How to afford a trip to Disneyland?
- Find A Side Hustle. The most obvious way to afford a Disney vacation is to make more money. ...
- Plan Ahead. ...
- Go When There Are Fewer Crowds. ...
- Stay At Disney Value Resorts. ...
- Go When Children Are Under 3. ...
- Use Disney Gift Cards And Credit Card Rewards. ...
- Plan A “Skip Day” ...
- Set Up A Disney Payment Plan.
1) Tokyo Disney resort — $40 to $70
The least expensive Disney theme parks come with a bit of an asterisk. Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea offer a ticket pricing strategy unique to the Japanese parks.
This is how much you should expect to pay on average per day when visiting Disneyland: Park Tickets: Starts at $104 per day plus an extra $60 for the Park Hopper option. Food and Drinks: $70 per day per person. Transportation: $160 to $240 ride-share round-trip from LAX; $10+ around Anaheim Resort.
The price of Disney World tickets is the same, whether you buy them at the gate or online.
- Spend some days at the park and some days at the pool. ...
- Skip the Park Hopper and visit one park per day. ...
- Buy Disney gift cards at a discount. ...
- Don't buy the dining plan. ...
- Bring your own food. ...
- Arrive just before the park opens. ...
- Use PhotoPass photographers (but don't buy the package).
did give a free park admission ticket to Guests on their birthday as part of a limited-time promotion several years ago, but this is not currently offered. Tickets to enter Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park must be purchased for all visitors ages 3 and up.
Insider tip: You don't have to have a ticket to Disneyland to visit Downtown Disney (admission is free). Plus no need to stress out over parking—it's free for up to five hours with validation from participating locations.
- Jan. ...
- Feb. ...
- The first few days in March (until March 11)
- Weekdays in May (except for Grad Nites and Memorial Day)
- The first half of June.
- The month of August.
- Tuesdays through Thursdays for the month of September and the last week of October.
My best recommendation would be to budget about $100.00 per day for expenditures (not including dining experiences). We've gone with less than this amount and more than this amount, and find that its a pretty good figure. We usually allocate this for drinks, souvenirs, ice cream/snacks in the parks and window shopping.
You can buy Disneyland tickets at the gate during normal times, but gate prices are not discounted.
Is it cheaper to buy Disneyland tickets in advance?
As for where to buy, purchasing online in advance is best idea to save the most money. Again, we recommend Get Away Today as a safe (you'll see why we keep emphasizing this below) option for discounted tickets. These are the same as what you'd purchase directly from Disneyland, with all of the same “features.”
One-day, two-park ticket | Least expensive ticket price | Most expensive ticket price |
---|---|---|
Age 10 and over | $169 | $244 |
Age 9 and under | $163 | $234 |
Total cost for a family of four | $664 | $956 |

We always offer discounts on your Disneyland tickets, but special promotions and sales are run during certain times of the year.
Disneyland fans who don't want to pay for an all-day ticket might want to consider Twilight Tickets from LaDiscountTickets.com. Enter at 4 p.m. or later, and tickets cost $69 for Disneyland or California Adventure and $99 for a park hopper to visit both parks.
With the various non-cash payment options across all of Walt Disney World, some of you may be tempted to leave home without cash or your ATM card. While you could technically get away with this, we recommend you bring limited cash with you.
Cheapest Time of the Year at Disney World in 2023
As a rule, January, February, August, and September are the cheapest seasons, as long as you avoid any holidays in those months. November and December are also good, though the discounts are not quite as deep.
The Baseline Disney World Vacation Cost ($6,320)
A baseline Disney World vacation cost for a family of four (two adults, one child 10+, one child 3-9) is $6,320 in 2023.
The average middle-class family makes between $52,000-$150,000. Unless you happen to fall on the High end of that range, it's not at all unreasonable to say that Disney has, indeed, priced out the middle class.
Disneyland is great for kids over the age of 7.
So if you have 4 kids, 2 of which are under 7, you may have to watch which rides you can do. For my family, this meant that my oldest two (ages 9 and 10) could ride rides together while an adult rode with the younger kids (ages 2, 4, and 6).
The “magic age” for taking your kids on a Disneyland trip is when they are in elementary school, specifically between about 7 and 12. I think this is the best age for a couple of reasons: Most elementary school age kids are better at handling lines than younger kids.
Why do they take your fingerprint at Disney?
In short, they're trying to prevent guests from beating the system. To do this, they ensure that every Disney ticket corresponds with a specific person. If the finger scan is not a match, they know that ticket's not really yours.
If your child is 2 turning 3 during your vacation, the age goes by what they are on the first day of your vacation. In addition to not needing valid theme park tickets, Guests under the age of 3 also don't need to make park pass reservations when visiting Walt Disney World.
Disneyland is way ahead of you. Parking is free for a certain amount of time in the hotel lots if you have validation from a restaurant: three hours free at Disneyland Hotel for Trader Sam's and at Grand Californian for Storytellers Cafe, and five hours free at Grand Californian for Napa Rose.
There are so many awesome restaurants all over the Disneyland Resort. But if you have a reservation to dine at a restaurant inside Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure Park, you do need a theme park ticket and a theme park reservation.
So when is Disneyland least crowded for guests trying to avoid large crowds? Very simply the end of August and the entire month of September.
Guests are allowed to bring outside food and nonalcoholic beverages into Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park. However, they must NOT be in glass containers, must not require heating, reheating, processing, or refrigeration and must not have pungent odors.
To answer your question, any bags, coolers, or backpacks taken into the theme parks must be no larger than 24" long x 15" wide x 18" high. You can absolutely have your backpack full of bottled water, just keep in mind that it is a bit on the heavy side.
You are probably very excited about your upcoming visit to the Happiest Place on Earth. Kevin, while cash is accepted at Disneyland Resort, they recommend using contactless payment options when possible. Also, it's convenient to make in-app purchases when you have a contactless payment option available to you.
Currently, the Disneyland Resort doesn't offer discounted admission if you arrive after a certain time of day. Theme-park tickets are sold on a daily basis, from one day up to five days. For 1-Day Tickets, pricing varies based on the day selected. Pricing is broken down into three categories: Value, Regular, and Peak.
I believe a conservative food budget (which is how we do it) is about $100/day, but you could obviously spend a lot more than that. For us, each meal (for 4 of us) costs around $60 (except when we make reservations, and those meals are usually double that), and I splurge on some snacks at around $40 each day.
Is it better to buy Disneyland tickets online or at the park?
Even hours before your arrival is better than purchasing them at the gate. If you're purchasing multi-day tickets 48 hours in advance them you'll want to purchase your tickets here for some savings on them. If you are buying them same-day for multi-day tickets, be sure to visit Disneyland.com to buy your tickets.
1. November 2023 – Christmas is the absolute best time of the year at Disneyland from a qualitative perspective. The sweet spot for enjoying the holiday season entertainment is the beginning of November and right after the popular Veterans Day holiday in mid-November until Thanksgiving.
Prices vary from $7-20 per person per attraction. Guests are limited to two purchases of paid Lightning Lane per day. While having to pay another fee is never ideal, paid Lightning Lane really can offer some time savings for the most popular Disneyland rides.
For most guests who want to get on as many attractions as possible during their Disney trip, Disney Genie+ is worth the added cost to avoid spending hours waiting in line. There are plenty of ways to save money at Disney so that you can fit Genie+ into your budget and have the most magical vacation possible.
I highly recommend you begin booking your reservations as close to that 120 day mark as possible, especially since you want to visit in October. Download the Disneyland Mobile app to your phone, that way you are ready to book them when that magic day opens for you!
As discussed you will most likely need a full two days at Disneyland Park and Disney's California Adventure is really a day to a day and a half park. So maybe you can see all of Disneyland in three days, however we find that families enjoy themselves so much more when they give themselves the extra day.
Because Disney has to staff hotels, restaurants, theme park attractions, and transportation, they offer the best deals to the people who book early because it helps them staff appropriately. The best discounts are almost always offered 3 - 6 months in advance.
You're also welcome to bring reusable water bottles or thermal water bottles with you, provided that they aren't glass, as glass containers are prohibited from the theme parks.
Save up to $35 on Disneyland® Resort Theme Park tickets when you purchase online or at a AAA branch.
Where is the cheapest Disney?
Disney's All Star Movies Resort
This resort has a variety of entertainment options and is a short bus ride to the Animal Kingdom. Starting at just $119 per night, the Disney All Star Movies resort is is the cheapest Disney World resort on our list.
Days | Base (1 Park Per Day) | Park Hopper |
---|---|---|
1 | $116.09-$201.29 | $194.90-$268.38 |
2 | $236.49-$358.53 | $316.37-$449.06 |
3 | $383.43-$549.49 | $463.31-$640.01 |
4 | $505.97-$694.64 | $596.50-$795.81 |
Get a Head Start on the Fun
You do not need a park reservation or additional ticket to enter the park at or after 7:00 PM. When you arrive early, you'll have extra time to enjoy attractions and entertainment. Plus, you can witness the wonder of Disney Enchantment, the nighttime spectacular at Magic Kingdom park!
I do not suggest buying one-day tickets as you can spend anywhere from $160 to nearly $250 for your park ticket once you add on Park Hopper and Genie+ options. If you are going one day at Disneyland you can get a lot done if you have a game plan going in, but you definitely won't do everything.
A. Guests are allowed to bring outside food and nonalcoholic beverage items into the park for self-consumption, provided they are not in glass containers and do not require heating, reheating, processing, refrigeration or temperature control and do not have pungent odors.
True cost. If you're flying a large family, you'll probably always pay more to fly than drive. That's because driving costs do not rise proportionally per person like airline tickets.
How many days should you spend in Disneyland parks? Though there are just 2 parks at Disneyland Resort, there are still plenty of attractions and things to do. Ideally, you should plan on spending a total of 3-4 days in the parks to cover most everything, including rides, characters, shows, and fireworks.
One-day, two-park ticket | Least expensive ticket price | Most expensive ticket price |
---|---|---|
Age 10 and over | $169 | $244 |
Age 9 and under | $163 | $234 |
Total cost for a family of four | $664 | $956 |
So, on average without purchasing souvenirs, adult beverages, or any other extra expenses, one adult guest at Walt Disney World will spend anywhere between $181 and $201 per day. This is just an estimate. Guests can easily spend much more or less than this depending on a number of factors.
Prices do no include tax. | Ages 3-9 |
---|---|
3-Day Disneyland Ticket (1 Park per day) | $310 Save $18 vs gate |
4-Day Disneyland Ticket (1 Park per day) | $340 Save $20 vs gate |
5-Day Disneyland Ticket (1 Park per day) | $360 Save $21 vs gate |
Can I bring food into Disneyland?
Guests are allowed to bring outside food and nonalcoholic beverages into Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park. However, they must NOT be in glass containers, must not require heating, reheating, processing, or refrigeration and must not have pungent odors.
- The first half of June.
- The month of August.
- Tuesdays through Thursdays for the month of September and the last week of October.
- Mondays through Thursdays in November (minus the week of Thanksgiving)
- Mondays through Thursdays during the first half of December.
If you're looking to plan a Disney World vacation, there's a wide range of prices available to you. For a family of three or four, you'll probably want to assume you're spending at least $3500, with $5000-6000 being a comfortable amount, and $10000 being enough to make anyone's dreams come true.
While you are welcome to use cash if that is your preference, you may wish to have a Disney Gift Card on hand to use for Mobile Food & Beverage Ordering. Many Quick-Service dining locations offer the ability to place and pay for your order through the My Disney Experience mobile app.
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Compare DIS With Other Stocks.
Disney Annual Cash on Hand (Millions of US $) | |
---|---|
2019 | $5,418 |
2018 | $4,150 |
2017 | $4,017 |
2016 | $4,610 |
Let's get one thing straight right out of the gate: A vacation to Disneyland or Disney World is always a good idea. Both theme parks offer days worth of fun for people of all ages thanks to thrilling rides, delectable food, and an atmosphere of joy that will bring everyone right back to childhood.
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