Disneyland & Area: What's the smartest way to buy tickets?

[HappieMommie]

Hi guys,

We are headed down to California for vacation in December, and I am overwhelmed with options for economical attraction tickets.

We will leave on Nov. 29, and our hotel is booked for Dec. 3-12 in Anaheim. Our kids are 2, 6, and almost 10. We are driving down from Calgary (pray for us) and would like to see the following:

-Disneyland/CA This is our priority. We would like about 5 days here.
-Universal Hollywood - one day should do the trick, hey?
-LEGOLAND! We love it here. I think we only want to spend one day here, too.

We are not interested in SeaWorld, or the Zoo.

We have about 3000 airmiles.

What's the best way to do this? Help!

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

When I've gone to Disneyland in the past I've bought them from Disney either through a package with a disney hotel or through the Disneyland website.

 

[Susie63]

For Disneyland, you should look into the Disney Y.E.S. program for individual enrollment. Your 10 yr. old will get to participate in a fun filled 3 hour class in DL or DCA. One parent must accompany him during the session. It usually runs about 10-1. My daughter who is 11....loved it(she did 2 different programs). The perk of this program is that you get to buy discounted park hoppers for the whole family. If you don't attend the course though, they will charge you the difference between the discounted tickets and the regular price. My DD loves to tell the story of how she went to school in Disneyland. The programs coincide with your dates and run on the 6th and 7th.
I would sign up for Travelzoo for discounted tickets for Legoland.

 

[HappieMommie]

Wow! Thanks! This is all great advice!


How does ticket upgrades work? If I order a 3 day hopper pass with Airmiles, and we want to visit for 5, do they increase them at the gate after the 3rd day?

 

[Aladora]

Wow! Thanks! This is all great advice!


How does ticket upgrades work? If I order a 3 day hopper pass with Airmiles, and we want to visit for 5, do they increase them at the gate after the 3rd day?

We did a combo of upgrading Airmiles tickets and buying APs through way.com.

I redeemed AM for my 5 day PH and bought DH and DS APs thought way.com. Way.com had the APs for $475.00, $24.00 less than gate prices. When we arrived at DL, I took their two AP vouchers and my 5 day PH and upgraded it immediately to an AP without any problems at all. Super easy and saved $ on all of our passes.

The only thing with using way.com as a Canadian is that you have to call to order the tickets instead of buying them online. The gentleman I dealt with on the phone was really helpful and the e-mails arrived really quickly!

Now that we have APs, we'll probably just renew them through Disney but if not, I would absolutely go with way.com again!

Pm me with any questions!

 

[HappieMommie]

Thank you! I'm sure I could pop to the website and check myself...but is there a savings with purchasing APs, as opposed to the 5 day park hoppers?

 

[mrwinky]

This trip we head down from Calgary on Nov 13th to 21st, we purchased Citypasses from Costco, $309, and $289 I think for adults and kids, I'll be upgrading our citypass to 5 day hoppers at the park for $150 when down there. (3 adults 1 child) As for LEGOLAND when we did it in 2008 DQ use to have coupon to buy 1 get 1 free admission, it might still be something they offer down in SD area, I would suggest posting in the Southern Cal forum to see if that's an option. I personally didn't think lego land was worth it at full price, (at the time kids were 4 and 13) LEGOLAND I think is best for 3-10 year olds, I'm a huge lego freak so I enjoyed the models they had, but other then that the rides where pretty week

Enjoy the trip

 

[Aladora]

Thank you! I'm sure I could pop to the website and check myself...but is there a savings with purchasing APs, as opposed to the 5 day park hoppers?

On way.com?

Here are the adult prices there, if that is what you were asking about:

5 day PH: $275.00 reg. $300.00 on DL site (No MM entry)
5 day PH: $259.00 (with MM entry)
Deluxe AP: $475.00 reg. $499.00 on DL site

Prices for PH are lower for under 10 year olds.

When I upgraded my Airmiles 5 day PH to a deluxe AP, I was credited the $300.00 amount and only paid $199.00 for the upgrade.

Editing to add Citypass info.

Citypass: $299.00, reg. $319.00


Hope that answered your questions!