While I'm not a certified Disneyland expert, I have been to the Parks a number of times in the past five years. With four
And if you haven't heard, it's expensive.
We're at Disneyland this week for a 5 night vacation (3 days at the Parks). So I thought I would share a few of my tried and true tips for keeping the budget balanced.
1. Book a hotel room with a kitchen.
Go ahead and pay a little bit more. You will get your money back and save a bunch more also. And Anaheim is the perfect place to find a suite with a kitchen. That place knows how to cater to families! I don't cook every meal, but just one meal a day with a large family can add up to big savings. Plus, you get to skip the long waits for a table. And, you have some control over how healthy the meal is. Just how often can you eat a burger and chicken strips?
I'm planning on cooking 2 dinners on this trip, and 1 lunch. I decided on chili and spaghetti for dinners since they are fast and inexpensive. We'll just leave the park for a few hours, relax, eat dinner, then grab a coat and gloves for the cooler nights and head back for more fun. The lunch will be on a day that we are not going to Disneyland (a day of rest), so I plan to grill chicken by the pool (weather permitting).
2. Consider a hotel with complementary breakfast and dinner receptions.
This is an option with lots of hotels near Disneyland. We have done this at Homewood Suites and Residence Inn. This trip we will be staying at a Staybridge Suites and they will be offering a light dinner on Tuesday to Thursday nights.
I have to admit that the food is ok. Not awesome. But you're not at home in your kitchen or paying $100 at IHOP. It's ok for the price. And if you get sick of the free breakfast, splurge one day and go out for a meal.
3. We don't drink pop/soft drinks at meals.
This may seem obvious, but not to our family. I have to admit that we are a pop drinking family. But when we eat at Disneyland, we drink water. This kills my oldest kid, but it saves us $28/meal. $4 drinks x 7 adults/teens. Yep. That's a bunch of money. Plus, it's good for us to drink water. And we can always have a pop back at the hotel after a long day of walking!
3. Have the kids carry a backpack and let them pack snacks and drinks for the day.
I make a Costco run and buy a bunch of individually packaged snacks either before I leave and bring them with me, or stop at a store near Disneyland. In the past, I have been known to package snacks myself, using baggies. But this year I'm taking it down a notch and spending a bit extra to have everything ready to go.
Then, in the mornings, the kids pick out what they want for the day, grab a few cold waters out of the fridge, and they are good to go. But that doesn't mean that I deprive the kiddos of churros or mickey ice cream sandwiches.....
4. Give the kids a set amount of money for snacks and souvenirs.
I give the kids (and us parents too) a set amount daily for park snacks and let them choose how to spend it. For our family, $10 a day works. That will buy 2 or 3 items per day. They have control over how to spend it. And they can choose to only spend some of it and save some for another day.
It's interesting watching their choices. I have one kid that buys food as soon as he hits the park, and is broke within a few hours. I have another that saves his, then uses the money to buy something in the future, not even Disney related. And then there is the one who only buys 1 snack a day, but on that last day will go crazy and buy treats all day. The fourth one falls in the middle, with not set strategy.
Same idea with souvenirs. Since my kids are a getting older, they don't get into all the toys like when they were little. So this trip we decided on $30 per kid. Again, the money is theirs to spend as they wish. But I do hold back until the last day to pass out the money. It's too tempting to make a decision on day 1, then regret it later and wish they could redo their purchase.
Well, that's my strategy for staying on a budget while visiting the happiest place on earth. I have friends that like to splurge when they travel and would hate all of these ideas, and that's okay. But I like to take at least 1 trip a year to Disneyland along with a few beach trips, so I like to travel on a budget and cram in as many family vacations as possible. Especially now that I can see them growing up so fast and a future where they may not be able to travel with us!
Have any ideas to share? I would love to hear from you. Just scroll down and leave me a comment.
