Catering to Your Audience Part 2: Tickets

Second of a multipart series comparing and contrasting Walt Disney World and Disneyland. If you missed it, the first part on hotels can be found here.

Both Walt Disney World and Disneyland sell tickets to enter the theme parks. Although the tickets use similar terms, the meanings and costs associated with these terms can be different. A one day, one park ticket at Disneyland is $72, while a similar ticket at Walt Disney World is $79. Each offers a similar amount of entertainment; a day at Disneyland and a day at the Magic Kingdom are fairly comparable. For someone just stopping by, buying a one day ticket at either resort is about equal (but cost inefficient).

Going down the line for multi-day tickets, a base ticket at Walt Disney World and a Park Hopper at Disneyland are still comparable in price. At 6 days, a Park Hopper at Disneyland costs $254 and a base ticket at Disney World costs $231. While comparable in price, I find it somewhat strange that Disneyland's ticket is higher than Disney World's. There is much more to experience at Disney World than Disneyland when you stay for six days. Also, all Disneyland multi-day tickets are Park Hoppers; at Disney World it costs $52 to add the Park Hopper option. However, Disneyland only has two theme parks, while Walt Disney World has four.

Tickets at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World expire 14 days after first use. At Walt Disney World a No Expiration option can be added to the ticket for $104. Disneyland does not offer this option, probably because the park caters to the local crowd and the option could be used as a pseudo-Annual Pass for locals who only want to come a few times a year. The No Expiration option at Disneyland would also get around the Annual Pass blackout dates (more on this in a moment).

Walt Disney World also offers a "Water Park Fun and More" option which provides a number of visits to Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach, DisneyQuest, ESPN Wide World of Sports or the Oak Trail golf course. It costs $52 to add Water Park Fun and More, and the number of visits added to the tickets depends on the number of days. Disneyland, however, has no such option because the resort has no water parks or other attractions.

For tourists visiting Southern California, an option exists to visit Disneyland and other Southern California attractions at a discount. This ticket is called the Southern California CityPass and includes a three-day Park Hopper for Disneyland plus single day tickets to the San Diego Zoo or San Diego Wild Animal Park, Sea World San Diego and Universal Studios Hollywood. My wife and I purchased this ticket when we visited Disneyland and it was perfect for a week of touring Southern California. Currently the Southern California CityPass costs $269 but the value of the tickets included is $379. At $110 discount from gate prices, this ticket package is a great way to visit multiple Southern California destinations.

Because Disney World is an international tourist destination, no similar ticket package exists that includes Walt Disney World. The intent at Disney World is to have you stay on-site, visit only Disney parks, eat at Disney restaurants and spend all your vacation money at Walt Disney World.

Catering to the local crowd, Disneyland offers four Annual Passport options for its parks. These passports range from $169 to $439. The two cheapest Annual Passports are only available to Southern California residents. All except the highest-priced Premium Annual Passport include blackout dates that disallow passholders from coming to the parks on peak dates. From cheapest to most expensive, an Annual Passport can get you into the Disneyland parks for 170, 215, 315 or 365 days. The various Annual Passports come with certain privileges; for example, only the Premium Annual Passport includes parking for the year.

Walt Disney World only offers full year Annual Passes to everyone. The standard Annual Pass ($489) allows the passholder into all four Walt Disney World theme parks every day of the year as well as Park Hopping privileges. A Premium Annual Pass ($619) adds admission to the water parks and DisneyQuest. Parking is included with both Annual Passes, and Florida residents and Disney Vacation Club members receive a discount for these passes. However, Florida residents also have the option to purchase passes with blackout dates as well as an Epcot After 4 Pass. The Epcot After 4 pass is just that; the passholder can visit Epcot any day of the year after 4pm. Disney is hoping to get a lot of World Showcase dinner purchases out of these passholders. Parking is not included with either of the seasonal passes nor the Epcot After 4 Pass.

The circumstances surrounding Walt Disney World and Disneyland again influence each resort's ticket policies. Walt Disney World takes advantage of its size to try to monopolize the visitor's vacation dollars while Disneyland works with the tourism community around it. Disneyland also focuses more on the local visitor than Walt Disney World, but the Florida resort also offers a number of Annual Pass options to Florida residents. In part 3 I will tackle the various dining options for both resorts.

Premier Passport: When is it Worth $700?

Last week, Disney announced the Premier Passport, an annual pass that includes year-round admission to both the Walt Disney World and Disneyland resorts. At $700, the pass seems to come in at a fairly reasonable price since it includes Park Hopper for both resorts, Water Parks & More for Walt Disney World, free parking for both resorts and other bonuses. Let's examine how many days you need to spend at Disney theme parks to make the Premier Passport worth your while.

Walt Disney World sells at most 10 days on a single ticket. A 10 day Magic Your Way adult ticket with Park Hopper and Water Parks & More added on costs $347.00. After 10 days, buying a second ticket increases the price dramatically. An extra two days for an adult costs another $260.00. At $607.00, 12 days of Disney World with Park Hopper and Water Parks and More approaches the Premium Annual Pass price of $619.00.

Disneyland sells at most six days on a single ticket. Excluding online discounts and other promotions, a six day Park Hopper costs $254.00. An extra two days with Park Hopping costs another $151.00, bringing the total to $405.00. The Premium Annual Passport at Disneyland costs $439.00 and includes admission for all 365 days as well as Park Hopping.

If both Premium passes are purchased separately, it costs $1,058.00 to be a Premium passholder at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland. At $700.00, the Premier Passport certainly appears to be a value judging from the price of the annual passes sold separately. However, if a guest is planning to purchase the maximum number of days on a ticket at both Walt Disney World (10) and Disneyland (6) with Park Hopper and Water Parks & More (for Disney World) at a cost of $601, the guest should consider purchasing a Premier Passport instead. The Premier Passport includes parking at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland, which will run $14 a day at both resorts. The parking for 10 days at Walt Disney World alone will overrun the $99 difference between buying regular tickets as opposed to the Premier Passport. In addition, the Premium Passport includes other discounts and perks that may save you even more money.

If planning for extended stays at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland in 365 days, the Premier Passport may save you some money. This article could go on forever discussing all the different options that could add up to saving money with the Premier Passport, but I believe the example above shows the Premier Passport is a viable option for those looking for a year full of Disney Parks.

Big Update: What if you have an Annual Pass and are visiting the other park this year? It's my understanding a current Annual Pass can be upgraded to a Premier Passport for the remainder of its term. (All calculations below exclude any discounts that may be available at the time.)

If you have a Premium Annual Pass for Walt Disney World ($619) and are visiting Disneyland before the AP's expiration, it absolutely makes sense to upgrade to the Premier Passport. A one day Park Hopper costs more ($97) than the difference between the Premium Annual Pass and the Premier Passport ($81).

If you have a standard Annual Pass for Walt Disney World ($489) and are visiting Disneyland before it expires, a three-day Park Hopper ($204) comes close to the difference between the standard Annual Pass and the Premier Passport ($211). AP discounts or parking at Disneyland would make up for the $7 premium over the three-day Park Hopper.

Disneyland has five annual pass options, but for this example I'll use the Premium Annual Passport ($439). Including Park Hopping and Water Parks & More because those are features are included in the Premier Passport, a Premium Annual Passport holder would only need to purchase a two-day ticket ($260) at Walt Disney World to match the Premier Passport's upgrade cost ($261). If a Disneyland visitor chooses to forego the Park Hopping and Water Parks & More features, a 10 day base ticket ($240) still doesn't match the price of an upgrade to the Premier Passport. However, if you include parking, a three day base ticket ($219) plus three days of parking ($42) matches the cost of an upgrade to the Premier Passport ($261).

From all the math above, it seems to me that upgrading to the Premier Passport if you already hold an Annual Pass makes sense. Agree? Disagree? Let me know in the comments.