There is more to this than you probably think. There are many options to consider when purchasing Disneyland tickets. The most important point to remember is that you need a Park reservation for each day. Purchasing a ticket is not enough. You have to reserve the dates for which you plan to use those tickets.
- Reservations: You must book Park reservations for specific dates and the specific Park you will start in each day. Those reservation are linked to your tickets. You can change those dates based on availability on the Disneyland website. You first must link your tickets to your online account. If your plans change you can change your reservation if there is still availability. If you have date-restricted tickets for a particular event, then it’s an issue and you should call Disney Customer Service.
- Buy Before you go: Park reservations for your specific dates are required. Don’t show up without tickets because they can be sold out.
- Vacation Package or Not?: Should you buy tickets and hotel together as a vacation package or separately? This is complicated and we have an entire post about it. The short answer is it depends. Vacation packages might be more expensive or cheaper than purchasing your own tickets and hotels separately. Cancellation policies are different. You can buy a package from an authorized Disney Travel Agent or directly from the Disneyland website. Travel Agents sometimes offer lower prices than Disneyland. It’s a good idea to always check with an Authorized Travel Agent to see what they offer. You might find a better deal. See our post about vacation packages.
- Reservation Availability: It’s uncommon for reservations to sell out for a Park. It’s most common during Christmas break. Certain lower cost ticket types can sell out for specific days. The lowest priced ticket can be sold out and then if you add a park hopper you might find availability.
- Children less than 3 years old are free and there is a discount for up to 9 years old. Age 10 and older is the adult price. Disney does sometimes have discount specials for Kids and those are explained on the Disneyland website.
- Park Hopper lets you visit both Parks every day on your ticket. Prices are more cost effective for each extra day (it’s not a flat, per-day price). Park Hopping starts at 11 AM. You have to start in the Park you reserved if you enter before 11 AM. After 11 AM, you can enter either Park (despite what you designated as the starting Park for your reservation).
- Park Reservations for Disney Hotel Guests: There are Park reservations for guests of the Disneyland hotels when other reservations are sold out. There is a link in your hotel reservation to make a Park reservation. That separate pool of reservations is unlikely to sell out. Disney doesn’t guarantee it though. This also works for Magic Key passholders. We experienced Magic Key dates sold out, but we got Park reservations through out hotel reservation link. You can call Guest Services or talk with your Travel Agent for help.
- Ticket Tiers: One-day ticket prices vary based on the day and season. Multi-day ticket prices don’t vary by day, unless there is a ticket discount special that’s running. There are limited low cost, 1-park per day tickets.
- Buy 2 1-day Tickets? The only type of ticket with variable pricing is the 1-day ticket. It can vary by $90 per day. If you are going 2 days, then it may be cheaper to buy 2 individual tickets. This is bad for park hopping though because that’s one price per ticket.
- Sold Out: If the date you want is sold out then check Park Hopper tickets and add more days. There is often more availability for multi-day park hoppers.
- Who to Buy From: Only buy tickets from a verified source like the Disney or an authorized Disney travel agent. Don’t buy from Ebay or some other ticket resale source.
- How to Buy: It’s easy to buy tickets on the Disneyland website and make Park reservations at the same time. Other sellers like Travel Agents can usually help you link your tickets to your account to make Park reservations. It’s easy to link tickets on the website (My Disneyland – Link Tickets and Passes) or the Disneyland phone App. Some Travel Agents offer discounted tickets.
- Maximum 5-Days: If you want tickets for more than 5 days, then you must start over with another ticket. If this is your situation, then investigate an annual pass (Magic Key) if they are on sale.
- Lightening Lane Multi Pass (LLMP): You can buy LLMP with your tickets, but then you must buy it for every day. You can wait to buy it each day when you enter the Park. It can cost more per day that way, but you can buy it for fewer days. It gets more expensive when the Parks are busy. It’s rare but LLMP can sell out on a busy day. Buy it the second you enter the Park if you didn’t buy in advance. You should enter in the early morning to get the most from LLMP.
- Your Name on Tickets: You put a person’s name on each ticket. Disney usually does not check your ID when you enter the Park. They will if you purchased discounted tickets for Southern California residents or military. They take your picture and attach it electronically to your ticket so no one else can use it. For Magic Keys (annual passes), they check your ID the first time you use the pass and take your picture.
- Annual Pass (Magic Key): If you take multiple trips per year then check the annual passes (Magic Keys). There are different prices based on blockout dates. They go on sale only sporadically.
- How far in Advance to Buy Tickets: They open Park reservations 4 months in advance. You can often wait because reservations rarely sell out. Christmas can sell out so book those tickets months ahead. We’d wait to see if they announce a ticket sale. If you’re one month out, then they would have announced the sale on the Disney Parks Blog.
- Discounts: If Disney offers ticket discounts, they usually announce it a month in advance. Some Travel Agents can get you the discounted ticket price even if you purchased full price tickets through them. If you bought the tickets on your own before the sale, then Disney will not lower your price. We’ve seen discounts occur many different times of year, but never over the Christmas break or around Easter. They often have discounts for Southern California residents ZIP codes 90000 to 93599, Disney Vacation Club member, or U.S. military members.
- Travel Agent Discounted Tickets: We have seen travel agents that offer tickets at lower prices than the Disneyland website. Just Off Harbor are authorized travel agents that have cheaper tickets. It’s worth checking with them to get a quote. Travel agents don’t handle 1 day Park tickets, only multiple days. Disney pays the commission so it’s no extra cost to you. They often can beat the prices on the Disneyland website. It’s often beneficial to use a Disneyland travel agent because they typically offer support for trip planning advice.
- Each added day is cheaper: For standard multi-day tickets, each added day gets cheaper. For instance, the first day can be $200, 2nd day $100, 3rd day $80. Check prices on the website or ask a Travel Agent. As you add a day you will see the cost differential.
- Non-consecutive days: It’s usually OK to use the tickets on non-consecutive days. You can visit the Parks a few days then do something else and then use more ticket days. There is a limit. Once you activate the ticket then you must use all the remaining days within a specified period. Your tickets will include this information in the conditions. Discounted tickets often have different terms.
- Tickets with Convention Rate: Some events offer discounted tickets. Those tickets are usually inflexible on the dates. You can’t use them outside of the authorized dates for the event. Be careful if you’re not sure about your attendance.
- Event Tickets: Disneyland sells many special event tickets like those for the Oogie Boogie Bash Halloween event. These are only sold on the Disneyland website. Never buy a resale ticket from Craig’s list or any reseller. An unscrupulous seller can use the ticket before you, or they can sell it multiple times. Then you would be turned away at the gate. Disney would not help you because you purchased from an unauthorized source. If Disney detects that the tickets were resold then they are invalid.
- Electronic or Paper Tickets: The default is e-tickets that you can store in your Disneyland App. We prefer this. Disney will sell paper-based tickets, but we’ve never bought them. Avoid buying at the ticket booths at the Park because lines are slow. You should always buy tickets in advance of your trip to can get Park reservations.
Summary
It’s important to create a online Disney account. It’s the same login for the website and the phone app. You can store your electronic tickets there in the App. That works in the Parks for entry and Lightening Lanes you bought.
Always make your Park reservations when you buy tickets.
Do some planning before you buy tickets and decide if a vacation package is best for you. Think about using a Travel Agent that specializes in Disneyland. We recommend Just Off Harbor.
Thanks for reading this and please check out our full website for lots more content. We at the Bippity Club wish you the very best and hope you enjoy an awesome Disneyland trip!
