Disneyland-advice please

[BiggerPiggyBank]

One good way to avoid food costs is to pack your own snacks, and
leave the park for meals. This also lets kids, especially younger
ones, time to unwind.

When we took our 5 year old to her first amusment park, we went in a
group of 5- my, my husband, a friend, my 5 year old, and my 14 year
old sister. Half way through the day, I left with my sister and
daughter and went back to our hotel to eat. They had a chance to
swim in the pool, and we ate cheap, plus Raegan (my daughter) got to
unwind.

There weren’t large crowds, or waiting lines, or constant
stimulation being shoved in our faces the entire time, which is
tiring even for adults!

If you are planning to go for more than a single day to the park,
then I would schedule sections of the park for different days, as it
IS a large place. Leave for at least 1 meal, and keep healthy snacks
in a back pack, such as: granola bars, crackers w/peanut butter,
frozen juice boxes, a small container of grapes or watermelon, etc.
These will help fill you up without sugaring you up at the same
time. Also, watery fruit serves two purposes: it provides liquid and
food, so it will also help quench thirst!

Keep these in hard
containers though, just small single serving ones will do for a
snack, and the fruit won’t get crushed.

It might also be in your best interest to find a room with a
kitchenette, and pack some food, or plan to go to a grocery store
while in California. You’ll get food MUCH cheaper at a grocerie
store than at small gas stations for snacks and what not.

Fun stuff at parks can definatly be tempting- games, souviner shops,
junk food, balloons, etc… Limit yourself to a budge each day for
what you plan to spend on specific things.

It’s been 10 years since I’ve gone, but when I went I was at Walt
Disney World in FL for 5 days, 4 nights, and I had $200 total to
spend after the hotel costs. I limited myself to $20 a day for food,
and was able to stick to it easily even including a single snack
each day. I ate at the hotel for Breakfest, which was Comissary
style- lots of styles of food, buffet and what not, so I only got
what I wanted and knew I’d eat.

I also made sure to eat good at
breakfest, to avoid getting hungry earlier in the day.

If a kitchenette isn’t available at your hotel, ask if they have a
microwave in the lobby, and maybe just get some different
microwaveable foods that will be easy- bags of popcorn, frozen pizza
(pick one up at a grocer that night), cans of soup, that sort of
thing.

If you can bring a cooler, buy a half gallon or gallon of milk, and
cereal. Buy cheap plastic bowls at the dollar store, and get
disposable spoons. Breakfast is served without spending a dime.

Also
check to see if your hotel provides complimentary continental
breakfasts. If they provide it, take part! The less you have to
spend, the better!

Call around and get rates, and find out how close to the park it is
by using Mapquest. See if it’s on a bus route, or if they offer a
shuttle service to and from the park. If there’s two hotels, and one
is $20 more, but provides free shuttles, you’ll save a ton in
taxi’s, and bus fares.

for each child, and yourselves, set a souviner limit, and save
actual buying for the last day of the trip. this way, they can
puruse everything, and see what they like best before buying. they
might find something they love the first day, but if they buy it,
and find something better later in the trip, they’re out of luck.

stick to the limit on souviners. it’s fun to shop, but chances are,
4 months from now, it’ll be collecting dust somewhere. Photo’s are
great ways to remember the trip.

If your children are older, like 8
or up, get them each a cheap disposable camera for taking thier own
pictures. You’ll get all sorts of different shots without having to
take them all yourself, and your children will love seeing what they
got when it’s turned in.

Make frequent rest stops. The sun is hot, the lines are long, and
you’ll all be overly stimulized before long! If you can, get a park
hopper pass which allows you to visit numerous parks in 1 day.

The
time to transport between them will be a down time, and you can get
in small parts of 2 parks in a day, instead of trying to take in an
entire park in a single day.

Remember- kids have more energy, but they also get overly stimulized
much easier- if they’re getting cranky, or whiney, or not acting
normal, it’s time for a break! You’ll all enjoy it much more if you
go at a slow pace!

good luck, i hope this helps, and have fun!!

[Author]

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