I’ve Tried Almost Every Disney Park Add-On — Here’s Which Ones Are Worth the Extra Cost, and Which Ones Aren’t | ShermansTravel
I’ve Tried Almost Every Disney Park Add-On — Here’s Which Ones Are Worth the Extra Cost, and Which Ones Aren’t
Megan DuBois | July 17, 2024
Courtesy of Walt Disney World
Let’s face it: A trip to Walt Disney World isn’t cheap. Park tickets and accommodations alone can cost a family of four upwards of a thousand dollars in a single weekend.
For an additional fee, Disney offers a variety of add-ons — from early park access and shorter lines to VIP treatment — to enhance your experience. These can be tempting, especially when crowds are big and you’ve already invested so much to be there.
With more than 70 add-ons to choose from, it can be hard to determine which ones are worth it. Over the last 30 years, I’ve tried my fair share of these experiences, and these are the ones to book and the ones to skip.
Staying at a Disney Hotel: Worth It
Credit: Courtesy of Walt Disney World
Where you stay is a major part of the Disney experience. There are hundreds of hotels in Orlando and nearby Disney Springs, and booking off-site may save you money on your room. However, staying at the Disney World resort offers perks that I feel offset the higher cost.
With your Disney World hotel booking, you get access to free transportation around the resort via bus, boat, or Disney Skyliner; 30 minutes of extra time in the parks each morning before general admission; and free parking. Additionally, those staying at Deluxe Resorts like Disney’s Contemporary Resort or Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge get extended evening hours at select parks on select nights.
Starting in 2025, staying on-site gets even sweeter: Disney hotel guests will also get access to either Disney’s Blizzard Beach or Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Parks on their hotel check-in day for free.
Between the ease of getting around, added time inside the park, and cute themed rooms the kids will love, I think staying at a Walt Disney World hotel is worth the extra cost.
Disney World hotels can start at $170 per night at Disney’s All-Star Resorts. If you’re an annual pass holder, keep an eye out for deals that bring prices lower.
Genie+: Not Worth It
Credit: Courtesy of Walt Disney World
Disney Genie+ (soon to become Lightning Lane Multi Pass) is a paid skip-the-line service at Walt Disney World that allows families to book Lightning Lane entry times to ride certain attractions throughout the day for a set cost. Lightning Lane replaced the former skip-the-line service called FastPass+. Disney Genie+ is priced on a sliding scale, based on how busy the parks are and which parks you’re visiting. I’ve seen prices range from $15 to $35 per person per day.
Disney has said that guests who use Genie+ starting at 7 a.m. can experience two or three attractions per day, on average. Those aren’t great odds, considering attractions like Pirates of the Caribbean at Magic Kingdom or Toy Story Mania! at Hollywood Studios can be done early in the morning or late at night with little to no wait.
In my experience, if your family is willing to get to the parks early or stay late, you can get to the same number of attractions as you would with Disney Genie+ without the added fee.
Disney Dining Plan: Sometimes Worth It
When Disney Dining Plans returned in 2024, families rejoiced, as the ability to prepay for meals during a trip is tempting.
In my opinion, there are two major caveats to Disney Dining Plans: First, you must be staying at a Disney-owned hotel and book the dining plan in conjunction with a hotel package. Second, the dining plans include a lot of food (both meals and snacks) and anything you don’t use does not roll over — if you don’t use it, you lose money. I’ve found it can be hard to use all of the dining credits, especially snacks, in a single day.
If you’re considering a Disney Dining Plan, I recommend pricing this out for your family to see if it’s worth it.
Park Hopper or Park Hopper Plus: Sometimes Worth It
With your admission to the four Walt Disney World theme parks, you can add on Park Hopper or Park Hopper Plus.
Park Hopper allows you to visit more than one theme park per day, while the Park Hopper Plus Option allows you to go to multiple theme parks, plus a specified number of visits to one of the water parks, mini golf courses, a 9-hole walking golf course, or the footgolf course during your stay.
Currently, standard non-Park Hopper tickets for those 10 and older start at $109 per day and Disney's ticket prices are on a flexible date-based scale. The more days you add to your ticket, the better value it becomes. According to Disney, you can "Save $20 per ticket when you purchase tickets for three days or more online, compared to the price at the ticket window."
For example, I found a standard three-day ticket in August 2024 for $117.40 a day, which equates to $352.18 per ticket, per person, for one park per day. Adding the Park Hopper pass brought the cost up to $427.18 per ticket, per person; and with the Park Hopper Plus, it’s $447.18 per ticket.
While the add-on is more expensive, the ticket allows you more flexibility, which could become more economical. For instance, if there are only a few things your family wants to do at EPCOT and Disney's Hollywood Studios, you could use Hopper to visit both parks in one day, thus eliminating the need for a four-day ticket.
Water Park Tickets and Cabana Rentals: Worth It
Credit: Courtesy of Walt Disney World
There are two water parks at Walt Disney World: Disney’s Blizzard Beach and Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon. As mentioned previously, entry can be added onto a ticket package, and in 2025 entry to water parks will be included in the price of staying at a Disney hotel.
If you just want to go to the water parks, there are a few other options. Single-day water park tickets start at $64 for adults and $58 for kids with blackout dates, and $74 per adult and $68 per kid without blackout days. For annual pass holders, tickets are $49 for adults and $43 for kids.
The Disney water parks offer a fun and less expensive alternative to the four major theme parks. Entry into either water park includes access to all of the slides, family rides, and attractions.
If your family is looking for a private reprieve at the water park, you may also book a cabana (from $225 for up to six people). Each cabana comes with two towels per person, a locker, bottles of water and refillable mugs for sodas, as well as an attendant.
For a family of four, the included amenity price breakdown to buy each inclusion separately would be:
Towel rentals are $2 per towel. Cabanas come with two per person, so the equivalent price is $16 total.
Locker rentals are $10 to $15 for small or large lockers, respectively. A family of four would likely need a large locker.
Refillable mugs are $13 each, so for a family of four it would cost $52.
Bottles of water at the water park cost $3.75. Estimating two bottles per person brings that cost to $30.
That would make $113 for the amenities, leaving $112 for just the cabana and attendant, who can deliver food, drinks, and fresh towels. For some families, the convenience this offers is worth the cost. Note that, while cabana rentals do include food delivery, the food itself is not included. Guests are also free to bring their own food into the park in a soft-sided cooler.
PhotoPass and Capture Your Moment: Worth It
Credit: Courtesy of Walt Disney World
Disney PhotoPass is a complimentary photo service around Walt Disney World. You’ll likely see these photographers snapping photos of guests in front of iconic locations, like Cinderella Castle or EPCOT’s Spaceship Earth. The PhotoPass Memory Maker lets you download these photos from throughout your vacation for $185, if you book at least 30 days before your trip. (If you purchase the service during or after your trip, the price goes up to $210.) Whether your trip is two days or two weeks, all of your photos with characters and around the park are included for the same cost.
Disney also offers the more intimate Capture Your Moment package for $99. This includes a 20-minute session with a professional photographer at one location in the park of your choosing. I recently did one of these sessions, and the photographer brought props and captured incredible images of me at Magic Kingdom. I felt the experience was worth the price.
While both offer your family the ability to get professional photos from your vacation, Memory Maker is great for longer trips where you may be doing multiple parks, activities, and experiences. Capture Your Moment is better to commemorate big celebrations like birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, and proposals.
Disney Private VIP Tours: Sometimes Worth It
Credit: Courtesy of Walt Disney World
While walking around the theme parks, you may see families led by a Cast Member wearing a plaid vest. Those are Disney VIP guides. For one set cost, which ranges from $450 to $900 per hour (depending on the season), you can get a VIP guide to take your group from park to park to get the most out of your day. The tours include a pre-arrival planning call so your guide knows what your family likes and dislikes, a start time of your choosing, and Lightning Lane entrance for select attractions. Note that park entry is not included with a VIP tour, and tours can accommodate up to 10 people.
Even though the VIP tours are expensive, if price is no hurdle for your family or you’re willing to save up for a more luxury experience, this is the way to do it.
Dessert Parties for Fireworks: Not Worth It
Credit: Courtesy of Walt Disney World
Magic Kingdom hosts dessert parties for its nighttime spectacular, “Happily Ever After.” The dessert parties include a buffet of sweet treats and cheeses, plus drinks to enjoy while you watch the fireworks show. The price is a big hindrance here, with parties starting at $119 for those 10 and older. For significantly less, you can pop into one of Magic Kingdom’s sweets shops or the ice cream parlor on Main Street to get dessert for your family and watch the fireworks from anywhere in the park.
Disney After Hours: Sometimes Worth It
Credit: Courtesy of Walt Disney World
There’s a lot of hype around Disney After Hours, and that’s because it’s totally worth the add-on for families with older kids or those traveling to Walt Disney World with only adults in their group. Disney After Hours is a separately ticketed event that takes place at Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. During Disney After Hours, you get three hours of exclusive park time where rides have short waits, and some snacks and drinks are included. A great bonus to the event is that even though the kickoff time is officially after the parks close — from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. — you can use your Disney After Hours ticket to get into the park at 7 p.m.
