Disney World Splurges Worth Paying For (And Which Ones You Can Skip)
A Walt Disney World vacation can get expensive quickly, so which Disney World splurges are actually worth paying for? We’ve ranked some of the most popular extras that you can add-on at Walt Disney World, going from what we consider least necessary to most useful!
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We’ve tried many of these splurges ourselves, and while we enjoy them when the budget allows, we don’t think you need to add everything to every Disney vacation.
If you’re trying to stay within a specific budget on your Disney trip, these are the extras we would splurge on, and the ones we would cut without a second thought!
Our Favorite Splurges at Walt Disney World
Here are our favorite Disney World splurges, ranked from least necessary to most useful, to help you decide which extras are worth prioritizing for your family.
Each one of these splurges provides a different experience. For families, these are the ones where we think you can get the most value!
Club Level Rooms at Disney Resorts
Club Level rooms at Disney’s Deluxe Resorts can be a wonderful luxury experience, particularly if you enjoy spending a good amount of time at your resort. The Club Level lounge, food and drinks, and added conveniences can make your stay feel a little more special.
However, if your family is like ours and you’re spending most of your days in the theme parks, it can be difficult to justify the significant additional cost. It really starts to add up when you consider the nightly cost, and if you’ll primarily be going to quick service restaurants that cost could be cheaper just to dine in the theme parks.
For us, Club Level is a fun splurge when the budget allows, but it’s one of the easiest extras to skip when we’re prioritizing our Disney spending.
Check out this list of the resorts that have the Club Level option at Walt Disney World.
Dessert Parties & Fireworks Cruises
Theme park dessert parties, fireworks cruises, and other enchanting extras can add a special touch to a Disney vacation! However they are definitely not essentials!
These are the kinds of experiences that can turn an ordinary evening into a memorable one, particularly if you’re celebrating something or simply want to do something different. We enjoy these experiences, but they’re definitely in the “fun splurge” category rather than something we feel is necessary.
If your budget is limited, we would recommend putting your money toward other experiences that you’ll get more use out of throughout your trip.
Decide if a Fireworks Dessert Party or Fireworks Cruise would be a splurge worthy add on to your trip!
Deluxe Resorts at Walt Disney World
We absolutely love Disney’s Deluxe Resorts, and there are several that we would happily return to again and again. The theming, dining options, locations, pools, and transportation can make staying at a Deluxe Resort feel like a main point of the vacation itself!
That doesn’t mean you need to stay Deluxe to have a fantastic Disney World trip. We’ve stayed at all of the Value Resorts and Moderate Resorts, and they also have a lot to offer. We’ve had equally awesome trips at plenty of these resorts!
Disney’s Value and Moderate Resorts can be excellent choices for families, and the money you save can be put toward other parts of your vacation. For us, a Deluxe Resort is worth the extra cost when the resort experience is an important part of the trip. Not simply because it’s the most expensive option!
Check out our Ranking of Value Resorts, Ranking of Moderate Resorts, and Ranking of Deluxe Resorts, all ranked with families in mind!
Park Hopper Tickets at Walt Disney World
Park Hopping is all about flexibility, and that flexibility can be really valuable on trips when you’re trying to fit a lot in. We enjoy being able to visit one park in the morning and another in the evening on some trips. Especially when we have a dining reservation inside a theme park, or want to change up our plans on the go.
It’s important to think about whether your family will actually use that flexibility before paying for it though. I think this is one of those add-ons you can easily skip on most trips! If you’re visiting Disney World for several days, there is plenty to experience without visiting multiple parks in the same day. If you’re trying to keep your vacation budget under control, sticking with one park per day can work very well.
Our preference would be to add Lightning Lanes to your one day park tickets, over adding the Park Hopper option to your tickets. Learn more about Park Hopping at Walt Disney World!
Minnie Van Transportation at Walt Disney World
Minnie Vans are another Disney extra that we think is best used strategically. We certainly don’t think you need to pay for one every time you’re heading to a theme park. Especially when Disney’s complimentary transportation is available from all Disney Resorts!
There are times when the convenience can be worth the extra cost. Sometimes I think this is the best $40-$50 I spent on the whole trip!
If you have an important dining reservation, a tight schedule, or simply want an easier way to get to the front of Magic Kingdom, these can be a great tool. They also work well when everyone is exhausted or hot, and you just need to get back to the resort quickly. A Minnie Van can make that part of your day much simpler!
We like having it as an option rather than treating it as an everyday expense. Learn more about using Minnie Vans at Walt Disney World.
Purchasing MagicBand+ for Your Family
MagicBand+ bands aren’t a necessity for a Disney World vacation, but we really enjoy the convenience it provides. Being able to use your band for things like accessing your resort room and charging eligible purchases to your room can make those little parts of a Disney day easier.
There are also interactive features throughout Walt Disney World that add a little extra Disney magic to the experience. If you’re trying to save money, this is something you can absolutely skip, but it’s an extra we enjoy having when the budget allows.
If you are on a budget conscious trip but are wanting to use a MagicBand+, we recommend just ordering one for the lead adult in your party! That way you can still use it to get in your resort room or charge things back to the room, but not everyone will need one in that instance. We so find it helpful for everyone to have one if you’re traveling with teens, so that you can wear them to the pool and around the resort.
Learn more about MagicBand+ at Walt Disney World!
Character Dining Experiences at Walt Disney World
Character dining is one of our favorite Disney splurges for families. A character meal can be a significant expense for a family, but we think of it as much more than just a meal.
You’re getting food, character interactions, photos, and an experience that can become one of those special memories from your Disney vacation. For families who love meeting characters, character dining can also be a great way to experience several character interactions without spending as much time waiting in individual character lines.
We don’t book character dining on every trip, but when we do, it feels like a special Disney extra that’s worth the splurge.
Learn more about character dining at Walt Disney World!
Lightning Lane Passes at Walt Disney World
At the top of our list is purchasing Lightning Lanes! This is the extra that we feel can make the biggest difference in how you spend your limited vacation time. We don’t purchase Lightning Lane every day of our trip or at every theme park. Instead, we look at our plans and use it strategically on days when we know we want to experience a lot of attractions or when reducing our time in attraction queues will make a meaningful difference.
That’s the real value: TIME! You’re investing a lot into a Disney vacation, and you only have a limited number of days to enjoy the parks. When used strategically, Lightning Lane passes can help you maximize that time and experience more of the attractions you want to enjoy. It also helps prioritize your must-do attractions during the trip.
In fact, if we had to choose between purchasing Park Hopper and Lightning Lane, we’d choose Lightning Lane. We like the flexibility of Park Hopper, but we’d rather use our extra budget to maximize our time in a specific theme park than automatically pay for the ability to visit multiple parks in one day.
Use our guide to help plan your Lightning Lane strategy in this article!
Planning Your Disney World Day
You don’t need any of these extras to have a great Walt Disney World vacation! That’s probably the most important thing to remember when you’re planning your Disney budget. There are plenty of ways to have an amazing trip without adding upgrades, premium experiences, or additional purchases.
Instead, think about what will actually make your family’s vacation better! Maybe that’s a character meal, a Deluxe Resort, a strategically timed Minnie Van, or Lightning Lane on your busiest park days. Or maybe it’s none of these things… and that’s perfectly fine too!
For us, these are the extras we enjoy when our budget allows, but we don’t feel like we need all of them on every trip. The best Disney vacation isn’t necessarily the one where you spend the most money. It’s the one where you spend your money on the experiences that matter most to your family!
Use our guides below to help you plan your time at Walt Disney World!
Disclaimer:
** All opinions are unbiased and independent. This post contains affiliate links. Moms with Mouse Ears is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com
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