There is little question that Disney World is the most magical place on Earth. Whether you’re a kid or an adult, there is something for everyone in Disney World. Between theme parks, Disney Springs, hotels, and water parks, the world of Disney is something you must experience in person to truly understand the magic.
Of course, when it comes to visiting Disney World, there is no question it comes at a premium. The good news is that there are ways to experience all Disney World offers without taking a second mortgage on your home. On the other hand, you can experience Disney World like a VIP and go big, really big. With this in mind, we’re customizing two different cost breakdowns for a week-long stay at Disney World between budget and luxury pricing.
Why We’re Covering Travel
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Disney is one of the most important names in entertainment and the stock market, so it’s right up 24/7 WallSt’s alley. The Disney brand is an incredibly valuable commodity, considering its theme parks contribute around $40 billion in total statewide economic impact for Florida. Not only is Disney World the most popular tourist attraction in the state, but it’s believed Disney’s workforce accounts for one out of every 32 jobs in Florida.
Budget Flights
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- Estimated budget flight cost: $180 – $450
No matter where you’re flying in from, your ultimate goal is to make it to Orlando International Airport. To find the potential cost of a flight, we’ll use quotes from Expedia and the month of August as a timeframe right before school starts. Looking at flights from various cities like Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles, you’re looking at around $180 – $450 for a one-week round-trip economy ticket.
Luxury Flights
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- Estimated luxury flight cost: $600 – $1,100
If you want to travel first-class, you’re looking at a range of pricing between $600 and $1,100 for a round-trip ticket. This range accounts for three flights during the same August timeframe, including flights from O’Hare Airport in Chicago, LAX in Los Angeles, and JFK out of New York City. All things considered, a $600 first-class flight isn’t that outlandish for a 3-4 hour trip from New York.
Budget Hotels
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- Estimated budget hotel cost: $2,300 – $2,600
When it comes to budget hotels around Disney World, you have your choice, as there are hundreds of options. However, to maximize your Disney World experience, look at Disney’s Value Resorts. This means looking at hotels like All-Star Movies, All-Star Music, and All-Star Sports. These hotels offer the basic amenities for Disney, including transportation to and from every Disney park.
The bottom line is that you’ll want to go to the Disney website to get the best pricing. At the value end, you can stay at Disney’s All-Star Music and All-Star Sports resort for $166 a night. Disney makes things interesting because most hotel pricing includes tickets, so the All-Star Resort for seven days would cost around $2,373 for a standard room and includes one-park-per-day tickets. You can even add another few hundred dollars and upgrade to park-hopper passes, allowing you to jump between multiple parks per day.
Luxury Hotels
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- Estimated luxury hotel cost: $5,800 – $6,600
On the high-end at Disney, there are three major hotels to choose from. The Contemporary Resort, the Grand Floridian, or the Polynesian Resort. You’ll pick from one of these three locations to enjoy Disney World on a slightly fancier scale. At the Contemporary Hotel, with ticket prices also included for 7 days, you’re looking at around $6,285 for a one-week stay.
You can also look at the slightly less expensive Polynesian Hotel, which is less expensive than the Contemporary but has similar monorail access. The Polynesian Resort costs around $5,798 for a family of four for the same seven-night stay. As with budget hotels, adding park-hopper passes can increase the price by another few hundred dollars for both hotels.
Budget Transportation
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- Estimated budget transportation cost: $0
There is no question that the best way to manage transportation on a budget at Disney is to stay at one of the resort’s hotels. Everyone gets free transportation to and from the parks, from the value resorts to the premium options. This includes a bus option, the gondola, and the monorail, depending on which hotel you are staying at. As long as you stay at a Disney World property hotel, these three transportation options are completely free. In addition, if you are staying at a resort, you can also park your car for free at any park.
Luxury Transportation
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- Estimated luxury transportation cost: $400 – $1,100
If you’d prefer to have your own transportation while visiting Disney World, maybe to visit other parks like Universal Studios, renting a car is a perfectly acceptable option. On the luxury side, you can look at Expedia again and discover that a vehicle like a BMW X5 can be had for around $660 in August. A similarly-sized Mercedes GLB 250, which also has room for five passengers, is priced around $400 for the same August timeframe. However, look at the BMW X7 or Range Rover Sport for real luxury for around $1,100 for the same one-week rental period.
Budget Food
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- Estimated budget food cost: $150 – $800
While Disney World has food everywhere you look, meals for a family, even on a budget, can get expensive fast. Speaking from experience, lunch at one of Disney’s fast food parks for a family of four can cost around $50 per meal for hamburgers, salads, chicken nuggets, and drinks. The best way to keep costs down is to bring outside food and drinks.
There are plenty of areas in the four main Disney World parks where you can picnic and spend a few minutes ensuring everyone feels full. If you’re not careful, spending $50 twice daily on meals and snacks will add up quickly. The best part is that Disney has no policy against bringing outside food and drink.
Luxury Food
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- Estimated luxury food cost: $1,500 – $2,500
On the luxury food side, you will likely spend more money at Disney World than you can elsewhere in the world. Sit-down restaurants at Disney World’s theme parks, even the casual ones, can get expensive quickly. Even if you opt for a combination of sit-down and quick service while you’re at the park, plus snacks and breakfast, at the minimum, you should expect to spend around $200 to $300 per day for a family of four.
For table service, you should expect between $15 to $30 for lunch and dinner for adult items and between $10 to $15 per meal for kids. Given this pricing, spending $1,500 and $2,500 just for food isn’t out of the question. Disney World is notorious for its food prices, even if you don’t mind spending a little extra for better options.
Budget Attractions
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- Estimated budget attractions cost: $1,070 – $2,000
So, it’s easy to make an approximate recommendation for Disney World tickets, though it’s worth mentioning these ticket prices can change. On average, a 4-park Magic Ticket, which includes access to Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom, will cost around $396 per ticket per person. It’s worth noting this price is independent of the hotel cost, which already includes tickets.
You can spend less for just 3 days and 3 parks for around $267 per ticket. However, if you want to add water park tickets during the summer, you’re looking at around another $68 per day plus taxes. With six total parks available, estimating your budget is easy since you’re buying tickets ahead of time, so you already know your total ticket cost. Ultimately, the best way to go is to include the ticket prices in your hotel cost, as Disney offers a slight discount on hotel pricing if you do so.
Luxury Attractions
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- Estimated luxury attractions cost: $5,000 – $50,000
If you want to experience Disney like a VIP, consider a VIP Tour Guide. Good for up to 10 guests, a private guide helps you see Disney World differently. You’ll skip the lines and feel like the celebrity, but it does come at a price. Depending on the season, this personalized experience costs between $450 and $900 per hour.
On top of this, you still have to pay for theme park tickets separately, so the cost of the tour guide is in addition to the roughly $1,000 to $1,200 you can pay just for tickets if you don’t include them as part of your hotel pricing. All things considered, plan for up to $10,000 daily for a VIP tour guide if you want the celebrity VIP treatment, depending on park hours.
Hidden Costs
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- Estimated hidden costs: $250
When it comes to locations with hidden costs, you have to consider Disney World as one of the biggest money traps around. For parents, you are not leaving the park without at least one to two toys, cups, shirts, bubble tossers, and more throughout your day. Rest assured that buying some souvenirs at Disney World doesn’t come cheap, so anticipating at least $200 per child for a whole week is worth adding to the budget. On top of this, you should also consider the cost to and from your hotel to the airport, which can be around $50 in an Uber, depending on the season, time of day, etc.
Total Costs
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- Estimated budget cost: $3,000 – $5,000
- Estimated luxury cost:
Ultimately, there is a balance with Disney World regarding how much you want to spend, as the words “budget-friendly” and Disney World don’t often go hand-in-hand. Instead of airfare being a big factor, the price of tickets is one of the biggest expenses you can incur, no matter how you want to spend per week. For a budget-friendly person, paying between $3,000 and $5,000 for a family of four for one week hopefully aligns with expectations.
Things get more interesting on the luxury side, as your price can vary considerably depending on whether you hire a private tour guide. On the low end, you can expect around $12,000 for first-class tickets, a premium hotel, and world-class Disney eating. If you go with the tour guide, spending close to $60,000 for the whole trip, depending on the season and how long you spend at a park daily, can increase the cost dramatically. Still, you get a once-in-a-lifetime experience you can tell everyone about forever.
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