Would you share your $ saving tips with me?

[CandMmommy]

Hi! We've been to DL twice in 12 and 13. We are now traveling as a family of 5. Girls are 10, 7 and 2.5 years old.
We are staying at HOJO in a kid suite in October.
What are some things you've done to save $? We haven't bought tickets or purchased our flight ( will book 1st week of Aug)
My parents are giving the girls $50 each on a gift card for their own souvineers.
Anything food wise or otherwise that can help...
Thank you!

 

[sharksfinatic17]

I buy my tickets from Last Minute Travel Club which saves a significant amount of money. They will email you a voucher which you will then turn in for tickets at the turnstile.

We either bring, have delivered or go to a store for snacks, breakfast (if the hotel doesn't have it), and one meal (sandwiches) for in the park. We have found that we like to have a later lunch in Disneyland (cheaper than dinner) and then we just have a sandwich later on or snacks.

 

[Nonsuch]

Buy a case of water for the hotel room, and have each person carry one bottle into the park.

 

[jammyjam25]

Bringing in snacks (granola bars, etc.) for your girls can save you a lot of money versus buying snacks every time someone gets hungry. You can bring in water bottles as well which is a big money saver. Splitting meals can also save you bunches. We've found that even most quick-serve meals are large enough to split between two adults, especially at places like Rancho del Zocalo or Hungry Bear.

I know there's some places near the park (Mimi's, etc.) that offer coupons for things like a free pack of muffins that people here frequently take advantage of as well. - http://www.mimiscafe.com/eclub.aspx.

 

[Angrose]

Since you are staying at Hojo, you will have some inexpensive food options close to you. My DS8 does not like a lot of the food in the parks so we saved a ton of money by letting him eat one meal a day at McDonalds and then packing something for him for the other times. There is also Pizza Press which is at the Carousel hotel and I've heard they have really yummy $10 pizzas. We also ate breakfast in the room. I packed some bowls and a box of cereal and bananas and bought milk in the little store there at Hojo. Their little is store is really expensive so, depending on the number of days you are there, it may be a good idea to get groceries delivered from Von's or if you have a car you can do a grocery run when you get there.

For tickets, there isn't much you can do for savings. Usually you can save between 5-10% buying from 3rd party vendors like LMTClub.com, Ares or Orbitz. If you do Ebates then you can watch for extra cash back from Orbitz. Disney tickets are classified at "Activities" on their site. You can also save by getting one-park per day tickets instead of parkhoppers, if you think that would work for your family. If you have a Redcard from Target then you can save 5% when buying Disney Gift Cards.

Souvenirs are EXPENSIVE, so $50 doesn't always go very far in the parks. I read a good idea on these boards that can take pictures each day of the things the kids want to buy and then decide at the end of the trip which things to get.

Have fun!!

 

[CateinPhoenix]

I agree with the others, have breakfast in the room or on the way to the parks, bring snacks/sandwiches food and water bottles in for during the day and stick to having one meal inside. We buy giftcards through Target and use those for meals/souvenirs.

 

[DizMe]

One time I tried this: every time I thought about buying a coffee drink, I put $5 into my vacation wallet instead. I didn't think I got coffee that often, but I was surprised at how quickly that money added up.

And speaking of vacation wallet, that is my most successful method of saving. If I have some spare bills in my regular wallet, I will stick them in a vacation wallet I keep in my nightstand drawer, buried under my socks. Bonus money, I do the same. Sometimes I get an extra $20 cash at the grocery store and stick it in the wallet. Amazingly, I sort of forget it's there and am surprised when a vacation comes along and I have a bunch of stashed cash.

I also have a Capital One 360 checking account. Its sole purpose is to give me a vacation account. I have a debit card for it but no checks, and I have $200 auto transferred into it every month from my REAL checking account at another bank. There are no fees and I can transfer the money back to my main account if I need to. I love it but I do tend to raid that one if funds become low during the month. I'm not sure why I forget about the cash in my vacation wallet

 

[mpadilla89]

we always save spare change and when a trip to DL comes around we roll up and exchange it we can usually save quite a lot you could save more if you use cash more often i rarely carry cash so we don't get a whole lot but it helps. And I let DD know she has say $40 to buy what ever she likes as a souvenier i prefer something she can keep using like shirt/ sweater and that way she looks around and keeps tabs on what she likes and will usually buy either at the end or close once she is sure what she wants to use her money on?

We also bring granola bars/ fruit snacks/protein bars and refillable water bottle.

I also use apps like ibotta that give you $$ and i transfer it to my paypal once we are going on a trip i have about $60 that i have accumulated since xmas and again i forget to do it sometimes so if you really want to save those apps could really help

 

[agamble]

Do you have a Disney Visa? If you don’t you can get a sign-up bonus. Find a friend who has one and ask them to refer you as you’ll both get a bonus.


We use our Disney Reward points to help pay for food in the parks. But we also bring in food, and water. Some of the kids’ meal choices aren’t that great, so before our last trip I decided on restaurants where the kids were going to eat Disney food and on some where they would be eating brought in food even though DH and I were having a meal from Disneyland. We also shared our food with them at some restaurants. They didn’t care because I brought them some of their favorite snacks to eat. We usually bring lunch/snacks to eat most of the day then eat a good dinner at the park. Also, if there are some treats you just have to have, consider having them in place of a larger meal along with some snacks. You’ll save calories and cash.


I buy the kids T-shirts before we go because they’re cheaper at places like The Children’s Place, Target, or Wal-Mart than the parks. They often have good choices, especially if you look online. Even the Disney Store is usually cheaper than Disneyland.

 

[tlovesdis]

I do two things that help me have extra spending money for any kind of trip I take. I save change and I save $1 bills! I pay with things mostly with cash so I always have lots of change and ones. Last time I cashed everything in I had over $100 in coins and over $200 in ones! I am currently saving these for my wdw trip in February!

At the parks, we always bring in a water bottle and refill it throughout the day and we bring in snacks so we don't buy too much junk! We also try and split meals whenever possible! My niece and I just did a trip in June and we pretty much split everything except for the corn dogs!

 

[tinkerszs]

We brought two camel back backpacks into the park. We kept it filled with water. I also made homemade trail mix that we snacked on. I also had beef jerky to snack on in the park. We ate a late dinner outside of the park.

 

[Bud Ice]

Shakey's Lunch Buffet 11a-2pm. Pizza, Chicken, Pasta, Salad Bar, Drink for under $10 per person.

Ball & Harbor intersection. Right near DTD/DLR Parking Entrance for Mickey.

http://www.shakeys.com/location/california/anaheim


John's Incredible Pizza (More near Knotts - has wifi)

Lunch Buffet and Large Arcade with rides for $15 per person

https://www.johnspizza.com/Buena-Park


For Snack Foods...

Euclid & Ball
---------------
99 Cents Store has Water and 2-Liter Bottles of Pepsi Products for $1, picnic/party supplies

Euclid & Katella
-----------------
Normal Foodstuff and Drinkstuff prices...
Walmart Neighborhood Market
Food 4 Less

Harbor & Chapman
---------------------
Target

 

[offwithyourhead]

I made a post here with a lot of info: http://www.disboards.com/threads/ho...r-food-and-incidentals.3447207/#post-54415480

My best advice is not to eat much in the parks. Bring in as much as you can, buy stuff from Target, and save your in-park food money for treats the girls will remember. Nobody at 10 or younger is gonna remember eating chicken strips at Disneyland, it will not be a highlight like a Mickey-shaped something would be.

 

[julesann]

Everyone here has great ideas. Before you book tickets, check Orbitz and Ebates--sometimes Orbitz has an added PH day for no extra cost. I found bringing in snacks to be a great money saver as well as splitting meals and carrying a refillable water bottle. I save money for DL by buying Disney Gift cards at Target with my Target credit card; I then get 5% off and I accumulate a vacation savings that can go towards anything in parks. I also found it helpful to give my kids a limit on spending money for souvenirs and helped them manage it.

I also like to buy little disney themed gifts ahead of time. If you think you might buy t-shirts or costumes in the parks--they are much less expensive to buy before you get there.

 

[GenGen22]

Go to mousesavers.com and read the area under meals. It shows you about the coupons on food you can get. Also you can get coupons here: http://visitanaheim.org/deals/coupons

 

[ehrawn]

We do a few things differently than you to save a few dollars. First, we combine our visits to see family in SOCAL with a side trip to Anaheim (one set of plane tickets instead of two/three/four). We stay in a vacation rental which allows us to split the lodging cost between multiple families. We cook and most meals at the rental (which we can do because we have a kitchen) and bring snacks into the Park. Costs for food are saved by buying in bulk, too. We incur more costs because we have to rent a car and pay for parking, but we would have had to pay similar costs for a visit with family anyways, so I see that as a wash.

Even if you don't have the same family situation as us, as others have stated, avoid Park food at all cost. That's where I'd start looking to save money.

 

[WonkaKid]

Buy a case of water for the hotel room, and have each person carry one bottle into the park.

Yes, good idea. Additionally, refill them throughout the day at restaurants such as Rancho del Zocalo and French Market, to name a few. Lastly, corn dogs are markedly cheaper at Golden Horseshoe Saloon (I'm told -- longtime vegetarian, myself) than at the wagon just off of Main Street.

 

[bcla]

Yeah, while official policy is that outside food isn't allowed, the reality is that it is within reason. If you bring in assembled sandwiches or a bag of chips, you'll be fine. While official policy says no outside beverages, a soft sided cooler the size of a six pack is allowed. If you're making sandwiches in the park, you may have it taken away. If you set up a picnic or eat them at restaurant seating, you may get in trouble.

I've dropped outside food and even spilled a can of Coke and CMs picked them up or offered to clean it up.

 

[rentayenta]

Sharing entrees is our number one way to save money. Plus it's easier to tour when we're not stuffed.

Bringing our own water bottles in.

Bringing our own beverages when at the pool.

We always bring a few Disney plush toys with us. Even as our children have aged, they love having a Disney plush to cuddle with at night.

 

[brymolmom]

How much is HOJO? I couldn't find a decent enough deal for there for our dates so I decided I'll be 'saving' money by going to the new Homewood Suites - Convention Center. I have a teenaged boy though so not sure that OP will save as much. There is a full, hot breakfast included there...so my plan is to have a nice big breakfast every day, then bring a bunch of snacks and drinks to the parks and likely have ice cream as our 'lunch' in the park. Then for dinner Homewood also has free drinks and food Mon - Thu which we will take advantage of 2 of the nights. On the days we'll be at the park later - I plan to bring sandwiches in a cooler - get a locker outside the parks and eat in the picnic area there. Honestly I am anticipating that this will be one of the lowest food budgets for a vacation in a long while. I did book one table service meal, but hope to have enough Rewards points to pay for that one.