Cheapest Disney trip you’ve taken?

[KSR0330]

We invest in AP's for 4 of us(by bridging tickets, it's just over $500 per ticket).

kydisneyfans, can you tell me about this?

 

[StacyStrong]

Cheapest?

Probably a road trip in either high school or early college. I went with my cousin and her friend.

We all split gas. We stayed in our friends parents DVC for free. She used to be in the college program so her friend got us free tickets into the park for two or three days. All I paid for was food.

 

[HHMcG]

I'm sure we've done cheaper before kids but this was our recent budget trip.

We did a budget trip in 2015. I almost made it a game for myself. We would only do the trip if I could get the cost (flight, room & tickets for 5) under $3000. I also had to earn/save $1000 of the cost, anything over $1000 I saved meant we could add table service meals.

I planned the trip for value season. I was willing to stay offsite if needed, however I was able to take advantage of a Disney deal stacked with an Orbitz 15% off + cashback portal. We eliminated park hopper from our tickets for the first time (which I like better now). Flights were $118/ round trip. We bought 5 day base tickets from an authorized seller on some deal ($1462-saved $92 from Disney's online prices) and 6 nights at POR was $844.

I managed to save $1306 in about 4 months by: canceling premium cable channels and netflix, doing a consignment sale, switched to a new bank account for a sign up bonus, renegotiated our SiriusXM radio deal, stopped buying soda at work and brought it with me, picked up an 'extracurricular' job.

I didn't even get into the world of credit card sign up bonus which others have mentioned. And this was before I learned to save even more using discounted Disney gift cards

 

[CGB]

One of our cheapest trips was while our kids were in college. We drove down in DS's cobalt and rented a condo in Windsor Hills. We ate breakfast and dinner at the condo; lunch was counter-service in the parks. We used a military discount on the park tickets. It was a fun vacation with a lot of fun memories (to include the four of us packed in that little car).

For Game of Thrones fans, that's where we watched the Red Wedding... streaming on a laptop screen!

 

[Carrie Ellis]

In 2004 we pulled our RV to Fort Wilderness. My kids were 9, 9, 4, and 4. They used to offer the military discount on campsites and it was 40%! We stayed 10 nights at $23/night!!! Then I got these "sunshine" tickets that they sold for people who come from overseas. They were geared for them but if you knew you could buy them it was legal. They were very discounted and came with a free Mickey's buffet meal on each one of them too! That was pretty much the cheapest we ever went!

 

[Klayfish]

kydisneyfans, can you tell me about this?

Yes, please do tell. How can you get an AP for $500?

 

[robinb]

kydisneyfans, can you tell me about this?

Yes, please do tell. How can you get an AP for $500?

Not @kydisneyfans, but DVC members get a discount on APs. A DVC Gold AP is $627 and a renewal is $532. There is a thing called "bridging" where you buy a discount ticket and apply that ticket to an AP. You get the gate price of the ticket applied to your AP, not what you paid. I do this with passes from Undercover Tourist. The trick is to buy the pass with the biggest discount that does not have a gate price of more than the AP you are planning to buy. For instance, UT has a 9-Day Base Ticket for $419. The gate price is $484 ($65 savings). If she's buying an AP the first time she would have to pay $419 + $143 at guest services to upgrade the 9-day base at the gate price to an AP. If she's buying a renewal, she would pay $419 + $48 at guest services to upgrade to the renewal.

I know that passes from UT work, but not all passes do. I would search for bridging because it can save you some good money!

ETA: We plan to bridge and get around black out dates of the Gold AP. We will start using our passes during the blackout date and upgrade once the blackout dates are past.

But this is all "inside baseball" for the OP . EXCEPT the suggestion for Undercover Tourist. Go to www.mousavers.com and sign up for their newsletter. There will be a special link there for the best discount prices on WDW passes. Right now you can save $50 on a 5-day base pass.

 

[Marionnette]

kydisneyfans, can you tell me about this?

The PP is a DVC owner and unless they purchased after the most recent restrictions on resale contracts, they are eligible to purchase APs at a discount and can get a Gold AP for $628 total. If they are renewing their APs every year, the cost to DVC members to renew a Gold AP is $533. So, all they have to do is get a discounted ticket from a reseller like UT and use that ticket to apply toward the upgrade. The OOP cost ends up being under $500 per AP.

 

[alohamom]

If it is the whole Christmas/Holiday feel you are after, why not just do the Christmas party? Mickeys Very Merry Christmas Party runs on Dec 16,18,20,21 so there are a few options within your date window.

Then you could spend another day resort hopping for the decorations and Christmas trees and spend sometime in Disney Springs as well.

One of our families lest expensive Disney getaways was exactly the above combined with $29 round trip airfare we snapped on Black Friday from Frontier. I had Marriott points which we used to stay for free for a few nights so we ended up spending just over $1000 for four of us for a long weekend with airfare, MVMCP tickets, food and a rental car.

 

[arminnie]

My cheapest trip was just a few months after 9/11 so it's not really relevant to today's world. I lived in California, but had free airline miles. I stayed offsite at the Marriott Fairfield Inn for $42 a night. The free breakfast provided enough food for breakfast and a snack later in the day. I did rent a car - but the cost was minimal. I can't remember exactly what I did for tickets - but I am sure that it involved non-expiring tickets.

In today's world my trips are not that expensive - but my costs are not available to everyone. I bought DVC 15 years ago so my lodging costs are minimal, and I have access to an AP that is very discounted. We now live within driving distance so airfare and car rental are not an issue.

 

[kydisneyfans]

Yes-robinb and Marionette explained it well. We buy tickets through UT and bridge them at the gate. Have had no issues doing it at both Epcot and DHS.

 

[alohamom]

I would love love love to surprise my fiancé with a quick Disney trip for Christmas, as we both are obsessed with Disney and Christmas but have never been during that time. We’re currently saving up for a wedding and honeymoon so don’t have a ton of extra cash, so tell me your stories of cheap Disney trips!

I’m hoping to signup for a travel rewards card to get free flights, and we’ll only go for two days or so to cut down on hotels/tickets. What are other money saving hacks you have?

As a side bar - we’d have to go sometime the week of December 16-22 depending on the vacation days I can get. Is this just a horrible time to go and a waste of money? Crowds aren’t his favorite, but we’re very efficient with our FPs so hopefully can still ride a fair amount.

I went back and read your original post and saw the "crowds aren't his favorite" so again, I would say do MVMCP. We have been twice and a couple of times to the Halloween party too.

The best thing about these is that for the most part they are usually not crowded and by the end of the night some rides are even walk ons.

Obviously the closer you get to Christmas the more people are going to attend because they are already there for the holidays but if you looked at earlier in your travel window I'd bet you would have no problems with crowds.

The parades are amazing, they give out hot chocolate and it snows on Main Street. There are special Christmas themed shows and character meets. It is a Christmas lovers dream come true!

We have gone as early as 4:30 even though the ticket says 7 (this is the norm, not the exception - lots of people do this) and the party goes till midnight so with the rides being so accessible you ca get a good full 7-8 hours of park time in.

 

[Scifidiner]

About 12 years ago the company I work for sent us to an NKF meeting held at the Swan convention center. The only thing I paid for was the tickets. Sweet.

 

[winnieofpooh]

If it is the whole Christmas/Holiday feel you are after, why not just do the Christmas party? Mickeys Very Merry Christmas Party runs on Dec 16,18,20,21 so there are a few options within your date window.

Then you could spend another day resort hopping for the decorations and Christmas trees and spend sometime in Disney Springs as well.

Ohhh this is a great idea!! I didn't even consider that, but it would be a great way to save money on tickets but still get to experience all the Christmas offerings!

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

I don't mind economizing in order to make a Disney trip happen. The week before Easter 2017, DH and I went to WDW to see DD play in a high school softball tournament. DD stayed onsite with her team (her package price was only $400 due to fundraising!). We decided not to pay for the team parent Disney package at Pop with quick service dining plan for DH and me - too expensive! Instead we drove our car down and stayed off site at a beautiful 1 bedroom condo (Vacation Village at Parkway - $430/week and close enough to see the ESPN fields from the balcony), used $525 in Disney gift cards (purchased at Kroger with 4x fuel points) and $137 in Disney rewards dollars for dining, and used 3 days on our 10 day no expire hoppers with WP fun & more (unfortunately this ticket type is no longer available).

We did 3 table service ADRs (Boathouse on our DS day, Tusker House breakfast ROL pkg, Sci Fi for appetizers and milkshakes) and a lunch ADR at BOG. We had drinks with the other parents at Pop's Petals pool bar, and at the House of Blues outdoor patio, complete with live music! On our Epcot day we spent $100 as we ate and drank our way around the World Showcase at the Flower & Garden food kiosks. We ate 3 breakfasts in the room and brought our own snacks to DD's games. All other meals were QS at the parks or WDW resorts.

Our 5 night trip only cost us $1400 total including transportation/gas money, food, lodging, tickets, parking and ESPN entrance fees. It truly was a budget trip, but it certainly didn't feel like it!

 

[dhardawa]

The cheapest I got was years ago through Southwest Vacations. It was back when the dining plan included tips and appetizers. We got a week at a value resort, park hopper passes for 7 days, regular dining plan, and airfare for $599 per person. It was a steal even then.