I have a confession to make…we are Disney Park addicts. When researching for places to go for our honeymoon back in 2008, we thought of various places, but ultimately chose a week at Disney World and a week in the Keys. I do not even recall how we settled on Disney World other than I remember my wife bringing it up, and after preliminarily pricing it all out, I said sure. I had not been to the parks since I was an early teenager and my wife since High School. Maybe it was the magic of our honeymoon, or the Presidential Suite they gave us at the Royal Plaza, or even the endless extras we received because my wife walked around with Minnie Mouse ears and a veil the entire time. Maybe it was just Disney!

One of the questions I get asked most often about Disney is how to save money? You are correct in that it can cost a lot of money to go to the Disney Parks; however, there are definitely some ways to save some money. Most notably, the first thing one needs to ask themselves is how valuable is staying at an on-site Disney themed hotel? Sure, they are well appointed and magical, but is it worth the price? Besides the extra premium one pays for Disney hotels, there is the consideration of the over-crowded Disney transportation system between the resorts and the parks. I was always amazed to see the huge lines for buses to the Disney resorts, yet our on-site hotels, with their own transportation system, had much shorter lines. We have had fantastic experiences with the Royal Plaza and Holiday Inn, both located at Downtown Disney and scored some pretty amazing deals when you factor in both times have been over holiday weeks.

One additional way to save some money is through pre-purchasing your tickets through UnderCoverTourist (UCT). I first learned about UCT from various forums. After doing some research, they provided discounts on tickets, which included free shipping and taxes. UCT was a reliable source of tickets, and they have an excellent track record and customer service policy. When I am on vacation, the last thing I want to worry about is shady deals to save a couple of bucks. I want reliability and to take as much guess work out of the equation as possible. We have always had great experiences using UnderCoverTourist for our Disney World ticketing options, and recommend their use to others.

Once you have made your purchase of Disney tickets, and while you are at the parks, please consider whether you plan to return at any point in the future. The reason is you have the option to add onto your ticket additional days, as well as adding on the No Expiration policy. This could add considerable savings for your future trips to the Parks. You can then calculate whether it is worth it to spend the money while at the parks to have tickets for a future visit. It is definitely something I regret not doing during our trip over Thanksgiving, because at some point in the future we will return to the parks, and the additional money we would have spent upfront could have outweighed our future expenditure on tickets in the future. I am amazed every year that Disney keeps jacking up the prices of tickets when attendance is down. That is why it might be worth the upgrade to add days and no expiration to the tickets.

In addition, Disney made a revision to the upgrade policy this week that you should take note of when considering extending your tickets for a future visit. In order to upgrade your ticket, there needs to still be valid days remaining on the tickets. In other words, do not wait until after your last day of your ticket is used up to consider upgrading.

One additional piece of news that was released this week via Disney…free dining is back for select dates October 2011 to March 2012. You need to purchase Disney room and ticket packages for this promotion, so you need to weigh the premium price of Disney rooms and non-discounted tickets versus the price of food savings.

It is honestly quite hard to imagine anybody of any age not having an amazing time at the Disney Parks. Disney goes the extra distance to make sure you are happy, as well as thinking of every little detail. Not to mention one can spend countless hours at the Disney World property and still never see everything there is to see and do. That is one of the reasons we are always considering planning our next trip to the World or Land, as well as opportunities to save some money.