Hi there, Matthea! Wow! Treating your mother to a Disneyland Resort vacation is such an amazing and thoughtful gift!
The first thing that came to mind to help you save is to purchase
Disney Gift Cards. You can buy these at a variety of retail locations and online in various amounts. Depending on your budget, you might try purchasing a gift card, for perhaps $25, every week to help you put that money aside on a regular schedule. Or, you can save up for a few weeks and then purchase a gift card for a larger amount at the end of the month. Then when it's time to start booking lodging and buying theme park tickets, you have your gift cards ready to go. Gift cards can also be used at the majority of dining and merchandise locations in the parks.
Another thing you might consider is booking a
vacation package. When you book a package, a $200 deposit is required at the time booking and then you can make payments on the package up until 30 days before your arrival date. You determine the amount and how frequent you make payments, so it's pretty flexible. Paying over time certainly helps me spread the expense and avoid large payments at once whenever I plan a Disney vacation, so I hope this is helpful to you too!
I'd love to help you continue plan for your trip, so please return to the Disney Parks Moms Panel with any other questions you may have!
-Linda M.