Why You Need to Buy Your 2023 Disney World Tickets NOW

If you’re planning to visit Disney World at any point in 2023 (or even the remainder of 2022), the time to buy your tickets is NOW.

Toy Story Land

We’ve shared a complete guide to Disney World tickets, and have a whole page dedicated to tickets. We’ve also shared our tips for doing Disney World on a budget in 2022 and 2023, the best Disney World restaurants for first-timers in 2023, and the 2023 dates you should know. But why is it critical that you buy your Disney World tickets for 2023 (and the remainder of 2022) NOW? Allow us to explain.

On December 8th, 2022, Disney World ticket prices for 1-day, 1-park tickets will be changing. Disney has revealed that starting on December 8th, park-specific pricing will be implemented for 1-day, 1-park tickets.

What does this mean? Well, it means that the price of your 1-day, 1-park ticket will not just depend on the day you choose to visit, it’ll also depend on what park you want to visit.

Cosmic Rewind

Right now, a 1-day, 1-park ticket for Magic Kingdom is priced the same as a 1-day, 1-park ticket for EPCOT on the same date. All you essentially do right now is buy a standard ticket (not tied to any of the 4 specific parks) and then make a Park Pass for the park you want to visit. Starting December 8th, that won’t be the case.

Instead, you’ll experience “surge pricing” based on what park you want to visit. You’ll end up buying a 1-day, 1-park ticket for the specific park you want to visit (and a Park Pass for that park will automatically be made for you at that time).

EPCOT China Pavilion

Magic Kingdom will ultimately reach the highest levels. Here’s the price range for 1-day, 1-park tickets starting December 8th:

Disney’s Animal Kingdom — $109-$159 (prices are staying the same as current costs)
Disney’s Hollywood Studios — $124-$179
EPCOT — $114-$179
Magic Kingdom — $124-$189

Expedition Everest

Disney has shared that the $189 price at Magic Kingdom will only be used for a limited number of days around Christmas and New Year’s. Still, that marks a big increase from the $159 price that a 1-day, 1-park ticket is priced at now for that same time period.

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party

So why should you buy your tickets now? Well, if you buy your theme park tickets now (either for the remainder of 2022 or all the way through the end of 2023 — which is the furthest you can purchase now), you’ll be able to “lock in” the current pricing.

Instead of having to pay that $189 price for a 1-day, 1-park ticket for Magic Kingdom that’ll go into effect on December 8th, for days around Christmas and New Year’s, you’ll be able to lock in the current prices of $159 (which are in place for both 2022 and 2023).

©Disney

Also, if you buy the tickets in their current form, you should be able to just buy a “standard” ticket and then make a Park Pass for whatever park you want to visit. You can then edit and change that Park Pass later on if you change your mind. In other words, your current ticket is not specifically tied to any one park, so you have a bit more freedom there.

In the future, however, it appears your ticket will be tied to a specific park (due to that park-specific pricing), which can be a bit more limiting. Disney has yet to provide details as to how (if at all) changes could be made if you later want to change your ticket to a different park.

How much cash are you willing to drop on Disney?

Disney has also shared that prices for select add-ons, like Park Hopper, will change on December 8th. Pricing for Park Hopper and Park Hopper Plus will vary by date starting December 8th.

Right now, those add-ons are offered at a more standard price, so again, buying your tickets and add-ons now can help you “lock in” a good rate, particularly for those really expensive/popular dates.

The 50th Anniversary is still going on

If you’re looking to lock in the cheapest possible price for your 1-day, 1-park Disney World ticket and ticket add-ons like Park Hoppers and Park Hopper Plus for the rest of 2022 and 2023, buying your tickets and ticket add-ons NOW could be your best bet.

Keep in mind that for now, this park-specific pricing will only be introduced for 1-day, 1-park tickets, so if your trip will involve other ticket types, then this might not impact you at all. But given the ticket price increases we’ve seen in the past (we saw a sneaky increase in February of 2022 for 2022 tickets and a hidden increase on 2023 tickets in June of 2022), you might be better off buying your tickets sooner rather than later to avoid any potential future increases.