Don’t Make These Disney World MONEY MISTAKES

We love Disney, but WOW it can get expensive.

There are countless ways your Disney trip bill can rack up — staying on property, dining at table service restaurants, and buying expensive souvenirs can very quickly take your Disney budget from in control to “uh oh, my bank account isn’t happy with me.” We asked our readers on Facebook what their worst money mistakes in Disney were so we could share them with you to keep you from making the same mistakes!

Not Checking If A Souvenir Is Cheaper Online

If you see something in the parks that you love, it’s a great idea to look on shopDisney to see if the item is cheaper online before buying it at the parks.

One guest shared that she was looking at a windbreaker at Pop Century, only to check online first and see it was on sale for half off!

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Buying Souvenirs You’ll Forget About At Home

Going right into our next point, many guests shared that they spent money on souvenirs they thought they wanted, only to put them in a drawer or forget about them once they were home.

To avoid this, we suggest walking around the store with the desired item in your hands for a little bit, to let that newness wear off a bit. If you find you still want to leave the store with it, check out, but if not, put it back and save yourself the cash.

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Memory Maker

Purchasing Memory Maker is a great way to capture the memories from your trip, but only if you stop to really take advantage of it. A few readers shared that they bought Memory Maker, and then never found time to use it, so they felt they had wasted their money.

If you choose to grab the add-on for your trip, make sure to plan in some photo time into your schedule!

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Not Splitting/Sharing Meals With Your Group

Meals can get very expensive on a Disney trip, and sometimes those portions are actually pretty large, especially if you’ve been snacking a lot of the day! Many guests shared that they wish they had thought about splitting meals with their party sooner and therefore saved lots of cash.

This is typically easier to do at quick service restaurants but can be done at table service restaurants that aren’t buffets or fixed-price meals.

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Not Knowing You Can Bring Food & Drinks Into The Parks

Speaking of food, YES, you can bring your own food and drinks inside the parks! There are a few exceptions to the rule, such as you can’t bring alcoholic beverages or glass containers in, but other than that, everything is fair game.

A few readers shared they didn’t know this information originally, and wish they had, as it would have saved them a lot of money.

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Buying Genie+ Midday

Genie+ can be a very confusing system, but many guests shared they were frustrated that they bought Genie+ halfway through the day only to find that many Lightning Lane selections were already gone, or that the ride they wanted to go on was actually an Individual Attraction Selection and not included in the Genie+ price.

Be sure to read our Disney Genie and Genie Plus: The Ultimate Guide before your trip so that you know how the system works!

Not Having Emergency Money

And lastly, a few readers shared that they wish they had brought emergency money with them, rather than strictly what was in their budget because emergency situations popped up where that money was needed. Sometimes this can happen if you charge too many things to your hotel room, don’t realize a souvenir or meal has had a price increase, or the worst situation happens and your flight gets canceled and you need extra money to stay longer than planned. So, add extra emergency money to your budget!

Some Disney expenses can hit you out of the blue if you’re not ready for them, like Individual Attraction Selection rides being more expensive depending on when you go, unexpected price increases, or additional hotel room charges like parking. We keep up with all of that so you don’t have to, so stay tuned to AllEars for all the latest Disney news!

What’s your worst monetary Disney mistake? Let us know in the comments below!

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