• You can enjoy Disney World on a limited budget.road to animal kingdom florida Aug 05 image by amethyst from Fotolia.com
  
  A trip to Disney World can be an expensive prospect; however, there are ways to reduce your costs and have the vacation of your life on a small budget. These dirt cheap Disney tips allow families with restricted vacation budgets to experience an enjoyable--and otherwise unaffordable--Disney World vacation.
  
  

Eat for Free

• Disney runs an abundance of discounts each year, which range from free gift cards, to discounts on a room, to allowing kids to vacation for free. A popular promotion is free dining, which offers guests free food for every night that they stay at a Disney World hotel. Free dining has traditionally been offered in the fall, but free dining dates during other months is not unheard of. Guests are usually offered one of three dining plans: the Quick Service dining plan, the Dining Plan or the Deluxe Dining plan. All plans include two to three meals (complete with an entrée, dessert and non-alcoholic beverage) and one to two snacks for each night for each guest over the age of 3. Two of the three plans also offer refillable resort mugs.
  
  

Free or Discounted Tickets

• In 2009, Disney ran a promotion where guests were offered a free ticket to one of the four Disney World theme parks on their birthday. In 2010, guests who volunteered for a day of service with an approved charity were also rewarded with a free, one-day pass to a Disney World theme park. There are also programs that offer deeply discounted tickets. For example, Disney Homeschool Days allows children who are homeschooled, their parents and their guests to receive tickets that are often $100 cheaper (per person) than buying the same tickets at a Disney World ticket window. These programs are limited to certain groups and only available on certain dates each year.
  
  

Enjoy Downtown Disney

• Although it costs money to get into Disney World's four theme parks, it is free to visit Downtown Disney. There are no rides, but plenty of Disney-related sights and sounds to enjoy. If you do have money to spend, you can grab a bite to eat at Planet Hollywood or House of Blues, shop for Disney merchandise, grab an ice-cold drink or snack at Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop, or see a show at Cirque du Soleil.