Disney has launched 3 new special offers for May through September 2026, with two different hotel deals and one ticket discount for Disneyland and California Adventure. Here’s everything you need to know about these deals, including valid visit dates & details, how much money you’ll save, impacts on crowds, and our advice about taking advantage of these discounts.
For a limited time, children ages 3 to 9 can visit both Disneyland and Disney California Adventure for $50 per child with the purchase of a special 1-Day Park Hopper Ticket. For longer visits, you can also choose 2-day and 3-day ticket options, or even add-on Lightning Lane Multi-Pass directly to the tickets.
Choose when to visit from May 22 through September 7, 2026—subject to theme park reservation availability. These tickets are now available for purchase, and while you can buy directly from Disneyland, this deal is also available via Get Away Today with even greater savings. Currently, their prices are $47 to $49 per day depending on duration, and they are refundable in case something comes up.
This special offer is valid for children ages 3-9 only. Tickets valid for use beginning May 22, 2026, and multi-day tickets expire 13 days after the first day of use or on September 7, 2026, whichever occurs first. Tickets may be used on nonconsecutive days, but note that they do have a fuse. Each day of use constitutes one full day of use. May purchase up to 10 tickets per day.
Offer may not be combined with other ticket discounts or promotions. Subject to restrictions and change or cancellation without notice. Sales may be paused from time to time or terminated at any time. Guests under age 14 must be accompanied by a guest age 14 or older to enter the parks. To board an attraction, children under age 7 must be accompanied by a person age 14 years or older.
Note that, like other ticket deals, this Kids’ Summer Ticket Offer uses a separate “pool” of park reservations, and those are often more limited in availability than regular tickets. Reservations may be difficult to get for any particular date, especially as the ticket expiration date approaches. To ensure best availability, make reservations ASAP.
In each of the last two years, Disneyland has offered a version of this deal. Previously, it was valid for use right now, with visit dates in the winter and early spring (January 7 through March 20 last year). It overlapped with the annual Southern California Resident Ticket Deal, making it especially attractive for locals.
This year, the dates shift to summer: May 22 and September 7, 2026.
This makes sense, as crowds were lower in the summer after the winter and spring ticket deals ended last year, despite the 70th Anniversary starting! Summer has gotten progressively less busy, making it a great time to visit–especially since Anaheim weather is nothing like Orlando.
The other big difference is that the 2026 Kids’ Summer Ticket Special Offer is the same price for Park Hoppers or base tickets. Meaning you can upgrade to the Park Hopper option for free, which was previously a surcharge last year (and the year before). This makes the deal much better year-over-year, assuming you want to Park Hop. It’s actually a clever move on Disney’s part, since parents will still pay extra for Park Hopping privileges.
We’re big fans of Park Hopper tickets for one simple reason: Disneyland and Disney California Adventure are literally less than a football field apart. It’s easy to jump from one to the other, and we do on every single visit. There are a lot of ways to leverage Park Hopping, from entertainment to eating to Lightning Lane maxing.
With that said, if you have small children who won’t stay up late or aren’t concerned about having the most efficient day possible, purchasing Park Hoppers is probably a waste of your money. There’s no one size fits all answer. It might come down to the ratio of kids vs. adults in your party. If you have more kids and fewer adults, the upgrade cost is lower since the kids get the Park Hopper perk for free.
Our analysis of this discount is that it is a shockingly good deal, amounting to a discount of as much as $150 to $369 off multi-day tickets (depending upon duration and the extras you purchase, or don’t). That latter number is not a typo–you can save as much as $369 off a 3-day ticket.
This deal has consistently been the best pricing on Disneyland tickets each of the last several years. And it’s even better this year thanks to the “free” Park Hopper upgrade. Of course, it only applies to children’s tickets and is for the summer, but still. It’s an exceptional deal if it works for your family. And it’s valid for the longest stretch of time when kids are out of school, so even out of state tourists should be able to more easily plan around the deal in 2026.
We’d also add that there are dates at the beginning and end of this ticket deal date range that rank highly on our Cheapest Times to Do Disneyland, which also accounts for hotels and more. So you could do an inexpensive (by Disneyland standards) trip during this promo period in Summer 2026!
If you really want to hack this deal, that 13-day “fuse” window should be sufficient to experience the end of Disneyland70, 2026 D23 Expo, and/or start of Halloween. The same general timeframe would also offer the lowest crowds of the year–just be sure to use your tickets a couple of weeks before the September 7, 2026 end date!
Speaking of crowds, it’s honestly hard to say just how bad they’ll be as a result of this deal. Probably not as bad as the last two years when this deal has coincided with winter and spring, which has become increasingly busy. That’s precisely why this deal is happening from May to September and not being offered from January through March.
Last year, May through September was less busy than January through March. February and March were the #2 and #1 worst months, respectively. January wasn’t as bad, but was still worse than May through September. And keep in mind, the Disneyland 70th Anniversary started in May!
It’s hard to say whether this discount will reverse those trends. Frankly, we doubt it. April was the third busiest month of last year, and this discount ended by then. It was crowded despite that due to Spring Break and Easter. And likewise, February and March were busy because of Ski Week and Spring Break.
Still, we’re anticipating that Summer 2026 will be much busier year-over-year. Anecdotally, we saw a noticeable increase in strollers and families around the parks during the final few weeks of the promotion in each of the last two years–many more than normal. Saving $150 to $369 on each kids’ ticket is simply too good of a deal to pass up for many families.
With this deal shifting to Summer 2026 when school is out of session, that will make this deal even more accessible to out of state tourists. The extent to which that’ll happen is impossible to predict at this point, but that’s something our 2026 Disneyland Crowd Calendars will be updated to take into consideration once data starts to roll in. Stay tuned.
For more holistic guidance that’s less subject to change significantly, consult our list of the 10 Best & Worst Weeks to Visit Disneyland in 2026 & 2027. The ticket deal is the main event, but we also want to bring a couple of new hotel discounts to your attention…
Save Up to 25% on Select Stays at a Disneyland Resort Hotel
Save up to 25% on select rooms types of 4 or more nights at a Disneyland Resort hotel, from May 22 through September 7, 2026. Subject to availability and restrictions.
This summer, stay 4 nights or more—weekdays or weekends—and enjoy savings on both Standard and Premium room types at these magical Disneyland Resort hotels:
Save up to 25%
Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa
Disneyland Hotel
The Villas at Disneyland Hotel
Save up to 15% at:
Travel must be completed by September 8, 2026.
Disney Visa Cardmembers: Save Up to 25% DLR Hotels
This summer, save on Sunday through Thursday night stays from May 22 through September 7, 2026.
Save up to 25% on premium rooms
Save up to 20% on standard rooms
This offer is valid at these Disneyland Resort hotels:
Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa
Disneyland Hotel
The Villas at Disneyland Hotel
Pixar Place Hotel
Book now through August 25, 2026. Travel must be completed by September 8, 2026.
I’m not going to fixate on these hotel discounts, because the majority of guests–especially deal hunters–aren’t going to have too much interest in staying on-site at Disneyland. It’s fundamentally different than Walt Disney World, and the recent loss of Early Entry makes it even more difficult to justify the premium pricing (even at a discount).
What I will say is that, if it’s a once in a lifetime trip, special occasion or money is no object, we’d highly recommend going with Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa. It’s typically the most expensive of the trio, but it’s also the most “worth it” from our perspective.
The Grand Californian is a true luxury resort and thematic gem–think of it as the best parts of Wilderness Lodge and Grand Floridian, combined in a single hotel. It’s far and away our #1 hotel at DLR, and if money were no object, it’s where we’d always stay at Disneyland.
If you’re going to book a Disney-owned hotel, we recommend requesting a fee-free Disneyland vacation price quote from Be Our Guest Vacations.
Those Authorized Disney Vacation Planners will do the work for you and take the stress out of planning, finding the best available dates, making recommendations with plans, booking dining reservations, and monitoring your reservation for better discounts (it’s not going to get better than this).
For a more thorough comparison between Disneyland Resort’s hotels, see Disneyland Hotel vs. Grand Californian or Pixar Place Hotel vs. Disneyland Hotel. We don’t have a GCH vs. PPH comparison (yet), but you can probably surmise how it’d play out based on those head-to-heads.
There are also a ton of great off-site hotels that are within walking distance to the parks and cost much less money than the three Hotels of Disneyland Resort. As you can see in our Disneyland Area Hotel Rankings & Reviews in 2026, some of these even rank higher than the off-site hotels.
If you’re looking to book a third party hotel, we recommend booking a discounted hotel + ticket vacation package via Get Away Today. In addition to the package discount, some hotels have ‘Extra Night Free’ promos. Save an extra $10 by using code TOURIST at checkout (valid on 2-night and longer stays). Click here to check out the package discounts available.
Planning a Southern California vacation? For park admission deals, read Tips for Saving Money on Disneyland Tickets. Learn about on-site and off-site hotels in our Anaheim Hotel Reviews & Rankings. For where to eat, check out our Disneyland Restaurant Reviews. For unique ideas of things that’ll improve your trip, check out What to Pack for Disney. For comprehensive advice, consult our Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide. Finally, for guides beyond Disney, check out our Southern California Itineraries for day trips to Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, and tons of other places!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Are you taking advantage of the 2026 Kids’ Summer Special Ticket Offer at Disneyland? Thoughts on the up to 25% off discounts on the Hotels at Disneyland Resort? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Get our free newsletter!
Sign up for news, Disney deals & free planning tips
