When it comes to family fun, few destinations rival Disney. Who can resist high-octane rides, thrilling entertainment and a cartoon cast for every generation?
But wherever you embark on your Disney adventure, costs can quickly spiral. Here’s our guide to getting the best bang for your buck at Disney theme parks all over the world.
Disneyland Paris
If visiting Disneyland Paris, where possible, swerve seasonal celebrations like Easter , Halloween and Christmas
Highlights of Paris’ two parks include the recently spruced-up Sleeping Beauty Castle, Indiana Jones and The Temple of Peril and Ratatouille: The Adventure.
Best value time to visit: Where possible, swerve seasonal celebrations like Easter, Halloween and Christmas. French school holidays differ from ours, too, so do your research to get a better deal. Failing that, prices in January, February, September and November are likely to be much lower. Ditto with weekdays over weekends.
Park tickets: As a rule of thumb, the more days you visit Disney parks, the cheaper the price. For deals, check third party outlets like attractiontickets.com.
Budget stays: A night at Hotel Marne-la-Vallée Val d’Europe, a ten-minute drive from the park, is £117 with breakfast for a family of four in the summer (hotel-bb.com). For a real budget option, happy campers can stay under canvas on a pitch with electricity at the Camping International de Jablines, a 20-minute drive from Disneyland Paris, from £14pp/pn (camping-jablines.com).
Eat for less: The Earl of Sandwich serves everything from breakfast to salads and sandwiches, with most items under a tenner. Packed lunches are allowed inside the park.
Disneyland California; Disney World Florida
Walt Disney World, in Orlando, is the bigger – and arguably better – sister of the original, with over 173 rides to choose from
The first site to open, Disneyland California is home to the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty Castle. Walt Disney World, in Orlando, is the bigger – and arguably better – sister of the original, with over 173 rides to choose from.
Best value time to visit: Disney offers official deals throughout the year, with January to May ones generally better than those around winter holidays.
Tickets: Shop around discount providers for the best deals. Opting for ‘1 Park Per Day’ tickets, rather than ‘Hopper’ tickets should save you some cash.
Budget stays: For Disneyland, some off-property hotels are just as close to the action as pricier on-site offerings. A 25-minute walk from the park, doubles at DoubleTree Suites by Hilton start from £105 (hilton.com). For Disney World, you’re better off at the value resorts onsite, such as the All-Star Movies Resort, where doubles start from £118, and two children under 18 stay for free.
Eat for less: Food is allowed inside the park. If you do eat onsite, avoid table-service restaurants to keep costs down.
Disneyland Tokyo
The train from central Tokyo to Disneyland takes just 24 minutes and costs only around £2
Japan’s capital has two parks, Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea, as well as six hotels all within easy reach. The train from central Tokyo takes 24 minutes and costs around £2.
Best value time to visit: Currently, the yen is very weak, so if Japan is on your travel wish list, don’t put off a trip. Mid-January to mid-March is considered off-peak.
Tickets: Only one-day tickets are currently available and it’s cheapest to use the official website, tokyodisneyresort.jp/en. It’s £44 for adults, £37 for children aged 12 to 17 and £26 for ages four to 11 (under threes go free). Weekdays Tuesday to Friday see the smallest crowds.
Budget stays: Family rooms at Mitsui Garden Hotel Prana Tokyo Bay cost from £117 in high season, with a free 15-minute shuttle to the park, gardenhotels.co.jp. The same night in the Hotel MiraCosta at DisneySea costs £440.
Eat for less: International fast food options will fill bellies without a huge outlay – a small salami pizza at Pan Galactic Pizza Port in Tokyo Disneyland costs around £4. Otherwise, don’t miss Ikspiari mall, located at the park’s gateway; it’s open late and has much cheaper options, plus a great supermarket, ikspiari.com.
Currently, the yen is very weak, so if Japan is on your travel wish list, don’t put off a trip
Hong Kong
The smallest theme park in the empire, Hong Kong Disneyland is a 30-minute MTR train from both the airport and city centre. Comprising eight lands, the newest of them, World of Frozen, opened in 2023.
Best value time to visit: Avoid holidays such as Golden Week (May and October) and Lunar New Year (January or February), as well as local school holidays and weekends. Mondays and Fridays are the busiest weekdays.
Tickets: This Disneyland’s succinct size means you can do it in a day, which keeps ticket costs low. Find savings on klook.com, which has adult tickets at £59.85 and children/seniors at £45.69, saving around £14.
Budget stays: Stay in central Hong Kong for the best deals; a room for four at the Dorsett Tsuen Wan hotel in Kowloon is just under £100 a night, dorsetthotels.com.
Eat for less: Packed lunches are allowed inside the park. Citygate Outlets is a ten-minute cab ride away in Tung Chung and has 40 dining options.
Shanghai
The newest Disney park has eight lands, including Toy Story Land and Zootopia, plus two hotels and Disneytown for entertainment, dining and shopping.
Best time to visit: November to May has the smallest crowds and cooler weather – but avoid weekends and major holidays. A 20-minute cab ride from the airport costs around £11 with the DiDi app, which works like Uber. From central Shanghai, the subway takes up to an hour but costs just a few pounds.
Budget stays: If you’re travelling with young children, the Toy Story Hotel is hard to argue with, particularly as rooms start from around £150. Otherwise, The Courtyard by Marriott, which has a free park shuttle and comes in at £136, is a good option, marriott.com.
Tickets: The cheapest one-day ticket we found for adults was £48, and £36 for children/seniors over 60. Download the Shanghai Disney Resort Official App to get access to any relevant food and beverage discounts plus the Disney Standby Pass, which lets you reserve times to enter ride queues.
