2019-2020 Discount Disney World Ticket Tips
Our 2019-2020 discount Disney World ticket guide offers money-saving info, pros & cons of Park Hoppers, tips for the best deals on tickets for Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom, and price increase history/predictions. (Updated September 15, 2019.)
If you’re just wondering the best place to safely buy the discounted Walt Disney World multi-day tickets from an authorized reseller, we highly recommend Undercover Tourist. They usually have the best prices on discount Walt Disney World tickets, with some being significantly discounted from Walt Disney World’s gate prices!
For more detailed advice, the latest news about prices increases, and more, continue reading! We’ll start with the most recent update, which is the New Mid-Day Magic Discounted Ticket for Walt Disney World. This 2-4 day ticket allows entrance to the parks after noon, making it a good option for night owls or people who like to sleep in on vacation. As we cover in our post about the new ticket, there are some downsides…
Additionally, if you’re a Florida Resident, you can save 40% on 4-day Walt Disney World park tickets and 30% on 3-day tickets. With this option, admission begins on a selected start date and must be used within a limited number of days.
For more latitude in spreading out visits, there’s also the Florida Resident Seasonal Flex Tickets. These come in 3 or 4 day varieties and are valid through February 29, 2020, with holiday blockout dates around Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. Both of these new Florida Resident ticket deals are available for purchase through December 17, 2019. Proof of Florida Residence is required.
Beyond that, the most pertinent news about Walt Disney World ticket prices is the last increase, and likelihood of another in late 2019 or early 2020. Disney ticket price increases are a regular thing, and the most recent Walt Disney World ticket price increase happened in early 2019. This followed the announcement of the grand opening date for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, which is now open.
Due to the roll-out of the date-based ticket system at Walt Disney World last year, this most recent price increase is not uniform. Some tickets didn’t increase in price at all, others are up by a few dollars, and select dates spiked dramatically. Most interestingly, September 2019 ticket prices did not increase. Rather, the biggest increases–up to 25% in some cases–occur during the peak holiday season.
Another price increase on Walt Disney World park tickets is possible before the end of the year, with October 2019 being the most likely time for that to occur. At one point, this was nearly a sure thing, but lower crowds than anticipated at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in California and now also at Walt Disney World have raised some concerns that Disney is now facing attendance woes due to a “pricing problem.”
Nevertheless, if you have a Walt Disney World trip planned, we highly recommend buying tickets sooner rather than later to lock-in current prices. There’s zero downside to buying now, it’s all upside. You avoid paying more money later if or when prices increase, and even if that doesn’t happen again this year, it almost certainly will in early 2020!
With so many different park ticket options, plus FastPass+ and MagicBands, this might already seem overwhelming. If you have more questions about which type of Walt Disney World tickets you should purchase or need other assistance, the rest of this guide is for you. Given their cost, and the different ticket options, it’s important to know as much as you can before you buy your Walt Disney World tickets so you don’t waste money.
In this Walt Disney World park ticket guide, we present the pros and cons of different tickets so you can make an informed decision about which options are best for your family. We’ll break down everything you need to know about the complexities of Walt Disney World tickets, and by the end of this post, you’ll know way more than you ever thought there was to know about park tickets!
We sort through the different options and give you recommendations on what types of tickets are best for you, plus where you can save money on Walt Disney World tickets. (If you’ve come looking for info on discount Disneyland tickets, you’ve come to the wrong place–but we do have an article with Tips for Saving Money on Disneyland Tickets, too.)
Ready to get started? Here are our tips and tricks for saving money on Walt Disney World tickets for now through December 31, 2020!
Where to Buy the Cheapest Disney Tickets
As we mentioned at the beginning, to save money on multi-day Walt Disney World tickets, we recommend buying from Undercover Tourist, which is an authorized discount Disney ticket broker that typically has the lowest prices on legitimate park tickets. You can order tickets for use now through December 31, 2020.
You’ll receive confirmation codes for My Disney Experience via email, which enables you to easily link the tickets to your My Disney Experience account and make FastPass+ reservations. This also means that the tickets are compatible with MagicBands (which you’ll receive with your Walt Disney World hotel reservation; you can also purchase special edition MagicBands in the parks). As we cover below, FastPass+ is really important to saving time at Walt Disney World!
There aren’t many Disney ticket sellers that are actually legitimate, so be careful if you find a deal elsewhere. The sellers we mention in this article are the ones that have the best reputations and offer the biggest discounts. If you find a better deal somewhere else, well…you know what they say about when something sounds too good to be true!
Authorized discount Disney ticket brokers are great ways to save money on park tickets over gate prices, but not every third party ticket broker is reliable and trust-worthy. Most places selling discount Disney tickets are scams. Buying tickets on eBay or Craigslist is about as good of an idea as buying Louis Vuitton purses on a street corner.
Disney tickets are non-transferrable–they are tied to your fingerprint once partially used. If you get burned by these sellers with a partially-used or counterfeit ticket, Disney won’t have sympathy. You’ll have to pay full price for tickets at the park gates. Not exactly the best way to start the day on a Disney vacation!
The good news is that there are several legitimate, authorized Walt Disney World ticket sellers that can be trusted. In addition to Undercover Tourist, we recommend ParkSavers. Readers of this blog can save an extra $2 per ticket at ParkSavers with discount code DISNEYTOURISTBLOG at check-out. Other good options include Get Away Today and Official Ticket Center.
If you’re comparing prices, remember to compare apples to apples: Disney prices don’t include the Florida 6.5% tax, whereas prices from the sellers we recommend do include tax into the final price you pay. Sorry bold that all, but we get so many comments from people who miss that, and wonder why the discounts aren’t as good as promised. Also make sure you’re comparing Park Hopper tickets to regular tickets or not. Lots of people make mistakes in not comparing the same tickets to one another.
Additionally, you might be eligible for discount tickets through your employer or a membership program like TicketsAtWork that can save even more than the alternatives. The only downsides are that some of these tickets require more advance notice for processing, and that what you receive is a ticket voucher (it still can be linked to My Disney Experience for FastPass+); you will need to pick up the actual ticket when you arrive at Walt Disney World.
Moving on, let’s take a look at which type of ticket options are best for you…
Which Tickets to Buy?
Sometimes people ask which ticket is our favorite for first-time visitors to Walt Disney World, and it really depends upon how long you’re visiting. In our Walt Disney World Vacation Planning Guide, we recommend most first-time visitors take a 6-8 trip.
Assuming you are going this route, you probably won’t spend every moment in the park. You’ll want a rest day in the middle to spend recovering poolside, and maybe a shopping day (or morning) at Disney Springs. With that said, we recommend buying a ticket that is 1-2 days shorter than the duration of your vacation–unless you’re visiting for 4 days or fewer, in which case you should purchase a ticket for every day. Always get at least a 4-day ticket. Ideally, get nothing less than a 5-day ticket.
Meaning, if your vacation is 8 days, we recommend the 6-day or 7-day ticket. If you are visiting for 6 days, get the 5-day ticket. In our experience, a 6-day Walt Disney World vacation is about the sweet spot for first-timers. That means either a 4-day or 5-day ticket is going to be a smart bet for most people reading this. (If you have more time, that’s excellent!)
Are Park Hopper Tickets Worth it?
The Park Hopper add-on allows you to visit multiple parks in the same day. You can bounce around the parks and maximize your time in the parks. Some guests can skip the Park Hopper option: particularly those with small children and those who won’t stay out late.
On the other hand, Park Hopping can be really beneficial if you want to revisit favorite attractions or head over to a certain park for fireworks. Currently, Disney’s Hollywood Studios has two overlapping nighttime spectaculars (Fantasmic and Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular) that are impossible to see in the same night.
However, you also won’t want to spend 2 full days in Disney’s Hollywood Studios–even though Slinky Dog Dash is a really fun new ride in Toy Story Land there–so the best solution is to spend 1-day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and see Fantasmic that night, and then park hop back a second night just to see Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular.
Another benefit of the Park Hopper option is spending more hours per day in the theme parks. Since each park has different opening and closing hours, getting a Park Hopper is a good way to extend your day (particularly in the off-season when parks close earlier) or spend more time in Magic Kingdom. Magic Kingdom often closes 2-3 hours later than the other parks, so you squeeze a couple more hours out of day by starting your day in Animal Kingdom (for example) and heading to Magic Kingdom once Animal Kingdom closes.
Because of these two things, we generally recommend purchasing the Park Hopper option. While it does cost more, if you’re buying multiple day tickets, you might be surprised to learn that the extra cost is insignificant. Currently, a discounted 7-day Walt Disney World Adult Park Hopper Ticket will cost around $490 after tax (via Undercover Tourist), with some dates costing more and some costing less. Obviously, that’s a lot of money.
However, compare it to a 1-day Park Hopper ticket directly from Disney, which cost over $180 after tax. For less than the price of three 1-day tickets, you can purchase a 7-day discounted Park Hopper. That 7-day ticket works out to being less than $70/day!
Other multi-day tickets offer similar savings, so be sure to look at the prices of other multi-day Walt Disney World tickets and do some comparison shopping to see just how much you can save. Walt Disney World advertises that “the more you play, the less you pay per day” and this is definitely true.
What About Park Hopper Plus Tickets?
The Park Hopper Plus ticket option (formerly “Water Park Fun & More) offers everything included with Park Hopper Tickets mentioned above, plus access to Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach water parks, ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course, and Winter Summerland or Fantasia Gardens mini golf.
With Park Hopper Plus tickets, you are eligible for the same number of “Plus” admissions as the number of days on your ticket. Meaning that if you have a 7-day Park Hopper Plus ticket, you also have 7 entrances the water parks, mini golf course, etc.
Whether this ticket is right for you really depends upon whether you want to do any of the parks beyond the 4 main theme parks. If you want to do one of the other things even once or twice, you come out ahead to purchase the Park Hopper Plus Tickets. We love both Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach, and enjoy both of the mini golf courses (albeit less so than the water parks) and recommend this ticket option to anyone who will be spending 6 days or more at Walt Disney World.
Why to Buy Tickets in Advance
When you purchase tickets from an authorized Walt Disney World ticket broker before your trip, you can make FastPass+ ride reservations before you trip. You definitely want to book FastPass+ for popular attractions like Avatar Flight of Passage, N’avi River Voyage, Frozen Ever After, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, etc., in advance, because if you wait to make reservations on the day you visit, there won’t be availability.
This is especially important now that FastPass+ is available for the Pandora – World of Avatar attractions. Wait times for these have been in the 120 minutes range since they opened for those who don’t have FastPass+! We cannot stress enough how important it is to make FastPass+ reservations in advance, and buying tickets before your vacation is the only way to do that.
If you’re unfamiliar with FastPass+, we have a comprehensive Guide to FastPass+ at Walt Disney World that includes step-by-step tips for using FastPass+ and a ton of tricks for using it. Basically, FastPass+ is a web-based ride reservation system that replaced the old paper FastPass tickets.
It’s really important that you understand FastPass+ before your trip. Many attractions “sell out” of FastPass+ weeks in advance, and standby waits on the day you visit for some of the attractions above can exceed 2 hours. Using FastPass+ effectively will save you a ton of time. Because of this, we highly recommend purchasing Walt Disney World park tickets in advance, and making FastPass+ reservations as soon as possible.
If you wait until you arrive at Walt Disney World to purchase your tickets, not only do you pay more money, but you can’t make your FastPass+ selections until you arrive. Many popular attractions won’t have any availability, meaning you will have to either skip them or wait in long standby lines. Our Walt Disney World Ride Guides cover which attractions are the best uses of FastPass+ in each park.
Affiliation Discounts
If for some reason you don’t want to buy discounted Disney tickets from Undercover Tourist, Get Away Today, Undercover Tourist, or Official Ticket Center, there’s a possibility you qualify for some other form of discount. The most common discounts are: Florida resident, military/department of defense, corporate or “club” discounts, Disney Vacation Club, and sometimes Walt Disney World ticket discounts for Europeans.
Of these discounts, military Disney ticket discounts are typically the best, followed by AAA discounts. AAA discounts are only offered through local offices and tax isn’t included in their price quotes. Note that Disney ended its relationship with AAA last year, so there are no additional perks for buying Disney tickets through AAA anymore.
AAA discounts typically are not as good as the prices offered by the discount ticket brokers, but military or department of defense discounts are always better. The “Stars and Stripes” promotion (only available to select members of the armed forces and department of defense) will usually annihilate what is offered by third party discount ticket brokers or AAA. This promo isn’t always offered, so call Shades of Green at 888-593-2242 prior to ordering tickets to see whether it’s available for your stay.
Another option available to some people is TicketsAtWork. This is a members-only site that partners with certain corporations to offer company employees exclusive discounts and special offers for theme parks, attractions, Broadway shows, special events, hotels, concerts, and movie tickets. In other words, Tickets at Work is a “perk” that’s available only to employees of certain corporations.
Tickets at Work most definitely is legitimate. Unfortunately, we cannot offer a price comparison to Tickets at Work because we don’t work for companies partnered with Tickets at Work, nor do we know anyone who does. Anecdotally, we’ve heard that in some cases, Tickets at Work offers prices that are slightly better than Undercover Tourist, ParkSavers, or Get Away Today. In other cases, their prices are worse. We’ve also been told that shipping can take 2-3 weeks with Tickets at Work, which could be a deal-breaker if you’re trying to make FastPass+ reservations in a hurry. Check with your company’s HR department to see if your company is a Tickets at Work partner.
Now, let’s cover one other possible Walt Disney World park ticket option…
What About An Annual Pass?
In the past, it has made sense to consider an Annual Pass for your trip to Walt Disney World. After Annual Pass tiers changed, that now is typically not true unless you are a Florida resident or are a Disney super fan who will travel to Florida 2-3 times per year. For the normal “Platinum” Annual Pass to be a better value than normal park tickets, you’d have to spend 15+ days in the parks.
Beyond that, there is a 10% discount on food and non-alcoholic beverages at participating restaurants at Walt Disney World. The discount includes some of our favorite restaurants, such as Flying Fish, Jiko & Sanaa, and others. You can see the full list of participating restaurants here–it’s a nice mix of counter service and table service locations. Additionally, Annual Passholders will now receive 20% off most merchandise purchases.
Thanks to these benefits, if you’re taking a trip slightly shorter than 15 days or if you’re visiting for two 5+ day trips within a 12-month window it still might make sense to buy Annual Passes.
Conclusion
Hopefully the above info helped you determine which Walt Disney World park ticket you should buy and how to save money on those tickets. If you still have some questions, here are some general rules:
- Thanks to very good discounts, our top recommendation for Walt Disney World is the 5-day to 7-day Park Hopper ticket, all of which provide excellent savings.
- We recommend the Park Hopper option for most people, but if you definitely won’t visit more than one park per day, you can save additional money by skipping the Park Hopper option.
- By purchasing via an authorized ticket broker, you can make FastPass+ reservations ahead of time. If you buy tickets once you arrive to Walt Disney World, you’re at a disadvantage in two ways: you pay more for tickets and you cannot make FastPass+ ride reservations in advance.
- Do not consider an Annual Pass unless you will visit Walt Disney World for roughly 15+ days in a 365 day window, or will take multiple shorter trips.
- If you are planning a vacation and definitely going to Walt Disney World before December 31, 2020, it’s always best to buy tickets as far in advance as possible to lock-in current prices and avoid future increases.
It’s important to know that my suggestions are based on our preferences, and they may not work for you. It’s really best to read through this and then apply it to your own circumstances by looking at your own schedule and preferences, and determining what type of tickets are best for you. Finally, head to Undercover Tourist buy the appropriate tickets at the best discount.
For where to eat, try out our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews page. If you want to save money on tickets or determine which type you should get, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at unconventional things you should take on your trip. For overviews of all of these topics and so much more, the best place to start is our comprehensive Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide to make the most of your experience!
Your Thoughts
Have any questions about which tickets might be best for you? Which Walt Disney World tickets do you think are best, and why? Hopefully this guide to Disney discount tickets has provided you with some valuable tips & tricks to help you save money on Walt Disney World tickets, and has helped you figure out which kind of Disney tickets are right for you. If you still have any questions, please leave them in the comments and we will try to help!
If plan to stay in a Disney on-property Resort and buy theme-park tickets via Undercover Tourist, how do I acquire MagicBands to link to the tickets? And are MagicBands waterproof so we could wear them while in the pool?
You’ll receive MagicBands as part of your hotel stay. They’ll either be mailed to you or you’ll pick them up upon arrival at the resort–your choice.
If you would like to know the prices through ticketsatwork I could let you know, I work for farmers insurance who has it, just hit me up on the email on this
I am considering purchasing an annual pass due to planning on spending a little over two weeks at Walt Disney World. In order to get any AP discounts on the room, do I need to activate it first at the park? Or is just purchasing the AP sufficient to get any AP discounts when reserving a room ? I live in upstate NY and will not be able to activate the AP until I arrive to WDW so just wondering how the discounts work for new AP holders that reside out of Florida .. hopefully this makes sense 🙂
If I buy tickets in advance from Undercover Tourist and then book a room at the Caribbean Beach Hotel, I don’t think that I can buy the dining pass. Is that correct?
Thank you as always for all the information. I have a question.
I am headed down for the WDW marathon and my AP expires the end of December.
If I purchase a 3-4 day non park hopper ticket soon and then see that the after 12 ticket deal is extended, am I able to convert somehow??
This deal would be ideal for the 5-6 days I will be there.
Thanks again!!
Your article is indepth and very helpful, but it only talks about those who have “long” visits to Disney. What about those of us who plan 1-2 days at Disney before a Disney Cruise or AFTER a Disney Cruise? We know we can’t do it all, but a touch of something is better than nothing of everything. In this case when only 2 days are planed for the parks, which kind of tickets would be best? What kind of discounts should be expected, or do we who only need a day or two just get the worst and pay full price for everything?
I will be in Embassy Suites in Lake Buena Vista. Planning to viist Disney attractions for two days only Oct 14 afternoon till end of Oct 16. what type of tickets should I get to save money? I am not interested in any of the rides or waterparks.
If you buy discounted tickets through one of the vendors but still book a room on property, do you still get to book fastpasses 60 days in advance? How does that work?
You do. If you have an on- property room reservation and valid tickets linked- you can make FP selections beginning 60 days from your check in date for the length of your stay
Regarding Park Hopper, I always do it and have never regretted it. The flexibility it adds and the freedom to be able to do things different people want to is a must for us.
Regarding no downside to buying tickets early, I will have to disagree with that since I ended up having to eat the cost of 2 5-day Park Hopper tickets and 3 partial ones before when we ended up having to cancel a family 5-day trip. We changed it to 3 of us over 2 days to get some use of them, but I will never buy them that far in advance again. I had bought them about six months out, and while they didn’t expire until the end of the year there was no place in our calendar for moving the whole trip. Travel insurance didn’t cover them.
With the caveat that I have always visited with small children, I tend towards not recommending park hopper for Disney World.
1. Breaking the price down in a “per day” doesn’t help unless you plan on using it each day.
2. Disney is pretty magical, but the transportation is the least magical part. You are looking at 20-30 minutes to extricate yourself from one park and another 20-30 to get into the other one. Unless you tweak your touring plan to be near the park exit, you are going to spend a lot of time getting in and out.
But… Youngest kid is getting older and might be up for more full days. I might consider a Park Hopper if I wanted to eat in Epcot most evenings and was staying in an Epcot area resort to limit the time getting in and out. It still feels like a big ask. Imagine if the restaurant added $70 to the bill. I might not be interested in eating there…
If you buy a package deal through Walt Disney World with hotel and park hopper passes, is that cheaper than booking the hotel separate and the Park Hopper passes through Undercover Tourist?
Just an FYI for anyone using Undercover Tourist – if you also use ebates/Rakuten the purchase is usually eligible for at least 1% cash back – might not sound like much, but can add up depending on the number of tickets you purchase.
Hi! I was wondering if you knew of any Canadian resident savings coming up! Last year we managed to save some dollars on their park tickets . But there seems to be nothing available right now. We are heading to Wdw in January 2020.
Does buying tickets off the disney website include fastpass+? I can’t find it mentioned anywhere. But looking at the Parksavers & Undercover they’re much more cheaper, including the fastpasses.
Also, can I add the memory maker when I purchase from any of the secondary sites above?
All tickets include Fastpass+ regardless of where you purchased them.
I am planning to purchase the magic mid-day tickets for November, travel dates starting 11/29. Can you tell me how I should expect the crowds to be? I am planning to go to Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. With the mid-day tickets, how can I guarantee there wouldn’t be a capacity level issue?
Holding out for free dining in Jan. Haven’t bought tickets yet in hopes of a package coming out. Is this a good strategy?
Just saw today that only offering free kids dining at that time. There are some room only discounts though. Check Tom’s newsletter for info
Tickets at Work is more expensive than Undercover Tourist for all the dates I’ve checked recently (dates in off peak September and peak December). They do not include taxes in their advertised prices, and you have to get to checkout before seeing the taxes.
They do have electronic delivery, but claim they are “will call” tickets. I can’t confirm if they are actually “will call” tickets, or if it’s a code you can add to MDE like you can with Undercover Tourist — mostly I can’t confirm this because I’m not going to buy them when they are more expensive anyway.
Hi There!
I bought tickets for After Hours through Tickets at Work for this past January. It was cheaper by about $10 per person, but we had the will call tickets. Since that is a hard ticket event, you have to pick them up from their office (near the Orlando Eye). Due to that, you can’t add it to your MDE until you pick up the tickets from their office. If our trip had been more than 2-3 weeks out, we could have paid extra for them to be mailed to us.
Hi Tom, we had 6-day park hopper passes this past May 2019 and are going again in January 2020 (4 park days). Someone told us we could “grandfather” in our 6 day tickets from May to an annual passholder to save some $$$ but the Disney site says otherwise. According to the internet we only could have done that if we visited an on-site ticket office prior to the end of the May trip. Do you know of any way around this? Or even if it’s possible on an exception basis, is crossing the calendar year a dealbreaker regardless? Thanks!
Charlie I had a similar experience with tickets. This past May I bought a 5 day package during my granddaughters cheer competition. The company had packages for the cheerleaders & family’s to attend at discount rates. We stayed at the value resort for 5 nights & it included hopper tickets. I explained I had an AP & the Disney rep told me I could use that hopper ticket fee that I paid & apply that money to the cost of my AP renewal. But when I got to Disney I was told I couldn’t. Since I purchased my package from an outside source I couldn’t apply my 5day hopper tickets to my AP renewal coming this Dec. I hope it works out better for you!!!!
Typically,usually it is only available to upgrade your ticket while you are still there i.e. like on the last day of your vacation like you mentioned.
However, you have nothing to lose at this point to try it. Just don’t have high hopes.
But hey still try it. Worse they can say is no (and I expect they will, but you never know).
Things were different when they sold tickets that didn’t expire (a long time ago).
Maybe that is what you or someone was thinking about.
How soon can we purchase our tickets for an early February, 2020 visit?
Can you purchase Disney tickets at any Costco in Florida?
Sam’s club is no longer selling annual passes.
We are planning a one-week trip to Disney World with our son and family with 3 grandsons the end of Dec 2019. My Mother is 96 and in a nursing home so we always buy insurance when we travel, especially at our age. Is there insurance offered on Disney Tickets if we make a purchase through “Park Savers” ? Thank you.
Tom, Sams club no longer offers disney tickets. Any other suggestions?
Is there perhaps a new discount code for Park Savers? The code: DISNEYTOURISTBLOG is not invalid. Thank you!