How Much Our Family Spent At Disneyland

Today I'm sharing how much we spent as a family of 4 on our recent trip to Disneyland! Here's our trip cost breakdown, ways to save on Disneyland, and answering the question... Is it worth it to take little kids to Disneyland??

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[ElizabethClary]

The kids may not always remember it, but the parents definitely will and that’s important! ❤

[brittanylong]

You should make a Disney-specific budget spreadsheet - parents I'm sure would love to be able to keep track of what they're spending on their trip and the spreadsheet could show them options they weren't aware of (Genie + for example).

[elizabethreads]

Water is feee at all quick service restaurants even if you aren’t ordering food you can always request water. And Disney allows your to bring in outside food and drink (no alcohol though). You can save quite a bit by packing your own snacks or a sandwich for lunch.

[QueenMamaPaige]

We go every year. Even got married across the street last year. my children look forward to it every year. it's so special

[jessicasievers]

We go every year and i love it so much! I grew up in Southern California and it’s just so nostalgic for me. Bringing my boys now is so much fun, and honestly my kids are easier at Disneyland than they are at home 😂 we got magic key passes this year because my husband is regularly traveling to California for work so we have a free place to stay when we go and I’m so excited to have more chill park days!

[lcn]

Thanks for putting this together! Thinking of taking our littles later this year :)

[finurra]

aww it sounds like you had a great time and saved a ton of money! If I ever do Disney with my future children, this is definitely the way i'd want to do so. Thank you for sharing this, I haven't been to Disney since 2014/15 so had no idea about all the great deals available. A lot to consider for sure!

[ceciliajohnson]

One other place to look for discount Disney tickets is Costco. We purchased $225 gift cards for $200 and that helped us save money. I never thought about the Target thing though, that is great as I also get 5%back that way.

A fun place to eat is Lamplighter Lounge (formerly Ariel’s grotto) in Disney CA. They have a great kids menu and amazing lobster nachos. Bonus if you can score a reservation during World of Color (when your kids are old enough to stay that late) then you’ll have front row seating and a place to dine. We did that last year for my twin girls’ 4th bday. We go every year in March as well and definitely use all the mom/vacay hacks you mentioned!😊

[zstrawberry]

We went to Disney World a couple of years ago when our kids were 3.5 years old and 6.5 years old. It seemed like the perfect ages to take them. We really enjoyed the trip but don’t plan on returning because of the cost. It would be even more expensive to go now and I really didn’t like how the fast pass system was replaced with Genie + (my husband and I went prior to having kids when fast pass was used and liked that much better). For us, there are so many other places and experiences we can have as a family that are more affordable. Glad we did Disney for the kids at the ages we did but we are one and done!

[MamaBear-blnc]

That character breakfast was a great deal! We did the Beauty and the Beast dinner (at Disney World) and for the 4 of us, we paid $372. These special dining experiences get quite pricey!

[summerjoy]

I broke out of that thought due to fortunate circumstances lol My in laws live near Orlando so we spent Christmas there when my kids were small (free airfare) and we’ve had family reunions in Orlando as well so my kids have been to Disney multiple times. It bothers me a little that they don’t remember but it worked out at the time so it was worth it 😊

[kristenmeurs]

Have you looked into renting DVC points or a confirmed reservation? That might make your dream of staying at Grand Cal or Dis Hotel come true sooner! You can usually save a ton of money by renting points!

[Mackenziea]

Really enjoyed this breakdown! I know you guys are cashback people for credit cards but if you have the chase sapphire preferred or hyatt cards, the hyatt house and place at Disney world are super great value and also walkable I believe

[adventuresofcarrieandclark]

We went to Disney World when my son was just one month away from being 3. We did two parks and stayed in the Pop Century resort. Spent 1700 dollars. I bought Christmas ornaments as our souvenier. Great memory for us.

[Elizabeth-evwv]

We did 3 days for New Year’s with our then 2 year old. Stayed at the Disneyland hotel. Our son has no screen time so didn’t know any of the characters but he loved it and still talks about it months later. We also did 1 dinner at Goofy’s Kitchen and is still the highlight for him. He loved the one on one time with all the characters. We’d now love to save to stay at the grand californianan hotel. 🤞🏼 I pay no attention to people’s comments about him being too young and not worth it. 💁🏻‍♀️

[williamwarren]

Last time I went to Disney Dec 22 it was pouring the two days we went … thank you for telling us about lightening lane ( it was closed radiator springs closed in rain ) we have stayed at your hotel ( if you have top rooms you can watch fire works ) and at best western inn and suites ( right at park entrance) it’s so crazy expensive BUT I couldn’t help notice how much money was poured into the park … we have more disposable monies cause we are grandparents … I don’t know how people can do it 😳credit ??? Eeek glenda in Mesa… and I agree with you !!! Take your kids !! Get those free tickets and take lots and lots of pictures !!! They can look at those and will say “ that was the best Mommy “ and it’s “priceless “

[niasteadley]

Thanks for sharing! How much did you guys budget? Did you stay within budget?

[princesskaitlinhazelwood]

I think people would like a total number up front

[kristinesharp]

It just costs a lot. Stop worrying about it.