Disneyland Training: Tips and Tricks

Hey everyone!  I’m Melea from Freebies2Deals.  I recently returned from Disneyland and wanted to share some of the great deals and freebies I was able to score while I was there.

Transportation

During our 5 day vacation, we didn’t rent a car.  And we saved so much money!  All you have to do is get an ART (Anaheim Resort Transit) Unlimited Buss Pass.  There are 16 different routes between all of the surrounding hotels and Disneyland.  Plus, other Bus lines can take you to fun outdoor Malls like The Bloc at Orange and GardenWalk.Normally an Unlimited Day Pass is $4.00 per person.  But we actually ended up getting a 5 day Unlimited Day Pass through Get Away Today for only $10.  So, that was a steal in itself!

You can also get transportation tickets on the Disneyland Express.  It will pick you up from the Hotel and drive you directly there.
Cars can get extremely expensive, even if you have coupons for it.  So, instead of paying $20-$30 a day on a Car Rental, paying for $13 Parking at Disneyland each time you go and paying for all of the gas— just do what we did above and you will love it!  The ART Unlimited Bus Pass works so well especially if you have young kids.  You can hop on the bus and go to the hotel to take a quick nap!  Or, to save even more money, you can make your meals in your kitchenette in your Hotel Suite.

Cheap Eating

In the Orange County Entertainment Book, there are coupons for Ralph’s.  Use zipcode 92802.  Spend $75 and get $5.00 off.  It doesn’t sound like much.  But, you can use your regular coupons too!  So you could get a lot of food for not a lot of money.  Use the ART Unlimited Bus Pass to head back to the Hotel for homemade lunches or dinners.  You can even do a crock pot type of thing so it is ready to go when you get back!  Just make sure you book a hotel with a Kitchenette.  It is worth it!

You also will want to make sure your Breakfasts are Free!  It is one of those overlooked costs.  If you had to pay for everyone in your family to eat breakfast too, it would get expensive.  When we booked through Get Away Today, they had Free Breakfasts included in the room cost!  Definitely an awesome way to save money.  And it wasn’t a sissy breakfast either- I’m talking Bacon, Eggs, Waffles, Bagels, Fresh Fruit, Coffee Cake, Pastries and more.

Restaurant Deals

$25 Gift Certificate for the House of Blues Restaurant in Downtown Disney for only $2.00.  The cost will depend on the promo code out.  Right now, Restaurant.com has their $25 Gift Certificates for $4.00 with code TREAT.  You can only use one gift certificate per party and you need to spend $35.  But, a family can definitely spend $35 on dinner and only paying $12- $14 for a $35 dinner is a steal!

In the Entertainment Book, you can grab a $5.00 off Rainforest Cafe Coupon.  Just spend $20.  Rainforest Cafe is more on the expensive side.  So, you may want to go there for lunch.

Freebies

• Buy Coffee inside Disneyland and keep your cup.  You can get Free Refills all-day-long!
• Disneyland keeps their park pretty clean.  But if your balloon breaks they will replace it for free!
• Check out Downtown Disney.  Build A Bear was handing out completely Free Easter Baskets to anyone walking by with kids!  You can also go to the Sephora and ask for Free Samples.  I got an entire bag full of freebies, including a week’s worth of Clinique Cleanser, Toner and Moisturizer!  Awesome

Coupons

Check out Anaheim’s Website. They have a lot of coupons you can print out directly.  The coupons change throughout the year.  But you can find Buy 1 Get 1 Free Coupons for Medieval Times and Pirates Adventure Shows and other awesome coupons for Restaurants nearby!
If you do get an ART Bus Pass, check the transit route map for coupons!  They have a ton on there.

You will also want to check your receipts inside Disneyland.  Multiple times I received a coupon that printed directly on my receipt for 20% off my Merchandise Purchase!  Pretty Sweet!

Baby Swap

Disneyland has something called the Baby Swap. Just go up to the Disney worker in the Fast Pass line and tell them you would like a Baby Swap pass for your child. They will hand you a special piece of paper.

Whomever is staying with the baby will wait outside the line. The rest of your group will go through the Regular line (although if they had fast passes beforehand, they can use those and go through the Fast Pass Line). Once they get out of the line, you can switch. You and one more person can take the Baby Swap Pass to the Fast Pass Line and go right in, while someone else watches the baby or child.
It is really cool and we did it a few times while we were there. And usually the fast pass lines are only about 10-15 minute waits. So it goes by really fast and it is a great way for everyone in the family to ride the rides, when you have smaller kids.

Disneyland Secrets

You can use your tickets to get Fass Passes at certain lines inside Disneyland and California Adventures.  The Fast Pass will tell you which hour you need to come back during. However, you DO NOT have to come back between that hour!!  Confused??

Let’s say your Fast Pass said to come back between 10am- 11am.  As soon as 10 am hits, you can actually use the Fast Pass at ANY time the rest of the day or night.  So, you could hold on to them until 7pm!

But the even cooler part is that once it hits 10am, you can go and get another Fast Pass— even if you haven’t used your first one!  So you can essentially start stacking up your Fast Passes.  You could save them for night time and never have to wait in lines!  It is awesome!  We did it the whole time we were there.

Disneyland is the Happiest Place On Earth. Be sure to learn how to make the most of your trip by reading the Disneyland Training series. You can also browse all the articles I have posted in an easy to use outline. And if you are ready to book your trip, be sure to read about the perks of using an authorized Disney vacation planner (plus it’s FREE!).