Park tickets are one of the biggest expenses of a Walt Disney World vacation, so it’s important to make the right decision. My hope in this post is to help give you a little background so you can make this tough choice with your On The Road Travel Agent.
The first decision you have to make when taking a trip to Disney World is how many days you wish to spend at the parks. This really depends on the pace of your family and the kind of vacation you want to have. I’m a big park goer, so when we take a trip to Disney World, we typically visit a park every day, or at least 80% of the days we spend there, and the Park Hopper feature is well worth its cost for us.
So first and foremost, you need to consider who will be in your traveling group and account for their interest and ability as a park goer. I’m usually the youngest in my group and I’m 23, and my parents are the oldest at 52, so we can generally keep going all day long. That very likely isn’t the case for your group. I know it seems really important to get the biggest bang for your buck on a Disney trip, but it is so important to rest, especially when you have little dudes along for the ride. On my last trip, we averaged 20,525 steps on the days we spent at the parks. That’s 8.5 miles of walking! It’s no joke! Plus, it can be brutally hot depending on the time of year, so it’s important to take breaks, drink some water, and have a snack. Keep these things in mind when planning for your group. It very well may not be possible to open and close the park every day on your trip, and that’s ok!
So, what’s going to be best for you?
For a standard one day ticket, prices vary a bit day to day depending on the park and the time of year. Disney recently started using surge pricing, so during peak seasons, daily prices will be higher. For example, at the end of March, when many people are on Spring Break, park tickets are at peak cost: $129 for a one day ticket to Magic Kingdom, or $122 for a one day ticket to either Epcot, Hollywood Studios, or Animal Kingdom. Whereas, in the middle of January, a one day ticket to Magic Kingdom will run you only $109, and a one day ticket to either Epcot, Hollywood Studios, or Animal Kingdom is only $102. Of course, you can always add a park hopper option to your ticket, which is an additional $55 on a one day ticket.
The park hopper options allows you to visit all 4 parks in one day. Rather than be limited to one park per day, you can "hop" to any other park and back again if you'd like!
The more days of tickets you purchase, the lower the cost per day. Surge pricing does not apply to multi-day tickets. Purchasing your park tickets ahead of time can save you a considerable amount of money in the long run. Not to mention, it allows you the opportunity to plan your FastPass+ experiences ahead of time, which enables you to take advantage of the time you have in the parks. In the image below, you can see how the price decreases as you purchase more days.
You can see how quickly you begin to save some money for each additional day of tickets that you purchase. The same holds true for the park hopper option. For example, if you were to purchase a 10 day pass with the park hopper option, your total before tax would be $520, while the cost for a 10 day pass with one park per day is $445. The addition of the park hopper option is only $75 ($7.50 per day) while if you were to buy a one day ticket, it is an additional $55 per day.
From my personal experiences, I would recommend purchasing at least 3 days of tickets with the Park Hopper option. If you’re worried about your budget and whether or not your little dudes will be able to keep up, you can accomplish almost everything you want if you plan very carefully in these 3 days. In reality, I genuinely think it’s best to purchase a 4 or 5 day ticket with the Park Hopper option if you’re spending a week at WDW. This at least affords you a day to make FastPass+ reservations at each park.
The Park Hopper option has created some of my favorite memories in visiting Disney World. My senior year of high school, we spent our spring break at Disney World, and it still stands out as my best vacation to date. On one of our last days there, we spent the morning at Magic Kingdom getting all of our favorite rides in, then we hopped over to Epcot for the afternoon to catch Soarin’ and then Test Track using the single rider line, and then ate our way around the World Showcase. We ended the night watching Illuminations at Epcot and then literally ran to catch the monorail and watched Wishes at Magic Kingdom. It was truly the best day ever, and our Park Hoppers made it possible!
As always, if you have any questions, contact your On The Road Travel Agent! It’s always best to talk through these big decisions with someone, as we want you to have the best trip possible!
You can also connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!
The first decision you have to make when taking a trip to Disney World is how many days you wish to spend at the parks. This really depends on the pace of your family and the kind of vacation you want to have. I’m a big park goer, so when we take a trip to Disney World, we typically visit a park every day, or at least 80% of the days we spend there, and the Park Hopper feature is well worth its cost for us.
So first and foremost, you need to consider who will be in your traveling group and account for their interest and ability as a park goer. I’m usually the youngest in my group and I’m 23, and my parents are the oldest at 52, so we can generally keep going all day long. That very likely isn’t the case for your group. I know it seems really important to get the biggest bang for your buck on a Disney trip, but it is so important to rest, especially when you have little dudes along for the ride. On my last trip, we averaged 20,525 steps on the days we spent at the parks. That’s 8.5 miles of walking! It’s no joke! Plus, it can be brutally hot depending on the time of year, so it’s important to take breaks, drink some water, and have a snack. Keep these things in mind when planning for your group. It very well may not be possible to open and close the park every day on your trip, and that’s ok!
So, what’s going to be best for you?
For a standard one day ticket, prices vary a bit day to day depending on the park and the time of year. Disney recently started using surge pricing, so during peak seasons, daily prices will be higher. For example, at the end of March, when many people are on Spring Break, park tickets are at peak cost: $129 for a one day ticket to Magic Kingdom, or $122 for a one day ticket to either Epcot, Hollywood Studios, or Animal Kingdom. Whereas, in the middle of January, a one day ticket to Magic Kingdom will run you only $109, and a one day ticket to either Epcot, Hollywood Studios, or Animal Kingdom is only $102. Of course, you can always add a park hopper option to your ticket, which is an additional $55 on a one day ticket.
The park hopper options allows you to visit all 4 parks in one day. Rather than be limited to one park per day, you can "hop" to any other park and back again if you'd like!
The more days of tickets you purchase, the lower the cost per day. Surge pricing does not apply to multi-day tickets. Purchasing your park tickets ahead of time can save you a considerable amount of money in the long run. Not to mention, it allows you the opportunity to plan your FastPass+ experiences ahead of time, which enables you to take advantage of the time you have in the parks. In the image below, you can see how the price decreases as you purchase more days.
You can see how quickly you begin to save some money for each additional day of tickets that you purchase. The same holds true for the park hopper option. For example, if you were to purchase a 10 day pass with the park hopper option, your total before tax would be $520, while the cost for a 10 day pass with one park per day is $445. The addition of the park hopper option is only $75 ($7.50 per day) while if you were to buy a one day ticket, it is an additional $55 per day.
From my personal experiences, I would recommend purchasing at least 3 days of tickets with the Park Hopper option. If you’re worried about your budget and whether or not your little dudes will be able to keep up, you can accomplish almost everything you want if you plan very carefully in these 3 days. In reality, I genuinely think it’s best to purchase a 4 or 5 day ticket with the Park Hopper option if you’re spending a week at WDW. This at least affords you a day to make FastPass+ reservations at each park.
The Park Hopper option has created some of my favorite memories in visiting Disney World. My senior year of high school, we spent our spring break at Disney World, and it still stands out as my best vacation to date. On one of our last days there, we spent the morning at Magic Kingdom getting all of our favorite rides in, then we hopped over to Epcot for the afternoon to catch Soarin’ and then Test Track using the single rider line, and then ate our way around the World Showcase. We ended the night watching Illuminations at Epcot and then literally ran to catch the monorail and watched Wishes at Magic Kingdom. It was truly the best day ever, and our Park Hoppers made it possible!
As always, if you have any questions, contact your On The Road Travel Agent! It’s always best to talk through these big decisions with someone, as we want you to have the best trip possible!
You can also connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!
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