Hey, we all know that going on vacation isn’t cheap, especially at such a wonderful place as Walt Disney World. But there ARE ways to save, if you keep your eyes open.

How do you save on a Disney World vacation?

Sure, you can pack your lunches, you can stay at a cheap motel, you can resist the urge to buy souvenirs, and you can say no to all the vacation “extras.”

But, for some of us, working that hard to save money can feel a little too pinch-pennyish. It’s a vacation after all — you’re supposed to ENJOY IT!

And there’s no need to break the bank. All it takes is a little research, signing up, and watching your email.

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First off, I highly recommend becoming a Mousesavers.com newsletter subscriber. It’s free!

The newsletter will arrive in your mailbox every 15th of the month, and it’s chock full of great info on promotions, deals, new additions to The World, and other excellent and timely news. It even has a special subscriber-only link to discounts on WDW tickets (and it’s through one of the well-respected, highly recommended ticket brokers that are authorized to sell Disney tickets.)

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The next thing you need to do is go to Disney World’s website. If you haven’t already, create a Disney account with an email address you check frequently. In fact, sign up for anything Disney promotes – sweepstakes, Family.com, ESPN, etc. The more times you can get yourself into their database, the better. And make sure that you give them permission to contact you (you don’t have to give them permission to sell your data to third-party groups, just allow contacts from Disney itself.)

Your next move is to order the Disney Vacation Planning DVD (look for a link at the top of the Disney World website that says “FREE Vacation Planing DVD”).

Many people swear that, as soon as they start planning a Disney Vacation through the Disney World website, they begin getting promotion codes emailed to them. So… play around with possible dates, resorts, tickets, etc. Just don’t book anything or pay for anything. Save the reservation and walk away. You heard me… just walk away. Within a few days to a few weeks, people report seeing promotional discounts begin to arrive in their email, for the exact dates that they entered into the reservation system! Coincidence? I think NOT!

And, if you don’t mind having another credit card, it’s worth getting the Disney Rewards Visa… (sign up HERE),  if only to get occasional discount promotions available exclusively to cardholders. These often come out a week or two prior to an offer being opened to the general public, so the advanced notice is well worth the time it takes to sign up for the credit card. You don’t have to use the credit card for anything other than paying the initial deposit on reservations booked with the cardholder promotion. And, if you pay off your balance right away, you won’t even have to pay interest.

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Then check your email account frequently.

Often, promotional emails will come from “Disney Destinations,” so make sure that you allow that address to contact you. And don’t forget to check your junk mail folder — because they are usually mass mailings to a large database of addresses, many spam filters will remove them from your inbox automatically. (If you do find a promotional email in your junk folder, don’t forget to tell your email program that it is NOT junk!)

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What does a promotional email look like? Let me show you a few examples.

A Personal Identification Number (or “PIN” code) promotion:

A "PIN code" Promotion Example

These are offers sent specifically to YOU. They are not “general public” offers, and they are not transferrable. When booking, you are required to give the PIN code that is listed at the bottom of the email or card sent to you through “snail mail.” (Note the PIN code — blurred out in my example — indicated with the red arrow. These usually appear at the very bottom of the email/card.)

Sometimes these will be sent to your email or home address, but will list other people’s names (often it’s people you’ve traveled with before.) Though these offers are not transferrable, you can ask the Cast Member at Central Reservations if you can use it since it was sent to you. If they say ‘no,’ ask if you could speak to a supervisor. I’ve been able to get the PIN offer even though it had someone else’s name on it. I just had to prove to them that it was sent to my email or my postal address.

And, even if you haven’t gotten a PIN code (or think you haven’t), it’s worth asking a Central Reservation Office (CRO) Cast Member to check your account. Many people — me included — have discovered that they DID have a PIN code attached to their account and were able to save money on their vacation.

A Promotion Available to the General Public:

Disney will offer promotions to everyone, and these are commonly referred to as “General Public” discounts. They can be emailed, snail mailed, appear in newspaper ads, or are posted on websites like Mousesavers.com. They will often have a three- or four-digit code (like AXT, or RFGT) that you to give when booking.

Here’s a General Public mailing I received from Disney Destinations late last year:

A "General Public" promotion example

Note that there is no identification number code in this mailing. Anyone can mention it at booking and see if the offer is available for their resort and travel dates.

I’m a Disney Visa Cardholder, so I get these emailed to me fairly frequently.  I can also go on the cardholder website and see what promotions are currently offered.

A Disney Visa Cardholder promotion example

Note that the Disney Visa logo is prominently displayed on this type of promotion.

I’ve called out the requirement that “deposit must be made at the time of booking using your Disney Rewards Visa Card.” You don’t have to pay for the whole vacation with the Disney Visa, but you do have to pay the deposit with the Disney Visa.

You have to be an on-property guest staying in a participating Disney World resort to get “bounceback” offers. Essentially, these are promotions that give you a discount for booking your next vacation before you check out of the resort for this vacation. You have to pay the deposit at the time of booking, but it locks in the savings right then and there. (I’ll discuss this kind of promotion in more detail in an upcoming post about Fall Free Dining vs. other Free Dining promotions.) If you don’t see a brochure in your Disney resort room, just stop at the front desk and inquire about any “bounceback” promotions. They’re not always available, but it’s worth asking about.

Basically, they come out when Disney would like to bolster the number of bookings. In times when crowds are expected to be low, they send out an offer. When they want to entice someone who hasn’t been to the parks in a few years, they send out an offer. When the wind is blowing from the east, they send out an offer. Honestly, no one really knows when the offers go out, why, and why they choose the group that receives the offer. It’s anybody’s guess….

Just get your name on their lists, and hope for the best.

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Oh… and if you’ve already booked a reservation and THEN receive a promotion? Call right away and see if you can snag the promotion! (Or if you have a trusted and dependable Travel Agent, let them keep an eye out for promotions. A great TA is worth their weight in gold if they can save you money *and* hassle!)

Just know that promotions are limited — as in, they only have so many promotions for so many rooms for so many days at any given resort. Once other guests have snagged all the available promotions for your resort/your dates, then all the promotions are taken. Gone!

And just because you already have a reservation it does not guarantee that you’ll get a promotion. It’s totally first-come, first served.

(I once gave this analogy to explain it: say you’re in the grocery store with a cart-full of meat. Suddenly, you hear an announcement that all meat is 50% off for the next two customers. You race to the nearest cashier, but are beaten into line by two other people with carts full of meat. They use the discount, and you’re left paying full price. Yes, you had the meat, but you didn’t make it to the cashier in time to get the discount. Make sense now?)

So… now all you have to go do is sign up for accounts on Disney, and watch your email inbox like a hawk!

Good luck!!