How to plan a trip to Orlando on a budget

We’ve put together a complete guide for you to plan your entire trip to Orlando and Disney. And get the best prices on everything.

Avoid the high season months in Orlando

July and August, along with December and January, are the most expensive times to travel because of the high demand. Therefore, a good way to save money on your trip is to avoid these months, making airline tickets and hotels much cheaper.

Save a lot on hotels

In order to travel cheaply in Orlando, a good cost of accommodation is essential. There are hotels within the Disney area, but this is not an option for those who want to enjoy their trip as cheaply as possible.

The most popular areas for tourists to stay in Orlando are International Drive and Lake Buena Vista. International Drive is the city’s main avenue, which gives access to the most diverse tourist attractions, as well as stores and malls. This area is also close to the Universal and SeaWorld parks.

Lake Buena Vista is a small town in Florida, just outside Orlando, where part of the Walt Disney World Resort complex is located. The city is full of roads linking its main tourist attractions. This is also where most of the Disney hotels are located.

Generally speaking, the further south you are, the closer to Disney you’ll be, and the further north, the closer to Universal and SeaWorld you’ll be. If you want to see hotel options covering these two regions, click here and see a map showing all the hotels.

How to find cheaper bookings?

If you want to know what the best hotel reservations are, you need to use this hotel search engine. It will show you all the available offers and you can choose the one that fits your budget.

We always use this comparator and get unbeatable prices. Another advantage is that you can check the opinions of who have already stayed at the hotels, helping you decide which one is the best.

Using this reservation comparator, you can cancel your chosen hotel for free at any time. Most hotels on this search engine offer free cancellation! This helps you to save money, as you can book well in advance, guaranteeing the best prices. If you can’t go on your trip, just cancel and there will be no inconvenience.

Good and cheap hotels we’ve stayed in

• Hotel Wyndham Lake Buena Vista Resort: the hotel we stayed at inside Disney and we thought it was EXCELLENT. It has free transportation to all the parks and you can walk to Disney Springs.

• Hotel Meliá Orlando Celebration: the hotel we stayed in next to Disney and we thought it was WONDERFUL.

• Hotel Celebration Suites: the cheapest hotel in Orlando and a favorite with tourists who want to save money. Great location near Disney.

Save a lot on shopping in Orlando

If you like to take advantage of your trip to buy clothes, Orlando is the place for you. You can find good, cheap clothes very easily. First of all, visit the Orlando Outlets.

They have cheaper clothes than the malls and high street stores in the city. Don’t forget to use some discount coupons, which are widely used in the USA. Each Outlet has its own coupons that can be up to 50% off.

Secondly, if you want to save even more, there are the famous department stores, such as Marshalls, Ross and T.J. Maxx. These are large stores that sell famous brands for a small price. However, they sell out of stock and only offer items that have already gone out of stock.

Save money with an international travel SIM card

During your trip to another country, you will need access to quality internet to talk to your family, search for addresses, restaurants and much more.

In some hotels in Miami, there is a daily fee to use the wifi, which is expensive and limits you to using the internet only within the hotel. Therefore, the best way to save on internet costs is to buy a prepaid chip from an international company. It ends up being much cheaper and offering a great signal in Miami.

We always use this Mobile chip. It’s electronic (eSIM), you install it instantly and you can use your cell phone’s internet anywhere in the world.

How to save a lot on car rental

The city of Orlando has many theme parks and attractions spread across various regions of the city. To get to visit everything, the ideal is to use a rental car.

It’s the most comfortable way to get around on any trip. You can use it whenever you want, for as long as you want. There are also a lot more savings if you share it with more people, compared to using taxis or public transport. Additionally, you can access all the main destinations inside and outside Orlando, such as Miami or the beautiful beaches such as Clearwater.

Book your car in advance

A very simple tip for getting a good price on car rental is to book it in advance. Making your booking on the internet, you will get good prices and great promotions that will not happen if you book it in the physical store in Miami.

Use this incredible comparator

There is a car price comparator that is excellent and do all the work for you. You go to the website, enter the date of your trip and they search all the best car rental companies.

If you want to do the research, click here on Car rental comparator. In a few seconds you will have on your screen all the car rental options in Miami from the best companies and just choose the cheapest one. You will really save a lot.

Tip: choose one of the most famous rental companies on the market, such as Alamo, Hertz, Dollar, Budget and Avis. Don’t forget to take out basic insurance when booking, which is already included in the price. When picking up the car in person, many employees try to push extra insurance, which isn’t worth it, you’ll just spend more.

How to save a lot on travel insurance

To ensure your safety and that of your family in Orlando, it is necessary to take out travel insurance. It protects you and offers assistance in any unforeseen circumstances, such as medical and dental assistance and luggage theft.

Remembering that a medical consultation in the United States costs more than 400 dollars. A hospital stay is, without a doubt, a fortune! We have already tested several companies and this one has been the best. It’s reliable and at a good price.

How to save money at parks and attractions

Saving money in the parks

First of all, the first tip is to look for tickets in advance, not to buy them on the spot. That way, you can calmly research the best prices that are within your budget. In addition, there are many ticket combos that are much better value.

At the Disney complex, the ideal is to buy a ticket for all 4 parks, which is cheaper than excluding any of them (plus you can have the full experience of seeing the whole place). Another way to save money is to buy tickets to visit the parks for more days. In the end, the cost of the ticket per day is cheaper if you buy more days to go.

At Universal parks, you can experience a 2-week visit with the 3 Park Explore Ticket, which also allows access to the Volcano Bay water park. However, the best-selling ticket is the 2-day Park to Park ticket, which allows you to visit both Universal parks (Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure).

And to enjoy the famous Busch Gardens rollercoaster park or SeaWorld Park, the best way is to buy the combo that includes the 2 parks along with Aquatica. The price of the combo is only 30 dollars more expensive than a single ticket for just one of the parks.

Where can I buy the tickets for the lowest price?

We always use this website that sells all the tickets and tours. There is everything there and the price is always the cheapest. The only ticket that isn’t sold there is the Disney ticket, which for the time being is the cheapest place to buy it. But for all the other parks like Legoland, Busch Gardens, Sea World and Universal Orlando, this is the best site.

They also have a really cool free tour of all the cities. And it’s where we book the transfer to take us from the airport to the hotel. It’s cheaper and safer than taxis and Uber.

Saving money on NBA and NFL games

For sports lovers, you can’t miss a trip to the NBA and NFL games. It’s a unique experience to be able to enjoy the best of basketball and American soccer in the USA. As I said before, it’s a great idea to check out the ticket offers with our coupon and enjoy the best of American culture.

Ticket prices vary depending on the location you choose to watch the match. We always use this website, which offers great prices for all sports matches. We always use it and have had great experiences, as well as saving a lot.

Take your own water bottle to the parks

It may seem simple and cheap, but in the long run it makes a difference to your pocket: water in the parks. Each bottle of water costs 4 dollars. It is recommended to drink around 3 bottles of water per person throughout the day in the park. So a family of just 3 people spends 35 dollars a day on water alone.

However, there are some drinking fountains scattered around the park that you can fill up easily. But the most important thing is not to forget to stay hydrated.

Where to find the best souvenirs

Orlando’s parks are a complete universe of fun, food and gifts for everyone. On the other hand, the prices of gifts are expensive, which makes it impossible to buy the beloved souvenirs to take back to your friends.

A good suggestion is to look in the souvenir stores scattered around the city. There are lots of themed items from the parks at much lower prices. There are several on International Drive. Another good option is to shop at Walmart or Target.