Disney for a Florida resident
 

Has anyone who is a Florida resident gone to Disney for one day? I got on their web site and saw three- and four-day tickets for 40% off. Our kids are coming and want to take their three-year-old, and would like us to come along. We are Florida residents.

Remember that Magical Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, EPCOT and Hollywood Studios are actually four separate parks. Unless you buy a multi-park pass, you will only be able to go to a single one of these in one day on one ticket. It is possible to try to do everything in a single park in a single day, but you are probably not going to be able to do it even if you get there when the park opens and stay until it closes, especially at busy times of the year (and winter is a busy time). For example, the Avatar Flight of Passage ride still has wait times that can run 3 or even 4 hours. That's for one 3 1/2 minute ride. That shoots a big chunk of your day on just one ride. The only way to shorten that time is to get a FastPass for it and A) I don't believe you can get FastPasses with single-day tickets (you have to get them with an annual pass or by staying at a hotel on the grounds for one or more days) and B) it's nearly impossible to get a FastPass for that particular ride - they go to people who stay on the grounds for 4 or 5 days and can reserve them 64 or 65 days in advance of their visit. Annual pass holders get to try 30 days before their visit and for that ride, the FastPasses are already long gone.

If you really want to do a park in a single day, I would suggest doing a lot of research ahead of time. First, decide which park has the attractions you want to see most. Second, prioritize the attractions within that park and realize you will only be able to get into a handful of them in a single day. Third, try to get a FastPass (which means staying at a hotel on the grounds and that will NOT be cheap). Fourth, show up an hour before the park opens - you can get into the front of most of the parks a half-hour or more before the official opening. Fifth, get comfortable running shoes. Comfortable as you'll be walking around or standing in line on hard pavement all day. Running as you may find yourself needing to sprint to get to rides ahead of lines forming when the park opens. Sixth, plan on staying until the park closes. That makes for a long, tiring day but that's the only way to see some of the big shows that run just before closing (though it may mean that you'll miss other things happening in the park only at the same time).

Actually, forget all that. It's a LOT easier to get a Florida resident annual pass and go to each of the parks several times for just a few hours each time. We found it took about four visits to each park to do everything we wanted. Fortunately, there were a few things (several kiddie rides in Magical Kingdom come to mind) that we never felt a need to do. We've done the same for SeaWorld and for Busch Gardens and will probably do the same for Universal Studios. The cost of the annual passes are a big pill to swallow but if you average it out over the number of visits you'll need to do to fully experience all of the parks, the price per visit gets very reasonable. For the parks that offer free parking with annual passes, you'll save on that as well (especially since daily parking is getting to be $25 and more in most of the parks). And if you go in the morning and leave before noon, you can eat outside of the parks, which saves you a LOT of money. Same thing for eating before going into a park in the evening.

By the way, most of the more affordable annual passes have blackout dates that might prevent you from being able to go at "popular" times like holidays, weekends and much of the summer. Oh well. Do you REALLY want to go when the parks are the most crowded and the lines are the longest? We sure don't.

Thank you for this information. It is very helpful mechanical info.

Our kids have a three+-year-old and an infant who will be about 6 months old at the time of their visit, end of March. We ourselves are not Disney aficionados, but son and DIL thought the 3.5 yr old would enjoy Magic Kingdom. I offered to babysit our infant grandson to free the kids up for going over for a day trip with our granddaughter, but they would like us to come along. They live in Australia, and our time with them is short, so we're inclined to accommodate. I was hoping someone would know how much a day pass is for one park. I should have been more specific.

1 day park admission
 

Walt Disney World Resort

You would think you asked an easy question. Disney has made it a complicated question. Hopefully you can view the link above. They now have pricing on which day of the year you attend. In March they have a few different prices, based on which day you attend. All prices are before taxes. If you know which day you will be attending, you will be able to determine the 1 day price. Their standard price is said to be FROM $109.00 a day plus tax.

If you belong to AAA you can receive a small discount by prebuying your tickets at one of the AAA stores in TV.

Thank you for this helpful information. I've sent it along to the kids.

I just bought a 1 day ticket and went Tuesday with my visiting adult kids.

I think it was around $149 plus I paid $30 extra for the "park hopper" option. We did Magic Kingdom till about 4pm then took the monorail over to Epcot till about 10 pm.

Fastpass is included with every ticket. You can reserve times at 3 rides up to 60 days in advance, but buying the ticket last minute negates that because all the good available fastpass slots are usually already booked.

Thanks. I sent this along to them. They can figure out how much time their three-year-old can handle. I remember when her dad was five and after a long day put his head down on the restaurant table and fell fast asleep.

Go on the mouse saver website. they list discounts

Will their visit be during Spring break? For me...that wouldn't be my cup of tea especially with a toddler and a baby. Years ago, we visited the parks and I remember a parent yelling at a small child saying something to the effect---"we came here, spent A LOT of $$$$ and you WILL have fun!!" The child looked miserable. As someone else mentioned be sure to do a lot of research.

I'm going to offer an opinion--forget Disney for your granddaughter. While that age likes the cartoons, the park is too much. There is a lot of walking so you'll need a stroller. Many rides are age or height restricted. The characters, if you meet them, are "huge" to a child and many are afraid of them--tears and screams. Shows are too intense. We took an elementary child one time and she cried the whole way through several shows.For the price of tickets I'd wait until both children were older. Or, if it's still on the to-do list, make it a short visit and limit what to see. She'll get to do kiddie rides if they exist (we never took a child that young). It's been years since we were there, but my pre-teen/teens enjoyed it more.

Visiting WDW with a 3 yr old
 

We are Disney Vacation owners and annual pass holders. We have kids and grand kids who visit from out of state.
3 year old don't need a ticket, but of course you and the parents will.
I'm not sure if your question is just about tickets. For a 3 year old, the majority of the attractions of interest are in Magic Kingdom. However, if animals are of interest, then Animal Kingdom would also be worthwhile.
WDW has instituted seasonal ticket prices, so make sure the tickets are usable in the time period your family is visiting.
Visiting WDW for the first time is exciting, especially for kids. But, seeing "everything" is time consuming and exhausting. I would recommend staying on site, if affordable. It will make it easier for you to leave the park when everyone needs a break.
In any case, visiting with a 3 year old can be very exciting for parents and grandparents. If you have more specific questions, post them and I'll try to respond. We have 40 years of experience visiting WDW and probably can help.

You don't have to stay at WDW to get Fast Passes. But, you can only make them 30 days in advance. If you have a hotel reservation, they can be made 60 days in advance, which is a BIG advantage.

There is no ticket needed for under 3-years. If they have to buy a child ticket, you can buy as the grandparent and get the FL discount, but only for grandchildren - not adults. Disney is not a good idea for one day. Doing a commando type of one-day visit is tiring.

:ohdear: And impossible for some rides! There are ways people beat the 60 days. :popcorn: