My husband and I are going to Orlando the end of February for a week. We are taking advantage of a cheap timeshare week linked with cheap Allegiant airfare and car. I have been looking for stuff to do. We are going to swim with the manatees on day and maybe go deep sea fishing one day. Well, a friend yesterday suggested a one day Disney pass to see Epcot. I have been there a couple of times but my husband has not seen it. Well, today I looked at the one day pass. $70 each. I nearly fainted. I guess I was expecting $40 or so but $70. Am I crazy? Well, someone on the internet shopping board just mentioned the Disney sale link. So I went in there and bought some souvenirs for my stepson and his girlfriend. We nay not actually go to Disney at this rate!

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Lyn Clarke

I didn't know the prices had gone up so much. Even though $70 seems high, think of all you will be getting like unlimited attractions and shows.Just strolling through Epcot is enjoyable. The Disney experience is magical. Although admission to other parks like Six Flags and Sea World may cost less, I don't think anything can compare to a Disney experience.

With the prices there we'll never be able to go, a family of 6 with one income, nope.

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Valorian, I agree. while I've been to Disney several times, and even managed to take the kids a few, the prices they're charging now have made it so that so many cannot go. In fact, it will be years before we'll be able to afford to go again. Too bad it's now more about the money and not the people.

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It's been awhile since we've done Disney, but at the time the park hoppers were usually a much better deal, both $$ and flexibility, than single day, single park admission tickets. And since the days on them never expire, you can often find people selling tickets with a day or two remaining...

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

The single and shorter stay passes are a whole lot more expensive per day than the per day price of the longer stay passes to encourage people to spend a whole lot more time and money there. This post shows that the price skew may actually be backfiring on them, if people who only wanted to go for a day or two are making the decision to skip it altogether.

we went when our daugher was in the 6th grade ( shes 22 now) and we went to all the parks. I will never forget. each park we went to , for all three of us to get in was 113.00. each one at 113.00 was a huge price I thought back then and I know its gone up. we all three decided it was not worth it. to many people, to hot and the standing in line for 2 hrs to ride one ride that lasts like 5-10 min's is bull crap! we went in may and was told by many people that was a good time to go cause school wasnt out yet. yea right. seemed no one cared school wasnt out since there was millions of people. we stood in line for 45 min just to pee! no way can you see everything in one day esp. when the most of the day is standing in line. there was people there with little bitty kids in strollers and little babies. what the heck was they thinking? sure they got in free but they couldnt ride anything and were burning up and tired. I cant figure out some people

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I don't know about Disney World, but here in Orange County, CA you can buy discounted passes to Disneyland at most of our "big chain" grocery stores (Ralphs, Vons, Albertsons, etc). They are supposed to be for So. CA residents only but I have yet to see a cashier ask for ID to verify an address. They hang with all the other gift cards you can purchase there. You can buy either a 1-day pass to Disneyland or a 2-day pass good for one day at Disneyland and one day at CA Adventures. I don't know how much they are now but a couple of years ago I bought the 2-day passes for $55 each.

I strongly reccomend avoiding purchasing tickets that have a "day or two remaining" on them. Over the past few years Disney has implemented biometric scanning to associate the original user and purchaser with their park admission. There are finger scanners at each turnstile at every park in Disney World that you must use in addition to your ticket media.

Also, there is no way to verify that the tickets are indeed valid without doing it in person. You cannot call Disney and ask them about "used" tickets.

Of course, YMMV. I'm sure that people purchase used tickets everyday and don't have a problem. I just wanted the OP to be aware.

Good point.....my leftover tickets (that I am not selling, BTW ) are from before the biometric scanning was put in place. At the time, they were only doing that on APs and on hopping within the day. If they were to try to match the finger scan to the ticket media day over day, we'd be in trouble because I've never actually assigned a ticket to each family member and kept track of that.

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

Well, it took me close to 50 years to see it. I saw Disneyland first because we had free airline tickets. About two years later, we wanted to go with our adult children (no grandchildren yet). My son was military beginning of the war and they could get in free and bring up to 5 family members for $99 for 5 days. Check military if you are.

How about taking the kids to Gatorland ? It just opened. Or the dinner theater Medievel times ? My sons loved that place ! They sometimes have sales in the newspaper for it. Let's see, there are so many places to see in Orlando!

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Right, and there were days when we last visited when we didn't have to go through the finger scan so it's very possible that it's a hit or miss kind of thing.

We always keep out tickets straight (or at least try to) and IIRC, our tickets usually have our names on them. Heaven forbid you try to hand an 11YO the ticket that belongs to the 9YO.

It's just such a risk these days, buying partially used tickets with no real way to ensure that you will get to use them once you arrive in WDW. And what could be worse than trying to get through the turnstiles only to discover that you can't!

There are places to go in Orlando that offer some discounted tickets. I got the opportunity to do the Disney College Program and I worked for Disney's Animal Kingdom. Though the prices are high, yes, the attractions cost millions a piece. There is a reason why their attractions are better than say Cedar Point. The more advanced and elaborate the attraction, the higher the ticket prirces go. I can justify spending the money to get into the parks, what I can't justify is spending $3 for a 20 oz bottle of soda or water. I'm 25 now, I worked in Disney when I was 19 and 20 and I still love it all the same.

To me, it is worth the line (get a Fast Pass if you are that worried about waiting,) and it is worth the money. If you don't wanna walk around in the heat and humidity, go for Christmas. There is nothing more fabulous than walking around the park with all of it's Christmas decorations.

It is hard for some families to go to Disney financially. I know that I appreciated being an employee because a lot of families save for years to go and I could go to any park every day. But trust me, I didnt get a chance to go until I was 17 and I wish my parents had taken me when I was younger. It is worth the money to see your children enjoy everything. If it puts you out for a little while (go easy on Christmas and birthdays for a little) it will be worth it when your kids hug Mikey and Minnie for the first time.

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Shauna

Oy!! I had no idea that Disney had become so sophisticated. Biometrics!! My godson is 20. I think he was 5 or 7 the last time I was there. I just thought it would be fun to go for a day. I had heard about a car driving ride that I thought my husband might enjoy and I did really like that 360 degree movie at one of the countries. I think we can find a deep sea fishing trip for that kind of money. Thanks for all the good information. I am clueless.

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Lyn Clarke

OP, if you have the time (and patience and will power) you can always do one of those infamous timeshare presentations for free Disney admission. I don't know the specifics of how to find one but I do know that tons of people do the presentation just to get the tickets (which are usually one day passes, I believe).

You could probably check the DIS Boards and they might have some valuable information.

It is expensive to visit but it's so worth it. We've been taking our boys every other year and it's possible to get a good deal, you just have to take the time and do your research!

I think that you have to take into account the sunrise to sunset and then some hours of operation with non-stop entertainment offerings, not just rides, but shows, parades, fireworks, character time, etc to put the admission price in perspective. Personally, I could spend $60+ for a day in Disneyworld in a heartbeat, but you'll never find me buying a foo-foo latte sugarburst at Starbucks for $5, or pay $12 to go to a movie in the theater. I have paid $60/seat to see a Boston Ballet Nutcracker production and an equal amount to see the Allman Bros in concert and both of those were less than 4 hours of entertainment. So, I think it's all in the value that we each perceive.

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

I totally agree.
We love Disneyworld and would go every year if we could.
We have a Disney credit card that we use for everything and have over 600 points (dollars) saved for our trip that we hope to take in November.
We don't go to movies or concerts and we save in lots of other ways to be able to take lots of trips and many to Disneyworld!

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Square dancing is friendship set to music!

I have to agree too. Disney is heads and shoulders above any other amusement park, especially in presentation and cleanliness. It really is a special place.

OP, you might want to consider buying an Entertainment book for Orlando if you decide not to go to Disney. You would be able to take advantage of the B1G1 meal offers and I bet alot of the non-Disney attractions have offers in there.

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Another Disney fan here! It's so wonderful, you just have to experience it to believe it! I skimp on EVERYHTHING, but will splurge on Disney any chance I can. Now once there, I plan ahead and take things like our own bottled waters that we refill , sandwiches in the room for lunch, etc., but hands down it is so worth it! My ds is only 15 months old, and we hace been looking forward to taking him since he was born. We've taken my daughters 4 times now, and plan to again when the baby is a little older. I really emjoy going in the Fall, everything is all harvest themed, so pretty. I have heard Christmas is fabulous, I can just imagine. Cut whatever corners you ca, and make it happen! You won't regret it!

I have never thought of it that way before, good one!