Can I Buy Disneyland Tickets At The Gate? Everything You Need To Know- 2024

You’re heading on vacation to the happiest place on earth! How exciting! You’ve picked your dates and you’re ready to go! Right? You figure you’ll just show up on the first day of your visit and buy your theme park tickets at the gate. It will be perfect, right? Wrong! It used to be that you could just show up to Disneyland and purchase theme park tickets at the gate, but things have changed. Now, purchasing Disneyland tickets at the gate is no longer an option. In this post, I’ll cover everything you need to know about buying Disneyland tickets. I cover where to buy your Disneyland tickets at a discount(please don’t pay full price!) and what types of tickets are available. I also talk about the option of adding Disney Genie Plus to your Disneyland tickets.

You can no longer purchase Disneyland tickets at the gate. If you’re heading to the Disneyland Resort and planning on purchasing your Disneyland tickets at the ticket booth when you arrive, you are going to be extremely disappointed. All Disney parks now require tickets to be purchased in advance. This is the only way to buy Disneyland tickets. They are not for sale at the ticket booth.

Along with advance tickets, you will also need to make theme park reservations for Disneyland. Disneyland tickets AND Disneyland park reservations are required for each day you plan to visit Disneyland or Disney California Adventure Park. Park reservations can be made 120 days in advance. You can buy your ticket through Disneyland(paying full price) or you can use Get Away Today and get a discount on ticket prices. Lower prices on Disney tickets are the best way to go!

Now that you know you’ll need valid theme park admission tickets and park reservations in advance, you can avoid a tragic family trip! I have personally seen families arrive at Disneyland expecting to purchase tickets at the gate, only to show up at the main entrance and find that they were not available for purchase and that reservations for the day were completely booked up! It was awful to watch those families arguing with a cast member and trying to explain to their kids why they couldn’t go to Disneyland, as they had planned. It’s so very sad! What a nightmare. That is not the way you want your kids to remember their Disneyland vacation! I really hope those sad children experience Disney parks soon. Anyway, the moral of the story is: Don’t let this happen to you!

A word of warning: Only purchase your Disneyland tickets through an authorized Disneyland ticket seller(like Get Away Today). Never purchase your tickets through a nonauthorized seller or from some stranger selling Disneyland tickets online. You don’t want to get scammed! There are many people out there who still try to sell fake Disneyland tickets. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

Buying Discounted Disneyland Tickets

Please don’t pay full price for your park tickets! I hate paying full price on anything when I could be saving money! If I can save a little bit of money, you can bet that I’m going to. I’ve been using Get Away Today for my Disney tickets and hotels for over 15 years! They are the number one ticket provider to the Disneyland Resort and really know their stuff. Their customer service is amazing. They care about their customer’s vacations. I won’t buy my tickets anywhere else. I know that you’re going to love them too!

Let’s cover the different types of Disneyland tickets, Which tickets I recommend, and how you can save money by purchasing discount Disneyland tickets.

What type of ticket should I buy?

There are lots of different options when it comes to Disneyland park tickets. One of the most important things to know is that Disneyland’s tickets go down in price per day the more days you purchase. So, you pay less per day the more days you stay.

1-day tickets will cost you the most per day if you’re visiting Disneyland. The only place to buy 1-day Disneyland tickets is through Disneyland and there are no discounts available on one-day tickets. Disneyland sells its one-day tickets in tiers or levels. Tier one is the least expensive and tier 6 is the most expensive. The tier is determined by the projected crowd levels for the day. So, if you visit Disneyland on a Tuesday in February, your single-day ticket tier will be lower. If you visit Disneyland on New Year’s Eve(the most crowded day of the year), your single-day ticket tier will be higher and the ticket will cost more. So, for the lowest price, try to visit on low-tier days if you’re only going for one day.

Of course, I recommend visiting for more than one day to really experience Disneyland Resort.

You can save more by purchasing multi-day tickets. The more days you go, the cheaper the Disneyland ticket is per day. Don’t book a multi-day ticket through Disneyland! This will cost you extra money. Buy your Disneyland tickets from Get Away Today. Their Disneyland tickets are always discounted off the gate price. They often have a buy 4 days get the 5th-day free ticket option!

There are two different Disneyland ticket options. The one park per day and the park hopper. The one-park per-day ticket means you select a park(Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure Park) and stay in that park for the entire day. I love the one-park-per-day ticket option. There’s plenty to see and do in each park and you can easily spend an entire day in either one and still not see and do everything. I always recommend this option, especially if this is your first time visiting Disneyland.

Or, you can purchase a park hopper ticket. The park hopper ticket allows you to “hop” between both parks. You’ll select a starting park when you make your reservations. Then, after 1 pm, you’ll be able to hop over to the other park. Getting from one park to another is very easy. You just take a 3-minute walk across the esplanade and you’re at the other park! Park hopping is more expensive, but the park hopper option is great for lots of families. Especially if you’ve visited Disneyland a lot or if you have older kids or teenagers.

Adding Disney Genie Plus To Your Tickets

Disney Genie Plus is the new system that has taken the place of the old Fastpass/Maxpass system. When you purchase Genie Plus, you can use it to make reservations for select attractions. Then, when it’s your return time, you can enter the attraction through the lightning lane(formerly the fast pass line). Using Genie Plus can really save you a lot of time waiting in long lines during the day! I love using Genie Plus and recommend it. It is an added expense though, so please don’t feel like you have to have it to have a good time on your Disneyland vacation. You can still have a great time without it.

Genie Plus starts at an additional $25 per person per day. Disneyland will raise the price of Genie Plus on crowded days. You can show up on your Disneyland day and add it to your ticket once you’re in the park using the Disneyland app, but you may pay more than $25 per person. It just depends on the crowd levels that day. The only way to make sure you pay the lowest price for Genie Plus($25 per day) is to add it to your park tickets when you purchase them. This locks in the lower price. So, if you are planning on using Genie Plus, I suggest you purchase it with your tickets so you don’t end up paying more money on your vacation days. You can find more info on Genie Plus here.

If you’re not using Genie Plus, or you just want to make sure you’re maximizing your time in the parks, I suggest you rope drop. Rope dropping is the best way to avoid long lines and maximize your time at Disneyland. You can find more info about rope dropping here.

What are the benefits of buying through Getawaytoday?

There are lots of benefits to booking with Get Away Today! Not only do they have great deals on park tickets, but they also have incredible deals on hotels! Get Away Today has been open since 1990. They are the top travel provider to the Disneyland Resort, but they sell Walt Disney World tickets too. I’ve personally been using them for 15 years and I’m always impressed with their prices and their service. They are one of the few legitimate places to buy discount Disney park tickets! I’ve worked with them closely for the last several years and they always take great care of my readers! They are Disneyland experts and care about their customers. They work hard to make sure everyone has the very best Disney experience possible!

Great Deals on Discount Disney Park Tickets and hotels

Discount Disney Park Tickets at these prices seem too good to be true, but I guarantee they are authentic legit tickets. I know you will love Get AwayToday! You can book online or give them a call at 1-855-GET-AWAY. They have the lowest prices around! If you book a package(tickets with a 2-night or longer hotel stay) you can use my promo code MIX10 to save an extra $10! That’s just more churro money, friends! 

Not only are their Disneyland tickets always discount off the gate prices, but they have amazing sales too! Want exclusive deals like Adults at Kids’ prices or buy 4 days get the 5th day free? They’ve got them! They are ALWAYS cheaper than purchasing through Disneyland and will beat any cheaper price you find. I love buying 4 days and getting the 5th day free. That’s the option I usually book for our family vacations. Having an extra day at Disneyland that we didn’t pay for always makes me so happy! Whatever type of tickets you buy, you know you’re going to get the best prices with Get Away Today.

Make sure you check out their hotel deals. Get Away Today partners closely with over 40 hotels in the Disneyland area to bring you the very best deals! You can often find buy 3 nights get the 4th night free deals on many of their most popular hotels. I love getting free nights at a hotel! I’ve toured or stayed at many of the hotels in the Disneyland Resort area. You can find my hotel reviews here.

Here are some of the benefits and perks of booking your Disneyland vacation through Get Away Today.

Peace of Mind Plan

They have a Peace of Mind plan that you can add to any of your ticket or hotel purchase. The Peace of Mind Plan is travel protection that allows you to make any reservation changes (excluding airfare) up to five days before your check-in date without any penalties. The Peace of Mind Plan will waive any change, rescheduling, or cancellation fees. It must be purchased at the time of booking to qualify.

This option allows you to change your plans if you need to. Let’s face it, unexpected things come up. Life happens. The Peace of mind plan is there just for those times. I love this option. It’s especially helpful in the world that we’re living in today. Get Away Today’s park tickets are the only tickets you can buy that are refundable and offer this kind of flexibility.

Layaway Plans

Good News! Get Away Today offers Layaway plans. Yup! That’s right! You can put down $200 on your dream Disneyland or DisneyWorld vacation and make payments leading up to your vacation. This may be a great option for you. For lots of families, making payments on their vacation is a great way to easily pay for their Disney vacation. It’s also wonderful because if there’s a price increase in the Disney tickets or hotel, you are locked in at the lower price! Keep in mind, that your trip must be paid in full 5 days before you leave.

Electronic Tickets

Once you purchase your Disneyland tickets through Get Away Today, you will receive electronic tickets(Disney eticket). You can print this ticket or load it onto the Disneyland app. I recommend adding it to your Disneyland mobile app. Either way, you can go straight to the gates! This is such a time-saver! No need to turn in any vouchers or anything like that. Just show the cast members your ticket on your mobile device at the main gate and you’ll be on your way!

Amazing Customer Service

Get Away Today’s amazing customer service is one of the main reasons I choose to partner with them. I’ve met their whole team and visited their office. They are great people who are working really hard to bring you the best deals on Disneyland tickets and hotels. They are experts when it comes to Disney theme parks and just all-around great people. They will work hard to make your Disneyland vacation perfect and I know that you will love them!

Making A Park Reservation

Once you’ve purchased your Disneyland Resort ticket, it’s time to make your park reservation. If you pay full price and purchase your ticket through Disneyland, then making your park reservation is part of the ticket-buying process. So, you should be able to log on to the Disneyland website or check the mobile app and see your park reservations.

If you purchase your Disneyland Resort tickets at a discount through Get Away Today, you’ll need to make your park reservation separately. Once you purchase your Disneyland tickets, Get Away Today will send you an email with your tickets attached and full instructions so you can make your park reservations. It’s really simple. You’ll just take your ticket numbers, enter them into the Disneyland website, and then it will walk you through making your park reservations. The whole process only takes a few minutes. You can make your park reservations 120 days in advance.

I recommend checking the Disneyland theme park reservation availability calendar to make sure that the days you’re planning to visit are open. Disneyland park reservations do book up, especially for popular times of the year like school breaks and holidays. It’s best to check that reservations are open before you buy your Disneyland tickets.

Disneyland Planning Help

Looking for a little extra Disneyland planning help? I’ve got bunches of information on planning a Disneyland trip that will be so helpful for you! Start with my complete guide to visiting Disneyland. It’s a step-by-step guide for planning your vacation that will be helpful. Check out my top 10 Disneyland tips and my guide to when to visit Disneyland to help you pick the best time for your vacation! I’ve also got a post on rope dropping at Disneyland that’s very helpful.

Make sure you check out my downloadable touring plans if you’d like a step-by-step guide to the parks! 

I have a planning phone call that’s super popular! In this phone call, I can answer all of your Disneyland vacation questions and give you lots of tips and info tailored just to you and your group!

Saving Money At Disneyland

For many people, Disneyland is a once-in-a-lifetime family trip. I love sharing tips and information with my fellow Disney vacation lovers that can help them save money on their vacations. This is the main reason started this website. I love to share helpful information with you!

If you’re looking to save the most amount of money on your Disneyland tickets, I recommend buying the 4-day get the 5th day free tickets through Get Away Today. This will save you the most money per day on your Disneyland vacation. Skip the park hopper upgrade. You don’t need it and you can put that extra money into adding Disney Genie Plus to your vacation. I think you’ll find more value in Genie plus than you will in park hopping.

I have tons of information about saving money while you’re on your Disneyland vacation! I’m all about saving money where ever you can. For me, this means buying my tickets at a discount through Get Away Today and using them for a great deal on a hotel. I also like to bring my own lunch to the parks. Did you know Disneyland is totally fine with you bringing in outside food and drinks? I have a family of 6 and bringing in a picnic lunch saves us at least $100. That’s $600 of savings just by packing a lunch! Here are some ideas on what food you can bring to Disneyland.

Looking for more money-saving ideas? Check out my post about Saving for your Disney vacation and you’ll also want to read this post about saving money while you’re visiting Disneyland. You can do it on the cheap! Here’s a post about the best dining options when you’re on a budget and I’ve got a whole post about how to go to Disneyland on a budget that has lots of great info!

Disneyland is an expensive place. There’s no denying that. However, there are things you can do to make it less expensive. I hope these tips have been helpful for you as you’re planning your Disneyland vacation.

Hopefully, I’ve shared some information in this post that has been helpful for you! At least you now know that you cannot purchase Disneyland tickets at the gate. That’s an incredibly important thing to know. Disneyland tickets must be purchased in advance. Make sure you try out my partners at Get Away Today. I know that you’ll love their customer service and you’ll love saving money with them! The magic of Disney is even more real when you got a good deal on your vacation! Save money friends! You can find Get Away Today here or call 1-855-GET-AWAY. Make sure you tell them Melissa from Mix In Some Magic sent you for the best deal! If you book a package with park tickets and a hotel room you can use my code MIX10 to save an extra $10.

I’ve got lots more Disneyland planning tips and tricks to share with you!  Make sure to check out my podcast for lots of Disney planning information! You can find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Just search for “Mix In Some Magic” You can also follow me on Instagram for more Disney tips and lots of Disney fun! I’m always up to something over there.

I’m happy to answer any of your Disneyland trip-planning questions! I’m here to help. The best and quickest way to get ahold of me is through my Instagram account. Just sent me a direct message over there. I personally answer every question that comes into my inbox. Or, if Instagram isn’t your thing, you can send me an email at mixinsomemagic@gmail.com