Seeking Practical & Economical Disneyland Vacation Tips for Family of Six

I THINK it's called Frommels guide to Disneyland. Borrow it from the library. It will have great practical and economical advice.
R.

Hello!
We are a family of five and have done a ton of research over the Summer. We have never been to Disneyland, but are finally leaving 9/10....whew! Ok, there are a ton of ways to plan your trip: 1)Calling ###-###-#### ended up being cheaper & faster 2)with a large family I would recommend a kids suite at Desert Palms which is a half a block away. They have a Microwave & Frig, which is a big thumbs up with us. 3)a good friend recommended not to purchase the character breakfast because it's too expensive when the kids just nibble or simply don't eat. They will see the characters all day long & be just as happy. Instead use that money towards the PhotoPass Service 4)Use the fast pass for Buzz Lighyear & bigger rides 5)fyi..they do allow food inside! Pack a few pbj's!!

Well that's all I can think of right now. Im anxious to see what other responses you get. I'll definitely have to check back!

Have a great vacation!
~T.

well I am not sure of travel packages but here is a tip that might save you time. If you go to disneyland.com you can print your own custom map of the park. basically saving the rides and attractions you want to go on and then you can print your map and all the other items that you didn't want to go on don't show up. This worked for us in the sense that I had 2 boys (I have added a daughter since) so our map pretty much cut out all the girl stuff. Also since my oldest was almost 4 there were height restrictions so I cut out the rides from the map that I knew he couldn't go on. I don't know if you have boys or girls or if you are going to make your oldes stick around with the family but it's just an idea.
Also I don't know if the Nemo ride still has a 4 hour wait I suggest going to that ride first thing in the morning as the day goes on the line got longer when we were there. I waited in line with my youngest and my husband rode 2-3 rides along the way. everyone else was running for the nemo ride so alot of the other rides had no lines.

Be aware that most hotels have a shuttle to the park. If you don't book in a package make sure you ask if there is a shuttle it's a couple bucks but it was a time saver.

Take snack food, bottles of water and those kool-aid packets that you disolve in water bottles! You can even pack sandwhiches for lunch and then you only have to buy one meal in the park (it will be hard to resist all the tempting smells).
The food for a family of 6 will cost you a fortune!

Purchase Disney items from the 99 cent only store and take them in to give the little ones instead of paying the horrible prices in the park for keepsakes (outside of the mouse ears, you can find most everything else including glow in the dark necklaces).

I would suggest a double stroller rental for the 4 year olds. There is so much walking for them (you'll also have room to store whatever you brought in with you).

Bring a blanket to spread on the ground to "hold your spot" for things like the parade and shows. You may get there early to hold enough space, but people will crowd you in at the last minute if you don't have a blanket to kind of "mark your territory".

My teenager has offered that you should let the 15 year old go off by themselves for a while (via cell phone or walkie talkie) because he thought the stuff the babies wanted to ride on was boring.

We had no luck with the "Fast Pass". It was almost more work to get the Fast Pass and then return at the right time rather than just wait the first time around. If you are going over 3 days plan on attending the major rides during the parade and shows (assunming you saw them on the first day).

Have a great time!!!!

P.S. I would highly reccomend cell phones or walkie talkies so that one parent can wait in line while the other does a smaller attractions with the kids nearby.