Your guide to choosing the right Walt Disney World® ticket type for your family:
Choosing the right ticket for your Walt Disney World® vacation can make all the difference in your experience. There are many factors that can go into which ticket type you choose, from how old the children in your family are, to how many vacation days you have available, to your personal interests and the way you’d like to tackle the parks.
For example, if you have small children, getting “Park Hopper” tickets may not be the right fit for you. Hopping from one park to another at Walt Disney World requires loading onto a bus, monorail, or skyliner, and making transfers that small children might find taxing, and parents might find overwhelming. For those families we definitely would recommend a one park per day pace, with maybe a break to go back to your room in the afternoon and then head back to the same park for the evening’s festivities. For families with able-bodied teens, or for all-adult vacations, hopping may be something your party is totally happy to do—and hopping does open up some flexibility in terms of dining reservations, Lightning Lane Multipass strategies, etc.
Unlike Disneyland where you can comfortably see the whole resort over the course of a 2-3 day visit, we HIGHLY recommend allotting yourself as close to a week as possible for a vacation to Walt Disney World. This gives you a full day in each park with at least one break day in between to enjoy your resort, swim at the pool, maybe eat a meal at one of the resort hotel restaurants, etc. Plus, having extra days also gives you the chance to go back to a couple of the parks to re-experience your favorite attractions or do things you might have missed.
A perfect WDW park schedule layout for us would be:
Here’s a breakdown of the ticket options available to help you decide which is best for your family:
NOTE: If you are thinking of adding Universal Studios Orlando to your visit as well, you really will want two days for that portion of your visit as well.
Keep in mind, the more days you stay, the “cheaper” each day is. If you are planning to visit for six days total (like laid out above) you qualify for the Get Away Today exclusive “extra day free” offer. You pay for 5 days and get your 6th day free. This is an awesome value that will save you almost $100/person for that final day.