Affordable Disney In A Day – Part 2

Posted on November 11th, 2013 by Jean

In Part 1 we reserved an inexpensive, off-site room, had breakfast at Denny’s, printed our Disneyland tickets, took the train to Toon Town, rode Gadget’s Go Coaster, and collected character autographs. We have saved so much time & money, that it is time to splurge.

Tip 6 – Eat Lunch at the Big Thunder Mountain Ranch

Big Thunder Mountain Ranch BBQ

All you care to eat bbq ribs & chicken served with sides of coleslaw, baked beans and corn bread for $15-$29 per person. They open at 11:30am; go early and reservations are not needed. If you’re planning a later lunch, make reservations online. A $10/fee is charged for cancellations or no-shows.

The food is delicious! The meat falls off the bones of the ribs & chicken. The sauce is tangy and sweet. Our kids upgrade to root beer floats with whipped cream and sprinkles. We dine under the canopies while serenaded by live performers. BONUS: The “owner” of the ranch will sign your autograph book.

Tip 7 – Press Coins

For $1.25 you can create a Disneyland keepsake, a pressed quarter! The toy store in front of It’s A Small World has a quarter machine. Your choice of 3 Disney characters will be pressed onto your coin. BONUS: Download a free pdf of Disney coin press machines at Park Pennies (dot) com.

Tip 8 – View The Parade

Best place to view, the Main Street Train Station! Go early, plant yourself, and relax while you wait for the parade to travel right before you. We have fought the crowds along Main Street, had horrible non-existent views and sore shoulders from hoisting the kids. It’s best to position yourself above the crowds, and be eye-level with many of the performers. BONUS: Here’s a little video I put together with footage Tom shot.

Tip 9 – Visit Disney District

Catal at Disney District

Friends of ours from the Anaheim area invited us to dinner at Disney’s Blue Bayou inside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Yes, it was a fabulous, unforgettable experience. But the one thing they advised was to park at the Disney District. The first 3 hours of parking are FREE; 5 hours are free with validation from participating locations. There are many restaurants and shops within walking distance to the main Disney entrances (Disneyland and California Adventure). We stopped for lemonades at Catal Uva Bar. People-watching al fresco was devine!

Tip 10 – Create A Memory Magazine

If you can create pdfs, you can make a magazine of your Disney memories for around $5.00! Visit Magcloud to upload and order. Templates are available. Minimum 20 pages. I use photoshop to create my pages, save them as pdf files, and combine my pages in Adobe Acrobat. Twenty pages plus perfect bind is $5.00/publication. Additional pages are 20 cents (must increase by 4 page sets). BONUS: This is so much cheaper than snapfish or any other album-making site, you can afford copies for the whole family (grandparents, aunts and uncles included).