I love to travel.
I will save money in other areas of my life so I can spend more on travel. And one of my favorite places is Walt Disney World because it lets me be a kid again. There really isn't anywhere else in the world that can give you that.
It comes at a cost though. Disney isn't cheap. Park tickets cost a hundred bucks a day, their premium hotels cost a fortune per night, and that's before you fly yourself down there. There are ways you can save here or there, but on the whole it's going to be an expensive vacation.
Bu everyone knows it going in. And we don't care.
Our children are 4 and 2 and for the longest time our son loved Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Every day he wanted to see what the gang was up to (probably didn't help that we didn't let him watch all that often! Absence makes the heart grow fonder!). He's since moved onto other shows like Octonauts but Mickey still holds a special place in his little heart. Even our youngest is a fan … but of Minnie. She carries around a little purple Minnie Mouse around the house some days.
Disney is easy. Disney is convenient. They package everything up together and they're really good at making it seamless. They win because even though you're spending a mortgage payment on the trip, you aren't dissatisfied. You don't leave the parks unhappy. That's why everyone keeps going back!
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So here's the thing… the last time we went was before we had kids. Now, we want to wait until our kids are old enough to enjoy it, remember some of it, and not have to take naps so they can really get the whole experience. We figure we're probably a year or so away from making the trip…
… which puts us in a good position to start stockpiling reward points we'll need to get that trip for as close to free as possible!
I've been doing a lot of studying and research to find the best combination of offers. I've settled on six cards (3 each for me and my wife) with $3600+ in bonuses. The three cards are from different issuers, so you won't run into any problems with the issuers, and they're well known issuers.
Now, my step-by-step guide to getting to Disney as cheaply as possible.
Table of Contents
Three Pieces to the Puzzle
The high price of a Walt Disney World vacation comes down to three major expenses:
If you solve the puzzle for these, it can go a long way to keeping your budget reasonable. The three are mutually exclusive too, you can get your lodging on points but pay for airfare with existing points. Or you can get the airfare on points and get lodging with the points you already have – mixing and matching is fine. The three are treated separately and we will tackle each one to get you to Disney as cheaply as possible.
Sadly, everything else is up to you. Food, souvenirs, trinkets, and the like – to each their own. You can use the savings from your lodging (we show you how to stay at WDW's best hotels for free!) to go all out on Mickey ears! 🙂
Free WDW Park Tickets
Old school WDW Park Hopper Tickets
There is no way to get the tickets for free.
Sadface. 🙁
A quick check of prices tells me that it would cost us $1,249.80 for four 4-day tickets (2x ages 10+, 2x ages 3-9) on Undercover Tourist, which counts as a “travel expense” for credit card purposes (and that's slightly cheaper than direct from Disney). The fact that it's a travel expense will become important later because the card we recommend offers statement credit only against travel expenses.
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card gives you 40,000 bonus miles on just $3,000 of purchases within 3 months of approval, which is worth $400 in travel. You also get 2X miles on all purchases, so that $3,000 in spend will get you another 6,000 miles. That's worth $460 in travel. The annual fee is $0 for the first year but then $59 after that.
With the free miles you can significantly cut the cost of transportation depending on how many people are traveling. If you're near an airport that has an airline that flies to Orlando direct and inexpensively, you're in pretty good shape.
Get two cards, one for me and one for my wife, and we now have $920 in statement credits. (you also get 5% of your redemption back, so another $23 afterwards)
Once you apply for the cards, buy your tickets with the card and apply the statement credit once you've hit the spending requirement. You will want to spread the buying across cards so you use up the entire statement credit.
Free WDW Lodging
This is going to be so easy it'll blow your mind.
We always love staying at a Disney resort because of convenience. You get the full immersive Disney experience, free transportation to and from the park, and… this cannot be overlooked, complimentary delivery of your purchases back to your room. All that free transportation also means no rental car… which is a nice expense not to have!
Oh, and did I mention that by staying on resort, you get extra “Magic Hours” in the park? The foot traffic drops tremendously during those times since all the resort guests are now spread across all the parks (maybe not Animal Kingdom nearly as much). The last time we did this, we had the run of the park and went on certain rides over and over again without waitingx. 🙂
OK, I promised easy, so here it is. The Disney Swan is a Westin Hotel and Disney Dolphin is a Sheraton Hotel, which means they're both part of the Starwood Hotels. They're two of the best hotels in all of Walt Disney World with rates starting at $400 a night… if you can get them.
Here's the play – Get the Starwood Preferred Guest American Express, which gives you 25,000 bonus Starpoints after $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months. That's 28,000 Starpoints given the bonus and the points on the spending.
Walt Disney World Swan Hotel — Source: Public Domain
Both hotels are Category 4 Starwood hotels, which means a night will cost you 10,000 Starpoints per night BUT you get a Fifth Night Free if you book 4 nights.
So 5 nights but you spend just 40,000 Starpoints at one of the most ridiculously luxurious hotels in all of Walt Disney World. (I've used the bathrooms in the lobby and the hand towels were nicer than my room towels at Port Orleans Riverside!)
One card gets you 28,000 Starpoints, which isn't enough, so you need to get two cards (one for me, one for my lovely wife) for a total of 56,000 Starpoints. Then, transfer the Starpoints onto one account and book through the reward redemption page.
Boom! 5 nights on points alone is worth a cool $1500 — plus you'll have 16,000 Starpoints left over to use on something else.
A non-WDW Resort Hotel… Sheraton Lake Buena Vista
Sheraton Lake Buena Vista, Source
If you don't care about staying on WDW property, still get the Starpoints but stay at the Sheraton Lake Buena Vista (12205 S Apopka Vineland Rd, Orlando, FL 32836). It's a great alternative because it's:
- Only 4,000 Starpoints a night,
- It's 0.6 miles from the front door of Walt Disney World Resort,
- AND they offer a free shuttle.
For this one, you only need one card. Get the 28,000 bonus Starpoints from one card and you can stay there for an entire week!
Flights to Orlando
The play is to open the rewards credit card for your favorite airline to get the bonus points/miles to get free airfare.
Southwest: We live on the East Coast and both BWI Airport and Orlando International Airport are major Southwest hubs, so we're going to fly Southwest using points we've accrued from Southwest promotions and our Companion Pass. Otherwise, we'd open a Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card, snag the 50,000 bonus points for both my wife and myself, and use those to book the flights. (you'll need a referral for the 50,000 bonus points, click here for one)
If you are airline agnostic, get a general rewards card that will give you rewards across the board. The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card will give you Chase Ultimate Rewards which you can use directly on their site or with United, Southwest, or British Airways. Their current offer is 50,000 bonus points when you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months – grand total it's worth $625 in travel.
More: Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
If you fly American Airlines, the Citi Platinum AAdvantage World Mastercard will give you 30,000 American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles on $1,000 in spend within the first 3 months of opening.
More: Citi Platinum AAdvantage World Mastercard
Again, two cards and now you have $1250 in value to spend either through the Chase Ultimate Rewards site or with partners.
Total Savings: $3,670
The total savings comes out to $3,670 plus some leftover rewards you can use elsewhere, like at least a night in a Starwood Category 4 hotel. All this will have you open six credit cards, three for you and three for your significant other, which is a pretty good return of nearly $600 per card opened.
To help you keep track of the bonuses, I've created this free 1-page printable table (or as a Word Document you can edit).
We’ve preloaded each category with the recommended card plus extra for you to put alternatives. Bonus miles is the promotional bonus you earn by hitting the spending amount by the spending deadline. The approval date is the date you were issued the card and that’s when the promotional spending clock starts. All are left blank because promotions change so put in the number when you apply.
What to Watch Out For
Every reward card mentioned here has an annual fee. All of them are waived for the first year though, so remember these cards and decide if you want to keep using them after the reward period.
Opening three credit cards in a short time will have a minor negative impact your credit score. Remember your credit score is a measure of credit risk and someone who opens up three credit cards is riskier than someone who didn't. If you plan on needing a loan in the next 6-12 months, you may not want to do this.
You can pick and choose which parts of this blueprint to execute. If you opened all of the cards on the same day, you'd have to meet the spending requirements within a short 90-120 day window. If you cannot do this, spread the applications out throughout the year. You do not want to open a card and fail to meet the bonus requirements. My best advice is to spread out your applications across a year and plan your spending accordingly.
Good luck!
Photo Source: Sam Howzit, with modifications
Wow Jim! The amount of thought and research behind this post is impressive. If you decide to not use the credit card rewards route, mousesavers.com is another great resource to help save money. Like you suggest, we always stay at the park because of the easy access to park transportation and the magical express.
Thanks Aaron! Mousesavers is a great resource for sure!
Wonderful information! My family is planning a trip this year. I do not have kids but I am planning on going with 20 other children and 10 adults. This will be something I look further into but I am sure my family will not be interested. Thanks!
Will NOT be interested? Why?
My family is just not interested in becoming debt free. I am doing my best to break the “curse” of living in poverty and having “bad credit”. I am teaching the youth in my family how to save and plan now. its a struggle because everyone wants to keep up with the Joneses. I was once that person. Not anymore.
That’s too bad. 🙁 What do you think helped you turn that corner?
I was born with a platinum spoon but I allowed myself to give without saving anything. Then, I became homeless and that led to my turnaround.
Great guide! I’m not sure yet if/when we’ll visit Disney. Our kids are the same ages as yours. My husband and I have never been, so we don’t know what we’re missing–and that is kind of an advantage since it’s pricey! We also tend to love off-the-beaten-path travel. However, everyone says Disney is amazing so if we go we will use these tips. We do use the Starwood Preferred Guest card to accumulate free hotel stays already.
Honestly, the Starwood tip is probably the gem in this entire post because those hotels are pricey as all get out (but worth it!) and getting all those nights for using that card is a coup.
Disney is fun but a lot of it is too perfect, if you know what I mean. It’s a manufactured experience, where everything works great, everyone is happy, and you know that you’re enjoying a facade. But it’s a great facade. 🙂
If you like off the beaten path travel where everything isn’t perfect and you get a more authentic feel, Disney isn’t it. Disney is like the movies. 🙂
I remember when my wife and I went on a month-long vacation to Europe before she started graduate school. One of the most memorable times was when we didn’t have a place to stay in Geneva overnight. We were going to do an overnight train but we couldn’t get tickets online… only to realize the reason for that was because they were sold out (we learned at the ticket counter). So we went on a train, stopped in Geneva, and wandered around until we found a place to stay. Not exactly “off the beaten path” but it was unplanned discovery… with a good ending. 🙂
This post makes me wish I was American! That is some serious travel-hacking. I can get Starpoints though, so I’ll have to look into those. We’re usually grungy backpacker types but if we come across a Disney park (usually on a flight stopover), we’ll always make an effort to go. Last year we visited Hong Kong Disney and it was great. Especially for our 3 year old as it’s a lot smaller than the Orlando park. We took him to the Orlando park the year previous (in July, what were we thinking – it was so hot!) when we were able to combine an MCO stopover between our time in Mexico and heading to Europe. It was fun, but he was just 2 so he was too small for a lot of the rides. Now that we have another baby we will wait until they are at least 4 before visiting again. I love Disney!
Yeah I think kids don’t really enjoy it until they’re 4, that’s probably the tipping point for us. Disney is awesome… just so pricey! 🙂
This is some seriously ingenious travel cost hacking! It’s definitely only for the very organized and disciplined who will make sure they pay off the statements monthly. You are the first person I’ve seen actually show how to go for almost free. Have you taken a look at the Disney rewards card and compared it?
I have to respectfully disagree that there is a minimum age for kids to enjoy Disney. I’ve taken an 18 mo old and 2 year olds (no admission cost until they are 3, and they go to character meals for free) who had a blast. They don’t remember those trips, but we got some very cute photos. I’ve seen the families with 4 yr olds who try to push all day with no break. Those are the ones whose kids are whiny, crying, grumpy, and exhausted by supper and passed out before the fireworks. We used late character breakfast or a character lunch as a mid-day break. The kids rested in the AC and stuffed themselves which kept them fueled for hours. Another way to break is to go swimming. The kids who get breaks last well into the evening. I’ve never had a crying, whiny, over-tired child at Disney, because we took breaks and kept snacks with us. Disney is a rigorous pace, and I recommend strollers, snacks, and breaks. I’m also glad the oldest didn’t have to wait for the youngest to hit a magic age. Waiting for it to fit into a budget, however is a completely different matter.
I love that you shared your experience and took a little bit of the “scare” out of it for some parents of younger kids. 🙂
My friend Brad wrote about this exact strategy in 2013, and has been featured on NBC, the New York Times, etc. about it since.
I agree – it’s the best way to get to Disney on points! I would probably stay at the 3K point per night property in Orlando whether I was going to the park or not. Awesome deal – and the hotel looks fun for kids even without hitting Disney.
My family hasn’t been to Disney yet. I kinda feel like a trip to Florida should involve the beach and not a theme park. I think we may also wait until they are a little older and might remember it more.
There’s something compelling about only having to apply for one card and getting so much time at the non-Disney hotel, though the Swan and Dolphin sure are nice. 🙂
I live in Orlando and love Disney, my husband and I have annual passes. Disney as an adult (even without kids) is a blast! We haven’t stayed at a resort yet since we live just down the road (staycation some time?), but I work for Vistana (who owns the Sheraton timeshare properties) so get heavy discounts on any Marriot or Starwood hotel! I didn’t know Swan & Dolphin were Starwood so this is exciting information.
Holly, Disney is always memorable no matter the age (though of course they’ll remember more the older they are) and I think my sister remembers some of it too and she was only 4. I have memories of a trip my family took to Disney when I was about 6 years old. Cocoa Beach is only an hour from Disney, and Clearwater Beach (rated as the #1 beach in FL often) is about 2 hours. The aforementioned Disney trip when I was little was split between Disney and Clearwater, and lots of people do Disney and even just a day trip over to Cocoa so you can easily do both!
FYI – The swan just went up a category on the new chart, but the dolphin still works for this strategy.
Where did you see that? I just checked the redemption page and it’s still an SPG Category 4.
UPDATE: Maggie showed me this page where they list the increase to Category 5. 🙁
Thanks for the info about the hotels, I have never even heard of the Disney Dolphin, will be looking into this as we want to go back to disney maybe next year and in the past we stayed at the Grand Floridian which was so expensive.
You’re very welcome!
This is awesome Jim!
It’s making my head spinning trying to piece this all together in my head! I’m just getting my feet wet with the travel hacking with two cards (Chase Sapphire and Capital One Venture) but definitely need to up my game!
My daughter’s only two, so I’m sure a trip to Orlando will be planned in the next few years! Hopefully the travel hacking game is still strong then!
Ha, this is nothing! A lot of the pros talk about applying for multiple cards in multiple browsers at the same bank (so 3 browsers applying to Chase cards) to minimize credit checks, how to best shift reward points around programs to maximize the benefits, and some more advanced stuff that I understand but haven’t yet fully internalized. I think promotion hunting will always be there, credit cards need to incentivize, but they’ll crack down on the really heavy applicants and the little guys will be fine.
You mention free transportation to/from the airport. Curious as to how you got to/from the airport to the Swan or Dolphin. Those Starwood (Marriott now) hotels are not Disney owned and do not participate in Magical Express bus service. To get to Swolphin, you’d have to rent a car, take a cab, a paid shuttle service (Mears), or possibly Uber Black. Thanks.
And several years ago (2010 I believe), the Swolphin hotels were offered for super cheap Delta SkyMiles. We stayed 2 nights at the Swan for something like 24,000 points. At the time, we didn’t even have to pay the resort fee. Thought I’d gotten the deal of the century. SkyMiles got wise and those hotels are WAY MORE expensive now. 🙂
The Swan and Dolphin are Epcot resort hotels so you get access to the parks with resort transportation.
As for airport transportation, I made an error in the original article. You’re right about having to pay for transportation since they don’t participate in Magical Express. 🙁
Well, this is awesome! Now, how can I hack my way onto a Disney cruise for free? 😉
Ha — I’ll try to find out. 🙂
This is phenomenal. I like how you set it up to tell us what cards and exactly how and why they are the right way to go. I have a site that is built around going to Disney on a budget (www.planningthemagic.net), or cheaply, but I have not talked about using credit cards at all. I will leave that to the experts!
Have you ever considered the Disney credit card? I know usually they only have the $100 statement credit as a sign up bonus, is that why it isn’t your first pick?
$100 statement credit just isn’t enough to pop up on the radar 🙂
Haha figured!
I just want to say I’ve stayed at The Swan for a convention and it’s really not that nice unless you can afford the suites. The economy type rooms are just like any other chain hotel. We stayed at the Seralago Main Gate East in Kissimmee which is literally down the street from Epcot. They offer a free shuttle service to all the Disney Parks and have two restaurants in the lobby. The pool is heated year around and the hot tub is fabulous after a day at the park. It’s also within walking distance of other restaurants if you want something different. Their prices are quite reasonable! It’s a family friendly hotel as well.
Hmmmm that’s a good thing to know!
Consider Disney good neighbor hotels if you don’t have to be on site. All close to Disney,Disney handpicked for standards, offer shuttles, family type rooms and suites,and some offer breakfast, area Wal-Mart have large areas of nice and cheaper{than in Disney} clothing, and souvenirs. Might be worth an uber drive. If traveling with kids pack snacks and powered drink mixes,take water bottles filled with spriteyou crave soda.. wafer bottles can be used for drink mixes. We live in Florida so we are close we have traveled expecting babies, young babies and elderly grandparents in wheel chairs/scooter. Rent scooters off site, walker is good, hotel suites have kitchen we often cook easy like pizza, spaghetti,crock pot meals – cooks while we are at park, My daughter has CELICS eating is a chore, Disney will cater to food restriction,but it is costly,
I’d never heard of the term Disney Good Neighbor Hotels before but it’s a great way to filter out hotels – thanks for sharing it!
I believe they are talking about the Disneyland “good neighbor hotels”. Disneyland only has a few hotels that they own, but they have a lot of “good neighbor hotels” which are not owned by Disney. This doesn’t apply to WDW.
Disney World has Good Neighbor hotels that have to meet their standards and usually have a Disney desk where you can purchase tickets and get information. We have stayed off site 20 miles away in a comfort inn Maingate in Davenport which was great. Our last stay was at Springhill suites at Flamingo Crossing in Winter Haven which was a Good Neighbor hotel and was very nice. We have also stayed at Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek which was very elegant and had a Disney store as well as many nice amenities like the shuttles. Two rooms would have cost us over $1500 but with rewards from travel it was free.
If you are close and plan to visit several times a year consider year passes- if you plan to visit more than four days really the cheapest way to go, special deals for Florida residents, we also bought a time share useful for other locations and countries , Feel it was money well spent we take at least one nice trip every year. This might not have any dealings with your post ,but these tips have allowed my family of school teachers to take our brood on many nice cheaper trips,
Hi. Thank you for your advice. We’re staying at the Dolphin with points. Do you know how to hack transportation from the airport to the hotel since they don’t do the Magical Express? We have two kids as well 4 & 2 who require car seats. Thank you. I’d appreciate your advice.
This is one of the best articles I’ve read. We went twice last year one of which was with our Girl Scout troop. We live in Florida 5 hours from Orlando and get great discounts. We sold over 4000 boxes of cookies to go last year and this year we have twice as many people going so every way we can save is most helpful. My family will be going 1-2 times in addition to the scout trip so I am thrilled to have found this post. Thank you.
You’re so very welcome, great job selling so many boxes!
My friends and I did Disney a few years ago and stayed in their All Star Sports hotel. They also have all star music and all star movies. The hotel rooms are themed towards the name, as is the exterior decoration. We got to walk past Donald, Huey, Dewey & Louie playing tennis. The hotel had its own pool too. Our friend had a discount where the room was around $60 per night. It had the same advantage of the Disney bus from the airport, so no rental car. They have a cafeteria which is slightly cheaper than in park prices, so we did Breakfast there every day. For me the Disney experience is so much about the parks, the room was basically for sleeping and getting ready, and didn’t need to be a lot per night.
The friend had done a work study program at Disney in college and still had friend who work there, who were able to use employee discount to get us in. Which was very lucky for us.
Wishing you a great trip when the time comes!