Top Things to Know Before Visiting Disneyland Resort

Purchase Tickets in Advance

Purchase your tickets online in advance, preferably at least 1 month prior to your trip. This will better guarantee your entry into the parks. You can buy tickets online directly from Disneyland Resort or from a trusted agency. If you choose to purchase from a third-party seller, be wary of possible scams. If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.

You Need a Reservation to Enter

You are required to have valid park admission and a theme park reservation for each day of entry to visit a Disneyland Resort theme park; all party members must meet both requirements. You are not guaranteed entry into a theme park if you do not have a reservation, even if you have valid admission. Be aware that reservations can become unavailable. That’s why we recommend purchasing your tickets at least 1 month in advance so that you can make your reservations. When purchasing tickets on the Disneyland website, you can check theme park reservation availability and immediately make reservations for your trip. If you choose to purchase tickets from a third-party seller, you’ll want to check theme park reservation availability beforehand to ensure the parks you’re interested in visiting are available. After purchasing tickets from the third-party seller, you should immediately make your reservations via the Disneyland website or app to guarantee your entry. To learn more about Disneyland Resort’s reservation system, click here.

Early Entry & Extended Hours Are Available

Disneyland Resort on-site hotel guests can take advantage of early theme park entry to get a head start on the day and hit up more attractions in the parks. To learn more about early theme park entry, click here.

You Can Skip the Lines

Disneyland Resort sells Disney Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane to bypass the regular lines at participating attractions. With the services, you can reduce your time in lines so that you can do more throughout the day. To learn more about the two services, click here.

Some Attractions May Use a Virtual Queue

Attractions utilizing a virtual queue do not offer a standard standby line. In order to experience these attractions, you are required to join a virtual queue using the Disneyland Resort mobile app. If available, an Individual Lightning Lane may be purchased to bypass the virtual queue. Disneyland Resort’s virtual queue system enables you to obtain a boarding group throughout the day, depending on availability, which is used to indicate your place in line. If your boarding group is called, a notification is sent via the app to inform you when the attraction can be experienced. To view which attractions use a virtual queue, visit our Disneyland Resort rides & attractions page and select an attraction you’re interested in. If the attraction uses this service, a note will be displayed on the page.

There’s an App

Disneyland Resort has a free app on the App Store and Google Play Store. With the app, you can view maps to easily navigate the parks, view attraction wait times and showtimes, browse restaurant menus, and more. It’s a great resource to use in the parks.

There’s a Parking Fee

If you’re planning to park a vehicle at Disneyland Resort, you’ll have to pay a parking fee unless you have an annual pass that offers free parking. The parking fee varies based on the type of vehicle you’re parking and the parking option you select. For more information, click here.

Mobile Order When You Can

You can mobile order food and beverages at various dining locations using the Disneyland app. It’s a convenient, easy-to-use feature that can help you avoid the long lines of guests ordering food.

There’s a Rider Switch Service

Disney offers a free rider switch service to accommodate guests traveling with children. If a guest chooses not to ride an attraction or does not meet an attraction’s boarding requirements, all other members of the party can still experience the attraction with no hassle. To learn more about this service, click here.