If you're reading this page then I assume you are thinking about booking a Disney World vacation - or that you've booked it already - in which case Congratulations! You're going to have an amazing vacation that you'll remember for years to come.

Of course you're going to need to think about Disney tickets - it's always cheaper to buy them before you leave home as tickets are more expensive at the gate. Now I have to admit that when I first started looking at Disney passes I nearly cancelled my vacation - they were just so many options that it made my head spin! But I stuck with it - and did some research - and finally realised that it isn't all that confusing - as long as you know what you want out of your vacation. The good news is that while there are a huge array of ticket options available not all tickets are available to everyone - so it's quite easy to narrow the list down.

The first thing you need to know is how many days you plan to spend in the theme parks during your Disney vacation. You can buy a One Day One Park ticket which will let you visit just one park. I assume that you'll be staying a little longer than that though so you'll probably be more interested in the Magic Your Way tickets - these are available for up to ten days. If you plan to visit Walt Disney World more than once in the next twelve months then it might be cheaper to consider the Annual Pass which gives you access to every Disney World theme park for 365 days!

It's definitely worth spending an hour or two thinking about what you and your family want to do during your Disney vacation. Different tickets have different perks and a little time spent could save you lots of money - definitely important if you are planning a cheap Disney vacation! Whatever you do don't fall into the trap of buying an expensive ticket with options that you'll never use - it's a waste of your hard earned cash!

The Magic Your Way Disney ticket system was launched back in 2005 and is a pick and mix system that lets you buy a ticket that is almost tailor made to your Disney vacation.

The first thing you do is select a Base Ticket and then you add on different options to tailor the Disney passes to meet your needs. The more days you add to your base ticket the cheaper the daily rate becomes - you can buy a minimum of one day and a maximum of ten days. The base ticket will allow you to visit one park per day and will expire 14 days after first use.

To get the most out of your base ticket you need to add some extra options:

1. Park Hopper - If you want to visit more than one park each day you will need to buy the Park Hopper option. It's a flat fee but you should only consider it if you are buying a ticket for at least 3 days.

2. No Expiration Date - If you are planning a short trip of say less than five days you might want to think about buying a ten day pass and adding the No Expiration option. This means you can use the other five days on a Disney vacation in the future. The price of this option depends on the number of days you buy. Keep in mind that if you are planning a return trip within 12 months you might be better off with an Annual Pass. Annual Passes provide you with unlimited admission to all four theme parks for one year and you can also purchase an add-on to give unlimited admission to the water parks as well. When you price up the AP you need to keep in mind the perks that are available to Annual Pass holders; these include free parking, shopping discounts and ad hoc room rate discounts at Disney hotels.

3. Plus Pack - If you want to visit the fantastic Disney Water Parks during your stay then take a look at the Plus Pack. The number of pluses you can buy is fixed and is tied to the number of days on your Base Ticket. A one, two or three-day ticket has two plusses while a ten-day ticket has five plusses.

It is possible to add these options to your ticket after you have started using it.

If you are travelling from the UK then you have access to a UK-only Disney Pass that is well worth the money.

A number of different advance purchase tickets are available to British travelers including a Five-Day Premium Ticket which includes park hopping privileges to all four theme parks for five days and three admissions to the water parks. The Seven-Day Premium ticket increases this to seven day's admission and five water park admissions. Both expire 14-days from first use.These are similar to the Magic Your Way tickets.

Personally I think the best tickets available to UK visitors are the Ultimate Tickets as these provide unlimited admission to the theme and water parks as well as park hopping privileges for either 14 or 21 days. Definitely worth a look.

Before you even start looking at the ticket options you need to sit down and think about what you really want to do on your Disney vacation. People always ask me where they can find cheap Disney tickets - and my answer is the best way to save money is to buy the ticket that you actually need - don't waste money on expensive options.

My top tip is to consider the Annual Pass - it might look expensive at first but you might save money in the long run if you use it cleverly.

For example if you plan to visit Walt Disney World on vacation again next year then make sure you travel within 365 days as this will allow you to take advantage of the Annual Pass options; effectively you will use the same ticket for both vacations. As Disney often offers hotel discounts to Annual Pass holders you might find that the discount you can obtain on next year's accommodation more than covers the additional cost of the pass. Don't forget you can also save money on shopping, dining and car parking too.

If you'd like some more information to help you plan your Disney vacation then you should stop by my website and sign up for my free Disney newsletter. You can find out more about it at Affordable Disney Vacation Packages.

Click here if you're ready to research your tickets and want to see the latest Disney World ticket prices.