Are you planning a trip to Walt Disney World? Well, I have some good news and bad news for you.
First, the bad news: Disney has done the inevitable and raised its single-day Walt Disney World adult admission price to a $54.75 at its four theme parks. (For ages nine and younger, it's $43.75.) Now, the good news: savvy vacationers can save some money by purchasing selected passes in advance.
Instead of buying tickets at the parks (and wasting valuable vacation time standing in line), guests can save as much as $26 per person for Park Hopper PLUS (and even more for Ultimate Park Hopper tickets offered to on-property resort guests) by purchasing them ahead of time. Disney only offers the savings on its multi-day media; sorry, you'll still have to pay $54.75 for a one-day, one-park ticket no matter when or where you purchase it.
To purchase advance tickets:
- Go to Disney's online reservations page.
- Call Disney's reservations center, 407-W-DISNEY (407-934-7639).
- Visit a Disney Store.
- Contact an authorized travel agent.
Savings examples
Advance-purchase savings apply to Ultimate Park Hopper Tickets (available only to on-property hotel guests, includes admission to the four theme parks, two water parks, Pleasure Island, Disney's Wide World of Sports, and DisneyQuest), Park Hopper PLUS Tickets (available to all guests, same as Ultimate minus DisneyQuest), and Park Hopper Tickets (available to all guests, only includes the four theme parks).
- For 2004, 5-Day Park Hopper PLUS advance purchase costs $259 for ages 10 and up, a $23 savings over the $282 day-of price.
- For 2004, 7-Day Park Hopper advance purchase costs $316 for ages 10 and up, a $26 savings over the $342 day-of price.
While Disney does give some sticker shock respite with its advance purchase program, it takes back some of the savings by charging shipping fees of $3 per order for standard delivery (7 to 14 business days required) and $10 for express delivery (up to 7 business days). Disney does offer a free will-call option allowing guests to pick up their advance-purchase tickets at the park, but that means waiting in another line.
The Busch Entertainment parks, Busch Gardens Tampa and SeaWorld Orlando, also offer advance purchase options, but they allow guests to print out tickets at home with no additional charges. Unlike Disney, both of the Busch parks offer discounts for single-day tickets.
