Disneyland on the cheap!

So I keep reading everywhere about people trying to find deals and Disneyland. I figure since we go a lot, I would tell those of you who do not know these secrets some things we have found out. (For those of you who go even more than us, feel free to add your secrets too.)

1. Before you go make some treats not only for the car, but for the park. We love to do Caramel Popcorn and Jello popcorn (if you need a recipe for Jello popcorn let me know...it rocks!) We put them in several different gallon bags and bring them to the park with us. We also buy things like swedish fish or licorice that we can take with us too. There is no reason to spend a million dollars on snacks at the park. (You do need to purchase churros and if you like them a frozen banana.) We go to Sams Club and stock up on individual chip bags too. Also, bring extra ziplock gallon bags!!! This is important, see step 3.

2. Stay at a cheap hotel that is within walking distance. This seems like a duh kind of thing, but you can find hotels for about $50 and all you will be doing there is sleeping. Don't feel like you have to spend a lot of money because you will be so dead tired you could sleep in your car if you had to. When looking for a hotel, find one with a continental breakfast as well as a fridge and microwave in your room. Some good suggestions are Desert Inn and Suites (this is a little more expensive usually, but it is literally a 2 minute walk to the front gates of the park) and La Quinta on Clementine (this has bigger rooms and a good breakfast, not just doughnuts and juice). We have also stayed several other places, but for my money I would probably pick La Quinta. If you plan on going a lot, sign up for their membership. My mother-in-law has and she gets discounts on her rooms all the time.

3. Since you have a fridge and a microwave in your room, it is time to go to the grocery store. There is a Food For Less on Katella that we always go to. The room you are staying in has a microwave, so buy microwave popcorn. Pop it in your hotel in the morning and take it to the park with you. Then you have a snack handy. We like to keep all our junk food in a backpack that we can hook on the back of our stroller. We also have a cooler that sits on the back of our Sit N Stand stroller that has a velcro top. Perfect for what else you are going to buy at the grocery store...drinks in plastic bottles. Mine are coke of course, but bring your own drinks. You save a ton of money. You can even keep them cold in your fridge in your hotel. You can get a six pack for what you pay for one 16 oz drink in the park. We also buy our kids lunchables, and this last time we bought a loaf of bread and peanut butter. (We didn't buy the jelly because we snagged it from the continental breakfast downstairs, cheap I know, but that is kind of the point.) The kids are just as happy with this, and we save a lot of money and are not pissed off when they don't eat it.

4. Okay, when buying passes to the park, check out your best deal. It is usually cheaper to buy them on the internet than at the park, plus you save line time. We get season passes, which if you plan to go more than once a year saves you money. Plus you get discounts at food places and stuff with your season pass. If you are not going to go more than once, you will have to check around. I know some people have used KSL. I have not, and I don't know about it. It seems like to me someone could really screw you if they wanted to because passes are only good 13 days after you first use them, so someone could sell you expired passes and you wouldn't know until you got to the park. Be careful with that. This year Disney is doing a Give a Day, Get a Day promotion. This will get you a free 1 day 1 park pass, but you can apply it to multiday passes. It is totally worth it. I have signed up for it. There are a ton of projects to do, so take a look and volunteer. Then you get something and get to contribute to the world too!

5. You need several days at the park. We go for 5 days every time we go. Now, I am not saying you need that many, but 4 is probably good. This way you get to slow down and check out shows and things. For example, go watch musical chairs with Alice and the Mad Hatter by Coke Corner on Main Street, or See Drawn to the Magic in California Adventures. The shows are great, and if you are rushing you miss that. Another thing, if you want to see a parade or fireworks, you have to sit early. So, having more days at the park allows you to do that without being grumpy about it. The parade at California Adventure is not as bad and you don't have to sit as long. Right now it is even the better parade, so if you only get one, do that one.

6. Eating...here is a big deal about eating at the park. There are a few places that are much, much better than others. My favorite, the Plaza Inn right outside of tommorowland. This place has fried chicken to die for. Also, they give you a TON. There is enough to split it if you want to (or not). Another great thing about this place, refillable drinks. When you go through to pay ask for a paper cup, then you can refill before you go. There are only a few places that allow you to do that in the park, so take advantage of it. Another great place to eat (we just found it) is White Water Rapids in the Grand Californian hotel. It has fantastic food and is really quiet. You have to leave the park to get to it, but there is a gateway right next to Grizzly Bear Rapids. They have fantastic nachos. We usually try to eat a late lunch and then eat outside the park for dinner. This works for us becuase we go off season when the park closes at 8. Leaving the park to eat and then going back eats up a lot of time, so only do it if you are ready for a break.

7. Disney Visa Cards. Okay, I am not saying you need to get a credit card, but this has some good perks at the park. You get discounts on food, strollers, merchandise, and you also get into a character meet and greet in California Adventure where you get your picture taken with a character and then a free 5x7 photo of it. These pictures are $12.95 without it, so it's worth it. I believe you can get discounts on Disney hotels, but we are too cheap to pay for those hotels, so I don't know for sure.

8. At the park fantasyland is always, I repeat, always the busiest. Go in the morning and you will get more done. Peter pan is always a long line, so if you see it and it is less than 20 minutes, jump in line. Make sure you use fast passes. These are lifesavers. They have time restraints written on them, but they really do not expire. So, if it is after the time they are good, keep them because you can still use them that day. They are not good day to day. Get a fast pass for Indiana, Space, Splash, and Big Thunder...all the mountains. Also, stroller passes. If you have a kid too little to ride a ride, get a stroller pass, that way the person who has to wait with the kid can go on the ride after (plus another person), or you can ride it again if they don't want to. In California Adventure right now the busiest ride is the Toy Story Mania, that is because it is awesome, the funnest ride at that park. Ride it at least twice! Again, first thing in the morning will save you a lot of wait time.

9. If you have a princess like me, go to the princess faire/Tinkerbell place first thing in the morning. The princess faire opens a half an hour after the park does, so people usually go over there at that time. If you go over as soon as the park opens and wait until they let you in you will spend 1/2 hour waiting rather than 2 hours. (I am not exagerating, 2 hours.) There are three princesses to see, so your kids like it, but it sucks to wait so long, so do it first. Plus Toon Town is right there and opens up about 1 hour after the park, so by the time you are finished with the Princess Faire you can hop over to Toon Town when it is empty. Works great.

10. Another fantastic thing to see is the Star Wars thing. Sean has done it three times and he and I both love it! Go early and sit in the front row. Then jump up and down like mad and you will get picked. It is so much fun and a great picture opportunity to have your kid fighting with Darth Vader.

11. California Adventures is a time sucking warp. Everything is spaced out far and it takes forever to walk from thing to thing. Either plan a day to do the whole park, or pick 1-2 things that you want to do and then go to the other park.

I'm out of ideas. If you have any questions or comments leave them. I am going to post a link to this on facebook so that people can check it out. I am sure I am forgetting something, but I have just run out of steam. If I can think of anything else, I will put it on here.