How my family of 4 spent nearly $10,000 on a Disney World vacation — and what we'll be cutting next time

18.01.2024 - 19:53 / insider.com

When it comes to making magical memories at Disney World, my family of four has been there, done that, and got the T-shirt … and the collectible popcorn buckets.

We travel from Rhode Island to the Orlando park once — sometimes twice — a year and love it.

Still, each trip teaches us something new — especially in terms of how much value we're getting for our money.

Here's what we spent on our most recent eight-night trip in November:

Disney resort and park tickets: $5,746 for eight nights at Disney's Port Orleans Resort, plus seven park days for a family of four

Food: $2,000 for full-service restaurants for six of the eight days, plus snacks in the parks (Estimated, it's probably a bit more.)

Add-ons: $677 for four tickets to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party event

Transportation: $1,462 for flights from Providence Rhode Island

Total: $9,885

We used money-saving tips from previous Disney vacations during the trip and learned some lessons. Here's what was worth our time and money and what we'd do differently next time.

After years of staying at different on-site properties — from Disney's budget hotels to its dollar-busting deluxe resorts — we've learned we really like Port Orleans Riverside.

The mid-tier resort's Louisiana Bayou style is comforting and immersive.

My 11-year-old son likes the standard room's "Princess and the Frog" pull-down bed, and my 14-year-old daughter loves the Mickey-shaped beignets from the French Quarter side of the resort.

Port Orleans also comes with free transportation to the parks and a water taxi to nearby Disney Springs.

Best of all, we love capping a long day at the hotel's River Roost Lounge, where Disney World's best-kept-secret — performer Yehaa Bob Jackson — puts on a rousing, family-friendly show four nights a week.

Because we stayed at a hotel we already love, we knew exactly what we'd get for our money and could focus on finding the best deal.

Sorting through Disney's dozens of resorts for the best offer can be daunting, so concentrating on a single resort — and the promotions tied to it — removed a potential headache from our planning.

We spent two days each at our three favorite parks — Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios — and one day at Animal Kingdom.

Seven full park days might seem excessive, but tickets in a resort package get progressively cheaper as you add more days to your itinerary.

More than that, though, having two full days at our favorite parks meant much less rushing around to fit everything in and experience our favorite attractions.

With ample time, we didn't feel pressured to spend extra on the park-hopping upgrade or Genie+ line-jumping service, two costly add-ons we've paid for in the past.

Genie+ alone can cost over $160 a day