When Walt Disney envisioned the Happiest Place on Earth, he imagined a place where everyone regardless of age could feel like a child again.
Anyone who's ever been to Disney World or Disney Land will probably tell you that he succeeded.
A family vacation to Disney World is hard to match anywhere else, but the costs can add up and lead to a very pricey vacation especially when it comes to hotels.
If you travel often, you may consider investigating Disney vacation rental homes or timeshares as a way of cutting the costs of individual vacations.
The Disney Vacation Club is one possible solution to the costs of hotels while you travel.
The unique benefit to this club is that there are timeshares and vacation rentals throughout the world, not just at Disney theme parks.
Members have the option of where and when to go at any one of the Disney resorts and other locations worldwide.
This is similar to a timeshare in that you are making a purchase, but instead of buying into one location your membership fee pays for all of the properties that you have access to.
For the price, however, you would want to make sure you are going to use it a lot.
There is a one-time fee of about $17,000 plus closing costs and annual dues, but if you and your family take two or more trips per year it pays for itself in just a few years.
Vacation Home Rentals Around Disney Resorts If you are not interested in making a long term commitment, there are many other options for vacation home rentals around Disney resorts.
Anytime there is a major tourist attraction nearby there will always be management companies and individual entrepreneurs that purchase homes to rent to travelers.
If you don't mind staying off of the Disney World resort, Orlando has a host of great deals to choose from.
A four bedroom, three bathroom condo in Orlando with room to sleep ten people rents for $198 per night.
No hotel on or near the resort can beat that price, and certainly not one that has room for ten people.
That's $19 per night per person, and just $133 per person for a full week! In other Disney locations you will find that the vacation home rentals are substantially more expensive, partially to do with the property value and tourism in these locations.
DisneyLand in Anaheim, California has a few rentals nearby, but expect to pay closer to $500 per week for a 3 or 4 bedroom that sleeps eight people.
Euro Disney in Paris, France is another destination where the rental homes might not be the economical way to go.
A one bedroom, one bathroom that sleeps up to four people (presumably there is a sleeper-sofa) rents for about $1500 per week.
This is not surprising for most, as you would expect a rental in Paris, France to be more expensive than one in Orlando, Florida.
Traveling as a Group There are a few ways to cut costs when traveling to Disney locations, especially if you don't mind traveling as a group.
Try getting several people to go, like another family or an extended part of your family.
The more people that you get to travel with you, the smaller portion of the rental fees each party will have to pay.
For example, in Paris you can rent a 5 bedroom, 4 bathroom apartment with room for 12 people for about $5500 per week.
This seems like a small fortune until you break it down.
It's a total of $785 per night, which comes to about $65 per person per night.
When you compare this to all of the other costs of a Disney vacation, you may be glad you chose to rent instead of staying at a costly hotel.
Anyone who's ever been to Disney World or Disney Land will probably tell you that he succeeded.
A family vacation to Disney World is hard to match anywhere else, but the costs can add up and lead to a very pricey vacation especially when it comes to hotels.
If you travel often, you may consider investigating Disney vacation rental homes or timeshares as a way of cutting the costs of individual vacations.
The Disney Vacation Club is one possible solution to the costs of hotels while you travel.
The unique benefit to this club is that there are timeshares and vacation rentals throughout the world, not just at Disney theme parks.
Members have the option of where and when to go at any one of the Disney resorts and other locations worldwide.
This is similar to a timeshare in that you are making a purchase, but instead of buying into one location your membership fee pays for all of the properties that you have access to.
For the price, however, you would want to make sure you are going to use it a lot.
There is a one-time fee of about $17,000 plus closing costs and annual dues, but if you and your family take two or more trips per year it pays for itself in just a few years.
Vacation Home Rentals Around Disney Resorts If you are not interested in making a long term commitment, there are many other options for vacation home rentals around Disney resorts.
Anytime there is a major tourist attraction nearby there will always be management companies and individual entrepreneurs that purchase homes to rent to travelers.
If you don't mind staying off of the Disney World resort, Orlando has a host of great deals to choose from.
A four bedroom, three bathroom condo in Orlando with room to sleep ten people rents for $198 per night.
No hotel on or near the resort can beat that price, and certainly not one that has room for ten people.
That's $19 per night per person, and just $133 per person for a full week! In other Disney locations you will find that the vacation home rentals are substantially more expensive, partially to do with the property value and tourism in these locations.
DisneyLand in Anaheim, California has a few rentals nearby, but expect to pay closer to $500 per week for a 3 or 4 bedroom that sleeps eight people.
Euro Disney in Paris, France is another destination where the rental homes might not be the economical way to go.
A one bedroom, one bathroom that sleeps up to four people (presumably there is a sleeper-sofa) rents for about $1500 per week.
This is not surprising for most, as you would expect a rental in Paris, France to be more expensive than one in Orlando, Florida.
Traveling as a Group There are a few ways to cut costs when traveling to Disney locations, especially if you don't mind traveling as a group.
Try getting several people to go, like another family or an extended part of your family.
The more people that you get to travel with you, the smaller portion of the rental fees each party will have to pay.
For example, in Paris you can rent a 5 bedroom, 4 bathroom apartment with room for 12 people for about $5500 per week.
This seems like a small fortune until you break it down.
It's a total of $785 per night, which comes to about $65 per person per night.
When you compare this to all of the other costs of a Disney vacation, you may be glad you chose to rent instead of staying at a costly hotel.