The Park Hopper option, which allows you to visit more than one park per day, tacks on an additional $60 per ticket. This option is great and totally worth it if you're in Disney sans children, but let's be real: When you're traveling with kids, trying to squeeze in more than one park a day is not going to happen.
Since children under the age of 3 are considered Mickey's guests (and get free admission), we only had to purchase three tickets instead of five. And although we were in Disney for five days, we purchased four-day tickets and spent the fifth day between Disney Springs (which is free) and our resort pool. Had we purchased our tickets directly through Disney, we would have spent $1,388.65. My parents have a AAA membership, and they were able to go to their local office and purchase our tickets at a discounted rate of $1,100.20. Their AAA discount and our decision to forgo the Park Hoppers saved us a total of $408.45.
Occasionally, Disney will offer ticket specials, but they often come with restrictions. For example, you'll get a discount but you can't visit the same park twice. You can also purchase discounted tickets if you're active duty military or a Florida resident. This can also be a great way to see the parks at a discount.
