My Top 5 Disney Splurges That Are TOTALLY Worth It

There are a few things in Disney that you look at and wonder if it's worth the money or not. Many things, such as paying extra for those souvenir cups (that just sit and collect dust when you get home) or that delicious looking Starbucks Frappuccino (that you can get for like $2 cheaper at your local Starbucks) may not be worth spending your money on.

However, there are many Disney experiences, food options, and souvenirs that TOTALLY are.

Here are MY top 5 Disney splurges that are totally worth the extra buck.

#5: Character Dining

Me and Ean after getting engaged.

With prices up to $60 per adult at some of the restaurants, character dining can be a pricy splurge for sure. However, as a young couple in our 20's, we still absolutely love the experience. Our dream come true moment actually happened while meeting Minnie Mouse during a character breakfast at Chef Mickey! That place will forever hold a dear spot in our hearts. Not only do we love magical moments like that, but we definitely love the all-you-can-eat buffets, and getting to have that good interaction time with the characters. It's great to be able to see them without having to wait in line for an hour+!

#4: Cupcakes

A cookies and cream cupcake from Boardwalk Bakery

Cupcakes at Disney are huge, and about $5 each, which is kind of expensive for a cupcake if you ask me. However, getting a cupcake is not only worth the money, but it's worth the calories as well! Every single cupcake I've ever splurged on at Disney has been absolutely delicious. They're always moist and full of flavor. I crave the sugary goodness when I'm not there! You have to splurge on at least one cupcake each visit. It's good for the soul.

#3: Staying on Disney property

Disney's Pop Century Resory, 80's/90's area

Though it may be cheaper to stay offsite when vacationing in Disney, staying on Disney property has so many benefits. You get to hit up those Extra Magic Hours, you get free transportation (even though sometimes it is a PAIN, it is definitely worth it in the end), free wi-fi, early access to signing up for your FastPass+ experiences... just to name a few! You also get free parking if you decide to not use the Disney transportation system. In the long run, you'll end up saving money with all the free perks. Plus Disney offers some very decently priced resorts, like Pop Century, and the All-Star Resorts, and they offer pretty good discounts throughout the year.

#2: Memory Maker

A moment beautifully captured on our Memory Maker photopass

With just the ride photos costing about $15 each, getting the Memory Maker photo card saved us lots of money on our last trip. I visited twice without the Memory Maker and regretted it both times. I could only choose one ride photo to purchase and save, and we never stopped to get pictures made at any of the beautiful photo spots. Ean and I don't have good photos from our honeymoon because all we had were our phone cameras taking selfies the whole time. When we went this past May for Star Wars Weekends, we knew we'd be meeting lots of characters, and we knew we NEEDED to get GOOD photos, not just iPhone selfies. In our short three full days and one half day there, we got nearly 200 photos on that pass, all for just $169 (by purchasing the pass in advance, you save $30- price for the pass at the parks is $199!).

#1: Annual Passes

A trip well enjoyed because we are Annual Passholders

Though very expensive on the front end, annual passes to Disney can save tons of money in the end. If you are planning on visiting Disney World multiple times within one year, getting an annual pass could save you hundreds! I visited Disney World four times last year, and the passes paid for themselves by the second visit. Plus you get special perks like 10% merchandise, 10% off select dining, Passholder discounts on rooms, and early registration for marathons! Who wouldn't go for a deal like that!

Of course, these are just my top splurges. What are some of yours?

Disney Resorts Christmas Decorations Tour

Last December, on our honeymoon, Ean and I decided to tour as many of the resorts as possible to check out their Christmas decorations. We didn't hit EVERY resort, unfortunately, but the ones we did see did not disappoint!

Grand Floridian
Even though we stayed at Port Orleans Riverside this trip, our first stop was the Grand Floridian. We took a bus from Riverside to the Magic Kingdom, then hopped on the monorail straight for the Grand Floridian.

The Christmas tree there is HUGE. My iPhone 5 camera couldn't even capture a fraction of the beauty of any of the resorts' decorations, but unfortunately that's all I had with me.

Ean was overcome with emotion at the sight of this tree. He had never seen a Christmas tree so beautiful! A nice man came over and offered to take a picture of us with the tree since we were attempting to take a selfie in front of it, and were unable to get the tree in the photo with us since it was so huge.

The Grand Floridian also had a very cute and delicious looking gingerbread house next to the tree.

We spent a good hour at Grand Floridian before heading back to Riverside for the night (after driving 10 hours, we were exhausted!)

Port Orleans Riverside

The next morning, we stopped in the lobby of our resort to take some photos of the decorations before heading out for our day at Hollywood Studios.

I didn't get real good photos of the tree because we were in a hurry and I was quickly trying to snap the pic before some kids ran into my photo. I meant to go back and take better ones later, but never got around to it.

Fort Wilderness Lodge

After spending several hours in Hollywood Studios, we took a bus to the Fort Wilderness Lodge. I had never been to this resort before and was blown away at how huge and beautiful the lobby was. It reminded me a little bit of the Animal Kingdom Lodge, which I stayed at several years ago.

The balconies were all decorated up as well with wreaths and garland!

I loved the little details on the tree. It really honestly reminded me of being back home in the Smoky Mountains. I loved the cute teepee tents and woodland animal ornaments.

I thought the bridge was so adorable!!

After spending some time at the lodge, we took a bus back to Hollywood Studios to finish out the day with the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights.

Beach Club

Day three of our Christmas honeymoon started off in Epcot touring the decorations around the World Showcase. We then walked over to the Beach Club resort to see what wonderful decorations they had there.

In their lobby, they also had a little gingerbread display. Theirs was a merry-go-round covered in chocolate-y goodness.

The tree at the Beach Club was more simple, as I think the gingerbread merry-go-round was their main focus. I loved the beachy theming of the tree, especially the cute little sea turtle ornament.

Yacht Club

We walked over to the Yacht Club from the Beach Club. Their tree was also more simple because they had a big train display set up. I remember a few years ago coming to Disney with my mom during Christmas time and we stayed at Yacht Club. We watched the train for a good long while because it is so intriguing! Ean and I didn't stay there quite as long, but we were mesmerized by the beauty of the display.

Boardwalk

And for our third resort of the day, we walked over to Boardwalk. We didn't go inside, so I don't know if they had anything set up in there, but outside in their little courtyard was a very beautifully decorated tree.

I loved how this one was decorated with the large balls and giant candy canes.

We had to go back to our hotel after spending a little more time in Epcot because we had the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party to get ready for!

Animal Kingdom Lodge

On our last full day of our trip, we spent the morning in Animal Kingdom before catching a bus over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge. We stayed here forever because we walked outside and just looked at the animals forever. I love the Animal Kingdom Lodge and would love to one day bring Ean back here and stay.

The tree in this one was also very huge and incredible. I loved the animal details!!

From the lodge, we caught a bus to the Magic Kingdom. From there we took the monorail to the Contemporary Resort. We did stop at the Polynesian Resort, but they had so much construction going on that we decided not to stay.

Contemporary Resort

At the Contemporary Resort we took some time to reminisce at Chef Mickey, as that's where we got engaged back in 2013!

We also stopped at the Contempo Cafe for a tasty Frozen inspired cupcake (I think it was chocolate peppermint flavored, or something like that).

The gingerbread display that the Contemporary Resort had was probably my favorite because it was Frozen!!

It was seriously SO CUTE.

During our short trip to Disney World last December, I'd say we knocked out a decent amount of resorts in our Christmas decorations resort tour. I'd love to see all the ones we missed. December is one of my absolute favorite times to visit Walt Disney World. We are trying to see if we can save up enough to go again this year so FINGERS CROSSED we can do that!!