When our kids were little, I would buy snacks like crackers, granola bars, small water bottles, or juice boxes from the store to bring to the park. Then, got Disney stickers from the dollar store and stuck them on all the treats. My kids thought it was so cool to have Disney snacks ;)
This is so smart for littles! I’ve seen the idea to buy Disney merch off site/online/at the outlets and do surprises each day, but I love the snack idea!!
For my little ones we implement the "Disney Fairy". Every night in the hotel the fairy brings a small souvenir for each kiddo. The souvenirs are cheap and usual useful Disney related items. A coloring book, Target bubble wand, Disney tee shirt from Walmart, glow sticks, etc. it keeps us from buying souvenirs in the park and makes those activities we would already bring in the park more exciting. It has become ny kid's favorite part of our trip!
Anaheim has a shuttle system that goes around all the hotels called ART. You can stay a mile or 2 away and take the shuttle to the park for $6 a day and you can take as many trips that day as you want. The hotels farther away have deals like free parking, free shuttle passes and free hot breakfast. It’s worth it to get more for less and a nicer hotel!
I was going to take the shuttle system on my last visit to Disneyland, but I read so many poor reviews about the service being unreliable. Since I'm local and a SoCal resident I just parked my car on a neighborhood street not too far from Ball Road and just walked to the park. The walk only took about 12-15 minutes.
Free refills on select Starbucks coffees/teas at Downtown Disney only with Starbucks app; otherwise it’s 50 cents. -You don’t have to stay at the coffee shop for your refill. Also, the City of Riverside provides a fwy shuttle (RTA route 200) to Honda Center and Disneyland every 90 minutes for $3.50 (free on Fridays until June 2024). Travel time about an 1 hr from La Sierra Station.
I'm sure to bring ziplock bags for all sorts of things, but especially for leftovers like a turkey leg. The security guard at the checkpoint asked me about them, and my response --Disney Pro move. I see so many visitors toss food in the trash cans at the entrance of the rides because they can't bring it on. Even a corndog or chimichanga, while best eaten hot, I place in my plastic bag for a snack later in the day. It keeps my day pack clean, too. Oh, and a cup that can be sealed instead of throwing out that expensive soda or other drinks in paper cups before getting on a ride. Personally, I think the turkey leg is one of the best values at the park. It's a great shared treat.
Plastic bag is a great suggestion! I usually bring a lidded plastic container, the kind you get in some restaurants for leftovers. Adding a plastic bag will let me keep “odd” shaped things.
Fly in, go get rental car.. go to target and get water and snacks. Go to motel 6 right down the road from the entrance. (Cheap and good) Drop off family, at disney with backpacks of food and water and take car back to motel 6 and park it. Last person walks or takes bus back to disney. I do this every year...lol
I decided to take my grandkids to disney last year. There were 8 of us total . All adult tickets. We only did disney 1 day and did universal, legoland the beach. Best money I ever spent.
We just got back from DL. We found all the cute things we wanted at World of Disney store and then purchased them online at Shop Disney and they were 30-40% off with the friends family/holiday discounts, plus free shipping. Bonus, we didn’t have to pack it home, and we have new t shirts to wear on our next trip. The Christmas spirit jerseys are deeply discounted on the website and full price at DL.
you can always ask for water at quick service locations. They'll give you ice water and you can either drink that or use it to fill up the water bottles you brought in with you.
Aloha Amazing Chris Provost. First the three day pass is a great option for me. I am 70 and I just do not have the energy to park hop..or hop about anywhere really. What works best for me is DL first day..DCA day two (reasoning here is simple..the park closes earlier and I will be a bit tired from the day before. DCA is not really a full day park anyway for me and I do not drink so.)..I can still get on some DCA only rides and see World of Color and get back to my hotel before 12. I can maybe get more sleep and be ready for my last day..no park hopper needed.
Maaaaan, I LOVE the heart to heart's you have with dad's. It's definitely helpful to hear someone talk to me directly and from a reasonable perspective. Thank you.
To add to this with the use of a target red card, target has a bunch of promotional deals where you send X amount of money and get a $5 or $10 gift card that you can use to buy disney gift cards.
Another easy way to save money is to watch Provost Park Pass’s basement Disneyland tour from a few years ago. Can’t even tell the difference between that and the real park and you’ll save thousands
It’s a little extreme - but we found it was worth it to drop a day, and then buy all genie plus and lightning lane attraction passes. Make the most of the days you do have!
During their off season, it is cheaper to buy individual day tickets rather than multi day tickets. For instance, a two day single park ticket is $300 BUT ticket prices can get to be as low as $104 during the off season. The days of Jan 29 - 31st are all $104 each so buying the individual days for those THREE days is only about $15 more expensive (taxes not included) than just a TWO day single park ticket.
Multi tickets default to tier 5 (I think that's what they call it) pricing which is the busiest days. You get a discount for getting multiple days, but as you said you might have to get at least 3 days to actually save money over single day tickets.
If you have little ones, like 10 and under, get an adult meal and split it among the kids. The portions are generous and 2 kids will be fine sharing one meal rather than getting them kids meals. Water is a lot better than soda, and you can get flavor packets to put inside your backpack if you want some flavored water. Water is free. Even ice water is free.
Something you can do to save money on tickets too is to check work savings programs or go through membership programs like Costco or Sam’s Club. We stayed at Pixar Place (not yet complete when we stayed) and did Park Hoppers for four and it was fairly reasonable via Costco. My employer has a program called Beneplace that gives discounts on Disneyland tickets as well.
My husband and I always stay at the HoJo on Harbor, it's actually a quicker walk to the park than the Disneyland hotel, and WAY cheaper of course. We also go to Target and stock up on Smartwater, fill a backpack with them each day and rent a locker. The price of a locker is so much cheaper than buying bottled waters!
Lol! I have feet issues and highly recommend Brooks Ghost shoes. My feet only start feeling the day around ten at night and are good to go again the next day
We also stay at the hotels across the street they are closer than 2 of the Disney hotels and you get free breakfast thats a huge savings. We aslo dont let our son buy anthing he wants he picks one thing and we pick it up the last day so he can still shop around but its not a constant ask, and we trade pins so we buy them in bulk off etsy 5 each for like a dollor each so we trade those instead of buying for 20 bucks then trade. Then we spend big on restaurants and churros!
This is so wild, I did ALL of this before watching this video as I’m in my hotel room around the block from Disney, already preparing for next trip. We had a great time and it makes me feel great to be able to save. These tips are helpful for life and travel in general! Thanks for posting this content.
We do the single day park tickets and then add genie+ for the 'free' photopass included. It's not quite as much as park hopper, but it's so worth it it the free pics and the lightning lanes!
I have a Disney Chase card that earns Disney dollars. I put my household expenses on it and pay it off at the end of the month. We hadn’t gone in a couple of years one time and I had around $800. Paid for all the food and souvenirs. Don’t quote me, but I think you can buy park tickets with the Disney dollars, too.
Dear Parkgoers, RE: FOOD... I recently went to Disneyland on Christmas Eve 2023. It was a Tier 6 day, the most expensive time to visit Disneyland. I didn't buy any food in the park except for hot cup of coffee at night! How I did it: I recommend bringing a comfortable backpack AND a secondary big shopping bag and load it with a lot of food AND drinks, including an empty PLASTIC water bottles for refilling at water fountains in the park. For the big shopping bag, there are lockers outside of the park that you can pay to access for a day as many times as you need. I loaded up a bag filled with food from a local Anaheim grocery store (grapes, pre-made deli sandwich wraps, big bags of chips, bananas, gummi bears, granola snack bars, even big 2 liter bottles of sweetened Tea) and brought it all into the park thru security. Security is only checking for things that are banned like alcohol, w3apons, drones, etc. They are perfectly fine with big bottles of cola, tea, water, etc. Also, bring that big bag and put it in the paid lockers before you enter the park and just carry sandwiches, snacks, bottled water, drinks and fruit into the park in your second comfortable backpack. Then when you get the urge to eat in the long lines for ride you can just munch on it while you wait for an attraction, at a parade, or what not. And you'll be the envy of many of the guests who didn't even think to do it! Also at the end of a full Disneyland day after walking everywhere, the BIG BAG is USUALLY EMPTY lol. All the chips, fruit, sandwiches, drinks are consumed and GONE. NOTHING IS WASTED and if you don't finish it all, bring it HOME (if you're local) or back to your hotel room for the next days! ✨
I like the freedom of the park hopper - if one park is feeling busy, I can just scoot over to the other one. I’ve been saving up gift cards through things like Disney Movie Insiders.
I agree about park hopping. We never pay for it because it's just not needed. We have been staying at Candy Cane Inn for about 25 years; walking distance, free shuttle, breakfast included, AAA and AARP discounts, as well as free parking and recently renovated and significantly less expensive than the Disney hotels. Thanks for all your videos.
Good video Chris. We went in December 2022 and used many of your tips. Getaway Today was great to use. Definitely recommend bringing your own snacks and eat 1 nice meal in the park (we saved one of our fancy dinners for Blue Bayou). We also didn’t get park hoppers for all 3 days we were there.1 day at California Adventure was plenty. And if a family is driving to Anaheim like we did, it’s totally worth driving over to Walmart to buy Disneyland T shirts. They have tons of Disney stuff for half of what it costs in the park.
Bring your stroller, have your children nap in the stroller and enjoy the ambiance. BRING YOUR FOOD! Bring a thermos of something hot. Bring your drinks, bring juice/drink concentrate and add it to your free water. The buffeteria restaurants will give you a free hot water, add to your hot cocoa packets, teas, to save 5 bucks a drink. Get a free ice cup and use it for your brought in soda. All of the chicken dinners(Plaza Inn, Rancho Del Zocalo, Tiana's Palace) are splitable, bring a salad to stretch your dinner the money you spend on a locker will save you a ton of money if you bring a lot of food. You can eat your brought in food at the counter service restaurants. Skip the kids meals don't get pizza at DL. You can use your Starbucks gift cards at the local Starbucks, which by the way has the most affordable breakfast sandwiches in the parks, but better to eat an enormous breakfast before you get there. Rope drop, rope drop, rope drop and stay till the very end, the lines are shorter early and late.
Thanks, Chris! I'm amazed that I knew all of this, lol. I would like to add to your point of the parkhopper ticket. Definitely prioritize the single park tickets. You'll be doing a lot of walking in whichever park you start your day at. Most people get too tired to go over to the 2nd park of the day or you miss a lot of things just in the time spent walking to the other park. Dedicate an entire day to one park and maybe on the last day you can park hop to get another chance at things you might have missed in the previous days. For me, I prefer this schedule at a minimum, 2 days at DL, 1 day at DCA, and the 4th day you can get the parkhopper ticket while starting the day at DCA. Obviously you'll be rope dropping your first days and each park so you don't have to spend money on Lightning lane or genie plus.
Hey Chris- This is all great information and I am so happy to know this. As a person growing up in the Disney realm, my thing was to always get food in the park. Now as an adult, I am understanding how expensive food in theme parks have been getting nowadays. Next time I visit the park, I will have to bring in my own food and drink. I booked a reservation to eat at Lamplight Lounge and I had to wait a 1/2 hour. What I did in that time frame was go on Little Mermaid and I got a buzz on my phone stating that my table was ready. That is a lesson I pass on to everybody.
I wish there was an option to buy a cheaper hopper ticket for 1 day. So I could buy a 3 day pass but hopefully 1 day. Cause that third day is nice to be able to hit both parks.
We sometimes stay around 8 miles away, because the rooms are a bit bigger and way, way less expensive, Marriott Bonvoy, sometimes as little as 125 per night and a free big breakfast. Fridge and microwave. If you are going to pay for parking anyway.
Park hoping at the Magic Kingdom is no joke. The distance, time traveled, parking, and the hassles involved to get to the other parks make me enjoy Disneyland/DCA so much more. And I live in New Mexico, between either coast. 🤣🌺🌸🤘🌴
Hey Chris, We always stay at a hotel across the street from Toy Story parking lot so it’s super easy to hop over to the parks and also not have to walk late at night. Most hotels have an included breakfast so the higher price pays off. Pre covid the Hyatt Place never charged for parking but now they definitely do 😢 Cheers❤
Former SoCal resident here (also former annual pass holder) who's been living in the PNW for 15 years. I relied on your videos for our last trip during Xmas 2023 to get myself up to date with the state of the park (last time I went, Fast Pass was still a thing). As far as your food tips, I found the food extremely affordable and high quality compared to what I remember being an annual passholder *with* food discounts. When I consider small things like coffees or baked goods, to actual meals, they seemed affordable on the cost of the food. Then you add the fact that you're not tipping on the food , and eating at the park is actually cost effective compared to everything except fast food places outside the park. The xmas macaroons totally blew me away. On average, you pay $2-3 for a regular 11.5 inch macaroon. The Disney Xmas macaroons were 5-6 inches in diameter (basically a sandwich), thicker than a standard macaroon AND had fresh fruit in them, and were only $7-$8 each. That's a bargain- I bought several of them and celebrated the new year back home in Seattle with the mint ganache macaroon. I bought a 16 oz holiday coffee (which was amazing) for $6. These days I have a hard time buying a 12 oz for $6 (and that's without tip). The cajun spiced chicken at Tianas is one of the best values I've seen ANYWHERE, and was great quality. For me, the money saving hack when traveling to Disneyland is to EAT AT Disneyland.
One new way to save money on parking or Uber I just tried because we stayed at Anaheim Marriott was using the Toy Story parking lot shuttle to gain entrance to the park. I would only recommend this if you’re staying at one of the nearby hotels on Convention Way and Harbor Blvd. Like the Hilton, Anaheim Marriott, Hyatt Place, etc. It would be a short 5 - 10 min walk from Harbor to the Security and Bus area of the Toy Story parking lot. Another bonus is that when you get to the park you won’t need to pass the security because you already did. 😊
Just down the road from those hotels that were shown across from the entrance is a shop where you can get a pack of water! My family always went there for water bottles as there is not always a good place to fill them up but they are also the perfect size to fit into small bags. (I have a loungfly cross body and they usually fit pretty well). So we did not have to struggle to bring it back we took an empty suitcase!
These are great!! I would have mentioned the food and souvenirs too. I know we all tend to harp on Disney these days for all the negative ways in which the park has changed but it's really truly incredible that you're allowed to bring your own food and drink in. It saves a TON and really helps when I bring clients with special needs that have restricted diets or are just super picky eaters. Also, I did hit up Target and grabbed a couple Mickey bubble wands last time ahead of going and they worked out great!!! SUCH a great hack! I can't think of any that you didn't mention already but if I do I'll come back! Thanks Chris!
If you have four people in your family and everyone wants three marshmallows on a stick then get three Tigger Tails because they come with four marshmallows 😅😅😅
We decided to just do one day park hop and skip the second day. We have been doing two days for a long time and this upcoming will be first time. As adults we can do what we want in one day.
My money saving tips: I have take a bunch of lightweight drinks in a backpack such as Capri Suns. I take a few water bottles, and refill them at fountains in the park (there are fountain maps on the internet). You can also ask for water from restaurants or even for empty water cups to use at fountains. I do a lot of research before I go, and I look at all the different menus and prices. I buy a gift card from Costco to save a few bucks. I try to go on the less expensive days & plan ahead. If you want to save even more money, take snacks.
The average family who has never been seems to go for three days I would love to see your best tips for 3 days at Disneyland or best tips for 3 days at Disneyland.
My man you give the best advice. Planning on showing my boy the Disney parks for the first time all the way from New Zealand in 2024. You're confirming my plans and I'm feeling more confident so thanks man
Some people only want E-tickets and nothing else, and neither park has enough E-tickets to last an entire day (by design, obviously - the guests are meant to experience a wide variety of attractions, not just the thrills). It's not my preferred way, but it is a perspective to view from. I know folks who think that way for sure.
The way we found our hotel was saving on the parking fee and also if it includes breakfast. Our hotel has a full breakfast buffet included in the stay, nothing extra. It also has a full kitchen that will come in handy as we are there for 7 days.
We are going for Christmas this year and we are saving money by giving it to our kids as a gift. We aren’t buying a bunch of other stuff so we save money on those “things” that they would have got otherwise. They will be opening a present of Disney tickets that they don’t know about. Another gift they will get is already packed bags and then we are getting in the truck and starting to drive on Christmas day. Also we are giving them gift cards to spend money at the park and that puts them on a budget to not overspend.
In my prime I could chuck a football from entrance to entrance only problem was in my prime DCA was still a parking lot. I know back in the day after we moved to Nevada we saved money by staying with grandparents. You and your family are also amazing Everytime I watch it's like seeing best friends again.
As someone who has Diet Coke running through his veins… my husband would say that knowing where free refills are available (priorities as he put it… he may have a slight addiction 🤷♀️😂). Pizza Planet and The Plaza.
Very simple but good to know is that every restaurant will give you free water cups and you can often just ask someone rather than wait in line. Some restaurants have them pre-filled and some don’t but I requested maybe 50 of these last time for our group of 8 and saved so much on buying water bottles.
We had a rule for the impulse buying that the kiddo could only get their souvenir on the last day. So they could look at everything, think about it, and then really decide what they wanted. This worked well, except one visit, they actually removed one of the toys -while- we were there. Completely removed from the park! So it can backfire (I ended up getting it for just under double the price off eBay... I felt bad).
For ours it's that he gets to choose ONE souvenir so keep an eye out while we're there... and when we see those toys that we knows he's going to play with for all of a week then forget about we try to covertly lean him away from it, our last trip he decided on a Disney version of Uno, which was pretty dang expensive for an Uno set but he plays it all the time so it was money well spent.
When the kids were younger I would get them a plush ride buddy so they would be brave on the scarier rides because their ride buddy was with them. Was a great way to get a memorable souvenir
We found that taking an Uber from the hotel was cheaper than the ART for a family of 4. Also, saved on parking that way and didn’t have to waste time parking and taking a tram. We also used to give our kids a set amount for a souvenir. They would give their purchase a lot of thought over the day and come home with something they really wanted.
When we would go to Disney World, we would bring 2-3 backpacks of food and drinks. Yes, we would buy some food, maybe one meal and/or a snack or coffee.
Many rides in the park are very handicapped friendly and can accommodate wheelchairs or help with transfers. My wife had just had surgery when we went and she used a scooter to get around. There were so many rides that we didn’t even have to wait in line for and they helped me transfer her in some of them.
I am disabled and we always stay across the street since I bring my own scooter to the parks. Park Vue, in my opinion, is a better stay than desert inn. Camelot was so so but we stayed there many years ago. Haven't stayed at any of the others there on Harbor. When we stayed further, we took the ART transit and I thought is was time consuming to board and unload from the bus. They have to lower the bus for you to drive in and then they have to strap you in. If you don't mind the time it takes for all that it might be worth it to save money on the hotel. As far as helping the disabled at the parks, I agree with @Erik_m509. The cast members are wonderful with transferring to and from ride. I don't need that service as I am ambulatory but I've seen them assist others who do need it. I recommend renting a scooter from an outside service as their pricing is much better for several days than renting a scooter from disneyland. They will drop off the the scooter at the hotel and pick it up when you leave. I believe some hotels already have scooters available to rent as well.
Is there a Walmart o target or some place really close to the parks to buy food? I mean, in order to prepare a sandwich or salads or things like that for going to the parks when you are staying near the entrance of Disneyland? I'm from another country and will go there very soon :0). thanks!
When our kids were little, I would buy snacks like crackers, granola bars, small water bottles, or juice boxes from the store to bring to the park. Then, got Disney stickers from the dollar store and stuck them on all the treats. My kids thought it was so cool to have Disney snacks ;)
Such a clever idea!!!!
Brilliant!!
I love this idea!
This is so smart for littles! I’ve seen the idea to buy Disney merch off site/online/at the outlets and do surprises each day, but I love the snack idea!!
For my little ones we implement the "Disney Fairy". Every night in the hotel the fairy brings a small souvenir for each kiddo. The souvenirs are cheap and usual useful Disney related items. A coloring book, Target bubble wand, Disney tee shirt from Walmart, glow sticks, etc. it keeps us from buying souvenirs in the park and makes those activities we would already bring in the park more exciting. It has become ny kid's favorite part of our trip!
That pause to tell us we make the world a better place was such a nice touch❤ Thank you for the tips.
If you love a Monte Cristo sandwich, get it from Cafe Orleans. It is $7 less than getting it from Blue Bayou. Plus, it comes with Pomme Frites.
Anaheim has a shuttle system that goes around all the hotels called ART. You can stay a mile or 2 away and take the shuttle to the park for $6 a day and you can take as many trips that day as you want. The hotels farther away have deals like free parking, free shuttle passes and free hot breakfast. It’s worth it to get more for less and a nicer hotel!
I was going to take the shuttle system on my last visit to Disneyland, but I read so many poor reviews about the service being unreliable. Since I'm local and a SoCal resident I just parked my car on a neighborhood street not too far from Ball Road and just walked to the park. The walk only took about 12-15 minutes.
free parking at Fullerton Park and Ride @@mjg239
Free refills on select Starbucks coffees/teas at Downtown Disney only with Starbucks app; otherwise it’s 50 cents. -You don’t have to stay at the coffee shop for your refill.
Also, the City of Riverside provides a fwy shuttle (RTA route 200) to Honda Center and Disneyland every 90 minutes for $3.50 (free on Fridays until June 2024). Travel time about an 1 hr from La Sierra Station.
🤯 DUDE!!
You can also take the train to the Anahiem train station (ARTIC) and they have shuttles that goes from the station to Disneyland.
WOW, I did not know this. Do you have to save your receipt?
@@christinehoolihan1825, only if you don’t have the app, then you need to save the receipt.
@@stephengrant2900, the ART shuttle now requires you to schedule a pick up with at least 30 min advance notice.
I'm sure to bring ziplock bags for all sorts of things, but especially for leftovers like a turkey leg. The security guard at the checkpoint asked me about them, and my response --Disney Pro move. I see so many visitors toss food in the trash cans at the entrance of the rides because they can't bring it on. Even a corndog or chimichanga, while best eaten hot, I place in my plastic bag for a snack later in the day. It keeps my day pack clean, too. Oh, and a cup that can be sealed instead of throwing out that expensive soda or other drinks in paper cups before getting on a ride.
Personally, I think the turkey leg is one of the best values at the park. It's a great shared treat.
I bring in a vitamin water, perfect size to refill with water and has a screw top
Plastic bag is a great suggestion! I usually bring a lidded plastic container, the kind you get in some restaurants for leftovers. Adding a plastic bag will let me keep “odd” shaped things.
Great idea but I am shocked you ever have leftover corn dog. Lol. Even if I’m too full…rare….husband will stuff the last bit down his hatch.
Chris I love you. You make it sound like someday this family of 7 with me being disabled will actually be able to go to Disneyland. You are amazing.
Fly in, go get rental car.. go to target and get water and snacks. Go to motel 6 right down the road from the entrance. (Cheap and good) Drop off family, at disney with backpacks of food and water and take car back to motel 6 and park it. Last person walks or takes bus back to disney. I do this every year...lol
Has anyone ever told you and your family how awesome you guys are thank you so much for all you do and say to us love you guys
I decided to take my grandkids to disney last year. There were 8 of us total . All adult tickets. We only did disney 1 day and did universal, legoland the beach. Best money I ever spent.
We just got back from DL. We found all the cute things we wanted at World of Disney store and then purchased them online at Shop Disney and they were 30-40% off with the friends family/holiday discounts, plus free shipping. Bonus, we didn’t have to pack it home, and we have new t shirts to wear on our next trip. The Christmas spirit jerseys are deeply discounted on the website and full price at DL.
I just love everyone saying hi to you in this video!! And those waving in the background 🥲
We usually save money on eating thru kids menu. They give so much food for kid price. Usually 8.99 a full meal. Drink snack and meal included.
Whoohoo!
Shout out from New Mexico.
Will be flying out to Disneyland tomorrow! 🎠💜
you can always ask for water at quick service locations. They'll give you ice water and you can either drink that or use it to fill up the water bottles you brought in with you.
Aloha Amazing Chris Provost.
First the three day pass is a great option for me. I am 70 and I just do not have the energy to park hop..or hop about anywhere really. What works best for me is DL first day..DCA day two (reasoning here is simple..the park closes earlier and I will be a bit tired from the day before. DCA is not really a full day park anyway for me and I do not drink so.)..I can still get on some DCA only rides and see World of Color and get back to my hotel before 12. I can maybe get more sleep and be ready for my last day..no park hopper needed.
Maaaaan, I LOVE the heart to heart's you have with dad's. It's definitely helpful to hear someone talk to me directly and from a reasonable perspective. Thank you.
If you have a Target red card you can save 5% on Disneyland gift cards, we got an extra $50 for free to our budget this way.
To add to this with the use of a target red card, target has a bunch of promotional deals where you send X amount of money and get a $5 or $10 gift card that you can use to buy disney gift cards.
Another easy way to save money is to watch Provost Park Pass’s basement Disneyland tour from a few years ago. Can’t even tell the difference between that and the real park and you’ll save thousands
It’s a little extreme - but we found it was worth it to drop a day, and then buy all genie plus and lightning lane attraction passes. Make the most of the days you do have!
I was wondering about Genie+ and Lighting Lanes. Glad you mentioned this!
During their off season, it is cheaper to buy individual day tickets rather than multi day tickets. For instance, a two day single park ticket is $300 BUT ticket prices can get to be as low as $104 during the off season. The days of Jan 29 - 31st are all $104 each so buying the individual days for those THREE days is only about $15 more expensive (taxes not included) than just a TWO day single park ticket.
Multi tickets default to tier 5 (I think that's what they call it) pricing which is the busiest days. You get a discount for getting multiple days, but as you said you might have to get at least 3 days to actually save money over single day tickets.
I found this out earlier this year after I went to Disneyland
@@druhill2008 so did I lol of course it was after the trip instead lol
I'm going next week, and I did this. 2 days for 208 instead of 310.
So are you saying we have the option to buy single day tickets twice? Instead of the 2 day option?
If you have little ones, like 10 and under, get an adult meal and split it among the kids. The portions are generous and 2 kids will be fine sharing one meal rather than getting them kids meals.
Water is a lot better than soda, and you can get flavor packets to put inside your backpack if you want some flavored water. Water is free. Even ice water is free.
We did this too. So much more food for the money when you get a adult meal.
Brilliant! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Chris. I am having a hard time right now. Thank you for your note
You got this!
Stay strong my friend!
Thanks for shouting out New Mexico not many people know we even exist 😂 keep up the good work Chris!!! Love from NM
Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul put you on the map.
Something you can do to save money on tickets too is to check work savings programs or go through membership programs like Costco or Sam’s Club. We stayed at Pixar Place (not yet complete when we stayed) and did Park Hoppers for four and it was fairly reasonable via Costco. My employer has a program called Beneplace that gives discounts on Disneyland tickets as well.
Go buy the churros next to the haunted mansion, cause they’re the most freshest and warmest of all churro stands in Disneyland 🤫
My husband and I always stay at the HoJo on Harbor, it's actually a quicker walk to the park than the Disneyland hotel, and WAY cheaper of course. We also go to Target and stock up on Smartwater, fill a backpack with them each day and rent a locker. The price of a locker is so much cheaper than buying bottled waters!
Try Anaheim hotel too. A bit closer and it’s so cute
for gift cards, it's important to see if places have discounts on the giftcards. I saw Costco had $250 Disney gift card for $225.
Chris, we love watching you! Could you please do a video on how to safe your feet with all the walking at Disneyland? Thanks😊
Lol! I have feet issues and highly recommend Brooks Ghost shoes. My feet only start feeling the day around ten at night and are good to go again the next day
@@hb7282 Thanks! These are exactly the shoes I've been hoping to find! Yay!
We also stay at the hotels across the street they are closer than 2 of the Disney hotels and you get free breakfast thats a huge savings. We aslo dont let our son buy anthing he wants he picks one thing and we pick it up the last day so he can still shop around but its not a constant ask, and we trade pins so we buy them in bulk off etsy 5 each for like a dollor each so we trade those instead of buying for 20 bucks then trade. Then we spend big on restaurants and churros!
This is so wild, I did ALL of this before watching this video as I’m in my hotel room around the block from Disney, already preparing for next trip. We had a great time and it makes me feel great to be able to save. These tips are helpful for life and travel in general! Thanks for posting this content.
We do the single day park tickets and then add genie+ for the 'free' photopass included. It's not quite as much as park hopper, but it's so worth it it the free pics and the lightning lanes!
I have a Disney Chase card that earns Disney dollars. I put my household expenses on it and pay it off at the end of the month. We hadn’t gone in a couple of years one time and I had around $800. Paid for all the food and souvenirs. Don’t quote me, but I think you can buy park tickets with the Disney dollars, too.
Yes! Just did it!
Dear Parkgoers, RE: FOOD... I recently went to Disneyland on Christmas Eve 2023. It was a Tier 6 day, the most expensive time to visit Disneyland. I didn't buy any food in the park except for hot cup of coffee at night! How I did it: I recommend bringing a comfortable backpack AND a secondary big shopping bag and load it with a lot of food AND drinks, including an empty PLASTIC water bottles for refilling at water fountains in the park. For the big shopping bag, there are lockers outside of the park that you can pay to access for a day as many times as you need. I loaded up a bag filled with food from a local Anaheim grocery store (grapes, pre-made deli sandwich wraps, big bags of chips, bananas, gummi bears, granola snack bars, even big 2 liter bottles of sweetened Tea) and brought it all into the park thru security. Security is only checking for things that are banned like alcohol, w3apons, drones, etc. They are perfectly fine with big bottles of cola, tea, water, etc. Also, bring that big bag and put it in the paid lockers before you enter the park and just carry sandwiches, snacks, bottled water, drinks and fruit into the park in your second comfortable backpack. Then when you get the urge to eat in the long lines for ride you can just munch on it while you wait for an attraction, at a parade, or what not. And you'll be the envy of many of the guests who didn't even think to do it! Also at the end of a full Disneyland day after walking everywhere, the BIG BAG is USUALLY EMPTY lol. All the chips, fruit, sandwiches, drinks are consumed and GONE. NOTHING IS WASTED and if you don't finish it all, bring it HOME (if you're local) or back to your hotel room for the next days! ✨
I like the freedom of the park hopper - if one park is feeling busy, I can just scoot over to the other one. I’ve been saving up gift cards through things like Disney Movie Insiders.
I agree about park hopping. We never pay for it because it's just not needed. We have been staying at Candy Cane Inn for about 25 years; walking distance, free shuttle, breakfast included, AAA and AARP discounts, as well as free parking and recently renovated and significantly less expensive than the Disney hotels. Thanks for all your videos.
Good video Chris. We went in December 2022 and used many of your tips. Getaway Today was great to use. Definitely recommend bringing your own snacks and eat 1 nice meal in the park (we saved one of our fancy dinners for Blue Bayou). We also didn’t get park hoppers for all 3 days we were there.1 day at California Adventure was plenty. And if a family is driving to Anaheim like we did, it’s totally worth driving over to Walmart to buy Disneyland T shirts. They have tons of Disney stuff for half of what it costs in the park.
Bring your stroller, have your children nap in the stroller and enjoy the ambiance. BRING YOUR FOOD! Bring a thermos of something hot. Bring your drinks, bring juice/drink concentrate and add it to your free water. The buffeteria restaurants will give you a free hot water, add to your hot cocoa packets, teas, to save 5 bucks a drink. Get a free ice cup and use it for your brought in soda. All of the chicken dinners(Plaza Inn, Rancho Del Zocalo, Tiana's Palace) are splitable, bring a salad to stretch your dinner the money you spend on a locker will save you a ton of money if you bring a lot of food. You can eat your brought in food at the counter service restaurants. Skip the kids meals don't get pizza at DL. You can use your Starbucks gift cards at the local Starbucks, which by the way has the most affordable breakfast sandwiches in the parks, but better to eat an enormous breakfast before you get there. Rope drop, rope drop, rope drop and stay till the very end, the lines are shorter early and late.
Thanks, Chris! I'm amazed that I knew all of this, lol. I would like to add to your point of the parkhopper ticket. Definitely prioritize the single park tickets. You'll be doing a lot of walking in whichever park you start your day at. Most people get too tired to go over to the 2nd park of the day or you miss a lot of things just in the time spent walking to the other park. Dedicate an entire day to one park and maybe on the last day you can park hop to get another chance at things you might have missed in the previous days. For me, I prefer this schedule at a minimum, 2 days at DL, 1 day at DCA, and the 4th day you can get the parkhopper ticket while starting the day at DCA. Obviously you'll be rope dropping your first days and each park so you don't have to spend money on Lightning lane or genie plus.
Blessings to you and the family , Thank you for all your information and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year ❤
Hey Chris- This is all great information and I am so happy to know this. As a person growing up in the Disney realm, my thing was to always get food in the park. Now as an adult, I am understanding how expensive food in theme parks have been getting nowadays. Next time I visit the park, I will have to bring in my own food and drink. I booked a reservation to eat at Lamplight Lounge and I had to wait a 1/2 hour. What I did in that time frame was go on Little Mermaid and I got a buzz on my phone stating that my table was ready. That is a lesson I pass on to everybody.
Buy collapsible water bottles for the airport and Disneyland. They don't take up the space if they are empty.
Oh also I order a Short hot drink at Starbucks. To save money. I get my Starbucks kick but in a size I can actually finish on my own. 😊
I'm so glad my 4 year old doesn't care about souvenirs. Also when I was younger my parents used to pack us lunch and snacks to save money
The look on my husband's face when the after show anthem began..
Plus, he's already on these tips. He's brilliant.
I wish there was an option to buy a cheaper hopper ticket for 1 day. So I could buy a 3 day pass but hopefully 1 day. Cause that third day is nice to be able to hit both parks.
Thank you for ideas! Especially on booking hotel! Will be coming for my 70th birthday January 4 and 5.
We sometimes stay around 8 miles away, because the rooms are a bit bigger and way, way less expensive, Marriott Bonvoy, sometimes as little as 125 per night and a free big breakfast. Fridge and microwave. If you are going to pay for parking anyway.
@@christinehoolihan1825 why thank you for the tip! Either parking or Uber. Thank you so much!
We are going in May from Montana, we got 4 day park hopper w/Genie tickets thru Military welfare and recreation, which saved us $1100!
Will you do a video about the different stores and restaurants outside of the park that are in walking distance?
Park hoping at the Magic Kingdom is no joke. The distance, time traveled, parking, and the hassles involved to get to the other parks make me enjoy Disneyland/DCA so much more. And I live in New Mexico, between either coast. 🤣🌺🌸🤘🌴
Catching up on my positivity and Disney tips!!! Love 🥰 You and the PPP community! Hugs all around!!! 🤗🤗🤗😍
Can save by using the anehiem transit to get from hotel to park I used last year to get from the clementine to the parks
Hey Chris, We always stay at a hotel across the street from Toy Story parking lot so it’s super easy to hop over to the parks and also not have to walk late at night. Most hotels have an included breakfast so the higher price pays off. Pre covid the Hyatt Place never charged for parking but now they definitely do 😢
Cheers❤
I did that too! It’s a good idea so you don’t have to pay for parking at Disney
Also- when you get on the bus at the parking lot you have already gone through their security line. Which is way faster than the park entrance!
Excellent tips Chris.
Stayed at Park Vue Inn in 2018, breakfast included back then, amazing location and reasonable price!
We have 2 weeks today and these are very helpful!!! Thank you!!!
Former SoCal resident here (also former annual pass holder) who's been living in the PNW for 15 years. I relied on your videos for our last trip during Xmas 2023 to get myself up to date with the state of the park (last time I went, Fast Pass was still a thing).
As far as your food tips, I found the food extremely affordable and high quality compared to what I remember being an annual passholder *with* food discounts. When I consider small things like coffees or baked goods, to actual meals, they seemed affordable on the cost of the food. Then you add the fact that you're not tipping on the food , and eating at the park is actually cost effective compared to everything except fast food places outside the park.
The xmas macaroons totally blew me away. On average, you pay $2-3 for a regular 11.5 inch macaroon. The Disney Xmas macaroons were 5-6 inches in diameter (basically a sandwich), thicker than a standard macaroon AND had fresh fruit in them, and were only $7-$8 each. That's a bargain- I bought several of them and celebrated the new year back home in Seattle with the mint ganache macaroon. I bought a 16 oz holiday coffee (which was amazing) for $6. These days I have a hard time buying a 12 oz for $6 (and that's without tip). The cajun spiced chicken at Tianas is one of the best values I've seen ANYWHERE, and was great quality.
For me, the money saving hack when traveling to Disneyland is to EAT AT Disneyland.
ART bus passes are a great alternative for transportation!
Sam's club offers a great discount to club members. Also, the Wellness Card savings offered through health benefit. 😉
How's it going, Chris! Thanks!
Good!
@provostparkpass Good to hear! I'd like to see you at Disneyland someday.
Target is pretty close. We stop there and take in snacks and lunch to the park
One new way to save money on parking or Uber I just tried because we stayed at Anaheim Marriott was using the Toy Story parking lot shuttle to gain entrance to the park. I would only recommend this if you’re staying at one of the nearby hotels on Convention Way and Harbor Blvd. Like the Hilton, Anaheim Marriott, Hyatt Place, etc. It would be a short 5 - 10 min walk from Harbor to the Security and Bus area of the Toy Story parking lot. Another bonus is that when you get to the park you won’t need to pass the security because you already did. 😊
Just down the road from those hotels that were shown across from the entrance is a shop where you can get a pack of water! My family always went there for water bottles as there is not always a good place to fill them up but they are also the perfect size to fit into small bags. (I have a loungfly cross body and they usually fit pretty well). So we did not have to struggle to bring it back we took an empty suitcase!
You're awesome too Chris, we hope you know that too!
These are great!! I would have mentioned the food and souvenirs too. I know we all tend to harp on Disney these days for all the negative ways in which the park has changed but it's really truly incredible that you're allowed to bring your own food and drink in. It saves a TON and really helps when I bring clients with special needs that have restricted diets or are just super picky eaters.
Also, I did hit up Target and grabbed a couple Mickey bubble wands last time ahead of going and they worked out great!!! SUCH a great hack! I can't think of any that you didn't mention already but if I do I'll come back! Thanks Chris!
There's a Target store on Harbor Blvd, south toward Garden Grove and a Food4Less store on Katella Ave, west of Disneyland
If you have four people in your family and everyone wants three marshmallows on a stick then get three Tigger Tails because they come with four marshmallows 😅😅😅
We decided to just do one day park hop and skip the second day. We have been doing two days for a long time and this upcoming will be first time. As adults we can do what we want in one day.
My money saving tips: I have take a bunch of lightweight drinks in a backpack such as Capri Suns. I take a few water bottles, and refill them at fountains in the park (there are fountain maps on the internet). You can also ask for water from restaurants or even for empty water cups to use at fountains. I do a lot of research before I go, and I look at all the different menus and prices. I buy a gift card from Costco to save a few bucks. I try to go on the less expensive days & plan ahead. If you want to save even more money, take snacks.
The average family who has never been seems to go for three days I would love to see your best tips for 3 days at Disneyland or best tips for 3 days at Disneyland.
Chris, we can't wait to get back out to Disneyland this summer. Thanks for the money-saving tips!
My man you give the best advice. Planning on showing my boy the Disney parks for the first time all the way from New Zealand in 2024. You're confirming my plans and I'm feeling more confident so thanks man
Parkhoppers are a CRAZY waste of money in almost all situations. I will never understand why they are so popular.
In my family's case we usually only do one day so that's why we park hop we want to experience both parks.
Exactly what the commented above said, we live in California and sometimes just do one day at a time and spread out our vacations. So we'll park hop.
Some people only want E-tickets and nothing else, and neither park has enough E-tickets to last an entire day (by design, obviously - the guests are meant to experience a wide variety of attractions, not just the thrills). It's not my preferred way, but it is a perspective to view from. I know folks who think that way for sure.
The way we found our hotel was saving on the parking fee and also if it includes breakfast. Our hotel has a full breakfast buffet included in the stay, nothing extra. It also has a full kitchen that will come in handy as we are there for 7 days.
So smart. 💚💙
First 😂 love your videos ❤
We are going for Christmas this year and we are saving money by giving it to our kids as a gift. We aren’t buying a bunch of other stuff so we save money on those “things” that they would have got otherwise. They will be opening a present of Disney tickets that they don’t know about. Another gift they will get is already packed bags and then we are getting in the truck and starting to drive on Christmas day. Also we are giving them gift cards to spend money at the park and that puts them on a budget to not overspend.
I have always wanted to do this one, it is such a fabulous idea. I hope you and your folks have a wonderful time!
Now that is cool. Thank u for the idea on such a great gift. The gift cards are genius as things can def get out of hand w/out budgeting lol.
We use the public bus route that drops you right by the area that searches your bags
Pre-buying souvenirs is genius!!
In my prime I could chuck a football from entrance to entrance only problem was in my prime DCA was still a parking lot. I know back in the day after we moved to Nevada we saved money by staying with grandparents. You and your family are also amazing Everytime I watch it's like seeing best friends again.
Buy cooling towels before you go! Or buy the Mickey ones and bring them back every time.
Gift cards from Sam’s club and Costco! Can get one from Costco 224 for $250 value. Similar at Sam’s in $500 increments
Nice!!!
As someone who has Diet Coke running through his veins… my husband would say that knowing where free refills are available (priorities as he put it… he may have a slight addiction 🤷♀️😂). Pizza Planet and The Plaza.
Very simple but good to know is that every restaurant will give you free water cups and you can often just ask someone rather than wait in line. Some restaurants have them pre-filled and some don’t but I requested maybe 50 of these last time for our group of 8 and saved so much on buying water bottles.
Have you heard the restaurant huckleberrys in gardenwalk it’s good its southern brunch food
You’re an awesome 😎 TH-cam channel.
We had a rule for the impulse buying that the kiddo could only get their souvenir on the last day. So they could look at everything, think about it, and then really decide what they wanted.
This worked well, except one visit, they actually removed one of the toys -while- we were there. Completely removed from the park! So it can backfire (I ended up getting it for just under double the price off eBay... I felt bad).
For ours it's that he gets to choose ONE souvenir so keep an eye out while we're there... and when we see those toys that we knows he's going to play with for all of a week then forget about we try to covertly lean him away from it, our last trip he decided on a Disney version of Uno, which was pretty dang expensive for an Uno set but he plays it all the time so it was money well spent.
When the kids were younger I would get them a plush ride buddy so they would be brave on the scarier rides because their ride buddy was with them. Was a great way to get a memorable souvenir
Question: Is it still $70/person for the park hopper if I upgrade my ticket at the park the day of?
Yes
@@provostparkpass thank you! That’s good to know.
i love it when you do your tip videos. My bday is in April and I want to go to Disneyland. For cheaper hotel prices should i go in April or March.
Thank you, very informative
We found that taking an Uber from the hotel was cheaper than the ART for a family of 4. Also, saved on parking that way and didn’t have to waste time parking and taking a tram.
We also used to give our kids a set amount for a souvenir. They would give their purchase a lot of thought over the day and come home with something they really wanted.
When we would go to Disney World, we would bring 2-3 backpacks of food and drinks. Yes, we would buy some food, maybe one meal and/or a snack or coffee.
Am I allowed to pack in Red Bull???
If you Park Hop start at Disneyland go to DCA after it closes you are allowed back into Disneyland
As a husband of a disabled wife, distance is an issue. But transfers offered might be a deal breaker?
Many rides in the park are very handicapped friendly and can accommodate wheelchairs or help with transfers. My wife had just had surgery when we went and she used a scooter to get around. There were so many rides that we didn’t even have to wait in line for and they helped me transfer her in some of them.
I am disabled and we always stay across the street since I bring my own scooter to the parks. Park Vue, in my opinion, is a better stay than desert inn. Camelot was so so but we stayed there many years ago. Haven't stayed at any of the others there on Harbor. When we stayed further, we took the ART transit and I thought is was time consuming to board and unload from the bus. They have to lower the bus for you to drive in and then they have to strap you in. If you don't mind the time it takes for all that it might be worth it to save money on the hotel. As far as helping the disabled at the parks, I agree with @Erik_m509. The cast members are wonderful with transferring to and from ride. I don't need that service as I am ambulatory but I've seen them assist others who do need it. I recommend renting a scooter from an outside service as their pricing is much better for several days than renting a scooter from disneyland. They will drop off the the scooter at the hotel and pick it up when you leave. I believe some hotels already have scooters available to rent as well.
Parkhop would be useful if there was a ride you wanted that was down for the day.
I appreciate your videos 👍
Is there a Walmart o target or some place really close to the parks to buy food? I mean, in order to prepare a sandwich or salads or things like that for going to the parks when you are staying near the entrance of Disneyland? I'm from another country and will go there very soon :0). thanks!
Yes target is about 1.5 miles from Disneyland
wow thanks for the answer! ✨@@provostparkpass
You can have groceries delivered to your hotel room from Target!
Wow! @ntrywelch that's great! thanks!
One way we save on merch is go to the local Walmart and get shirts hats water bottles there.... Its soooo much cheaper.
ironically you can save money by eating in the park instead of the Craftsman Grille in GCH