DCL vs Disneyland

[LilacBarries]

So we just got off our first cruise at the beginning of this month and now we've rediscovered our love for all things Disney (including a new obsession with trading pins!) We didn't book on board because we're pretty sure we know how we're spending our vacation time and money in 2015.

Since we live in California I started thinking maybe we could sneak down there for a few days (we're in SF) but once I started adding up gas, hotel, tickets, food etc etc it was almost a thousand bucks for a long weekend which to me is like a third to half of a cruise. I was reminded why we chose a cruise in the first place- all inclusive.

I know this is the cruise board but does anyone have any tips for Disneyland on the cheap? Or should I not even bother with DL and just start saving for another cruise or Hawaii? I'm going back to school next fall and going down to pt at work so I'm really trying to plan now so we can start saving. We are planning a week long cruise with our dear friends for our mutual 15th anniversaries in 2018 but the thought of waiting that long for anything disney seems painful.

Thought, ideas, opinions?

 

[jtba]

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I know this is the cruise board but does anyone have any tips for Disneyland on the cheap? Or should I not even bother with DL and just start saving for another cruise or Hawaii? I'm going back to school next fall and going down to pt at work so I'm really trying to plan now so we can start saving. We are planning a week long cruise with our dear friends for our mutual 15th anniversaries in 2018 but the thought of waiting that long for anything disney seems painful.

Thought, ideas, opinions?

Try the Disneyland board:

http://disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=26

and Budget board:

http://disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=22

 

[holula]

Don't stay on site at DL. There are plenty of nice, good neighbor hotels within walking distance. The tickets you can't change the price of. Food, again, there are plenty of nearby places to eat that are cheaper than DL.

 

[KBinCO]

Do you have kids? We loved staying at the HoJo because of the mini waterpark.

 

[Lizzards]

Definitely agree with other posts. You don't have to stay on site. It will save you money to stay at an off property hotel. There are several within walking distance, but be sure to check the reviews. You can eat outside of the parks but does take you time to walk out and back in again. Nothing can be done about ticket prices of course. It is hard to do DL "cheap". We go and spend little or no money but we have AP's and live local. Maybe check your area for a Disney on Ice show or other shows. That way you can get some disney fun without spending so much money. Just some thoughts. Hope you find the right answer for you!

 

[kapoof]

There is a cruise that ports out of San Diego (I think..check the dcl website) and cruises around for two days. I believe it's in May. Also one that stops in san Fran for a day then goes up to Canada. That might be a good way to get your disney cruise fix.

 

[DLgeeks]

We usually use Priceline and stay at one of the hotels down Harbor a bit so that cuts down on hotel costs, if you drive down you can pack breakfast & snacky foods to cut down on your meal costs a bit. We usually go down about twice a year as a family (we're in Sonoma) but DH has business trips that take him down quarterly so we usually buy one annual pass for him (which gets us the free parking and all of the discounts on food, etc) and then all we have to buy is the tickets for me and the kids if we want to go. But yes, it does add up!

 

[LilacBarries]

Thanks all for the suggestions. I think well ultimately try going next year sometime, just maybe not in February like I was originally thinking(I happen to have sometime off then)

Unfortunately thanks to supply and demand the west coast cruises are too expensive. Even with air fair it's cheaper to go to FL.

 

[Larissa]

February will mean a lot of refurbs, but cheaper hotels and smaller crowds.
I would suggest not staying onsite, and bringing snacks and lunch if you are looking to keep it on the cheaper end.

 

[Larissa]

February will mean a lot of refurbs, but cheaper hotels and smaller crowds.
I would suggest not staying onsite, and bringing snacks and lunch if you are looking to keep it on the cheaper end.

Here's a link to a list I just posted of the cheaper restaurants:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3363562

And here'a link to my list of Disneyland tips:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3362860

 

[bcwife76]

Thanks all for the suggestions. I think well ultimately try going next year sometime, just maybe not in February like I was originally thinking(I happen to have sometime off then)

Unfortunately thanks to supply and demand the west coast cruises are too expensive. Even with air fair it's cheaper to go to FL.

Maybe try a repositioning cruise? That's what we're doing in Sept 2015, the only way we could probably afford a Disney cruise. It goes from Vancouver to San Diego. In May it goes from San Diego up to Vancouver so that one might work for you, cheap flights from San Fran to San Diego I'm sure exist!

 

[Karlzmom]

Thanks all for the suggestions. I think well ultimately try going next year sometime, just maybe not in February like I was originally thinking(I happen to have sometime off then)

Unfortunately thanks to supply and demand the west coast cruises are too expensive. Even with air fair it's cheaper to go to FL.

frightening, isn't it? I still can't get over how pricey the west coast sailings are...I hoping there will be some availability after PIF to score a GT rate on a last minute trip.

 

[Karlzmom]

Maybe try a repositioning cruise? That's what we're doing in Sept 2015, the only way we could probably afford a Disney cruise. It goes from Vancouver to San Diego. In May it goes from San Diego up to Vancouver so that one might work for you, cheap flights from San Fran to San Diego I'm sure exist!

Believe it or not, the prices for the SD north repo is much more than a 5 night on the other side of the country. For example, cruisefish is showing a 7a Nav Verandah out of SD is currently at $1490pp. A 5 night from San Juan to Miami is $950 pp for the same cabin. An 11B is $1045pp out of San Diego, but only $725pp from San Juan. An 11B for a Western Carib out of Miami is running around $700 most sailings as well, with the 7A Nav Verandah can be had for less that $1000pp on many sailings.

Indeed, you can move to a 7 night on the Wonder while she is on the east side of the canal for the price of the 5 night repo. You can do the 11 night west bound trans-Atlantic for only just over $1,000 pp in a 10B v. a a little 2 nighter out of SD in the 10B more than 1/2 that!

Anyway, probably more than you wanted to know, but I find it fun to track the numbers...

 

[scrapshappen]

We love DCL and we love DL! We are not rich by any means, but we have plans to do both in 2015. Here are a few of my tips:

One of the things that we do to be able to afford to do both DCL and DL is stockpile discounted Disney Gift Cards. There are lots of ideas how to do that on the budget boards here.

We have a Disney Visa that gives us discounts in the park and gives you a little Disney $$ back too. The six months 0% interest on Disney Travel purchases is a nice feature too. We signed up when we received a nice bonus offer too ($200 Disney GC).

We also always drive to DL from the SLC area. We have family that lives half way between here and there so we break it into a two day drive and it works perfectly. We've done the drive from the Bay Area too and it's an easy drive if you time it right to avoid traffic. With the price of gas down, it saves our family of four a lot of money versus flying.

We also found it worth while to get DL annual passes. It made the first trip really expensive, but it makes subsequent trips in the same 12 month period very cheap. We originally bought discounted tickets through a local vendor and then upgraded them once we were at the park with our discounted Gift Cards. We saved over $50 on each this way. And then you get a discount on park purchases (including food) as well.

We love staying on site at DL, but it isn't a deal breaker for us either. When we can't afford on site, we stay at the Tropicana directly across the street from the crosswalk to DL. I've heard good things about HoJo's too, but the tropicana is even more affordable. We've also done split stays where we've used DH's Hilton points to stay at the Embassy Suites down the street and then splurged for a couple of nights at the Paradise Pier.

One nice thing about staying across the street is there are some very affordable places to eat. Last time we were there, the kids wanted a cheeseburger to eat near the end of the day. Well, why pay DL prices for a kids cheeseburger when they would be even happier with a McD's one for about a third the cost?

And my final tip is to make a few sacrifices to save the money. Every time you go to splurge on something, ask yourself if you'd rather have the item or a Disney vacation. I use this trick on my children when they ask to go out to eat or get a pizza or something else outside the standard family budget. (And I use it on myself too.)

Good luck!

 

[bethy]

Believe it or not, the prices for the SD north repo is much more than a 5 night on the other side of the country. For example, cruisefish is showing a 7a Nav Verandah out of SD is currently at $1490pp. A 5 night from San Juan to Miami is $950 pp for the same cabin. An 11B is $1045pp out of San Diego, but only $725pp from San Juan. An 11B for a Western Carib out of Miami is running around $700 most sailings as well, with the 7A Nav Verandah can be had for less that $1000pp on many sailings.

Indeed, you can move to a 7 night on the Wonder while she is on the east side of the canal for the price of the 5 night repo. You can do the 11 night west bound trans-Atlantic for only just over $1,000 pp in a 10B v. a a little 2 nighter out of SD in the 10B more than 1/2 that!

Anyway, probably more than you wanted to know, but I find it fun to track the numbers...

Hi I am new to cruising and am trying to decide between Aulani and our first DCL cruise next year. This post is extremely interesting. I'm off to check out cruise fish! We are looking at a five night cruise on the Magic (prefer a smaller ship, anyway) in October 2015. And then pairing that with WDW and maybe some time on a Florida beach.

 

[Karlzmom]

Hi I am new to cruising and am trying to decide between Aulani and our first DCL cruise next year. This post is extremely interesting. I'm off to check out cruise fish! We are looking at a five night cruise on the Magic (prefer a smaller ship, anyway) in October 2015. And then pairing that with WDW and maybe some time on a Florida beach.

I really like the site as it gives the price trending as well. I don't sign up for alerts, but you can have them let you know about price changes as well. Very educational....