Tickets

Tickets are the second biggest expense. Disney raises ticket prices once a year, sometimes twice, so buying tickets as soon as possible is a wise idea.

You want to buy legitimate tickets from an authorized reseller, or directly from Disney. NEVER buy tickets from an individual, unless it is someone you know and trust, and even then only buy new tickets that have never been used. Someone may have some leftover days they were not able to use, but Disney tickets are non-transferable, they are tied to your fingerprint. If a ticket deal sounds REALLY good, chances are it isn't legitimate, always research to make sure your source is an authorized reseller. Official Ticket Center, Undercover Tourist, and ParkSavers are all legitimate authorized resellers. They all three stay pretty competitive so their prices are going to be close if not identical, but they are cheaper than Disney. Buying tickets from Ebay or Craigslist is about the same level of good idea as buying shrimp from a guy on a street corner who stores them in his pocket. Yes, the price is phenomenal, but you are going to regret it. If you do get ahold of partially used or counterfeit tickets (you won't if you are paying attention to what I'm telling you), Disney is under no obligation to replace your tickets with good ones. You will have to buy tickets at the gate.

Buying tickets in advance gives you the ability to make FastPass+ reservations, which can be a huge time saver once you are in the parks. If you wait until you arrive to buy tickets, FP+ may not be available for some attractions and you will have to wait in the standby lines in order to enjoy those attractions.

There are a few different kinds of Disney World tickets: Magic Your Way, Park Hopper, Waterparks Fun and More, and Park Hopper and Waterparks Fun and More. Ages 10+ require an adult ticket, ages 3-9 a child ticket, and anyone under the age of 3 does not require a ticket.

Magic Your Way tickets are standard admission tickets that get you into one park per day. A standard one day ticket is $105 for adults. The more days on the ticket, the lower each day costs. A 5 day ticket costs $315 because it's only $63 per day.

Park Hopper tickets allow you to enter more than one park each day. A standard one day ticket with Park Hopper is $155 for adults. Much the same as the standard ticket, the more days on the ticket the less each additional day of Park Hopper costs. A 5 day ticket with Park Hopper is $379.

Waterparks Fun and More tickets give you one access each ticket day to Blizzard Beach Water Park, Typhoon Lagoon Water Park, DisneyQuest Indoor Interactive Theme Park, ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, Disney's Oak Trail Golf Course, Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf, and Winter Summerland Miniature Golf. A standard one day ticket with the Waterparks Fun and More option is $169 for adults. Once again, the more days on the ticket the less each additional day of the Waterparks Fun and More option costs. A 5 day ticket with the Waterparks Fun and More option is $379.

Park Hopper and Waterparks Fun and More tickets add both of those options to your tickets. A standard ticket with Park Hopper and Waterparks Fun and More is $195 for adults. Same deal as the other tickets, more days, less cost for the option. A 5 day ticket with Park Hopper and Waterparks Fun and More is $405.

Deciding the best tickets for your family can be a little daunting. You need to decide how many park days you plan on doing, and which parks you plan on visiting. First timers or families with younger children are a lot less likely to benefit from Park Hopping. If it's your first visit you're probably going to want to see as much of each park as you can, so you are going to want to spend an entire day in each park. It's likely that small children aren't going to be able to spend an entire day in the parks from open to close. You may want to consider doing less park days than days of your trip. That way you can have some "down time" to explore the resorts (they really are an attraction all their own), visit Down Town Disney, hit a water park, or if you have a vehicle you could explore the area or even hit another attraction

Disney offers a great discount for active duty and retired military. You can purchase tickets at your base ticket office or using your military ID at the Shades of Green resort on Disney property after you arrive. You can find out more info on pricing on the Shades of Green website.