How to get $50 Disneyland Tickets in 2020
Did you just start planning a Disneyland vacation and get a glimpse of gate pricing for tickets? Maybe the last time you visited was when prices were much lower and you can’t believe how much they’ve gone up. Even just for one day guests are going to fall into a pricing range of $100-$175 depending on the day and type of ticket. So how can you get back to the good old days of $50 a day per person? That’s a loaded question that we’re going to break down for you. First we’ll go over pricing per day then talk about how $50 Disneyland tickets came about.
$50 Disneyland Tickets Breakdown
Disneyland tends to breakdown their tickets by price per day, per person. Showing a person the price of a 5-Day Park Hopper ticket straight up isn’t that appealing to people (currently $395). So what they’ll do is show you the cost per day which looks so much better. Using the 5-Day Park Hopper ticket example you would only pay $79 per day. $395 vs. $79 is a big difference when you look at it and that’s what they’re going for. Let’s break down their 2020 ticket pricing at a cost per day for each ticket:
| Ticket Type | Gate Pricing | Price Per Day |
|---|---|---|
| 1-Day Park Hopper | $179 | $179 |
| 2-Day Park Hopper | $280 | $140 |
| 3-Day Park Hopper | $355 | $118 |
| 4-Day Park Hopper | $380 | $95 |
| 5-Day Park Hopper | $395 | $79 |
| 1-Day 1 Park Per Day | $129 | $129 |
| 2-Day 1 Park Per Day | $225 | $112.50 |
| 3-Day 1 Park Per Day | $300 | $100 |
| 4-Day 1 Park Per Day | $325 | $81.25 |
| 5-Day 1 Park Per Day | $340 | $68 |
As you can see, the more days you play in the theme parks the less expensive the days get. Of course this doesn’t help anyone who’s searching for just 1 day at Disneyland. When it comes to visiting for just one day, there are no discounts or deals. We actually recommend you purchase your 1 day tickets directly from Disney via the Disneyland app. The best discount you can get is by using a great rewards credit card.
If you looking to spend more than 1 day at the parks then you are in luck because we have a great wholesale partner who discounts Disneyland tickets: Undercover Tourist
We’ve done the same breakdown as above but added their discount pricing into the table. You’ll see there is a difference between gate pricing and price per day.
| Ticket Type | Discount Pricing | Price Per Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2-Day Park Hopper | $276 | $138 |
| 3-Day Park Hopper | $344 | $114 |
| 4-Day Park Hopper | $367 | $91 |
| 5-Day Park Hopper | $372 | $74 |
| 2-Day 1 Park Per Day | $221 | $110 |
| 3-Day 1 Park Per Day | $291 | $97 |
| 4-Day 1 Park Per Day | $316 | $79 |
| 5-Day 1 Park Per Day | $321 | $64 |
The park ticket prices listed above are for the general public to take advantage of. No special requirements, just great savings. Plus all the tickets from Undercover Tourist come with a Best Price Guarantee, $400 in digital coupons for your trip, Straight to the Gate e-Ticket delivery and are refundable. Nobody offers more with their tickets than they do which is why we highly recommend them.
Now there are tickets out there that cost less per day but there are some special requirements. We’re specifically talking about Military discount Disneyland tickets. They are the cheapest multi-day tickets you can get and as close to $50 Disneyland tickets as you’ll ever get. Here’s the 2020 breakdown of these tickets:
| Ticket Type | 2019 Military Price | Price Per Day |
|---|---|---|
| 3-Day Park Hopper | $178 | $59 |
| 4-Day Park Hopper | $198 | $49.50 |
As you can see, the 4-Day Park Hopper actually dips below the $50 per day mark. If you can get Military tickets, we highly recommend doing so. A few things to keep in mind about the tickets:
- Only active or retired military can purchase and redeem the discounted tickets. Veterans currently cannot purchase them.
- Spouses of active or retired military can purchase and redeem tickets as long as they have valid military ID.
- You are limited to the number of tickets you can purchase each year (currently 6).
- The active or retired military member or spouse must accommodate you upon first entrance into the parks and show their military ID. After the first entrance they are not required to be with you.
- Discounted Disneyland tickets can be purchased from most military bases. It doesn’t matter if the person is active or retired from one branch but buys from a different branches base (ie active Air Force buys from an Army Base). You can also purchase tickets at the box offices at Disneyland.
If you’re interested in reading more about discounted tickets you can read our complete guide here.
So how did the idea of $50 Disneyland tickets come about in the first place? Why specifically is it $50 instead of $55 or $62?
Ticket “Renting or Splitting”
It was one of the greatest deals you could get. $50 a day for Disneyland. For many years this was possible due to companies and guests splitting Disneyland tickets between visitors. Essentially what happened was a person would buy a 5-Day park hopper ticket and split the days between multiple guests who only wanted 1-2 days at the parks. If the ticket cost $250, the person selling the days would make $50 per ticket. Everyone was a winner. Of course our big disclaimer to this is that splitting or sharing tickets is against the terms of use for Disneyland tickets and more importantly it’s impossible to do this now. More on this in a minute.
We believe that the $50 a day just came about from an even number looking good to customers. If the 6-Day Park Hopper was $300, $50 a day was an easy split to do. Of course over time as there became popular prices went up a bit, somewhere around $60 per day or so. But during its peak the $50 price was king.
So why aren’t people still doing this today? There are several reasons why and really one the trumps them all.
- It’s against Disney’s terms of use to share tickets with other people. Your ticket contract with them is that they still own the ticket you’re using and that you’ll follow their rules including not sharing your ticket or letting other people use your ticket. All days must be used by the same person. So while this technically isn’t a law, Disney has complete control over your ticket whether you’re on property or not. They can deny you entrance at any time and ask for your ticket to be surrendered.
- The real reason that these $50 a day prices stopped is because of a new system Disney started using at their gates of entry. Upon first use of a ticket, your photo ID is taken and attached to the ticket. Each time you enter the parks, your photo pops up and the Cast Member can verify that it’s the same person using the ticket. This eliminates the possibility of sharing tickets with others.
- We are advocates that tickets should be used properly and by their terms of use. Period. That’s why we highly recommend using the above mentioned Disneyland tickets available to the general public and military families. There are other deals that you can use to help you save money on your vacation. See our How to Do Disneyland Cheap for intense savings on flights, hotels, food, tickets and more.
- Don’t go looking for ticket deals on eBay or Craigslist just to try and save some money. You could lose your tickets and regret trying to save a few extra dollars.
Conclusion
It’s as simple as this:
- $50 Disneyland tickets are really broken down by a per day price. The more days you play in the theme parks the cheaper the days get.
- There are discounted Disneyland tickets that can get you close to the $50 per day mark available to anyone through Undercover Tourist.
- Military Disneyland tickets are the closest you’ll even get to $50 per day but you do have to be active or retired military.
- Sharing, renting or splitting Disneyland tickets is what set-off the whole $50 Disneyland tickets. This is not possible to do anymore nor is it recommended to try. Avoid looking for too-good-to-be-true prices like that on eBay or Craigslist.
The best thing to keep in mind is that memories are priceless even if you have to spend a little more. 99% of people who travel to Disney theme parks come away completely satisfied and wanting to go again.
