How to Save Money at Disney Parks

When Disneyland first opened its doors in the 1950s, admission to the park was just $1. Now the “Happiest Place on Earth” has become the most “Expensive Place on Earth” for vacations. Today’s tickets: about $96 for adults and $90 for children ages 3-9. If you do the math, it would cost a family of 4 just shy of $400 just to walk through the gates to the Mickey Mouse clubhouse for just one day. And this is just at Disneyland. A one-day ticket to Walt Disney World Resort’s flagship theme park, the Magic Kingdom, is $105.  So how do you save money when planning a trip to see Mickey Mouse?

In early October, Disneyland raised the price of its top-tier annual pass from $799 to $1,049 �" a 35% price increase. This pass has no blackout dates. The mid-priced Deluxe annual pass saw a 9% increase to $599 with 50 blackout dates. The Southern California passes are no longer being sold.

On average, Disneyland welcomes roughly 16 million guests a year, making it the third most visited park in the world. On weekends and holidays, the park can become extremely crowded. I once waited 2 hours on a Saturday just to ride Splash Mountain. Increasing the cost for a season pass may be one-way Disney can thin the crowds. However, season pass holders only make up a small percentage of annual visitors to the park. Millions of international travelers flock to Disney parks, anxious to check out the latest attractions. And there will soon be even more attractions to check out. Disney recently announced plans to build two huge “Star Wars” attractions at Disneyland and at Walt Disney World Resort.   

If you are planning on checking out any of the Disney parks, there are a few ways you can save some money during your visit.

      1)     To make the most of your money, plan your trip during the park’s off-season. Disney’s off-season months are September through March �" excluding December. The parks are general not as crowded, which means you can grab and extra ride or two on Space Mountain.

      2)     Invest in the multi-day passes. You may suffer brief sticker shock at first, but you may actually save some money in the long run.

      3)     Buy your souvenirs in advance. You can pretty much find Disney items anywhere, including discount stores. Since souvenirs in the park tend to be expensive, look for cheaper options for that Mickey Mouse stuff animal either online or at the nearest discount store.

      4)     Take advantage of discounts offered to special groups. Are you a teacher? A college student?A member of the military? If so, you qualify for discounts on admission tickets to Disney parks.

      5)     If you are not a teacher, college student, or member of the military, there are still discounts for tickets. You just need to look for them. Disneyland, for example, will often offer special discounts during its off-season. Many businesses, such as AAA, will also offer discounts as well. 

      6)     Utilize shuttles, carpools, and other methods of transportation to and from Disney parks. It costs about $17 just to park your car at the park. You can save a few bucks if you can utilize other means of transportation.

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Thank you to Carla Roberts Pruitt, @crobscarla for these great money saving tips

Author's Note

The author is an avid blogger and traveler in favor of the travelling through home exchange or the exclusive home exchange concept.