A Cost Effective Visit to the Land of the Major Mouse(Disneyland)

No one would have dreamed that "the happiest place on earth" would be so financially challenging to families who would like to go. A family of four is forced to plan and budget wisely a month or two in advance just to enjoy the novelties. What do I mean? To obtain tickets, as of this writing, the cost for ages 0 - 9 is $56.00 and for ages 10 and above it is $66.00; to park at the "Mouse House" $11.00; gas to get there and back would start at $55.00/dependent upon what you drive and where your starting point is. So we have already spent for a family of four: a minimum of $310.00; For food: A burger, fries and a drink you should count on spending approximately $15.00 per person; Bottled water or soda: approximately $5.00 per bottle; Mouse Ears approximately $20.00 for the plain ones; so if we just get souviners for the kids and everybody only has one bottled water or soda were looking at approximately another $120.00, which brings our grand total to $430.00 for one day. Does this mean that a family or group of friends should avoid Disneyland at all "cost"? I would not go that far, you just have to plan ahead by deciding in advance (before you get the kids excited) how much you want to spend.

If you have $500.00 plus dollars and you don't mind spending it then congratulations, you are doing very well. If you don't have that kind of money but would still like to splurge just a little, then with a little planning we can get you to Disneyland (legally) for a little less but with all of the fun. First and foremost obtaining the tickets.

• If you would like to obtain tickets to the Land of the Major Mouse for a little bit less than retail my first recommendation to you is do not wait until the last minute so you can check the online auctions like ebay. If you are watching closely you can purchase an adult ticket for about $50.00 and children for even less than that. That will save you about $30.00 (which you can use $11.00 towards parking). You may also want to take a look at Craigs List before you purchase tickets.
• Go to your local club store (costco, sams club, etc), Smart & Final, Walmart, or even your local grocery store and buy beverages, snack foods, fruit and whatever else your family enjoys while at an amusement park. Get a bag and pack your goodies all in one, easy to carry bag.
• Plan to either leave the park to eat at the Golden Arches, BK or some other fast food place or simply have foods in your car in an ice chest that you would take to a picnic. You can fry chicken, make sandwiches, have some fruit, whatever will keep in the car and still taste good.
• Lastly if you would really like to cut corners... Do not buy your souvenirs at Disneyland. Take your own camera and snap pictures at will, then print them and frame them professionally. Another idea is to purchase your souvenirs in advance from ebay you'd be suprised what they have listed. Keep your souvenirs as a secret, in the car and give it to them once they arrive or when your leaving.

These are just a few ideas that will make your trip to the Land of The Major Mouse more cost effective. For additional tips that I may have left out Click Here and enjoy!