Disneyland on a Budget

Are you going to Disneyland soon? Taking your family to Disneyland is never cheap, but there are things you can do to save money. I have brought my children there numerous times and love to find new deals that will conserve my money. I figure the less I spend, the more trips I will be able to take. I want to share just a few of the tips I have learned along the way that may help.



One of your largest expenses will be your tickets. Never buy them at the entrance to Disneyland where they are full price. There are many places to buy discounted tickets before you go, from online to AAA or Costco. You will save the most by buying a five day hopper pass to Disneyland and California Adventure. A family of four will cost $936 for five days. That averages to $46.80 per day per person. That sounds great when you compare it to the $91 per day cost that you will be charged at the gate. There is only one problem, most families do not want to go there for five days. I found a way to have your cake and eat it too, share with another family on Craigslist. You can go to Craigslist.com and post a listing to share your five day tickets with someone. For example, if you only want to use two of the five day tickets, you will post the other three days for sale. It is a win win situation for both families. Buying separately two or three day passes will not save close to the amount a five day will. In addition, you will see postings from other families doing the same thing.



Is this safe? I can only tell you that I tried this six months ago and it worked beautifully for me, with a savings of over $100. I found a family on craigslist that lived close by me and was also planning a trip to Disneyland. They were planning to go the week after me and needed three day passes. After coming to my house and seeing the passes they gave me a check which was post dated to the date they would pick them up from me. This way we both felt confident that the sale would take place. Because the five day passes are on one ticket, you can not sell them ahead of time. You will want to come up with a plan in which you know that the family you are sharing them with, will buy them when you get back and the family needs to feel comfortable that they will get the tickets. For me, It worked out very well because I knew the family would buy the remaining passes due to the post dated check I had of theirs.

You can save even more money by going to Disneyland in the off season. My favorite months to go are in April (avoid spring break) and October. The weather is wonderful, warm and pleasant but not too hot. What I like the most though, is how short the lines are. The longer you spend in lines, the more time you will spend at the park which will cost you more money. The food and drinks are outrageously priced there. Time is money, especially at Disneyland. I stayed at the Howard Johnson's, across the street from the park. With my airline discount, it was only $60 a night. The hotel is nothing fancy but has pools, a game room, a small grocery store and a cheap restaurant attached to its parking lot. It is definitely geared for families and very reasonable in the off season. Because the lines were short, we went on a good chunk of rides on our list by lunch time. It saved us time to go back to the hotel for swimming, lunch, rest and an early dinner. In the evening we finished our list of rides and enjoyed the fabulous night shows which I highly recommend.

Disneyland is a great family vacation your kids will enjoy and with careful planning, you do not have to break the bank. Take my advice, save money by sharing your tickets and going in the off season.