Disneyland can be one of the most expensive trips to take with your family. I've even seen the dad shirts that say "Most expensive day ever", "Bibbidi Bobbidi broke" or even "I'm just here to pay for everything"! While funny, it can be true.
But it doesn't have to be!! Here are some hacks to help you save on your next Disney trip!
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How to Save Money in Disneyland:
Buying Your Ticket:
There are days that are cheaper than others so if you have some flexibility, plan your trip around the lower-cost days. For most of the year, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the cheapest days of the week.
Hotel:
I always use Travel Transparency to book all of our hotels. It gives us wholesale rates that are not available on traditional hotel platforms. This is a paid membership but you can try it for free with no strings attached with a personal invite from me!! Make sure you choose a hotel that either has a shuttle or is within walking distance to the park entrance. That way you save $30 a day on Disneyland parking.
Some walking distance hotels include:
- Courtyard Anaheim Theme Park Entrance ( there are two Courtyard by Marriotts in the area one is close to the entrance the other is a few blocks away!)
- Howard Johnson by Wyndham Anaheim Hotel & Water Playground
- Hyatt House Anaheim
- Fairfield Inn Anaheim
For the dates I checked all of these hotels had a discount of about 20% with Travel Transparency.
Check your dates and see how much you can save! Input your email and I will send you a personalized invite with access to the platform.
Bring a Stroller, NOT a Wagon:
Sadly Disney does not allow wagons so we were not able to bring our beloved Wonderfold Wagon. Good thing we still had our double stroller! The double stroller we have is the contour curve stroller and I love it! It is easy to switch the seats around, has a very large shade and a large basket underneath which allowed me to fit everything we needed for the day!
But if you do use wagons often please remember you can not use them in the park unless your child has a condition that requires a wagon.
Making sure you are aware of this rule will save you money and frustration with security by not needing to rent a stroller!
Food:
The best way to save money at Disneyland is to buy snacks ahead of time. Both parks allow you to bring in food and drinks! The whole day at the park we only spent $5 on a bag of cotton candy! That’s it! $5 for the whole day!
When buying our treats for the day I always look for Disney-themed snacks that way you still have Disney vibes!
We don't usually eat lunch but if you do you can pack lunch! We had breakfast before getting there and went to Korean bbq after we left! So yummy!!
In our snack bag, we had:
Our homemade Mickey Mouse rice krispies that we made together as a family! These sell for $6 at the parks
Applesauce pouches
Candy! I let each of my kids choose a candy at the grocery store to take to Disneyland. My son chose push-pop lollipops and these were a great option because you can put the lid back on. While there I saw that one bag of gummy worms is $7. I spent less than that on both of their candies.
Pirates booty which I put in reusable zip-loc bags to save space!
My husband and I are on the keto diet so we brought :
Keto chips 3 net carbs and full of cheesy deliciousness!
Almonds! These are so good!! Try all of the flavors!!
In our cooler, we brought:
I have had this cooler for a few years now, it is great and affordable. I really like that the sides collapse so that you could put it in your luggage easily without taking up much space.
In our cooler, we brought:
Gatorade Zero
Disney Zevia Lemonade, The kids are already going to eat a lot more sugar than normal and might as well leave the sugar out of their drinks!
Milk boxes
Cheese sticks
Cut up strawberries
Bubble Wands:
The last thing we brought was bubble wands! It’s no surprise that kids love bubbles!! Bubble wands at Disneyland cost $30. I was able to find these online for $15 each in Mickey and Minnie Mouse.
My son's button did get stuck for a little while so we had a few minutes of constant bubbles but in the end, it was worth it. They dropped them so many times and they still work great. Just make sure you add batteries before you leave the house. You can also buy extra bubbles at the dollar tree and have an endless supply of bubbles!!! YAYYY Bubbles for everyone !!!
I was hesitant to mention these wands because my sons got stuck but when a dad asked me where I got the Mickey Mouse wand I realized that they were only selling little mermaid. Buying just one little mermaid wand would have been a recipe for disaster. So in, the end I decided they were worth it!!
Grocery Delivery:
When ordering treats make sure to use Amazon or Shipt with your local grocery store or Target to save time! You can sign up with my link and save $10 off your yearly membership! Not just $10 but hours worth of shopping and all that money you spend in Target on things you didn't go in for!!! CLICK HERE to sign up.
Disneyland can be the Happiest and the most expensive place on earth but you can always make it fit into your budget! I hope you found some tips to help make your Disney trip one to remember and not just for the price tag!!
If you have any tips please share in the comments!! I would love to hear it!