Disneyland Budget Super Thread

[prettyprincessbelle]

Great Thread!

Ok, if you have a kid small enough (for Disneyland...even a 6-7 year old not used to the walking) -- you can use a Disney Visa to get free stroller rental, but my favorite is to buy a cheap umbrella stroller (like $15) at Walmart or Target...check in on the flight still boxed), unbox and use from the time you arrive...and then just before you leave for home...hand it off to some bewildered looking parent trying to carry/drag their small kid around at the park. (I once handed one of ours off to an unsuspecting person visiting from England...by herself w/ three kids...she actually cried she was so grateful) (*adding a note here* -- bringing your own is AWESOME if you are staying within walking distance...I've always hated handing in my rented stroller at the end of the night and having to haul a kid to the hotel on foot...we love the proximity of the Best Western Park Place Inn for walking, but even that's to far w/ a kid that's knocked out)

This is really, a very sweet idea! I see a lot of parents struggling with tired kids, and I always think "geesh, poor parents need a stroller..."

 

[disney-inspired]

Bring gallon size freezer bags!
We did that on our last trips and saved any chicken/ mozzarella strips we didn't eat at lunch/dinner and ate them later (while waiting for Animation Academy)

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

Bring gallon size freezer bags!
We did that on our last trips and saved any chicken/ mozzarella strips we didn't eat at lunch/dinner and ate them later (while waiting for Animation Academy)

Holy cow! What an idea. I never thought of that. That's so much easier than carrying around the stupid to go box they put them in...

 

[disney-inspired]

Holy cow! What an idea. I never thought of that. That's so much easier than carrying around the stupid to go box they put them in...

Yeah it was such a novel idea to me too! She (my friend) said they do it whenever they go to amusement parks/zoo etc. With 6 people (4 of them BOYS!) things get expensive QUICK.

 

[darren123]

Start walking a few weeks to a month before you go and you will not be as tired and you will give fit as well.

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

Yeah it was such a novel idea to me too! She (my friend) said they do it whenever they go to amusement parks/zoo etc. With 6 people (4 of them BOYS!) things get expensive QUICK.

That makes sense! I'm one of those people where my eyes are bigger than my stomach OR I'm starving and I scarf everything I can down in about 5 seconds, then half my plate is still there and I'm stuffed and THEN 20 minutes later I'm hungry again.. I'm doing this this trip! THANK YOU!

 

[SnoWhite]

My husband and I always split meals, it saves money and then we have room left over for Dole Whip!

We bring bottled water and then refill it at the drinking fountains and pour in some of the crystal light that comes in the little packets. It makes the drinking fountain water taste better! We do this about 3-4 times a day at the park which saves us a lot of money on drinks.

I also am a huge fan of ordering kids meals as well.

 

[ploeb]

Ooohhhh!! I love the freezer bag idea! Have never thought of that-those to-go containers are so flimsy and your food ends up gross! Many a times I have taken the food only to chuck it into a trash can out of frustration I always bring those "cereal in a container" things you can get at Target,pair that with a juice and the kids are fine. I always bring apples in my bag also. In the evening, my DH and I love to have a cocktail:
, so I bring either rum and cokes,and Beer-the drinks at the hotels are about $10-$15 each!

 

[sftnslky]

If you're not doing a package through DL Travel and you're not staying in one of the DL hotels, get your park hopper tickets (3 day or more) through GetAwayToday.

Was wondering if anyone has acutally used them? There are 8 of us going the first week of June and we could save over $100 dollars if we use them, but don't want to risk it if they are not on the up and up. Thanks in advance.

 

[DangerMouse]

Was wondering if anyone has acutally used them? There are 8 of us going the first week of June and we could save over $100 dollars if we use them, but don't want to risk it if they are not on the up and up. Thanks in advance.

GAT is a very reputable company used frequently by many people here on the Disboards. I wouldn't hesitate to order from them.

 

[jemilah]

we ordered our from GAT and have on other trips too

 

[dmked]

I have been buying t-shirts and little toys from disneyshopping.com when they have good sales and codes on top of that! I am planning on giving DD a "present" each day before we go to the park so she has something new to wear and I get that "I need to buy something new" feeling out of the way!

Getawaytoday is actually about 5 minutes from my house, they are in an actual nice building, not just a hole in the wall! Check with companies you work for (or family works for) a few of my family members have been able to get discount PH passes through their work (and they don't work for anyone having to do with Disney) the prices are better than any other prices I have seen.

 

[shyboy72]

When my fiance & I go to DL, we try to eat one more expensive meal a day and budget for the rest of the day. You don't want to eat heavy all day or you'll be sick by dinner time. Either that, or we pick out two places we REALLY want to go to, then just eat at Denny's or somewhere less expensive for the rest of the trip.

 

[kaoden39]

There are a lot of days when we go that we are so busy we may just grab a piece of fruit for lunch and that really cuts the cost down too. If we don't bring in water that is where we spend the most money. Not only does eating fruit for lunch cut the cost but on a warm day it will cool you down.

Michele

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

Getawaytoday is actually about 5 minutes from my house, they are in an actual nice building, not just a hole in the wall! Check with companies you work for (or family works for) a few of my family members have been able to get discount PH passes through their work (and they don't work for anyone having to do with Disney) the prices are better than any other prices I have seen.

We have that through my work. It's funex.com. You don't get much of a discount, you get like $3 off one day tickets. $2 off hoppers. I forgot the exact dollar amount, but it's not very much.. But still, every dollar counts..

 

[marlower]

Since I teach a budget course this is right up my alley!!

I would say if you are flying to buy magazines, mints, gum etc before you get to the airport. I also set a budget for my girls as to how much they can spend at Disney.

On car trips we would give them a quarter for each time they were kind to one another and take away a quarter when they weren't kind. At the end of the road trip, whatever money they collected is what they could spend! This was great incentive for them and made for a relaxing car trip for us.

The last two summers we spent at Disneyworld in August-if you have been during that time, you know how hot and humid it can be so we "ban" the word "hot" during our vacation. If the girls said "hot" we took a dollar away and if we (the parents) got caught saying "hot" we had to pay them a dollar. I think they both ended up with about $20 for shopping. This little trick really helped cut down on the complaining about how hot we were and besides we couldn't change the weather so why complain about it. We sure did come up with some clever ways of saying we were hot without using the actual word!!

 

[ironpig70]

have yet to do it at the parks but do this alot at work when it's hot. i have found the little single serve packets of beverage mix make life alot easier and water taste alot better when you've drank your fill. you can find them at most grocery stores or dollar store. there is 10-12 in a box and iirc they cost about a buck and change. all you do is tear it open and add it to 16.9 ounces of water. i have seen them in ice tea, leamonade and berry flavors. so when the kids need something besides water this just may do the trick.

 

[kaoden39]

have yet to do it at the parks but do this alot at work when it's hot. i have found the little single serve packets of beverage mix make life alot easier and water taste alot better when you've drank your fill. you can find them at most grocery stores or dollar store. there is 10-12 in a box and iirc they cost about a buck and change. all you do is tear it open and add it to 16.9 ounces of water. i have seen them in ice tea, leamonade and berry flavors. so when the kids need something besides water this just may do the trick.

I like those too. They also sell those packets at Walmart too.

Michele

 

[tink2dw]

We, 3 Adults, have itty bitty suitcases that are hard to pack more than a couple of days clothes. So at Kmart in their Luggage area I found a box of the Travel [roll the air out] Vacuum Bags. I packed unmentionable in a small one. Shirts in a medium one. And pants in a large one. It is the first time my suitcase wasn't bulging so bag I barely got it zipped.


Also for children, use a 2 gallon Ziploc bag to pack the childs outfit in. It holds everything! Tops, bottoms, sox, undies, hair bows and any matching items. Then your litte girl will be dressed up with out the fuss of finding mixed up pieces.