Disneyland is one of the single most expensive Themeparks on the planet. With Ticket Prices up to $179 a day! Naturally, one of the first things people what to know is where to get cheap Disneyland Tickets. Unfortunately, since Disney manages to fill its parks just fine charging these sorts of prices they are not keen to offer or allow many significant discounts!
Money can be saved however if you shop around and buy at the best times. We take you through everything you need to know to get the most money off Disneyland.
The First thing we need to do is work out exactly what your trip entails. One of the easiest ways to bag cheap tickets is to buy the most appropriate ticket.
How long are you going for?
Obviously, it is crucial to know how long you plan on spending at the parks as your entire trip will revolve around this but actually, it is more important than you think as it will actually define WHERE you can buy your tickets from. Disney has a full monopoly over ticket prices only allowing select resellers to sell Disneyland Tickets and vastly restricting which tickets they can sell and how much discount they can offer.
So first what you need to decide is if you are visiting for a single day, or are wanting a multi-day ticket. We cover the best (or only) places to buy both below.
Are you going to Visit Both Parks?
The other decision is are you planning on hitting both parks? On a one-day trip, you will require a Park Hopper but on a Multi-Day trip, you can choose either, 1 Park per day or Park Hoppers.
Disneyland Resort really works very well with Park Hopper tickets. The gates are directly opposite each other and the whole process of leaving one park and entering the other takes around 10mins. The ability to switch between parks from 11 am makes the trip far more varied and interesting as you are not “Trapped” in a single park. Genie+ reservation also works for BOTH parks regardless of which park you are in. You can grab a Genie+ for Radiator Springs Racers, while you are queueing for Space mountain for example.
Pricewise the cost is pretty reasonable on Multi-day Tickets, it varies slightly but an upgrade is approx $65. That is per ticket though not per day so the value skyrockets the more days you buy.
Best Place to Buy ONE-day Tickets
Until recently, Disney did not allow ANY of its Authorized Resellers to sell single-day tickets. Be it One Park or Park Hopper. The only place to buy single-day Park tickets for Disneyland California was the official Disneyland website so there was no real way to effectively save any money on single-day tickets. However, in March 2023, Disney allowed Undercover Tourist to sell single-day tickets from their website, and more importantly, at a discount! This is a big honor for Undercover Tourist, who we are big fans on and mention in more detail below.
If you do find any other sites other than Undercover Tourist or the official Disneyland Website offering single-day tickets at a discount be VERY wary. They are NOT Authorized sellers. Where these tickets are coming from is unknown and if you will ever see anything for your money is likewise uncertain. You may also see these on eBay, again these are not official tickets and you could easily end up with NO ticket when you get to the gate, No chance of a refund, and a ruined trip, well you can always pay FULL price at the gate! See below for the Low-Down on Unauthorized sellers.
One Day tickets are priced based on the park’s expected business. The Park now uses a new 0-6 Tier System. So the best way to save a ton of money is to visit on a quiet, or tier 0 day. The Price for a tier 0 day is only $104 (plus $65 to park hop). Still, a big lump but the cost per day of some Multi-day Tickets is higher than that.
Tie 0 Days are only ever Mon-Thurs off peak so even school holidays or around public holidays can become Tier 1-6. Saturdays can be Tier 5 or 6. Check Disney’s own schedule to determine which days are Peak, Regular, or Value.
One Day, One Park – Base Ticket:
- Tier-0 : $104 Adult(10+) – $98 Child(3-9)
- Tier- 1: $114 Adult(10+) – $108 Child(3-9)
- Tier-2 : $129 Adult(10+) – $122 Child(3-9)
- Tier-3: $144 Adult (10+) – $136 Child (3-9)
- Tier-4 : $159 Adult(10+) – $150 Child(3-9)
- Tier-5 : $169 Adult(10+) – $159 Child(3-9)
- Tier-6: $179 Adult (10+) – $169 Child (3-9)
One Day, Both Parks Park – Hopper Ticket:
- Tier-0 : $169 Adult(10+) – $163 Child(3-9)
- Tier- 1: $179 Adult (10+) – $173 Child (3-9)
- Tier-2 : $194 Adult(10+) – $187 Child(3-9)
- Tier-3 : $209 Adult(10+) – $201 Child(3-9)
- Tier-4 : $224 Adult(10+) – $215 Child(3-9)
- Tier-5 : $234 Adult(10+) – $224 Child(3-9)
- Tier- 6: $244 Adult (10+) – $234 Child (3-9)
Multi-Day Tickets
With Multi-Day Tickets, the Market opens up a little and you really can start shopping around for the cheapest deals. There are not going to be HUGE savings as Disney still controls the market but it is possible to save up to $21 per ticket over the gate!
Multi-Day Tickets are also NOT affected by the Value, Regular, or Peak dates so if you are visiting on a weekend it can be very advisable to go for a Multi-Day Ticket as a 2-day ticket will be cheaper than paying per day. Multi-Day Tickets are valid for 13 days after first use and will usually have an expiry date as well, so check any purchased tickets will still be valid at the time of your trip. Park Hopper costs $60 per ticket on any multi-day ticket, whereas Park Hopper is $65 per day with a 1-day ticket. Another bonus for the multi-day tickets.
However, thanks to Disney’s new Tier 0, a multi-day ticket MAY NOT work out cheaper. Always check the price on the Schedule for the dates you want to visit. A 2-day Multi Park (no hopper) ticket is $285 but there can be some days off-peak at just $104 which means if you pick 2x Tier 0 days as a multi-ticket, you will be paying over the daily price! Tier 0 days can be rare but it’s always worth checking when you are selecting the dates for your multi-tickets.
There are several choices for Multi-Day Tickets, either Disney Direct or through Authorized Resellers…
Best Disney Authorized Re-Seller
Undercover Tourist
We are really big fans of Undercover Tourist. They tend to offer the best possible discounts that Disney allows, while also providing really top-notch service. Whenever buying from a third-party site you are unsure of it can feel like a risk and often it really is, but with Undercover Tourist, you can be sure they have your back. It’s as safe as buying directly only a fair bit cheaper!
We had a lot of tickets booked with Undercover Tourist at the beginning of the Pandemic, These trips were all canceled and Undercover Tourist was able to offer very swift and full refunds with no hassles at all! Great Service!
We do get a small commission if you buy tickets from Undercover Tourist via one of our links, but it is a very small commission and we could get that from pretty much any other Reseller, We only recommend Undercover Tourist as we feel it is the absolute best.
1- Day Ticket: New for 2023
1 Day 1 Park Ticket:
- Disney: from $111.54 inc tax Adult (+10) – from $105.10 inc tax Child (3-9)
- Undercover Tourist: from $107 inc tax Adult (+10) – from $100.94 inc tax Child (3-9)
1 Day 2 Park Ticket:
- Disney: from $176.54 inc tax Adult (+10) – from $163.10 inc tax Child (3-9)
- Undercover Tourist: from $174.07 inc tax Adult (+10) – from $167.89 inc tax Child (3-9)
2-Day Tickets
2-Day – 1 Park Per Day Ticket:
- Disney: $285 Adult(10+) – $270 Child(3-9)
- Undercover Tourist: $277.93 Adult(10+) – $263.30 Child(3-9) (-$7 Saving)
2-Day – Park Hopper Ticket:
- Disney: $345 Adult(10+) – $330 Child(3-9)
- Undercover Tourist: $336.44 Adult(10+) – $321.82 Child(3-9) (-$8 Saving)
3-Day Tickets
3-Day – 1 Park Per Day Ticket:
- Disney: $360 Adult(10+) – $340 Child(3-9)
- Undercover Tourist: $339.62 Adult(10+) – $320.76 Child(3-9) (-$20 Saving)
3-Day – Park Hopper Ticket:
- Disney: $420 Adult(10+) – $400 Child(3-9)
- Undercover Tourist: $396.23 Adult(10+) – $377.36 Child(3-9) (-$23 Saving)
4-Day Tickets
4-Day – 1 Park Per Day Ticket:
- Disney: $395 Adult(10+) – $370 Child(3-9)
- Undercover Tourist: $372.64 Adult(10+) – $349.06 Child(3-9) (-$22 Saving)
4-Day – Park Hopper Ticket:
- Disney: $455 Adult(10+) – $430 Child(3-9)
- Undercover Tourist: $429.25 Adult(10+) – $405.66 Child(3-9) (-$25 Saving)
5-Day Tickets
5-Day – 1 Park Per Day Ticket:
- Disney: $415 Adult(10+) – $390 Child(3-9)
- Undercover Tourist: $391.51 Adult(10+) – $367.93 Child(3-9) (-$20 Saving)
5-Day – Park Hopper Ticket:
- Disney: $475 Adult(10+) – $450 Child(3-9)
- Undercover Tourist: $448.12 Adult(10+) – $424.53 Child(3-9) (-$26 Saving)
As you can See Prices per day drop dramatically the more days you buy. This is Disney basically enticing you to spend longer and longer in the parks. It does not cost them any more to let you in the park but they know you are far more likely to spend more and more on food and merchandise the longer you are in the parks.
Really though unless you are DIE-HARD Disney fanatics you do not need to spend more than 3 days at the parks. After 3 Days you will have seen and done everything on offer, most things twice or more, and will be ready to move on. It is only $50 more for a 5-day pass over a 3-day, which is BARGAIN, but really 5 Days is a long time to spend at Disneyland (but my Wife, a Disney Die Hard, would disagree of course!)
Our Top Pick!
3-Day – Park Hopper Ticket – $396.23
The Park Hopping ability really makes this the best value without spending your entire vacation in Disneyland.
Should I get Genie+?
Maybe, it is a complicated question that we wrote a whole article about. But before you run off and read that, don’t worry about it now. Genie+ is $25 Per Person per Day however you can pay for your ticket and it can be added later via the App for the same price.
By adding it on later you can buy Genie+ for individual Days whereas buying Genie+ WITH the Tickets means you have to pay for all days and Guests. It might turn out that you only need Genie+ for 1 or 2 days of your trip. For example, you may get it for one day and get all the attractions you want to do done so there’s no need for Genie+ the following day. Or you could be visiting on an off-peak day or an especially ticketed event where wait times are lower. So Our advice is to buy without Genie+ and once the ticket is synced to the app add if and when you require.
Disney Un-Authorized Sellers
There are many Un-Authorized sellers out there and on the whole, these are best avoided. They are normally reselling tickets they have managed to acquire from possibly dubious sources or just Other Discounts such as So-Cal or Corporate Tickets. Some are simply rip-off sites where you are unlikely to see anything for your money.
The first sign to look for is the offering of Single Day tickets. These are ONLY available from Disney or Undercover Tourist. Check if the site seems legitimate and do a search to see if others have experience with the site.
Really, With the tight lease, Disney keeps on its ticket prices and the simplest way is to use an authorized seller. Here you are Guaranteed the best prices plus great customer service in case of any issues.
eBay or Craigslist
Before we go any further, let’s just say one more time this is where NOT to buy tickets from. Yes, you will see tickets advertised on eBay or Craigslist, etc, maybe even by a guy you meet behind a liquor store. But these are insanely bad ideas. Often there is little to zero comeback, the tickets are usually promo tickets or other discounts that may require ID or people selling off part-used tickets.
You will normally still have to pay a significant proportion of the gate price anyway and we have even seen and heard of people paying MORE than the gate price, simply as they don’t know better and the Seller assured them it was a bargain. It just isn’t worth the risk for a meager saving.
Other Legit Ways to Get Discounted Tickets.
As far as the General Public goes, you are limited to the discounts offered by Disney and their Authorised Sellers. However certain people may fall into a category that Disney offers additional benefits to (lucky them!)
SoCal Residents
If you are Southern California Resident then you almost certainly already know this but you can get discounted Annual Passes from only $449 nearly the same price as a 5-day ticket. Black-Out days apply and this includes nearly all weekends but it is a great price overall.
Military Personel
Active and Retired Military Personnel can get reduced-price tickets for themselves and their families, up to Six Tickets. 2020 prices are:
- 3-Day Military Promotional Ticket: $245 (Park Hopper)
- 4-Day Military Promotional Ticket: $280 (Park Hopper)
These are only available at participating U.S. military base ticket offices. Really these are the only really heavily discounted tickets available. Considering your service it is a small thank-you really.
Hotel and Online Booking Agents
Your Hotel or your Booking agent such as Expedia, Orbitz, Travelline, etc… may offer you tickets at a discounted rate for booking with them. Often this is not the case and the tickets are fully Priced, just conveniently added into the price of your holiday.
Every now and then they will offer the tickets at a significant reduction, usually as a loss leader to get you to buy. This means a lot of shopping around and price checking, and they may sting you with hidden fees. But from time to time there are Genuine deals to be had. We tend to ignore these though and sort our hotels and flights/travel separately and then just use Undercover Tourist for our tickets later
Corporate or Government Tickets
Select large SoCal Corporations and Government Agencies can also provide discounted tickets, but which companies offer this is not publically available and you will need to check with your own employer if they offer this benefit.
Teachers and Students
Likewise, some teachers and University students may be able to get discounts from their school colleagues, or the Teaching unions. These change often and vary in the discount offered. So Scheck with your affiliated body to see if you can grab a discount.
AAA
You can get Discounted Tickets with your AAA Membership, however, the discount is typically less than Undercover Tourist offers so not really worthwhile, but worth checking anyway!
Have Your Say
Seen Tickets somewhere that look too good to be true? Let us take a look and see if they are legit. Or maybe you have found a great source of cheap tickets and want to share it with our readers? Or maybe you have a horror story about Cheap Tickets? Whatever it is you want to say just fire away in the comments below.