Visiting Disneyland on a Budget

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The budget trip… how to stay AND have a world class experience

So you want to visit Disneyland, stay in a hotel that you can tell people about, have good meals but not max out the Visa and Mastercard? While it may sound impossible it’s not. On our last trip visiting from out of the area we stayed for under $60 a night, ate for under $20 a day while the people around us spent several times that. If you’re willing to make a few informed choices you can do the same.

1 – It starts with your timing. Everything around the park is based on the time of year and as soon as things fill up you’re doomed to pay top dollar. Even places that don’t do variable pricing like restaurants get so crowded that when people are there in masses you’re more likely to spend more just to get a seat and a warm meal. Avoid the crowds (See: What is the best time of year to come to Disneyland?) and save money on the places you want to be.

2- Hotel savings = Total Trip Savings. Hotels in the area know tourists are coming year round but if you go back to #1 there are a lot of times when they also know they won’t be full. Still, hotels charge rack rates day in and day out so as to avoid upsetting customers who already booked a room. This means empty rooms to steal away and that’s where Priceline comes in. Priceline bidding sites like XXX and XXX will almost always show people winning bids for the Hilton, Hyatt and other well known brands for under $75 a night during non-peak times.

While we won’t get into Priceline bidding strategy in detail here the simple rule is this. Select your dates, pick just the Disneyland area, and the top star rating with a low bid (we target $50) and let things fly. If you get denied open a new browser window and find the other local areas (Laguna Beach, Huntington, etc) that don’t have anything offered in the same or a higher star class and select them entering a slightly higher bid. This is basically a “free” bid since you know you can’t get a hotel in the other area and you get to bid again. If you don’t find a winner no worries, try again later but most times were able to snag a nice place for a really good deal. On our last trip it was the Hyatt for $55 a night on a weekend.

3 – Rental Cars. If you chose to get a car for your trip rather than driving or using shuttles you’ll still save big time if you’re off-peak and shop around. Priceline lets you bid for cars and while we’ve not done it in the Disneyland area in Hawaii, Florida and other tourist areas we’ve got cars for as low as $10 a day when the companies wanted twice that directly.

Aside from Priceline bidding if you Google search for Avis, Hertz, Enterprise or any other rental company + discounts you’ll find loads of coupons and deals that you can try punching in to bring your costs down.  Orbitz and other discount travel services will often discount a car rental if you book a flight through them.

4 – Food. It’s not that you eat but where. In the park meals range from 5 or 6 bucks to get a burger at the Buzz Light Year Café to 20-40 at the Blue Bayou so saving money is really as simple as making good choices. Start the day off full before you get to the park. Muffins cost a few dollars inside, breakfast outside isn’t much more. If you’re the powerbar type wonderful, if not there’s just about every breakfast chain available outside from Dennys and iHop to Mimi’s Café which makes a great breakfast that will be a whole lot better [and cheaper] than anything inside. Follow things up with a nice lunch, our favorite is the Carnatin Café (where all the birthday celebrations are) which has a great pasta dish and huge chef salad for under $12. Throw in a soda which you can refill for free and you’re still under $15 in a place with AC (or heat), lots of seating and a relaxing setting without the madness experienced on main street. Dinner is where most people splurge and that’s just fine – after all this is about how to enjoy your visit AND save, not just how to skimp. But if you want a nice dinner leave the park and leave downtown Disney. Eat anything nice on the property and you’re paying the “Disney Tax” (the cost of being right there) versus going a few blocks down the street for a great PF Changs Chinese meal, a good Steak or some Fine Italian.

5 – Drinking. This pretty much follows the food rules; avoid going out in downtown Disney, the park or at your hotel (although the beers in California adventure are fairly reasonable) and instead opt for one of the ample local bars. You’ll probably end up with a better crowd and no kids rushing by to ask their dad for more money for Mickey pins.

6 – Souvenirs. If you want them you want them and there’s no real way to save money unless you’re willing to go used (ebay) or have a season pass to get 10-20% off in a store. The best way to save here is to be smart about what you buy. If you want a cute shirt, buy it. But don’t leave your sweatshirt in the hotel room during winter or you’ll end up with a new one for $60 that’s a lot thinner than what you’d get for half that at a department store (trust us on this one, we’ve done it). Our advice is simple on this: spend your trip enjoying the park and taking mental note of what’s for sale and what you want. On the last day go out and spend. This way you see the options and have a little time to decide if your really do want to buy your niece a giant Mickey stuffed animal for $50 or  Mickey ears for $14.
You can also find some great deals on Disney souvenirs and merchandise at the independent souvenirs shops located on Harbor Blvd (head towards the Target) and even in some of the chain stores. This is a tourist town and while Disney charges for licensing and selling products, there are a lot of good deals on shirts, mugs, calendars and similar products to be found. They don’t tend to be as impressive as what’s sold on Main St. but when you need 5 shirts for gifts it’s a whole lot better to get them for $20 total rather than $20 each.