Every year we plan a trip to Disney. We’re a family of five and we live in Colorado. Needless to say it’s NOT a cheap vacation. Add up hotel for a week, airfare, park tickets, food, car rent..it’s a pretty penny. I don’t skimp on extras (I eat in the parks, I don’t bring my own food etc) and yet we still manage to save enough each year to afford our yearly trip to Disney World. (Your kids are only little once…seize the moment and GO is my motto).
In order to help us afford this yearly expense (Disney), I’ve found some very interesting ways to save up enough money to visit Disney for cheap!
I’m sharing with you today how I saved up enough to make our last trip the cheapest yet! ($400 out of our pockets total).
Swagbucks
A few years ago, I ran across a facebook page about saving for Disney. In that Facebook group I also heard about Swagbucks.
We were 6 months out from our trip and I kept hearing about all the people who had paid for a trip to Disney using Swagbucks. I was intrigued…and I was also on maternity leave so I had time to spare. I spent a few hours learning how to use Swagbucks and was well on my way to making this Disney trip a reality!
Here’s a screen shot of my lifetime activity points…it doesn’t include my Shop points which is an extra $240. (That total is $716)
I then referred my husband who himself earned $580 so all in all we earned $1,536 in Swagbucks in 6 months!
This PAID for our Park Tickets in full! (That’s HUGE for us!)
Swagbuck Tip:
Each time I reached $25 on the Swagbucks website, I cashed out my Swagbucks to PayPal. Then transferred it to my bank and bought Disney gift cards at BestBuy (using my Swagbucks QR code to then earn MORE Swagbucks!)
I promise it’s not that hard and sounds more difficult than it really is. It’s worth it!
Disney Credit Card:
Now some of you may be really against a Disney credit card. For our family it makes sense. We earn points that we can cash out for Disney gift cards with every purchase we make. We saved up around $850 from our Disney Points to add to our Swagbucks total. We got $200 for opening the card and spending so much on it within 3 months. Then with our rewards we saved up the other $650. This $850 paid for half of our plane tickets!
Use Receipt Apps to get Cash Back
I know coupons are a pain, but make it a habit of checking your rebate apps before and after you go to the grocery store! The extra cash does add up!
I was able to save enough with Ibotta, ShopKick and Dosh to pay for the our spending money and most meals that we ate out!
I also recommend signing up for Landry’s rewards if you’ll be eating at Landrys Restaurants in the park. (The Rain Forest cafe, T-rex Cafe plus many more let you accumulate points! We had enough points to pay for a full meal on our last night on Vacation).
Find a Side Hustle!
Since this year we’re taking a BIG Disney trip (Cruise and Park days) I needed more money so I started a side hustle! I’m now teaching with VIPKID! (Teaching English to children in China).
I am teaching on my free time and making about $9-11/per 25 minutes. It’s not a stressful gig and I’m saving everything I make from VIPKID to use on our upcoming fall vacation!
I’m always looking for new ways to save for Disney…if you have any tips I’d love to hear them in the comments! 🙂
