Choose Your Disney World Tickets

Hello, my name is Anne and welcome back to my series of video guides that show you how to plan your Disney World vacation. Remember that we're using the Mouse Map to help plan your vacation. In this video, we'll explore the basics of Disney World tickets and help you decide the best options for your family. You may want to turn to Page 11 in the Mouse Map to follow along.

Disney calls the basic theme park admission the Magic Your Way ticket or base ticket. You buy a ticket with the number of days you want to visit the theme parks. For example, if you're planning a weeklong vacation, you'll probably get the 7-day ticket. The base ticket is valid for admission to one theme park for each day on your ticket. You chose one theme park to visit each day. And the ticket is good for 14 day after you first use it.

The cost of a one-day adult base ticket is about $72. The price per day goes down with each day that you add. The 7-day adult base ticket is about $220, and that's about $30 for each day so it's a good value. Children's tickets cost about 15 percent less than adult tickets.

Now, if you want to visit more than one theme park each day, you must purchase the Park Hopper Option to add to your base ticket. This costs $50 per person for your entire stay. Just so you'll know, the base ticket that's automatically included with most Disney vacation packages gives you admission to only one park each day. If you want to "park hop," you must add the Park Hopper Option.

Okay, what if you want to visit one of the water parks or DisneyQuest? That's another ticket. You can buy separate tickets for about $40 per adult. However, you can buy another add-on to your Magic Your Way ticket -- the Water Park Fun and More Option. It's a flat rate of $50 per ticket for adults and children. That's a great bargain if you are planning two or more visits to a water park or DisneyQuest.

Remember that the Magic Your Way ticket is good for 14 days. What if you're planning to stay longer than two weeks? Disney offers yet another add-on called the No Expiration Option. My feeling is that the recent increases in the cost of the No Expiration Option have reduced its value. But do the math to see if it would work for you.

If you're thinking about returning to Disney World within a year, you might want to look at the Annual Pass. You could squeeze the most out of your Disney World tickets by scheduling your next vacation in 11 and a half months.

Look on Page 11 for more details on the Magic Your Way ticket. Then turn to Page 81 for other ticket choices and a worksheet to calculate prices. This chart will help you decide on the best ticket choices for your Disney World vacation.

If you already have a copy of the Mouse Map, you can start calculating your Disney World tickets right now. If you don't have a copy, click here to order your copy.