Are you looking to take your family on a fantastic vacation but not pay exorbitant prices to do it? You've come to the right place. Disneyland is a beautiful place to take your family, but the tickets can be expensive. That doesn't have to be your fate! Thankfully, we have just what you need to learn how to find the best prices online so that you have the best vacation.
First Things First
Before you go looking for the best prices online, you need to know what you are getting into. How long do you plan on staying? Do you know what tickets you need? Chances are, you may not. Disneyland and its companion California Adventure have unique shows, rides, and characters. Do you intend to stay in one park or see both?
If the answer is both, you should expect that you need at least three or four days to see everything. Our recommendation is four, and the reason is that you can take two days for each park. That gives you enough time to see all the rides and all of the shows. That may seem like a long time for two parks, but keep this in mind. Some areas, like Cars Land, Critter Country, and others, have two hours or more lines. If every ride you want to go on is the same, your day is going to be lost exceptionally quickly.
What Ticket Is Better?
When looking for the best prices online, you should also choose your ticket carefully. With this park, you have two options—the one park per day and the park hopper. The one park per day will let you visit both parks, but not on the same day. You need to do one then the other on separate days. However, the park hopper lets you go between them as many times as you want. The hopper will be more expensive, though, and going back and forth takes a lot of time out of your day. It is recommended to stay longer and go to one park at a time to enjoy more considerable savings.
The Best Prices Online Require Flexibility
If you can be more flexible about when you want to go, you can save hundreds of dollars. For example, Christmas and Halloween are two of the busiest times of the year. The park goes out, decorations are everywhere, and rides are different. That makes tourists want to go, and prices spike. Spring break does the same thing. Thanksgiving, the Fourth Of July, New Years, and other holidays are peak times. The trick is going when it is the value season.
The value dates are when the park is less crowded because no one is coming. To boost revenue, ticket prices drop, and you may get exclusive promotions for being patient. Another reason to be patient and avoid peak times is that sometimes the park gets so crowded they shut the gate.
That means even if you have a ticket, you can get turned away. The least popular months of the park and the ideal time to get your tickets are the following.
- January
- February
- May
- September
- November
Another tip is to look out for spring. In the spring, they have discounted tickets, promotions and you can save a hundred dollars or more.
Service Members Get A Good Discount
If you have retired from military service or are currently active, you can save on these tickets. Go to your local ITT office or go online, and you can get your tickets quickly and easily. If you go to your ITT office, you will find that the maximum number of tickets you can get is six. You must also have the service member with you at the gate or let you in. This year, the prices of the tickets are as follows.
- Three-day military park hopper ticket-$225
- Four-day military park hopper ticket-$260
You should also ensure that you are more careful about the dates as there are specific points in time for them to be valid.
AAA Members Can Receive Discounts
If you are a member of AAA, you can receive tickets for better prices. However, they are only available to people during certain times of the year. In recent years, people have also said that the prices weren't enough of a discount to bother. You will need to compare and contrast carefully to determine if this is the best option for you.
Use A Qualified Affiliate For The Best Prices Online
A qualified affiliate will be a company or site that Disney has approved to sell their tickets. You must ensure that the place you are buying from is a legitimate option. If so, you will find that they have regular sales and can save you hundreds of dollars. Examine the chart that we illustrate that showcases the price difference and what the affiliate can provide in savings.
As you can see, the longer you stay, the more significant the savings are.
Dress Up For A Discount
When you find the best prices online, you should check out Dapper Day. This is a particular time that occurs only twice a year. What you do is dress up as one of your favorite characters, and you will get a discount. Be sure to look online for which days this is done and book your tickets quickly. However, one catch you should be aware of is that you need to do this as a group. Events are scheduled for spring and fall of this year already, so be sure to get your tickets while they last!
Buyer Beware: You Should Walk Away
Everyone wants to save on these tickets, and unfortunately, that has brought out some unscrupulous options that want to take advantage of good people. What is even more unfortunate is that the success rate of these frauds is high. When an opportunity seems as if it might not be accurate, walk away before you lose your money. Unauthorized sellers promise that they are affiliates and they are not. In addition to this, the park isn't liable if you lose your money. To avoid this happening, watch out for these common frauds.
Craigslist is a site that sells many things. However, they are not allowed to sell tickets. The tickets sold here are counterfeit or expired.
Auctions will offer tickets with multiple days so that you can see everything. That is a fraud as well. They promise they have only used one day, so you still get four. That sounds amazing because you save so much money! The truth is that you can't use it at all. Disney takes pictures of people with multi-day passes to ensure that this doesn't happen.
Apps are another area to avoid. eBay, for example, is a great app to find anything you need. However, tickets are not supposed to be sold there. In addition to this, like auctions and Craigslist, the tickets can't be used. It's a scam meant to separate you from your money.
Another trick is to tell you that your two year old can get a discount ticket. Children that are aged two and under are free to enter the park. This is sad, but it is one of the biggest tricks because people don't know the regulations. You should also know that the most significant savings amount with an authorized affiliate will be about five to ten percent. Fifty or above is dishonest.
One-day tickets are never discounted either. That is why people going for one day will buy the ticket directly from the park. There are rarely discounts here, and people know it.
You should also not trust sites or companies that only make you pay in cash or that want to meet you in a location like a parking lot. They want the deal to be done here so that they can rob you and no one will be around. Remember, stay safe and be more thoughtful about buying your tickets, so you don't get hurt.
Finding The Best Prices Online For Your Vacation
When looking for the best prices online, use the tips that we have illustrated above. Planning and knowing how long you want to stay will save you hundreds of dollars. You should also avoid scammers and issues with people trying to feed your false information. Use a qualified affiliate or discount and keep your email confirmations. Remember, being prepared ahead of time will ensure that you get your tickets in the season you want, save money, and don't have to wait hours in line!