A day at Disney World

[meowmaps]

Hi all!  This is extremely preliminary as I'm talking about going in November.  Well, preliminary for the trip in general, but I recognize pretty standard for Disney vacations.  The main objective of our trip is to see family in Miami but either on the drive down or on our way back home, we could stop in Orlando for a night.  My daughters will be 6 and 3 at the time. I don't imagine that they'll want to do anything too adventurous. I think they'd probably just love seeing Disney princesses and riding tea cups, etc.  I entered in an early date in November (don't know the exact date we'd be there yet) and for the four of us, for one day, at one park (Magic Kingdom), it would be something like $700.  Granted, I know nothing about planning or budgeting for Disney but that seems insane to me. Is it possible to get a deal for a day or is this standard Disney pricing?

[momin2013]

I’m not a Disney expert, but IME discounts are only on multi-day/multi-park passes. $700 for 4 tickets to 1 park is around what I’d expect it to be. Not sure if children’s ticket prices are cheaper…?

[mccallister84]

You can try undercover tourist and it may be a little cheaper, but I’m talking like maybe $10 a ticket. Unfortunately $700 seems about right to me.

[meowmaps]

I was afraid you were going to say that! 😂😭 My H was pretty much like…nope!

Ok, good to know. That probably means we’re never going or have to dedicate a trip to it and get the most bang for our buck that way. Thank you!

[sju]

Unfortunately, that sounds about right for MK. We were looking at annual passes and the tickets we had approx 5 years ago have gone up to more than $800 pp. Not going.

Have you been to Disney Springs? Walking around the Disney store gives a little taste without having to pay the park prices. Not the same experience but it makes for a nice afternoon.

[meowmaps]

sju That’s a good thought! I’ll look into it. Thank you!

[momin2013]

Disney Springs is nice enough - it’s like a large, spread out outdoor mall, and yes, it has a lot of Disney-themed stores. It’s pretty - you walk over a lot of little bridges over waterways, and there are Disney-themed Lego structures that are cool. There are some nice places to eat/get treats scattered throughout.

I don’t know that I’d make a special trip to Orlando just for Disney Springs, though, to be honest. It’s something to go to for part of a day, but it’s more of a “shopping” experience; not sure how much little ones would get out of it. You also could very easily drop a few hundred bucks on souvenir-type stuff.

[hermione]

I read this and was like, "Wow! $700! What a good deal!"

[sonrisa]

I’d consider staying somewhere nearby and just doing a character dining experience. That and ride the monorail to and from lunch. You get to meet characters which was what my kids loved most at that age. We’ve never made Disney parks a multi day extravaganza (because while one day tickets are crazy, it just goes up from there. We will do a character meal one day and a park visit another, with local stay in between or framing the park day (we go rope drop to fireworks. For that price I’m not returning to the hotel. Little one would nap in the stroller).

[meowmaps]

Jan 23, 2024 15:21:16 GMT -5 sonrisa said:

I’d consider staying somewhere nearby and just doing a character dining experience. That and ride the monorail to and from lunch. You get to meet characters which was what my kids loved most at that age. We’ve never made Disney parks a multi day extravaganza (because while one day tickets are crazy, it just goes up from there. We will do a character meal one day and a park visit another, with local stay in between or framing the park day (we go rope drop to fireworks. For that price I’m not returning to the hotel. Little one would nap in the stroller).

That would be ideal! At 3 and 6 I don’t think the one day pass would be worth it because they wouldn’t end up doing much. But I know they would both love to see Disney characters. I will look into a dining experience. Thank you!

[roo54]

Topolino's Terrace for breakfast was a great character dining option! We did several while there last week, and the character interactions at topolino's was superior compared to the rest.

[mccallister84]

Jan 23, 2024 19:29:24 GMT -5 meowmaps said:

Jan 23, 2024 15:21:16 GMT -5 sonrisa said:

I’d consider staying somewhere nearby and just doing a character dining experience. That and ride the monorail to and from lunch. You get to meet characters which was what my kids loved most at that age. We’ve never made Disney parks a multi day extravaganza (because while one day tickets are crazy, it just goes up from there. We will do a character meal one day and a park visit another, with local stay in between or framing the park day (we go rope drop to fireworks. For that price I’m not returning to the hotel. Little one would nap in the stroller).

That would be ideal! At 3 and 6 I don’t think the one day pass would be worth it because they wouldn’t end up doing much. But I know they would both love to see Disney characters. I will look into a dining experience. Thank you!

Or do something on the skyliner route and ride that around. As long as you aren’t trying to get it on it at peak park open or close they’ll probably put you on one by yourself and then it’s a pretty neat little ride, especially for kids.

[meowmaps]

This is great! Thank you all so much for these suggestions!

[curbsideprophet]

Another option would be doing a hard ticket event such as Mickey’s very merry Christmas party. Depending on your date the ticket could be cheaper than a regular day admission.

They close the park early for regular guests. Ticket holders can get in a little earlier. I think 4 pm is a pretty typical time.

touringplans.com/blog/2023-mickeys-very-merry-christmas-party-dates-and-ticket-info/

Towards the end of this article they discuss cost and if it might be worth it.


We have used Undercover Tourist for discount tickets but I am not sure if they even sell a one day ticket. Do you have AAA? I believe they may offer a minor discount.

[meowmaps]

Jan 27, 2024 13:40:04 GMT -5 curbsideprophet said:

Another option would be doing a hard ticket event such as Mickey’s very merry Christmas party. Depending on your date the ticket could be cheaper than a regular day admission.

They close the park early for regular guests. Ticket holders can get in a little earlier. I think 4 pm is a pretty typical time.

touringplans.com/blog/2023-mickeys-very-merry-christmas-party-dates-and-ticket-info/

Towards the end of this article they discuss cost and if it might be worth it.


We have used Undercover Tourist for discount tickets but I am not sure if they even sell a one day ticket. Do you have AAA? I believe they may offer a minor discount.

I will look into this! Thanks!

A meal with characters could line up with the beginning of our trip and possibly an event like this for the end of the trip. Either way, good to keep in mind for the future.

[mccallister84]

Jan 27, 2024 13:46:32 GMT -5 meowmaps said:

Jan 27, 2024 13:40:04 GMT -5 curbsideprophet said:

Another option would be doing a hard ticket event such as Mickey’s very merry Christmas party. Depending on your date the ticket could be cheaper than a regular day admission.

They close the park early for regular guests. Ticket holders can get in a little earlier. I think 4 pm is a pretty typical time.

touringplans.com/blog/2023-mickeys-very-merry-christmas-party-dates-and-ticket-info/

Towards the end of this article they discuss cost and if it might be worth it.


We have used Undercover Tourist for discount tickets but I am not sure if they even sell a one day ticket. Do you have AAA? I believe they may offer a minor discount.

I will look into this! Thanks!

A meal with characters could line up with the beginning of our trip and possibly an event like this for the end of the trip. Either way, good to keep in mind for the future.

The Christmas party we went to was $179 for adults and not much cheaper for kids (maybe $10?) just as an FYI.