How much does it really cost to spend a day in Disneyland?

[Jesus Garcia]

Hello everyone,

New member here
I'm considering to take my wife to Disneyland as a birthday gift, it's been almost 20 years since the last time I went there and I was 8 years old back then so at that age I didn't realize how much things cost, also, things are way more expensive nowadays.

So, straight to the point, I would like to know from someone who has gone recently: in average, how much does it cost to spend a day in Disneyland L.A.?

Don't hesitate in going into detail, I mean: What did you do? Besides the entry ticket, did you spend money in other kind of things?
Anything you can tell me so I can get an idea of how much money it is needed.

Thank you in advance =)

 

[SMD]

I've gone and spent nothing, and I've gone and spent $40+ for 2 meals. What kind of birthday trip do you want? Are you going to have a nice meal or special (paid) experience to celebrate? Are you planning to be in the parks from open until close, would that be 2-3 meals? Do you usually snack a lot? Will you buy souvenirs? Are you getting a hotel or driving in and need to park?

 

[Westcoastwild]

Well...that's really impossible to say.

because lodging varies so much. Because souvenir shopping varies so much. Because appetite varies so much.

I'd say- if this is August-

I'm probably spending $6 on Starbucks for breakfast, $10 on a midday snack, and $30-40 on table service.

I eat less in the heat, I drink more water and less soda.

And I don't buy much in the way of souvenirs- let's say $15 on a new pin(s) per day.

So $60 max per person. But maybe you could split that entree. Maybe you spend more than me on your souvenirs. Maybe you pack a sandwich or really want character dining. You could shave maybe 10-20 off my budget or you could triple my budget.

But no matter how hard I try, table service almost always tops 30, and counter service almost always tops 15, if that's what you're looking for in terms of numbers.

 

[Jesus Garcia]

I've gone and spent nothing...

No souvenirs, I think it would be better to spend the whole day to make the most of it, also, I'm counting that my wife's uncle who happens to live in Riverside can provide us a room. I'd like to have the most fun possible without busting the bank.

 

[Jesus Garcia]

Well...that's really impossible to say.

Exactly, it varies a lot.
But let's say you go and you're trying to spend the less money and to have the most fun.
Also, I forgot to ask, does every attraction has its own price or you're able to do everything with the entry ticket?

 

[Miggee]

depends, you can spend very little (bring your own food and drinks) or you can spend a lot, snacks, gifts, table service meals, character meals, photo pass

character meals $30-40 per adult
snacks: churros, pretzels, apple freeze, mickey bars, corn on cob, popcorn, turkey legs, drinks each around $5-10

it's totally possible to spend up to $100+ per person, per day.. if you book a fancy TS like blue Bayou, that will prob run you a good $50 or more per person.

 

[Miggee]

Exactly, it varies a lot.
But let's say you go and you're trying to spend the less money and to have the most fun.
Also, I forgot to ask, does every attraction has its own price or you're able to do everything with the entry ticket?

you can do all the rides and show with entry ticket..

 

[Westcoastwild]

Ok. Given your specifics:

Budget for:

Food (look up menus and plan where you're gonna eat, because eating on the fly can wreck a Disney budget)

There are a few Disney food blogs and that's where I'd start- since this is a "special" trip for the two of you, you'll want to eat unique Disney stuff or at unique places. Avoid buffets. But consider a place like Blue Bayou which is all about the setting.

Parking: $20 dollars a day, and no, no practical way to do this cheaper. So that's a set cost.

Pack water bottles, and you'll save a lot on soda.

Consider that you need 2 days at least, and a 3 day park hopper would be best. So that's a built in price. (When you went before, California adventure most likely didn't exist, and in its early years sucked. I learned last trip that it's a full day park now and it has some of the best grown up rides on the property.)

If this is the summer, go on weekdays. If you go on weekends, you need at LEAST three days to cover everything. But if this is off season, go weekend, because fireworks are only on the weekend.

I can cover one park a day- so two days in the summer with longer hours- but those are long days and in your shoes I'd plan on 3 days with park hoppers and one magic extra hours (a three day park hopper comes with one. Otherwise they are for on property folks only.)

Park hopper comes in handy specifically because 1) parks are so close, 2) DL gets very crowded and it's nice to hop to CA in the afternoons and 3) DCA closes earlier than DL so it's nice to hop back to DL for fireworks or last minute rides- waits for rides in Adventureland can be really short in the last hour, and I've ridden 3-5 rides then in a row which does not ever happen during the day.

With two days it's worth noting that I would probably only do 1 sit down meal. So if your girlfriend wants to sit down and eat, plan 3-4 days. If you like to sleep in, plan 3-4 days. You really only can do both parks in 2 days in the summer if you limit table service meals and if you show up fairly early and close down the park. Which you may not want to do if you're staying in riverside.


Hope that helps.

 

[Jesus Garcia]

Ok. Given your specifics...

Geez! That was helpful =)

And yeah, back in 1998 I remember that it was all about going to Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm and Universal Studios. From what I just read it seems that now there are much… muuuuch more things to do!

I hope not to get overwhelmed.

I’ll totally consider the 3 day park hopper although I’d like to visit Universal Studios too and I don’t know how many days are needed to cover it.

 

[Mama Bear Me2]

Exactly, it varies a lot.
But let's say you go and you're trying to spend the less money and to have the most fun.
Also, I forgot to ask, does every attraction has its own price or you're able to do everything with the entry ticket?

Hi ... what a nice surprise for your wife's birthday!

This is a difficult question to answer because people have different priorities and budgets as to how they wish to spend their money. One plan is not going to fit all families or individuals. However, here's some thoughts for you to consider when working out your budget:

1) Accommodation: Sounds like you have this covered and plan to stay with a relative. Good money saving strategy!

2) Transportation: I'm not from the USA so I googled Riverside and it's about 1 hour from Disneyland. If you drive you will need to pay for parking. You can check out Disneyland's site for the current parking rates. If you choose some other mode of transportation, you will also need to factor in this cost (eg. Uber?) unless your uncle would be willing to drive and do drop off and pick up which would be a money saving strategy!

3) Park Tickets: You will need to decide if you want a single park ticket vs park hopper. A single park ticket costs less. I'm assuming you only want to attend 1 day? You should buy your tickets ahead of time. I'm not sure if there's any (if much) discount for a single day ticket but I've heard many people mention buying tickets via LMT (they got a promo code for free membership in order to buy from LMT) and Ares Travel. Also, do you qualify for any SoCal Resident's special priced tickets? Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with this since I'm not from the USA so I can't give much help here but I'm sure others on this Disboard can give expert advice!

4) Food: Please check out Disneyland's website. You should be able to find a list of the dining options available to you and also be able to check out the menu "with prices" shown. You can also filter your dining options by price range. Select $ (USD$14.99 and under per adult) option. There are also other filters you can use to narrow your search (eg. cuisine, breakfast etc.). Also, please ensure you select the appropriate park (ie. Disneyland OR California Adventure) if you're only going to 1 park ... you don't want to accidentally choose a dining option that's located in the park that you're not visiting.

https://disneyland.disney.go.com/ca/dining/list/

5) Souvenirs: Not applicable since you mentioned no souvenirs.

Final Thoughts:

Since your park tickets give you access to all entertainment in the park, there's no extra expense for entertainment once you enter the park. You should have a "must do" list as it's probably impossible to do everything in the park in only 1 day. Decide what's most important for you to see and try and accomplish that to avoid disappointment. Anything extra you're able to fit into your day will be "bonus".

The other costs for accommodation, transportation & park tickets will be pretty much set at "x" amount.

Therefore, food will be your largest variable cost. Consequently, I suggest you check out your dining options to get a better idea of what you would like to eat and how much it will cost you. By the way, you can choose to buy all your food OR bring your food OR do a combination of buy & bring your food. Please note though that NO glass containers are allowed and food should already be "assembled" and ready to eat (eg. ready made sandwich = OK but sandwich fixings all separate = not OK, snacks = OK, liquids in non-glass containers = OK etc.).

If your wife's birthday trip is not a surprise, it's probably best to have her plan with you (ie. attractions, shows and food etc.) so you don't waste valuable time standing around in the park asking each other "what do you want to do next"!

Good luck and happy birthday to your wife! Have a fabulous time!

 

[Mama Bear Me2]

Geez! That was helpful =)

And yeah, back in 1998 I remember that it was all about going to Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm and Universal Studios. From what I just read it seems that now there are much… muuuuch more things to do!

I hope not to get overwhelmed.

I’ll totally consider the 3 day park hopper although I’d like to visit Universal Studios too and I don’t know how many days are needed to cover it.

Hi ... sounds like you'd like to visit other attractions as well. Not sure where you're from but perhaps you can check out the following:

GO Los Angeles
CityPass Southern California

Good luck!

 

[Linkura]

Geez! That was helpful =)

And yeah, back in 1998 I remember that it was all about going to Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm and Universal Studios. From what I just read it seems that now there are much… muuuuch more things to do!

I hope not to get overwhelmed.

I’ll totally consider the 3 day park hopper although I’d like to visit Universal Studios too and I don’t know how many days are needed to cover it.

You should only need 1 day at Universal.

 

[Boku41]

Food should be the only thing you HAVE to pay for after you park your car. We have up to 10 kids with us, so we try and go on the cheap. We never eat at the fancy restaurants since that would break a big family. We always eat breakfast before we go, and then take a backpack full of snacks to eat while we stand in lines. (Best snacks are trail mix, fruit snacks, etc. I also really enjoy a Costco muffin, even when it gets smashed during the day.) It saves us money plus makes the line wait seem shorter. With snacks, we usually get away with one meal at the park. If you eat a filling meal like the bread bowls with soup, that can carry you over for the whole day. Our meals are usually about $10/person. Of course, there are lots of delicious snacks to eat all over the park that will cost you around $5-7 per snack. We usually carry a few water bottles, but you can get free cups of ice water from all of the restaurants.

 

[chickapin parterre]

Early, arrive in Anaheim very early....like two hours before opening.....google fast food options outside the park......does the birthday visit day have the letter "T"...that is important for when you line up at the gate to have your photo snapped before entry.

 

[ADLFAN]

The Disney Atmosphere is included in your ticket price, so TRY to take it slow, go in realizing that doing every ride will be impossible, try to catch a show (Mickey and the Magical Map in Fantasyland is a good one, with all the Disney movie music you grew up with) or parade, enjoy other guests experiencing the magic, meet Mickey and take a picture, sit on a bench, listen to the music and soak it IN! It is very difficult to do this when you don't get to visit often, but it is very much part of the experience amd shouldn't be missed!

Have fun planning!

 

[Jesus Garcia]

Hi ... what a nice surprise for your wife's birthday!

Thank you very much for a very kind response.

Unfortunately I can't plan any of this with my wife since it is supposed to be a surprise, so I'll have to do all the planning by myself, but I'll check all the points you mentioned, specially the one related with food

Again, thank you.

 

[Jesus Garcia]

Food should be the only thing you HAVE to pay for after you park your car.

So, it is a fact, you can carry food from outside to the park.
I'll totally consider this, that way we can have a meal at some of the restaurants and have meals from our backpack.
Hey do you know if this is the same for Universal Studios?

 

[Jesus Garcia]

The Disney Atmosphere is included in your ticket price, so TRY to take it slow, go in realizing that doing every ride will be impossible, try to catch a show (Mickey and the Magical Map in Fantasyland is a good one, with all the Disney movie music you grew up with) or parade, enjoy other guests experiencing the magic, meet Mickey and take a picture, sit on a bench, listen to the music and soak it IN! It is very difficult to do this when you don't get to visit often, but it is very much part of the experience amd shouldn't be missed!

Have fun planning!

Thank you very much, I have high expectations on this trip, it should be unforgettable as well as I still remember the first time I went in 1998.

 

[Westcoastwild]

Thank you very much for a very kind response.

Unfortunately I can't plan any of this with my wife since it is supposed to be a surprise, so I'll have to do all the planning by myself, but I'll check all the points you mentioned, specially the one related with food

Again, thank you.

I did not catch the surprise bit.

To be perfectly honest. In that case I'd buy a 3 day park hopper and then pick at least one nice place for table service that you know she'd love- my top picks would be blue bayou or Carthay circle


And then budget for souvenirs and over budget for food because if you have no agreement on budget goin in, you really can't say "this is my budget".

Also you don't mention how familiar you are with LA. Have you driven there as an adult? Because if the person who is not familiar with the area google mapped it and said an hour driving time, it could be 2-3 times that in reality as you'd probably be driving it during rush hour on the way there. And then you'd be driving back at least an hour at night.

My two cents? I'd set yourself up for success and do 2 nights near Disney. Even if it's motel 6 or the Fullerton hostel. If it's the latter you'd still be paying parking but you wouldn't have the drive from Anaheim to riverside early and late.

(Unless you have extensive driving experience in LA and then never mind, you know what you're in for.)

 

[Jesus Garcia]

I did not catch the surprise bit.

No experience at all, I live in Texas by the way, and... I'm hoping my wife's uncle to give us a few tips once we're there (besides from letting us stay at his place haha) but the thing that worries me the most right now is the money, I'm considering L.A. or Vegas but since she loves The Walking Dead I think she'd prefer Universal Studios and Disneyland well... that's something extra.