Two New 2021 Disney World Ticket Deals
Walt Disney World has released two new 2021 park ticket discounts: the “2 free days” special offer plus the annual Florida Resident Discover Disney promo, which offers deeply-discounted 2-day, 3-day, and 4-day park tickets for locals. In this post, we’ll cover the details and recap other recently-released discounts.
As a quick recap, there are already several deals running through Summer 2021. The most recent of these is the new “Spring into Magic” Resort Room Discount at Walt Disney World. That offers up to 35% off hotels for Annual Passholders, Florida residents, and the general public for booking and travel dates through July 10, 2021.
These are in addition to new ticket deals for Florida residents and the general public, plus the a widely-targeted 35% off PIN Code that covers some (but not all) of the Summer 2021 travel dates of the “Spring into the Magic” promo. There’s also the Half-Off Hotels at Walt Disney World, but that only runs through early spring. Now, there are these ticket offers…
With the Florida Resident Discover Disney Ticket, locals can enjoy 2, 3 or 4 days at one Walt Disney World theme park per day. These flexible tickets can be used at any one of the 4 theme parks on consecutive or non-consecutive days throughout the offer period (subject to Disney Park Pass availability).
The 2-Day Florida Resident Discover Disney Tickets cost $149 (that’s $75 per day) and are valid January 4 through March 11, 2021 (with blockout dates January 16-18, 2021 and February 13-15, 2021). Not that the shorter duration ticket is not only more expensive per day, but also expires earlier.
The 3-Day Florida Resident Discover Disney Tickets cost $179 (that’s $60 per day) are valid January 4 through June 18, 2021 (with blockout dates January 16-18, 2021; February 13-15, 2021; March 26 to April 11, 2021; and May 28-31, 2021).
The 4-Day Florida Resident Discover Disney Tickets cost $199 (that’s $50 per day) are valid January 4 through June 18, 2021 (with blockout dates January 16-18, 2021; February 13-15, 2021; March 26 to April 11, 2021; and May 28-31, 2021).
Proof of Florida residency required. All adults will need to show proof of Florida residency at park entrance. Both a theme park reservation via the Disney Park Pass system and valid theme park admission for the same park on the same date are required.
Here’s a visual chart that might make the info easier to digest:
These prices are higher than the “Florida Resident Discover Tickets” that were released when Walt Disney World reopened last summer. Those started at $130 per ticket (or $65 per day) for the 2-day ticket. The 3-day option was $174 per ticket ($58 per day) and the 4-day Florida Resident Disney Magic Flex Ticket was $195 per ticket ($49 per day).
Not exactly huge price differences, especially for the 3-day and 4-day tickets, but worth pointing out. That’s especially true given that the post-reopening deals were not unprecedented–they were the exact same offer as the Florida Resident Discover Disney Ticket offered the prior year. That was in the lead-up to the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, during a window we dubbed the “Pre-Star Wars Slump” when low attendance and hotel occupancy pushed Disney to move forward that land’s debut.
We’re not suggesting here that Walt Disney World has fully bounced back and is inching prices up in anticipation of swelling crowds this spring. More likely, these incremental increases reflect higher ticket prices generally. There’s also the reality that many Floridians cannot purchase Annual Passes, so they’ll be pushed to this offer to get their Disney “fix.”
In other words, we wouldn’t read much into the new pricing. Walt Disney World still has several resorts closed due to low occupancy at the ones that are open, and park attendance is capped at ~35% of normal capacity.
As for the second ticket deal, that’s the “Get Two Free Days” 2021 Walt Disney World Discount that was previously previewed prior to Christmas. There are some limited scenarios where this discount might end up being superior to the “Spring into Magic” room only discount, but those are rare.
Most involve some combination of a shorter trip, staying at a Value Resort, or having 3 or more guests in a room. If you’re doing a longer trip, staying at a Moderate or Deluxe Resort, have fewer guests in a room, or don’t plan on doing the parks every day of your trip, this discount probably isn’t going to make sense for you.
The majority of potential guests will be better off booking a room-only special offer and then following the advice in our Money-Saving Walt Disney World Ticket Tips guide to purchase discount tickets.
That provides a discount on both the hotel room and tickets, and should be superior for almost everyone.
Nevertheless, here are the official details on the “Magic is Here” special offer on park tickets: Get 2 extra days added to your ticket when you buy a 4-night/3-day room-and-ticket package at select Walt Disney World Resort hotels, valid for arrivals most nights January 8, 2021 through September 25, 2021.
This package can be booked beginning January 5, 2021. The fine print indicates that this discount requires a minimum stay of 4 nights, a maximum of 14 nights, or any number in between—either way, you’re getting 2 extra days.
The number of resort rooms allocated for this ticket offer is limited. 5-day theme park tickets included in this package are valid for admission beginning on date of check-in and must be used within 8 days. This deal cannot be combined with any other discount or promotion.
Offer excludes the following room types: 3-bedroom villas, Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort, Cabins at Disney’s Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and Bungalows at Disney’s Polynesian Villas and Bungalows.
In a rare move, this 2-day free ticket promo is also available to Disney Vacation Club members. Buy a non-discounted 4-day Walt Disney World theme park ticket with a valid minimum 4-night Disney Vacation Club Member reservation and receive 2 extra days added to your ticket through September 25, 2021.
Details are on the DVC Member site (login required) and you can call Member Services at (800) 800-9800 to take advantage of this offer. For DVC Members–especially those who can’t purchase APs right now–this is actually a solid deal!
Ultimately, the Two Free Days ticket deal is eye-catching, but the discount falls apart for most potential non-DVC guests with a little comparison shopping. Of course, room-only discounts are not yet available for some of the further-out travel dates…but they will be. On the other hand, the Florida Resident Discover Disney offer is the best way for locals to save on park admission right now…especially with Annual Pass sales suspended and no news (or even rumors) as to when they might return.
If you want to help determining what discounts are available for your travel dates and which resort will work best for your family, we recommend requesting a quote from Be Our Guest Vacations, a no-fee Authorized Disney Vacation Planner. The agents there will book your vacation and help take the stress out of planning. Additionally, we’ll continue closely monitoring what’s released and will notify subscribers of our free email newsletter when any Walt Disney World discounts are released or rumored!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, 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 clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of these park ticket promotions for Walt Disney World? Will you be taking advantage of the Florida resident deal, or waiting until Annual Pass sales resume? What about the 2-day free ticket offer? Will you be booking this, a room-only discount, or something else entirely? Does this 2-day ticket deal present good savings for your family? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Do the 4 day tickets need to be used all at once? Or can they be split up? Example: we want to use 2 days one weekend and then come back a month later using another 2 days. I know with normal tickets you usually have to use all your days within a week or so. (Looking at doing this for 2022).
I’m extremely aggravated that during covid when some were too sick to even think about AP or expired passes that Disney treats DVC members as if they’re unimportant t. PLEASE, We pay dues monthly and can’t even get an AP after being ill. Where’s your decency in this move?
I do believe DVC members deserve to be able to purchase an AP.
I don’t know why, but this set of offers really has me more confused than usual. We are a party of six (5 Disney adults, 1 child, who are four kids and two parents in reality). We can do 4 or 5 nights (open to what is the better deal), and we’ve stayed at all levels of hotel. Two Little Mermaid rooms at AoA, Cabins at Ft. Wilderness (but that was years ago, when one bathroom was more feasible as some were still in diapers!), Boardwalk deluxe room for six, 2 rooms at Caribbean. And WDW called this past weekend to offer us a 2-bdrm villa at Saratoga Springs because Beach Club won’t be open in March for the reservations we made a year ago. Can we not book the great hotel deal (35% off) we see online AND get a ticket deal? WWYD?
As much as the free tickets is pretty weak, it’s the only current discount available for when we want to go in early September. It would save us about $100. Might as well change the package and wait for a better deal down the road. That’s an extra dinner right there.
I honestly wish they would just bring back Ap’s already. For locals and DVC I find it quite annoying and I’m not understanding how universal can continue to sell passes but Disney won’t? I’m really really upset.
Me TOO!!! I moved here, within 15 min of Disney, just fir this reason. I think before renewing AP’s for people thousands of miles away, they should have offered them to locals! I supposed they make more money off of their expensive accommodations. I won’t be going back again until they do offer them. Not worth it if you live so close and can’t go for a few hours whenever you want. I’ll go to Universal or something for awhile.
The DVC offer is much weaker than the cash guest offer, which isn’t surprising since DVC doesn’t book in a package the same way–
For cash guests, it’s buy a 3-day ticket and get 5 days. That’s a discount of $130 to $150 per ticket.
For DVC guests, it’s buy a 4 day ticket and get 6 days. That’s only a discount of $40 to $50 per ticket.
There is a huge drop in pricing once you get past the 4th day. Basically, Disney charges high prices for the first 4 days, and then drops down to $20 to $30 per extra day.
So it’s a good discount for a 4-person cash party staying exactly 4 nights..
It’s a minor discount for DVC members. Probably just something small to make up for the fact that DVC members can’t buy new discounted APs right now (but existing owners can renew).
I don’t understand how people would use the extra 2 days. Maybe I’m missing something, but if you buy the 4-night package, you have to buy 4 days of tickets, right? So the extra tickets…would be for when, after you leave?
No… you buy a 3 day ticket and they body it to 5. So it’s a 4night/3day converted to a 4night/5day.
What about parking?
You don’t pay to park if you are staying on a DVC points stay. Otherwise, you pay to park overnight at your resort. But you park for free at the theme parks as a Disney resort guest
I’m hoping APs come back by Fall since my first scheduled trip without any park admission is the middle of Oct. My Weekday pass (Florida Resident pass) expires on the last day of my May trip.