The first couple weeks of April we have had some pretty warm weather up here and all our snow was melted, roads were being swept, and plans for clean up were being made. Yesterday, we woke up to about 6″ of snow. “No problem” I thought, “It will be melted soon.” Sure enough, by evening there was only about an inch left at our house and nothing in town.
This morning we woke up to this…
I had to measure this dump of snow!
WHAT?! 10″ is the most snowfall we have had at one time all winter. And it is still snowing! Aaargh!
Keeping warm in a tent with a tent heater
I am not sure why, but this got me thinking about camping this summer. Hopefully we will be able to start at the end of May. Last summer we were able to get out a few times but not as many as I would have liked. We are tent campers. Toward the end of the summer the evenings were getting a little chilly (in the 40’s) through a cold night (in all honesty though, I hate waking up to the cold and will stay under the warm covers until a fire is lit). But, I was concerned about our 6 month old, 1 year old who wouldn’t stay under blankets and the 4 and 5 year old who wouldn’t stay in sleeping bags. So, at the end of the summer we didn’t camp very much.
Then, I heard some friend talking about how they stayed warm in their tents. A TENT HEATER! What!? I had never heard of such a thing. I tucked that bit of info away and guess what, it resurfaced today! Let’s look into how to keep warm camping with a tent heater.
Exploring Tent Heaters
In my research I found that there are three kinds of tent heaters, gas, electric and wood.
There are some great websites comparing some of the different options.
GudGear reviews 12 heaters and has a nice write up about safety.
Things to consider when purchasing a tent heater.
1) What type of heater do you need
Gas (Propane or Butane)–The most popular type for camping.
Electric–Great if you will always have access to an electrical outlet. This is the safest option.
Wood–This is only for large canvas tents designed to be use with a wood stove with very good ventilation.
2) The size of tent or area you are heating
Heaters come in different sizes. From small personal heaters (1,500 BTU’s) to ones that will heat a massive tent or area (60,000 BTU’s). Knowing how many BTU’s (the amount of heat the unit produces) you will need to heat your tent can be figured out with this handy, dandy BTU Calculator.
2) Where you will put the heater
Will the heater be in the tent or outside
Do you have proper ventilation?
Will the heater be in danger of being knocked over?
Do you have a stable surface to set heater upon?
Are you able to keep all things flammable (sleeping bags, blankets, pillows, pads, clothes, towels, chairs, people etc.) away from the heater even while asleep if you choose to let it run through the night (it is NOT recommended to run a tent heater while asleep on unattended).
3) Safety features of the heater
Is it rated for indoor use? If not, move on to another heater. This is of ultimate importance!
Does it have an anti-tip automatic shut off?
Is the fuel clean burning?
Does it have a low oxygen/carbon monoxide detector and shut off automatically if necessary?
What is covering the heat source?
4) Other features to consider
Weight
Ease of turning on and off
Size
Does it shut off at certain altitudes?
Fuel efficiency
Size of fuel source (small green cans or large white containers)
Can you control heat output? Different heat settings?
What heaters will work for us
Fuel type: Since none of the places we camp have hook-ups electric was automatically out. Wood isn’t safe for our tent. So, propane it is.
Tent size: We have a large family tent, an REI Kingdom 8. It took us a long to find the right tent but we love this one. Our tent has a floor space of 104 sq ft and an overall 600 cubic ft. According to the BTU calculator we need a heater with around 3000 BTU’s to keep our tent about 15 degrees warmer than outside.
Heater placement: Since we have a lot of flammable stuff and children who could easily knock it over inside our tent is probably not the safest. We are thinking that we will open up the inside door a bit and set the heater on a stable surface just outside. It will still be technically inside under the rain fly but should be safer.
I am leaning toward the Mr. Heater Buddy. It seems a nice middle of the road. It should probably be ordered soon so that we can start camping in a month or so.
Once we try it out and see how it works I will update this post with my opinions. I can’t wait to see if it helps us to stay warm camping in our tent.
Have you used a tent heater? What other tips do you have for keeping warm in a tent? Let me know in the comments below!
For our family of 9 food is a major expense. We are always on the lookout for ways to save on this budget category, especially on vacation. This post will cover different ways to save money on food at Disneyland and California Adventure.
I want to start with this disclaimer: We are not foodies! Yes, we like good, basic, yummy food but we are not going to be looking for anything gourmet. This makes it a little easier for us to use these tips. On one of our vacations to Disney we ate almost all our meals in the park. By the time we left, we all agreed that we would rather bring more lunches. On the last few days we were tired of park food and spending a lot of money for food we didn’t just love. Because we had one member of our party who wasn’t very adventurous with food, we ate at mostly similar places which most likely diminished our Disney food experience.
So, on to the tips…
1) Costco/Grocery Store
This is our main method of saving. On our trip last month we went to Costco for supplies for breakfast, lunch, and snacks. Since we we stayed in a house through Airbnb we had a full kitchen to store everything. We stopped at the grocery store for a few items that we didn’t want Costco sizes of such as peanut butter. The other place we went was Trader Joe’s. We don’t have one in AK and we LOVE the Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups. These made great snacks in the parks.
But what if you are in a hotel? Each of the Disneyland Hotels has a mini-fridge and coffee maker in the room. This will be perfect for breakfast necessities and snacks. Many of the near-by hotels will also have these items but you will want to check and make sure. If staying off-site many have free breakfast included.
HOT TIP: We love to bring string cheese, yogurt, cut veggies and drinks into the park. We always travel with a couple insulated lunch boxes. If we have access to a freezer we also bring ice packs. If not, we will bring plastic baggies and fill them with ice from the hotel ice machines.
2) Bring Snacks from Home
If you don’t want to worry about stopping at the grocery store you can always bring stuff with you. The average snack at Disneyland is around $6. Even if you bring snacks for just a couple of days it will save you money. Bringing food is easy peasy for those you able to drive. But, if you are going to fly I have two options for you.
1) Take a snack box as luggage. Bringing a box of snacks (and possibly lunch items) even with baggage costs will save money. You can bring a lot of snacks in a box for the $25-35 baggage fee.
2) Use snacks a filler in luggage. Granola bars, fruit snacks and strips, baggies of trail mix, and applesauce pouches (these probably should be in a baggie in case of explosion) work great to fill in the nooks and crannies.
3) Order from Amazon Pantry
Mindy at Mommy Mouse Clubhouse has a great post on this. I think the prices on Amazon are a little higher than a grocery store but it depends on what you are purchasing. It is still probably cheaper than snacks in the park.
4) Eat outside of the Parks
Just across Harbor Blvd are many great restaurants. We ate at Mimi’s Cafe, and Panera. Others are Pizza Press, IHOP, Denny’s McDonalds, and Subway. Not too far down Katella Ave. is a Bubba Gump’s and Cheesecake Factory. The Disney Tourist Blog has some good off-site recommendations. Please note, not all of these restaurants will save you money. Some options are just as expensive as in the Parks.
Many meals in the Parks are big enough to share. Especially for kids. One adult meal split between two children will be cheaper than two kids meals. At Cocina Cucamonga in California Adventure I shared one of the bowls with my daughter. At Pacific Wharf Cafe, the bread bowls with soup are very filling. Two bowls could probably feed three people. Julie at Mom Rewritten has a good post about sharing meals. It is a little old so use this as a guide and not definitive information. Smart Fun DIY has some creative ways to eat on a budget. Clarks Condensed gives a $100/day dining plan (all meals) for their family of 5.
Sharing meals can be accomplished at restaurants in and out of the parks. Pizza at Pizza Press is a great inexpensive option to share. We always have our kids share an adult Mac-n-cheese at Panera instead of getting two kids meals. My husband and I usually split the Romano Chicken at Cheesecake Factory (this also saves room for cheesecake).
6) Share Snacks
So many snacks at Disneyland are HUGE. We always share caramel corn, lemon and pineapple Dole Whip, and Mickey pretzels. There are so many good options. When you share you can try so many more delicious treats. How great is that! One thing I never share–Mickey ice cream sandwiches–just don’t even ask!
Decide ahead of time your snack threshold. Will it be one snack/person/day? Will you share a certain number of snacks a day? When our kids were younger (and not as many of them) we gave them a gift card with an amount that gave them $5/day for snacks. They could use it up however they wanted to. They loved to have control of their own snacks.
7) Bring refillable bottles or buy bottled water outside of the park
Bottled water in the park costs $3.50 a bottle. That can add up rather quickly. Refillable bottles can be filled up at water stations around the park. We filled our insulated bottles with ice in the morning and we were able to have cold water almost all day. In addition, you can always ask for a cup of water or ice at the restaurants and quick-service counters.
Purchasing bottled water outside the park is also an option. Before using refillable bottles we would bring a couple of bottles per person in small backpacks (along with our snacks). Yes, we began the morning a little heavy laden but our load lightened as we drank the water. In hot weather, since we have had freezer available, we would bring at least one froze bottle and one chilled. The frozen would melt by the time we were ready to drink. If only partially melted, we would add water from drinking fountains to hasten melting.
HOT TIP: Line your backpack with a plastic bag to keep condensation produced by melting bottles from soaking through your bag (in very hot weather this has a nice, welcome, cooling effect).
8) Eat Bread
We could seriously make a meal of this for our whole family. The Pacific Wharf Cafe in California Adventure sells whole sourdough loafs and rounds for $5.19 each. With some butter that they have setting out, two loaves would be a filling meal (but not very balanced) for our whole family. Just add some cheese brought in our insulated lunch bag and we would be golden!
9)Make a plan and stick with it
Set a food budget before you go. Plan ahead how many meals you are going to eat in the parks, off-site or bring yourself. IF you deviate do so with cheaper options. Look up menus at restaurants to see what it will cost your family to eat there. The Disney website has a list of all their restaurants with menus for your preplanning.
Our Vacation Meal Plan
Our last trip to California was 10 days. We planned $200/day for our family of 9 (2 adults, kids 1, 2, 5, 6, 14, 16, and 18) Our plan was to eat breakfast at the house everyday, pack lunches 6 days, and eat dinner out every night. Obviously we weren’t pinching pennies but if we didn’t have a plan we could easily spend $300/day on food.
$400 at Costco and grocery stores for all breakfasts, 6 lunches and snacks (we ate A LOT of snacks including many veggies and fruit)
$100 dinner at California Adventure
$120 dinner at Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen
$104 dinner at Mimi’s Cafe
$50-60/each for 10 other lunches and dinners
$92 snacks (yummy Dole Whip, Ghiradelli sundaes and some others)
Grand total spent on food $1775
We were $225 under our budget. Woohoo! Now, I will say that we were all VERY tired of PB&J by the end. I also would have liked more snacks if I had known we had the money (probably better that I didn’t).
In closing…
There are so many options on ways to splurge and save on food at Disneyland. You can apply some of the tips above and not others. Any steps you take to save will make a difference. Take some time with your family to create a food action plan that fits your budget and how you want to eat.
Do you have a favorite tip to save on food at Disneyland? Share in the comments below so that others can benefit from your great ideas.
One of the best ways for our family to save money to travel is to not eat out. We can easily drop $45 at a fast food joint and up to $100 at a nice restaurant. Eating at home can save us hundreds of dollars a month.
So, I am going to share with you recipes that our family loves. Maybe your family will like some of them as well and you can put some extra dollars into your travel piggy bank.
Cut up stew meat into smaller pieces, about 3/4″. Toss with salt and pepper.
Heat 12″ frying pan at medium-high heat. Place 2 Tbs of butter in pan. Melt. Cook butter until browned, swirling a couple of times to coat the bottom of the pan.
Add a single layer of meat to browned butter. The meat should sizzle when it hits the pan. Cook, without moving for 30 seconds. Flip meat over and cook another 30 seconds. Remove meat to a plate.
Add another 2 Tbs butter and cook until brown. Cook meat as before.Repeat process until all meat is cooked.
We had a wonderful time at Disneyland but as we looked back there were definitely some things we would do differently next time. Here is our list of mistakes to avoid at Disneyland.
Don’t compare Disneyland to Disney World
They are each fantastic in their own way! They are similar and different. By comparing the two I think I missed out on some of the magicalness of Disneyland.
You can still have a great day even if it is crowded
Don’t let the crowds slow you down
I am pretty sure that my expectations were unreasonable in regard to the crowds. In reality I don’t think that the park was really that busy while we were there. But, on our first day at Disneyland I felt like I had a hard time walking through the crowds. This threw me a bit and so my momentum was slowed. As we were in the parks more days we figured out how to get done what we wanted while weaving through the crowds.
Don’t enter the parking lot/garage at opening time.
We tried hard but to no avail. Every morning we were driving in to the parking lot/garage right at opening time. It is really busy at this time. Many other guests are arriving at the same time. And then it will take you around 45 minutes to get into the chosen park. So, by the time you get to your first ride the park has been open for about an hour. All the popular rides have had plenty of time to get long lines. But while the popular rides’ fastpasses will have a return time quite a bit later you can still take advantage of fastpass for most rides. Fret not! You can still have a great day if you do make this mistake.
Don’t miss out on Fastpasses–Pay attention to the time on the bottom
Our first couple days we did not effectively use fastpasses (we only had the free fastpass option). We would grab one when we got there for something we wanted to ride much later. Then we would use standby lines for rides in the area.
By the 4th day we realized that it was beneficial to use as many as we could. When you receive your fastpass reminder ticket there is a time at the bottom that tells you when you can get your next fastpass. We would then get a fastpass as soon as it was time. Sometimes we would get a pass with a return time in 20 minutes even when the standby was around 30 minutes if we were in the area waiting for another ride. We would ride something with a short standby line, then on the fastpass ride and then get another fastpass. We were able to go on so many more rides this way. Too bad it took so many days to figure this out.
Don’t forget sunscreen
We were at Disneyland at the beginning of March. The weather was about 60 degrees F. It was partly cloudy most days. But there was some sun and apparently it was intense. The second morning we noticed that our 1 year old’s cheeks were quite pink. I remembered seeing the Baby Care Center in Cars Land so we headed there. They had just what we needed–SUNSCREEN. We were told by the wonderful ladies in there that it was cheaper there than in the shops in the park. We paid $4 (I think) for a decent sized tube. They also have diapers, wipes, baby food and other necessities that you might have forgotten.
Don’t forget proper clothing–layers and a raincoat
Notice the layers on this dreary day.
As I said before we were there in early March. The temperature was around 60 degrees F but often cooler. I know we are Alaskans and we shouldn’t have been cold but we were! Part of our (mainly my) chill stemmed from going to a more humid climate. But, I will say, we were not the only people in many layers. Although, the sun did give a little warmth in the afternoon, the mornings and evenings were cool. We ended up leaving many evenings a little after dark because we were cold. So, if you are traveling to Disneyland anytime in the colder months bring a few extra layers than you think you might need. Better too warm than have to miss fireworks because you are chilled to the bone.
Don’t get sucked into the stores during the day
If shopping in the park is what you really enjoy then disregard this tip. I definitely like to go through the stores but we really should have saved it for the evening when it got cold. We could have enjoyed more rides and shows during the day when it was warmish and been inside shopping when it was cooler. Due to the fact that the shops have this crazy ability to suck you in this tip takes some real determination to achieve.
Don’t miss your rider switch window
Rider switch passes are only good for a hour. If you are waiting longer than an hour go up to the cast member and have you pass updated. My experience–Radiator Springs Racers had a 40 minute wait time so my family got in line and I waited with my 1 year old and 2 year old. The actual time we waited was 1 1/2 hours. Already frustrated from a wait twice the anticipated length, I went to use the rider switch pass. It didn’t work! The cast member proceed to inform me that it was only good for an hour. I was a little incensed and didn’t handle myself as well as I should. They did end up letting us through. I still am not sure why they would have a rider switch pass expire before the length of the wait time but, whatever! Hopefully this info will help someone else not go thorough the same turmoil.
Don’t ignore calls from California while in the park.
We didn’t know it but our 6 year old had stepped away from us. I received a call from an unknown Anaheim, California number. My hands were full and I almost didn’t answer but I handed my phone to my husband. A wonderful cast member with our daughter was calling. Our daughter knew my phone number so the cast member could give me a call (the cast member did have to look up our area code–hooray for smart phones!). They actually were only about 100 feet away. This was the easiest, least traumatic lost parent moment for our daughter yet. Lessons to be learned: teach your children your phone number and answer it at Disneyland!
Don’t eat PB & J every day
This is my boys tip. They got pretty tired of these by the end. It was cheap though. 🙂
I hope you enjoyed reading some of the things we learned not to do on our last trip to Disneyland.
What have you learned not to do to make your trip even better?
No, seriously. It is my opinion is that any time you can go is a great time because Disneyland is AWESOME! But there are different times during the year that have certain characteristics that you personally might like more than others. For your budget, travel at the least busy times for the best hotel and ticket prices.
There are a number of great blogs out there that have created crowd calendars (all are free except Touring Plans). I will list several below that I have consulted when planning our trip. But, my favorite one comes from Touring Plans. Every time we have gone to Disney World I have purchased a subscription to help me plan what time of year and then what specific parks to visit each day. I LOVE how accurate they have been. For some reason I didn’t purchase a subscription for our trip to Disneyland. That was dumb! I felt like I was flying blind each day deciding which park to go to. Lesson learned! Won’t be doing that again! Hopefully you can learn from my mistake.
My favorite crowd calendars are on Touring Plans. Every time we have gone to Disney World I have purchased a subscription to help me plan what time of year and then what specific parks to visit each day. I LOVE how accurate they have been. I though I wouldn’t need Touring plans info because Disneyland is only two parks so I didn’t purchase a subscription for our trip. That was dumb! I felt like I was flying blind each day deciding which park to go to. Lesson learned! Won’t be doing that again! Hopefully you can learn from my mistake.
One Crowd Calendar Caveat for 2019
After May 31, 2019 crowd calendars might be a bit off (to say the least). The wild card of 2019 is the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Due to expected astronomical crowds beginning opening day Disneyland requires an additional free ticket to enter the new land for the first three weeks. It is unknown what will happen after three weeks. But it is safe to say that Disneyland will not conform to usual crowd calendar algorithms for the rest of 2019.
What’s happening during the year at Disneyland?
Disneyland is a little different than Disney World due to the increased amount of local visitors. Because Disneyland is in the heart of the city it is easy for Annual Passholders to visit the park often even for just a few hours. Weekdays will almost always be less busy than the weekends at any time of year.
January
Parks will be quite busy for the first few days until school starts again. MLK Jr. holiday weekend will also be a very busy time. The rest of the month is usually quieter. Something to consider is that this is a time that rides get refurbished.
Lunar New Year celebration begins at the end of the month at California Adventure.
February
Other than the VERY busy days surrounding President’s Day. February is a fairly slow time to visit. Just keep an eye on the weather in order to bring the right clothing.
Lunar New Year continues for the first couple weeks of this month.
March
The first few days of March are usually a pretty good time to go. We were there the 2nd to the 8th. Walking around seemed pretty busy but the wait times weren’t too bad. We were able to get on all the rides we wanted to (except Radiator Springs Racers) without waiting more than 20-30 minutes (sometimes standby, sometimes with Fastpass).
Now, when the 2nd weekend (approximately) hits the park will get CRAZY! This will continue for a month or so.
The Food and Wine Festival at California Adventure opens at the very beginning of the month continuing through April.
April
This is a very busy time to visit until after Easter and then still on the weekends.
Food and Wine Festival at California Adventure continues most of this month.
Egg-Stravaganza-Easter activities throughout Disneyland resort up until Easter.
May
Weekends are VERY busy while weekdays are pretty dead.
Grad Nights are peppered throughout the end of the month.
May 31st-Opening Day of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
June and July
BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!!! Even without the new land opening this is a busy time. The new land will cause ultimate chaos.
Fourth of July has some special celebrations as well as the Anniversary of Disneyland on July 17th.
August
It is still part of the very busy summer season during the first two weeks of August. Then the crowds (in a normal year) would begin to taper off during the weekdays. Annual Passholders are allowed back into the park for the second half of August causing busier weekdays.
D23 Expo brings lots of avid Disney fans every other year. August 23-25, 2019
September and October
The first couple of weeks of September are pretty slow. Then Disneyland dresses up for Halloween Time and the people flock in on the weekends through the end of October.
Mickey’s Halloween Party (a special ticketed event) is held on certain nights from mid-September through the end of October.
November
One of the best times to visit is during the week the first two weeks of November and after Thanksgiving Weekend in regard to lower crowds.
Mid-November the whole Disneyland Resort decks the halls to create a magical holiday wonderland. Gorgeous!
Thanksgiving Week is mayhem! Talk about crowded! But, my brother and his family have visited Disneyland the last couple years at this time, love it, and keep going back.
December
Just like November, the first two weeks of December are pretty slow during the week. Once kids start getting out of school it becomes a madhouse until school breaks end in January. The week of Christmas is the absolute worst crowd wise.
BUT, imagine celebrating Christmas surrounded by astoundingly beautiful decorations (with the amazing detail work of Disney), sweet sounds of the holiday in your ears, smells of Christmas wafting all around and all your favorite characters dressed up to make your vacation magical. How could that possibly be bad?!
Ring in the New Year with special fireworks and possibly a dance party on December 31st.
Just a reminder:
From May 31st on in 2019 the crowds are most likely going to be higher than in past years. Also, it is very probable that these higher crowd levels will continue through a good portion of 2020.
Like I said at the beginning though, any time you can go to Disneyland is a good time. Just be aware and prepared for what you might face when you get there and you can still have a wonderfully magical vacation any time of year.
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