January 6, 2025 • 9 mins
Understanding the costs involved in planning a Disney vacation is crucial for making informed budgetary decisions. We delve into the various components, including tickets, accommodations, food, and optional extras, to help you effectively budget for your unforgettable trip.
• Breakdown of ticket costs and park hopper options
• Overview of accommodations: value, moderate, and deluxe resorts
• Detailed food budgeting across categories of dining
• Exploring additional costs for services like Lightning Lane and Memory Maker
• Summary of total costs and tips for saving on your Disney trip
“Explore the magic of travel with us, Renee and Justin, your trusted Disney fanatics and the Magic Vacation Family! Tune in for tips, tricks, and stories from the parks, the seas, and beyond. Need help planning your next adventure? Visit us at magicvacationfamily.com and follow us on socials @magicvacationfamily for the latest updates and inspiration!”
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Justin (00:06):
hey, friends, justin here with the people mover
podcast, and welcome to episodenumber three of 2025.
And today we're going to betalking about one of the
questions I get all the time andthat is how much does a disney
vacation cost?
So let's kick off that introand get started.
Announcer (00:20):
Welcome to the people mover podcast, the length of
the iconic ride and yourultimate guide to Disney World
and Disney cruises.
Whether you're a first-timer ora seasoned fan, we've got tips,
tricks and options to elevateyour magical journey.
Find us online atmagicvacationfamilycom.
Buckle up and let's dive intothe world of Disney.
Justin (00:43):
Once again, all of our episodes are brought to you by
magicvacationfamilycom.
My wife and I.
We are travel agents.
So if you do need help planningany of your Disney vacations,
our services are 100% free.
All you have to do is go andsubmit a form through
magicvacationfamilycom.
Now today, like I said, we'regoing to be talking about how
much does a Disney vacation cost, and really got to break it
(01:06):
down into kind of four differentcategories.
Right, you have your ticketsaccommodations, food and then
kind of the extras that go withthat.
So all right.
So topic number one we're goingto be talking about tickets
here.
So if you take a look here,four-day single park tickets for
a family of four we're lookingat about $1,600.
That's about 400 a person.
(01:26):
Now there are additional options, like adding a park hopper,
which gives you the ability tovisit multiple parks a day, so
you could go from epcot over tohollywood studios or hollywood
studios over to animal kingdom.
I mean, you could go anywhereyou want.
We've done all four parks inone day before it's exhausting,
but you really could do that ifyou wanted to.
But anytime you have the parkhopper option.
(01:47):
It is about $60 to $80 perperson per day, so that could
add an extra $240 to $540 for afamily of four, depending on how
many days you add that.
Now, keep in mind you don'thave to do that every day, and
nor do we.
We always usually add it forone or two days because, like
Magic Kingdom, it's one of thoseparks for me where we could go
(02:10):
in the morning, go back to thehotel, have some lunch, do some
swimming, let the kids kind ofget refreshed, and then go back
at night for those fireworks atthe Fantastic Magic Kingdom.
So I could definitely do thatthere.
But, basically, if you'relooking at a total ticket cost
for family of four without thepark hopper option, you're
looking at about $1,600 to$2,000.
(02:33):
And I'm adding a little paddingthere just because, depending
on the time of the year, itcould be more expensive.
So it's safe to say roughly$1,600.
It could be a little bit more.
It's rough.
It's safe to say, you know,roughly $1,600.
It could be a little bit more,but that is a good ballpark to
be in.
If you head to the park hopperoption.
Like I said, though, you'relooking at anywhere from about
(02:59):
$1,840 to about $2,540.
So, like I said, it's alldependent on you.
If you need help planning thisout, needing some suggestions,
make sure you message us atmagicvacationfamilycom and I can
definitely help you out andgive you some of my advice for
how I would do tickets.
Now that we got tickets figuredout, let's talk about
accommodations.
Now accommodations can reallycome in three different types.
Right, we have our valueresorts, which are going to be
your budget-friendly options.
(03:19):
Those are going to averageanywhere from about $750 to
$1,000 for five nights, which isfantastic.
We always stay at Pop Centurywhen we go down and it's great.
That's considered a higher tiervalue resort.
We love it, my kids love it.
They love the theming.
It's right by the Skyliner.
They're able to utilize kind ofall of the amenities that are
(03:42):
perfect for my family,especially because we're at the
parks most of the day, so wejust need a place to lay our
head.
But $750 to $1,000 for fivenights, that's going to get you
around about $150 to $200 anight for a value resort.
Now, the moderate resort option.
Those resorts are definitely alittle bit nicer.
Some of them can be a littlebit closer to parks.
(04:03):
It really depends on theplacement and what you're really
looking for to get out of them.
I like all three of these typesof resorts here.
We really like the Disney PortOrleans, but I would say that's
going to cost you around about$1,500 to $1,750 for five nights
.
So that's getting us up toabout the $300 to $350 per night
range, and then that's going tojump us up to the the $300 to
(04:24):
$350 per night range and thenthat's going to jump us up to
the next tier, which is going tobe our deluxe resort.
Now, the deluxe resorts I'vestayed at before.
I love them.
They are definitely fantastic,especially if you want to be a
little bougie, if you plan onspending more time at the resort
(04:46):
than at the parks.
Or what I find is theonce-in-a-lifetime kind of trips
, or once or twice in a lifetimetype of trips that parents are
taking their kids down to Disneyfor they like to splurge and go
with the really nice resortbecause of some of those
different amenities that arethere.
Plus, they're pretty close tothe parks too.
So, for example, theContemporary it has the monorail
that you ride in right throughthe hotel and then you can
actually go right to MagicKingdom so you can actually see
the fireworks directly from yourhotel.
(05:08):
Same with the Polynesian andalso same with the Grand
Floridian.
So those are fantastic deluxeresort options, but those are
also going to cost you quite abit more.
We're talking about $3,000 tolet's just call it $3,500 for
about five nights.
So that's anywhere from $600 to$650 per night for a deluxe
resort.
So if we kind of do the math onthis one right now, for the
(05:31):
family of four, the value resort, like I said, is going to be
about $750 to $1,000.
Moderate resort $1,500 to$1,750.
And then the deluxe resort isgoing to be around $3,000 to
about $3,500.
So that's our accommodations.
All right, so let's move on tocategory number three, which is
food.
Now I have these broken downinto kind of three different
(05:53):
categories inside of food aswell.
We have our quick service meals, which are going to be places
that you can order like acheeseburger or a hot dog,
chicken fingers, french fries,stuff like that Quick service
meals for about five days forfamily fours and it costs you
about 750 to 1300 bucks.
Table service meals this isabout five meals for a family of
four.
That's going to cost you about500 to $800.
(06:16):
So about 25 to $60 per person.
Now, table service meals aregreat because it really gives
you an opportunity to experiencesome of the dining at Disney
other than just those quickservice meals.
However, you don't have to dothose, so that's really up to
you and what you'd want to do.
But let's say you did five ofthose.
You did, you know, five dinnersor four dinners, whatever.
(06:38):
You're roughly looking at $500to $800.
And then soft drinks and snacksyou're looking at another 200
to $400 for the family of four.
So, depending on your diningchoices, anywhere from 1,050 to
2,500 bucks for food.
And now category number four,the extras.
Now, these are ones that youdon't have to do at all.
(06:59):
Right, you could just sayforget it, I'm not doing it, I'm
going to save all of this money.
But if you're looking at extraslike Lightning Lane, which is
the skip the line service,that's going to cost you about
$240 to $400 for four days.
Now, you don't have to do thoseevery day.
You can just decide that youwant to do the Lightning Lane
for one park or two parks.
That's kind of ad hoc.
You can do whatever you wantwith that.
(07:20):
So that's completely up to you.
You want with that.
So that's completely up to you.
Now, looking at Memory Makerthis is the unlimited photo
service, right?
So all those professionalphotographers that they have
around the parks.
You can get all of those photoswhich then you can download and
share to your friends andfamily, make photo books,
whatever you want with it.
That is only $199.
Now, that's one price for yourentire trip and that is going to
(07:43):
be all available on your Disneyexperience app.
So, like I said, with the totalcost for the extras for a
family of four you're onlylooking at about $440 to $600.
So, depending on whatexperience you're trying to get
out of your vacation or youdecide that you're going to
skimp on table service meals andfocus on getting the Lightning
(08:04):
Lane and Memory Maker you coulddefinitely do that.
Looking at the total cost rightWithout extras the basic costs
for tickets, accommodations andfood value resort, you're
looking at about $4,700 to$6,400.
Moderate resort you're lookingaround about $6,300 to $8,000.
And then a deluxe resort you'relooking at about $7,800 to
(08:27):
let's just call it, $10,000.
And then, if you added allthose extras for the value
resort, you're going to belooking now at $5,230 to about
$7,7500.
Moderate resorts can be $6,500to about $8,500.
And then your your deluxeresort you're going to be
(08:47):
looking at definitely $8,000plus.
So I'll just give you theballpark range of about 8,000 to
10,500.
Now remember, with the extras,you don't have to do them.
You can do it ad hoc, so thoseprices can definitely vary.
Also, there are some quickmoney-saving tips as well, like
bringing your own water bottle.
You can pack your own snacks,share meals as well.
(09:09):
So think about those thingsthat you can do as well, and we
can talk about that more.
If you visit us atmagicvacationfamilycom, I can
give you some of those tips.
But there you have it.
A Disney vacation can basicallycost you anywhere from $4,700
to let's just call it, $10,000for a family of four, depending
on where you stay, how you eatand whether you choose any of
(09:30):
the extras.
So, once again, this is episodenumber three of 2025.
See you next time.
hey, friends, justin here with the people mover
podcast, and welcome to episodenumber three of 2025.
And today we're going to betalking about one of the
questions I get all the time andthat is how much does a disney
vacation cost?
So let's kick off that introand get started.
Announcer (00:20):
Welcome to the people mover podcast, the length of
the iconic ride and yourultimate guide to Disney World
and Disney cruises.
Whether you're a first-timer ora seasoned fan, we've got tips,
tricks and options to elevateyour magical journey.
Find us online atmagicvacationfamilycom.
Buckle up and let's dive intothe world of Disney.
Justin (00:43):
Once again, all of our episodes are brought to you by
magicvacationfamilycom.
My wife and I.
We are travel agents.
So if you do need help planningany of your Disney vacations,
our services are 100% free.
All you have to do is go andsubmit a form through
magicvacationfamilycom.
Now today, like I said, we'regoing to be talking about how
much does a Disney vacation cost, and really got to break it
(01:06):
down into kind of four differentcategories.
Right, you have your ticketsaccommodations, food and then
kind of the extras that go withthat.
So all right.
So topic number one we're goingto be talking about tickets
here.
So if you take a look here,four-day single park tickets for
a family of four we're lookingat about $1,600.
That's about 400 a person.
(01:26):
Now there are additional options, like adding a park hopper,
which gives you the ability tovisit multiple parks a day, so
you could go from epcot over tohollywood studios or hollywood
studios over to animal kingdom.
I mean, you could go anywhereyou want.
We've done all four parks inone day before it's exhausting,
but you really could do that ifyou wanted to.
But anytime you have the parkhopper option.
(01:47):
It is about $60 to $80 perperson per day, so that could
add an extra $240 to $540 for afamily of four, depending on how
many days you add that.
Now, keep in mind you don'thave to do that every day, and
nor do we.
We always usually add it forone or two days because, like
Magic Kingdom, it's one of thoseparks for me where we could go
(02:10):
in the morning, go back to thehotel, have some lunch, do some
swimming, let the kids kind ofget refreshed, and then go back
at night for those fireworks atthe Fantastic Magic Kingdom.
So I could definitely do thatthere.
But, basically, if you'relooking at a total ticket cost
for family of four without thepark hopper option, you're
looking at about $1,600 to$2,000.
(02:33):
And I'm adding a little paddingthere just because, depending
on the time of the year, itcould be more expensive.
So it's safe to say roughly$1,600.
It could be a little bit more.
It's rough.
It's safe to say, you know,roughly $1,600.
It could be a little bit more,but that is a good ballpark to
be in.
If you head to the park hopperoption.
Like I said, though, you'relooking at anywhere from about
(02:59):
$1,840 to about $2,540.
So, like I said, it's alldependent on you.
If you need help planning thisout, needing some suggestions,
make sure you message us atmagicvacationfamilycom and I can
definitely help you out andgive you some of my advice for
how I would do tickets.
Now that we got tickets figuredout, let's talk about
accommodations.
Now accommodations can reallycome in three different types.
Right, we have our valueresorts, which are going to be
your budget-friendly options.
(03:19):
Those are going to averageanywhere from about $750 to
$1,000 for five nights, which isfantastic.
We always stay at Pop Centurywhen we go down and it's great.
That's considered a higher tiervalue resort.
We love it, my kids love it.
They love the theming.
It's right by the Skyliner.
They're able to utilize kind ofall of the amenities that are
(03:42):
perfect for my family,especially because we're at the
parks most of the day, so wejust need a place to lay our
head.
But $750 to $1,000 for fivenights, that's going to get you
around about $150 to $200 anight for a value resort.
Now, the moderate resort option.
Those resorts are definitely alittle bit nicer.
Some of them can be a littlebit closer to parks.
(04:03):
It really depends on theplacement and what you're really
looking for to get out of them.
I like all three of these typesof resorts here.
We really like the Disney PortOrleans, but I would say that's
going to cost you around about$1,500 to $1,750 for five nights
.
So that's getting us up toabout the $300 to $350 per night
range, and then that's going tojump us up to the the $300 to
(04:24):
$350 per night range and thenthat's going to jump us up to
the next tier, which is going tobe our deluxe resort.
Now, the deluxe resorts I'vestayed at before.
I love them.
They are definitely fantastic,especially if you want to be a
little bougie, if you plan onspending more time at the resort
(04:46):
than at the parks.
Or what I find is theonce-in-a-lifetime kind of trips
, or once or twice in a lifetimetype of trips that parents are
taking their kids down to Disneyfor they like to splurge and go
with the really nice resortbecause of some of those
different amenities that arethere.
Plus, they're pretty close tothe parks too.
So, for example, theContemporary it has the monorail
that you ride in right throughthe hotel and then you can
actually go right to MagicKingdom so you can actually see
the fireworks directly from yourhotel.
(05:08):
Same with the Polynesian andalso same with the Grand
Floridian.
So those are fantastic deluxeresort options, but those are
also going to cost you quite abit more.
We're talking about $3,000 tolet's just call it $3,500 for
about five nights.
So that's anywhere from $600 to$650 per night for a deluxe
resort.
So if we kind of do the math onthis one right now, for the
(05:31):
family of four, the value resort, like I said, is going to be
about $750 to $1,000.
Moderate resort $1,500 to$1,750.
And then the deluxe resort isgoing to be around $3,000 to
about $3,500.
So that's our accommodations.
All right, so let's move on tocategory number three, which is
food.
Now I have these broken downinto kind of three different
(05:53):
categories inside of food aswell.
We have our quick service meals, which are going to be places
that you can order like acheeseburger or a hot dog,
chicken fingers, french fries,stuff like that Quick service
meals for about five days forfamily fours and it costs you
about 750 to 1300 bucks.
Table service meals this isabout five meals for a family of
four.
That's going to cost you about500 to $800.
(06:16):
So about 25 to $60 per person.
Now, table service meals aregreat because it really gives
you an opportunity to experiencesome of the dining at Disney
other than just those quickservice meals.
However, you don't have to dothose, so that's really up to
you and what you'd want to do.
But let's say you did five ofthose.
You did, you know, five dinnersor four dinners, whatever.
(06:38):
You're roughly looking at $500to $800.
And then soft drinks and snacksyou're looking at another 200
to $400 for the family of four.
So, depending on your diningchoices, anywhere from 1,050 to
2,500 bucks for food.
And now category number four,the extras.
Now, these are ones that youdon't have to do at all.
(06:59):
Right, you could just sayforget it, I'm not doing it, I'm
going to save all of this money.
But if you're looking at extraslike Lightning Lane, which is
the skip the line service,that's going to cost you about
$240 to $400 for four days.
Now, you don't have to do thoseevery day.
You can just decide that youwant to do the Lightning Lane
for one park or two parks.
That's kind of ad hoc.
You can do whatever you wantwith that.
(07:20):
So that's completely up to you.
You want with that.
So that's completely up to you.
Now, looking at Memory Makerthis is the unlimited photo
service, right?
So all those professionalphotographers that they have
around the parks.
You can get all of those photoswhich then you can download and
share to your friends andfamily, make photo books,
whatever you want with it.
That is only $199.
Now, that's one price for yourentire trip and that is going to
(07:43):
be all available on your Disneyexperience app.
So, like I said, with the totalcost for the extras for a
family of four you're onlylooking at about $440 to $600.
So, depending on whatexperience you're trying to get
out of your vacation or youdecide that you're going to
skimp on table service meals andfocus on getting the Lightning
(08:04):
Lane and Memory Maker you coulddefinitely do that.
Looking at the total cost rightWithout extras the basic costs
for tickets, accommodations andfood value resort, you're
looking at about $4,700 to$6,400.
Moderate resort you're lookingaround about $6,300 to $8,000.
And then a deluxe resort you'relooking at about $7,800 to
(08:27):
let's just call it, $10,000.
And then, if you added allthose extras for the value
resort, you're going to belooking now at $5,230 to about
$7,7500.
Moderate resorts can be $6,500to about $8,500.
And then your your deluxeresort you're going to be
(08:47):
looking at definitely $8,000plus.
So I'll just give you theballpark range of about 8,000 to
10,500.
Now remember, with the extras,you don't have to do them.
You can do it ad hoc, so thoseprices can definitely vary.
Also, there are some quickmoney-saving tips as well, like
bringing your own water bottle.
You can pack your own snacks,share meals as well.
(09:09):
So think about those thingsthat you can do as well, and we
can talk about that more.
If you visit us atmagicvacationfamilycom, I can
give you some of those tips.
But there you have it.
A Disney vacation can basicallycost you anywhere from $4,700
to let's just call it, $10,000for a family of four, depending
on where you stay, how you eatand whether you choose any of
(09:30):
the extras.
So, once again, this is episodenumber three of 2025.
See you next time.
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