How much does it cost to take a family of 12 to Disney World?

Disney World is an expensive trip. Many people do it because it is worth the price. Many people cannot do it or feel they cannot because of the price.

We chose to give the experience of Disney World to our children as their main Christmas gift. Also, both sets of grandparents gave that as their main gift to our kids. This was great because we were going to spend money for Christmas gifts for them anyway, and they were very excited about Disney when they received it as a gift.

Here is a break down of how much it cost for our family of 12 to go to Disney World. Keep in mind, some of this was paid by us and some by grandparents. All of the kids’ souvenir money was gifted to them from grandparents, aunts and uncles.

Rainbow Chase RV Park (7 nights) – $379

Disney Tickets (5 Days) + Memory Maker Photo Pass – $5,126 (Bravely got in free.)

Gas driving 2 vehicles from TX to FL – $360

Gas driving to and from Disney World- $25

Parking at the Disney Parks- $125

Groceries for lunches & snacks – $97

Mickey Treats – $83

Water (4 bottles purchased at Disney) – $14

Dinner in the parks – $400

Dinner outside the park – $60

Souvenirs (3 Christmas ornaments)- $68

Postcards – $100

Kids’ Souvenirs – $600

GRAND TOTAL – $7,437

I was overall happy with that amount considering our family size. I feel like we did a decent job balancing saving money in some areas and splurging in others.

Here are some ways we saved money…

For us to stay in a Disney resort, even a Disney RV campground, would have cost us anywhere from $1,000 – 3,000 more than the generic campground we chose.

We brought peanut butter crackers, trail mix, almonds, beef sticks and other filling snacks into the Disney parks with us. This saved a lot of money and time. We often chose to stand in a longer line for a ride during lunch time and eat snacks as we walked through the line. The first day we purchased water at the park. It was $3.50 for one standard size bottle of water. We brought bottles of water, stored in our stroller, with us the rest of the days. We did eat in the Disney parks for dinner Monday – Thursday. We spent around $100 a night for those meals. We were completely satisfied eating our snacks throughout the day knowing we’d get a good meal each evening.

Here’s where we ate and what we ate for dinner each night:

Pizzafari @ the Animal Kingdom – $102.95

-9 kids cheese pizzas with grapes, Sprite and a cookie @ $7.19 each (kids)

-Shrimp Flatbread $13.49 (me & baby)

-Pepperoni Pizza w/ Caesar salad $10.49 (husband)

-2 Fountain drinks @ $3.99 each

-6.5% tax

Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe @ the Magic Kingdom – $92.04

-3 footlong chili cheese dogs w/ fries @ $13.49 each (6 kids halved these. They were huge.)

-3 orders chili cheese fries @ $6.49 each (for 3 little girls)

-rotisserie chicken, green beans, Mac & cheese @ $14.49 (for me & baby)

-grilled chicken club w/ French fries @ $11.99 (husband)

-6.5% tax

San Angel Inn Restaurante @ Epcot – $109.16

-Kids Tacos w/ 2 sides @ 10

-Kids Mac & Cheese w/ 2 sides @10.50

-6 Kids Quesadillas w/ 2 sides @10 each (Our 4 littlest girls shared 2 of these plates & it was more than they could eat.)

-Empanada de Chorizo @ $13 (husband)

-Sopa Aztecs @ $9 (me)

-free chips & salsa for all

-6.5% tax

(Lolli treated us to this meal and, of coarse, she tipped as well.)

Woody’s Toy Box @ Hollywood Studios – $87.83

-8 Kids grilled cheeses w/ tots, mandarin orange & bottled water @ $6.19 each

-kids turkey sandwich with tots, mandarin orange & bottle water @ $6.99

-Totchos @ $8.99 (husband)

-Grilled 3-cheese sandwich with tomato basil soup @ $8.99 (me and baby)

-2 fountain drinks @ $3.99 each

-6.5% tax

Average $97.97 per meal

We had so much fun and made so many great memories, it was worth the price to us!