The biggest ticket sale of the year is here for a very limited time–and also just in time for Pixar Fest at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. Here are the details about how you can save big on multi-day tickets, along with answers to frequently asked questions about saving money on Disneyland tickets.
We’ll cut to the chase: Get Away Today, our recommended authorized third party ticket seller, is running their popular Adults at Kids’ Prices Disneyland ticket deal for as much as over $50 off per ticket! This deal runs through Wednesday, May 1, 2024 and is valid for travel dates through the end of this year on 3-day and longer park tickets. The additional upside to this if you aren’t traveling soon is that you can lock-in current prices and avoid future price increases that will likely occur later this year.
To save even more, combine your tickets with any of their Extra Night Free Hotel deals that are available at select hotels near Disneyland. In addition to all of this, there’s a new PIXAR50 coupon code to save an extra $50 on any 2-night or longer Disneyland package that includes at least two 3-day or longer Disneyland tickets. All three of those deals can be stacked, so choose your hotels wisely (since the extra night free promo isn’t available everywhere) and you can save massive amounts.
Here’s a partial list of the hotels we like that offer extra nights free:
- Westin Anaheim
- Clarion Hotel
- Anaheim Marriott
- The Viv Hotel
- SunCoast Park Hotel
- Fairfield Inn Anaheim Resort
To read more about those and many other options, consult our Anaheim Hotel Reviews & Rankings post for our favorite hotels in the area. We’ve stayed in and reviewed 50+ hotels near Disneyland. Those rankings will be receiving a massive update in the coming weeks, but there still more or less accurate for the purposes of the extra night free deal–none of the above-listed hotels will be moving up or down materially.
For those wondering how this compares to other Disneyland discounts, it’s the best general public offer we’ve seen since the Kids’ Ticket discount that was released last fall by Disneyland for travel dates this January through mid-March (prior to spring break). That was a shockingly good deal, that we’d definitely recommend jumping on if it returns.
My hope is that something like that will return this late summer/early fall off-season, but with Halloween starting early…I’m skeptical. Maybe in Winter 2025? If the deal does come back (and that’s a very big if), I’d expect higher prices. And of course, that deal does nothing if you need to buy park tickets for adults–it was only for kids ages 3 to 9 years old.
Regardless, I’m not sure we’ll see Disneyland offer that again–it really spiked crowds in the parks at the beginning of the year. Not only that, but the parks are still busy and now there are back-to-back-to-back seasonal events (Pixar Fest, Halloween, and Christmas) between now and the end of the year. Given how busy Disneyland has been, it seems like concerns about the exhaustion of pent-up demand were unfounded, and this is just the new normal.
Aside from that and the SoCal resident deals, this is the best deal of the year on Disneyland tickets, and it’s usually only offered for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The key difference between now and then is that this deal is being released before the annual price increase (which we assume will occur again in 2024–see below), whereas the Black Friday deal occurs after Disneyland raises prices.
Suffice to say, this is an exceptional deal on Disneyland tickets if it works for your family. We’d also add there are stretches of dates essentially right now and again after this summer that rank highly on our Cheapest Times to Do Disneyland, which also accounts for hotels and more. So you could do an inexpensive (by Disneyland standards) trip by pairing tickets with the best travel dates.
With all of that covered, we’ll answer a few common questions about ticket deals at Disneyland…
Is it worth buying the Genie+ ticket add-on?
Maybe.
For us, it really comes down to how long you’re visiting and how important rides are to your visit. The shorter the trip, the more likely we are to recommend the Genie+ add-on. If you’re doing a longer trip and you don’t care as much about repeating rides, we’re less inclined to recommend it.
If you’ll want Genie+ every day, it’s a no brainer. The advance purchase length-of-ticket add-on, especially at the old prices, will save you more money and be more convenient than purchasing it each day. You’ll pay $25 per day instead of no less than $30. (Current ‘surge’ pricing for same-day Genie+ is $35, but there’s nothing to say it won’t be higher when you visit.)
Genie+ works incredibly well at Disneyland Resort–much better than at Walt Disney World–which is an argument for and against buying it length of stay. Most days, you will be able to secure Lightning Lane selections for most popular attractions, saving several hours as compared to waiting in the standby lines. The last time we tested Genie+ at Disneyland and DCA, we were easily able to make ride reservations for over one-dozen attractions, saving roughly over 6 hours in line.
This is not an anomaly or uncommon outcome. Genie+ is really easy to use at Disneyland Resort, and gives you a huge advantage. Accordingly, it offers great value and strategic advantage. Conversely, Genie+ makes it easy to have 1-2 days when you “go hard” on rides, followed by more relaxed days where Genie+ is no longer necessary.
Moreover, you can still accomplish a lot without it and with savvy strategy, such as using our Disney Theme Park Touring Plans & Itineraries or Early Entry at Disneyland. Disneyland crowds are typically late-arriving (except during school breaks…and summer is right around the corner) and early-leaving. It’s the middle of the day that can be really rough without Lightning Lanes.
Genie+ enables you to ride many more attractions and get a lot more bang for your buck. In the end, we recommend using a variety of strategies to experience headliners via the Lightning Lanes and standby lines when wait times are lower! We also cover everything you need to know in our Guide to Genie+ at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure & Lightning Lane FAQ.
What about the Park Hopper tickets?
We are huge fans of Park Hopper tickets and think it’s worth the added cost if your budget allows. The reason for this is simple: Disneyland and Disney California Adventure are literally less than a football field apart. It’s easy to jump from one to the other, and we do on every single visit.
This allows you to hit Radiator Springs Racers first thing every morning of our trip, and then either continue the day at Disney California Adventure, or head over to Disneyland. It also enables you to use Genie+ at both parks in a single day, instead of just at one.
If you do continue the day at Disney California Adventure, having the hopper allows you to go to Disneyland late at night for the fireworks, or to head over to Disneyland to end the day, because it’s usually open later. You can also bounce back and forth between the parks, making for more efficient touring without wasting time given the proximity of the parks to one another.
With that said, if you have small children who won’t stay up late or aren’t concerned about having the most efficient day possible, opting for Park Hopper might be a waste of your money. Unlike Walt Disney World, neither Disneyland nor DCA are half-day parks. You can easily spend over a day in both gates without running out of things to do, so there’s no strict “need” to bounce around.
As always, there’s really no one size fits all answer. We love the Park Hopper option and can’t imagine not doing both parks in the same day, but others might take a more laid back approach. (We’re also locals who often switch parks just to eat, so it’s definitely a YMMV kinda thing.)
Are there discounts on single-day tickets?
No.
Authorized ticket sellers don’t offer any savings on 1-day tickets. You might as well buy directly from Disney.
This particular deal is only for tickets that are 3-days and longer, but Get Away Today and other authorized ticket sellers also offer deals on 2-day tickets. The savings aren’t great, but it’s better than nothing.
If prices go up again between now and my travel dates, do I have to pay the difference?
No.
The beauty of buying now to lock-in prices is that you safeguard against future price increases. Even at today’s higher interest rates, putting your money to use by purchasing park tickets to take advantage of savings will “outperform” a high-yield savings account (based on the historical percentages of past price increases). You might be able to do better with U.S. Treasuries depending upon the duration and tickets you’d buy.
When is the next price increase most likely?
October 11, 2024. That’s a very specific date, but it’s when prices went up both this year and last year. The chances of a three-peat for October 11 are actually fairly low–that’s a Friday and major changes like this normally happen earlier in the week. But past precedent is what it is, and we’d be remiss if we didn’t point out that it’s been October 11 for the last two years.
Although October 11 was the magic date in 2022 and 2023, the next price increase could occur anytime between the end of September and mid-October, right around the time Disney’s new fiscal year starts. October is also now one of the most popular months of the year at Disneyland, so the company could opt to move the price increase forward and capitalize on that.
My money is on the price increase occurring before October 11, not after. With Halloween starting early this year (late August), I could see the increase being moved forward by as much as a month. Basically, I’d buy sometime before September 2024 to lock-in current prices. And since this deal is happening now, buying now makes the most sense.
We always recommend purchasing tickets sooner rather than later if you know you’re going to be visiting Disneyland. Purchasing now will “future proof” against additional price increases in the next year-plus. Prices have gone up at least once annually every year of the last decade. That was true even for the year-plus when the parks were closed–they managed to sneak in price increases shortly before closing and after reopening.
With that said, pent-up demand is fizzling out and Disneyland is experiencing a slowdown as compared to the last two years. So it’s possible that Disney will hit pause on price increases in 2024. (Walt Disney World is about a year ahead of Disneyland in terms of pent-up demand exhaustion, and WDW didn’t raise tickets in 2023 and the 2024 price increase doesn’t take effect until the start of 2025.) We wouldn’t bet on it, but we also wouldn’t bet against it.
Planning a Southern California vacation? For park admission deals, read Tips for Saving Money on Disneyland Tickets. Learn about on-site and off-site hotels in our Anaheim Hotel Reviews & Rankings. For where to eat, check out our Disneyland Restaurant Reviews. For unique ideas of things that’ll improve your trip, check out What to Pack for Disney. For comprehensive advice, consult our Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide. Finally, for guides beyond Disney, check out our Southern California Itineraries for day trips to Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, and many other SoCal cities!
Your Thoughts
Will you be taking advantage of the Adults at Kids’ Prices at Disneyland ticket deal? Or are you waiting for a different special offer, perhaps hoping for a return of the Kids’ Ticket Deal from earlier this year? Any questions? We love hearing from readers, so please share any other thoughts or questions you have in the comments below!
