How To Purchase Safely and Save The Most
There are millions of people every year who plan a visit to the Walt Disney World Resort. Of those vacationers, many of them know that a week-long trip can be expensive. The average family spends about $6,000 for hotel, tickets and dining for 2 adults and 2 kids. Saving for a vacation like this can take several years. So where does the biggest savings come from? Your discount Disney World tickets, though your search doesn’t start there.
Guests start with packages
Guests who are looking to make this vacation a bit cheaper may start looking around the internet for ways to save. First is the hotel. Looking through websites like Expedia and Priceline may offer you a bit of savings. Most of the time these companies will be pretty close to each other in price. The only problem with booking third party is that guests can’t add the Disney Dining Plan unless they book directly with Disney or a Travel Agent.
Even with these options it can be hard to find a discounted price on an entire package. So then you move on to the next most expensive item: tickets.
Purchasing discount Disney World tickets may seem like an easy find. However, you may soon discover that there are a very limited number of sellers for Disney World tickets outside of Disney themselves. And of those sellers, many may not even offer a discount. So now what?
Guests in the past have turned to local ads and sellers on website like Craigslist and eBay to find a deal. The only problem is that there’s no way to verify if these tickets are actually valid or not. There’s huge potential of getting ripped off of a lot of money if you go this route and the tickets don’t turn out to work.
Another route guests have tried are splitting or sharing tickets. They might buy a 10 day park hopper ticket and only use 5 days of it and then try and sell the other 5 days. This method does not work. You’ll find yourself out of money and out of the parks as Disney has a very advanced biometric fingerprint scanner that knows if the same finger (person) is being used each time for entry.
So now you’re back to who offers a discount, that’s authorized to sell and can actually help you save some money. How much can they actually save you over gate pricing? If you find the right one there’s potential to save over $80 per ticket.
Purchasing discount Walt Disney World tickets
For our research into the market our number 1 choice is Park Savers. They’ve been offering discounted Disney World tickets for over 10 years and have the lowest prices we’ve come across. Guests will receive the exact same tickets from Park Savers that they would from Disney, just for much less.
This means that guests can book FastPass+ 30 days in advance (or 60 if you’re staying at a property hotel), link your tickets to your My Disney Experience account at disneyworld.com, link them to any MagicBands and even make changes to your tickets online.
They also offer 2 options to receive your tickets. First is by mail which they ship for free. The second option is Will Call where guests can pick up their tickets at any of the 4 parks. Using MagicBands? Skip Will Call and head straight into the parks!
When purchasing your discount Disney World tickets be sure to check if pricing includes taxes or not. Many times prices will look great but then at the very end of checkout taxes will be added and they are not that great.
Don’t like booking online? You can call them and book anytime at 1-877-226-3380.
Our 2nd option is Expedia.com. Sometimes you can catch sales for Walt Disney World tickets that are great. Delivery of your tickets is done by email as a voucher that has to be redeemed at a box office.
If you’re looking to make FastPass+ reservations with Expedia you may find yourself in a bit of a predicament. We’ve heard from several guests that getting their ticket confirmation code is hit and miss with them. They savings may be great but what’s the value on being able to book your FastPass+ reservations in advance (we think it’s priceless)?
Lastly we would recommend Boardwalk Ticketing. They haven’t been around as long but they certainly have some great pricing and are very similar to Park Savers. Guests can also check out Official Ticket Center and Maple Leaf Tickets if you’re from Canada.
Don’t get caught up in saving too much
Remember the golden rule when searching for discount Walt Disney World tickets: If it’s too good to be true, it probably is. The last thing you want to do is find yourself stuck outside the parks with tickets that don’t work, out thousands of dollars and looking to purchase tickets at gate pricing.
Overall if you’re planning on booking a Walt Disney World vacation we highly recommend saving up for the original cost of the package or tickets. Then any savings you can get on top of that is an added bonus. Guests who go into the process with a small budget may have a harder time finding exactly what they want because it’s out of their price range.
If you’re looking for financing options you can always apply for the Disney VISA Card from Chase. Not only will you earn money on your everyday purchases but you also get package financing and discounts. It’s a fantastic way to save and earn rewards to redeem on your vacation.
If you do find yourself applying for this card be sure to catch them during a special offer such as a $250 statement credit or a $100 Disney Gift Card. There are two versions of the card, one is with no annual fee and one is with a $50 annual fee. The one with the annual fee does offer better rewards for gas and groceries. Do some math to figure out which one would be best for you.
If you need any additional tips on planning a Walt Disney World vacation you can checkout Park Savers planning guide. We wish you luck in your planning!
