More Park Days, More Value
Did you realize that when you purchase Disney tickets, that generally the more days you purchase the less each day costs?
Many guests try to save money any way that they can when heading to Disney World. A common strategy is to purchase fewer park days and pack as much as possible into those park days, but selecting fewer days to save money may not be that much of a savings.
Here’s an example, if you were staying at Disney World for multiple nights and were interested in multi-day tickets starting on March 1, this is what the ticket pricing looks like:
1-day ticket to Magic Kingdom $174.66
2-day tickets $151.21 per day ($302.42)
3-day tickets $148.88 per day ($446.64)
4-day tickets $140.15 per day ($560.58)
5-day tickets $123.39 per day ($616.93)
6-day tickets $106.75 per day ($640.75)
7-day tickets $94.72 per day ($663.02)
8-day tickets $86.52 per day ($692.15)
9-day tickets $79.16 per day ($712.42)
10-day tickets $72.83 per day ($728.30)
The price increase from a 5-day ticket from a 4-day ticket is $56.35 or $118.31 less for one additional day than a 1-day ticket. The cost of an additional day to a multi-day ticket gets less and less which provides you more value. If you’re staying for a full week, adding one more day from a 7-day to an 8-day ticket is only an additional cost of $29.13.
Many guests want to get their money’s worth from their park days which is completely understandable, but if you’re only adding $30 to $57 to a ticket it’s easier to justify just heading into EPCOT to walk around on arrival day or going to Animal Kingdom the morning before your afternoon flight home.
Money Saving Recommendations
Skip the Ticket Add-Ons
So, how do I recommend you save some money on your Disney trip? Unless you’re committed and confident that you will go to more than one park per day or go to a water park, skip the park hopper or park hopper plus. Park hopping is all or nothing. It must be added to every day of your multi-day tickets even if you add it AFTER heading to the parks. That means it would be added to the days you already used even though you can’t go back in time.
The Park Hopper add-on to your ticket will vary by date much like Genie+. Pricing will be somewhere between $55 and $90 per ticket. For a short trip, the cost per day is much higher when broken down per day. For a longer trip, the cost per day goes down and is more justifiable.
Disney Visa Rewards
If you aren’t already using a Disney Visa Rewards card, start! It has great savings options when it comes to your next Disney trip. It offers 0% financing for 6 months on qualifying Disney vacation packages. You can also use the rewards you accrue for just using your card to help pay for that next trip. You get 1% to 5% back on all purchases, and get 10% off at many Disney retail locations. Right now, you can also get up to a $300 statement credit for qualifying purchases, and Disney has 20% off rooms during the spring for guests who pay with their Disney Visa Rewards card too. You can apply for the Disney Visa Rewards card here.
Gift Card Hack
If you have a Target Red Card or have a membership with big box stores like CostCo, Sam’s Club, or BJ’s, you may be able to purchase Disney gift cards at a discounted price. I use my Target Red Card to purchase Disney gift cards for 5% off. The big box stores tend to offer similar deals throughout the year as well.
Pick the Right Season
The hands down best way to save on a Disney trip is to avoid holidays, vacation weeks, and peak times. The least expensive tickets are currently available in August and September. Being flexible with your travel dates will be the best way to save. You can see the least and most expensive resort nights at Disney World here.
