| This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers or for which we receive a referral bonus. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. Referral, Affiliate, and Advertising Policy |
Tickets to Walt Disney World are the least flexible part of planning your trip. With flights, hotels, and dining, you have a variety of really good options and ways to save. But your options for deals on Disney World tickets are more limited.
There are tried and true ways to find discounted Disney World tickets, though. In this post, we review different ways to find deals on Disney World tickets, comparing them according to savings, difficulty of obtaining the discount (this includes costs you have to front to get the discount), and risk that you’ll run into problems with your ticket.
Update: Disney Announces Summer 2024 Ticket Discounts
Disney has announced two new ticket discounts for the middle of 2024. First is a special “Discover Disney” offer for Florida residents only (link here). Here are the key points of that offer:
Choose between a 4-Day Discover Disney Ticket for just $59 per day, plus tax (total price: $235, plus tax)! Or, choose a 3-day ticket for just $73 per day, plus tax (total price: $219, plus tax).
Valid for use from April 2 to September 28, 2024, with an advance park reservation
Tickets can be used on consecutive or non-consecutive days.
This ticket is valid for one theme park per day. You can also choose a Florida Resident Discover Disney Ticket that includes the Park Hopper option, Water Parks and Sports option or Park Hopper Plus option.
Second, there is a special pair of 3-Day, 3-Park and 4-Day, 4-Park tickets available to the general public (link here):
As always, and as discussed somewhat more in this post, it’s always important to compare prices and ticket options. Don’t get the 3-Day 3-Park ticket if you want to visit all four parks. Don’t buy a discounted option from Disney if there’s a cheaper prices at Undercover Tourist. And so on.
Quick Things To Know About Disney World Tickets
Before we get to your options for discounted Disney tickets, we want to remind you of a few details about Disney World tickets generally.
Ticket prices vary by start date. This is the most important point. If you want to compare prices between different sellers you need to make sure you check the same start date. There may be flexible date tickets available, but their prices will typically make them a bad option.
Remember, too, that this means you’ll want to compare prices from different sellers, but you’ll also want to compare prices for different dates. You might find that changing your trip date by a week or so saves you a lot of money.
Ticket prices vary by length and ticket type. Relatedly, there are different types of theme park tickets, primarily standard (one park per day) tickets and “park hopper” (multiple parks per day) tickets.
And those tickets can cover anywhere between one and ten days. Moreover, once you’ve selected a start date and length, you’ll have a range of dates during which you can use those tickets.
For example, a 5-day ticket with a start date of October 10, 2025 can be used on any five dates from October 10 through October 17, 2025. Always be sure to compare the exact same tickets when comparing prices! And be sure you’re comparing after-tax prices to after-tax prices.
Link tickets to your My Disney Experience account. It’s important that wherever you get your tickets from, you link them to your My Disney Experience account. Among other things, this will ensure you’re able to use Genie+ / Lightning Lanes if you choose.
What are the cheapest dates for Disney World tickets?
September, January, and February tend to have the cheapest prices. But Disney can release discounts at any time, so you very well might be surprised by lower prices at any time. Here’s a chart showing how 2024 prices throughout the year:
When Do Disney World tickets go on sale?
Tickets for 2023 went on sale in June 2022. Tickets for 2024 dates went on sale in late May 2023. Tickets for most of 2025 (through October) went on sale in February 2024.
In the past, you almost never had to worry about tickets selling out until the day arrived, and even then there were usually only a few days a year that sold out (typically days like New Year’s Eve, July 4, and sometimes major spring vacation dates). That said, we always recommend buying tickets well in advance and making sure they’re properly linked to your Disney World account.
What Parks Are Included
Ir’s important to remember that these tickets are good only for access to Walt Disney World theme parks. The parks of Universal Orlando Resort are not a part of Disney World, and so are not included in these tickets. (If you didn’t know this, you may want to read our Basic Things to Know About Disney World.)
But if you’re looking for discount Magic Kingdom tickets, discount Animal Kingdom tickets, discount Epcot tickets, or discount Hollywood Studios tickets—you’re in the right place. All four Disney parks are under a single pricing structure.
Additionally, it’s worth pointing out that Disney Springs is not a theme park, and no ticket is needed to access it. It is an outdoor shopping and dining district.
Finally, let’s talk water parks. Disney used to have a “water park fun and more” option where you could add water park access to your ticket. That disappeared, but they’ve since added the Water Park and Sports ticket add-on for $70+tax. This allows you a fixed number of visits to the water parks and a few other experience.
For both park hopping and water parks, you’ll need to consider whether to upgrade all the way up to Park Hopper Plus tickets or to buy separate water park tickets.
We discuss the water parks and ticket options in our Blizzard Beach Guide and Typhoon Lagoon Guide. (Note that water park availability varies throughout the year.)
Which of the park hopper / water parks & sports / park hopper plus options works best for your trip can be a tricky question, but it basically boils down to:
If you want to park hop, get park hopper
If you want to go to the water parks, get the Water Park and Sports ticket option
If you want to park hop and go to the water parks, get Park Hopper plus
Disney World One Day Ticket Discounts
Discounts on one-day tickets for any of the four Walt Disney World Resort parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom) are pretty rare. The best options will typically come from Disney themselves (including the Florida resident discount). If discount brokers have one-day discounts, they’re usually only a few dollars (which is better than nothing).
OUR CHOICES For Discount Disney World tickets
There are a few ticket agencies that sell 100% legitimate discounted tickets, and their discounts may vary based on exactly what you’re looking for.
Usually these deals are about 8-10% lower than Disney's prices for exactly the same product. While rare, you might even sometimes find discounts to special ticketed events like Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.
Where is the cheapest place to buy Disney World tickets?
It depends. There are several discount ticket brokers, and they have different prices for different dates. Keep in mind these companies often have their own deeper discounted deals that come and go.
If you want to know how to get the best deal on Disney World tickets, the answer is simple—shop around! So here are some of the companies we recommend you check out…
Undercover Tourist
Discount: About 10% - Difficulty: None - Risk: None
We recommend Undercover Tourist for discount Disney World tickets. We’ve used them multiple times and never had any problems. If you’re at all concerned about buying tickets from a third-party seller, we’ve got you covered with a post dedicated entirely to why we recommend Undercover Tourist for Disney discounts.
Besides saving money, Undercover Tourist also usually has one of the best refund policies when it comes to Disney tickets.
As an example, five days of park hopping for a family of four in October 2025 would cost $3,425 if tickets were purchased through Disney World's website, but only $3,230 through Undercover tourist, that’s easy savings of nearly $200.
Visit Orlando
Discount: Under 10% - Difficulty: None - Risk: None
Visit Orlando / Best of Orlando is an option worth looking into. The pricing can be a little tricky to follow since they price, for example, the Park Hopper add-on separately (in the same way Disney is, to be clear). So, as always, make sure you’re comparing final prices with tax to final prices with tax across all sellers.
Get Away Today
Discount: Varies - Difficulty: None - Risk: None
Get Away Today specializes in discounted Disneyland tickets and packages, but they also sell discounted Walt Disney World tickets.
So far, we haven’t seen any shocking prices on Disney World tickets here, but we want to highlight them as an option to check before making your purchase.
Official Ticket Center
Discount: Varies - Difficulty: None - Risk: None
We’ve never bought from Official Ticket Center, but we’ve seen them mentioned over on Touring Plans, a trustworthy site. Like the other sites on this list, you’ll just want to do a quick price check to see if they’re offering the best deal.
Parksavers
Discount: Varies - Difficulty: None - Risk: None
Parksavers is another option we can’t personally vouch for but which is well-regarded in other places. Like the other sites on this list, you’ll just want to do a quick price check to see if they’re offering the best deal.
The Standard Discounts
The next set of discounts are standard deals that are either easy to get for everyone or easy to get once you've worked your way into an exclusive group for the discount.
Disney World Website
“Discount”: about $20 - Difficulty: None - Risk: None
When it comes to deciding whether to buy online or at the gate, online is never worse and usually better.
For 3-day tickets and longer, buying on the Disney website or via phone “saves” you about $20 per ticket. The reason we use quotes is that most people will be buying online. You'll pay the $20 penalty if you buy at the gate instead of online.
Florida Resident Discount
Discount: About 30% - Difficulty: High - Risk: None
Florida residents usually receive decent discounts on Disney World tickets (screenshot is example, current offerings may vary):
There are also sometimes special ticket offers only available to Florida residents, like this one from early 2024:
Moreover, Florida residents who are serious about Disney should probably consider a Disney World annual pass (for which they also receive a discount).
Can Florida residents buy Disney tickets for family?
Per Disney’s policies, every adult ticket requires proof of Florida residency. Minors do not have to show proof of residency. The Florida resident ticket is intended to be used by residents of Florida, so it’s not recommended you try and beat the system.
Disney Vacation Club Discount
Discount: About 10% - Difficulty: High - Risk: None
Disney Vacation Club members occasionally get ticket discount offers. For most DVC members, it will make sense just to have an annual pass, so it's rare that these special offers are going to be worth much. They also aren't very high when they do happen. If you're a DVC member, look into an annual pass, and pay attention to deals as they pop up. But definitely don't wait for them or plan too heavily around them.
Sam’s Club
Discount: Low - Difficulty: Low - Risk: None
Sam’s Club is now offering Disney World tickets.As we’re not members, we can’t speak to the process or how good these discounts will be, but they’ll likely be around what the online brokers are offering, with the added task of making your way to the store.
Military Discount
Discount: Up to 50% - Difficulty: Heroic - Risk: Heroic
Okay, so you can access military discounts even through a friend who is in the military, but nonetheless someone in your circle must be heroic to access these discounts. Military discounts at Disney come and go.
The best source for information on these discounts, including prices and how to buy, is Military Disney Tips.
First Responder Discounts
Discount: Varies - Difficulty: Heroic - Risk: Heroic
While military discounts tend to be pretty stable, First Responder discounts (including police, firefighter, EMS) tend to come and go. There’s no set Disney World discount for first responders, your best option is just to check with a travel agent to see if any ongoing discounts are available.
Does AAA offer discounts on Disney World tickets?
The AAA discounts are no longer a great way to save on Disney World tickets.
At one point, AAA discounts were a decent way to save on Disney World tickets, but those days are gone. First of all, the discounts come from individual branches, so you'll have to call local AAA offices to get quotes. Second, their discounts tend to be pretty small, often beaten by the prices you'll find on ticket broker sites. Worth a phone call, if you're already a member, but no worth effort beyond that.
Deal Hunting for Disney World Tickets
Not so much “discounts,” these are out of the box ways to carefully consider before trying.
Using Discount Disney Gift Cards
Discount: Varies (about 8%) - Difficulty: Medium - Risk: None
This will rarely be the best deal you can get, but we want to mention it for the sake of completeness. You can typically get discount Disney gift cards, saving about 8 to 10% on Disney purchases, including park tickets.
The Annual Pass
Discount: Varies - Difficulty: Medium - Risk: None
You came looking for discounts, and we're telling you to maybe just buy a yearlong ticket? Hear us out.
A single Walt Disney World annual pass for an adult with no special discounts costs around $1500 after taxes. A five-day park hopper ticket in November from Undercover Tourist costs about $700. That means two five-day trips will cost you just about the price of an annual pass.
Since the annual pass includes merchandise, dining, and parking discounts, it will be worth exploring if you visit twice in a year. Even just one family member having an annual pass just for the perks might make sense.
eBay
Discount: 10-30% - Difficulty: Medium - Risk: EXTREME!!
We don't advocate buying tickets on eBay. The reason is pretty simple - prices for many, if not all, things on eBay are determined in part by the risk associated with buying over eBay. Can you find legitimate tickets on eBay? Of course! Will the legitimate tickets have big discounts? No!
There are going to be a few people who put up an eBay account just to sell tickets they lucked into, but you can't distinguish those from scammers. If someone has 1000+ positive reviews for selling park tickets, they aren't going to have to offer much of a discount. In short, finding a true, legitimate discount on a ticket via eBay is incredibly difficult, and never worth the risk of getting to the park and being denied entry!
Sales
Discounts: Varies - Difficulty: Low - Risk: None
You can catch sales from Disney or third parties throughout the year. The most common sales dates are around Black Friday and anytime ticket prices go up. If prices go up, ticket sellers will typically hold a “sale” at the old prices for a few days.
More Disney World Ticket Tips
Rethink Arrival and Departure Days. Note your flight times and when you’ll get to / depart your hotel. Decide carefully whether you need a ticket for your arrival day, your departure day, or both. Keep in mind that adding days to longer tickets is relatively cheap, and squeezing in one extra rope drop can make all the difference in your overall trip.
Make sure to link to My Disney Experience. You’ll want to link your tickets to My Disney Experience as soon as possible. This will enable you to make Lightning Lane reservations (if you pay for those), as well an ensuring that all the tickets are properly linked to the members of your party.
Don’t Wait Until Morning Of. You’ve read our Hollywood Studios rope drop strategy. You wake up hours before the park opens and stand at the gates waiting for them to open. When they do, you tap your Magic Band and…blue! (Blue is bad.) So you’re sent to the ticket window to resolve the issue.
Whether it’s at a park ticket window, the guest services desk at Disney Springs, or the concierge at your hotel—confirm your park tickets are properly linked to a Magic Band or plastic ticket card before you go to the turnstiles.
Don’t Get Clever. The ticket rules aren’t flexible. It’s fundamental that you need a ticket to access a theme park, and yet somehow people still ask things like “well if I’m staying at a Disney hotel my first night I don’t need a ticket just to go in and watch the fireworks, right?” HUH? Yes—if you want to enter a theme park you need a ticket, and no amount of pleading or fake confusion will get you around that point.
All Your Other Disney World Planning Questions Answered
Don't be overwhelmed by Disney World planning! Take a second to check out our most important content and you'll not only be an expert, but you'll save big $$$ along the way.
Just starting out? Check out our Walt Disney World planning guide! If you're still picking dates, we've got everything you need to know about Disney World crowd calendars. For picking your hotel, check out our Walt Disney World hotels guide.
When it comes time to book we’ll help you find discount Disney World tickets. Decide whether you need a dining plan in our Complete Guide to Disney World Dining Plans! And don't forget to book those Disney World Advance Dining Reservations!
Don't forget to master your Disney World Genie+ and Lightning Lane strategy a few months in advance. We'll keep you out of long lines so you can maximize the magical time in the parks! We've got park-specific guides as well: Magic Kingdom Genie+ and Lightning Lanes, Epcot Genie+ and Lightning Lanes, Animal Kingdom Genie+ and Lightning Lanes, and Hollywood Studios Genie+ and Lightning Lanes.
Know what to ride with our guides to: Magic Kingdom rides, Hollywood Studios rides, Epcot rides, and Animal Kingdom rides! Plus learn about the water parks with our guide to Blizzard Beach and our guide to Typhoon Lagoon! And for some some fun prep, check out our Ranking of Every Ride at Walt Disney World.
Finally, before you head out, be sure to check out our to-the-point packing list, 10 essentials you forget to pack for every Disney trip. And if you're interested in saving, there's no better list than our 53 Ways to Save on your Disney trip from start to finish.