Orlando on the Cheap: 20 Easy Ways to Save
Disclaimer: We are not paid to promote any restaurant, hotel, activity, product, or attraction. All opinions are subjective and based on our personal experience. Your experience may be different.
Let’s face the facts. When you add up hotel & transportation costs, dining out, and theme parks, an Orlando vacation is about as pricey as it gets. The price of theme park tickets goes up every year. Several days at Disney or Universal parks alone can add up to hundreds, even thousands of dollars.
If you figure a week or more at a hotel, $100+ per day theme park tickets, pricey park food and restaurants, souvenirs, and airfare costs, you are talking an expensive vacation in the thousands. According to Nerd Wallet, the average Disney vacation for a family of 4 now costs over 6000! (this is only for a week!). To help ease the overall cost a bit, here are a few of my recommended tips acquired through years of visiting the parks.
1. Avoid holiday & school break periods
Flights and hotels will be much pricier during these busy periods. In fact, many resort properties will be completely sold out during these peak weeks. Also, ride queues will be much longer, meaning you will miss out on loads of attractions due to wasted time waiting in lines. Surely, this is not the best bang-for-your buck time to visit the theme parks! The fall and winter months (outside of Christmas) is the best time, budget and crowd-wise, to plan your trip!
2. Book an on-site resort property with a complimentary shuttle to the parks
Whether you are planning on visiting Disney, Universal, or both, a property with free transportation to the parks will save you loads of money. Car rentals are super pricey, and thus, the extra cost for a resort with shuttle service easily pays for itself. Cabana Bay is a wonderful Universal resort with so many amenities for a great price.
It’s where I usually stay because I love the amenities (2 gorgeous pools and a lazy river) and the price is moderate. You will also get hour early admission to the parks. This alone will enable you to enjoy 2-4 extra rides before the park even opens! Free shuttle service to Universal parks and Citywalk is yet another bonus.
I’ve never stayed at a Disney resort, but you can check out the complimentary transportation options for more info.
3. Check for hotel package deals
Before committing to a hotel, check the hotel’s website for special package deals. Whether you are seeking a spa treatment, a dining package, or a rental car, there are various money saving packages available. Discounted Florida resident deals also available (I took full advantage while living in Tampa!). Various Disney resorts offer packages which include amenities such as airline transportation, park tickets, dining, and more. Check the WDW website and each individual property for more details. Also look into Universal’s special package deals.
4. Go out for a big lunch instead of dinner
Going out to a nice restaurant for lunch is much easier on your wallet. At this time, you will usually enjoy lower priced entrees, better service, and a more enjoyable crowd-free ambiance. There are both quick and full service restaurants within both parks, or you can temporarily leave the parks to enjoy a more frugal off-site dining experience.
Jason’s Deli is a wonderful budget friendly all-you-can-eat salad buffet located fairly close to Universal. Other great chain lunch deals include: Olive Garden’s unlimited soup, salad, and bread and Panera’s you pick two.
Take a look at this List of WDW restaurants with an average price point of less than $15 per person before your visit.
5. Consider a Disney/Universal dining plan
Dining plans are a great option for families more interested in the parks than restaurants. If you want to take advantage of the parks more and skip the fuss of making restaurant reservations, deciding where to eat, and wasting a bunch of time, a dining deal may be the way to go.
The Disney plan includes 2 meals & 2 snacks each night of your stay, and a refillable mug. Most resorts offer a package which includes a dining deal. Check the WDW dining page for more details. Universal offers a similar deal.
6. Skip the fast passes
Fast passes really do not really do much in terms of enhancing your theme park experience. This is especially the case if you are visiting during one of the slower periods. Instead, download the Wait Times app and plan your day accordingly. This handy free app gives you the current wait time for each ride, so you can avoid lengthy queues. You will save both time, and thus, money by using this app. I check this handy app all day long so I can skip over a ride if the wait is too long and try to combine rides with short wait times in the same area.
For more popular rides, consider lining up as soon as the park opens. Then spend the afternoon enjoying the less popular rides. You will get on more rides without paying the fast pass price. Another great idea is to ride as a single rider. These lines are basically non existent, thus making this a great time saving choice if you are willing to separate from your party! On our most recent vacation, we waited just over an hour for Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure as single riders (we still got on the ride together). The wait for this ride can be hours long!
7. Book hotels and flights in advance
It always pays to book flights and hotels way in advance. Also, if you can book mid-week, pricing is typically cheaper. Keep in mind that crowded weekends and holiday periods will be priced accordingly. Christmas, Easter, 4th of July, Spring Break, and the entire summer season should be avoided!
8. Buy multi day tickets
If you plan on visiting any one individual theme park more than once, you will save money by purchasing multi day tickets. As is the case for both Universal and Disney, the more days you visit, the more you save. As an example, a 1 day Universal 2 park Ticket costs $174 as of early 2025, while a 3 Day, 3 Park tickets runs $137 per day. Also be aware that resident deals are available. Of course, an annual pass (the best value) is the way to go if you live in Florida! If I lived in Orlando, I would definitely be an annual pass holder, both to Disney & Universal ;).
Universal multi day ticket pricing
Disney multi day ticket pricing
Note: In my experience, park-to-park tickets are a good value for Universal, not Disney. Disney parks are massive enough to visit just one per day. On the other hand, in order to take the Hogwarts Express from Universal to Islands of Adventure, you will need park-to-park. Harry Potter fans do not want to miss out on this experience!
9. Consider a condo rental for longer stays
As dining out can be one of the costliest trip expenses, it may help to book a condo with full kitchen. Pick up some quick frozen/microwave meals and you can easily whip up a quick breakfast before you leave, as well as an easy dinner after an exhausting day at the parks. This will easily save you hundreds of bucks, especially if traveling with a large party. Windsor Hills is a wonderful affordable choice that way stayed at as a big group on our first vacation to Orlando. Amenities include a pool, fitness facilities, and a shuttle.
10. Vacation with family & friends
Plan your trip at the same time as family/friends and split various accommodation, transportation, and dining costs. This tactic can go a long way towards saving a few bucks.
11. Drive rather than fly
In almost all cases, a road trip is much cheaper than flying. More time consuming yes, but it can also save you hundreds of dollars. Plus, there are no extra fees for luggage and you can pack a cooler with snacks/meals as opposed to dining at multiple restaurants along the way.
If you do fly, Southwest is the way to go, not only for the cheap flights, but also for the check 2 bags free policy. Allegiant, while limited, is another good choice. Update: Sadly, Southwest changed its’ bag policy. There will be a fee for checked bags staring May 28, 2025.
12. Skip the bottled water
By law, all foods stands in Orlando have to serve you tap water. If you do not feel like waiting in long lines, consider wearing a camelbak. These handy backpacks are most often used for hiking, but also come in super convenient for a full day walking around in the hot blasting sun at Orlando theme parks. Enjoy endless free water minus the long wait. Universal allows up to 2L of water to be brought into the park. Update: There are now Coke Freestyle stations at Universal parks so you can refill your water as needed.
13. Pack a few snacks & essentials
Be sure to come to the parks prepared to avoid any unnecessary park expenses. Sunblock, sunglasses, snacks, water, poncho will likely all come in handy. Universal allows any small snacks that do not need heating, along with medically required and special dietary needs foods. Disney also allows guests to bring food, as long as it does not need to be heated/refrigerated and is not stored in a glass bottle.
Read up on the Universal Food Policy and Disney Food Policy for more details.
14. Find free things to do around the city
There is a lot to do in Orlando outside of the theme parks. If you are looking to keep your trip as cheap as possible, definitely check out a few of my favorite freebies which include beautiful preserves, walkable outdoor shopping centers, and even a few museums.
15. Know which rides/attractions to skip
First time visitors will definitely want to know the best-of-the-best in order to get the best bang-for-your-buck experience. Some rides are just better than others. Seeking out the best rides and experiences first will save you time, and thus, money. Check out my guide to the best rides at Universal and my Disney favorites for some ideas on which rides to concentrate on. You can always go back to the other rides if you have extra time after getting on the best!
16. Skip the park hopper option at Disney
If you are a first time visitor, you will want to spend at least a full day at each park. Therefore, a park hopper add on is an unnecessary expense. The parks are big enough that you do not need to waste time & money going from park to park.
Universal, on the other hand, requires park to park tickets to access the Hogwarts Express. If you are a Harry Potter fan, you will definitely want to enjoy this fun themed transportation between Universal and Islands.
17. Limit souvenir purchases
Almost every ride will have you exit through a wonderful gift shop filled to the brim with exciting themed souvenirs from the ride you just got off of. It can be so tempting not to buy the entire store. The Harry Potter themed stores are just so enticing. Every time I dream about buying the Wizard Chess set. But think about it – how many of these souvenirs are you actually going to display in your home? Or will they just sit in storage? Instead buy one nice photo frame or scrapbook, take lots of pics, and enjoy the budget friendly photo mementos from your trip.
18. Skip the waterparks
As you can imagine, Orlando water parks can get ridiculously crowded during the summer months when all the kids are out of school. The theme parks are a much better value in my opinion. Instead take a day off and enjoy the beautiful pools you are likely paying for at your resort. Cabana Bay has 2 beautiful pool areas with a waterslide, a sand beach, and a lazy river. Not to mention, Islands is home to a number of fantastic water rides.
19. Check for special deals & specials
Both theme parks have a section on their website dedicated to deals and specials. Look into the special hotel package deals and special ticket deals. It never hurts to check! Typically, both parks offer promos where you save more money the longer you stay.
20. Check Groupon for discounts
I always find great restaurant and attraction deals on Groupon. If you are willing to try something new, consider scanning the Orlando deals. From dining, to mini golf, to hotels, you can find just about anything today on Groupon. Recent deals I’ve scored included: Pirate’s Cove mini golf, Gator Golf, World of Chocolate (you will get to see over 2 dozen chocolate sculptures), and Icon Park.
In addition, I also wrote a guide on saving specifically at Universal after many trips where I picked up some handy tips along the way. It’s a bit harder to save money at Disney, but nevertheless, I have come up with a few tips to make your trip a bit more budget friendly. Any little bit helps with the cost of everything today!
