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For the past year, I’ve made it my mission to visit every Disney Park in the world. I reached that goal last month and joined the ranks of the “Six Castle Club,” named so because out of the twelve Disney parks on earth, six of them have a castle. Disney parks span six cities on three continents: Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Anaheim, Orlando, and Paris.
Strategic use of credit card points and miles helped me on my quest, allowing me to splurge on business class flights overseas, spend free nights in luxury hotels, earn extra points in the parks, and even cover the cost of admission.
Tens of thousands of people visit the twelve Disney parks every day, and too many of them pay full price. Let’s take a magical trip across the Disney park universe and look at the top ways to save and earn with credit cards at each park.
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The U.S. Disney Parks: Disneyland, CA & Walt Disney World, FL
My husband and I grew up on the West Coast visiting the original Disneyland often, so when our own kids reached elementary school age, we found we wanted to visit the Anaheim parks more often than our budget allowed. That’s when we began our credit card points and miles journey to fund flights, lodging, admission, and more. Eventually, we added in trips to Disney World in Florida, using many of these Disney tips to make the U.S. parks more affordable.
Over the past year, I leveled up my Disney dreams and aimed to join the Six Castle Club, starting in October 2022 with the two parks in France — Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney Studios — and culminating in October 2023 with a trip to all three Asia parks: Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong Disneyland.
The following tips will help you visit Disney’s overseas parks while making the most of credit card points and miles along the way.
Saving on Flights to Overseas Disney Parks
Points and miles make overseas travel more affordable, and lots of flexible points currencies transfer to dozens of international airlines, giving travelers numerous options.
My personal favorite way to use miles to fly to Europe or Asia for a Disneyland trip involves both AAdvantage miles and Alaska miles, two airlines in the Oneworld alliance. I’m happy anytime I don’t have to transfer miles, and both of these airlines offer cobranded personal cards you can open to use easily redeemed miles. Earn AAdvantage miles or Alaska miles easily by opening one of several personal and business cards from Citi, Barclays, and Bank of America.
Related: Which Citi American Airlines AAdvantage credit card is right for you?
Because they’re in the same alliance, you can redeem AAdvantage miles and Alaska miles to book the same flights on their separate platforms.
For instance, when we took our daughter to London and Disneyland Paris, we booked two economy tickets on American Airlines using AAdvantage miles. Then we booked one economy ticket on the same American Airlines flight — but with Alaska miles through Alaska’s website.
For Asia, I used 60,000 Alaska miles through Alaska’s site to fly business class on Japan Airlines from SFO-HND for only $19 in taxes and fees and 60,000 AAdvantage miles to book the same flight back through American Airlines for under $50.
For Hong Kong and Shanghai Disneyland, it’s often easier to find award flights in and out of Tokyo than Hong Kong or China. Budget carriers operate short flights between Tokyo, Hong Kong, and China. So, one economical way to include all three Asia parks in one trip involves positioning yourself in Tokyo to get back and forth across the Pacific and booking cheap cash flights to Hong Kong and Shanghai.
How to Save at Disneyland Paris
The romantic castle with a dragon underneath will knock your socks off, and Crush’s Coaster at Walt Disney Studios is unique to that park, but a lot of the other rides are repeats, making the parks in France doable in a day for seasoned U.S. park veterans.
Save money by purchasing park-hopper tickets and reducing Disneyland Paris to a one-day, two-park outing. Buy $32 Navigo Passes and take public transportation around Paris and all the way out to the parks (a 45-60 minute train ride from the city).
Disneyland Paris Admission
Like the other overseas parks, Disneyland Paris tickets can cost as little as half as much as U.S. admission, averaging only $88/day. Purchase admission through a third-party site like AttractionTickets.com, and your purchase will code as “travel” on your Capital One card, making the cost purchase-eraser eligible with Capital One miles. (FYI: Disneyland Paris offers a superior military discount online and also a generous disability discount at the gate).
The Bilt Rewards travel portal offers Disneyland Paris tickets; with Bilt Rewards worth 1.25 on portal redemptions, you’ll increase your rewards by 25% booking through Bilt.
Disneyland Paris Lodging
If you decide you want multiple days in the parks, staying on property adds convenience but only gains 30 minutes of early entry. Our early arrival morning at the Paris parks didn’t pay off — queues for the most popular rides remained long in the morning, single-rider lines didn’t save time, and (of course) rides broke down.
With most of the tired Disneyland Paris resorts needing updates, it makes more sense to book with IHG One Rewards points at the new Holiday Inn Express Marne-la-Vallée Val d'Europe or use Marriott points at the Moxy Paris Val d’Europe just a train ride away.
Using points for airfare, treating the parks as a day trip, and taking advantage of reduced admission make Disneyland Paris affordable for many travelers. Now, let's turn to the Asia parks and consider the multiple ways to save.
Japan Tokyo Disneyland & DisneySea
Located on Tokyo Bay, the two parks in Japan consist of a traditional Disneyland replica and a gorgeous ode to the ocean: Tokyo DisneySea.
Tokyo Disney Admission
Travelers often have trouble making purchases on Japanese websites using U.S. credit cards — and this includes Tokyo Disneyland. Instead, purchase tickets for the Tokyo Parks through Klook.com, and stand amazed at how little they cost (some of the lowest-priced Disney tickets in the world, sometimes as low as $60/person)!
You can’t purchase park hoppers in Tokyo, so you’ll need a separate ticket for each park if your plans include both Tokyo Disneyland (very similar to the original Disneyland) and the gorgeous Tokyo DisneySea.
What you save on admission, invest in Premier Access (akin to U.S. Individual Lightning Lanes) for rides like Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast at Toyko Disneyland and Journey to the Center of the Earth at DisneySea. Premier Access runs $10-$15 per person per attraction.
The Tokyo Disney parks also currently offer the 40th Anniversary Priority Pass, a complimentary service that functions like Disney Genie+. Our morning at the Tokyo parks included fast walking to a standby line while booking Priority Pass and purchasing a Premier Access every hour. The rides sell out around lunchtime, so ride as much as possible early in the day.
Remember to book everything in the parks on a credit card for travel purchases. I booked using my Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (Rates & Fees), and every purchase coded as travel. So, I earned 3x points in the parks!
Tokyo Disney Lodging
Staying on property at the Tokyo parks provides only 15 minutes of early entry. Some would argue that’s worth it, simply because guests visiting the Tokyo parks suffer some of the longest Disney lines in the world. While we definitely waited in line for everything from attractions to popcorn, I don’t think that extra 15 minutes warrants parting with hundreds of dollars per night to book a Tokyo Disney Resort.
Transfer flexible points to book the Hyatt Regency Tokyo Bay instead. A club room that sleeps three goes for only 21K Hyatt points/night. The hotel shuttle runs conveniently in the evening every 30 minutes, while a morning taxi to the parks cost us $17.
Other redemption options include both a Sheraton and a Hilton within walking distance of the parks. The proximity helps at the end of a long park day, but both Marriott and Hilton redemptions tend to be advantageous only when you’re getting either the Marriott or Hilton fifth night free — and you probably won’t be at Tokyo Disneyland that long.
Despite the crowds and long lines, the Tokyo Disney parks offer a few unique rides and the unforgettable whimsy of the seven ports at Tokyo DisneySea, not to mention the cheapest tickets of all twelve parks. Let’s travel next to the most laid-back Disney park in the world: Hong Kong Disneyland.
Hong Kong Disneyland
Nestled on the same island as the Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong Disneyland stays closed on Wednesdays and doesn’t open until 10:30 am the rest of the time. We found the crowds were low and the lines short, and we easily found a front-row parade seat at the last minute in this smallest of Disney parks.
Hong Kong Disneyland Admission
We purchased two-day tickets for $137 each at the gate at Hong Kong Disneyland and spent two half-days exploring the parks. The low crowds made Premier Access unnecessary, and we easily rode everything we wanted to, including one of the best Thunder Mountain attractions in the world: Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars, the mysterious Mystic Manor, and the Ant-Man & The Wasp shooting ride.
The tickets coded as entertainment on our credit card statement, meaning they wouldn’t qualify for redeeming Capital One to offset the purchase. However, if you have a Chase card running a Pay Yourself Back promo on entertainment, you could redeem miles at 1.25 or 1.5 for the tickets, depending on the card in your wallet.
Hong Kong Disneyland Lodging
With a user-friendly transportation system that includes interactive touch-screen maps and a Disney Express with Mickey-shaped windows, there’s no need to stay on property at Hong Kong Disneyland. Instead, I recommend transferring flexible points like Chase Ultimate Rewards to book a Hyatt in the city. Book a twin bedroom with club access that sleeps three at the Hyatt Regency Tsim Sha Tsui for 21,000 Hyatt points a night. Enjoy daily breakfast in the club before heading to the parks and club dinner on non-park evenings.
We thoroughly enjoyed our two quiet, tropical days exploring Hong Kong Disneyland. Now, let’s move on to the most modern Disneyland in the world: Shanghai.
Shanghai Disneyland, China
The newest Disney park in the world, Shanghai Disneyland, ranks near the top of my list. Their castle is the biggest in the world, Tomorrowland feels like the future, and guests can visit the bottom of the ocean in Pirates of the Caribbean Battle for the Sunken Treasure.
What you won’t find in Shanghai Disneyland are many places to use your credit card; we used cash in Shanghai for taxis and park purchases.
Shanghai Disneyland Lodging
We couldn’t find great award redemptions for hotels near Shanghai Disneyland, so we paid $250/night to stay on property at the Toy Story Hotel (we called China to book the hotel). Besides the complimentary buses to the parks, the stay included one hour of early entry, allowing us to ride Tron, Peter Pan, Voyage to the Crystal Grotto, and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train all in the first hour.
Shanghai Disneyland Admission
We purchased admission at the Toy Story Hotel counter the night before our park day. With tickets starting at only $40.19/day, this turned out to be our cheapest park day. Low crowds, short lines, and early entry meant we didn’t have to purchase any Premier Access to skip lines.
All in all, Shanghai Disney was the hardest Disney park for which to redeem points and miles, but also the least expensive option and our favorite experience out of the three Asia parks.
Conclusion
Each Disney location around the world offers unique attractions and different ways to save on travel; for Disney fans who also love worldwide travel, conquering all six Disney park locations lies within reach because of award travel. Because locals mostly frequent and operate the overseas Disney parks, a visit to these exotic playgrounds offers both traditional Disney magic and a chance to experience the culture of each country.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (Rates & Fees)
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