Park Passes

The following is an update to pages 116-117 of PassPorter Walt Disney World (2006 Edition) for the convenience of our current readers and for the enjoyment of our future readers. You may prefer to download the formatted PDF file which will fit in your PassPorter.

Disney revamped their admission options in January 2005, and updated those prices on January 1, 2006. As always, reconfirm this information before you travel--everything at Walt Disney World is subject to change without notice.

Note: The "major parks" referred to in the text are Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom. The "minor parks" are Pleasure Island, Blizzard Beach, Typhoon Lagoon, and Disney's Wide World of Sports.

Disney offers many admission options. Usually it&<#146;s safest to budget about $67 per day for adults and $55 per day for kids ages 3-9, the single-day admission price for the major parks (price includes tax). Most multi-day passes emphasize flexibility and value rather than savings—still, for an extended visit, that can really help. Here’s the deal on passes (based on options/rates known at the time of writing):

Just to be clear, admission to a Walt Disney World theme park gives you unlimited use of all rides and attractions within that park, with the exception of coin-operated arcade games and several small attractions at the Magic Kingdom park. You can exit and reenter the park on the same day (be sure to get your hand stamped). A single-day admission ticket is only good for one park. If you want to visit two parks on the same day you'll have to buy a full-day admission for each park, or hold certain kinds of multi-day passes.

Multi-Day Passes: Disney offers a wide variety of multi-day passes. The differences between the various passes can be hard to sort-out at times. As you read the descriptions on the right you'll note that some passes can only be used at the four major theme parks, while others can be used at the water parks, Pleasure Island and Disney's Wide World of Sports at Walt Disney World.

Kids Ride Free (Well, Some Do): Kids under 3 are admitted into the parks for free (and get a free ride if the ride allows someone that small). Anyone over the age of 9 is considered an adult in the eyes of the ticket booth. Less-expensive passes for kids ages 3-9 are available, but you may end-up reaching different pass-buying decisions. After all, you may prefer to leave the kids at a childcare facility (see page 180 for details on childcare) rather than bring them with you to Pleasure Island.

For an excellent chart of the ticket prices, visit http://www.allearsnet.com/pl/ticketchart.htm.

Passes and Discount Programs:
(All prices given below include 6.5% tax. When two prices are given, the first is the adult pass price and the second is the child pass price.)

Magic Your Way Passes: Magic Your Way tickets are available for 1-10 days. Guests can stick to basic admission or add one or more options (see explanations below). Magic Your Way replaces single-day passes and all varieties of Park Hopper passes. Prices for the various tickets are listed in the comparison chart on the next page. A Magic Your Way Base Ticket ($67-$223) is good for entry to a single major park (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios, or Disney's Animal Kingdom) for each day of the ticket. Multi-day Base Tickets bring substantial discounts (see chart below), so it pays to buy your admission all at once. Multi-day Base Tickets expire 14 days after the first use, but they do not have to be used on consecutive days. Buy only as much admission as you'll actually need for your visit to Disney. Note that multi-day Base Tickets are imprinted with the guest's name, so they are not transferable. The Park Hopping option (add $42.60) lets you visit more than one major park on the same day, for the length of your ticket. Available with any Base Ticket, this option is costly unless you spend four or more days at the parks, but it's indispensible if you plan to visit all four parks in fewer than four days and it can maximize the enjoyment of any longer stay. The Magic Your Way Water Park Fun & More option (add $53.26) adds a limited number of single-day, single-park admissions for the minor parks (Blizzard Beach, Typhoon Lagoon, Pleasure Island, DisneyQuest, and Wide World of Sports) to any Base Ticket. Each Magic Plus option is worth $10-$36, depending on where you use it. Purchase this feature with 1- to 3-day Base Tickets and you receive two Plus Options, 4- to 5-day Base Tickets receive three options, 6-day Base tickets receive four options, 7- to 10-day Base Tickets receive five options. Regardless of how many Plus options you receive, the cost to add this feature is always the same. As long as you make a minimum of two visits to the more costly minor parks, you'll get your money’s worth. The Premium option (add $95.86) is a combination of a Base Ticket, Park Hopping, and Magic Plus options (but at no additional savings). The No Expiration option (add $10–$107) is best suited for those who plan to save the unused portion of a multi-day ticket for a future vacation. The 14-day life span of a Base Ticket is generally enough for any one vacation. Note that multi-day passes bear the guest’s name and are not transferrable.

Annual Pass: Unlimited admission to the four major parks for a full year, plus special privileges. An Annual Pass ($442/$389) costs less than two 3-day Magic Your Way Base Tickets with Park Hopping. Annual Passes also give you the option of booking resorts at the best rate offered to the general public. There are also annual passes for the water parks ($106/$86), Pleasure Island ($59), DisneyQuest ($95/$76), and water parks plus DisneyQuest ($137/$105). You cannot share an Annual Pass (or any other multiday pass).

Premium Annual Pass: A Premium Annual Pass ($574/$506) offers the same privileges as the regular Annual Pass plus unlimited admission to the minor parks (including DisneyQuest) for $132 more. Five minor park visits cover the added cost. A Premium Annual Pass costs less than two 3-day Premium Magic Your Way tickets with a No Expiration option, and it is good for a full year.  

Old Ticket Media: Old Ticket Media: Prior to "Magic Your Way," Disney issued "Park Hopper" passes. If you have an old Park Hopper with unused days on it, you may use or upgrade it.

Upgrades: Apply the unused value of a park pass to a better pass at anytime. Visit Guest Relations in the parks or Lobby Concierge at a resort for details.

Advance Purchase Discounts: Discounts of between $2 and $19 are possible on tickets of four days or longer duration, if you purchase them in advance at Disney’s web site, or include them in the cost of a vacation package. This is significantly less than the value of advance purchase discounts available in the past. Frankly, you could save more money by depositing the funds for your admission in an interest-bearing account prior to your vacation. (AllEarsNet also lists these advance purchase prices at http://www.allearsnet.com/pl/ticketchart.htm)

Magic Kingdom E-Ride Nights: With the Extra Magic Hour program for Disney resort guests being extended to evening hours (see page 32), E-Ride Nights appear to be discontinued. E-Ride Nights were a ticketed, after-hours event at the Magic Kingdom.

AAA: Members (see page 11) can expect some sort of discount (historically 5%) on some passes. You must purchase tickets directly from AAA to get the discount.

Florida Resident Discounts: It pays to live nearby. Florida Resident Seasonal Passes work like Annual Passes, but with blackout dates in busy seasons. There are some other special deals for Florida residents only.