Who doesn't love the Happiest Place on Earth! I recently watched a documentary on television about the life of Walt Disney and it just made me admire the place that much more. I am known as a savvy coupon queen in my circle of friends so I figured I would pass along my tips!
Hotel:
You can get a hotel for $59.00 a night. No joke! We have had a wonderful experience at the
Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel on Harbor Blvd.The rooms are very clean and they have an in room fridge! You can see the fireworks from Disneyland at night. Also, they have a kids water play area called Castaway Cove that is so much fun complete with a water slide and a huge bucket that dumps torrential water every 5 minutes or so! My son never wanted to leave!
How did I get the room for $59.00? You have to have an Entertainment Book(for any area, not Anaheim specifically) and you have to go on set dates they advertise
here! These are not peak dates like Spring Break, but if you have young children like me, the off peak dates are fine and mean less crowds. Which brings me to my next point!
Tickets:
There is not a ton you can do to get tickets to Disneyland significantly cheaper, however children under three get in free to Disney Theme Parks and Water Parks!. We went as close to my son turning three as possible! Also, you can check the Disney fan board
Mousesavers for additional ticket discount tips.
Food!
There are some things that you just have to have at Disney Such as a Mickey Bar! But Disney allows food to be taken in to the park. My little family still has a stroller so we often put some frozen water bottles in the bottom and pack some sandwich bags of non-perishable/melt-ables such as Goldfish crackers and Teddy Grahams or treats like Gummi Worms and Skittles to tide us over while in the queues.
However, there are deals that can be found on food around the park. One idea is to sign up for
Mimi's Cafe E-Club. They send out coupons like by one breakfast, get one free quite often. It is located right across the street from Disneyland and has wonderful food. Though most coupons are dine in, we have occasionally ordered food To-Go and eaten it in our hotel room when we are just to worn out from the park for a full sit down meal.
Also, check your hotel for coupons and discounts. I checked the little kiosk and found a 10% discount coupon for the McDonald's located on Harbor Blvd., so those came in handy when we needed a quick meal.
Also, if you will be staying more than a few days, our in room fridge came in handy, We used my husband's handy phone and found a Target down the street from Disneyland and stocked up on bottled water for me and milk for the little. Much better than the $2.50 or so they want for a bottle of water at Disneyland!
Souvenirs
I have seen lots of tricks for this. As a young family, my kids don't quit get it yet. Normally we allow $20.00 for a souvenir, but I also employ some other strategies.
I stalk the dollar store for Disney related things as well as those glow in the dark necklaces and bracelets so I can bring them out when my son sees others wearing them.I also visit this
message board where there are some great designs with Disney Characters and I have made them in to shirts, room signs, etc. Of course, for me the pictures of my little ones with the characters are the best souvenir!
I hope these tips help you have a wonderful Disneyland trip on a shoestring budget!
