The Bargeron Explorers: the bargeron explorers // Christmas at Walt Disney World.

The past December, we pulled off the most epic surprise for our kiddos...

We gifted the kids a long-awaited trip to Disney on Christmas morning, and we drove down the next day. Oh, what fun!!

We were all soooo giddy at the moment of the big reveal — the kids to receive and the parents to finally exhale this secret we’ve been keeping for almost a year. We made the swap to experiences instead of things in 2019, and it’s one of the best decisions we’ve made. I've personally dreamed of experiencing Disney at Christmas for as long as I knew Christmas at Disney was a thing (#iykyk), and it was everything I'd hoped it would be and more.

Although Christmas at Disney wasn't all sunshine (the crowds were insane, our hearts still ache from reality, our bodies are increasingly not what they appear to be, we are already having to pivot our 2024 financial plans because of unexpected circumstances literally on the drive down, and our kids had plenty of tough moments), we soaked in every moment at the happiest place on earth. Even though it was not perfect, it was still really, really good. And honestly, being able to experience it with my husband and two kiddos was just perfect.

Now for the fun part...

How much did this incredible trip cost us?

Here is a breakdown of our totals...

Transportation: $141

We drove down, and this was the cost of gas in our (former) family van. We experienced car troubles while we were there, unfortunately, and had to spend money from our emergency fund to make enough repairs to get us home. We have since purchased a new family car, but I don't add those costs into this category.

Disney Tickets: $1,240

We purchased four (4) 2-day park hopper passes in March 2023 and were able to save a lot of money by doing it this way. The cost of tickets at Disney during Christmas is even higher than usual ticket prices, so we opted to get creative. The park hopper experience was limiting for a number of reasons (crowd levels, wait times, etc), but we were still able to do most of what we wanted. Our expectations were appropriate going into these park days, as well, and that helped increase enjoyment.

6 nights in a non-Disney (but nearby) resort: $0

Nope, that's not a mistake. We spent ZERO dollars for our hotel stay! This was made possible by redeeming travel rewards from credit card sign up bonuses, and it is a significant reason we were able to make this trip a reality. Between the nightly rate, resort fee, parking fee, and complimentary breakfast every morning, the actual cost would have been $3,400 for us to stay 6 nights.

Spending Money: $322

Nope, that's not a mistake either! This number was just over half of what we actual spent on food (at all 4 parks and on resort days), parking at the Disney parks, and souvenirs because we were gifted a handful of gift cards from family for Christmas to help offset our trip costs. Their generosity was a big part of why this number is so low. These gift cards covered most of our park-day costs.

Total amount spent out of pocket:

$1,566

What did our week look like?

Day One:

Drive from SC to FL & explore our resort

Day Two:

Park hop at Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios

Day Three:

Disney Resort Exploration Day

This was SUCH a fun way to spend our day!! We galavanted all over the Disney property from hotel to hotel, utilizing buses, the Skyliner, AND the Monorail. We explored the Polynesian, Grand Floridian, and Contemporary resorts along the way, and we loved how each resort felt unique and strikingly beautiful in its own way.

Day Four:

Park hop at Magic Kingdom and Epcot

Day Five:

Resort Day

Day Six:

Resort Day

(with special events because it was New Years Eve!)

Day Seven:

Drive from FL to SC (& craaaash)

Where did we stay?

We stayed 6 nights at Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Resort. This resort was only around 5 minutes away from Disney Springs, and 10-15 minutes away from the parks. Although this was not a Disney affiliated resort, we had an incredible stay. The amenities included with our daily resort fee were boat rentals, bike rentals, mini golf, a basketball court, pool access (heated pools FTW!!), a water slide, hot tubs (including an adults-only hot tub), a gym, a rock-climbing wall, and more. The open air atrium (a Hyatt Regency trademark) was warm and welcoming, and the extra fun provided by the hotel for New Years Eve was a big hit for the whole family!

Would we return to this hotel?

Absolutely! We loved our stay, the distance from the parks, and all of the amenities available to us. There was no Disney theming, which may be a turn off for many families; but we were very impressed by the culture and hospitality we experienced. We were not upgraded to a larger room or a special view because the hotel was fully booked during our stay, but we felt that the standard room was spacious enough for us.