Remember Disneyland tickets (aka coupons)?
When Disneyland opened in 1955, the park introduced a ticket system designed to manage crowds while highlighting its newest experiences. The familiar five-tier structure arrived in 1959, grouping rides by popularity and complexity. A tickets covered gentler attractions, while the coveted E ticket unlocked the headliners. The approach blended practicality with anticipation, giving visitors something to look forward to from the moment they stepped through the gates.
VIDEO | Disneyland July 17, 1955 Opening Day
Each ticket book worked like a passport. Guests typically received a mix — perhaps “1-A, 1-B, 2-Cs, 3-Ds, 3-Es,” depending on the package — along with admission to the park. A welcome message set the tone: “This ticket book is your passport to many wonderful adventures in the Magic Kingdom.” Families studied the options, compared notes, and often saved their top coupons for later in the day.
The rides themselves traced the growth of the park. Early A-ticket choices included Main Street vehicles and the King Arthur Carrousel, while B and C tickets opened the door to favorites such as Alice in Wonderland, Dumbo and the Jungle Cruise. Step up to a D ticket, and you might board the Mark Twain Steamboat or glide across the Skyway. Then there was the E ticket — priced at 50 cents in one era — granting access to major attractions like the Matterhorn Bobsleds, the Monorail and the Submarine Voyage.
Over time, the phrase “E-ticket” slipped into everyday language as shorthand for something especially exciting. Meanwhile, Disneyland continued to expand, and the coupon system gradually gave way to changing expectations. By June 1982, the park retired the lettered tickets in favor of a single admission covering rides, marking the end of a system many visitors remembered fondly.
Below, we’ve gathered vintage ticket books, coupons, and guides spanning the years when planning your route through Disneyland meant sorting paper tickets by priority. Together, they offer a glimpse of how anticipation once fit neatly into a booklet — and how a simple alphabet helped define the rhythm of a day at one of America’s most famous destinations.
Old-style Disneyland tickets: A adult admission – Good for choice of one (blue)
Main Street: Fire engine – Horse-drawn street cars – Horseless carriages – Main Street Cinema – Omnibus
Fantasyland: King Arthur Carrousel – Sleeping Beauty’s Castle
Old Disneyland tickets: B coupon adult admission (25c – red)
Main Street: Main Street Cinema
Fantasyland: Alice in Wonderland, Casey Jr Circus Train, Motor Boat Cruise
Adventureland: Swiss Family Tree House
Vintage Disneyland tickets: C coupon adult admission (30c – yellow)
Main Street: Shooting Gallery
Tomorrowland: TWA Rocket to the Moon – Tomorrowland Autopia
Fantasyland: Mad Tea Party – Dumbo Flying elephant – Fantasyland Autopia
Frontierland: Shooting Gallery – Mike Fink Keel Boats – Indian War Canoes
Vintage Disneyland tickets: D adult admission (gold)
Main Street: Disneyland RR Trains thru Grand Canyon & Primeval World
Tomorrowland: American Sings – Trains – Peoplemover thru Superspeed Tunnel – Rocket Jets – Skyway to Fantasyland
Fantasyland: Skyway to Tomorrowland – Storybook Land Canal Boats
Frontierland: Mark Twain Steamboat – Rafts to Tom Sawyer’s Island – Sailing Ship Columbia
New Orleans Square: Disneyland trains
Bear Country: Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes
Disneyland tickets: “E” adult admission (50c – green)
Main Street: SF & D RR trains thru Grand Canyon Diorama
Tomorrowland: Submarine voyage, Monorail, SF & D RR trains thru Grand Canyon Diorama
Fantasyland: Matterhorn Bobsleds
Frontierland: Mine Train & Pack Mules thru Nature’s Wonderland, SF & D RR trains thru Grand Canyon Diorama
Adventureland: Jungle Cruise
How Disneyland’s tickets worked
The A-B-C’s etc. of Disneyland ticket books
Disneyland Ticket Books are a most convenient way to enjoy the Magic Kingdom. Both the Big 10 and Deluxe 15 Ticket Books include admission to Disney- land and a selection of rides and attractions on an A, B, C, D and E ticket basis.
THE BIG 10 Ticket Book includes Admission to the Park and a selection of attractions as shown below:
1-A, 1-B, 2-Cs, 3-Ds, 3-Es
THE DELUXE 15 Ticket Book includes Admission to the Park and a selection of attractions as shown below
1-A, 2-Bs, 3-Cs, 4-Ds, 5-Es
If you have already purchased a General Admission ticket, you may buy the Big 10 or Deluxe 15 Ticket Book without the admission ticket at any Central Ticket Booth inside the Park. Without the special Main Gate admission, the Big 10 Ticket Book is $3, and the Deluxe 15 Ticket Book is $4.00 for adults. Refer to the area maps for locations.
Prices subject to change without notice.
Guided tour information
The popular Guided Tour is especially recommended for “first time visitors.” Visitors are taken on an exciting tour of Disneyland by a charming Guide who tells the fascinating story of the Magic Kingdom’s history and growth. The Guided Tour includes admission to Disneyland and a selection of six of the Park’s popular attractions.
If you have already purchased a General Admission ticket, you may buy a Guided Tour ticket at the ticket booth adjacent to “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.” Tour tickets, minus Main Gate admission, are $3.50 for adults and $2.50 for children.
A regular Disneyland ticket book (from 1967 or later)
Welcome to Disneyland USA
We hope that your visit with us today will be a happy and memorable experience for you and your family. This ticket book is your passport to many wonderful adventures in the Magic Kingdom. May your day at Disneyland be a pleasant one. Return and visit us again soon. – WALT DISNEY PRODUCTIONS
A Disneyland “Starlite” nighttime ticket book – only can be used after 6pm (from 1966 or earlier)
We hope that your visit with us tonight will be a happy and memorable experience for you. This ticket book is your passport to many wonderful adventures in the Magic Kingdom. May your “Starlite” at Disneyland be a pleasant one. Return and visit us again soon. – WALT DISNEY
Vintage Disneyland ticket books: A – B – C (1956)
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GOOD THROUGH ALL 1956
5 Responses
Are the Disneyland books A through E worth anything today?
I have a Disneyland one day childs passport ticket with no date stamped on it ,my wife thinks she got it in the late 50’s . I can not find any record of this ticket, on the back it says good at main entrance, Disneyland hotel and monorail
Just threw out one admission ticket and two ticket books that I won at a church holloween party, best costume, been dragging them around for decades all over the country till finally last year I threw them away, figured there useless and tossed them out.
I am really surprised that you never had them framed? A Disney fanatic as myself would have paid you $75 for them. Richard
how much are those tickets worth today