Hi Amy! You've come to the right place - we all know how to plan a Disney vacation on a budget and I can honestly say I've never visited Walt Disney World without some type of discount!
There are a couple places you'll want to keep an eye out for potential discounts. The first is the
Special Offers page on Disney's website. The other website I use to check for discounts is mousesavers dot com. Although discounts are never guaranteed, I can tell you that discounts became available for August travel beginning in April last year. The last few years Disney has also offered a very popular free dining promotion for travel beginning in late August.
General ways you can save on your Walt Disney World vacation is to stay at a value resort. If your boys are into sports, you may want to consider All Star Sports. If they love Toy Story, they will love the Toy Story rooms at All Star Movies!
Second, when making your ticket selection, you can save money by purchasing the base ticket. The base ticket will allow you to visit one park per day. You can leave the park and return throughout the day, but you have to return to the same park.
Amy, I'm running out of space and there is so much more we can tell you. If you'd like to follow-up with additional questions, please do. I'd be happy to answer all the questions you may have.
I hope your first vacation is truly magical! Diane