short stop on the park premise. For the special meals, the options are endless. Really memorable ones include Tiffin's at Animal Kingdom, California Grill at the Contemporary, Yachtsman Steakhouse at the Yacht and Beach Club, Napoli in Epcot, Le Celier at Epcot, and Mitsukoshi at Epcot. There are so many more but I am trying not to overwhelm you.

Also, I don't know if you are first timers to Orlando or not but I will give this piece of advice: some people really want to try and get in Universal with Disney and to me Universal was pretty 'meh'. It's a regular hometown theme park but elevated a little. Disney is a complete immersive experience. Not hating on the Universal fans but I didn't get much out of it. I'd spend all my time and money at/on Disney. PM me if you have more questions, I could talk forever.

View Quoted Comment Lmao, i knew i liked you fellow Disnerd who has visits down to a science.

View Quoted Comment You are so awesome!! I will definitly PM you! Also i live on Maui so if you have any questions about Hawaii i would definitly be able help you! (:

Hi Brianna! Aside from typical money-saving tasks like cutting back on daily expenses and dining out, I would consider traveling during the off-season or when the peak interest isn't so high (value season). This is a good consideration when traveling to high demand areas overall. Additionally, I would look into meal plans and affordable hotel accommodations and packages. The AAA membership would also be an awesome option! Good luck!!