A trip to Disneyland can be expensive no matter how big your travel party is. However, for large families, these trips can become very expensive very quickly. When considering the price of tickets, lodging, travel, food, experiences, and merchandise, the numbers add up quickly when you’re paying for a large group of people.
Don’t let this keep you from visiting The Happiest Place on Earth. There are many ways to budget and cut costs in order to make your family’s dream trip to Disneyland a reality. As someone who frequently travels to Disney with a large family, I have picked up on many tips and tricks over the years.
In just one week, we will be setting out on another Disneyland adventure together. In this article, I’m going to share tips with you that help budget for a Disneyland trip with a large family. Follow along to learn how you can make a Disneyland trip more feasible for you and your family!
One of the very first things you’re going to want to think about is how you and your family are going to get to Disneyland. When you’re planning a budget for a Disneyland trip with a large family, travel expenses play a very large role. Consider which travel method is the most cost effective for you.
Of course, besides the price, your location will also need to be considered. Some Guests live close enough to drive. Others live far enough away to where they could drive, but flying is also an option. If this is you, take the time to study the cost of driving and see how it compares to flight prices. For large families, it would be more financially beneficial to travel together take a larger vehicle such as a van as opposed to driving multiple vehicles. Would you be able to take your own vehicle? Would you need to rent? Costs such as car rental prices, gas, food for the trip, and so forth would need to be considered when you’re comparing the cost of driving to flight prices.
If you live far enough away to where flying is the only option, like my family and I do, you’re going to want to make the price of your flight as budget friendly as possible. Compare prices between different airlines and shop around for the cheapest flight. If your travel dates are flexible, look at the airline calendars and consider flying on their most affordable dates.
Even when finding a cheap flight, I do understand that this can still result in a large bill due to the number of people in your travel party. If it would make it easier on you, rather than paying for your flight in one large chunk, consider paying the flight off with a payment plan. Many airlines now have this option at checkout. By choosing this option, you’ll be able to split your flight into monthly payments (generally 9-12 months). This is a great way to make the cost of a flight for a large family more feasible rather than dishing out thousands of dollars at the time of booking.
READ MORE – Here Are the Attractions We Want Disneyland to Bring Back to the Parks
Your budget for a Disneyland trip with a large family will of course include lodging. Right off the bat, I’m going to suggest that you stay off property. This suggestion is in no way a negative reflection of the Disneyland Resort hotels. The three on property hotels are extremely beautiful and come with a variety of perks. However, none of them are very cost effective. Some Guests may be used to Walt Disney World’s Value Resort prices. This is not something that you’ll find at Disneyland Resort. The Disneyland Resort hotel prices are very much comparable to the Deluxe Resorts at Walt Disney World.
That being said, there are a ton of hotel options near Disneyland. When searching for a hotel that will fit a budget for a Disneyland trip with a large family, consider the price and location. One of the perks of Disneyland Resort hotels is that they are within walking distance to the parks. However, many of the off property hotels are also within walking distance and MUCH more affordable.
Now, I will make a note that you shouldn’t simply go off of the word of hotel websites in regard to distance. Almost all hotels within a certain mile radius will state on their website that they are within walking distance of Disneyland. However, what you might expect to be a 5-10 minute walk may end up being a 20 minute or longer walk. Pull up a map and make sure that your hotel is actually close to the Disneyland Resort entrance. The most ideal hotels will be located on or near South Harbor Boulevard.
Besides staying off property, you can additionally budget for a Disneyland trip with a large family by staying in a family suite. That is exactly what my family and I are doing for our upcoming Disneyland trip. Rather than paying for two separate rooms, we’re able to budget and save money by staying together in a family suite. For this trip, we’re staying at Del Sol Inn Anaheim Resort. We chose to stay here because we’re able to stay in a family suite at an affordable price and are right across the street from the Disneyland Resort entrance.
In all honesty, I very much enjoy Park Hopping at Disneyland. Since the parks are within walking distance of one another, Park Hopping is extremely ideal. However, when I budget for a Disneyland trip with a large family, I cut out unnecessary expenses. When possible, I like to apply the money that I saved to another portion of my trip.
When traveling with my large family, I opt to stick with 1-Park Per Day tickets. I do this as a way to save money and as a way to prioritize how my money is spent. By purchasing a 1-Park Per Day ticket, the money that was saved can be used to upgrade my day by purchasing Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single Passes.
In other words, you can use your money to maximize your day at one park instead of using money to stretch your day across both parks.
Another aspect that you’ll need to consider when you budget for a Disneyland trip with a large family is food. Food can actually be a very large portion of your budget. However, it doesn’t have to be!
Feeding a family isn’t cheap, especially a large one. You can start cutting into this expense by staying at a hotel that offers free breakfast. This instantly cuts out the price of one meal per day. While that may not seem like a lot, those feeding large families know that every meal counts. Having the opportunity to start your day off with a free breakfast is a great way to start saving money on food during your Disneyland vacation.
Another way to save money on food during your Disneyland vacation is by placing a grocery order. When placing a grocery order, you can have them delivered to your hotel or you can pick them up yourself. This is an excellent way to cut food costs. Not only will you have food available to you in your hotel room, you can also take this food with you to the parks!
I do understand that this may not be something that everyone wants to do. You’re on vacation and you want to enjoy yourself, not live off of packed meals for the entirety of your trip. If this is you, you can still save money with a grocery order for select members of your party. This is what I do.
For example, my children are both extremely picky eaters. Because of this, I place grocery orders to get food only for them. I experienced enough trips where I paid for Disney theme park food that went to waste. Not only did I waste money on the food, I still had hungry kiddos. While they may enjoy it, living off of Mickey Ice Cream bars the entire vacation isn’t advised. Therefore, I started buying groceries and packing meals for only them. This way, we can enjoy the park food that we like, they have food available that they like, I’m saving money, and no one's going hungry.
If you have picky eaters in your party, consider this cost saving solution. This can also be helpful for anyone with special diets. While Disney does go out of their way to accommodate dietary restrictions, sometimes it’s easier to just have your own food with you.
If you’re not wanting to spend money on Disney food, but aren’t too keen on getting groceries for your trip, I do have another suggestion for you. Besides being surrounded by hotels, Disneyland Resort is also surrounded by restaurants. Right outside of the Disneyland entrance, you’ll be able to find an abundance of dining locations including well known establishments such as Denny’s, IHOP, McDonald’s, and Panera. There are also many local restaurants such as a pizza shop, Hawaiian BBQ joint, a cafe, donut store, and more.
If you’re wanting to eat out, but are wanting to avoid Disney prices, take a look at the surrounding area and plan to eat at a nearby location instead. This way, you can easily leave the park, eat your meal, and then walk back over to continue the rest of your day at Disneyland Resort.
Besides saving money on food, you can also save money on drinks. My family is made up mostly of water drinkers. By bringing reusable bottles with us to the parks, we’re able to save money on drinks and stay hydrated throughout the day. Also, again, I can prioritize this money. Rather than spending around $5 on a bottle of water, I can use that money to get a delicious DOLE Whip instead.
For information on water refill locations, read our article “Where Can You Refill Water Bottles at Disneyland?”.
While some things are extremely easy to budget for, other things aren’t, such as merchandise. When you’re trying to budget for a Disneyland trip with a large family, consider setting a spending limit for merchandise. This is extremely useful when it comes to children. Some families like to set a daily limit. I’ve personally found it useful to purchase Disney Gift Cards prior to our trips.
For us adults, I don’t set a budget. Honestly, we have a harder time overspending on the children rather than on ourselves. To help with this, I get each child their own Disney Gift Card. Each child has a set limit on their card. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. (In theory. Sometimes us adults still make purchases for them afterwards. However, this does still help us all budget better.)
By doing this, they can feel like they have their own money and they have to put more thought into their purchases. Rather than asking for and wanting everything that they see, they consider the price of it first and decide if they want to go ahead with the purchase or think about it for a bit and see what else is available.
While Disney Gift Cards are available at many stores, I have purchased my children’s vacation gift cards online from the Disney Store on a number of occasions. They have a wide variety of design selections. This is a fun way to pick out a card that is unique to your child. It also makes it easier to tell the cards apart during your trip and another way to make their money feel like their own.
For even more money saving tips, read our article “Disney Gift Card Discounts – How to Get Deals on Gift Cards”.
By now, you know that one of my favorite ways to budget for a Disneyland trip with a large family is by prioritizing my spending. This tip can also be used in regards to experiences. You don’t want to save money by not spending any at all. Don’t limit yourself to the point where you don’t have any fun. Instead, consider what is truly important to you and what you consider to be a valuable use of your money.
Here’s one example of how I did this for the Disneyland trip that I have coming up. Initially we had a character breakfast booked. We’ve done character breakfasts before and we do truly enjoy them. However, after taking a moment to think about it, we decided that we had other things that we’d rather spend our money on. This is how we came to this decision.
Firstly, as I mentioned previously, my children are extremely picky eaters. While we have paid for character breakfasts in the past simply for the experience, we decided that we’d rather not pay for the experience this time. We know our son won’t eat any of the food and our daughter won’t eat enough to validate the bill. Also, the characters that we were dining with were standard characters such as Mickey, Minnie, Chip and Dale, and Pluto. I know without a doubt that we’ll be able to meet every single one of these characters during our time in the park.
Because of this, we decided to cancel our reservation, skip the character breakfast this time, and put the money towards an experience that we’ve never done before. With the money that we saved, we’re now going to enjoy a World of Color Dessert Party. The last time we were on a Disneyland vacation, we weren’t able to see World of Color at all. Now, we have a guaranteed viewing of the show in a seated area with the bonus of desserts.
By prioritizing experiences, I was able to put my money to better use for my family. This is a tip that I encourage you to try as well. Prioritizing spending is something that you can do during the planning process of your trip as well as during your trip.
Disneyland is filled with so many magical experiences, but all of the action can easily become overstimulating, and sometimes you just want a quiet spot to relax. We've compiled 20 of our favorite secret spots around the Disneyland Resort that you should check out, including quiet places to rest, underrated attractions, hidden gem spots, and more.
The Disney Parks are filled with all kinds of interesting foods, but some of their offerings may raise some eyebrows. See 10 of the craziest foods you can get at Disney Parks—would you dare to try any of these?
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1. Consider the Most Cost Effective Travel Method
One of the very first things you’re going to want to think about is how you and your family are going to get to Disneyland. When you’re planning a budget for a Disneyland trip with a large family, travel expenses play a very large role. Consider which travel method is the most cost effective for you.
Of course, besides the price, your location will also need to be considered. Some Guests live close enough to drive. Others live far enough away to where they could drive, but flying is also an option. If this is you, take the time to study the cost of driving and see how it compares to flight prices. For large families, it would be more financially beneficial to travel together take a larger vehicle such as a van as opposed to driving multiple vehicles. Would you be able to take your own vehicle? Would you need to rent? Costs such as car rental prices, gas, food for the trip, and so forth would need to be considered when you’re comparing the cost of driving to flight prices.
If you live far enough away to where flying is the only option, like my family and I do, you’re going to want to make the price of your flight as budget friendly as possible. Compare prices between different airlines and shop around for the cheapest flight. If your travel dates are flexible, look at the airline calendars and consider flying on their most affordable dates.
2. Split Up the Cost of Your Flight
Even when finding a cheap flight, I do understand that this can still result in a large bill due to the number of people in your travel party. If it would make it easier on you, rather than paying for your flight in one large chunk, consider paying the flight off with a payment plan. Many airlines now have this option at checkout. By choosing this option, you’ll be able to split your flight into monthly payments (generally 9-12 months). This is a great way to make the cost of a flight for a large family more feasible rather than dishing out thousands of dollars at the time of booking.
3. Stay Off Property
READ MORE – Here Are the Attractions We Want Disneyland to Bring Back to the Parks
Your budget for a Disneyland trip with a large family will of course include lodging. Right off the bat, I’m going to suggest that you stay off property. This suggestion is in no way a negative reflection of the Disneyland Resort hotels. The three on property hotels are extremely beautiful and come with a variety of perks. However, none of them are very cost effective. Some Guests may be used to Walt Disney World’s Value Resort prices. This is not something that you’ll find at Disneyland Resort. The Disneyland Resort hotel prices are very much comparable to the Deluxe Resorts at Walt Disney World.
That being said, there are a ton of hotel options near Disneyland. When searching for a hotel that will fit a budget for a Disneyland trip with a large family, consider the price and location. One of the perks of Disneyland Resort hotels is that they are within walking distance to the parks. However, many of the off property hotels are also within walking distance and MUCH more affordable.
Now, I will make a note that you shouldn’t simply go off of the word of hotel websites in regard to distance. Almost all hotels within a certain mile radius will state on their website that they are within walking distance of Disneyland. However, what you might expect to be a 5-10 minute walk may end up being a 20 minute or longer walk. Pull up a map and make sure that your hotel is actually close to the Disneyland Resort entrance. The most ideal hotels will be located on or near South Harbor Boulevard.
Avoid Booking Multiple Rooms
Besides staying off property, you can additionally budget for a Disneyland trip with a large family by staying in a family suite. That is exactly what my family and I are doing for our upcoming Disneyland trip. Rather than paying for two separate rooms, we’re able to budget and save money by staying together in a family suite. For this trip, we’re staying at Del Sol Inn Anaheim Resort. We chose to stay here because we’re able to stay in a family suite at an affordable price and are right across the street from the Disneyland Resort entrance.
4. Don't Upgrade to Park Hopper Tickets
In all honesty, I very much enjoy Park Hopping at Disneyland. Since the parks are within walking distance of one another, Park Hopping is extremely ideal. However, when I budget for a Disneyland trip with a large family, I cut out unnecessary expenses. When possible, I like to apply the money that I saved to another portion of my trip.
When traveling with my large family, I opt to stick with 1-Park Per Day tickets. I do this as a way to save money and as a way to prioritize how my money is spent. By purchasing a 1-Park Per Day ticket, the money that was saved can be used to upgrade my day by purchasing Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single Passes.
In other words, you can use your money to maximize your day at one park instead of using money to stretch your day across both parks.
5. Stay at a Hotel That Offers Free Breakfast
Another aspect that you’ll need to consider when you budget for a Disneyland trip with a large family is food. Food can actually be a very large portion of your budget. However, it doesn’t have to be!
Feeding a family isn’t cheap, especially a large one. You can start cutting into this expense by staying at a hotel that offers free breakfast. This instantly cuts out the price of one meal per day. While that may not seem like a lot, those feeding large families know that every meal counts. Having the opportunity to start your day off with a free breakfast is a great way to start saving money on food during your Disneyland vacation.
6. Place a Grocery Order
Another way to save money on food during your Disneyland vacation is by placing a grocery order. When placing a grocery order, you can have them delivered to your hotel or you can pick them up yourself. This is an excellent way to cut food costs. Not only will you have food available to you in your hotel room, you can also take this food with you to the parks!
I do understand that this may not be something that everyone wants to do. You’re on vacation and you want to enjoy yourself, not live off of packed meals for the entirety of your trip. If this is you, you can still save money with a grocery order for select members of your party. This is what I do.
For example, my children are both extremely picky eaters. Because of this, I place grocery orders to get food only for them. I experienced enough trips where I paid for Disney theme park food that went to waste. Not only did I waste money on the food, I still had hungry kiddos. While they may enjoy it, living off of Mickey Ice Cream bars the entire vacation isn’t advised. Therefore, I started buying groceries and packing meals for only them. This way, we can enjoy the park food that we like, they have food available that they like, I’m saving money, and no one's going hungry.
If you have picky eaters in your party, consider this cost saving solution. This can also be helpful for anyone with special diets. While Disney does go out of their way to accommodate dietary restrictions, sometimes it’s easier to just have your own food with you.
7. Spend Money on Food Outside of Disneyland
If you’re not wanting to spend money on Disney food, but aren’t too keen on getting groceries for your trip, I do have another suggestion for you. Besides being surrounded by hotels, Disneyland Resort is also surrounded by restaurants. Right outside of the Disneyland entrance, you’ll be able to find an abundance of dining locations including well known establishments such as Denny’s, IHOP, McDonald’s, and Panera. There are also many local restaurants such as a pizza shop, Hawaiian BBQ joint, a cafe, donut store, and more.
If you’re wanting to eat out, but are wanting to avoid Disney prices, take a look at the surrounding area and plan to eat at a nearby location instead. This way, you can easily leave the park, eat your meal, and then walk back over to continue the rest of your day at Disneyland Resort.
8. Bring a Reusable Water Bottle
Besides saving money on food, you can also save money on drinks. My family is made up mostly of water drinkers. By bringing reusable bottles with us to the parks, we’re able to save money on drinks and stay hydrated throughout the day. Also, again, I can prioritize this money. Rather than spending around $5 on a bottle of water, I can use that money to get a delicious DOLE Whip instead.
For information on water refill locations, read our article “Where Can You Refill Water Bottles at Disneyland?”.
9. Set a Spending Limit
While some things are extremely easy to budget for, other things aren’t, such as merchandise. When you’re trying to budget for a Disneyland trip with a large family, consider setting a spending limit for merchandise. This is extremely useful when it comes to children. Some families like to set a daily limit. I’ve personally found it useful to purchase Disney Gift Cards prior to our trips.
For us adults, I don’t set a budget. Honestly, we have a harder time overspending on the children rather than on ourselves. To help with this, I get each child their own Disney Gift Card. Each child has a set limit on their card. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. (In theory. Sometimes us adults still make purchases for them afterwards. However, this does still help us all budget better.)
By doing this, they can feel like they have their own money and they have to put more thought into their purchases. Rather than asking for and wanting everything that they see, they consider the price of it first and decide if they want to go ahead with the purchase or think about it for a bit and see what else is available.
While Disney Gift Cards are available at many stores, I have purchased my children’s vacation gift cards online from the Disney Store on a number of occasions. They have a wide variety of design selections. This is a fun way to pick out a card that is unique to your child. It also makes it easier to tell the cards apart during your trip and another way to make their money feel like their own.
For even more money saving tips, read our article “Disney Gift Card Discounts – How to Get Deals on Gift Cards”.
10. Prioritize Your Experiences
By now, you know that one of my favorite ways to budget for a Disneyland trip with a large family is by prioritizing my spending. This tip can also be used in regards to experiences. You don’t want to save money by not spending any at all. Don’t limit yourself to the point where you don’t have any fun. Instead, consider what is truly important to you and what you consider to be a valuable use of your money.
Here’s one example of how I did this for the Disneyland trip that I have coming up. Initially we had a character breakfast booked. We’ve done character breakfasts before and we do truly enjoy them. However, after taking a moment to think about it, we decided that we had other things that we’d rather spend our money on. This is how we came to this decision.
Think About What's Important to You
Firstly, as I mentioned previously, my children are extremely picky eaters. While we have paid for character breakfasts in the past simply for the experience, we decided that we’d rather not pay for the experience this time. We know our son won’t eat any of the food and our daughter won’t eat enough to validate the bill. Also, the characters that we were dining with were standard characters such as Mickey, Minnie, Chip and Dale, and Pluto. I know without a doubt that we’ll be able to meet every single one of these characters during our time in the park.
Because of this, we decided to cancel our reservation, skip the character breakfast this time, and put the money towards an experience that we’ve never done before. With the money that we saved, we’re now going to enjoy a World of Color Dessert Party. The last time we were on a Disneyland vacation, we weren’t able to see World of Color at all. Now, we have a guaranteed viewing of the show in a seated area with the bonus of desserts.
By prioritizing experiences, I was able to put my money to better use for my family. This is a tip that I encourage you to try as well. Prioritizing spending is something that you can do during the planning process of your trip as well as during your trip.
READ MORE – 20 Secret Disneyland Quiet Spots Many Regulars Don’t Even Know
Disneyland is filled with so many magical experiences, but all of the action can easily become overstimulating, and sometimes you just want a quiet spot to relax. We've compiled 20 of our favorite secret spots around the Disneyland Resort that you should check out, including quiet places to rest, underrated attractions, hidden gem spots, and more.
READ MORE – 10 of the Craziest Food Items You Can Get at Disney Parks
The Disney Parks are filled with all kinds of interesting foods, but some of their offerings may raise some eyebrows. See 10 of the craziest foods you can get at Disney Parks—would you dare to try any of these?
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