Prices checked against Disney’s website on October 19, 2026.
Late August. On Disney’s own 2027 prices, the cheapest stretch of the year is the last two weeks of August, and Disney says so itself: its ticket page names August 2027 as the month with the lowest-priced 4, 5, 6 and 7 day tickets. Resort rooms followed the same pattern in the three weeks we checked. Here’s the whole year, month by month, and the same trip priced three times so you can see what the calendar does to a real total.
The short answer
- Cheapest: late August 2027. A 5-day ticket starting Tuesday, August 24 works out to about $103 a day before tax, the lowest start date of the year.
- Most expensive: Christmas week. A 5-day ticket starting Friday, December 24, 2027 is $171 a day.
- The gap: a 5-day ticket starting August 24 is $512.57. Starting December 24, it’s $851.51. That’s $338.94 more for every ticket for ages 10 and up, before you’ve booked a room.
How Disney prices tickets by date
Disney sells date-based tickets. You choose a start date when you buy, and the price depends on it. The ticket page shows a calendar with the price per day for every start date, and a link to “see which month(s) offer the lowest price.”
We read that calendar for every month it covers, for a 5-day ticket, one park per day, ages 10 and up, before tax. These are the lowest and highest per-day prices for start dates in each month:
| Start month | Lowest per day | Highest per day |
|---|---|---|
| November 2026 | $150 | $162 |
| December 2026 | $154 | $164 |
| January 2027 | $144 | $154 |
| February 2027 | $152 | $160 |
| March 2027 | $153 | $160 |
| April 2027 | $145 | $157 |
| May 2027 | $142 | $155 |
| June 2027 | $139 | $146 |
| July 2027 | $136 | $143 |
| August 2027 | $103 | $135 |
| September 2027 | $112 | $142 |
| October 2027 | $145 | $160 |
| November 2027 | $147 | $162 |
| December 2027 | $147 | $171 |
Two things stand out. Prices fall through the summer and bottom out in the second half of August, then climb back through late September. And the most expensive week isn’t spring break or summer. It’s the week between Christmas and New Year.
The calendar shows the per-day price rounded, with a “+” after it. Pick a date and Disney shows the exact total.
How resort rates move
Rooms follow the same calendar. We searched Disney’s resort list for a 6-night stay in three different weeks of 2027, for 2 adults and again for 2 adults with children aged 10 and 7. Disney showed the same rates for both. These are its standard average nightly rates, before tax:
| Resort | Aug 22 to 28 | Oct 10 to 16 | Dec 23 to 29 |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-Star Sports (Value) | $155.00 | $180.67 | $282.50 |
| Pop Century (Value) | $218.00 | $240.33 | $372.33 |
| Port Orleans Riverside (Moderate) | $311.33 | $331.67 | $445.33 |
| Animal Kingdom Lodge (Deluxe) | $496.83 | $569.50 | $840.50 |
| Contemporary (Deluxe) | $606.50 | $762.00 | $1,044.83 |
| Grand Floridian (Deluxe) | $797.67 | $950.00 | $1,261.83 |
The Christmas week costs between 43% and 82% more than the August week, depending on the resort. The cheapest room on this list costs 82% more at Christmas.
The same trip, three times
Here’s one trip, priced three ways: a family of four (two adults, a 10-year-old and a 7-year-old), 6 nights at All-Star Sports, and a 5-day ticket starting the day after check-in. Tickets and room only, before tax. The 10-year-old pays the adult price, because Disney’s adult band starts at 10.
| August 2027 | October 2027 | December 2027 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Three 5-day tickets, ages 10 and up | $1,598.61 | $2,279.94 | $2,554.53 |
| One 5-day ticket, ages 3 to 9 | $514.32 | $740.33 | $831.26 |
| 6 nights, All-Star Sports | $930.00 | $1,084.02 | $1,695.00 |
| Total | $3,042.93 | $4,104.29 | $5,080.79 |
Moving this trip from Christmas to late August saves $2,037.86. Moving it from October saves $1,061.36. At a deluxe resort the gaps get bigger: the same trip at Animal Kingdom Lodge comes to $5,093.91 in August and $8,428.79 at Christmas.
What the price doesn’t tell you
The cheapest dates are cheapest for Disney’s reasons, not yours. A few things Disney’s own pages flag that a low price won’t show you:
- Lightning Lane prices also move with the date. Disney says Lightning Lane prices “may be higher during peak periods, including holidays,” and shows them only in the My Disney Experience app, up to 21 days ahead. So you can’t price them when you book.
- Water parks close for part of the year. Disney’s ticket terms say water parks “are subject to extended rehabilitation, seasonal, capacity and weather closures.” If a water park day matters to you, check before you pick your dates. Disney currently lists Typhoon Lagoon as temporarily closed.
None of this makes August a bad choice. It means the right date is the cheapest one that still gives you the trip you want, and only you can weigh that.
Checking your dates in the planner
Disney’s calendar gives you the ticket price. The planner turns that into a trip total.
Put your dates into 1) Tickets & Park Reservations, and enter the ticket price Disney shows for that start date. Put your room rate into 2) Room Reservations. The 4) Costs tab adds them up with your food, extras and a safety buffer, and shows the total, the cost per person and the cost per day. Change the dates and prices, and the total changes with them, so you can compare an August trip with an October one side by side.
For hours, the 1.2) Park Hours tab has a row for each day of your trip, where you enter Disney’s published opening and closing times.
Planning a Disney World trip?
Our free planner is a 12-tab spreadsheet that does the math for you, keeps your tickets, dining and resort details in one place, and can be shared with everyone coming along.
Working out your total
Tickets and a room are two lines of a trip. Food, Lightning Lane, souvenirs and getting there all go on top. Here’s how to work out what your trip will cost, line by line.
Sources
- Walt Disney World, Theme park tickets, checked October 19, 2026. Per-day prices by start date for November 2026 to December 2027, the “lowest price” month tool, exact prices for August 23, August 24, October 11 and December 24, 2027.
- Walt Disney World, Resort hotels, checked October 19, 2026. Standard average nightly rates, 6 nights, in three weeks of 2027, for 2 adults and for 2 adults with children aged 10 and 7.
- Walt Disney World, Lightning Lane passes, checked October 19, 2026.
- Walt Disney World, Water parks, checked October 19, 2026.