How to Book a Cheap Disneyland Vacation from a Canadian Perspective
Where do I Start to Book a Cheap Disneyland Vacation?
Researching Disneyland can be time consuming, so I hope you can utilize my tips and tricks below! I spent hours and hours researching the best prices, hotels, and things to do when visiting Disneyland in Anaheim.
I have traveled with different family members and different age ranges of children over the last couple of years, giving me a good understanding of both the very young, and teenage wants/needs in the park.
Cheap Might be a Little Misleading
When it comes to travel in general, I am a frugal by nature. I research things for a long time before deciding the best route on booking. Dates are important, off season travel is always preferred but not always possible now that our child is heading into higher grades.
This is something you should consider too. Is it possible to travel in the shoulder seasons? For Anaheim this would be mid January to mid March and late August – late September.
I look at accommodation and compare things like, parking, free breakfast, walking distance, amenities nearby etc. You want to get the most value for your money when traveling to Anaheim.
Below is a summarized list of the best options I found when researching our 5 day Disneyland trip in the month of July.
Learn how I scored FREE flights to Disneyland recently – it’s a hack anyone can do!
Travel Recommendations for Disneyland in Anaheim
Traveling into LAX is very convenient because it is a major US hub city. The airport itself is quite large, but easy to navigate. With the recent upgrades done, it is a very pleasant place to spend a couple of hours.
Parking is not cheap or easy however. I recommend using a car service to pick you up from LAX.
The car service we decided on was Scott from Go Green For Less Green. He is such a friendly, funny guy. The hour trip in LA traffic flew by as he entertained us with his hilarious stories.
We did bring our own car seat for my 2 year old niece. Scott mentioned that in the future he might be able to provide car seats as a service.
He was also more than willing to store it for us. Scott was so helpful with restaurant recommendations and things to do in the area.
After debating on many different hotels we decided on the Cambria Anaheim. It has a FREE BREAKFAST! (Mickey Waffles, yay!!) heated pool, kiddie pool, spray deck, and water-slides – all heated.
It also has a great restaurant, outdoor grill, fire-pits, basketball courts, and outdoor Disney movies. The 1 bedroom queen suite we rented was amazing! The living room and kitchen were separate from the bedroom, and the bathroom had TWO showers allowing two people to get ready at the same time.
My only complaint is that I wished there were some cutlery or plates in the kitchen. We planned ahead of time to bring our own.
We ordered groceries online to be delivered to the hotel, and it was invaluable to have snacks available anytime for the kids in the hotel room.
Transportation
We didn’t utilize the Anaheim Regional Transport buses (ART) at the hotel, and instead opted to walk the 8 minutes to the Toy Story parking lot.
We passed through SHORT security lines here and boarded the bus to be transported almost to the front gates at Disneyland. Uber is also very cost efficient if you’re leaving the parks at night – $7 or $8 per ride.
Pro Tip: I wouldn’t recommend walking the 20 minutes back late at night if you can avoid it, there are quite a few homeless folks around the 7/11 on Katella Ave.
Booking Cheap Park Passes for Disneyland
We booked our 5 day park passes at Get Away Today. Crossing checking many discount sources, we were never able to find such a great deal as at Get Away Today. The 5th park day was completely free. Easy to load the ticket numbers into the Disneyland App. Get Away Today has amazing customer service and a lay-away plan to help you pay down the vacation.
Dining Alerts
We wanted to enjoy some of the great food offerings at Disneyland, and so set up alerts with Mouse Watcher and personal timers for 60 days out to book the World of Color Dessert Party in Disneyland California Adventure.
It was totally worth it to be able to sit in assigned seating at the end of the night to give your feet a rest. The whole process for check-in and seating was effortless. Don’t be scared of the long lines, they know what they’re doing and make sure everyone has a great time.
Disneyland Dining
We did quick service dining for most other restaurants and tried to pre-order through the mobile app to save and optimize our time at the park with the kids. This comes in especially handy if you have little kids that can’t stand in long line-ups!
We did 2 sit down restaurants which included the character dining experience at Goofy’s Kitchen (amazing food selection, characters sometimes missed our table though). The other was Tortilla Jo’s in Downtown Disney. The food was good, but the portions were small compared to the price. We much preferred snacking our way through the parks! (Did somebody say CHURROS?)
Book Free Flights to Disneyland
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Expenses Break-Down
- Overall, the cost of the trip for 4 people was as follows (in Canadian dollars):
- $2400 for 1 week at the Cambria Anaheim
- $1579 for 5 day park passes for 2 adults, 1 child and 1 child 2 and under(free)
- $160 round trip transportation, gate to door
- $40 in random Uber rides including one to the famous In And Out Burger
- World of Color Dessert party tickets were $80/pp
- Spent around $300 on food and souvenirs in the park
FAQ
Lets dive right into some of the common questions when it comes to Disneyland and the Anaheim Area.
Is There a Beach Close to Disneyland?
f you’re looking to spend the day at the beach while in Anaheim, I recommend driving to some of Best Beaches near Anaheim as a Daytrip from Disneyland! These beaches are only 30 minutes away by car in good traffic.
Don’t forget the essentials when heading to the beach. Take a look at my post: 10 Budget Friendly Beach Day Items to make sure you’ve got all your bases covered. The sand can be hot, and the sun rays very powerful!
Is Driving in California Safe?
Driving in California was an eye opening experience for us Canadians. In Canada we have wide open highways and expanses of road with SOME congestion during rush-hour. When we left LAX in our rental car, it took us almost 1.5 hours to get to our hotel in Anaheim.
We quickly learned what time of day to avoid by regularly checking google maps.
It is safe, but it isn’t casual driving. You must keep your wits about you at all times while driving on the freeways.
Where Should I Rent a Car From?
I have stayed in Anaheim both with a car rental, and without. It was easy enough to get around Anaheim via Uber/Lyft without a car, and you do save on parking costs.
I did like the freedom of having our own car to get around and explore the area more though. We utilized my car rental affiliate program through The T Word on Travel.
We ended up saving $300CAD by canceling from the cheapest other option (Costco) beforehand to my affiliate: The T Word on Travel Car Rentals. The rental was perfect. We received a clean, new Dodge Charger and it was all the space and power we needed for the freeways.
What Else is There to do With Kids in Anaheim?
I’m so glad you asked! There are TONS of fun things to do in Anaheim, many of them free or very cost efficient if you’re looking to save money after booking the big trip. Check out the 27 BEST Things To Do In Anaheim With Kids for amazing locations all over the city.
Booking A Cheap Disneyland Vacation Summary
I hope you found this tips, tricks and cost break-downs helpful in way that you can save money and book the most cost-efficient trip you can to Disneyland in Anaheim.
Email me through my contact page if you have any questions! I’ll do my best to answer them or provide clarity for you. I hope your trip to Disneyland is as enchanting and fun-filled for you as it was for us!
Have a magical holiday!
xoxo Tanya
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