First Disneyland Trip!!!

I used to work at California adventure. Before i worked there i would go to the disney store at the mall and buy them a stuffed animal and the autograph book, sometimes they even have the light up toys. All of the stuff was way cheaper than at the park. I would just save it for them until we got there and surprise them with the stuff. At the end of day i would let them pick something out.

We have seasonal passes and its so worth the money .But bringing all your snacks, drinks and food is a saver right there .Just a small water bottle is around 3 bucks .Really not any saving ideas other then doing that .Its 11 bucks to just park to .

My son will be 3 on April 2nd. We are driving to Disneyland on June 30th and coming home on July 5th of this year. We are saving about 550.00 driving instead of flying. We went through Carlson Fly Away travel. They set us up with a AWSOME hotel at Disneyland Resort 3 3-day park hopper passes (which are about $135.00/piece and 3 charecter breakfeasts that are about $110.00/piece. Our trip for 2 adults and one child (during the 4th of July) 4 nights 5 days, 3 charecter breakfasts and 3 3-day park passes came to a total of $1180.00 We had to pay $200.00 within 10 days ofour regestration and the balance is due 30 days before we leave. So all we have to do is take spending money. We are saving $100.00/mnth for gas expensives and we are stocking up some coolers for the 12 hour trip. We also have a DVD player in our car for our son. We are not buying souviners for anyone (this is his time, his money)... So I wish you luck and enjoy!
N.

Hi B.~

I am a 33 year old, tattooed mom of three. My youngest is 3, then 9 and finally 11. I have been married for almost 12 years (May). We take many trips to D-land. We started off buying everything. Then as time passed, I found most things tossed aside. I have found the best thing to do is have an amount of items they can buy. Say four things. That way they are to be sure of what they pick. My kids always enjoyed a stuffed animal, t-shirt, piece of jewlery. I love to get the mugs. Try to go for a couple days because the kids get tired so fast and it is so much better to go back to the hotel and take a rest and then go back for the evening. Anyway, hope this helps!

G.

I have an almost 3 year old and we have been to Disneyland several times. However, this last trip (in october) was the best by far! She was finally old enough to really get the whole place.. It was SOOO much fun seeing how excited she was to see the characters. If you are only going for one day, its going to be hard. You have to decide what is more important... charaters or the rides. You could spend all day just getting autographs and taking pictures, which is what my daughter likes to do. Know that the Characters are only out at certian times.. When you first get there walk down manstreet and when you get to the end go to your left.. There is a cart there that has the different times and places that Characters are out.. Pick the ones that you want to see for sure and mark the times and places that they will be out on your map. Then pick the rides that you want to go on. Remember that your daughter wont make it as long as you, so pick a couple to do after she falls asleep at night (they have family swap on most rides now.. So before you go in get the pass.. When you get off the ride, the other person or other half of the group, can go right on without waiting in the long line). Also, pick the shows and parades that you want to see (main street parade is AWESOME!!! And a good chance to see many of the characters you didn't see during the day, as well as a needed rest stop.. good time to eat or get a snack). Mark those too.. My best advise is try to make a semi-plan.. and go from there, otherwise the day will go by so fast!!! If your not into shows or parades.. Go on the big, most popular rides during the show/parade times.. Thousands of people watch them so its a good time..

Use the fast pass cautiously... You can only have one per ticket... until the time is up... Your daughters ticket (if she has one) is good for a fast pass too.. (we are usually in a group, so getting fast pases with the kids tickets works to have 2 fast passes)...

I always say that I am not going to buy my daughter a bunch of stuff, but I just can't help it when we are there... However, last time I did buy her a couple shirts and things before we went from the disney store. GET HER A PRINCESS DRESS!!!! They look so adorable there, pictures are amazing and it just makes her day! You can find them at Target or walmart for fairly cheap.. or online too! Autograph books from Disneystore, are good too.. I make my daughters book each time... I am a major scrapbooker, so I can easily take the autographs out and put them with the pictures!

Bring a stroller! Your daughter will get tired, there are lots of people... Its much easier to put her in the stoller and get from point A to B in a timely way... There is stroller parking everywhere, and I have NEVER had anything taken from my stroller.. I don't leave money or cameras in it un supervised, but I do leave toys, sweaters ect. Plus its good for sleeping baby as well as a bag..

GET A BEACH BAG!!! You can bring a bag in with snacks.. Don't pay for a locker.. I always bring a couple bottles of water, the crystal light singles, fruit snacks, fruit, crackers, and other snack type food...

We usualy get a room with at least a fridge in it.. SO you can keep milk and snacks there... Most hotels offer cont. breakfast, and we keep juice and whatnot for the kids.. . That cuts the spending on breakfast. If you are going to eat breakfast, just out side the park in down town disney is a little cafe (its the first one as you start into downtown disney) They have GREAT breakfast and HUGE portion! Great way to start the morning....

Feel free to email me anytime if you have questions... Or I didn't make sense.. we might be there in March as well.. Its a good time to go.. You can also get show time and park hours online.

Don't really have any suggetions on saving money becaue it is really expensive but I do suggest getting a speed pass so you don't have to stand in line. Standing in line is the hardest thing to do for my son.

I think that Goofy's Kitchen is definitely worth the money, but you have to have reservations. You will all dine buffet style and lots of different characters will stop by your table and you can take all the pictures you want. It was a total blast for my son (as well as his parents!) The only other advice I can share is to bring your own bottled water. That was what really cost us a fortune while we were there! At two bucks a pop (the tap water tastes awful) for the small bottles it adds up like you wouldn't believe. Have fun!

We love Disneyland and have been annual passholders for a long time. One thing I would say is avoid the stores. Then you can buy fun snacks (like a frozen chocolate covered banana from a cart or clam chowder in a bread bowlin New Orleans square) and eat the meals you bring with you. Take one trip thru the big store on main street or the one in downtown Disney and let her choose a toy or something if you want to but wandering through store after store will only make her want one of everything! If you want to sit down for a snack I highly recommend seeing the Billy Hill show at the golden horseshoe it is fun my kids (ages 1-8) all enjoy it. They have chicken strips and fries among many other things and the chocolate cake is pretty good (and it's huge so you can buy one piece and the whole family can have more than they would ever really need). I would just say focus on the rides and not on the retail side and you should come out o.k. Have fun at the "Happiest Place on Earth"!

I grew up in Orlando. Yes, food is the biggest thing, but the second thing is water. Bring a couple of bottles of water and just fill them up at the water fountains along the way. If you don't you will spend a small fortune on buying bottled water. Next, don't buy souveniers for everyone. Let your daughter pick out ONE souvenier that she will cherish later and don't be suckered into buying something at every shop. Wait toward the end of the day and make sure that is what she really wanted. That will also help keep you from carrying it around all day. Best souvenier is the mickey mouse or minney mouse hat with the ears. It will also make for the cutest photos that you will cherish later. Bring your own sunscreen or you will pay an arm and a leg for that too in the park. Have a great time!!!

I just took my daughter in December...Use the A.R.T. transportaion system. It goes from area hotels straight to the part, it cost us $15 for 3 days of unlimited use. I thought food would be really expensive at the park but its not as bad as you would think. We ate at the hotel (take out chinese) for the 1st night and spent $30 for 3 of us. On our last night there we decided to eat at the park and spent the same $30 for pasta, salad and drinks. also alot of the hotels have gift shops that have the same t shirts as the park stores but much cheaper. Take extra batteries for your camera cause we spent a fortune on batteries. Remember that all rides are included with your pass but plan on waiting in line. We went in (supposedly) the slowest season of the year and still had to wait for most rides. We used our fast pass quiet a bit but still waited about 30 mins per ride and for little ones thats a long time. If your child still goes in a stroller...bring it! Also whenever theres a photo opp. have a disneyland employee take the picture with your camera (they are happy to) because if you use the photo pass that they give you...pics are very expensive ($15 for a 5x7). If you have any questions please feel free to ask. Have a great time!

I've heard that you have to schedule the "breakfast with characters"! I guess it's really fun and worth it. Hope this helps.

Hi B.!

Just wanted to say hi to another tattooed mom with an almost three year old!

:) D.

Yeah Disneyland is Always fun!!!!!
We take our son every chance that we get.....
I know that they have Character Dinners and Breakfasts...
They Cost 10-20 dollars per person... But they are normally Buffet styled and you can get what you pay for! Plus your little one will be dinning with her favorite characters like Stitch Goofy ect.
We always take my nephew and he eats so much that he isn’t hungry for a while...
Plus they have a for A little bit more they will bring your daughter a cup cake and have a Disney character sing happy birthday to her!
Make sure that you take her to city hall and let them know it’s her birthday... They will give her a Special Birthday Button with her name on it! (for free and about the only thing free there!)
Have fun!!!!

Hi.

Yeah. Disneyland. My husband bought us passes so we go often. Usually every Sunday.

The most important thing is the food and drinks. Parking for Disneyland is far away so you will need to get a locker to keep the lunches. Drinks are expensive too. They have tons of little stands with juice boxes and tempting fruits, churros, popcorn, cotton candy. Churros are $3.00 a pop so there goes $10 bucks right there if you all get one. They also sell balloons and light up necklaces and spinning toys at night. $5 and $15 dollars a piece. Let you little girl know she will get a _______ and a _______. Fill in the blank. That way she will know what to expect and what isn't coming her way. Also go online and see the calendar and schedule. To maximize your day, plan what shows you want to see and what rides you want to do most. I'm not sure how it works but I think you get to go to both parks with a ticket now. The Bug's Life Adventure 3D show is kind of scary. Giant black widows fall, waters sprays you, funny smells. It's loud so I just want to warn you. My daughter sat through it but wouldn't wear the glasses of course so I just covered her ears. As far as souvenirs, as long as you bring your own camera, you should get all the keep sakes you want. Most people will be happy to take a picture of you if you ask. If you have any other questions, let me know and if I go between now and when you go, I'll check it out for more details. We'll probably go this Sunday and I'd be more than happy to find out anything for you.

M.

We have season passes and we go once a month. We bring a backpack with sandwitches, snacks, & water. If you think about what Dinsey is offering for the price of one ticket, it really is small price to pay. Enjoy!

We took a weekend trip to Disneyland last summer with all of our kids. Here are some tips I hope will help. Like you said, pack a lunch. Also, bring plenty of juice boxes and bottled water. If I had it to do over, I would have gone to our local disney store and bought some "souveniers". The ones at the park are outrageously priced, but no one wants to have to tell their child no, especially not if it's their birthday. I would buy a few things, like a light up wand or princess crown, things like that. That way, when your daughter asks for one at the park, you can pull out yours and give her that. Also, make sure you bring your own stroller. Your little one will get tired, and that will save you money renting one there. Hope this helps. Have fun.

Buy your tickets from Von's or Ralphs you will save a good amout of money. Pack lots of healthy snacks/drinks for your whole family. Most important "HAVE FUN" don't forget your camera!

There is a toy shop by It's a small world that is cheaper than the ones on main street. Stay at one of the good neighbor hotels instead of the disneyland hotel. A lot of them have packages that include Disneyland and you can just walk to the main gate. If you don't want to walk they have tram services that take you to the front gate. Some are about $100 cheaper a night than the Disney resorts. Also if you do a package through SW airlines, kids fly free and right now, adults also get in for the kids price. I agree though, driving is cheaper, but on our next road trip to SoCal we're buying a protable dvd player for the car, so that can put the cost up again if you don't have one. Take the train around the inside of the park and let your daughter see where she wants to go before you start wandering. A lot of people stay at the disney hotel because of the character meals, but you can still do breakfast with Minney in the park if you don't stay at the hotel and there is also a lunch with the princesses.

Hi B.,
We use RIDEMAX every time we go to Disneyland. It's SO useful!! You can view it at www.Ridemax.com. It's costs about $15 but it's well worth it. It's a program that gives you an itinerary to help get the most out of your stay there. We used it last year for my daughter's 4th birthday, and will be using again this year. We got to enjoy all the rides we wanted to go on AND have HOURS worth of break time for naps, eating, and parade watching. I am in no way affiliated with them, but I just can't stop singing it's praises. =)

Other money-saving ideas? Don't get lured in by all the cute souveniers! I think the traditional mouse ears is a must, but aside from that, things could be found cheaper outside of Disneyland.

Hope this helps!! HAVE FUN!!!

My husband and I spent our honeymoon in Disney World and our first anniversary in Disneyland, and the best thing we did to save a little money was to share food, especially during breakfast. The portions everywhere are usually on the bigger side, so we found it was easy to share and still get plenty of food. I hope this helps! Have a wonderful time. :)

Hi B.,
I am originally from Anahiem and am also interested in going to Disneyland with my son. There is a Disney site you can go to for information and there are also vacation packages available at the Travel agency of your choice, which will include airfare, hotel and tickets with lots of variations to chose from. I dont and will not fly, so it's the bus or the AmTrak train for me and I have been on both of them to and from California. The best was the train, economy first class which included all meals and a room with two bunks. If I didnt want to go to the dinner car I could have roomservice bring me food to my room and keep my kids close. The bus is a little harder to deal with little kids of course. Also, there are so many motels in and around Disneyland to chose from it's almost insane! Be there as soon as the gates open in the morning Also know that there will be an enormous amount of walking around for hours as it is huge with long lines to deal with, so wear comfortable shoes, take snacks and if you all get tired, get a re-entry pass so you can come back later in the day. Have a stroller or rent one there, bring chapstick, baby whipes, and sunscreen, even if it's overcast because the rays that burn still come through! I know from experience! Bring your daughter a change of clothes incase she gets wet or hot and you should all wear hats! Know what she is wearing and mark her name on her clothing somehow and teach her how to say her first and last name and yours also in case she gets lost. They are prepared for this and are very professional when it comes to lost kids! There are buses and trams available to take you to and from the park, but with most of the motels withing walking distance, you dont have to worry too much about the distance to and from. Good Luck and have fun!