Vacations to Walt Disney World are quite expensive, but even the most bare bones approach to planning a vacation to Walt Disney World on a budget will give you more magic for your buck than nearly any other vacation destination. And there are ways to slash that budget!

Consider this as a very basic vacation:

4 Nights at a Walt Disney World Value Resort during value season: $328 (plus tax) at $82 per night. Please note that if you have more than 4 people in a room, you’ll need to stay in a family suite, Port Orleans Riverside, or one of the deluxe resorts, or simply get an extra room.

4 Day Base Pass- $233.24 per adult, $195.96 per child between ages of 3 and 9 years old.

4 Days of Food at Counter Service Eateries: $120 per adult, at about $30 per adult per day, plus desserts, snacks, and extra drinks. We budget about $70 for the two of us per day.

So for two adults with no children or other accompanying guests, the total for 4 days at Walt Disney World Resort would be approximately $1035. That does not include souvenirs, but you could reduce cost by staying off property, booking only when offered special pricing (right now WDW is running a special to book value resort rooms for $56 a night instead of the usual $82+), or eating meals in your room or bringing food and drink into the parks.

Of course, you could also stay longer. You can’t see and enjoy everything that Walt Disney World has to offer in 4 days. You’d be hard pressed to see and do it all in 4 weeks! Particularly during the busier seasons.  So Disney has made it easier and more cost effective to lengthen your stay.

For example, on a base Magic Your Way ticket (1 park per day, expires 14 days after first use), each day after the fourth day is approximately $3. So while a 4 day base ticket costs $233.34, a 10 day ticket is only $252.41. So for an additional $20, you get 6 more days at the parks.

Also, Disney is now offering a meal plan that includes two counter service meals and a snack, as well as a separate plan for one table service, one counter service, and a snack. These plans often save $10 or more dollars per diner per day, but that depends on your eating patterns and whether you bring food to the parks or not.

And then there are DisneyWorld deals such as the promotion that’s happening right now. Pay for 4 days at the hotel and on the tickets, and get an additional 3 days free. While that doesn’t mean much on the tickets (approximately $9 per person), that can save you a bundle on the resort stay. In fact, you may find that you can upgrade from a Value Resort to a Moderate, or from a Moderate to a Deluxe for about the same price that you’d planned to pay for the lower level resort, though they’re all incredible values.

So you can do Walt Disney World on a budget. The cost may still be a bit high, but by watching for special deals, and making a few cuts here and there, you can do Disney for about the cost of a good trip to the beach.

If you enjoyed this article on vacationing at Walt Disney World on a budget, check out the rest of our Walt Disney World vacation planning tips.