A Disney vacation can be pricey, and buying Disney tickets can be the costliest expense of your vacation. As I shared in the first post of this series, my family visits the parks every other year, for a grand total of five times since my youngest was in diapers. I’ve learned quite a bit about how to get the most for your money when purchasing Disney tickets, and here’s my take.
Mousesavers is a fabulous reference for saving on everything related to Disney World, and it was there that I found out about Undercover Tourist. I think it’s the best (trustworthy) discount on Disney tickets for non-Florida residents. I have ordered my tickets from them three times, and they have always arrived well packaged and sealed in a clear plastic bag.
What Disney ticket to purchase? There are a slew of options, but here are the basics:
Magic Your Way (MYW): Your basic ticket. One of the four parks per day (no water parks)
Park Hopper: Hop to as many of the parks as you choose in one day (no water parks)
No expiration: Add this to either of the first two choices, and your tickets never expire
There are water park options as well, but I hate water parks and avoid them like the plague (which you may actually catch while you’re there). I don’t think my kids even know that there are water parks in Disney.
You could spend hours wading through the Disney ticket options, but if you want my opinion, get the Park Hopper pass for as many days as you will be in Orlando (or one day less and give yourself a breather day). Why? The cost per day dramatically decreases the more days you buy. Let’s look at the numbers, using current Disney ticket prices on Undercover Tourist:
A comment about the no expiration option: It’s not worth it. Currently, you can buy the 10 day park hopper with the no expiration option for $609.95 on Undercover Tourist. That means you pay $60.99 per day, and you can break it up into two 5 day trips. BUT, a 5 day park hopper is 60 cents less per day. The only benefit to the no expiration is you avoid future ticket price increases, but this savings is outweighed by the risk of losing your Disney tickets in between trips.
FINAL TIP: Buy your tickets as soon as your trip is a go. Prices increase annually, but your unused tickets will not expire (they are valid for 14 days after your first use). Just make sure you buy the right ticket for any child on the cusp of moving from one ticket price to another (under 3 is free, 10 and up is an adult).
To Do List:
√Determine which ticket plan works for you and purchase them now if budget allows.
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