The 8 Best Ways to Buy Disney Tickets

Disney theme parks have set the standard worldwide for amusement park creativity and quality. Another way Disney sets the standard? Its pricing. Disney tickets are not cheap.

Nowadays, a single day ticket to Disneyland or Walt Disney World tops well over a hundred dollars per person. Since Disney raised ticket prices in October 2025, tickets range from $104 to $224 at Disneyland (depending on the day) and $119 to $209 at Walt Disney World. That’s without any fancy add-ons like Park Hopper or Lightning Lane.

Although you likely won’t find free Disney tickets (unless you’re super lucky), you can do better than simply buying tickets off the official Disney website. Take a look at some of the best ways to buy Disney tickets:

1. Use discounted ticket sites

There’s no shortage of discounted Disney ticket websites willing to sell you tickets. Just make sure you shop with one that’s reputable. Here are a couple that NerdWallet recommends:

Undercover Tourist is another popular, reputable website offering a cheaper way to buy Disney tickets. Sometimes its discounts can be even more than those AAA offerings. And the real benefit? They’re available to everyone without a membership.

AAA, the famous association that offers benefits on everything from hotel stays to restaurants, also sells discounted Disney tickets to members in certain locations.

AAA membership isn’t free, but it can be worth signing up for AAA for the other AAA discounts. Discounts vary by region, so confirm your region does in fact offer discount Disney tickets before signing up.

2. Take advantage of Disney’s limited-time ticket deals

If you can be flexible with the day you go to Disney, you can save big. Disney tickets always follow a dynamic pricing model, where tickets on more in-demand days are more expensive than those in the off-season. Generally speaking, you’ll pay far more to go to Disneyland on Christmas Day than a random Tuesday in early December.

And what’s more, Disney sometimes runs its own ticket promotions — which almost always occur during off-season or shoulder season. Here are the best Disney ticket deals that come straight from Disney:

Starting Jan. 21, 2026, families can purchase heavily discounted Park Hopper tickets for children ages 3-9 for summer visits between May 22 and Sept. 7, 2026, starting at $50 per child for a one-day ticket.

That’s a massive deal considering that one-day Park Hopper tickets for kids usually start at $189 on those days. Two-day and three-day tickets are also available with the option to add Lightning Lane Multi Pass for an additional fee.

To use one of these discounted tickets, you must have a theme park reservation, as you would with all types of Disneyland tickets. But keep in mind that park reservations for these discounted tickets are limited and allocated separately from regular tickets. Check reservation availability before purchasing tickets, and make reservations as early as possible.

Starting Dec. 3, 2025, eligible California residents (ZIP codes 90000-96199) can purchase a 3-Day Park Hopper ticket for just $249 total — that’s $83 per day. These tickets can be used on any three days (they don’t have to be consecutive) between Jan. 1 and May 21, 2026. This is the best deal Disneyland has offered since 2013, working out to less than half the regular price. You’ll need valid proof of California residency both to purchase and enter the parks.

There’s also an upgraded version with Lightning Lane Multi Pass included for $351 total ($117 per day).

Active and retired U.S. military personnel can purchase discounted Park Hopper tickets for 2026:

• 3-Day Park Hopper with Lightning Lane Multi Pass: $416.

• 4-Day Park Hopper with Lightning Lane Multi Pass: $505.

These tickets are valid Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2026, require park reservations and are available through participating military base ticket offices or GOVX.com starting Nov. 18, 2025.

For the first time, single-day military tickets are available via GOVX.com: $104 for adults, $98 for children ages 3-9. These are valid Nov. 18, 2025 through Dec. 30, 2027 with no blockout dates, which gives you significantly more flexibility than the multi-day tickets.

If you’ll visit multiple times per year…

Consider purchasing an annual pass (called a Magic Key). These annual passes start at $599, and can be cheaper than buying Park Hopper theme park admission on multiple days throughout the year. It also offers discounts on select parking, dining and merchandise. Be sure to check the blackout dates before you buy. Select Magic Keys will go on sale beginning Jan. 13, 2026.

You can save up to $250 per night on qualifying 4-night minimum room-and-ticket packages at most Disney Resort hotels for stays between late February and late July 2026.

Walt Disney World is introducing the Disney Celebrates America Military Salute Ticket to mark America’s 250th anniversary. This ticket costs $499 per person plus tax and grants access to all four Walt Disney World theme parks throughout 2026. That’s essentially unlimited access for an entire year at one of the most expensive theme park destinations in the country—a genuinely generous offer if you can make multiple trips.

Disney is also continuing its standard Military Salute Tickets for 2026. Eligible active and retired military personnel can purchase a 6-Day Park Hopper ticket for $449 plus tax (about $75 per day). Specially priced 4-Day and 5-Day Park Hopper tickets are also available.

Both ticket offers are valid Jan. 1 through Dec. 18, 2026 and require advance theme park reservations. Blockout dates apply March 29-April 11, 2026 and Nov. 22-28, 2026 (spring break and Thanksgiving week, predictably).

If you’re looking to use points when purchasing your tickets, you’re in a bit of a bind. Currently there is no, say, AmEx discount for Disney tickets. It’s still possible to use your reward points to buy tickets, though it’s not necessarily a great value.

Websites such as Undercover Tourist allow you to pay with PayPal at checkout. Many card issuers, including Citi, American Express and Chase, have partnered with PayPal in order to redeem your points. The value you’ll receive isn’t great; AmEx points used this way are worth 0.7 cent each, while Chase points can be redeemed at a rate of 0.8 cent per point. Meanwhile, those who hold the Citi Double Cash® Card will receive a value of 1 cent per point.

If you hold a credit card with a purchase erasing feature, you can also redeem points for statement credits at a rate of 1 cent each.

4. Buy a Disney vacation package

This next option won’t have you using points, but it can still save money. Vacation packages bundle options such as theme park tickets, hotels, car rentals and airfare, typically for less than buying a la carte.

As mentioned above, Walt Disney World is running exceptional package deals for 2026 that can save families hundreds to thousands of dollars by combining room discounts with free kids’ dining.

Costco Travel requires a membership card (which is its own annual fee), but it offers some of the best Disney vacation packages. For example, we found one five-day vacation at a Hilton, including five-day park hopper tickets, for $2,008.56. We priced out the cost to book that exact same hotel and tickets separately. It came out to $2,811.53 — and that didn’t include the parking. In this case, you’d save more than $800 by bundling your hotel and tickets together into a vacation package. Hilton Honors Disney ticket packages are also available, as are many different retailers offering vacation packages.

5. Use the United MileagePlus X app to buy Disney gift cards

The United MileagePlus X app awards you bonus miles for purchases with hundreds of different retailers, including Disney.

Disney gift cards available through the app will reward you with 3 United miles per dollar spent. You can buy in increments up to $500 and then immediately use those gift cards to buy tickets on the Disney website. Even better, you’ll still earn reward points on the credit card you use to pay, which means you’ll be double-dipping on your earnings.

And of course, you don’t have to limit yourself to just buying Disney tickets. You can also use this trick to buy Disney gift cards that will cover food, souvenirs and other expenses on property.

Just understand that gift cards cannot be exchanged back for cash, so only purchase enough gift cards for what you’ll actually spend. And keep in mind that certain retailers on Disney property might not accept Disney gift cards (e.g. third-party retailers on site, or certain vendors that operate in unconventional locations such as balloon vendors).

6. Buy Disney gift cards at Target

Here’s a similar trick to the United trick above: use the Target Circle™ Credit Card to buy Disney gift cards. You can buy Disney gift cards at Target using your Target RedCard to get 5% off the purchase price. Yep, the card offers 5% off most Target purchases both in-store and online, and that extends to Disney gift cards.

This strategy effectively reduces the cost of your Disney tickets (and again, anything else you buy at Disney using those gift cards, like food or souvenirs) by 5%.

7. Get free water park tickets when you book select Walt Disney World hotels

We said that free Disney tickets were near-impossible to come by, but here’s one exception: you can get free Walt Disney World water park tickets (with limitations, of course). Here’s the scoop:

Guests who book a qualifying stay at a Disney Resorts Collection hotel for stays with a check-in date anytime in 2025 receive complimentary tickets to either of the two Disney water parks—Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon.

Since Disney water park tickets cost about $80 per person, families or groups who would have purchased water park admission anyway might find this an incredible deal, particularly if they can book at one of the cheapest eligible Disney World hotels.

Just note that this benefit only works on your check-in day, so don’t anticipate spending time in the traditional theme parks on that day. Additionally, check-in to your hotel early to maximize the deal’s value.

8. Leverage demographics and affiliations

Disney often offers special offers for locals, as well as for people with affiliations such as U.S. military personnel.

For example, Disney is offering a discount on its 2025 Disney Military Salute Tickets, which are available to active or retired members of the U.S. Military and their spouses, and can be used by themselves, family members and friends.

Disney considers eligible service members as those in the the National Guard, Reservists, the US Coast Guard, the US Space Force, the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service (PHS), and the Commissioned Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 

Tricks for finding cheap Disney tickets

There’s no bones about it: Disney tickets can be expensive. You could consider some cheaper Disney alternatives, but there are also plenty of ways to save on the cost of your vacation. For example, you might opt for just Animal Kingdom, which is the cheapest Walt Disney World park (tickets are typically 10% to 17% cheaper than Magic Kingdom tickets, which are typically the most expensive).

You might also consider an annual pass, (which Disneyland refers to as a Magic Key and which Walt Disney World simply refers to as an annual pass), if you visit often.

Whether you’re bundling together with a vacation package, purchasing discounted tickets or maximizing the amount of points you’ll earn, make sure you’re working out the best method for your situation.

Can’t get enough of Disney? Tune in to NerdWallet’s Smart Travel podcast. In this episode, Meghan Coyle and Sally French (two admitted Disney fans) share more tips for buying discount Disney tickets and generally saving money in the parks: