There was an excellent article that was just published, by Travel + Leisure, which discussed the better times of year to visit the Walt Disney World Resort, as well as the not so great times.  When considering the criteria for making their judgements, they evaluated travel expenses, pricing at both on-site and off-site Disney World properties, the volume of visitors in the parks, and, of course, the price of park tickets.

Disneyland in Anaheim, California was Disney's first theme park creation, but Disney World in Orlando, Florida soon followed.  The two parks sit on opposite sides of the country, and, according to Google maps, the 2,499 miles between them can be driven in 34 hours.  But, for the average family of 4 that doesn't live close to either park, which one offers the more affordable vacation?

Hipmunk, a trip and travel planning website, took on this question and delivered some interesting results.  The graphic below illustrates most of their findings.  For a larger version, please click here.


After looking over this graphic, we offer 3 main takeaways:

• Flights into Los Angeles are generally 1/3 more expensive than flights into Orlando
• Tickets (admission) to Disney World are roughly 10% more expensive than tickets to Disneyland
• The biggest price discrepancies lie in whether a family decides to stay at a Disney property, or at a non-Disney hotel.  For a family looking to save money, this is, by far, the area where the most savings can be realized.  At Disney World, vacationers can save an average of 60% by staying at a non-Disney property.  And, at Disneyland, the savings are almost 70%.

*Staying at a Disneyland property is more expensive than a Disney World property, but that's only because Disneyland offers a small handful of options, and Disney World offers 31 total properties to stay at.