Everything you need to know about Disney World tickets and how to pick the right ones for you:
There’s no doubt that it’s become rather confusing to visit Disney, especially for first-timers – there are so many things to plan and so many details, and unfortunately, even just the process of deciding what ticket type you want to get and how many days to spend in the parks can be complicated! But that’s why I’m here to help. Below is my guide to all the details when it comes to Disney World tickets!
Types of tickets
Standard theme park tickets
For most people, these will be the tickets they are purchasing. When you buy a standard theme park ticket, you get entry into one park per day for whatever the length of your ticket is (so if you buy a 4-day standard ticket you can get into one of the 4 parks each day for 4 days). This is good for the theme parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom). You can choose to add on additional options, like park hoppers, too (I’ll discuss that more below).
Florida Resident Tickets
If you live in Florida you may be eligible to purchase a Florida resident discount ticket. These discounted tickets are only available for a certain length of ticket days – for example, there is no Florida resident discount ticket for 1-day tickets. 3 and 4-day tickets are available at a pretty nice discount.
You do have to be a permanent Florida resident to qualify for these tickets, and you can’t buy them for other people to use out of state. You must be able to prove Florida residency.
For Florida Resident pass or ticket purchases go to the park entrance and show your confirmation number or email (which includes your ticket or pass certificate), a valid government-issued photo ID, and the original payment card used for the purchase to receive your passes or tickets. All adults will need to show the same items at a theme park or water park ticket window, or at any Guest Relations location, as well as proof of Florida residency prior to first use.
-Disney World policy
Annual Passes
As of right now, the majority of annual pass sales have been suspended. Those who already have an existing annual pass have the option to renew it, but you cannot purchase a new one if you’re not already a passholder.
The one exception to this is one type of annual pass that is only available to Florida residents. This pass has a lot of restrictions on it (only valid on certain days of the week/days of the year, etc.)
Typically Florida residents have been able to choose from a variety of passes for purchase. Some of these have many blackout dates, while some get you in most or all days. If you live outside of Florida and want to purchase an annual pass, your choice is what they are calling the “IncrediPass.”
The pass currently available to Florida residents is called the Pixie Dust pass, and it’s valid most weekdays except holidays and other major days.
Though they are not currently for sale, the last time annual passes were available these were the choices and the criteria:
- Disney Pirate Pass – only available to Florida residents, it is valid most days but is subject to black-out days on holidays and other peak crowd times.
- Disney Sorcerer Pass – available to Florida residents and eligible DVC owners, this pass is valid for most dates except select holidays.
- Disney Incredi-Pass – available to anyone, this pass has no blockout dates.
Military Tickets
Disney World will usually offer discounted tickets for eligible military members. They are available as 4 or 5-day passes, and you can get them with or without the park hopper option.
These tickets for 2023 are valid for most of the year from January 1 to December 15 but are not able to be used from December 16th-31st, April 2-15, or November 19-25.
“Eligible Service Members” are active or retired members of the US Military, including the National Guard, Reservists, the US Coast Guard, the US Space Force, the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service (PHS), and the Commissioned Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Spouses of Military Service Members also qualify if they are able to present valid and active US Military IDs in the absence of active or retired Military Personnel or Commissioned Corps Members.
These tickets are not purchased directly through Disney but at a military base. Eligible members can purchase up to 6 tickets for family/friends, though one of the 6 tickets must be used by the eligible member.
Ticket add-ons
Park hopper
The park hopper ticket is nice because it allows you to visit one Disney park in a day. For example, if you spend the morning in Hollywood Studios but then want to go back to Magic Kingdom for the afternoon or evening, you can “hop” between parks as much as you want beginning at 2 pm. The standard tickets will only allow you into one park per day. I find that the park hopper gives a lot more flexibility.
The way the pricing for park hoppers work is that you can only get it for the length of your ticket – but it’s basically the same cost as if you got it for one day. For example, if you bought a one-day ticket and added park hopper it would be about ~$70-80 more. But it’s also about ~$70-80 to add it to a 4-day ticket as well. So if you’re going to park hop for one day you pay the same price for the whole stay.
Water park and sports option
If you are interested in visiting a Disney water park, it might be worth it to consider adding on the water park and sports option. For a little bit more you can enter into the Disney water parks, as well as other select features like the golf and mini golf courses.
When you add on this option, you get entry into the water park and sports locations for the same number of entries as the length of your ticket. For example, if you buy a 4-day park ticket with the water park and sports option, you can visit one of the Disney theme parks for 4 days. You can also visit any combination of water parks/golf courses for 4 entries.
You CAN use a water park/sports entry on the same day as visiting a theme park. For example, you could use a ticket to visit Blizzard Beach water park in the morning, and then a theme park ticket to visit Epcot in the evening. You can also visit two water park/sports locations on the same day, like doing Blizzard Beach in the morning and then a round of mini golf that same day in the afternoon. This is different from theme park tickets, where you can only use one ticket per day without the park hopper option.
Park hopper plus
If you choose the park hopper plus add-on, you get all of the same benefits of the park hopper ticket plus the water park and sports option.
Memory Maker
You can also opt to add Memory Maker to your park ticket ahead of time. Memory Maker is Disney’s photo package, which gives you all of the photos you take with their photographers during your trip (this includes both around the parks with photopass photographers and on-ride photos).
Adding Memory Maker ahead of time saves you a little bit of money, as you can add it in advance for $169. If you choose to purchase it during or after your trip, the cost is $199.
Purchasing Tickets
Ticket only purchases
When you purchase Disney World tickets as a “tickets only” purchase and not as part of a package with a Disney resort you have to pay in full at the time of booking – and the tickets are non-refundable (but they ARE changeable to different dates).
As part of a package
If you opt to purchase your theme park tickets and Disney resort stay as part of a package, you will only have to pay a $200 deposit at the time of booking. The remainder of the package is due 30 days before the check-in day. You can cancel a package at any time for a full refund as long as it’s 30 days before your trip start date.
If you are not staying at a Disney resort (or one of their officially partnered hotels, like the Disney Springs area hotels), you must do a ticket-only purchase separate from your hotel reservation.
Something else to note is that when you purchase tickets as part of a Disney package, the minimum number of ticket days is 2 days. So if you were planning to stay at a Disney resort but you only want to visit the theme parks for 1 day, you would need to book a resort reservation and ticket only purchase separately.
Making park pass reservations
As soon as you buy Disney World tickets you can make park pass reservations – this is mandatory to enter the theme parks, in addition to your actual park ticket.
The park pass reservation system requires you to choose which of the 4 Disney theme parks you will be visiting that day (or if you have a park hopper ticket, which one you will be visiting first).
If you purchase a 1-day ticket, it will prompt you at the time of purchase for which theme park you are visiting, and will then make the park pass reservation for you. However, all other tickets must go in and make individual park pass reservations for each day.
The park pass reservation system was first introduced as a way for Disney to manage crowds when they were at reduced capacity, but they have continued to require it. For the most part, parks don’t “book up” like they used to, so you should be okay making your park pass reservations a few weeks before your trip. The exception to this would be peak times like holidays.
However, I recommend you book your park pass reservations as soon as your tickets or package is purchased. If you change your mind about what park you want to do on which day you can switch them around later as long as it’s available.
Like staying organized? Consider vacation planning printables – 41 pages of trip planning, including a budget worksheet, guide to characters, trip comparison worksheet, info about the Disney Genie system, daily itineraries, packing checklist, and much more.
Cost of tickets
So, how much do Disney World tickets actually cost? Well, the answer isn’t quite so simple due to several factors. We’ll go over many of these here.
Dynamic pricing
Several years ago Disney moved to a “dynamic pricing” model. Basically, that’s the same thing that’s done at hotels and airlines – the cost will vary based on demand and how busy they anticipate the parks being. If you travel during a slower time, the cost of a ticket per day will be less than the cost of a ticket during holidays or peak season.
Ticket length
The longer you commit to being at the Disney parks, the less you’ll pay per day. For example, a 1-day ticket might be $120. But if you get a 3-day ticket, the cost goes down to $100 per day. And if you buy a 6-day ticket, you’ll pay even less (say, $80 a day).
The longer your ticket length, the drop per day becomes less and less. So the difference between a 1 and 2-day ticket might not be much (just as an example, you might be paying $120 for a 1-day ticket, and $230 for a 2-day ticket. That’s only a savings of $10 – it’s still $110 to add a second day).
But the difference between a 6 and a 7-day ticket will be a lot less. For instance, you might pay $80 per day for a 6-day ticket, but $75 per day for a 7-day ticket. That means you’d be paying a total of $480 for the 6-day ticket, and $525 for the 7-day ticket. In other words, at that point, it’s only $45 more to add the 7th day.
(Please note that these numbers are examples only to illustrate the point and may not reflect Disney’s actual ticket prices!)
Adult vs. Child tickets
Disney offers a child ticket that is good for ages 3-9. At the point you reach 10+, it is the same price as an adult ticket. The difference in cost is usually nominal for tickets – you may only save $20 for a child ticket vs. an adult ticket, so it’s not worth stressing about visiting before your child turns 10 if that’s a factor.
However, children under 3 are free and do not need a park ticket. That means if you are debating about visiting before your child turns 3, you can certainly save some money with the difference between 2.5 and 3 years old!
Need help budgeting for your Disney World trip? Check out our handy budget calculator!
Other Disney World tickets
Aside from the theme parks, there are several other locations and events which require separate admission. I’ve listed many of them here, though Disney always adds new events!
Holiday Parties
This includes Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. These tickets are a separate cost from your theme park ticket, and they do not require a theme park ticket in addition to the party ticket.
The holiday parties usually start at 7 pm, but with the ticket, you can get into Magic Kingdom starting at 4 pm. That means if you were having a down day at your resort or doing something like visiting Disney Springs, you could buy a party ticket for that day and still get into the park starting at 4:00.
These tickets go on sale in advance, usually a few months before the parties begin. You can purchase tickets ahead of time (and if you want to attend you should, as many dates sell out).
Water Parks
Disney’s water parks are separate admission from the 4 theme parks, so if you want to go to a water park you’ll need to get a different ticket.
Disney’s two water parks are Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon, though during the off-season one of them may be closed for refurbishment. If you want to visit the water park you can either add the water park option to your theme park ticket (as mentioned above) or purchase water park tickets separately.
Tickets to the water parks do not require a park pass reservation and can be purchased either ahead of time or at the gates.
Special Events
Throughout the year Disney may host other special events that require a separate ticket. Recently these have included things like their “After Hours” parties at the parks on select nights, when you can stay after the park closes with a limited number of guests.
These are also items you may purchase ahead of time separately from your theme park admission ticket.
Are there discounts on tickets?
Disney offers select discounts for certain groups. These include Florida Residents and military service members (as detailed above) and at times eligible DVC members. These discounted tickets are typically available but not always guaranteed, and may have black-out dates.
For regular guests, you won’t see Disney releasing discounts for tickets the way that they offer discounts throughout the year for packages and resort stays. If you do a ticket-only purchase the price won’t change. If you book through a Disney package a discount may be released that you can apply to an already existing reservation.
Some websites offer discounted Disney World tickets, but I recommend being cautious. Their prices are usually not much less than Disney’s, and not all of them are reputable. It’s always easiest to book through Disney or a travel agent in case you need to cancel or change your reservation – not all of these websites will work with you, so be sure to read the fine print!
When do I need to buy my tickets for Disney?
If you’re planning to book as part of a package, I would purchase as soon as possible. That’s because the deposit is only $200, and you can cancel at any point for a full refund if it’s 30 days or more before your trip.
If you are planning a ticket-only purchase, you still want to buy as early as you can. There are two reasons for this:
- Park pass reservations. Disney requires a park pass reservation to enter the parks in addition to your theme park ticket. You’ll want to make sure you buy early so you can get into the parks you want on the days you’re going.
- Price increases. Disney typically raises ticket prices once or twice during the year, usually with very little notice. If you buy your tickets early you’ll lock in the current price and won’t be subject to price increases.
Which ticket type should I get?
Wondering which of these options might be best for you? There are a few things to think about when making your decision on your Disney World tickets. Since everyone’s vacation style is different it’s hard to say definitely what type you should get, but there are a few things to consider:
- If you’re wondering how many days to spend in the theme parks, I typically recommend a minimum of 4 – one day for each park. I wouldn’t do less than 3 and even then I think you’re missing out. If you can only do 1 or 2 park days I’d consider planning a trip when you have more time. I think you could easily spend 6-7 days in the parks if you don’t visit Disney often.
- The more days you go the more affordable it is per day. The price difference between 5-day and 6-day tickets is only a little bit more. Whereas the price difference between 2 and 3-day tickets is a lot.
- Park hopping is good for both shorter trips and longer trips for different reasons. If you’re going for 3 or fewer days, park hopping gives you the opportunity to visit all 4 parks. If you’re going for 5+ days you’ll be able to head back to the parks you enjoyed the most, or take advantage of one park in the morning and a different one in the evening.
- If you’re considering a water park and you have park hopper tickets it’s worth it to add the water parks and more park hopper plus tickets. If you’re doing base tickets and want to do one day at a water park and at least one other activity listed above (or two days in the water parks) then it’s definitely worth it.
- When available, out-of-state annual passes are almost always worth it if you’re planning to take 3 or more trips within a year. If you’re going once it’s definitely not worth it. I know some people think it might be an advantage for discounts but the discounts you get with an annual pass aren’t going to make up for the cost of it for one trip. With 2 trips in a year, you might break even or save a little but it will depend on when you’re visiting and for how long.
As you can see, visiting Disney World these days isn’t as simple as “buying a ticket”! Between all of the ticket types, the number of days, and the need to make park pass reservations, there’s a lot to keep track of. Hopefully, this post gives you a better idea of what you need – and if you want additional help, I always recommend investigating my trip planning printables or using a travel agent!
Related Posts
Do you have any additional questions about Disney World tickets?
Leave a Reply