Is Disneyland season pass worth it for Bay Area family
I live in the peninsula and my kids love Disneyland and ask to go back constantly. The tickets to Disneyland are expensive and we were wondering if it makes sense to buy the season pass if we end up going more than once a year despite not living close to Disneyland. Does anybody living in the Bay Area chose to buy the season pass for each member of the family (we have 2 adults, and 2 kids over the age of 3yo) and found it to be worth it and a good deal versus just paying for the tickets when vacationing there? We usually drive down to LA and stay at nearby reasonably priced hotels, so the main cost of our Disneyland trips end up being the tickets to get into the park.
Apr 14, 2017
Parent Replies
Hi there!
I had a season pass during college and felt like it was worth it. But I ended up going down there from Berkeley maybe 7 or 8 times that year.
Just some math based on numbers from the Disneyland website:
You'd need to make at least 5 trips as a family, for two days each, within a year to make it worth it for you.
You'll be the best judge of that, but there's the math.
Every family decision is different, but here's what worked for us. Our typical trip to Disneyland Resort includes three days in the parks. We're not as concerned with holidays or peak times, so we felt we could justify the lower level season pass for the adults if we went 2-3 times per year. We didn't feel the pass was worth it for the kids, given there's no price difference, but there is for the regular passes, and they don't purchase anything to use the discounts.
It really depends on how many days you plan on going, whether or not you get park hopper tickets, if you get multi-day ticket discounts and which pass you get. I would calculate how much you spend on tickets and then divide that number into the cost of the annual pass you're interested in, which will tell you how many times you have to go to make the annual pass worth it. Be sure to look at the blackout days for each of the passes. The cheapest non-Southern California pass blocks out a lot of Saturdays, which may not work for a Bay Area resident.