How can I get a discount on my Disney World Trip?

You’re all ready to book your trip, but wait- what about discounts? It’s a question I get all the time, and there are some ways to get discounts on Walt Disney World trips. Most of them are directly through Disney, but there are some other ways, too.

Through Disney:

The most common way to get a discount on your Disney World visit is through the special offers page on their website, where all of their official promotions are listed. These promotions change throughout the year but you can usually expect some combination of these themes:

A room-only discount, where you can get 5% to 25% off just the room rate. The savings are lowest for value resorts and highest for deluxe resorts.
Package deal, where you get a package for some number of nights that includes tickets and hotel. This won’t usually be a ‘percentage off’, it’ll usually be a set price for whatever package they are offering. They may have a few of these at any given time.
Free Dining, this is where you book a package that includes tickets and hotel for a certain number of nights during a certain time of year, and you’ll get a free dining plan added to your reservation. This typically takes place in Fall to entice people to come (since Fall used to be off-season though now it’s far from empty, but still better than summer).
Assorted Offers, things like $200 gift card if you sign up for a Disney Visa card, discounts on Memory Maker, discounts for annual passholders, etc. These vary quite a bit but they’ll be on the same site.
US Military Discounts, you’ll always get some form of special discount usually on tickets and/or hotels so be sure to check that if you’re a service member. And thank you for your service. 🙂

3rd Party:

Though most discounts do come from Disney directly there are some 3rd parties that can get you discounts, too:

Travel Agencies, especially those who specialize in Disney (I am not currently affiliated with anyone wink wink nudge nudge but would be happy to promote someone here) often have special discounts or pricing, or offer some kind of ‘goodie bag’ when you book through them (which might include gift cards or other swag).
Organizations, like AAA or AARP (to name two) might offer discounts on tickets and annual passes, and sometimes even have discounts on hotels or offer packages.
Websites, though this isn’t super common, can often have some promotions on tickets, too. Undercover Tourist, for example, often offers a ‘free extra day’ added onto your ticket if you buy through them.
Stores, like Costco and Sam’s Club, sometimes have discounted Disney tickets or gift cards.

Make your own discount:

Target, if you have a Target Red Card you get 5% off any purchase which actually includes Disney gift cards. So, if you want to go to Target and buy $1,000 worth of Disney gift cards, you’d technically only be paying $950 and thus transferring that 5% discount to your Disney trip. The nice thing here is that you could create a 5% blanket discount on your entire trip, since you could use the gift cards to book the trip and use them for spending while there, too.
Disney Visa card, which gives a certain number of Disney points for each usage means that you could be stockpiling points for the year or two leading up to your trip. Then, potentially cash it out for a nice sized Disney gift card that you can use to book your trip or when you’re there. Personally, I find other credit cards have better point rates (for example, you earn points and apply to any kind of travel) but if you love the idea of a Disney gift card always waiting for you this is a good option- and the card designs are super cute, too.

No-nos:

You should also be aware that, as horrible as it is, people DO try and run Disney discount schemes. So, if the deal seems too good to be true, or if it is not from a well-known, reputable vendor, than it may be a scam. Proceed with caution in any unofficial discounting situation and do a little homework before jumping in. If it seems off, it probably is.
Do NOT buy “left over” tickets from people. Tickets are tied to people via photograph when you go through the gates now, and often they’ve somehow been used already. The only tickets you should ever buy for Disney World are brand new and from a reputable vendor.

Summary:

The assumption is that there is no way to get discounts on Disney tickets or packages but there definitely are. It might mot be the kind of massive savings we’re used to at other stores, but it’s pretty easy to find ways to save hundreds of dollars on any given Disney World Trip.

This has been a part of our Ultimate Guide to Walt Disney World Planning series

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Disney Dork Tom

Disney Tips & Tricks, Planning, News, and History!