Category — Disney World Price Seasons

OVERVIEW: WALT DISNEY WORLD ADMISSION TICKET PRICES 2012 TO SUMMER 2013

(This page is sponsored by Undercover Tourist.)

Three types of Walt Disney World prices are important to think about:

• Walt Disney World theme park admission ticket prices—the tickets that grant you admission to the parks
• Walt Disney World resort hotel prices, and
• Park and hotel food prices

This page focuses on Walt Disney World theme park admission ticket prices from summer 2012 until the summer of 2013, when, based on past practices,  they will go up.

MORE DETAILS ON WALT DISNEY WORLD ADMISSION TICKET PRICES 2012 AND 2013: HOW THE TICKETS WORK

There are multiple types of Walt Disney World theme park tickets, but the one most relevant to most first time visitors is the Magic Your Way ticket, with the Park Hopper option.

You buy one theme park ticket for each person who will be three years old or older at the time of your visit (kids younger than three enter the parks for free.) The tickets have two pricing levels: one for kids who will be younger than ten at the time of your visit (but 3 or older) and the other for people ten or older.

When you buy your tickets, you also say how many “days” you want—from one to ten. Each “day” you buy permits unlimited visits to one theme park on one day. If you also add the Park Hopper option, you can make unlimited visits to any of the theme parks in one day–one theme park, two, three, or all four theme parks.

• For example, if you buy a three day ticket without the park hopper option, you could make two visits to the Magic Kingdom on day one, three visits to Epcot on day two, and two visits to the Animal Kingdom on day 3
• If you have a three day ticket with the park hopper option, you could for example make two visits to the Magic Kingdom and one to Disney’s Hollywood Studios on day one, one visit to Epcot and two to Disney’s Animal Kingdom on day two, and one to Epcot and two to the Magic Kingdom on day three
• What you can’t do without a park hopper ticket is visit more than one theme park one the same day. For example, you can’t, on November 25th, use one day of your three-day ticket to visit the Magic Kingdom, and another day of this same ticket to visit Epcot that same day. More than one theme park in a day requires a park hopper

You do not have to use your days all in a row boom boom boom—e.g. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Once you use your first day, you have 14 days to use all the days on your ticket. So on a three-day ticket you could visit the theme parks Monday, Thursday, and Sunday.

• You can also add days at the same price that you would have paid had you bought all those days at once, but have to do so no later than the day you use the last day of your original ticket (and within 14 days of the first day)
• So if you buy a three-day ticket, and realize a few days later that you need more days, you can add two days and they will cost only the difference between what you paid originally for a three day ticket, and what you would have had to have paid for a five day ticket, so long as you add these days no later than the day you use your third day
• You can also add stuff like the Park Hopper during the same day window at the same price as you would have paid when you first bought your ticket

However, you can’t “subtract” days if you overbuy.

HOW WALT DISNEY WORLD PRICES ITS THEME PARK ADMISSION TICKETS

1. While Disney typically increases ticket prices at least once a year—typically in the summer—it does not change theme park admission prices based on the seasons of the year, the way that it increases and decreases prices at its resort hotels. You pay the same amount for admission on the busiest and the least busy days of the year.

(This material, by the way, is updated as of Disney World’s June 2012 price increase, and applies to tickets bought in 2012 through Disney’s next price increase, likely in the summer 0f 2013.)

2. Disney sells tickets by the day—one through ten days. The way it prices these days, the first three days are very expensive, while days after the third are comparatively almost free. See the image for exact Disney World prices.

For example, a three day ticket costs (including tax) an adult $258, or an average of $86 a day. A ten day ticket would cost the same adult $339. The added 7 days cost in total around $81—or less than $12 per day.

3. A park hopper costs (after tax) about $37 for a one day ticket, and $61 for all other ticket lengths, regardless of whether you add it to a two-day, ten-day or anything in between. So a three day adult ticket with the park hopper added costs $319, and a ten day ticket with a park hopper costs $400.

I have also uploaded an excel spreadsheet with the same data in it as the image, so that you can multiply by the number of members of your own family.

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD THEME PARK TICKETS

There are other ticket types than the ones discussed above—less relevant for first time visitors. For details on all of them, see this page on MouseSavers.com.

While it’s hard to find discounts on tickets, it is sometimes possible. Check sponsor Undercover Tourist, MouseSavers.com, Triple A if you are a member, and if you have military ties, this page and also MilitaryDisneyTips.com.

Since you can add on to your tickets–days, park hoppers, etc.–, but can’t subtract, it doesn’t really pay to overbuy. Start with the minimum you think you need and add on later if needed.  Remember to add no later than the day you use your current last day!

All of this site’s To-Do Lists tell you exactly what ticket type you need for their associated itineraries.

FREE TICKETS ON YOUR BIRTHDAY?

Disney world no longer offers free tickets on your birthday.

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2013 RESORT PRICE SEASONS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

The material below shows the different resort price seasons at Walt Disney World at different times of the year in 2013.

(If you are looking for current deals and discounts, click here. For 2014 prices, click here.)

Ticket prices don’t vary over the course of the year–although they typically have an annual increase in the summer. See this for more on ticket prices.

Resort prices, however, are almost twice as high during some periods as they are at others. The details are below.

2013 DISNEY WORLD PRICE SEASONS

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LATEST REVISION TO 2011 DISNEY WORLD WEEK RANKINGS

The final bit of data needed for this site’s 2011 Weeks to Visit Walt Disney World, Ranked in Order—actual 2011 price seasons—came out earlier this week.

I’ve revised 2011 Weeks to Visit Walt Disney World based on the new price material.

While a number of weeks had their rankings change, in every case but one it was by three or fewer rankings, and not really significant.

Only one week changed quite a bit.  The week beginning December 17, 2011 shifted from number 24, in Weeks to Avoid, to 14, and has become a recommended week.

MORE ON CHANGES TO THE DISNEY WEEK RANKINGS

This shift is because prices will remain low later in this week than I had forecast.

The week will be a bit of mix. 

• The first part of the week will be wonderful, with low crowds and low prices. 
• Crowds will build from Wednesday onwards, hitting very high levels by Christmas Eve.
• Prices go up to their highest level of the year on Friday, December 23rd

The actual 2011 price seasons show quite a different pattern than in recent years—including a completely new season, the fall season.

See this for more on the new fall season.

MORE ON WHEN TO GO TO WALT DISNEY WORLD

• For when to go to Walt Disney World, see this
• For the next best dates, see this
• For the best and worst times to visit, see this
  • For 2010 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
  • For the 2010 Week Picker App, see this
  • For 2011 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
• For forecasting crowds at Walt Disney World, see this
• For seasonal pricing at Walt Disney World, see this
  • For 2010 price seasons, see this
  • For 2011 price seasons, see this
  • For projected 2012 price seasons, see this
• For weather at Walt Disney World, see this

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THE NEW FALL PRICE SEASON AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

For 2011, Walt Disney World has made significant changes to the ways it increases and lowers prices at its resort hotels.

These changes have been continued in Disney’s 2012 price seasons.

These include

• A new second value season with slightly higher prices than the first value season
• A new second regular season with slightly higher prices than the first regular season, and
• A totally new season—the “Fall” season

THE FALL SEASON AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

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Walt Disney World has released its 2011 resort hotel prices, and you can now book packages with Walt Disney World (or a travel agent) through December 2011.

See  2011 price season at Walt Disney World for more.

(I was a little cocky in my initial post on this, and to aid humility have left my original material below…)

I got one date wrong in my forecast 2011 price seasons –I had the summer season beginning a week earlier than in fact it does.

I have fixed that, but continue to leave my 2011 price seasons  page labeled “forecast” and “projected” as there are some oddities in December 2011 that I need to resolve first before shifting it from forecast to actual. 

More to come on December 2011.

MORE ON WHEN TO GO TO WALT DISNEY WORLD

• For when to go to Walt Disney World, see this
• For the next best dates, see this
• For the best and worst times to visit, see this
  • For 2010 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
  • For the 2010 Week Picker App, see this
  • For 2011 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
• For forecasting crowds at Walt Disney World, see this
• For seasonal pricing at Walt Disney World, see this
  • For 2010 price seasons, see this
  • For 2011 price seasons, see this
  • For projected 2012 price seasons, see this
• For weather at Walt Disney World, see this

Home Donate Sitemap

THE WALT DISNEY WORLD PEAK SEASON

I recently posted on the 2012 Spring Break season at Walt Disney World.

Because this period is during Disney World’s “peak season,” and there’s a lot of confusion about what “peak” means, I thought I’d clarify the peak season and its implications for crowds and prices at Walt Disney World.

The key messages?

• While prices are quite high during the peak season…they get even higher! The peak season is not the peak of Disney World prices…
• While some periods of the peak season are quite crowded, some are not…and other times of the year, not in the peak season, are even more crowded! The peak season is not the peak of crowds, and some periods within it are relatively uncrowded.

THE PEAK SEASON AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

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