10 how much should i budget for food disneyland Ideas

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO GO TO DISNEYLAND:  Creating a Disneyland budget is an important part of your vacation. Being able to enjoy yourself in the parks (vs counting every penny) will allow you to absorb in the magic. We are going to talk about how much you need to save for your Disneyland trip — including expected expenses in the categories of travel, hotel/lodging, tickets, food & souvenirs.

This is a companion piece to my Disney WORLD budget.

I boiled down a trip with my travel partner and said that if you booked a budget hotel it was about $175/night per person. Of course, that varies by the ages of those in your party, number in your party, how much you plan to spend etc. — but that gives you a beginning idea. This article will cover all these areas of your Disneyland Budget:

Your Disney vacation budget really doesn’t need to be as complicated as we sometimes make it — it really is pretty simple.

I even made a video that shares the 6 areas you should consider:

Of course, there can be additional costs, but most things fit into these “pots”.

This post is part of my Disneyland Tips series.

How much money should I bring to Disneyland?

In true Pulling Curls style, the budget will be shared with explicit numbers’s and everything! I have always felt the more transparent we can all be about how we spend, the better off we all are (and yes I have our actual family budget with all the #’s etc).

But, if you want the cliff notes, I came up with a VERY low end of $25/person (if you plan to split a lot) up to $50/person. However, I’ve also done Disneyland for almost no spending money by bringing snacks and eating at the hotel.

This all being said — remember that they do allow credit cards everywhere in the park. Even apple or google pay to make it super simple. Don’t feel like you need cash.

Using Layaway for your Disneyland Trip

Are you feeling like this is overwhelming and you’d like to pay for your trip a bit at a time. I have a good option for you.

If you’d like to use a payment plan — you can do that for a Disneyland trip with Get Away Today trip Layaway. Makes it so convenient (and you can lock in the hotel you want early on so you don’t miss out).

Disneyland Vacation Budget Categories:

The best way to do your vacation budget is to split it into 5 distinct categories for your total cost:

• Transportation (can include getting to the destination, as well as around the destination)
• Hotel
• Entertainment (for Disney, that’s ticket costs)
• Food
• Souvenirs

Transportation to Disneyland

For us, this was a car ride (Disneyland is only about 6 hours away, that’s almost as long as we’d spend at the airport anyway).  I used this gas calculator to figure out how much this was going to be.  If you’re flying, I’m sure you know about sites like Kayak or Southwest air that compare the cost of flights.  We’ve flown on Allegiant a few times with good results, but I know plenty of people who hate them, so take that for what it’s worth. 

Anymore though, I fly Southwest. They have so many flights into the area each day, it makes it easy to book. AND if you’re going to fly Southwest, get their credit card. The miles never expire and you can earn things like companion passes, and free flights pretty easily. Don’t be like me and wait until you’ve already done a few trips with them. Sign up when you’re booking your first flight. 🙂

My favorite airports to fly into (in order of favorite-ness):

• Long Beach (LGB) — it’s so small and easy to navigate, the uber ride cost is a few bucks more, but it’s SO easy
• Orange County (SNA) — Also nice and small, just a bit bigger than long beach (and the cheapest one to get an Uber to Disneyland from).
• LAX — This one has a TON of flight options. But, the uber fare is usually around $50-$75 or more.

And yes, all of these are ones I’ve flown Southwest into.

Anyway, transportation is a fixed set cost that you will most likely know fairly well before you go.

Transportation around Disneyland

As for getting around Anaheim, you may need a rental car (don’t forget parking costs if you do that), or you can use things like the Art Shuttle (it’s a busing system that is fairly low-cost from most area hotels to Disneyland — you can learn more here, and tickets can usually be bought at your hotel (I believe also on the app) — I don’t find a benefit for buying them in advance).

Art had a rough time getting back up and going after re-opening. However, my last experience was about 75% awesome. I think it’s a viable option (keep in mind you may need to combine with Lyft/Uber if you miss your shuttle and want to be to the parks on time). The app is getting better and better.

Other options include using your own car (Disneyland parking is $35/day when I last checked), or using an Lyft/Uber.

For most hotels close’ish to Disneyland I can get an Uber/Lyft for about $10. So, if that works for your part it is likely cheaper/easier than parking. Depending on your needs (and I know carseats/strollers change that a lot).

I also talk about all your transportation options in my Disneyland Budget Calculator.

Disneyland Hotel Budget

Picking a great hotel stay can make or break a Disneyland vacation. BUT, it is sort of different than picking a hotel in other locations.

Keep in mind that most of the walkable Disneyland hotels are not that fancy (at all). They base their business on location vs a great hotel. Many of the close hotels are called Good Neighbor Hotels.

The further away from Disneyland you get, you often can find a lower price point (I have a post that shares the least expensive Disneyland hotels), and some of them are a bit nicer (think JW marriot). I talk about all the hotels I have stay at in my Disneyland Family Packages post. I am really honest in there, and I’ve stayed at quite a few hotels in the area. Hotel costs vary quite a bit.

Things to keep in mind as you book your hotel:

• Location — The further you are, the more time it takes (and often more cost), traffic is HEAVY in the area so just because you’re less than 5 miles away doesn’t mean it won’t take 30-60 minutes to get to the park.
• Room size — As location is KEY in these areas, they are trying to pack in as many guests as possible. If you need some room for kids to run around (oh, for that energy), a pack and play, or just to put luggage out — some of these rooms are TIGHT (and Get Away Today knows the ins and outs of every room for this type of thing – one of my favorite parts of them, be sure to call if you have questions on that.)

If you want to stay at the on site hotels, I have a post on the perks of staying on property hotels.

Ways to Save on Hotel:

• Book at a less-busy time. Hotels are most expensive at the busiest times, so not going at peak times will help you save (ask Get Away Today if you call when would be a good time for you to go if you are flexible — and be sure you heard about them from Pulling Curls and use code CURLS10 to save $10 on a hotel/ticket package).
• Pick a hotel that’s further out — the further away you are, often the less expensive (Disney Hotels seem to be the most expensive — although, honestly not always the closest)
• Forgo amenities. While I mentioned the hotels mostly aren’t super nice around Disneyland, the reality is that you are in your hotel room for VERY little time (and when you are, you’re so tired you sleep). Some even have water parks (which you may not even use if you’re at the parks all day).

Did I mention you can save an extra $10 with code CURLS10 when you book with Get Away Today? You can use it online or over the phone 1-855-GET-AWAY!

Although getting tickets with Get Away Today is awesome (see my next section) the BIG win is how much they save you on hotel. I am always surprised when I check what a hotel prices itself at vs what Get Away Today offers it at. It can SAVE YOU BIG so make sure to check them out. They even offer a best price guarantee.

Disneyland Park Tickets Budget

I 100% ALWAYS recommend people by Disneyland tickets with Get Away Today!

I have a whole post on if you can buy Disneyland tickets at the Gate {no} that shares the CHEAPEAST WAY to get Disneyland tickets!

Do NOT buy tickets through the Disney parks (this goes for Disney WORLD too)! It is SO much more expensive.

Buying tickets at Disneyland is one of my BIGGEST Disneyland mistakes.

FYI, Disneyland ticket prices tend to rise each year, and they have started having higher prices during peak seasons & summer months (due to demand).

Most Popular Ticket Option

Many people buy the 3-day ticket. This gives you a day at each park, and an extra one to enjoy.

Previously 3-day tickets offer magic mornings (where you get early admission) and other perks as well. **Although Magic Morning has not been offered since they re-opened form the pandemic.

Park Hopping

You can buy a Park Hopper ticket (which allows you to traverse between both Disneyland & Disney California Adventure park), or a 1-park-per-day which keeps you in just one park. However, when we buy a 3-day ticket we often just do one park per day anyway…. walking between both parks as a family is draining (both in energy and excitement). The Park Hopper Option can be handy (and those parks really are quite close especially compared to Disney World when you compare Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom).

Keep in mind the park hopper is $60 extra per person per ticket. So, if you have a 3-day ticket, that’s just $20 extra/day. But, if you just get a 2-day ticket it’s $30/day, etc.

**A note on park hoppers — you can really save a lot doing just one park/day. If you have small kids it’s quite a trek back to the other park — so, that is something to keep in mind.

Something to consider is that a one-day ticket will be your most per day ticket price — each additional day you add makes the per day price drop (but overall price rise). The cheapest could be a magic key (their new annual pass) — so consider your plans.

The Short Trip Option & How It Saves You Money

Lately, our family has really enjoyed a 2-day ticket. Normally, we hop (my kids are all teen and up and we really “go” at the parks), but there is still a savings. Plus a savings a hotel and just time in general (which is more precious as your kids get older, have jobs etc).

Example Pricing:

3 day ticket (without hopping): $325 — this will give you a more leisurely days and a bit more time to enjoy each park — personally, I’d spend 2 days at Disneyland with a day at California Adventure in between.

2 day ticket with hopper: $318 — so, yes — it’s not much cheaper. But if you consider:

• One less day with Genie+ saves you $20/person
• Less time at a pricey Disneyland hotel (even if you want to go to the beach you could move to a less-expensive hotel at that point)
• Less Disneyland food, etc.

I think it’s a good option, and our family REALLY enjoys the 2-day trip. However, we go often and know pretty-much what we want to do. If it’s a once-in-a-lifetime trip you might even want longer than 3 days (a 4-day ticket starts at just $355, and a 5-day is just $360).

Genie Plus

Another good option is Disneyland Genie+! It’s going to add to the price of your tickets, but you might be able to spend less time at the parks with the time you save with it!

Genie+ allows you to use the Lightening Lanes (one time per ride/day). This can save you time in lines, and I find it makes my day a bit more relaxed (as I am able to “wait in line” enjoying a Churro at a table vs actually standing in line). As of now it is $20/person/day but keep it mind it also allows you to get the photo pass (where you can have access to any photos taken by Disney in the parks, including ride photos).

In an effort to be super confusing, there is a “free Disneyland Genie” that we have found to be totally useless. So, be aware that the real benefits to the Genie will need to be paid for.

Disney Special Events

Disneyland holds special after hours events at Halloween and Christmas, as well as other various times of the year that you can purchase at a cost.

Yes, the park will close early and regular ticket holders will be asked to leave, and only those holding the “special” ticket can stay.

Other Southern California Park Tickets

Pro Tip: If you’re visiting other parks like Knotts Berry or Universal you can buy at combo ticket with Get Away Today that allows you to save even more on your total park budget (just scroll down a bit past the Disneyland alone tickets).

Disneyland Souvenir Budget

Frankly, this can be as high or as low as you prefer.  I tend to buy a few things in advance, so kids are less tempted to buy, and then they can use their allowance to purchase if they’d like in the stores. Last time I even made matching family shirts.

Our kids always buy a pin on each visit, so that is something we always consider, and or souvenir budget is around $100.

Again, a great way to save is to steer clear of the souvenir shops! However, the lure of Star Wars, Mickey mouse, Marvel an be hard!

I am also a big believer in letting kids use their allowance money if they want to make a purchase!

For us, we buy a few Disney items before we come, via Walmart or Amazon — so my kids already have those, and feel less pressure for a special shirt (that costs a ton). Packing the right things can actually save you a lot!

… Says the woman who bought $30 dollar sunglasses last time….

Although, I have to say those $30 sunglasses made me SO happy during quarantine when I couldn’t go to the Disneyland parks. I’m so glad I got them. But I digress… 😉

Another pro tip I heard is that you can buy Disney gift cards at Target using your Red card and get 5% back on that purchase, which saves you a bit.

Disneyland Food Budget

Disneyland allows you to bring in as many snacks if you’d like.  When we are on a tight budget we often eat snacks we bring through the day and buy one meal (which we split).

Or, you can get plenty of snacks and eats at the park — it’s kind of all up to you.  I have a whole post about all the places to eat at Disneyland & CA Adventure.

** It is really hard to put a FIXED cost on your food cost.  I believe a conservative food budget (which is how we do it) is about $100/day, but you could obviously spend a lot more than that.  For us, each meal (for 4 of us) costs around $60 (except when we make reservations, and those meals are usually double that), and I splurge on some snacks at around $40 each day.  I would say, unless you are planning at eating at one of their nicer (non-reservation) restaurants $100 for a party of 4 is good, and maybe add around $25 for each additional person.

Pro Tip: Portions are often HUGE and when we had 5 kids we would buy two main items for us to split, and we were all very satisfied. Consider splitting!

But, my kids aren’t huge eaters, especially at the parks. They’d much rather ride riedes.

Anyone who’s visited Walt Disney World Resort might be wondering about a dining plan — but in the past few years Disneyland hasn’t had that.

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How much spending money for Disneyland

{you could split this category into several, food, souvenirs, etc — but I do choose to keep them together and then set a daily budget}

I do this exactly like I did when we were staying with family, but the amounts are larger.

Let’s take a few days:

Monday we were in Hollywood (remember there’s a LOT to do in Los Angeles) and I knew food there would be pricey, but we would eat breakfast at our friend’s house and the hotel had some munchies we could utilize as well.  So I budgeted 125… that gave us a meal and a few souvenirs.

Tuesday I was taking Princess P to Ariel’s Grotto (not open anymore — was a dining experience with the princesses) and the boys would eat a meal inside the park, so I budgeted 150 for the day as I knew that all was going to cost quite a bit!

Wednesday the park was closing early so we would eat outside the park, so I only budgeted 75.

Thursday I planned to just live on our snacks all day with maybe some supplementation by the food carts in the park, I budgeted 50 dollars (and we did it, and just bought some popcorn to eat during the parade).

Friday we were eating at the Blue Bayou, and I planned a lot of souvenir buying so I budgeted $200 for the day.

And so on, for each day.

If staying on budget is important to you, I use an app that you might find interesting….

I put each day into an envelope in GoodBudget, which syncs between my own and my husband’s phones and it’s easy to keep track of spending that way.  I find that a daily “envelope” type system works better for me in my head, as I can keep track of what we’ve spent each day — but have NO idea what was spent yesterday.  I had to wipe that from my memory banks. 😀  And it’s not like the excess from each envelope can’t spill into each other.  We didn’t spend the whole 125 in Hollywood, and some that covered my 14-year-old buying a LOT more souvenirs than I had planned on (he uses “his” money, but it’s still “my” money and comes out of my budget).

This is similar to how I do our weekly budget at home.

The cost of a Trip to Disneyland

Our Budget looked something like this for Disneyland (these are the actual numbers from a previous trip):

• Gas $250
• Disney hotel  $400 (this is obviously on the lower end — and this trip was a few years ago. I am pretty sure you’d be closer to 600 for this type of room now).
• Hollywood hotel $275
• Disney Tickets $1,300
• Spending Money $775

The grand total from all this was 3,000 dollars and we came in at $2975!

Keep in mind that included a night in Hollywood to see Jimmy Kimmel.  The LA area has a LOT of fun things in the valley, so don’t JUST think you need to do Disneyland!

If you removed that stay it would take off about $400 from our total.

** Keep in mind that we got a GOOD deal on a REALLY cheap hotel around Disneyland.  This trip, we tried to really save on the hotel, and that took a big chunk out of our budget.  I just checked their website, and depending on when you go — you can still get a room in a similar price range.  It’s just not going to be a luxury room.

Looking to figure out what your own cost will be — don’t miss my Disneyland Trip Calculator!

Disneyland Budget FAQ’s

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Looking to not scare the kiddos at Disneyland — don’t miss my parent’s guide:

I am a big believer in preparation before the parks pays off big (I have a very simple Disneyland trip planning guide).  And, don’t forget….

And in case you somehow missed it, I 100% recommend Get Away Today. I’ve used them since 1998 except for one VERY BAD Disney trip where I absolutely hated my hotel (they didn’t sell that one).

I’ve recommended them to friends LONG before I had a blog, and they truly make Disneyland so easy to families. While you can peruse their offerings on their website, the true magic can come if you call them on the phone and get their opinion on what hotel would be best for you. They’ve been to the hotels they offer and can really give great advice.

Remember to tell them you found them on PULLING CURLS and to use code CURLS10 to save $10 on your hotel/ticket package.