How to do the sold-out 'Disney Parks Around the World' trip on points and miles
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How much does it cost to visit every Disney park across the globe?
A cool $109,995, according to Disney.
Adventures by Disney recently announced a new "bucket list adventure" that would whisk 75 Disney fans away on a 24-day, private jet adventure with visits to all 12 Disney theme parks and other iconic landmarks along the way.
Even if the price tag doesn't shock you as much as it did most of the internet, the trip (scheduled for July 9–Aug. 1, 2023) is already sold out.
But where there's a will there's a way. At TPG, we have crafted our own version of this dream, around-the-world vacation using hotel points and airline miles.
Every flight on this trip is business class, which only seems fair given you'd travel by private jet on Disney's $100K trip. We focused on visiting all of the Disney parks and dropped the visits to the Taj Mahal and Pyramids of Giza. (We feel those really deserve their own dedicated trip.) We swapped out on-property Disney hotels for hotels you can book using rewards points.
We've also scratched a few of Disney's VIP experiences that are not open to the general public, including a visit to George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch near San Francisco and a tour of The Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, CA.
With that context, let's get down to the nitty-gritty of exactly how you could book this trip and make the ultimate Disney dream a reality.
Disneyland, California
Your adventure starts at Walt Disney's original park — Disneyland. How you get there is up to you because it isn't factored into the cost of the trip. You'll spend three days exploring Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, and we've even factored in the cost of a one-day Disneyland VIP Tour.
Hotel
For your Disneyland visit, you'll stay at the Courtyard Anaheim Theme Park Entrance. It's less than a 10-minute walk to get from the hotel to Disneyland's front gates and has its own water park. Some rooms even offer Disneyland views.
Related: Where to stay at Disneyland: On vs. off-property hotel comparisons
A three-night stay in a Disneyland-view room with a balcony starts at around 160,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. Based on TPG's current valuations, those 160,000 points are worth $1,344.
Theme park tickets
To ensure you can maximize your time at Disneyland, you'll want Park Hopper tickets that let you visit both parks on the same day. We've also included Disney Genie+ skip-the-line access, which brings the cost of a three-day adult ticket to $450.
If you choose to add on a one-day VIP Tour, you'll pay a starting price of $2,975 (price varies by date) for yourself and up to nine additional guests. Your VIP Tour guide will help you build a fully-customized schedule for the day, grant your party access to reserved viewing for parades and fireworks shows and get you to the front of the line for your favorite attractions.
Tokyo Disneyland Resort
Flight
From California, you'll fly across the Pacific Ocean to Tokyo. One of the best ways to book a flight from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Tokyo's Narita International Airport (NRT) is using Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points to book on ANA.
You can book this award for just 45,000 miles in business class, plus roughly $250 in taxes and fees. Better yet, American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Citi ThankYou transfer to Virgin points.
Hotel
For your four nights in Tokyo, you'll stay at the Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay Hotel, which offers monorail access to Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea. A four-night stay in a standard room with a balcony will cost around 200,000 Marriott Bonvoy points, though you could extend your visit to Tokyo by one night without paying anything additional using Marriott's "fifth-night free" promotion on points bookings.
Based on TPG's current valuations, those points are worth $1,680.
Theme park tickets
During your time in Tokyo, you'll have three days at Tokyo Disneyland — one day at each park and a third day to re-do favorite attractions or cover anything you missed. You'll pay around $175 for three days inside the resort.
Shanghai Disneyland
Flight
From Tokyo, you'll fly to Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) from Tokyo's Haneda Airport (HND). You'll need 16,500 British Airways Avios to get there with JAL in business class plus around $30 in taxes and fees. TPG values these points at 1.5 cents apiece, making the cash price of the ticket equal to $247.50.
Hotel
The Shanghai Marriott Hotel Kangqiao has a complimentary shuttle to Shanghai Disneyland and points pricing for a two-night stay starts at around 31,500 points. That is equal to a cash value of just $264.60 based on TPG's current Marriott Bonvoy valuations.
Theme park tickets
In addition to points and miles costs, you'll spend about $130 for a two-day ticket to Shanghai Disneyland. This park is home to the best Pirates of the Caribbean attraction of any Disney park, so make sure that one is at the top of your must-do list.
Hong Kong Disneyland
Flight
You'll need 16,500 British Airways Avios and $33 in taxes and fees for the short flight between Shanghai and Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) on Cathay Pacific, worth $247.50. You could save by flying economy considering it's only a two-hour flight, but this is not an "economy" vacation.
Hotel
Hong Kong Disneyland and the Sheraton Hong Kong Tung Chung Hotel are located on Penny Bay's Lantau Island and you can travel between the two in about 15 minutes. A two-night stay in a city-view room starts at 64,000 Marriott Bonvoy points, equating to a value of $537.60.
Theme park tickets
A two-day base ticket for Hong Kong Disneyland costs $110 and you can add skip-the-line "Premier Access" to eight attractions for an additional $40 per day, bringing the total to $190.
Disneyland Paris
Flight
From Hong Kong to Paris, you can spend 60,000 Alaska Airline Mileage Plan miles and $69 in taxes for Finnair business class. It's not a short flight, so you'll appreciate the lie-flat seat with a mattress pad, ample charging outlets and full meal and beverage service.
The cash value of your 60,000 Alaska Airline Mileage Plan miles comes out to $1,080.
Hotel
When you arrive in Paris, you could opt to stay in the heart of the city, but that will mean about an hour drive to Disneyland Paris, which is technically located in Chessy, France. Your best points option near the park is the Radisson Blu Hotel, Paris Marne-la-Vallee. It has a complimentary shuttle to the parks and award stays starting from 135,000 Radisson Rewards points for a three-night stay.
That's equal to $540 based on TPG's current valuations.
Theme park tickets
With three nights in France, you have two full days to spend exploring Disneyland Paris' two parks, including the soon-to-open Avengers Campus. A two-day, dated ticket starts at around $170 per person.
Rather than adding on skip-the-line access, spring for a VIP Tour that grants you dedicated viewing for shows and expedited, unlimited access to attractions. Pricing starts at around $1,000.
Walt Disney World
Flight
For your flight back across the pond to the U.S., you can redeem 63,00 Avianca LifeMiles plus taxes and fees for United Polaris business class between Paris and Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (ORD) and United domestic first class between O'Hare and Orlando International Airport (MCO). You can expect to pay roughly $50 in taxes and fees.
Based on TPG's current valuations, those points are worth $1,071 in cash.
Hotel
Disney has no shortage of gorgeous on-site hotels, but if you want to use points, you'll have to look outside of Disney's branded hotels. Luckily, there are a few hotels not owned by Disney that are technically on Disney property. The newest of those is the Walt Disney World Swan Reserve, a Marriott Autograph Collection hotel.
The hotel is situated within walking distance to Hollywood Studios and Epcot and some rooms even have fireworks views.
A four-night stay (because you'll need that much time to even get close to seeing all of Walt Disney World) in a standard room will run about 181,000 Marriott Bonvoy points, plus a nightly resort fee of $40.
Based on a value of .84 cents per Marriott Bonvoy point, this stay is equal to a cash payment of $1,520 plus the $160 in resort fees.
Theme park tickets
We're gonna go out with a bang here and spring for a four-day Disney World ticket with all the bells and whistles like park-hopping and Disney Genie+ access ($15 per day). That brings your ticket cost to about $660.
Rather than a VIP Tour, we recommend taking advantage of one of Disney's many unique tours that let you go behind the scenes at the parks. The Savor the Savanna tour at Disney's Animal Kingdom park starts at $148 per person and lets you enjoy a semi-private savanna tour and a light meal, while Disney's Keys to the Kingdom Tour ($114 per person) grants guests backstage access to Magic Kingdom, including history, facts and secrets about the park.
Earning points during the trip
Unfortunately, you can't do this entire journey on points and miles. You'll have to pay cash for meals and theme park tickets, though you could earn points by paying with a card that gets you maximum value in entertainment and dining categories.
For example, the American Express® Gold Card earns 4 Membership Rewards Points per dollar on dining and Chase Freedom Flex cardholders can earn up to 5% cash back in quarterly bonus categories, which sometimes includes theme parks in the "select live entertainment" category. Or you could keep things simple and use the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, which earns two miles per dollar on every purchase, regardless of category.
You may also be able to earn some points by purchasing Disney gift cards and using those gift cards to secure your theme park tickets.
Grand total
Whew! We made it back home. So how much does all that magic cost? Let's break it down:
- 636,500 Marriott Bonvoy points, equal to $5,346.60
- 60,000 Alaska Mileage Plan miles, equal to $1,080
- 63,000 Avianca LifeMiles miles, equal to $1,071
- 135,000 Radisson Rewards, equal to $540
- 45,000 Virgin points, equal to $675
- Theme park tickets, equal to $6,011
- 33,000 Avios, equal to $495
- Taxes and fees $432
- 57 meals at $50 per meal = $2,850
- TOTAL CASH VALUE = $19,132.30
Even if you don't travel all the way around the world and take advantage every single one of these stays and flights, you should have a good idea now of what it would take to travel between the Disney parks — and how many points and miles you'll need to do it.