Hiya Allie Brooke,
Welcome to planDisney! I’m so excited to welcome you here and to chat about your question today. My Prince Charming likes to tell me that I’m a bit of a Disney maximalist. I like fireworks dessert parties,
character dining, and deluxe resorts. I think it's his nice way of saying that I spend a lot of money (which maybe he’s right), but I always like to think about how to plan ahead to lessen the financial strain of my dream itineraries.
All this to say, Allie Brooke, I have quite a bit of experience with making payments towards my vacations. If you have a
Vacation Package for a Walt Disney World Resort Vacation, which is a specific booking type that includes theme park tickets and a resort hotel stay (and can also include a dining plan), you absolutely can make monthly payments toward your trip! Guests with this reservation type can make payments toward their total balance up to 30 days before they check in (the final payment is due 30 days prior to check-in). Sounds great, right? It really is, but this is only an option if you have a Vacation Package. If you only have a resort hotel reservation (also known as a room-only reservation) or buy your theme park tickets separately and stay off-site, then you are not able to make payments. If you had a room-only reservation, your final payment would be due at check-in (theme park ticket transactions are due immediately at check-out if they are not part of a Vacation Package). If you have already booked or a Vacation Package isn’t of interest to you, you can always try my other payment method. Now that I’m local and a Passholder, we don’t often book Vacation Packages, but I still want to spread out costs, so I create my own “payment plan” using
Disney Gift Cards. I estimate all of my costs for my trip, including food (you can find prices on the Walt Disney World Website), resort hotel,
Enchanting Extras, and merchandise, then I divide that cost by the time I have before my trip and figure out how much I need to put aside each month. Then I purchase Disney Gift Cards each month for that total and start combining them. By the time I arrive, I have my entire trip paid for (plus a little extra most of the time)!
I know that was a lot, Allie Brooke, but I hope it was helpful. When I visit the Most Magical Place on Earth, I really just want to experience everything without having to worry so much about my bank account, so I’m always trying to figure out how best to stretch my dollar and make magic happen. If there is anything else you need, I (or my other fellow panelists) would be happy to talk it through with you.
Happy Planning,
Ashley F.