How To Plan A Theme Park Vacation To Orlando, Florida On A Budget

Updated: Aug 26, 2023

We all like to save money where we can right? That's why I'm excited to share some easy ways to save money when planning your theme park vacation to Orlando Florida. Whether it's a Walt Disney World Vacation, Universal Studios Florida or any of the many theme parks in Orlando, I've got a few easy ideas that will allow you to plan an Orlando theme park vacation on a budget. Let's get to it!

Discounted Theme Park Tickets

Have you heard of CityPASS ? This is the perfect way to plan a theme park vacation to Orlando, Florida on a budget. With one simple purchase, CityPASS allows you to get discounted tickets to Orlando's famous theme parks. Plus it also allows you to save time when booking! Simply make your CityPASS purchase and you'll receive an email to directly choose & book your desired theme parks and dates. You can choose from several different packages depending on how many days and parks you want to visit! The more days you visit the more you save! They have discounted tickets to Orlando's theme parks like Walt Disney World Resort, Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld Orlando, and Legoland Florida Resort. We've used CityPASS for different city travels and its always been easy and hassle free. Highly recommend them.

Flights

With Allegiant Airlines we have the choice of flying to America's favorite small cities and world-class destinations, like Orlando Florida. Allegiant has low fares, nonstop all-jet services and premier travel partners. We love being able to book our flights, car rental and hotel all in one place. Keep in mind some routes are seasonal but extremely affordable so definitely worth the wait. Our Orlando Florida flights were booked from Las Vegas to Orlando during summer. This is when this route is in high demand but new routes are added all the time so check Allegiantair.com to see if a flight to Orlando Florida is available from your local or nearby airport. The prices are incredible and the services has always been exceptional. It's an amazing way to save money for your dream Orlando Florida Theme Park vacation.

Credit Card Hacks

There are tons of credit cards to choose from but we've been banking with Chase for years now and this card is our favorite to accumulate points for travel. With Chase Sapphire Card we earn 3X on dining and 2X on travel which is what we tend to spend on the most. Plus the annual fee is just $95 which we earn back immediately. We put all our food and travel purchases on this card and pay it in full before the month is over. This avoids us any monthly interest and just earns us the points. Every year we accumulate over $1000 in free money that we always put towards our next travel. Plus they have an awesome promo when first singing up. You can earn $750 towards travel right away. You can read more or apply for your Chase Sapphire Card here.

Affordable Hotel that doubles as a playground/waterpark

During our visit we stayed at Cabana Bay Beach Resort. It's a Universal Orlando Hotel and we could not have been happier with it. We enjoyed the vibrant, retro-style hotel that pays homage to the classic Florida Beach resorts of the 1950's and 60's. Plus the hotel comes with fun for all ages. They have 2 massive pools, a winding lazy river, water slide, bowling alley, arcade, shops, a grand food court, character appearances, malt shop and even a Starbucks! Spend a day at the pool instead of the waterpark and instantly save tons of money. My daughter actually begged to stay at the hotel for a full day to enjoy all the hotel amenities. We saved some money, got a break from the Florida heat and had an awesome time.

Plus as a hotel guest you get to enjoy the exclusive benefits like early park admission to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter up to one hour before the parks open, complimentary shuttle bus transportation to Universal Studios Orlando, and it's just a short 20 minute drive to other popular Orlando theme parks. You can book Cabana Bay Beach Resort here.

Take a closer look at our resort review and video here!

Theme Park Hacks To Save Money While Inside

*Ask for free iced water. Do not spend $5 on water bottles. It adds up.

*Bring your own snacks! You don't have to eat every meal/snack sold at the park.

*Florida gets unexpected rain all the time. Bring your own ponchos that cost $5 at any store as opposed to the $35 super thin ones sold at the park.

Let The Destination Choose You

If even with all these deals a theme park visit isn't in the cards, thats ok. Allegiant has sales going on all the time and CityPASS can be used in a numerous amount of popular travel destinations. See what flights are being promoted at the time and center your trip around that!