A while back I was helping a family of four plan a Walt Disney World trip. They had it all figured out: buy discount park tickets first, then book a room at Disney's Art of Animation Resort separately. It's a smart instinct, and a lot of families do the same thing. But when I priced it both ways, booking the hotel and tickets separately came out about $600 more than bundling the room and tickets together in one package booked directly through Disney. That's how most Disney travel agents book vacations for their clients, and it's the first thing I check for every family.
So, does using a Disney travel agent save money? Sometimes it saves a lot. Sometimes the price is exactly the same. I've been a Disney travel agent since 2010, and here's my honest answer, including where families lose money on their own and how to keep more of it during the trip.
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Not always, and I'd rather tell you that up front. When I book your trip directly with Disney, you're generally looking at Disney's own prices. Where I save families money is in how the trip is put together.
The family I mentioned above is a good example. Art of Animation is one of Disney's Value resorts (Walt Disney World), so they were already being careful with their budget. (If you're considering it, here's my take on whether Art of Animation is worth staying at.) They assumed the cheapest path was to hunt down the lowest ticket price and book the room on its own. Once I compared that against a room-and-ticket package, the package won by about $600. Not every trip works out that way, but I always price it both ways so you can see the difference yourself.
A package booked through Disney also comes with a payment schedule that's easier on a family budget. For Walt Disney World vacation packages booked 31 days or more before arrival, Disney's current terms call for a $200 deposit per reservation, with payment in full due no later than 30 days before arrival (Walt Disney World package terms). That means you can pay the trip off over time instead of all at once. Here's more on how Disney payment plans work.
Some of my clients first called me after they had already booked on their own and something wasn't working. These are the mistakes I see most often.
Walt Disney World is huge. A resort can look like a great deal online, but if it's far from the parks you care about most, you'll pay for it in time spent on buses and transfers every single day. I've had families come to me after booking because they didn't realize where their resort actually was compared to the parks they wanted to visit. Here's a look at places to stay at Disney World to help you compare.
This one comes up a lot. Families book a resort thinking the Disney Skyliner connects to it, and then find out it doesn't. According to Disney, the Skyliner connects Disney's Hollywood Studios and the International Gateway at EPCOT with four resorts: Disney's Art of Animation, Caribbean Beach, Pop Century and Riviera (Walt Disney World). It doesn't go to Magic Kingdom or Animal Kingdom. Disney has also announced the Skyliner will be closed for refurbishment from January 24 through January 30, 2027, with complimentary bus service available during that time (Walt Disney World). If the Skyliner is a big reason you picked your resort, that's worth knowing before you book. My guide to using the Disney Skyliner walks through how it works.
Disney World is a big place, and trying to squeeze it into a few days usually means rushing and paying a lot per day for a stressful trip. To get the full experience, I recommend about 5 to 7 days, including time at the water parks. That gives you room to slow down, take a pool afternoon and actually enjoy each park instead of racing through it.
When you go affects both the price and the crowds. My personal favorite times to visit are January through February and September through October. If you're trying to find the lowest prices for 2027, I broke down Disney's date-based ticket prices week by week in my guide to the cheapest time to go to Disney World in 2027.
This is the most expensive mistake I've seen families make, and it's heartbreaking. I've had families buy discount tickets on their own, spend thousands of dollars, and then find out the tickets weren't real. They were a scam. I've even had people who didn't book with me call me from their resort, asking if I could help, because Disney World had no record of the tickets they had bought online.
There are so many websites out there today, and some of them look very convincing. Disney's ticket terms say each ticket is nontransferable, must be used by the same person on every day, and may not be resold (Walt Disney World ticket terms). A member of Disney's planDisney panel put it this way: the only way to be completely confident your ticket is legitimate is to buy directly from Walt Disney World or from a licensed, reputable source (planDisney).
Here's how I tell families to protect themselves:
When you book a package with me, your tickets are part of your Disney reservation, so you don't have to worry about any of this.
Prefer to buy tickets yourself? Use an authorized seller. Undercover Tourist says it is an authorized seller for Walt Disney World (Undercover Tourist), and you can compare Walt Disney World tickets on Undercover Tourist. Get Away Today says it is authorized by Walt Disney World to sell discount theme park tickets (Get Away Today), and you can shop tickets and vacations on Get Away Today.
The booking is only part of the cost. A lot of the money families spend at Disney goes out the door once they're there. These are the tips I give every client.
The families who spend the least during the trip are the ones who planned it before they left home. When you know which parks you're visiting each day, where you'll eat and what you want to buy, it's a lot easier to stick to a budget than when you're deciding everything on the spot.
This is one of the easiest ways to save. Disney allows outside food and nonalcoholic drinks in the parks for your own use, as long as they aren't in glass containers, don't need heating or refrigeration, and don't have strong odors. You'll need to let Security know you have food when you enter (Walt Disney World). Pack the snacks your kids already love and save your park money for the treats you can only get at Disney. You can also ask for a free cup of ice water at Disney's quick-service dining locations (planDisney), and a refillable water bottle helps too.
This is one of my favorite tips. I tell families to look for discounted Disney gift cards at stores like Costco, Sam's Club and Target, then use them for meals, souvenirs or payments on their trip. A few current examples:
Disney gift cards can also go toward your vacation. According to Disney's planDisney panel, you can make a payment toward a Walt Disney World vacation package with a Disney gift card through your My Disney Experience account (planDisney). Buying cards at a discount and using them for payments is a simple way to shave a little off the total.
Souvenirs add up fast. Instead of buying everything inside the parks, I tell families to visit the outlet malls in the Orlando area for clothes, shoes and gifts. Save the in-park shopping for the one or two special things your kids really want to bring home.
Here's the honest truth. Sometimes it doesn't matter whether you book with an agent. The price can be exactly the same. What an agent brings to the table is experience and customer service.
It's a lot easier to reach me when something goes wrong than to spend hours on hold with a big customer service line, where you're just another number. I give my clients my personal cell phone so they can call or text me while they're traveling, and we also give them a 24/7 hotline in case I'm not available. Having a relationship with someone you trust, and can reach easily, is a huge help when you're far from home with tired kids.
I'm a graduate of the College of Disney Knowledge, Disney's training program for travel professionals, and I've been planning Disney vacations since 2010. That experience is what lets me catch things like the Skyliner mix-up or a resort that's in the wrong spot for your plans before they cost you time and money. And with Fun Park Go, planning is free. You can read more about what a Disney travel agent does, the questions to ask a Disney travel agent, and how to choose the right Disney travel agent. You can also see everything we offer on our services page.
Not with Fun Park Go. Our planning is free. If you want to know more about how fees work in general, here's my post on whether Disney travel agents charge fees.
Sometimes, but not always. In the example at the top of this post, buying discount tickets and the hotel separately came out about $600 more than a room-and-ticket package. The only way to know for your family is to price it both ways, which is something I do for every client.
Yes. Disney's planDisney panel says Disney gift cards can be used to make payments on a Walt Disney World vacation package through My Disney Experience (planDisney).
In many cases, yes. Here's how to transfer your Disney reservation to a travel agent.
No. We book hotels, park tickets and vacation packages, so you'll book your flights separately.
Yes. I've completed Universal's travel agent training, so we can help if you want to add Universal to your Orlando trip. You can learn more about planning Walt Disney World with us or about Fun Park Go.
Tell me your dates, your budget and who's coming, and I'll price your trip both ways so you can see exactly where the savings are. Planning with Fun Park Go is free, and we can set up a payment plan on your vacation package so your trip is paid off before you go. (Park tickets alone are paid in full.) Request your free planning consult, and let's start planning your family's Disney vacation.
Prefer to book yourself? You can browse theme park vacation packages on Funjet.
Fun Park Go is an independent travel agency in Idaho Falls, Idaho, affiliated with Travel Leaders, planning vacations since 2010. Not affiliated with or endorsed by The Walt Disney Company.
