From major attraction openings to new restaurant debuts, there are a lot of great reasons to visit Disney World in 2023!
If you haven’t been to Disney World in the past few years, you’re in for a LOT of changes around the parks and resorts. With all these exciting new things to check out, you might be wondering, how much will a trip to Disney World cost in 2023? Let’s break it down!
To make a realistic budget, we’re going to price a hypothetical trip for a family of 4 — 2 adults and 2 kids (ages 5 and 8). Our trip is going to be for a week in mid-July of 2023, and we’re going to go to the parks for each of the five full days we’re at Disney World.
We also are NOT including transportation TO Disney World, since that will completely vary on where you’re coming from and if you’re driving or flying. If you’re driving, gas prices will impact your budget, as well as the distance you’re traveling.Â
If you’re flying, keep in mind that Disney’s Magical Express is no longer a free transportation option to and from the airport, so you will have to pay to travel between the airport and Disney World. You can rent a car, take one of the paid Magical Express replacement options, or take a rideshare service like Uber.
You can read more about transportation to and from the airport here!
HotelÂ
We’re going to look at a moderate resort for our family to get a nice middle-ground estimate. Remember, these costs will obviously change based on how long your stay is and which resort you choose.
For our family, we’re going to Port Orleans Resort — Riverside in a Standard Room for 7 Days and 6 nights. The room rate for mid-July is $290.50 per night, before tax. Note that the price is a little higher on Saturdays. Keep in mind that Disney may have a seasonal promotion at the time of your booking, so make sure to check the Disney World website for the best price.Â
So, the total for a one-week stay in mid-July with tax comes out to $1,960.88. But we’re also going to add on park tickets!Â
Luckily, Disney recently announced that on-site parking is free for hotel guests, so you don’t have to worry about that added expense!
Click here to see the Disney World hotels you might REGRET paying for.
Tickets
We’re getting a 5-day ticket and adding on the park hopper option for our family. The 5-day base ticket for 4 people comes to $4,348.30. Then, when we add the park hopper, it brings the total up to $4,731.70.
This is the total WITH the hotel. So, for the hotel and tickets, it costs just under $5,000.
Click here to learn about Disney World ticket price increases in 2023.
Food
Food will obviously be a big part of your budget while you’re in Disney World too — you gotta eat! This can vary depending on how often your family eats, if you bring snacks or groceries with you, if you like to do multiple sit-down meals each day, etc. But we’ll just go through a generic example so you can get an idea!
Disney World has consistently seen A LOT of price increases on food recently, so keep in mind that your food budget might need to be flexible. Or, at least give yourself a good cushion! And remember, the Disney Dining Plan is currently unavailable.
Let’s say your family wants to eat 2 quick-service meals and 1 table service meal each day. Adult meals at quick service spots tend to be around $15 and under, while kids meals tend to be around $10 and under. So, you’re looking at around $50 just for food, not including drinks. Drinks obviously depend on if you just get a water cup, soda, bottled beverage, specialty drink, or an alcoholic drink. So, it could definitely be different for you, but we’d budget around $60 for each quick service meal.
For Table Service meals, the cost is higher. This, again, depends on what restaurant you choose — some have prix fixe or buffet options where the amount per adult can range from $30-$60, and the cost per child can be around $15-$40. Then, there are restaurants like Le Cellier with some very pricy entrees, while other Table Service spots tend to run a little lower.
If we look at a restaurant like Skipper Canteen in Magic Kingdom, we can expect adult entrees to be around $30 and kids to be around $13. This, again, doesn’t include drinks, appetizers, desserts, etc. If we just look at the entrees, expect to spend around $86. But this also doesn’t include a tip. So, we’d say each Table Service meal like this will cost you about $100.
We’re rounding up, giving you some cushion, so keep that in mind. If we just look at those meals, you can expect to spend about $220 per day on meals. But, we’re sure you want snacks, right? Let’s factor in around $30 for snacks, bottled water, etc. So $250 a day on food is a safe bet (again, unless you’re eating some fancy meals).
Costs will also vary depending on how much you snack compared to how much you eat sit-down meals, and if you’re bringing food with you into the parks.
So, for 5 full days in the parks, that’s $1,250 on food if we’re budgeting generously. You also should factor in eating on your arrival and departure days. So, let’s say you eat a quick service meal on the day you arrive and the day you leave, this would bring the total to $1,370.
Click here to see which Disney World park has the best FOOD!
MagicBands
If you want to buy MagicBands for your family, you’ll need to add that into your budget! The new generation of MagicBand+ typically cost around $45, though the price varies depending on the design. For a family of 4, that would be $180 on MagicBands.
Remember, you don’t HAVE to use MagicBand+ — you can use the My Disney Experience app on your phone as your park ticket, your room key to pay for things, etc.
Click here to learn more about the NEW MagicBand+.
Genie+
If you want to use Genie+ at all during your trip, that is an extra cost. The paid service that replaced FastPass ranges in price from $15 per day per person to $35 per day per person. Guests can buy it on the day of their park ticket, starting at midnight. If you add this on to each day of your trip, assuming that Genie+ is $25 during your visit, it would cost you around $500, before tax. This also doesn’t include the pay-per-ride options like Rise of the Resistance.Â
But, for the purpose of this example, let’s just assume you don’t buy any individual Lightning Lanes. You also can just buy Genie+ for just some of the days you’re there. For a family of 4, it would cost around $100 per day to use Genie+, so keep that price in mind!
Click here to learn more about Genie+!
Merchandise
Merchandise costs are completely up to you — you could spend nothing on merch or you could spend $500 on merch.
Try and set a number and stick to it on your trip, like $300 for shirts, stuffed animals, ears, etc. One great way to do this is to buy a Disney gift card in the amount you have budgeted for souvenir shopping, and only use that card for that purpose. Once it’s gone, it’s gone!
The souvenir price increase you might have missed!
Rideshare
If you don’t want to use Disney’s free transportation to get around, you can also use Uber, Lyft, or Disney’s Minnie Vans, which are run through Lyft. These prices can vary greatly depending on demand and the price of gas, so look up some hypothetical trips right before your vacation to see what the rates are looking like for where you want to go. For the sake of our example though, we’re going to stick to the free Disney transportation!
So, with these hypothetical totals, let’s add things up. If you buy the new MagicBands, use Genie+ on each day of your trip, and stick to around $300 for merchandise, the total with the hotel, food, and tickets comes to $7081.70.
Remember, this can change drastically depending on how you do your vacation — the time of year, number of people, hotel, transportation to Disney World, your meal preferences, and your add-ons are big factors in what can change your costs.
But, we hope this gives you a little bit of an idea of what you can expect during a busy time in 2023! Remember, we’re also always looking out for deals and discounts on things like tickets, hotel rooms, and more to help you save some money, so stay tuned to All Ears to keep up to date on everything.
Click here to learn about 7 things you should add to your Disney World trip budget!
Are you planning a trip to Disney World in 2023? Tell us in the comments!
To me it is more the principle vs price. The biggest slap in the face is only giving extra magic hours to people staying at deluxe hotels when all resort guests used to have them. In the past, I have stayed multiple times at all 3 hotels on the monorail circuit and at the Boardwalk but I have also enjoyed the Caribbean Beach, Port Orleans and the campgrounds. Even All Star Music. Because of this ‘slap’ I will never stay at a Deluxe resort again – if I ever go again – they have taken too much away. Shame.
You should do a comparison with Universal to see how the two match up. My guess is that the same trip to US will be much cheaper – albeit for fewer parks.
The only way I can afford Disney is because I am a DVC Member and basically my accommodations are paid for. I bought in years ago when the prices were reasonable- not anymore. It’s just too expensive to visit Disney like I used too. I can’t help thinking that this was NOT what Walt wanted. Such a shame that money has become the driving force. The people that run the company now have no idea what Disney is about. They sit in their ivory towers and make decisions based on the bottom line. I am so sad about this.
I’d have to suggest you budget much more for eating. $100 won’t buy much of a table service meal, especially when you factor taxes and tips. I guess we splurge more than the average fam. I always budgeted minimum of $10K prior to Covid and Chapek’s greedy increases in prices and decreases in services.
Just did a quick check on a good/reasonably priced (not Disney) cruise line for the same time period. June 25th, 7 day cruise out of Miami. Balcony room that sleeps 4. This includes meals and non-alcoholic beverages. # ports of call. Lots of activities for kids on board so parents can have some relax time. $4,316 taxes included. $2,400 less than a week in Disney. that $2,400 can be put towards a couple of really awesome excursions (swim with dolphins?), a couple of fancy dinners, alcoholic beverages for the adults and souvenirs. Oh! Did I mention the nightly entertainment? That’s included.
At those prices? Seriously – inflation (greed) at the parks has gotten completely out of hand. Charging for everything that used to be included is a stretch – so why? A completely new business to increase profits is the real reason behind this. The fact that there is a LOT of pent-up demand is also driving this. Our family and kids enjoyed Disney because it was magical and affordable, even when new projects came on line and prices did go up, but when they exceed normal inflation and outpace earnings of people that want to go by double digits, etc, it becomes a question of “can we afford to go” A lot of people are looking for other alternatives and they will find them. Time will tell – but for older Disney fans that cannot keep up with the price increases – Adieu.
It’s too much money.