PRIVATE LIVES : THEME PARKS : Making Happy Deals at Disneyland : Off-season admission is cheaper, but one can also buy special passes for repeat visits and even save by carrying in food for picnics.

Bargains? At Disneyland ? Although certainly not your first stop for discount shopping, it is possible to escape the Happiest Place on Earth without being the Poorest Person in the Universe. Some tips:

Getting In

By now, everyone who lives in Southern California probably knows that one can take advantage of discount admissions during the slow season, a policy Disneyland started in 1991. This year both children and adults pay the $23 admission (regular-season admission is $31 for adults, $25 for children), a rate guaranteed through the Christmas season. There are no discounts, however, for parking, which costs $6.

Some Disneyphiles take advantage of the $199 annual passport option, which guarantees admission to the park for a year, plus preferred parking and merchandise and food discounts. For bargain hunters, the $99 passport is good for 338 days a year, with holidays and other peak days excluded. An annual parking pass is an extra $25.

“If you go four times (a year) it’s a deal,” says Chris Massey of Laguna Beach, who bought the $99 annual passes for his family. He estimates that he and his wife bring their young daughters to the park at least 14 times a year. “We come over just for breakfast and ride a few rides until the crowds get here.”

While you’ll miss the “Main Street Electrical Parade” and the fireworks display by hitting Disneyland during the off-season, the “Lion King” parade still runs down Main Street twice a day, the “Beauty and the Beast” show is presented four times in the late afternoon and evening, and “Fantasmic!” is featured twice each evening on the weekends.

The only other hitch to visiting the park after summertime is that it is also the time for renovating major rides. On a recent visit, It’s a Small World was down for its annual repairs. To avoid shattering disappointment, a preliminary phone call to the park is advised to ensure that the kids’ favorite attraction will be active that day.

Visiting Disneyland during the week is always advisable, but for those who can go only on the weekend, try Sundays--crowds aren’t as heavy as they are on Saturday. And get there early. The park opens at 9 a.m., with lines getting long by noon.

Eating

Although invisible to the naked eye, Disneyland does house a picnic area for families looking to avoid doling out too many Disney Dollars. Tucked behind the bushes just west of the main gate are about 15 aluminum picnic tables and benches, soft-drink and juice machines and a line of lockers for storing coolers and picnic baskets.

It takes a dollar to rent a locker, but it pays for families such as the Clarks from Utah, whose Bonnie Clark says, “We have big families so we have to bring our own food.” Clark, who made the trip with her family and her brother’s, fed 12 people and figures she saved about $50 by serving up ham sandwiches.

The Nagaishi family, from the San Gabriel Valley, were pleased to spend $30 for lunch for two parents and four kids in Tomorrowland’s Terrace, where a Terrace Combination--a cheeseburger, fries and a large drink--goes for $5.70. There are also $2.99 children’s specials sprinkled throughout the park, featuring hot dogs, burgers or even spaghetti.

A fruit salad in a sit-down restaurant can run anywhere from $5.25 to $6.95, depending on where you are in the park, but fresh seasonal fruit is available from food carts for about a dollar apiece.

The best deal for sweets is the 10-cent candy stick, which comes in a variety of flavors and can last at least 20 minutes apiece.

Shopping

There’s no getting around it, you’re going to leave Disneyland with something bearing mouse ears. Once you’ve accepted this, you can find some reasonably priced items.

A Mickey Mouse autograph book ($3.95) and pen (the cheapest, $2.10), combine for an interactive souvenir. Once the kids have the book and pen, they’re free to pester the many Disney characters roaming Main Street and Toon Town throughout the day for their autographs. And if the kids are lucky, maybe they’ll get a story told by either Peter Pan or Mary Poppins, thrown in at no extra cost.

A basic Mickey Mouse watch runs $21.95, while the requisite mouse-ear caps are $4.95. Postcards sell for 25 cents. And, yes, there is such a thing as a sale: Some souvenir shops mark down items by as much as 50% when they get new merchandise. In Fantasyland’s Disney Villain shop, for instance, mugs featuring Ursula, the octopus villainess from “The Little Mermaid,” recently were marked down from $12.99 to $6.99.

Buying film at Disneyland is expensive, but the cheapest is Kodak’s 100 ASA, with 24 exposures for $5.33 or 36 for $6.95.

But the best deal at Disneyland has to be the Penny Arcade on Main Street, where you not only can crank a 100-year-old nickelodeon and watch the antics of Charlie Chaplin for a mere penny, but you can also walk away with either a personalized souvenir medal for 50 cents or a pressed penny souvenir for 51 cents.

Disneyland, Ball Road at the Santa Ana Freeway, Anaheim, (213) 626-8605, Ext. 4565, or (714) 999-4565. Off-season hours: weekdays, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Saturdays, 9 a.m.-midnight; Sundays, 9 a.m.-10 p.m.

Other Off-Season Bargains

Knott’s Berry Farm

The theme park offers its own off-season discount to Southern Californians living in zip codes 90000-93599. For a limited but indefinite amount of time, children get in for $16.95 and adults for $19.95 with proof of residency (regular admission is $28.50 for ages 12 and older; $18.50 for ages 3-11 and senior citizens 60 and older).

* Knott’s Berry Farm, 8039 Beach Blvd., Buena Park, (714) 220-5200.

Six Flags Magic Mountain

The park offers what it calls the “twicket”: For an extra dollar more than the normal admission price ($29, or $15 for children over 2 and under 48 inches), the ticket-holder can return to the park within 30 days. Magic Mountain has extended its daily hours through Oct. 30, after which it will be open only on weekends and holidays.

* Six Flags Magic Mountain, Magic Mountain Parkway, Interstate 5, Valencia, (818) 367-5965 or (805) 255-4111.