Is a budget trip better than no trip?

[floydfamily4]

I just found out that my DH has a conference in Anaheim at the convention center in February '12. He mentioned that it might be a nice idea for me to tag along with our twin 7 year olds to see Disneyland. His flight, food, and hotel is covered by his job. He always stays at a Residence Inn when possible so our room would be covered. Even with those costs covered it would still be a budget trip for us since we have to travel half-way across the country this fall which is basically our vacation budget $3k. So, my question to the veterans is "is a budget trip better than NO trip to Disneyland?" Meaning watching how much we spend on meals, limited souvies, no rental car - that kind of stuff. We took the kids to WDW for their 5th bday and would love a cruise as well as visiting DL some day. Because I know nothing about DL I would love some advice. Thanks much!!

Dawn

 

[marciemouse]

YES! At least I think so! Your biggest expense (other than airfare) would probably be your actual Disneyland passes. Staying in a Residence Inn (which, by the way, is tripadvisor's #7 of 106 Anaheim hotels!) you'd have a kitchen, enabling you to do meals there if needed to save money. Plus, I think they have free breakfast and a "light snack" dinner each day. We pick up a few dollar store or Target dollar section "souvenirs" and dole them out to our kids while we're there, saving the $ on overpriced souvenirs. If I was you, I'd totally go for it! Have fun!

 

[marciemouse]

Oh, and Disneyland is totally compact enough that no rental car is needed at all. We drive from Phoenix and rarely use our car at all during our stay. There's the ART shuttle if you want to explore out a little further, though you'll likely want to be at DL most of the time!

 

[canopynut66]

I just found out that my DH has a conference in Anaheim at the convention center in February '12. He mentioned that it might be a nice idea for me to tag along with our twin 7 year olds to see Disneyland. His flight, food, and hotel is covered by his job. He always stays at a Residence Inn when possible so our room would be covered. Even with those costs covered it would still be a budget trip for us since we have to travel half-way across the country this fall which is basically our vacation budget $3k. So, my question to the veterans is "is a budget trip better than NO trip to Disneyland?" Meaning watching how much we spend on meals, limited souvies, no rental car - that kind of stuff. We took the kids to WDW for their 5th bday and would love a cruise as well as visiting DL some day. Because I know nothing about DL I would love some advice. Thanks much!!

Dawn

We --prefer 12 days at WDW or 7 at DL ---but ANY trip is better than NO trip IMO

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

Totally worth it.

You could get by on just a few days easy in DLR. There's a subway really close outside of the park..and other places to eat not in the park. There's ALWAYS a budget thread floating around in here

 

[StageTek]

Meaning watching how much we spend on meals, limited souvies, no rental car - that kind of stuff.

We have taken a couple of WDW trips using this method.

For the first day not getting any souvenirs seemed like the
end of the world. But it was no time at all when the rides
and the fun overshadowed the lack of souvenirs. Without a
rental car - more time in the parks!

I uses WDW as my example because we spend a lot of time
at the DLR and watching what we eat and not souvenirs is
no problem at all.

 

[todzwife]

Heck yes! I was trying desperately to convince DH of a budget trip this fall. The lowest I could get it to was $2500 for everything which, unfortunately is better spent paying off the car so we have to wait until next year.

If you can go, ANY trip is better than no trip!

 

[DorkyDisneyMom]

Any Disney is better than no Disney IMO. I'm sure your kids will agree with that.

Just tell the kids that you will be watching your pennies so they will have to limit their budgets for souvenirs. They are old enough that they should be able to help you out with that. You can also look at menus on All Ears and that will help you with your food budget in the park. RI has a kitchen so that would also be a benefit.

I have been to both WDW and Disneyland and they are so different but I love them both. You really should come and walk where Walt did.

 

[MyYearWithTheMouse]

I'm with the "yes, come!" folks . I really think that DL is much easier to do on a budget than WDW just because you have so many other options that aren't Disney-controlled. Staying in the suites would be a great advantage. Vons (local grocery store) has a delivery service and I think even your first delivery might be free (definitely check that). Get some granola bars and snacks, and sandwich fixin's, and you're good to go for lunches there. There are several inexpensive places to eat around the parks too, like Mimi's Cafe, McDonalds, and Denny's. For souvenirs, you could quietly speak to any family members who give gifts for Christmas/Hanukkah and ask for "Disneyland Souvenir Cash" or they can go to any Disney store and get a Disney gift card as a gift, and you can too.

 

[floydfamily4]

Wow. You all know how to make a girl think a dream is possible I will have to begin really reading on this forum to learn more about DL. I think the reason we loved WDW so much was due to good planning. Please continue to share your budget tips so that I can really make this happen

 

[Dobie]

I'm having trouble figuring how you could possibly spend three grand on three plan tickets, food, and four park passes...

 

[marciemouse]

I'm with the "yes, come!" folks . I really think that DL is much easier to do on a budget than WDW just because you have so many other options that aren't Disney-controlled. Staying in the suites would be a great advantage. Vons (local grocery store) has a delivery service and I think even your first delivery might be free (definitely check that). Get some granola bars and snacks, and sandwich fixin's, and you're good to go for lunches there. There are several inexpensive places to eat around the parks too, like Mimi's Cafe, McDonalds, and Denny's. For souvenirs, you could quietly speak to any family members who give gifts for Christmas/Hanukkah and ask for "Disneyland Souvenir Cash" or they can go to any Disney store and get a Disney gift card as a gift, and you can too.

Asking for Disney gift cards is a great idea. In fact, a friend recently did that and received some more $$ towards their budget trip scheduled for later this year.

Totally look into the hotel's free food options! That could really save you quite a bit.
If you intend to use ART, buy passes in advance online at getawaytoday.com to get the kids' tickets free and a discount on the adult tickets.
Read though Hydroguy's first-timer guide thread on here.

And realize that DLR is considerably easier to do in fewer days... you're not going to need a 5 day parkhopper! We usually do two and a half days. February is low season for crowds (and prices!) which means less waiting and more attractions in fewer days.

Look into airfare to multiple airports (SNA, LAX) and weigh out which is the best value, remembering to include shuttle or taxi service to your hotel. (Maybe that will be covered by your hubby's employer if you do a flat fee service like a taxi or town car instead of a per person deal like a shuttle!)

You can do it!

 

[SplashMo]

Yes,

You will have a blast. And not buying stuff means more time in the parks.

 

[floydfamily4]

I'm having trouble figuring how you could possibly spend three grand on three plan tickets, food, and four park passes...

No...that is what we had to spend this fall to go to see my family for a week. Air, hotel, car, etc. for four of us. I would rather go to disney but my kids haven't seen my dad in almost 3 years and we needed to see my side of the family. The DL trip would be an add on to our budget that wasn't planned for. Hope that is more clear

 

[spiderdust]

Put me in the "heck, yes!" camp!

Here's some of the things we've done on budget trips:

• brought hot cocoa with us to have in the room with a Mickey cookie or other treat (either bought in the park or brought from home)
• packed juice boxes or other fun snacks in the diaper bag to bring in the park
• getting glow sticks from the dollar store & pulling them out during the fireworks (much cheaper than those flashy light things they sell in the firework areas)
• bringing in an empty water bottle & filling it with filtered water at The Plaza Pavillion, The French Market, Rancho del Zocalo, or Tomorrowland Terrace (and I think the 1st aid station)
• if you have a fridge & microwave in your room, bringing microwavable breakfast sandwiches to eat in line at the park in the mornings
• White Water Snacks has decent counter service meals (although they're kinda slow in the morning -- don't waste valuable morning park time here during breakfast!) and are a good choice for dinner or lunchtime during the long-lines portion of the day
• another breakfast option: buy shelf stable milk at the dollar store, have with cereal and bananas in your room
• while at the dollar store, keep an eye out for Disney items that might work as "souvenirs" to pull out for your kids
• don't forget to bring enough sunscreen, batteries, mister fans, etc. They cost a pretty penny inside the park.
• if you get frozen lemonade, ask for extra straws and split it between 2 kids -- trust me, that will be plenty!
• only get 1 candy apple & have it cut up to share with your whole family
• If you want a sit-down meal inside the park, Cafe Orleans serves pretty much the same food as Blue Bayou but is MUCH cheaper

 

[spacemermaid]

Another vote for "you should totally go!"

And, echoing what others have said, the ART bus is a great option if you don't want to rent a car. I actually prefer to not rent a car whilst there...not only does it save money (not just on the rental itsself but on parking at both the hotel and the Park), I have found that it's much less stressful to just ride the bus and/or walk. But then, I've no kids, so YMMV

 

[Dobie]

No...that is what we had to spend this fall to go to see my family for a week. Air, hotel, car, etc. for four of us. I would rather go to disney but my kids haven't seen my dad in almost 3 years and we needed to see my side of the family. The DL trip would be an add on to our budget that wasn't planned for. Hope that is more clear

But if hotel is free, and DH's food is free, and you are just feeding yourself and two 7 year olds, this should be doable for way less than 3 grand. Three grand is what I budget for three adults, staying on property for 4-5 nights, including air.

 

[starshine514]

Definitely watch for airfare sales! When we booked our airfare for WDW last year (from Arizona), we watched and booked on Southwest as soon as they opened up that timeframe. We got tickets for $99 each way! I reiterate looking at alternate airports (on both ends, though I would much rather fly in to a different airport than fly out of Phoenix b/c then I have to factor in parking my vehicle, while when we fly out of Tucson, I can always find somebody to drop us off/pick us up at the airport).

I would hold off on buying tickets, as Disney may be running a ticket sale during that timeframe. Also, be sure to look at convention tickets for your husband, as that may (or may not) be his cheapest option if he'll only join you in the evenings.

Getawaytoday has good discounts on ART passes, though I haven't used ART.

We take in trail mix, granola bars and PB & J sandwiches, so we don't have to buy much at the parks. We bought corn dogs for lunch one day, and caramel corn and pretzels the other the last time we were there (when we only stayed half a day, we just got lunch across the street on our way out of town - oh, and we did go out to dinner w/friends at an offsite restaurant, so that helped w/ food costs as well). I venture that we spent less than $50 on food for 2.5 days (2 adults, 2 kids), and I'd probably spent about $10 on the snacks and such we brought in with us.

 

[DisSarahK]

Oh gosh, YES! That is how both of our prior trips have been--and they've been GREAT! We're splurging on this trip (at the Disneyland Hotel) because it is our tenth anniversary trip...but typically we stay at budget places.

We don't buy much, we stay off-site, and we don't eat much in the parks--and we have a wonderful time with lots of magical memories! Minnie Mouse leaves my children little Disney themed presents every morning (they wake up to them) so that helps with the "not buying much stuff" side of things.

 

[mybestieismickey]

Budget is definitely better than not at all!

If you're staying at residence inn, you'll be golden for breakfast. We did a week there in DC last year and their breakfast was awesome! Eggs, potatoes, waffles, bacon, oatmeal and assorted cold things like bagels and cereal. Held us over quite nicely till lunch.

When we go budget we stick to cs or bring sandwiches with. Our favorite is corn dog castle at dca. The other thing we do regardless of the budget is we buy 6 packs of bottled sodas. The 20 oz ones and carry those in. Water too. I would rather $4-5 for 6 than $2.50 each and DH only really drinks Mtn. Dew which doesn't exist in the Disney realm.

For souvenirs, just give each kid a gift card with a set amount on it. When its gone its gone. That way they will have to really figure out what they want. Plus they get to have the experience of figuring out value vs. cost.

If you decide to go, I promise you can have a great time on a budget!