Planning a bare-budget trip - help!

[SnapPea]

My husband and I want to take the kids, ages 5 and 2, down to Disneyland for the first time in October. We're flexible on dates.

We'll be driving down (about 7 hours), and we're planning on a day driving down, three days there, and a day driving back. We'll need four nights in a hotel - hopefully one within walking distance - and three single-park passes as we're not planning on park hopping.

I'm planning on eating breakfast in the room, truck in our own snacks and lunches, and then eat dinner at nearby inexpensive restaurants.

We're members of Costco and AAA, and have the Entertainment book. I'm a regular on restaurants.com and plan on using that for less expensive nearby dinners.

I'm hoping to spend under $1500. Guide me to the best deals!

 

[Lissame]

Don't quote me on this, but I don't think there's any such thing as a 3-day one park (non-parkhopper) ticket. I think the only non PH would be a 1-day, and by far it would be cheaper to buy the 3-day PH rather than three separate 1-day passes.

 

[SnapPea]

Good to know!

Are there any legitimate places to get discounted tickets?

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

Good to know!

Are there any legitimate places to get discounted tickets?

Last minute travel seems to have the best deals according to reports on here. There is a thread somewhere on it.

I'd check out Entertainment rates at HOJOs, or maybe a good deal through getawaytoday.com (often have 3rd or 4th night free with or without tickets).

Here's the info on the ET rate at HOJOS. There are a lot available for October. You need to call the hotel directly during business hours to get the $59 rate.

 

[chrissiecutie]

To the OP- you CAN easily do this for $1500!!

My family of 3 will be going the end of this month for approx. 9 days and our total cost is $1500. This includes gas roundtrip for driving down, 7 nights in a hotel and all our food. The only thing not included is our souviners, which should not be much since DS has his money all saved and will be spending his own money on his souviners. So our total buget is around $1500.

Now I know you have a bigger family then me but if I can do 9 days at $1500 then you can do 5 days at the same! Just thought you might like some positive thinking!

Here's what we are doing:

Driving from WA to CA- 19 hours. Leave Wed night after dinner and drive straight through. Gas (which I calculated based on miles and mpg for our car) is $125. Pack all food for driving, bring mini BBQ and cook at rest stops along the way.

Arrive at Grandma's retirement home on Thursday late afternoon and spend 1 night in their guest apartments, $55. Food is covered- free.

Travel to HoJo's on Friday night, spend 6 nights. Entertainment rate $59 plus tax, so approx. $70 night, total of $420.

Bought discounted tickets from Disneyland.com for 5 day park hoppers for price of 3. Total $522.

Will make muffins and cook breakfast at hotel. Bring in lunch, snack items, all drinks. Eat in park at CS or carts and split meals between the 3 of us. Total per day for 4 days approx. $50, total $200. Will take one day of rest to play at water park/pool at HoJo's and cook meals in room on BBQ.

Leave Wed night after dinner and drive straight home, 19 hours. Total for gas one way, $125.

Now I've overestimated on gas prices and food as these may be more expensive then I've budgeted. However I did look at menus for the parks and tried to figure out the cheapest places to eat while inside the parks. I suggest allears.net. Some days will be around $50 and other days only $25-30 for food. By overestimating on these 2 things, I've given myself room to spend a bit more. Like buy a souviner or eat lunch at In N Out!

We also will not be staying at a hotel on the drive down and back, which saves us about $200. By packing all our own food for the drive that saves us roughly another $100. Now this sounds crazy to alot of folks, but it works out great for us! It's definately not for the faint of heart!

Check out the Entertaiment card rates at the HoJo's- amazing deal! I looked into AAA for park tickets but the promotion they were offering ended the end of April. So it was actually cheaper to buy directly through Disney. You can buy just park tickets on their website and choose to print them out so that you can avoid the "will call/pickup" fees.

I also suggest that you pack in as much of your own food as possible. Especially for the kiddos! My family of 3 will usually split 2 adult plates, or 1 ice cream treat and we always bring in our own sodas, juice, water bottles- those drinks can really add up! DS doesn't eat much of the food in the parks, no cheeseburgers, chicken nuggets etc so if I know we are going to be eating someplace he won't, then I will make a PB & J and we are good to go. You can also try the turkey leg carts, we don't like the turkey legs but do eat the chimichanges they sell there, at $5.50 each- you can't find a better deal! The corn dog/hot dog carts are also a good deal! For a more filling meal we love the soup and bread bowls and will usually buy 2 and share for a total of $18.

Total $1447 for a family of 3 for 9 days total. You CAN DO IT!!!

 

[DSNY4ever]

I agree wit the others. Yes, this is do-able. We bring our own food/snacks/water bottles/and eat breakfast in the room too. And yes, you can only get park hoppers anyway and trust me you WILL park hop. It is too easy not to.

Have a great time!

ETA: I am assuming the previous poster is not BBQ-ing "in" their room- please don't do that it's dangerous. But you can easily bring sandwich stuff, and make instant oatmeal or cup of noodles- stuff like that with your coffee maker in the room and if you get a room with a microwave, you have even more options. We bring muffins like others suggested or granola bars and apples/bananas.

 

[SnapPea]

Excellent! Could you share the link for Last Minute Travel?

Thanks for the link to the Howard Johnsons! That cuts my estimate by a good chunk, and can get me much closer to my husband's preferred budget of $1200! It also looks like Grandma is coming along now, after chatting about this all day with her here! She'll be paying her own way, so I'm not including her in the budget.

My current $1250 budget:

$120 - gas to get there, get around, and get home (thank goodness for a fuel efficient vehicle!)
$280 - 4 nights at Howard Johnson's
$532 - tickets - 2 adults, 1 child, 1 infant for 3 days
$125 - 5 dinners, $27 each (this is average if I'm using 80% off restaurant.com GCs - $2 for the GC, $25 for dinner, tax and tip for our family)
$50 - One meal in the park near the parade route
$100 - miscellaneous expenses
Total: $1232

If I can shave a little off the ticket price, I'll be golden.

I'm not budgeting groceries, as I would be paying for groceries for that time either way. I'm also not budgeting for souvenirs; my kids are little and don't expect stuff from gift shops, and I'll be providing little treats, new Disney T-shirts, and a stuffed animal in the room for each kid - all bought at clearance prices, of course.

We can play in the pool the morning before going home.

 

[letthembelittle]

I think that your budget is totally doable. We just got back from our trip and spent just under $1000 for the five of us (we have season passes so that isnt included in that cost). That includes all our gas from the SLC area, a hotel room on the way down, and everything else while we were there. We stayed at the Comfort Inn Maingate in the kids suite for 5 nights (we booked through Get Away Today using the buy 3 nights get 2 nights for free promo last November) it was about $425. We ate the breakfast that the hotel provided for free. We bought ART passes to drive us back and forth, about $40. We bought sandwich stuff from Vons and kept in in our hotel room fridge and went back every afternoon for lunch (and naps!), about $40. We ate dinner at the park once and at other resturants outside the park the other nights. The kids usually just shared whatever we ordered. We let the kids get a new stuffed animal at Build a Bear and I got a musical snowglobe at Disneyland and we got some Disney stuff at the dollar store for souviners. Hope that helps and have a great trip!!

 

[chrissiecutie]

ETA: I am assuming the previous poster is not BBQ-ing "in" their room- please don't do that it's dangerous. But you can easily bring sandwich stuff, and make instant oatmeal or cup of noodles- stuff like that with your coffee maker in the room and if you get a room with a microwave, you have even more options. We bring muffins like others suggested or granola bars and apples/bananas.

Ha!

I've requested a standard room w/balcony at the HoJo's. So if you see a woman on the balcony with her mini BBQ- that's me!

And if I'm unlucky enough not to get that balcony, then I'll be in the parking lot tailgatin' it!!

So...no....please don't BBQ in your room! But we all knew that, right?

 

[tanyaewa]

If you use AAA you get free parking at Mickey & Friends parking - every day. That means you can stay slightly further out from the entrance.

We used Hotwire & got 5 nights accom for $39 per night. The hotel sucked - lol - but you could *splurge* for a 3 star hotel at $50 per night. And quite honestly we were at DL morning until night so the hotel did the trick. But seriously - don't go for less than 3 star. It's easy to use and the deals can't be beat!

 

[LavenderPeach]

If you use AAA you get free parking at Mickey & Friends parking - every day. That means you can stay slightly further out from the entrance.

We used Hotwire & got 5 nights accom for $39 per night. The hotel sucked - lol - but you could *splurge* for a 3 star hotel at $50 per night. And quite honestly we were at DL morning until night so the hotel did the trick. But seriously - don't go for less than 3 star. It's easy to use and the deals can't be beat!

Yes, we've gotten the Hyatt for around $50 through priceline. Just be aware that the 3+ star hotels (like the hyatt) have parking fees that are around $12-$15. We've also stayed at the Super 8 on Katella which was around $60. They have free parking and a free breakfast (cereal, donughts, muffins and juice). It's not the closest hotel but, imo, it's still within walking distance - as long as you had a stroller for the kids. We had no problem walking it for 2 days with a 4 yo and a 3 yo (in strollers) plus a 10 yo and 14 yo and a 65 yo.

Also, keep in mind that counter service places in the parks might be cheaper than full service restaurants outside the park (assuming you pay full price and not with a restaurants.com gift card). Part of the reason they're cheaper, of course, is because you won't have to pay a tip. Also, the meals are often large enough to share. Carnation Cafe is also relatively cheap for a table service restaurant.

 

[rentayenta]

Also, keep in mind that counter service places in the parks might be cheaper than full service restaurants outside the park (assuming you pay full price and not with a restaurants.com gift card). Part of the reason they're cheaper, of course, is because you won't have to pay a tip. Also, the meals are often large enough to share. Carnation Cafe is also relatively cheap for a table service restaurant.

I agree. Don't discount the food in park too quickly especially if you are open to sharing.

Time is money and I'd have to save a lot of it to spend my precious park time leaving the park just to eat.

 

[LavenderPeach]

I agree. Don't discount the food in park too quickly especially if you are open to sharing.

Time is money and I'd have to save a lot of it to spend my precious park time leaving the park just to eat.

Yes, that is exactly how I look at it too.

 

[SnapPea]

Because we have young kids who will need mid-day naps, staying close enough to walk back for naps is important. The HOJO across the street for $59 a night sounds perfect for us, especially with the fun pool and kids' play area.

I like the idea of barbecuing but that may take more effort than I'm willing to expend at the end of the day. Something like a fresh salad with tuna, quick and tasty without cooking, or meals frozen at home and brought in a cooler to warm in the microwave like chicken curry or chili, could be very affordable and easy at the end of the day, though. Also, I'm thinking that I could put something in a crockpot in the morning and have dinner ready in the room when we return. I may consider that for a few meals instead of going out. That could shave another $100 off of our budget, and if I could get the tickets with a bit of a discount, it may be possible to make it happen for closer to $1000. Awesome!

 

[GrandBob]

I agree, you can't beat HoJo's at the Entertainment card rate. And your kids will love Pirate's Cove! Go for it.

If you want some souvenirs at a discount, check out the Disney Character Warehouse. It's in the Orange Fair shopping center, about 3 miles north on Harbor, here.

 

[BC Disney Lover]

We'll be driving down (about 7 hours), and we're planning on a day driving down, three days there, and a day driving back. We'll need four nights in a hotel - hopefully one within walking distance - and three single-park passes as we're not planning on park hopping.

I think your budget looks good. I was just wondering why you don't plan on parkhopping? We have 3 small kids and couldn't imagine not parkhopping.

Our biggest problem regarding food costs is not planning ahead enough. There are ways of doing it a little cheaper if you plan. We always seem to push it until everyone is starving and we eat at the closest place possible.

 

[stevejanelle]

Remember to add the 15% room tax to total of hotel.

 

[BlueBayou]

I would also suggest park hopping.

I know it does not get wonderful reviews but we end up spending as much time at DCA as we do DL. My DDs are now 7 and 9, but this was the case when they were much younger (even before Bugs Land opened).

In fact, I recall being in DCA in the Hollywood area one night (final night of the trip) when my youngest was 4 or so and asking the girls what they wanted for their final ride... my oldest said Winnie the Pooh - totally at the other end of Disneyland and my oldest wanted the Sun Wheel. Even after explaining to my baby girl how far of a walk it was... she was willing to do it.

My DH and I separated and the girls each got their choice of final rides for the trip. Not the hand holding Disney dream of family togetherness, but our daughters really thought the one-on-one time with a parent was special.

 

[SnapPea]

Remember to add the 15% room tax to total of hotel.

The room is $59 and I'm budgeting $70 to cover the taxes.

I hadn't planned on park hopping because I figured we'd do a thorough sweep of DL for two days, then DCA for one day, and call it a day!

After talking Disney and budgets all day, Mr. Pea (my husband) said, "Oh, there is a (his industry) conference in San Diego in February. If we plan to go around that, (the business) will pay for our travel expenses for gas, a hotel on the way there and the way back, hotel while I'm there, and a per diem for food." Score!

We're now looking at expanding the trip timeline and budget, and we're thinking of getting the Southern California City Pass. They have them at Costco for about $240 per adult, $199 for our older kid, baby is still free, and that will get us 3 days at Disneyland, one at Universal Studios, one at the San Diego Zoo and one at Sea World. He'll be two days at the conference, so Grandma and I can take the kids to Sea World and the zoo on those days.

:dance:

 

[BC Disney Lover]

We did the Citypass one trip and thought it was great!

We like to go to DL in the mornings and then wander over to DCA in the afternoon, then back to DL. Doing the muppets, It's a Bugs Life and spending time in Disney Animation area is a great way to chill out for a bit without leaving the parks.