DL on a budget-- tips?

[mousehappync]

we have the unexpected opportunity to spend 3 days in DL in November--woohoo!!! This is our first visit, although we are WDW vets. Because this is unexpected, I haven't really been able to save for it, and I'm trying not to borrow from our January 2017 WDW funds, so trying to keep this pretty budget-friendly. We are booked at the HoJo with a nice discount, and I'm now considering park tickets. It seems Arez offers decent discounts, but is there anyone better/less? What are some restaurants we should hit up? I'm not really planning to make many ADR's, my boys are not interested enough in character meets to make character meals worth the cost. I'm thinking mostly quick service, maybe 1-2 sit-down. What are your favorite snacks, quick-service locations or moderately-priced ADR's? Thanks!

 

[mommymermaid]

Im in a similar situation. We just decided to go in November a few weeks ago. Have you called last minute travel for tickets? So far I think they are the cheapest I have found....
a few of my quick service favorites are:
Bengal BBQ
Corn dogs
Cream cheese mickey pretzel

 

[crystal1313]

My boys like spaghetti and meatballs, so DH and I usually share a plate with each boy at Pizza Port, so we are only buying 2 meals which is nice. Corn dogs are also great. Last couple trips we have gotten the boys corn dogs at Stage Door cafe and then gotten 2 skewers from Bengal BBQ. DH and I share the skewers, then eat whatever the boys don't finish from their corn dogs. We have also shared the grilled cheese and tomato soup at Jolly Holiday.

If we do sit down, Carnation is our favorite. We also like Storytellers, but learned an expensive lesson that the boys can split the make your own pizza next time. They both only ate 2 slices and it was a big waste of money to get them each their own!

Have you thought about packing a lunch? We have done that to save money. Also, are you driving? One trip we saved a ton of money because we brought spaghetti I made from home. We drive, so I just froze it for the trip down and then we would heat it up in the room. We also brought soup and mac n cheese and I think we only ate out once or twice the whole trip. Not as glamorous as eating out, but way cheaper! I also pack a ton of snacks in our backpack and let the boys pick one treat/snack per day. =)

For breakfast, maybe hit up Mimi's and get some muffins? It's right on the walk to the parks. Panera is there now too.

Hojo's is awesome and we love it. I agree with last minute travel for the cheapest tickets. We are going to buy from them for our November trip too!

 

[Butterfly123]

•I love Earl of Sandwich in DTD for a budget friendly meal.

•The Little Red Wagon corn dogs are great and big enough to share.

•The soft serve ice cream at Cozy Cones in DCA is a fun snack we all enjoy.

We usually get our tickets at Getawaytoday. They have great customer service, and also price match.

 

[Nevada Jen]

My best money saving tip is to drink water or your own beverages. Same with snacks. Pack your own. That makes a huge difference for us. I will be honest with you, I think it costs us less to have one sit down meal a day in the late afternoon than eating at quick service places all day long. Seems like when we are eating QS we sort of spend money all day long eating our way through the parks, whereas when we know we have a good meal coming up we are fine with snacking on stuff brought from home until the big meal and we don't want to eat after that anyway.

 

[mousehappync]

I've never heard of Last Minute Travel before. When I googled it I couldn't find any availability (and I tried plugging in a bunch of random dates.). Is there a trick?

 

[agamble]

Since HOJO doesn't have breakfast I strongly suggest you have something quick and cheap in your room to eat for breakfast each morning. This will save you time and money. Cereal and milk, granola bars, PB&J sandwiches, etc.

We've actually never done a sit-down restaurant at DL itself, though we've done a few in the area (ie. Rainforest Café). Our favorite DL counter meal is Rancho Del Zocalo, right next to Big Thunder Mtn Railroad. Depending on the ages and appetites of your boys you could likely get by with 2 or 3 plates of food for a family of four. The portions are good, they have water spickets in the seating area, and the dining area is hung with shining lights at night. In the cooler months they have heaters in the outside eating area too.

At DCA our favorite place is the Pacific Wharf Café. The Boudin' Bakery Tour leads into this restaurant, and there's a main entrance too. Most of the meals are served in bread bowls (salad and soup) and they have sandwiches served on the bread too. Everything I've had there is yummy.

I agree with others that brining in your own lunch/snack can save a bunch of money. Some of the kid meal options are seriously gold fish and apples, you can bring those in yourself and save a ton of money. Also, McDonald's is between your hotel and the parks. It's not the best food in the world, but it is cheaper than park food. There's currently a pizza place people love in that area too, though it may be closing in the next few months with all that parking lot construction. There are a few other nearby places including a Subway, though that's quite a walk from the HOJO. There are IHOPs and Denny's nearby and they have kids eat free deals for dinner. Avoid Captain Kidd's. It gets nothing but complaints on the boards.

 

[SMD]

You should buy the tickets today.
http://disboards.com/threads/no-longer-selling-discounted-tickets-after-9-15-why.3537293

 

[crystal1313]

@agamble Pizza Press is staying open until April 2017, at least that is what they announced on their FB page...OP, it is right next to the Tropicana and has yummy pizza and reasonable prices =)

 

[OneThree]

Like @Nevada Jen said, bring your own water into the parks and snacks. You can save quite a bit just from doing that. The QS places will give you a cup of water at no charge also if you need more throughout the day.

 

[Scribble Kitty]

I've never heard of Last Minute Travel before. When I googled it I couldn't find any availability (and I tried plugging in a bunch of random dates.). Is there a trick?

Last Minute Travel Club is the one that sells Disenyland tickets. It costs $50 to join the club and it offers you exclusive discounts. There are often promo codes to get a free membership or you can call them directly and order over the phone. You don't need to be a member to do a phone order.

My favorite cheap eats are the baked potatoes over at Trubador Tavern by the Fantasyland Theater. My husband is a fan of the pork shank at the turkey leg carts. They're messy though, so be warned.

 

[disneyxica20]

like everyone has said, take your own snacks and drinks, and share meals if you can.
if you want a corn dog go to the stage door cafe. it's cheaper than the red wagon and the line is shorter too.
we like bengal barbecue a lot. sometimes we'll each get a chicken skewer and share a corn on the cob.
if we go to a pizza/pasta place, most of the time my husband will get a slice of pizza and we'll share an order of pasta and it works out perfectly.
i order kids meals whenever i can. the portions are the perfect size for me. i usually just eat the entree and save the side (i usually ask for fruit) for later.

 

[figment_jii]

If you have them, I would bring refillable water bottles. You can refill your bottle from the filtered water taps throughout the park (there are several - Mint Julep Bar, Rancho del Zocalo, Galactic Grill are the ones that I've used).

 

[felice]

There's also a Target store that is a short way down from DL on Harbor Blvd, they sell quite a lot of snacky type stuff, along with cereals and so on, this should be a bit cheaper than at the parks. Having heard earlier in the thread that the HoJo doesn't do breakfast, maybe next time it might be worth trying other hotels. Quite a few do breakfast rather well and allow you to take food away / up to your rooms, so you can make sandwiches and other meals quite easily to take out with you.

 

[ChloroformSdxn]

Google "Anaheim Coupons." There are several you can print off from the Anaheim tourist website. These include sometimes $10 off Disneyland Resort Express, making it $38 return from LAX. Also, most of them are like, 10-15% off local restaurants.

Grocery delivery to your hotel - Vons, or amazon (depending on what sort of account you have with them.) We always do this, especially when travelling with little kids, they aren't really going to eat enough at a snack to justify the food prices we would pay.

Pizza Press (you'll pass it on your way into the parks if you're staying at HoJo), is fantastic. They have a coupon as well, but $10 pizza without. You choose the toppings, they make and bake it in front of you.

 

[WonkaKid]

My best money saving tip is to drink water or your own beverages. Same with snacks. Pack your own.

Agree with the wholeheartedly. You can get water yourself (i.e. without having to in line or ask a CM for it) at Pizza Port and Rancho Del Zocalo. Do that throughout the day and you won't waste money on bottled water or soda (which is super bad for you anyway ;-)). Personally, I bring nuts from Trader Joe's and a few of their snack bars. Reasonably cheap and approximately filling ;-).

Have a great time! I'll be there this Sunday myself, following a two-week absence .

Rob

 

[minniegirl25]

I know you have already booked Hojo, but I have found cheaper hotels at getawaytoday.com. Like $383 for 4 nights at Portofino and others that are close. October-Early December dates, you may be able to save a bit. For tickets the cheapest I have found are last minute travel club, you can either find a code for free membership or call them and get your tickets.

 

[holtrp]

We really liked Mimi's Cafe right across the street from HoJo. Everything we tried was good, service was great and not insanely priced. The gift shop at HoJo leaves a lot to be desired. Try 'The Cove on Harbor' for sandwich stuff, candy bars, beer, other sundries right on the way to the parks. Probably not as cheap as Target, but very convenient.