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!
Wow – I looked at that 7-day ticket deal yesterday, and pretty sure it has gone up significantly as of today – what a bummer. Right now the savings is only $17 over buying as part of a package directly through Disney. Unless my math was way off, I think yesterday the savings was several hundred dollars.
Excellent and informative site! Well done! Just wondering if you know about the discount tickets for Canadians? Are there legit sites or is it a scam???
Thanks in advance.
Disney has a Canadian deal going on at the moment…that is the only one I have heard of for Canadians!! It ends up being pretty good if you want 4 or more days!!
I’m so confused. This is a great deal. We are first time disney vacation planners looking at dates in February of 2017. We want to purchase the 7 day park hoppers for 2 adults, our 6 year old and our 2 year old, When I put the park hoppers in my cart the only valid redeemable dates are until December 31st but the fine print says redeemable until 2018. I’m fearful to purchase without knowing exactly which options to choose. Since I am purchasing for everyone in my family do I simply put my name in “Person Redeeming Tickets” field? My questions are probably so stupid but I’m trying to do the right thing! Thank you so much to anyone that can respond and answer my questions!
I wanted to share some savings tips for Disneyland Paris:
If you are planning on going and would like to purchase a package it is a good idea to compare the prices on the various countries you can change the DLRP website to. I have found the cheapest: Netherlands, Ireland, and Belgium. They regularly offer Flash Sales as well. Mostly those are available on the Belgian or French site with offers up to 45% off. For instance you can get a 4 day stay at the Santa Fe resort for 4 people for around 350 euro.
Also, if you are a military member and want to visit for a couple of days only there is a military discount. It is a two day ticket for the price of a one day ticket. I have also seen them give a 50% room discount for military if you call the reservation line.
http://www.forcesdiscount.com/providers/disneyland-paris
#Tom, I hope I wasn’t repeating anything 🙂
We are going to Disneyworld in December and I just want to make sure as soon as I receive the confirmation codes from park savers, I can link those to the magic bands we will be receiving. We already have our room set and we would like to receive our magic bands before we arrive to the parks and hotels. THANKS!
I wish to know upon buying the 4 days, 3 days free pass.
3 questions that I need to clarify:
a. Can I buy the tickets now when my trip is on December 2016?
b. can I take a break, say on day 6 and day 7 -I decide to take a break from Disney and go for outlet shopping. I return 2 days latter to consume my 6th and 7th day of the ticket?
c. Does the parking facility allows multiple entry, do I need to pay another entry fee when I return back at the park on the same day?
Thank you for helping me on the above. Have a good day:)
My boyfriend and I will be in Orlando September 12-14 and we would like to know how to get a good discount on tickets for Disney World?
We are coming to Florida in August for our timeshare vacation for 2016. Staying at Grand Marriott Vista. We are 2 families of 6, 2 adults and 4 children each ranging in age from 5 to 16. We want to go to Magic Kingdom and Universal Studios while in Orlando. Any suggestions on a 1 day visit to Disney? Ticket deals / itinerary etc? Thank you.
My husband can get discounted tickets thru his work. Can we book our resort then add those discounted tickets? Thanks
Yes you can. I am retired military and always get my Disney tickets through the military ticket counter. Then you just go onto My Disney Experience and load the ticket number into the site and it will automatically add the tickets to your reservation. Additionally it will load the tickets to your magic band.
What is/ where can I find the military ticket counter? My husband is active army but I haven’t been able to find online any helpful information on how to get military discounted tickets.
Jada–Just go to the MWR tickets and tours counter. They are often located at a desk in or near the gym/bowling alley of many bases. You should be able to ask most people on base about the MWR program and help you locate them…depending on where you are, they may have discounted MLB, NFL tix, lift tickets, and sometimes (mostly if you’re overseas), tours of the local area.
Quick follow-up for Jada….if you can’t find Tix and Tours right away and no one you speak to knows, either, almost anyone at any of the MWR (gym, golf, bowling, some of the cafe’s, etc) outlets should be able to point you in their direction.
Alternatively, you can also purchase them on-site at WDW at the Shades of Green Resort.
Good luck!
I appreciate ALL of the advice! The discounted 7-day Park Hopper pass sounds great, but how best can I add the water park and more option to that? Thank you for your time and knowledge!
Long time lurker here Tom – thanks for the tip on Park Savers…it saved my family over 300 bucks total on the park hopper tickets.
MB
What about the site BestofOrlando for Disney tickets and Universal Studios. Do you have any information on them?
No experience with them. Sorry!
We go every year to WDW, but are dates vary every year (June/July). My question is we bought a 5 day pass w/ 2 bonus attractions last year and it was a lot for our family. What do you recommend this year and what other Parks do you recommend? We still had a lot of fun, we just want a few Parks to see in the 1st wk of july.
Do you really think it’s proper for you to recommend Park Savers and not inform readers that you are paid when a sale is made via your links? (Actuallly, isn’t this now legally required?)
Dear Tom where do YOU SUGGEST to buy Park Hopper Ticket?
Hello – I am learning so much from your Blog! Thanks so much! Planning a family trip for somewhere can be very stressful but this is helping relieve my stress!! My question is – we are going in October. Reading about the possible “Free” Dining plan that is sometimes offered in October. I am wondering if I purchase tickets via one of the discount vendors, will I be able to possibly add that down the road if Disney offers it? We have a 14, 12, and 9 year old. Food can be very costly with my crew! lol Thanks so much!
I liked your sight, it was very informative. However, because they don’t offer discounts to war veterans unless they put in 20 or were completely disabled we cannot afford to go. It’s a shame really!
If I buy Magic your way from undercover is the park hopper on this? Because we for sure want the hopper added to our 3 day tickets????
As of today (2/18/16), both Orbitz and Expedia are offering 7 days for the price of 4 (with Park Hopper and FastPass+), if I’m reading it correctly, through 3/31/2016. If you access Orbitz through FatWallet, you’ll get 4.85% back on your purchase. Expedia has the same deal, but only 4% back through FatWallet. So far, this seems to be the best deal. Adults $393 and kids $372.
Has anyone gotten the WDW tickets through either Expedia or Orbitz? Any issues? I would think that both of these organizations are quite repitible.
Tom – Fantastic site. Only suggestion would be the display of dates that comments were posted so as to know if the posted information is still relevant.
URL was actually linked at name above.
You’re wrong about Disneyland – there’s an excellent deal available for Southern CA residents – direct from Disney. See URL below to order
Those are tickets for SoCal residents, but aren’t offers available to the general public at CostCo and other physical stores located in California that used to sell them to anyone. To take advantage of the SoCal ticket offer, you need a SoCal driver’s license.