With the cost of a Disneyland vacation on the rise, families often need an installment plan to make the expense more manageable. Using a credit card is one approach, but interest and fees just add to the total cost of your trip. A little known option is that you can pay in installments when booking through the Walt Disney Travel Company. They don’t charge interest or fees, which makes this Disneyland payment plan a great option for families.
My family used this approach when booking our last visit to Disneyland. The Walt Disney Travel Company charges a $200 installment when you book and then you can pay off the balance in installments as you are able. They do not hold you to a set payment schedule, so you can skip a month if finances are tight or pay extra if you find some change in the couch cushions. You just need to have your vacation package paid in full 45 days prior to arrival (so they have time to mail out your tickets).
When I did this for our trip, I made up my own payment schedule by dividing the total cost of the trip by the number of months until our vacation. I set reminders on my calendar and then went online to make each month’s payment. The nice thing was that our vacation was fully paid in advance, so I didn’t get that sticker shock feeling afterward (like what happens if you put everything on your credit card).
A word of caution. This Disneyland payment plan makes your trip seem more affordable, but don’t get lured into buying more than you can handle. You should book the trip you can afford today, not for the trip you think you can buy months from now. It is much easier to do an upgrade closer to your visit date than to downgrade if finances get tight.
Because Disneyland vacations are such a big purchase, I recommend paying for travel insurance when booking your trip. Let’s face it. Kids get sick and family emergencies seem to happen at the worst times. Travel insurance will protect you from fees or losing what you’ve already paid in case you need to cancel or change your vacation.
I found that you can also use this Disneyland payment plan when booking your vacation through AAA or Costco. They both use the Walt Disney Travel Company’s booking engine behind the scenes. This means you can get the added benefits of your club membership (like free parking, gift cards, or free character breakfasts) and still pay for your vacation in installments.
For my family’s trip, I booked through Costco.com and received a gift card and free character breakfast for the family. If we had booked through AAA, we would have received free parking instead of the gift card. Going through the Walt Disney Travel Company directly, we would have just received the character breakfast. So check around before booking your trip, as you can often find extra perks.
The Disney company doesn’t seem to advertise this Disneyland payment plan, but it is one of those little known options that can make the expense of a Disneyland vacation more manageable.
