These Are the Best and Worst Times to Go to Disney World in 2019 (Video)

Walt Disney World updated its ticketing system, which has changed ticket prices on nearly all admission to the Florida theme parks through 2019. With multi-day park tickets on a sliding scale requiring guests to identify which day they’ll first visit the parks, your vacation planning approach will require a bit more finesse going forward.

We’ve priced out the best and worst prices on Walt Disney World admission to make it easier to understand, pinpointing exactly when you’ll save money — and how to avoid spending way, way more. The prices listed below are based on average adult ticket prices, before tax.

Save yourself from endless number-crunching to try to save a few bucks, and take our advice to find the cheapest times to visit. We've also included a few hacks to keep you from overspending, along with insider info on why you should possibly push that summer vacation to Labor Day weekend.

Disney World Ticket Prices for 2019

Over 70 percent of 2-day and 3-day tickets have increased in price for 2019. Some tickets now cost less, particularly in off-season months, but if you travel when school is on break or over a holiday (Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s especially), you’ll get hit hard. Prices can be 14-percent higher during those busy times, meaning that a 4-day Spring Break ticket now costs an additional $60 — enough for more than a few rounds of Mickey pretzels.

Off-season Tickets Will Double Your Fun

Guests traveling during less-popular times — particularly January, February and mid-August — will experience smaller crowds and shorter lines, and save money as well. A quarter of all 3-day tickets have actually dropped in price with Disney’s new ticketing system, saving guests as much as $13 on dates throughout the year.

You can find these tickets where daily pricing is under $102 on the 3-day ticket calendar, or similar prices on other tickets around those times.

The Best Month to Go to Disney World

All of September is basically on sale, with discounted 2-day and 3-day tickets throughout the month and multi-day tickets costing just a few bucks more than they used to. Labor Day has long been a low-key time at the parks, and cheaper prices are even more enticing now.

Visiting in the early fall also means you can enjoy two of Disney World’s seasonal highlights: Epcot International Food & Wine Festival and Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party.

When to Go to Disney World in Spring and Summer

The first half of May has lower-cost admission on many forms of multi-day admission, and despite Disney’s famed fireworks drawing a crowd, early July has some deals as well. Can’t make it then? Try for end of July, starting with July 26. There are some well-priced tickets around the end of summer, too.

What to Know About Changing Disney World Tickets Next Year

Admission can be altered up until midnight of the ticket’s planned first day of use with no change fees applied. You can always upgrade lower-cost tickets to more expensive start dates, but when you apply a more expensive ticket to a less-expensive day, you’ll eat the cost and won’t be credited the surplus money.

Save Money by Planning

In other words, avoid “flexible” tickets. Even though this new option gives you the ability to arrive on any day — and 14 days to use up the pass — it costs even more than the most expensive days of the year. 5-day tickets now cost between $388 and $452, but a 5-day “flexible” ticket is $460. If you can endure the planning headache and pinpoint your first day in the parks, you’ll keep more cash in your wallet.

How to Avoid the Busiest Times at Disney World

The new pricing model explicitly calls out which specific dates are more or less costly, but given that most Disney World guests are traveling in for lengthy vacations, it’s hard to determine if a few hundred dollars saved or spent will change enough people’s plans to affect how busy the parks feel. We recommend using a crowd calendar like Touring Plans, which uses statistics to predict upcoming traffic so you don’t have to.

How to Stretch Your Stay

Previously, guests had 14 days after their first park visit to use multi-day ticket admission, but that window has shrunk drastically for nearly every type of ticket. For example. 2-day tickets now have to be used over four days, and 5-day tickets over eight days.

If you’re craving a longer window of time to spread admission out across your vacation, don’t splurge on Disney’s “flexible date” option. Instead, consider paying for an extra day of admission, as prices dwindle the longer you stay. Case in point: Upgrading to a “flexible” 6-day ticket could cost $76, while adding an extra day, even if you don’t use it, will only be about $10.

Bonus: When Will Star Wars Land Open?

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is slated to welcome guests in late fall 2019, which could mean anything from Annual Passholder previews in September to an end-of-December debut. Nothing has yet been announced, but it is worth noting that Disney’s new ticketing system only sells admission up until December 16 — and with tickets purchased prior to these changes expiring Dec. 31, 2019, it leaves a curious gap over the busy holiday season.