Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Save Some $$$ at Disneyland






Disneyland is expensive, I know! And if you're like me, you don't want to miss things that you love (like food!) just so that you can save a few dollars. But you have to be able cut back here and there so you can save up for your next trip, right? Here are a few of my favorite ways to save without feeling like you're shorting yourself some of your vacation.


Hotel

The Disneyland Hotel is a lot of fun, and the Grand Californian is beautiful! But if you're like me, you really only go the hotel to sleep and shower. For the price of ONE NIGHT at the Grand Californian, you can stay at a hotel on Harbor Blvd for four nights!  I've stayed at lots of them, and found that they're all pretty similar: motels that are clean, have a pool, and can be under $100 a night if its not the middle of summer or Christmas. For a few extra dollars a night, some of them even have breakfast. Look on Google Maps for any hotels that are on Harbor and across the street from any part of Disneyland and you won't have longer than an 8 minute walk into the park each morning! You can also do character dining at one of the Disneyland Resort Hotels if you want to get the nicer hotel experience without staying there. (If you visit the Paradise Pier, find the little room with beach chairs that shows classic Mickey cartoons all day long!)

Snacks

I LOVE the food at Disneyland, but all that walking makes me constantly hungry. In an effort to spend my food budget on meals and a special treat each day, I usually bring my own snacks: granola bars, trail mix, bananas...anything portable and filling to keep me going!

Drinks

I'm a firm believer in the Camelbak backpack. I have one that holds 3 liters of water (or lemonade!), plus has enough space to hold extra clothes for the kids, wallet, camera, and maybe a couple small souvenirs. I buy big jugs of water at home (because I drive and can transport them easily - if you fly, you can pick one up in Anaheim without much trouble, I'm sure) and fill up every morning before heading into the park.

Buy Before You Go

Souvenirs rock! I love to get a little something each trip. But what I love even more is starting with vacation already having my Disney gear! Tshirts and sweatshirts are everywhere. Seriously... Kohl's, Target, Ross, Old Navy. They all carry Disney stuff on the cheap and it's just as cute as what's in the parks. For the kids, I usually go to Party City and clean out the Mickey birthday party aisle. I get tattoos, notebooks and pens for autographs, bracelets, little games for the car/long lines, hats, anything I can find! You can give these to the kids before the trip or save them up and give something out each day.

Save Those Pennies

Don't underestimate piggy banks for pocket change! They are not just for kids, they're for everyone! We keep one container in the bedroom, and one in the laundry area and we empty our change into the containers nightly. Before we knew it, we saved over $80! That's a couple meals or souvenir money without even trying!

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