Disneyland on a shoestring

I thought I would share some of the lessons we learned going to Disneyland and how we made it affordable for our family!

airline tickets: We'll we got really lucky here because my Dad gave us some skymiles to use so we didn't have to pay for our airline tickets! What a life saver!-- all though if it hadn't been for that we probably would have driven (but with gas prices I'm not sure that is cheaper anymore!)
hotel: We stayed at a pretty nice hotel called Carousel Inn and Suites just right across the street from the entrances to both Disneyland and California Adventure- it was actually closer than the Disneyland hotels! There are other hotels there too that are nice but much cheaper than the actual Disneyland hotels, but close enough that you can just walk! We shared a club suite with the Paris' (it has a separate room with a queen bed)- and split the costs and since we booked like 7 months in advance we saved a lot!
Disneyland tickets: If you know someone in the military they can buy you discounted admission tickets to Disneyland (thanks Jen and Jared!!!). Or I know Costco has some good deals too!
Spending Money: A couple years ago we got a Chase Disney Visa card that you earn Disney dollar points on. For every $100 you spend on the card you earn $1 Disney Dollar- We earned enough dollars to pay for everything in the park from food, souvenirs, character meals etc... it was awesome. So if you have little kids and are planning to go to Disneyland in the next few years you should look into it!!!! If you want to apply make sure you say we referred you so we can earn referral points!! Apply or get more info