Welcome to planDisney, Melissa! I am so glad you found us to ask your Walt Disney World vacation planning question.
I am super excited to hear that you are beginning to plan a trip to The Most Magical Place on Earth. Doing the initial research for a vacation is my favorite part. From choosing the right place to stay (there are a lot, I know!) to selecting which theme park to visit each day, it is all so fun.
One of the best parts about booking your Walt Disney World vacation on the
website or with an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner is that you only have to pay $200 to lock in your dates and rates. Then, you have until 30 days before you travel to pay off the balance. This can be done at any time, in any amount. So, there isn’t a “Disney official” payment plan, but you can make your own.
I find that my favorite budgeting tip is to purchase Disney Gift Cards whenever you can. That might mean picking up a $50 card on each grocery trip, or once per paycheck. You can then
combine these cards on the Disney Gift Card website, up to $1000 per card. When you are ready to pay off your vacation, you have the gift cards to do it! You can also use Disney Gift Cards to pay for food or souvenirs at Walt Disney World. I love having so much of my vacation paid before I even leave my house. I also ask our family to gift us with Disney Gift Cards for holidays and birthdays. We don’t need more “stuff” in our house, so this helps to solve that as well.
Don’t forget to add on
Memory Maker to your package when you book. By doing so in advance, you save $30, plus it includes SO many great photos. Did you know that there are 13 attractions inside the WDW theme parks that have a photo? Two of my favorites are inside Haunted Mansion (careful, its right at the beginning as you glide past the hall of portraits in your Doom Buggy – smile for Medusa!) and on Expedition Everest (right as you are going down the largest drop). There are also lots of great “magic shots” for the 50Th Anniversary of Walt Disney World.
Please ask us any other questions you might have as you continue your vacation planning journey.
Happy Planning,
Tracy