by Savanna Carlsen

Created on: June 23, 2008

Walt Disney World may be the happiest place on Earth, but it's definitely not the happiest place in your pocketbook. Visiting Walt Disney World is definitely a must do vacation sometime in your family's lifetime. The key is to plan ahead, budget wisely and do your research on this magnificent park.

The first thing to plan for in your trip is deciding where to stay once you get there. Walt Disney World is a resort that is about 47 square miles wide. There are many "good neighbor" hotels surrounding the Orlando area that are reasonable to stay in, but to get the most for your money and experience, it's best to stay within the Walt Disney World resort itself. There are many different themed resort hotels in all different price ranges. You have your choice of deluxe, moderate, value, cabins and campgrounds, with the deluxe resorts being the highest price and the value resorts being the lowest.

The advantage to staying within the Walt Disney World resort is you get extra special treatment. Your able to enter designated parks an hour earlier than the rest of the public and are also able to stay later at designated parks each night. Depending on which resort you pick to stay at, you'll have full use of transportation to anywhere you want to go within the Disney grounds, via Monorail, boat or bus. Check with Walt Disney World on their value season dates, which runs during varies days seven months out of the year.

Try looking for discount park passes either online, your local Disney store, or through AAA vacations, through them you can also add on a dining plan. Plan on staying a maximum amount of days, not only because Disney offers four theme parks to visit, but also because the more days you stay, the more discount you get on park passes. You'll also want to spend a day shopping and dining at Downtown Disney and for you sport fanatics, visit Disney's Wide World of Sports.

A huge must to do, when taking kids, is to pack a suitcase full of snacks and a water bottle for each one. Treats and meals are one of the biggest expenses in the park. A bottle of water will run you $3, so it's best to bring your own water bottles and refill at water fountains. If you have young children, make sure to fill the stroller up with snacks and water for the day. All these little things in planning for your trip to Walt Disney World will add up in huge savings for your family vacation, and make your trip more exciting and less stressful.

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