Disneyland just announced their new, more expensive ticket prices. Prices increase almost every year, and Disneyland tickets have been increasing in price annually more than regular inflation, but that’s not what this article is about.

We’re here to help you decide which Disneyland tickets are the best deal for you and your friends and family. While a one-day one-park per day ticket might be right for some people, others might get a much better value by buying multi-day Disneyland tickets or an annual pass, which Disneyland calls a Magic Key pass.

It’s important to note that at the time of publication Disneyland is not currently selling Magic Key passes. They are only available for renewal if you already happen to have one. However, Magic Keys do go on sale periodically, so if this turns out to be the right ticket type for you, make sure you keep an eye on the Disneyland website and Disney news, because the keys tend to sell out very quickly.

It’s also important to note that when we’re talking about Disneyland tickets we’re also talking about Disney California Adventure park tickets. These two parks are across from each other at the Disneyland Resort, and the tickets cost the same. Many guests will buy passes called hoppers that allow them to visit both parks in the same day.

Currently, Disneyland tickets vary in price depending on what day you want to go to the park, if you want to upgrade to a hopper ticket, and if you want to include Genie + or not.

Genie + is a special ticket upgrade that allows you to skip the line on many of the popular rides, but you can only use it once per ride per day, and it’s not guaranteed that you’ll be able to use it on every ride you want as sometimes Genie+ sells out for the day for popular rides. We’re not taking Genie+ into consideration in this article since it costs per day no matter when you visit Disneyland, although, key holders do get a discount.

Now let’s delve into how much Disneyland tickets cost and do a little math to find out the best value for you.

Disneyland Tickets – Price Breakdown

There are three basic types of Disneyland tickets you could get – one-day tickets, multi-day tickets or a Magic Key annual pass. We’ll break down the cost of each one.

One-Day Disneyland Tickets

One-day Disneyland tickets are broken down into different tiers from tiers 0 through 6. If you buy a one-day ticket, how much you pay will depend on which day you want to visit. The tickets are more expensive on popular days like holidays, school breaks and weekends. They are the least expensive on less busy weekdays in the off season, for example, February and possibly mid-September.

Here’s a breakdown of one-day ticket prices per tier:

Tier 0 – $104

Tier 1 – $119

Tier 2 – $134

Tier 3 – $154

Tier 4 – $169

Tier 5 – $184

Tier 6 – $194

If you want to hop between the two parks, the prices increase by $65 per ticket. That would make a Tier 0 ticket $169, for example.

Multi-Day Disneyland Tickets

Disneyland sells multi-day tickets that give you the ability to visit the parks from 2 days to 5 days. These tickets have to be used within 2 weeks of the first day you enter the park, so if you buy a 5 day ticket, you would need to use all 5 days within 2 weeks, or the ticket will expire.

Here’s a breakdown of multi day ticket prices:

2 Days – $310 ($155 per day)

3 Days – $390 ($130 per day)

4 Days – $445 ($111.25 per day)

5 Days – $480 ($96 per day)

There aren’t any tiers for multi-day tickets. You can use them on any day from tier 0 days to tier 6 days. If you want to hop between parks, the price increases by $65 for 2 day tickets, $70 for 3 or 4 day tickets, and $75 for 5 day tickets. That’s not an increase in price per day but per ticket. For example, a 5 day park hopper ticket would be $480 + $75, which is $555.

While we didn’t include it in the price breakdown, buying a child multi-day ticket is slightly less expensive than buying an adult multi-day ticket. For example, a 2-day child ticket is $290 instead of $310.

Magic Keys

There are four Magic Key pass options. The least expensive option (the Imagine key) has a LOT of blackout dates and in only available to Southern California residents. The most expensive option (the Inspire key) only has the winter holidays blocked out. The keys also have various perks like discounted or free parking (depending on which key you get), discounts on food and souvenirs and exclusive merchandise just for key holders.

Here’s how much Magic Keys will cost the next time they go on sale:

Imagine – $499

Enchant – $849

Believe – $1249

Inspire $1649

Magic Keys automatically include the hopper, so hopping between parks doesn’t cost more.

Which Disneyland Ticket Is the Best Value for You?

When to buy one-day Disneyland Tickets

If you’re trying to save money and only want to visit one park for one day without hopping and if you can visit on a Tier 0 day, obviously that’s the best option for you.

If you only have one day to visit Disneyland and you want to see both parks, than a one day hopper ticket would be your best bet.

If you want to visit Disneyland for more than one day, than that’s where the math comes in.

When to buy multi-day Disneyland Tickets

Depending on when you want to visit Disneyland, a multi day ticket may be a better value for you, but you’d have to look at the reservation calendar in order to find out how much tickets cost on the days you want to go. If you want to visit for two days and both of those days are Tier 0, Tier 1, Tier 2 or Tier 3 days, it would be a better value to buy two one-day tickets. However, if you want to visit for two days and those days are Tier 4 or higher, it would be better to buy a multi day ticket.

If you want a hopper ticket the advice above changes slightly. Keep in mind that the hopper add on price is per ticket not per day. If you’re you’re going on Tier 0 or Tier 1 days, it’s a better deal to buy a multi day hopper ticket only if you’re going for 3 or more days. For one or two days, individual tickets are a better deal. If you’re going on Tier 2 days or higher for more than one day, it’s a better deal to buy a multi-day ticket that includes the hopper.

When to buy the Imagine Key

Now, let’s talk about Magic Keys. If you live in Southern California and want to visit at least 4 times throughout the year, an Imagine key is the best value. It’s even cheaper than buying a 4-day hopper ticket, but it’s important to keep in mind that all of the summer, every weekend and the busy times like spring break, and the winter holidays are completely blocked out. If you want to visit after work or school or if you have a schedule that gives you time off on weekdays, than this is the best ticket deal. Definitely check the black out calendar before buying.

When to buy the Enchant Key

If you don’t live in Southern California and are ineligible for the Imagine Key but you’re okay with a lot of blackout dates, your cheapest Magic Key option if the Enchant Key. Even if you live in Southern California, you might want to consider the Enchant Key if you want slightly fewer blackout dates. Unlike the Imagine Key, the Enchant Key does have quite a few Sundays that aren’t blacked out, so that might work for your schedule even if you can’t visit on weekdays.

If you’re going to visit the parks at least 8 days spread out through the year and you’re only going to visit one park per day, an Enchant key would be the best value. If you want to hop between the parks, an Enchant key would be the best value even if you only visit the parks on 5 different days spread throughout the year. This math is based on Tier 0 ticket prices. The savings as a key holder is even greater if you go on higher tier days. However, if you’re going to visit the parks once during the year and visit for 5 days, it would be better to just buy a 5-day park hopper ticket.

Again, the Enchant key has a LOT of blackout dates. Be sure to check the blackout day calendar. This key is worthless if you want to visit once over the summer and once around Christmas.

When to buy a Believe Key

If you want fewer blackout dates, the Believe Key might be right for you. This key is blocked out around Easter, the winter holidays and some weekends, but it can be used during most of the summer and many weekdays and weekends throughout the year.

The Believe Key is cheaper than buying 1-day park tickets if you’re going to visit the parks at least 12 days spread out through the year and you’re going to visit one park per day. If you want to hop between the parks, a Believe Key would be a better value than one day tickets even if you only visit the parks on 8 different days spread throughout the year. This math is based on Tier 0 ticket prices. The savings as a key holder is even greater if you go on higher tier days. However, if you’re going to visit the parks once during the year and visit for 5 days, it would be better to just buy a 5-day park hopper ticket.

If you’re only going to visit the parks on a vacation once or twice a year, it would be a better value to buy multi-day tickets when you visit unless you’ll be visiting for at least 12 days.

When to buy an Inspire Key

We only recommend buying an Inspire Key if the blackout dates for the Believe Key are a problem for you. Otherwise, the price increase isn’t really worth it. Yes, there are some other perks like free parking in the Toy Story lot, but that’s only worth it if you’re going to visit a lot! General parking costs $35 per day, and the Believe Key already gives you half-price parking. That means you’d have to visit at least 23 different days to break even with the free parking. If you really planning on visiting on average at least 23 days a year and you want to visit on days that are blocked off to Believe Key holders, the Inspire Key is the way to go.

Final but Important Thoughts

Keep in mind that we didn’t even mention most of the perks that are included with the Magic Keys, so if you plan to do a ton of shopping at Disneyland, the discounts could potentially sway your decision on what’s the best value for you. If you’re undecided about weather or not a Magic Key is right for you, you can see the blockout calendars here and see all the perks of being a key holder here.

Disneyland sometimes offers ticket deals throughout the year. For example, an upcoming ticket deal is a child ticket (age 3-9) for only $50 for a one day one park ticket. However, these specially discounted Disneyland tickets can only be used from January 8, 2024 through March 10, 2024, basically, the off-season. If you’re planning to visit Disneyland with children between the ages of 3 to 9 during those dates, it might be less expensive to buy them one day Disneyland tickets and buy the adults multi-day Disneyland tickets.

One last note before we go. Keep in mind that you need not only a park ticket buy also a reservation in order to visit Disneyland. Keep in mind that reservations may not always be available on days you want to go, so it’s important to book as far in advance as possible, which is currently 120 days for one-day and multi-day tickets and 90 days for Magic Key holders.