How to Find Discounted California Theme Park Tickets
There is absolutely no need to pay gate prices for California theme park tickets. All it takes to save is a little pre-planning. Whether you’re visiting Disneyland®, LEGOLAND®, Universal Studios Hollywood™, San Diego Zoo, or Southern California amusement parks, I can help you find discount theme park tickets that leave you with more to spend on luxury hotels, souvenirs, or in restaurants.
Here’s how it works. All the ticketing options you’ll find below or by following my links are heavily discounted — even when there is a small service fee. Traveling with little ones? Even better! Admission for kids ages three and under at most California theme parks is already free.
My referral links are below. If you click through and buy your California theme park tickets, I may be compensated. You get cheap theme park tickets and help keep this advice free. What could be better?
Go City Passes for Multiple Attractions
If you plan to visit multiple attractions in San Diego or Los Angeles, a Go City pass is a must-have for savings. You can choose between single-day or multi-day all-inclusive passes or explorer passes that get you into only the attractions that you’re most excited to enjoy.
Go City passes will save you up to 50% off gate prices as you visit all the attractions you want for one low price. The San Diego City pass can also save up to 75% on children’s passes throughout October. And as a bonus, pass holders often go straight to the gate and skip the ticket booth.
The Go San Diego pass includes 45+ attractions: all the major San Diego theme parks on this page as well as most of the museums and tours (and even the option to add on some Los Angeles attractions). The Go Los Angeles pass can include Universal Studios Hollywood™, Warner Bros. Studio Tour, Knott’s Berry Farm, and much more. All you need to do to use one or both is buy the Go City pass that works best for you and then fire up the Go City pass app.
LJM Exclusive for San Diego: Use promo code LJM10SDO to apply an extra 10% discount on ALL Go San Diego passes. The discount stacks on top of sale prices. Expires 12/31/23.
Read my reviews of the Go San Diego pass and the Go Los Angeles pass.
Note: All of the individual tickets below are discounted options from gate pricing. Some have a $2 per ticket service fee, but you will still come out ahead! Ages 3 and under at most theme parks are free.
San Diego Zoo Tickets
This world-famous zoo might just be San Diego’s number one attraction! No San Diego vacation is complete without a visit to the impressive San Diego Zoo, where you can ride the SkyFari tram and see hippos, Polar Bear Plunge, koalas, and so many other amazing exhibits for all ages. But don’t pay full price I have a promo code that makes these tickets even cheaper! Use the information below to get discounted tickets to the San Diego Zoo for single-day and multi-day visits for grownups and kids.
- 1-Day Passes: $71/adult and $61/child (ages 3-11) <– gate prices
- 2-Visit Passes: $118/adult and $108/child (ages 3-11)
- Combo, multi-day tickets, and hotel packages are available
ACCESS MY EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNTS
Check for unpublished deeper savings on tickets through my partnership with aRes Travel, an authorized San Diego Zoo ticket seller.
*By texting the word SDZOO to 1-833-490-0799 you agree to receive automated promotional messages with how to secure my deeper ticket discount and this agreement isn’t a condition of any purchase. Msg and data rates may apply. 2 msg/mo. Reply STOP to cancel. Read my full privacy policy.
Or simply shop for Zoo tickets now.
LEGOLAND California Tickets
LEGOLAND® California caters to kids 2-12 but is truly fun for the whole family. Enjoy more than 60 rides (including the thrilling Dragon Coaster), attractions, and shows plus amazingly detailed cities built entirely out of millions of LEGO bricks. There’s also LEGOLAND Water Park — which is the perfect place to cool off on warmer summer days — and SEA LIFE aquarium at the park entrance. If you are a LEGO enthusiast (or there’s one in your family) you’ll definitely want to plan for a two-day trip. Finding discounted tickets to LEGOLAND California is easy with my link, and you’ll score even bigger savings when you enjoy a two-day visit.
- Legoland California – 1 Day Admission: $109.79/adult (ages 3+)
Tip: Check days and hours of operation as the water park and theme park have seasonal hours.
SeaWorld® San Diego Tickets
SeaWorld® San Diego is one of the city’s coolest attractions and a favorite among kids, who love animal shows. What you might not know is that those iconic shows are just one of the things to do at SeaWorld! This theme park also has beautiful aquariums, thrilling rides for the whole family, and a great Sesame Street area that younger children will love. One of the coolest attractions is the Wild Arctic simulator, which takes you on a fascinating flight over Antarctica. It’s a great way to start and end your walk through the Wild Arctic section of the park.
These are just some of the cheap admission options currently available:
- SeaWorld Single-Day Tickets: $69.99/ages 3+
- 2023 FUN Card – Buy Now and get the rest of 2023 for free: $109.99/ages 3+
Tip: SeaWorld San Diego now offers a Quick Queue Pass upgrade with front-of-line ride access.
San Diego Zoo Safari Park Tickets
Once a conservation facility closed to the public, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in Escondido is home to more than 2,600 wild and endangered animals. It is also the largest veterinary hospital in the world. Many conservation programs still take place here, funded in part by visitors, including an endangered species breeding program that has introduced many animals back into the wild. You can learn more about creatures from Africa, Australia, Asia, Europe, and North and South America without paying full price by grabbing your discounted San Diego Zoo Safari Park tickets ahead of time and going straight to the gate.
These are the current prices:
- 1-Day Passes: $71/adult and $61/child (ages 3-11) << gate prices
- 2-Day Passes: $118/adult and $108/child (ages 3-11)
- Combo, multi-day, and discounted safari tickets are available
ACCESS MY EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT
Check for unpublished deeper savings on tickets through my partnership with aRes Travel, an authorized San Diego Zoo Safari Park ticket seller.
*By texting the word SAFARI to 1-833-490-0799 you agree to receive automated promotional messages with how to secure my deeper ticket discount and this agreement isn’t a condition of any purchase. Msg and data rates may apply. 2 msg/mo. Reply STOP to cancel. Read my full privacy policy.
Tip: Parking is not included with San Diego Zoo Safari Park tickets and is paid on the day of your visit. It’s a good idea to visit San Diego Zoo Safari Park and San Diego Zoo on different days because they are 32 miles apart.
Disneyland® Resort Tickets
You may have magical memories of visiting Disneyland as a child. When you look at the price of admission for a family today, you might feel a little of that magic drain away. Again, it’s possible to get discount California theme park tickets just by planning ahead. When you get discount Disneyland tickets, you can stand on Main Street with a Mickey Mouse ice cream in one hand and your little one’s hand in the other. There’s nothing sweeter than introducing a new generation to the magic!
These are a few (there are MANY) of the discounts usually available (more details to come):
- 2-Day – 1 – Park Per Day Ticket (saves up to $9.00 per person): $275.75/adult and $261.00/kids ages 3 and older
- 3-Day 1 – Park Per Day Ticket (saves $23/per person): $337.00/adult and $318.00/kids ages 3 and older
- Combo, multi-day tickets (up to 5-days), and hotel packages are available
Tip: 1-Day Disneyland tickets are rarely ever discounted.
Universal Studios Hollywood™ Tickets
Thrilling rides, everything Harry Potter and the famous Studio Tour await you at this California theme park just for people who love movies. Here is where you can experience a whole lot of Hollywood magic, whether you’re a super fan of The Walking Dead or the Fast and the Furious franchise. One of the ways Universal Studios caters to families is with their comfy ‘child switch’ rooms in the waiting areas of rides for bigger kids. This is where one parent can hang back with a smaller child and then switch off with a co-parent to ride with bigger kids without waiting in line all over again.
These are the Universal Studios Hollywood ticket discounts currently available:
- 1-Day General Admission: $99.99/adult and $93.99/child
- VIP Experience Including 1-Day General Admission: from $346.00 (gate price around $519)
Knott’s Berry Farm Tickets
Knott’s Berry Farm, Southern California’s oldest theme park, began as a tiny ghost town built in the 1940s designed to entertain guests waiting for tables at the farm’s chicken dinner restaurant. More and more attractions were added over the years until it grew into the theme park it is today. Some people pass it by in favor of Six Flags and Disney, but there are plenty of reasons to add it to your agenda — especially if you grab discount Knott’s Berry Farm tickets before your trip. The iconic Ghost Town is absolutely worth a visit, the rides and roller coasters are a blast, and there’s fun for all ages here.
- 1-Day General Admission: $68.00/ages 3+
Six Flags Magic Mountain Tickets
Temporarily not available.
Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia is an absolutely huge theme park featuring nineteen world-class roller coasters — the biggest collection of coasters in one place anywhere in the world — and over one hundred rides, games, and attractions for the entire family. Do you crave excitement? One of the roller coasters you’ll find here is the tallest and the longest stand-up coaster anywhere, and each of the park’s other coasters offer just as many thrills. While tickets already cost less than a day out at Disney, it only makes sense to look for discount tickets to Six Flags Magic Mountain (especially for big families).
More San Diego Sightseeing
I have even more cheap San Diego attraction tickets for various individual museums and sightseeing including some of my favorite tours on the bay.
More Los Angeles Sightseeing
And, there are also sightseeing tours and more that you can save on in L.A.
