Disney(land) on a Budget....

[angcould]

So I am planning a trip to DLR in August got a great package deal for the vacation, but have a few questions.... hoping for some feedback.

My travel agent has us booked at the Red Lion, it doesn't appear to be that
far from the main gate she says its on the "ART" bus do we really need to
pay for that? Walking is not a problem for me and my son who will be eleven.

I am also trying to keep our food budget under control so am ordering some supplies to be delivered to our hotel and was wondering about the 7 eleven and the market on the corner of Harbor and Katella has anyone been to the market? is it over priced? We both decided to do a few breakfasts in our room to save time and money especially for our early opening days.... I am still trying to decide if the Fantasmic show premium seats is worth the cost, my son will be the adult price...

We are going to only plan on eating 1 meal in the park a day (lunch) the others outside and bring snacks and water.

How are others coming up with ways to save a bit of money, would love to hear some tips

[3Princesses1Prince]

I don't know how far away the Red Lion is, but on Google maps you can find out how far the walk is (choose the pedestrian icon).

[kiki]

When we take our Disneyland vacations we always bring a cooler filled with water bottles, juice and snacks. This cuts down on the little expenses that you would spend on water and snacks in the park. I don't know if you are driving down since I see that you live in Oregon. We also don't eat alot of lunches in the park. We go back to the pool during lunch hours and someone will go out and bring food back from either Subway which is in the strip mall on Katella and Harbor, MC Donald's or KFC on Katella. We travel in a large group of mainly children, 10 kids aged 16-4 and 4 adults. Cutting our snake purchases in the park drastically increases our budget and opens more money for other spurges.

[mickey4ever]

We do the same thing. We bring water bottles, and those Crystal Light pour ins. or you can use whatever you want. We also pack snacks, cheese sticks protein bars and trail mix. I always buy some snack size candy (usually skittles because they do not melt), or suckers. we have a family of five DD 4DS 8, DS12, myself and DH. We will run to Costco (hotdogs or a whole pizza) eat it in our room. It really does save alot. We also plan ahead for a few Character meals. IHOP across the street has free kids meals everyday after 6pm till midnight. I also make breakfast burrito's ahead of time and then freeze them. Pop in Micro for a minute, and breakfast is served!

[Malcon10t]

My travel agent has us booked at the Red Lion, it doesn't appear to be that
far from the main gate she says its on the "ART" bus do we really need to
pay for that? Walking is not a problem for me and my son who will be eleven.

It is .76 miles. We walk the same distance with 5 and 6 yos. BUT, it is SOOOO long at the end of a long day, or to trek back for an afternoon swim, that you do think twice about whether to go back to Disneyland. What we started doing last trip for my mom is someone drives everyone up to the drop off lot, then goes back and parks, then only that person has to walk back. Last trip, I would have MDM take the kids to get autographs while I ran back to get the car, and by the time I got to drop off, they had autographs and were ready to go.

As for bringing things into the park, we try to pack water (each person brings one, we refill) and maybe a pack of crackers or jerky.

As for eating in the park, most locations meals are huge. Most of the adults in our group will share meals, not to be cheap, but because there is so much food. We have a couple nieces and nephews who eat as much as adults, and I hate buying a kids meal as they don't get filled, so sometimes an adult and one of them share.

Last time we forbid (forbade??) my mom to bring her "suitcase of snacks" she always brings. She was surprised when we didn't have the snack, and ate normal meals, how much better we did.

[angcould]

Lol I should have mentioned that, we are flying down, I am packing a few things in suitcase, granola and such that are non perishable. I am leaning
towards the whole subway/pizza light lunch idea too, leaving a nicer meal
in the evenings......

I know my son would love the idea of swimming and lunch at the hotel, lol
so that may be the thing we do and just skip on most meals in the park. Truth is the food we had last year in the park for the most part wasn't worth
the expense we paid for it.

[nvmom]

and was wondering about the 7 eleven and the market on the corner of Harbor and Katella has anyone been to the market? is it over priced?

Not sure what market you mean but we bought several things at the 7-11 when we stayed at the Desert Palms. We didnt' think the prices were too bad really. We mostly bought parishables like some fresh fruit cups, yogurt, cheese sticks, etc.

nvmom

[Tan Da Man]

I just got back from a 3 day Disneyland trip. I spent about $150 total.


I do have an AP so I didnt have to pay for tickets, and stayed at a friends house so I didnt have to pay for a hotel.

But the $150 was basically gas and food. The gas was split between me and a friend, so I think I ended up paying $70 in gas and the rest on food, and Im a 19 year old college student so I eat a lot . We ate in the park only once, gotta have a bread bowl! So yea, I would say its pretty possible to do Disneyland on a reasonable budget.

[Carina]

I would say if you are getting grocerys delivered from a store ( Vons?) order a case of water

[Foodie]

I would say if you are getting grocerys delivered from a store ( Vons?) order a case of water

I agree with this. I cannot tell you how much money I saved by using my own bottles of water in the park instead of buying them. I bought a case here in Seattle and took them in the car with us. Each day I'd take about four of them in my backpack into the park. I'd save the bottles and when they ran out I bought a gallon of water from the convenience store at my hotel and refilled them. I estimated that it saved me at least $60 by doing this instead of buying them in the park.

Also, take advantage of the children's meals in the park when you can. These come with a small drink and I'd make sure to get a water each time. There's plenty of food in those meals and they're much cheaper.

Good luck and have a great time!

[Malcon10t]

Also, take advantage of the children's meals in the park when you can. These come with a small drink and I'd make sure to get a water each time. There's plenty of food in those meals and they're much cheaper.

Good luck and have a great time!

Just to clarify, I have a 5 and 7yo that we take to DL with us. The children's meals are NOT enough to fill them. YMMV.

[Foodie]

Just to clarify, I have a 5 and 7yo that we take to DL with us. The children's meals are NOT enough to fill them. YMMV.

That is so weird cuz I got them for myself and I'm 30...Maybe they've changed the sizes since last year...I remember the one from Red Rockett's Pizza Port had a large serving of spaghetti, came with a drink, carrot sticks and apple slices and a toy...Has this changed since then?

[OSUfan]

Hello fellow Oregonian. We fly down too. I bring mini bagels, small cups of peanut butter and small one service boxes of cereal, all in my luggage. Also, a few paper plates, plastic knives, etc. We always eat breakfast in our room, to save money and to save time. We also bring nuts for protien and, peanut butter/crakers, jerky etc., that we snack on in the park. We refill our water bottles, or get free tap water in a cup with ice when we eat our meals at the counter service restaurants. The Plaza Inn has a good chicken meal that can be split easily - we've done that before too. Have fun!

[Malcon10t]

That is so weird cuz I got them for myself and I'm 30...Maybe they've changed the sizes since last year...I remember the one from Red Rockett's Pizza Port had a large serving of spaghetti, came with a drink, carrot sticks and apple slices and a toy...Has this changed since then?

Actually, I believe they are still the same size. That said, I probably was misunderstood. The child size is an ok size for many people, however, not all. I have a 6yo nephew. He would not eat all of the meal. I have a 5yo nephew. Not only would he eat the kids meal, he would be asking for some of mine. It is better to spend the extra $2 and get the adult meal, which he can split with his sister and it is actually cheaper in the long run. It wil work for many, won't work for some.

[angcould]

Thanks for all the adivice!!! I have an order for supplies going in to Vons which includes water and other staples and I definately plan to bring down
some supplies in our suitcases, but obviously have to watch the weight limit
because we are flying....

We actually did very well last year on food, stayed below my budget but we are going 2 extra days this time, so I figured I would do 3 out of the 6 breakfasts in our room, besides we have 2 early entry days we plan to go to this time so it makes better sense to plan quick and easy grab foods that we can eat while walking to the park. I will keep the art passes for those "possible" nights, lol I don't feel like walking back to the park and we have thought of having dinner (pizza over at the new gardenwalk at California pizza kitchen) for one of our dinners and it would be nice not to have to walk.

Hello to you too fellow Oregonian!!!! thanks for the advice, my son has
actually requested that I make my famous granola bars for the trip again, so they are on my list, lol! I did order a couple meals last year that were off the kids menu and my son and I have also split a meal we both knew was big enough for the both of us, does anyone know besides the chicken meal what other place serves extra large portions... anyone have any reviews on Hungry bear restaurant? we missed out going there last year and plan to try it for either dinner or lunch one day....

[disneylandgirl]

When I go, I never eat breakfast in the park. My fiance and I are not big breakfast people though, we'd rather spend money on dinner.

Hungry Bear is good, but probably not enough to split something. Unless you get one meal and one dessert...

[Foodie]

does anyone know besides the chicken meal what other place serves extra large portions... anyone have any reviews on Hungry bear restaurant? we missed out going there last year and plan to try it for either dinner or lunch one day....

The Rancho del Zocalo has big portions I think. If you order their tacos, you get three.

Oh, and another thought: pack a couple of leftover containers with you and take them into the park. Any extra food can go into these and then take them back to the fridge at your hotel later. I made breakfast out of leftovers several days on my last trip. It really helped save money.

[dsny1mom]

The Rancho del Zocalo has big portions I think. If you order their tacos, you get three.

Oh, and another thought: pack a couple of leftover containers with you and take them into the park. Any extra food can go into these and then take them back to the fridge at your hotel later. I made breakfast out of leftovers several days on my last trip. It really helped save money.

Great idea. Just a word of caution. Bacteria can grow on unrefrigerated foods (especialy meats, cooked items and dishes with dairy products in them) in two hours. I'd hate to read about someone carrying leftover chicken around for several hours and end up spending the remainder of their vacation sick in their hotel room after they ate it.

dsny1mom

[Foodie]

Great idea. Just a word of caution. Bacteria can grow on unrefrigerated foods (especialy meats, cooked items and dishes with dairy products in them) in two hours. I'd hate to read about someone carrying leftover chicken around for several hours and end up spending the remainder of their vacation sick in their hotel room after they ate it.

dsny1mom

That is so true dsny1mom. I usually planned it out around a trip back to the hotel to drop it off or gave it to a family member to take back when they left. Especially in the heat of Anaheim, I wouldn't want to leave it for more than 2 hours max.

[cstephens]

Great idea. Just a word of caution. Bacteria can grow on unrefrigerated foods (especialy meats, cooked items and dishes with dairy products in them) in two hours. I'd hate to read about someone carrying leftover chicken around for several hours and end up spending the remainder of their vacation sick in their hotel room after they ate it.

dsny1mom

The couple times when I've had leftovers, we usually had a locker on Main Street anyway, so I put the food in there, since it's pretty cool in the locker area anyway. Not quite refrigerated, but good enough.

P.S. Hi!

[dsny1mom]

The couple times when I've had leftovers, we usually had a locker on Main Street anyway, so I put the food in there, since it's pretty cool in the locker area anyway. Not quite refrigerated, but good enough.

P.S. Hi!

Great suggestion, CS.

And a big hello to you too!

dsny1mom

[Carina]

Just a word of caution. Bacteria can grow on unrefrigerated foods (especialy meats, cooked items and dishes with dairy products in them) in two hours. dsny1mom

Food Safe Regulations state that food can safely stay in the danger zone ( not hot or cold) for a maximum of FOUR hours.

So although you need to be careful you do have more than 2 hours!

[Darkbeer]

Walked by the Quizno's on Harbor yesterday. They were advertising the $4 Torpedo sandwiches, and "New Lower Prices".

Also love the Happy Hour Prices at Anaheim GardenWalk, plus the AP discounts also offered at AGW...

http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disn...ecialOfferPage

(Note, the above link is only available to registered AP holders.)

Heck, 20% off Johnny Rockets... GREAT deal!

[megzrg]

We are in the same boat you are about flying down and wanting to save money. One thing that I found is that we pack the mini boxes of cereal, paper bowls and plastic spoons, pick up some milk at one of the markets on the way back to the hotel from the park and we now have breakfast ready for everyday. For me this year it will be Atkins breakfast bars, can't eat cereal anymore... because of my new medication

[letitsnow]

we always buy a turkey leg and a loaf of bread at boudins in ca disney and then make sandwiches out of them. it will feed our whole family of 5 for about $10! and its sooo yummy!