How much is my trip to Disneyland going to cost me?
Monday, January 19, 2009 13:32Deal Alert: For a limited time Disneyland is offering a special ticket discount when you purchase hotel stay through their website. Discounted ticket prices are the same as child’s admission prices which can be a savings of $30 or more on an extended park hopper and $10 on a single day park hopper. Ah the big question. There’s no single answer here as we all travel differently, buy different amounts of merchandise, require different hotel classes and want different food, still there are some averages.
Consider the average local hotel to go from $75-$150 a night rack rate or about $30-$60 a night using Priceline during non-peak periods.
Food can be brought into the park at grocery store costs but that’s rare. Most people will end up with a cheap lunch for $6-12 per person and a nicer dinner at $8-15 per person. You can easily spend twice that on a meal however depending on where you dine and if you decide to venture to one of the few restaurants that actually take reservations think about typical “moderate” level dining prices.
Snacks and desert aren’t something most people pass up so consider another $5 a day on the very low end (if you bring your own water bottles and power bars) and up to $15 or more if you’re buying sodas and ice cream all day long.
Souvenirs are by far the biggest opportunity to splurge as a simple t-shirt can be almost $30, a shot glass $6 and a pin $5 and up. Just like a Vegas vacation, we suggest setting aside a budget here and spending against it. This is especially important near the holidays as Disneyland sells loads of great Christmas and seasonal items which can easily suck in a fan or become “easy gifts” but at a high cost. Few people leave the park without buying anything but a budget conscious shopper can walk away with just a $50 sweatshirt and a nick nack or two of some sort.
Money Saving Tip: All of these costs from hotel rooms to rental cars to food can be brought down by being smart. Read the smart way to stay AND have a world class experience for ideas on how to spend a lot less but get even more.
