We Just Took Our Cheapest Trip to Disney World Ever. Here's How

Even though the cost of entry has risen, we still managed to save.

My family took several Disney vacations before the pandemic broke out. And while we tried getting back there in 2021, we didn't manage to make a repeat trip happen until the spring of 2022.

When my husband and I sat down to buy our tickets, we almost gasped at how much the cost of entry had risen over the last two years. But alas, we plugged in our credit card number, made our reservations, and prepared to give our kids an awesome surprise.

Not only were our children surprised, but we were actually surprised when we sat down to look at our post-trip credit card statement. Despite paying more for our tickets, this last Disney trip was actually our least expensive one to date. Here's how we managed to save.

1. We went on an off week

As someone who takes learning seriously, I didn't feel great about pulling my kids out of school for several days to go on vacation just two short weeks after spring break. But I figured if we went on an off week, we'd eke out some savings on tickets. It turns out I was right. I compared the cost of our tickets to that of my friend's, which were booked for spring break week. The difference was quite notable.

2. We drove down instead of flying

My family has taken many road trips, so we're not strangers to logging hundreds of miles on the highway to reach a destination. While airfare wasn't extraordinarily expensive the week we wanted to go down to Florida from New Jersey, we knew we had the potential to save a bundle by driving -- even with gas prices being so high.

3. We barely ate at the parks

When we took our first trip to Disney, we wanted to experience everything -- and that included $200 character breakfasts where my kids could wave to Mickey Mouse while nibbling on a muffin. But these days, my kids are too old to care about meeting the characters. And they couldn't care less whether they eat breakfast at a regular diner or a Disney restaurant where it costs five times as much. And so with the exception of one dinner, we didn't eat any meals at the parks, and that saved us a bundle.

4. We didn't buy souvenirs

During our first trip to Disney, we decided to indulge our kids and let them buy a souvenir every day. This time, we limited them to one item each for the entire trip. Not only were my kids on board with that, but they happened to pick inexpensive items that didn't really make a big dent in our total tab.

5. We didn't buy a photo pass

There are plenty of great photo opportunities at Disney, and sometimes, it can be hard to take your share of family pictures (because, after all, someone has to be on the other end of the camera). During previous trips, we've paid for the photo service, which gives you access to Disney photographers who will take as many family pictures as you'd like. This time, we skipped that and relied on the kindness of strangers to snap our photos for us.

Let's be clear -- the trip we just took to Disney World was hardly a cheap vacation. But we also found ways to keep our costs down. If you're eager to visit Disney but are limited in funds, think about the ways you can spend less. For example, see if a Disney credit card could help you save a little more cash. A few minor tweaks could spell the difference between a trip that fits into your budget and one that lands you in debt.