Some thoughts as a Canadian on doing Disney the budget way: the bubble is expensive. If you're trying to fly in, stay in bubble, only dine at Disney, but get a "deal" while doing so you're fighting an uphill battle.
What we actually did recently instead:
1. Drive
Airport parking is expensive. Flights are expensive. Rental cars are expensive. Driving your own car can save you a fair bit, assuming you're in the ~50% of Canadians who live within a ~24hr drive of WDW. We loaded up our not so frugal SUV and left ON at a leisurely 9am, made all the usual washroom and food stops, and settled down for the night off I-81 in Virginia. We detoured a bit the 2nd day, visited and stayed with some of my family, but had we continued down the direct path, the 2nd day would have been about 10-11 hours of driving, roughly equal to day 1.
A decent hotel is readily available for $150 US or less, or $200 CAD or less. If you like knowing your stop ahead of time, there's a number of ways to get a good deal. Costco Travel even has single night hotel bookings now, on top of the usual booking sites, plus things like Air Miles travel, CAA discount, etc..
Gas in our not-thrifty SUV was about $300 CAD one way. YMMV. We topped off in NY just over the border, which got us to VA where gas is cheaper, filled half a tank in NC and half a tank in GA, which was then more than enough to reach our destination.
So roundtrip gas and two hotel nights should be under $1,000 CAD. I used a Canadian Visa with no Foreign Transaction Fee to save. Other options if you have a source of US funds include US-domiciled credit cards with bonus points / cashback on gas or hotels.
2. Stay "offsite"
Orlando must be the timeshare capital of the US. Or at least close to it. Accommodations outside of Disney are plentiful and surprisingly affordable. We still had banked timeshare stays from COVID to use, so that's what we did for our budget trip, but even people who aren't on the hook for a timeshare can get pretty good deals. I've seen deals from various sources under $1,000/wk for a 2-bedroom, condo-style timeshare, only a 15-25 minute drive from wherever you're heading at Disney.
I'm sure there's dodgy places around, but we love our timeshare, know lots of people who love theirs (different ones), and you're usually getting nicer and more spacious accommodations for much less than a Disney "value" resort.
3. Smart food
To me this part is going to swing a lot depending on your family and your attitude. We enjoy trying different food we don't have at home, so our "budget" trip splurged on ADRs at Boma, Ohana, Yak & Yeti, and also guilty pleasures like Whispering Canyon, Beaches & Cream. We also enjoyed Disney Springs stops like Boathouse, Gideon's, Wetzel's Pretzels. But you can indulge in what you want and also save in other areas.
Sample breakfast: egg mcmuffins cooked in the kitchen of our timeshare. <$20 total for 2 people for a week. Cereal is an option too. Yogurt & granola...
Park snacks: You can bring your own snacks to Disney for if you're in a line and feeling peaky, or just don't want to spend $8 on a pretzel. Nuts, granola bars, even sandwiches if you're so inclined... We always bring a small crossbody bag to the parks, so it's incredibly easy to keep at least something handy.
Lunch: Sometimes you're only a little hungry. I actually find it hard to eat heavy when it's really hot out and I'm focusing on hydration. The Kids menu can be really handy at QS restaurants, like getting 1 slice of pizza, 2 kids sides, and a drink for $9, instead of $14 for the adult portion with 2 slices. And thanks to mobile order there's no need to pretend it's for your little nephew who's sitting down at the table; just order and enjoy your perfectly portioned food.
Hydration: Water is free. CMs usually have a lot going on, but asking for a cup of water at any QS (or even snack stand) with a pop fountain is going to be no-charge. And I don't actually understand why some don't like the taste of FL water... it always hits the spot for me, and is a lot more refreshing at actually quenching thirst than pop or booze. People voluntarily paying $4.59 for a bottle of Dasani (which actually does taste horrible) at places that serve free water always make my jaw hit the floor.
Trying places: I mentioned earlier that we still splurge on food, even on a budget trip. But other than AYCTE places like Boma or Ohana, we don't just throw money away either. We'll go to Tambu Lounge, for example, and get Ohana noodles, wings, bread pudding, without paying for the whole dinner. If we want to try a dessert that's at a Table Service restaurant, but not really their full meals, we will just go and split a dessert. Or maybe an appetizer together and then dessert, like we did with the wonton nachos at Yak & Yeti. There's a lot of places you can try a little of without ordering full meals for everyone in your party.
4. Getting around
I get it. A lot of people don't like driving on vacation. Don't know the area. Maybe you live in the big smoke and don't even drive when you're home. Personally though, especially once you've driven from Canada to Florida in your own car, it can actually feel like you're just driving anywhere else you'd drive. Would I rather wait for a bus from Pop to Animal Kingdom, to catch another bus to AKL, to have dinner at Boma, or just drive from my timeshare and park at AKL in less time? I mean, yes you can Uber between Disney properties too, but that's on top of the Disney tax you're paying to stay onsite in the first place.
For park days, there are certain parks (*cough* MK) it's better to take Disney transportation to than park at, but for example one of the ways we handle that is starting at another park, and then park hopping to the difficult one later. We aren't rope droppers to begin with, so disregard if you are, but a little flexibility and creativity can go a long way. Once you've gone from offsite
to Disney for the day, you can get around on Disney transit just like anyone else.
Our budget trip was roughly $1,000 CAD for the "there & back again," though we added to that by detours visiting family, plus <$1,000 CAD for a week's accommodation at a nice place in the area. What formula that is can be up to you (stay at a cheap hotel, get a last-minute deal on a timeshare, or spend a little more and rent a house with a bigger group,) but there's a surprising variety at low price points. Nothing extra for a rental car or airport parking because we brought our own! Food-wise, we tried to spend similarly to how we'd spend at home. You don't have to eat out every meal at all, much less spend what you'd fork out on a
Disney Dining Plan. We splurged a bit over what we'd spend at home with Boma & Tambu so close together, or doing things like stopping at Sanaa for just bread service and dessert, but mitigating efforts included buying Disney gift cards in Canada at 4% cash back at grocery stores, and then using those on food at Disney. We also have a (US-based) Disney Visa for 10% off at some of our dining destinations.
The only thing you can't really help is the price of the park tickets, but you absolutely can do an affordable trip to Disney even as a Canadian. The nice thing about driving is it's not really any more $ with 3 or 4 people than it is with 2. We also planned the trip around Victoria Day weekend too, so less time off of work was needed, yet it wasn't a busy time to be in FL at all!
which I did not want to pay for. It would have worked better with the old two meals, two snacks though.
That's me. My car gathers dust in the underground parking lot at my condo most of the time. We have driven to Disney when the kids were little and we had no money. It really wasn't that bad of a drive, except for some of the major cities (Charlotte, Columbia, Jacksonville). Now I can afford to fly, but I do miss having my own vehicle while I'm down there. Rental cars make me nervous for some reason.
