2024 Disney Park Tickets Tips & Tricks
Our 2024 ticket buying guide covers how to save money on park admission at Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and other theme parks. This covers info & tips on the best deals & time-saving add-ons for Florida, California, Paris, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong–every park in the world! (Updated January 17, 2024.)
The first thing you need to know is that Disney typically raises ticket prices each year in February. This usually impacts a variety of park ticket durations, with off-season ticket prices usually not increasing much (or at all) to keep base prices the same (and thus conceal the increase). For example, the lowest price dates at Animal Kingdom have not increased at all since 2018–but all other parks at Walt Disney World have increased significantly, especially during peak season.
Multi-day prices and popular dates (e.g. Spring Break, Columbus Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s) typically increase by much larger amounts. Unfortunately, with the date-based system, it’s easier to obfuscate the increases. The good news here is that the 2024 ticket price increase has not occurred at Walt Disney World or Disneyland. At least, not yet.
The bad news is that ticket prices at Walt Disney World did not increase at all last year, meaning that it’s highly likely–almost a sure thing–that there will be significant increases in February 2024. Accordingly, we’d recommend buying now from Get Away Today to lock-in current savings, beating the next price increase and get the lowest rates.If you’re looking for the short and sweet version of that post, that’s it–buy now from an authorized discount ticket seller to save up to $75 per ticket!
Disneyland is a slightly different story, as ticket prices increased there in October of last year. Sometimes, tickets increase in both October and February, and that may be the case this year as the California parks have continued to experience pent-up demand. However, with nothing new on the horizon in 2024 and signs of ‘revenge travel’ exhausting itself, our expectation is that Disneyland probably won’t raise rates in February 2024. We’d put the chances of it at under 50/50, whereas Walt Disney World is above 90%.
In this post, we cover other ways to score legitimate discounts on Disney Parks tickets. We cannot stress the “legitimate” part of the above enough. There’s a plague of fake and unauthorized tickets being sold for the parks. Roadside stands, eBay, Craigslist, shady websites, etc–there are many Disney ticket scams to which budget-conscious guests fall prey. Worse yet, if you innocently purchase invalid tickets from a scam, you’re going to pay twice, because Disney isn’t going to accept the fake tickets.
Suffice to say, if a ticket deal seems too good to be true, it probably is. While it is possible to save money on Disney tickets, most savings are of around $5 to $50 per ticket, with the biggest savings being on multi-day tickets for 5 days or more. (Sometimes, 10-day tickets are discounted by $80 or more.) However, you will never find legitimate, half-price tickets.
Tickets are often one of–if not the–most expensive aspects of any Disney vacation, so we understand the desire to save as much money as possible. However, you have to be smart about it. Spending money on a shady but “great deal” that turns out to be a scam will cost you more in the long run. Our Disney ticket tips & tricks cover only the best, legitimate ways to save money on Disney tickets, and authorized sellers from which to buy those tickets.
With that out of the way, let’s start by discussing the options for discount Walt Disney World tickets…
Walt Disney World
Walt Disney World has myriad ticket choices that enable you to buy exactly what you need and nothing more or less. It’s a complicated, date-based system that can be difficult for a first-time Walt Disney World guest. Disney representatives often only make matters worse, as they upsell or subtly “encourage” guests into buying the more expensive tickets.
To underscore just how much you can save by knowing which type of tickets to buy and from which authorized discount ticket brokers to buy them, Get Away Today currently has select multi-day Walt Disney World park tickets discounted by up to $75 off! This will save you a lot of money over buying park tickets directly from Disney. Use code DTB23 at checkout for even bigger savings.
Another excellent ticket seller we recommend is Undercover Tourist. These two typically compete with each other on prices, and are usually within a few dollars of one another. Which is better often depends upon the ticket type and when you’re searching. Both sellers offer huge savings on 10-day tickets with all the add-ons, but that’s an extreme example–more common savings are around $35 to $40 for multi-day base tickets.
You can order tickets for use now through December 31, 2024, and you will receive confirmation codes via email for My Disney Experience. In our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post, we discuss which add-ons you should and should not get, how many days you might want tickets, and also compare prices among the four reputable Orlando discount ticket brokers.
Simply knowing about the different options so you don’t purchase unnecessary add-ons and buying from the discount sellers with the best price on particular tickets can save you a lot of money, and significantly cut down on the cost of your park tickets. It’s pretty easy to do, especially since many guests (especially those families with small children) don’t truly need Park Hopper or other add-ons.
Disneyland
Disneyland Resort park tickets are slightly more straightforward. Since there aren’t water parks and only two parks–Disney California Adventure and Disneyland–it’s a pretty simple process. It’s basically a question of whether or not to get the Park Hopper option, and how many days to stay in the first place. (There are also various ticket tiers with different pricing, which effectively means you’ll select dates for visiting when buying the tickets.)
AAA, Safeway, Costco, and a handful of other SoCal retailers have small discounts of a couple dollars per ticket in store from time to time, but those savings are usually smaller. Additionally, there is a Southern California resident special on tickets from now through June 2, 2024. If you’re not a Southern California local (with ID to prove it), your best option is purchasing online via authorized discounted sellers.
The best deals for buying Disneyland tickets safely and securely via Get Away Today, which is an authorized seller of Disneyland tickets with the best prices and customer service that we’ve found. They have tickets that are valid for admission from now until December 31, 2025.
One thing to note here is that Disneyland tickets are available through the end of 2025, not just 2024. Although we’re uncertain that a price increase will happen this February, we’re pretty confident one will happen in February or October 2024, and there’s a 99.99% or higher chance that Disneyland will raise prices before December 31, 2025. Buying now locks in current prices, and could mean avoiding between one and three price increases! If you already know how many days worth of tickets you need and are looking for the best price, that’s all you need to know.
If you need more assistance with determining how many days to buy tickets, if you should get the Park Hopper option, and whether a Magic Key might actually make sense, check out our Tips for Saving Money on Disneyland Tickets post.
Tokyo Disney Resort
Your options are pretty limited when it comes to tickets for Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea, but the good news is that park tickets there are significantly cheaper than for the US Disney Parks. The Japanese parks most definitely are locals’ parks, so the pricing strategy there is to charge a premium for Annual Passes and less for one to four day tickets.
Not only are the single and multi-day ticket prices lower, but for Americans, the dollar-to-yen exchange rate is excellent right now, making park tickets for us a relative steal. Of course, you still have to pay for airfare to get there in the first place. Read our Money-Saving Tips for Tokyo Disneyland Park Tickets post for our full recommendations on buying the best tickets–and at the best prices–for Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea!
Although not at a discount, you can purchase Tokyo Disneyland & DisneySea park tickets in advance from Klook. This is what we strongly recommend doing because the official TDR website has issues with foreign credit cards. (Some work, most don’t. If you run into a problem, it’s them–not you!)
Unfortunately, these are the exact same price as buying directly from Tokyo Disney Resort. However, the big difference–and huge advantage–is that you can actually buy them with a U.S. credit card and purchase them before you arrive. While buying tickets upon arrival is an option (physical credit cards do work once you’re on the ground in Japan), that’s only if tickets don’t totally sell out. Not worth the gamble when flying halfway around the world, in our estimation.
Hong Kong Disneyland
Hong Kong Disneyland has by far the easiest ticket system. There are 1-day and 2-day park tickets (no Park Hopper since there’s only one park), and three tiers of Annual Passes: Silver (valid for 250 days per year), Gold (valid for 340 days per year), and Platinum (valid for 365 days per year). Each of these passes also offers discounts on food, merchandise, and hotels. The break even point on the Silver is 3 days, with the other passes having varying break even points of ~6-10 days based upon whether you’d buy 1 or 2 day tickets.
About the only way to save on single day Hong Kong Disneyland tickets of which I’m aware is to buy from Klook, which will save you about $8 per ticket, and will allow you to instantly print your ticket. You can also use the coupon to purchase a discounted meal voucher for Hong Kong Disneyland.
Disneyland Paris
It used to be the case that Disneyland Paris Annual Passes were a bargain, and we recommended those over regular tickets to anyone spending at least 3 days in the park. Despite living in the United States, we were Disneyland Paris APs for several years. That has changed in the last couple of years due to massive price increases.
Disneyland Paris has also adopted surge pricing on regular tickets, meaning that single day ticket prices vary based upon anticipated attendance. This makes things a bit more complex, since there are three tiers of normal single day tickets now: Mini, Magic, and Super Magic.
Note that only the single day tickets are subject to the tiered pricing. If you purchase a multi-day ticket, the tiers are irrelevant. However, even if you are going for multiple days, you should look at the tiered pricing calendar, as 2 Mini tickets (if you’re going during a slow season) is actually a cheaper option than one 2-day ticket. Zut alores, très compliqué!
For multi-day tickets, there are also some money-saving options available, particularly for Europeans. Americans might have a more difficult time scoring deals, but we cover all the ways to save in our Disneyland Paris Park Ticket Tips & Info post.
Shanghai Disneyland
The good news is that park tickets for Shanghai Disneyland are inexpensive as compared to the US parks, especially during their low seasons (they also have surge pricing); the bad news is that prices have already increased and upcharges have been introduced since Shanghai Disneyland opened two years ago.
Fortunately, there are now discounted 1-2 day tickets available via Klook. Depending upon the ticket season, you’re looking at a savings of around $5-10 per ticket. Not huge savings, but considering that tickets are in the $65-75 range, that’s not bad–and it all adds up.
Regardless of how you purchase your Shanghai Disneyland park tickets, we recommend getting digital tickets. Once you have them, take a screenshot of the ticket (for safety in case the internet is down) as well. Make sure to bring your passport in case the Cast Member requests to check your ID (you should always have your passport on your person when traveling internationally).
Shanghai Disneyland also offers “Disney Premier Access” which is a paid, digital FastPass service for its most popular attractions. If you only have 1-day in Shanghai Disneyland and don’t arrive at rope drop, this can be a good, time-saving purchase. If you do rope drop, stay late, or have multiple days in the park, we view this as unnecessary.
Planning a visit to one of the Disney theme parks? Check out our Disney Parks Trip Planning Guides for everything you need to start planning a trip to Walt Disney World, Disneyland Resort, Disneyland Paris, Tokyo Disney Resort, Hong Kong Disneyland, and Aulani in Hawaii.
Your Thoughts
As for tickets, what are your preferred type of tickets to get? Do you purchase optional add-ons, like Park Hopper or MaxPass? Do you have an Annual Pass? Any tips or tricks of your own to add? Any questions? Hearing feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Hi,
Does Disney ever offer ticket specials for December? Something like the the current 3 day special that runs til September 2024?
Hey Tom, nice post here.
What do you recommend now for obtaining the best value on tickets to Disneyland Paris ? Considering the recent changes in pricing structure, particularly about the surge pricing on single-day tickets. With the impact on the affordability and benefits of Annual Passes, it is getting complicated! ‘Good day
Thanks a lot, you always provide a helpful information.
How can this be? Get away now tickets for two days are half the price than tickets directly from WDW. In fact, the price is less than the price of buying tickets for one day at MK. This can’t be real lol. I’m a bit hesitant to buy because of the price.
Are you sure you’re looking at the correct tickets? Get Away Today has good prices and discounts—especially on longer duration tickets, but nothing THAT good.
(Your instinct to second guess anything that sounds too good to be true is right, at least!)
Hi Tom.
I recently moved to Florida and am looking to book an 8th birthday trip for my daughter in Jan 2024. Do you have a guesstimate about when and if there will be Florida Resident ticket deals ?
Thanks
I have the same question regarding possible release dates of Florida resident tickets in January!
Hi Tom,
I followed your hyperlink to getaway travel for Walt Disney world tickets and tried to use your promo code. It was not take as valid. Can you check on this and offer a valid code?
We are needing to buy our tickets very soon for April 2023 trip.
Thanks
Bell
Hi Tom
Do you or anyone have any details of wheelchair accessible transport?
Myself and 6 others are staying at Art of Animation April 23rd to May 9th
We would like a day trip to Seaworld for my young grandson
Virgin Holidays have quoted us $33 per person each way $462 in total
I was also told we had to have 2 taxis as the wheelchair accessible one coud only take a maximum 4 people.
Any help would be awesome
We have four adult tickets to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party on Tuesday, October 25. We would like to switch to Sunday, October 23. Does anyone want to switch with us?
Hello Tom,
thank you for this fantastically informative website!
I’m going to be in Florida for work in early September (I live in the UK) and I have one free day in Orlando so I was thinking of going to WDW. Did you know that Disney has forbidden the sale of day tickets to UK residents? You must purchase a minimum of 7 days – and it’s two days minimum for other European countries. I find this a poor business practice and frankly borderline discriminatory. Any thoughts on that? Thanks!
When will tickets for Mickeys Halloween party 2022 be available for purchase? Also where do I purchase them?
Thank you
Hello, I have an expert question I need help with! I have rented DVC points and booked an upcoming stay for the Boardwalk to try a premium location at an affordable rate. Now, if I buy tickets through an authorized reseller like Get Away Today, will we have the same perks as if we booked a stay and bought our tickets directly from the Disney World site, or do we lose those benefits? Trying to decide if I need to purchase tickets at face value from Disney’s site, or if I can save some and still enjoy the benefits of an authorized reseller. THANKS!
Hello so I am 51 years old and decided that I wanted to take disney off my bucket list of things to do and I read you blog and my my continues to spin and go into over load. But I do have 1 question I keep hearing how disney doesn’t really cater to the guests anymore…so are there any perks for someone who is going for the 1st time I have heard in the past that disney gives first timers some special perks and my travel agent has informed my resort we are first time goers do you know of any special perks or savings ??
First timer! :o) You’re in for a fun adventure.
You can stop by Guest Services or possibly your onsite lobby to let them know it’s your first visit. Likely they’ll give you a personalized 1st visit pin. That’s about all you can expect for sure. The idea is that other Cast Members may see it and join in the fun. Maybe they Pixie Dust you and give you a few cake pops at Starbucks like they did on my Birthday. Maybe you ask a question when exiting Spaceship Earth and the CM asks if you’d like to ride again. Sometimes people get a free dessert after dinner when wearing a special occasion pin.
There are no specific perks and pixie dust is never guaranteed. You may get several but possibly none. Usually you’ll at least get a shout out or high five in passing. The reality is every months over a million visitors pass through WDW and many are celebrating something.
Hi Tom! Last Year, we purchased tickets through Get Away Today as you recommended. I remember using a coupon code that you published in this post which made GAT the cheapest option, but now I can’t find it! Am I crazy? Do you have a coupon code for Get Away Today? And thank you for all your tips, tricks and in depth analysis. All the info in your posts made our trip to Disney World absolutely magical!! THANK YOU!!!
I want to follow this blog by email
I live in Florida and haven’t been to Disney in 5 years. Because of Covid and all the new regulations Disney has made, it is not appealing to go. I have been going to other parks in the area that are less stress free. Last time I was at Disney there was construction walls and I said I would not go back until some of those walls was gone. I felt I was paying to see construction. The new prices for Florida residents, that just came on, is a great deal for people that can take off work, since the tickets are only good for Monday through Friday. It doesn’t sound like Covid is going away anytime soon, and Disney will continue to not be like it used to be. The increases in food and etc., is understandable and people shouldn’t complain, because we are having to pay more everything, and they cannot expect Disney to be any different. I don’t mind paying more if I am getting what I pay for. I just don’t like all the changes they have made.