Hi Laryn!
Welcome to planDisney! Thank you for sending this Disneyland Resort vacation planning question to us hEAR. It's my pleasure to assist a fellow Texan and be your planEAR today! The answer in how you can pay for your trip depends on the way you book your visit to Mickey's house, but most of the time at least some, if not all, portions of your visit are due either before you arrive or at check-in.
If you book a
Vacation Package, your payment is due in full 30 days before check-in. A Vacation Package includes Theme Park Admission Tickets as well as a stay at either a Disneyland Resort Hotel (there are three: the Disneyland Hotel, Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, and Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel) or at a
Disneyland Good Neighbor Hotel. (Which are properties owned and operated by both global brands as well as mom & pop locals.)
If you
purchase your Theme Park Admission Tickets online, payment will be due upon the online purchase check-out. And if you book a room-only hotel reservation at a
Disneyland Resort Hotel, you'll pay a deposit equal to one night's stay and then the rest will be due by check-in. However, if you decide to stay at a
Good Neighbor Hotel, if you book that hotel room through the hotel's own website (ie: marriott.com) and not through Disney's website or as a package, then your stay should qualify to be paid upon check-out, but do note that this will depend on each hotel's individual payment policy.
A few other ways you can budget for your vacation or check around for the best price is to ask if your job participates in a discount ticket program, but also double check any memberships you may have through an alumni association, AAA, even a warehouse shopping membership; Costco has wonderful vacation packages to Disneyland that my friend and
fellow panelist Kamini uses exclusively for her family trips to the Happiest Place on Earth. Some Guests take advantage of the reward offers through the
Disney Visa. But I personally love buying
Disney Gift Cards at a discount at Target with my red card as these cards also qualify for the 5% savings. I then use the gift cards to pay for everything from dining to my hotel stay to souvinEARs.
I hope that this helped to clEAR up your question, Laryn, and give you a few pro planning tips. Be sure to follow the
official planDisney Instagram account for even more tips and tricks. And if you have any more Disneyland Resort vacation planning questions, We're All Ears!
~Kristen N.