Disney vacations costs can certainly add up, and there are seemingly endless ways that Disney has devised to part you and your money. But which are actually worth it for an amazing trip? None of these extras are required for you to visit parks or ride specific rides, so if you’re looking to budget, here are my takes.

Park Hopper Tickets

What is it? Gives you the ability to visit 2 or more of the 4 Disney World parks in a single day (does not include water parks), versus just one park per day with a standard ticket.

Cost: ~$90 per person per trip

Worth it or not? This one is very case dependent. I used to park hop more when it cost less and I wasn’t also paying for my kids’ tickets. If you’re a first-time visitor, have pretty limited time, are going with young kids, or are looking for more savings, I’d generally recommend not park hopping. It can take up valuable time moving between parks (you’ll usually be taking a bus or driving), there’s the headache of shuttling kids and potentially strollers around, and there is more than a full day’s worth of activities at each park. But if you’re taking a longer trip (which minimizes the cost per day), have a specific thing you want to go to a park for (like catching the fireworks at Magic Kingdom), or know you just don’t want to spend much time in a given park, it can be a fun way to do a lot in a single day! Just note you will pay about the same total amount per person to park hop whether you’re going for 2 days or 9 days.

Memory Maker

What is it? Gives you unlimited downloads of photos taken by Disney “PhotoPass” photographers anywhere in the parks (and a few select locations outside of the parks)–over 100 locations according to Disney! These can be ride photos, character meets, or photos in front of iconic & fun locations.

Cost: $75 – $210 for one trip

Worth it or not? If you want to capture photos from your trip I think this is completely worth it! Our family got about 10 great photos per day on our recent trip. We found that Disney photographers were very easy to find all around the parks, and we got some really cute family and character photos taken by professionals, a few short videos, and photos with added enhancements. You can purchase Memory Maker for $75 per day, or $210 for your entire trip (and if you buy on the Disney World website at least 3 days in advance of your trip it’s discounted to $185). 

Alternatives: If you just want to download a few photos, they cost about $17 each, and if you purchase a Lightning Lane Multipass, your ride photos only are included for that day. And you’re free to take your own photos on your phone, and the Disney photographers will often take them for you if you ask!

MagicBands

What is it? An electronic wristband that serves as your park ticket, Disney hotel key, credit card, Lightning Lane swipe in, PhotoPass scanner, and some interactive experiences around the parks.

Cost: $35 – $65 per person (plus tax and applicable shipping fees if you buy online), can be used for multiple trips

Worth it or not? I might get some hate for this, but I’m putting MagicBands in the “not worth it” column. Other than a few interactive elements throughout the parks (I only noticed one such element in 4 days at the parks, where a family’s MagicBands made some Star Wars statues in Hollywood Studios beep and make other droid sounds), all of their functionality can easily be accessed for free. I’ve also heard feedback that they can slide off smaller wrists, and families will purchase products to keep their MagicBands secured.

Alternatives: For scanning into parks, Lightning Lanes and PhotoPass access, you can use your Disney hotel room keys, or if you’re not staying at a Disney hotel, request a free ticket card at each park entrance. We used our Disney hotel room keys to easily scan into each park and Lightning Lane, and also handed them to PhotoPass photographers after each photo session; I just kept them handy in my crossbody bag. You can also set up the Disney World app on your phone to act as your ticket/Lightning Lane pass/PhotoPass. Finally, to enable ride photos to automatically be linked to your account, just make sure Bluetooth is enabled on your phone and set the Disney World app to always use your location.

Lightning Lanes

What is it? A line-skip pass that can be used for most rides and some other experiences in each park.

Cost: $16 – $80 per person, per park day (can choose the specific people and days; it’s not all or nothing)

Worth it or not? For me, Lightning Lanes are totally worth it and I will use them every time. The costs can vary widely depending on parks, dates and whether you buy Multi Passes (access to most rides) or Single Passes (access to specific rides). Our family spent an average of $42 each per park day on Lightning Lanes, but to me it was well worth it in terms of the time saved waiting in line and frustration saved by our kids getting impatient in line. However, there is a learning curve to figuring out the complexities, which you really have to do to maximize value. But once you get the hang of it, it becomes a huge time and patience saver. 

Alternatives: You can wait in traditional “standby” lines or, for a few select rides, try your luck at a free “Virtual Queue” at set times each day. You can also choose to buy Lightning Lanes on some days and not others, and not everyone in your party needs to purchase them if you’re not riding together. Finally, if you want to splurge and not deal with most Lightning Lane complexities, if you’re staying at a Disney hotel you can buy a Lightning Lane Premier Pass which lets you access every Lightning Lane ride in a park whenever you want (limit one time per ride), but these range from $119 to $450 per person per day (and that’s on top of your park ticket)!

Character Dining

What is it? A buffet meal that includes visits from usually 4 or 5 Disney characters who stop by your table throughout the meal.

Cost: Adults $49-$88 per person, Children ages 3-9 $33-$52 per person, plus tax and gratuity

Worth it or not? I personally love a character meal! That said, I’ve only done them a handful of times over the years, so it’s certainly not a requirement for every trip. We generally don’t do them when we go to Disneyland for the day because they take up park time and are an added cost, but we recently did Minnie’s breakfast at Cape May Cafe (Beach Club Hotel) in DW Florida on our non-park day. My family absolutely loved it! We all love the classic characters (particularly Goofy), and we had so many fun interactions and great photos. I wasn’t sure how into it my boys would be, but they were actually beside themselves with joy each time a character came around, it was so sweet. My boys also loved the buffet aspect and ate a lot! Some other considerations: breakfasts are less expensive than dinners, and there is also a pretty big price range between the different restaurants; Cape May Cafe is one of the least expensive, and Cinderella’s Royal Table in Magic Kingdom is the priciest. Even if your kids aren’t big eaters, just remember you’re mostly paying for the character experience (helps get over feeling ripped off if they only eat a few fries!). Also, usually you will need to make reservations in advance (60 days) and some of the most popular experiences book up quickly. And while some character meals are at hotels and available to anyone, the meals within the parks also require a park ticket for that day.

Alternatives: Throughout the parks, you can meet characters in many locations, all included in your park ticket price. Some of the more popular characters can have long wait times though. There are also plenty of non-character dining experiences for a range of budgets and tastes throughout the parks and hotels.

Dining Plans

What is it? A prepaid meal plan for Disney hotel guests that gives you access to a set number of meals during your stay. In theory it can save you money because more expensive entrees and drinks use the same number of “credits” as less expensive ones.

Cost: Adults $59 or $98, Children ages 3-9 $25 or $31 per person per night, plus gratuity. (This is all or nothing, you are charged per night of your stay and per person.)

Worth it or not? For my family, this one is a big NO. Because we ended up planning a table service meal for each day of our trip, I attempted to do the (very complicated) math required to see if the table service dining plan might save us money. This is challenging, and I’m sure deliberately so, because you have to estimate every single menu item and snack you might purchase, look up all the costs and add tax. I roughly estimated we would pay $500 more for the week by doing the Dining Plan, even with 6 table service meals, and that wouldn’t even cover all of our food because the Dining Plan only includes 2 full meals per person per day. In reality, our spending came out to about what I thought it would be. I was also hesitant to prepay for meals knowing that things happen, someone could get sick and not want to eat for a day, or we might want to change up our plans last minute. And once we were actually at Disney eating in restaurants, several waiters expressed relief that we were not using the Dining Plan; one even exclaimed, “Good, that will make this much less complicated!” presumably because with the Dining Plan you are restricted in terms of what you can order. Kids are restricted to the children’s menu, which my 9-year-old didn’t always want to order from. One restaurant we ate at (Cake Bake at the Boardwalk) wasn’t even eligible for the Dining Plan. I know that many guests love the all-inclusive feel to the plan, but because my husband and I don’t drink alcohol and in general we don’t order a lot of beverages at meals, and we don’t always want a dessert, there wasn’t much savings for us there. Finally, the most expensive restaurants force you to use extra dining credits, which reduces the value.

Alternatives: You can just pay as you go for the food you want. We also had groceries delivered to our hotel room upon arrival which provided us with more than enough snacks, breakfast and lunch foods, and beverages/bottled water for the week.