Disneyland’s new $59 evening tickets offer a poor return on your investment if you’re looking to save money and get the biggest bang for your buck on your next visit to the Anaheim theme park.
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Disneyland’s new evening ticket costs 5% to 120% more than comparable tickets when you break down the hourly cost of the visit.
Disneyland and Disneyland California Adventure will offer $59 evening tickets good for five hours on Sundays through Wednesdays from July 12 through Aug. 5.
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Daily tickets good for a single park for the entire day on those dates range from $149 to $184.
Tiered prices for single-day, single park tickets to Disneyland and DCA throughout the year range from $104 to $224.
Parking at Disneyland resort parking structures and surface lots will remain $40 for evening ticketholders.
Disneyland is typically open for 16 hours a day during the summer while DCA is usually open for 14 hours.
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Doing the math, the hourly cost of the $59 evening ticket is higher than even the most expensive day of the year at Disneyland.
Bundling in $40 for parking, the cost of the $59 ticket works out to $19.80 per hour.
Getting into Disneyland with parking for the full day when the evening tickets are available costs $189, $209 or $224 depending on the date you choose. That works out to $11.81 to $16 per hour depending on the date and park you choose.
Throughout the year, the cheapest $104 tickets with parking cost $9 per hour for Disneyland and $10.29 per hour for DCA.
The most expensive $224 tickets with parking breaks down to $16.50 per hour for Disneyland and $18.86 per hour for DCA.
That means the hourly cost of the new Disneyland evening ticket is:
- 24% to 68% more than a daily ticket on the same dates
- 5% to 20% more than the most expensive dates of the year
- 92% to 120% more than the cheapest dates of the year
Visiting Disneyland or DCA on the cheapest $104 dates usually falls on the least desirable dates when the parks close earlier and nighttime entertainment is trimmed back. The most expensive $224 dates fall on the most popular days of the year with the longest hours and wall-to-wall nighttime entertainment.
You can do a lot at Disneyland in five hours using the new $59 evening ticket if you manage your time efficiently.
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The Disneyland website suggests you hit Rise of the Resistance, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, Pirates of the Caribbean and Peter Pan’s Flight with the $59 evening ticket. The combined average wait times for those five rides works out to about 3 hours, according to Thrill Data.
Nighttime entertainment when the $59 evening ticket is available will include the Paint the Night parade, “Fantasmic” nighttime spectacular and “Wondrous Journeys” fireworks show at Disneyland. It’s possible to see all three in about an hour if you plan things just right.
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That leaves you about an hour to grab a bite to eat, snap some selfies with Disney characters and hop on a few more rides. The last hour of the night at Disneyland often has the shortest wait times of the entire day.
Don’t waste your time shopping during your five-hour evening ticket window. The shops on Main Street USA stay open 30 to 60 minutes after the park closes.
Disney California Adventure is easier to tackle in five hours with the evening ticket.
The Disneyland website recommends hitting Radiator Springs Racers (80 minute average wait time) and Guardians of the Galaxy — Mission: Breakout (50 minutes) — which will eat up nearly half of your night.
Nighttime entertainment at DCA will be limited to the “World of Color Happiness” water show when the $59 evening ticket is available.
The limited-time evening tickets are on sale now for July 12-15, July 19-22, July 26-29 and Aug. 2-5.
The evening tickets are good from 7 p.m. to midnight at Disneyland and 5-10 p.m. at Disney California Adventure.
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Evening ticketholders must make a theme park reservation with a limited number of spots allocated each night.
Disneyland warns reservations for evening tickets may be difficult to get as the Aug. 5 expiration date approaches.
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