How I Went to Disney with Two Kids for Less Than $1,000 (Without Credit Card Hacking)

Yes, you read that right! I took both my boys to Disney and spent less than $1,000 for 3 roundtrip airline tickets from Chicago to Orlando, 4 nights in a hotel, and 3 “Magic Your Way” Disney tickets, which included a day at each park. Here’s exactly how I did it.

Airfare: Flying Cheap with Frontier

I know Frontier (and Spirit) get a lot of complaints, but I’ve mastered traveling with them. Frontier often offers fares as low as $15 each way, and their Discount Den membership is worth it if you travel frequently. At $59.99 per year, the membership applies to the whole family and pays for itself with just one trip.

For this trip, I used Frontier’s flight calendar and found roundtrip airfare for all three of us for just $160—$26 per person each way! Tools like Skyscanner’s “Everywhere” search are also great for finding cheap flights if you’re flexible with dates and destinations.

Hotel: The Hotwire Mystery Deal Hack

For accommodations, I swear by Hotwire’s Mystery Deal feature. It often offers discounts of up to 50%, though you won’t know the hotel name until after booking. (Pro tip: I have a tutorial here on how to identify the hotel before you book!)

For this trip, I chose a 3-star hotel for $36 per night, which turned out to be Baymont Suites. With taxes, my 4-night stay totaled $176.35. The best part? Baymont offered free breakfast, so we saved even more. Honestly, breakfast alone for three people could easily cost more than $36 a day!

Tickets: The Biggest Savings

The tickets were my largest expense, but also where I saved the most. At the time, Disney offered “Magic Your Way” passes for $279 for adults, covering all four parks.

For my kids, I got even luckier. My mom, a Florida resident, bought their passes for $169 each (Florida residents get great discounts!). This brought my total for three passes to $617. If you have friends or family in Florida, see if they can help with ticket purchases for children (note: adults usually require ID).

While these prices aren’t common today, you can still find amazing park deals with a little strategy:

Follow the parks on social media to receive targeted ads for discounts.
Look for promotions like Universal’s “Buy 2 Days, Get 2 Days Free” or Discovery Cove’s Black Friday deal, which often includes 14 days at Aquatica and SeaWorld plus a dolphin swim at Discovery Cove for $169 per person.

Food: Snacking Smart

Food at Disney can be expensive, so I planned ahead. We started each day with a hearty (and free!) breakfast at the hotel. For snacks and meals, I packed a bag full of goodies. At the time, I used GoPicnic snack boxes, which included cheese, crackers, and granola bars. While the company is no longer around, similar snacks are easy to pack and bring into the park.

Total food costs? Just $19.36 for the trip:

$13.36 for GoPicnic boxes
$6 for Starbucks one morning (a little treat for me!).

The Breakdown

Here’s the final tally:

Airfare: $160
Hotel: $176.35
Disney Tickets: $617
Food: $19.36
Grand Total: $972.71

Final Thoughts

This was a once-in-a-lifetime trip that required a lot of planning and a little luck. While these exact prices may be hard to replicate, I’m always finding “Deals of a Lifetime.” If you want to be the first to know when I find deals like this, join my email list here.

With the right strategies and a little flexibility, magical vacations can be within reach—even on a budget.