Disneyland Reopening: What we know so far

We have an opening date! Disneyland will be opening up on April 30th! This is such great news. We are finally moving in the right direction and this feels like such a win! We just got all the information about ticket sales and park reservations. I’ve complied all the information available in this post so you’ll know what’s going on. I’ll be sure to keep this post up to date! Currently, tickets and park reservations are available for California residents. I’ll let you know as soon as that changes. You will need park tickets and a theme park reservation to enter Disneyland.

Theme Park Reservation

From the Disneyland website: “To enter Disneyland park or Disney California Adventure park, both a theme park reservation and valid admission ticket for the same park on the same date are required for guests ages 3 and up. Guests must have a valid theme park admission ticket in order to make a reservation. Theme park reservations will be limited and subject to availability and, until further notice, only California residents may visit the parks, and in groups no larger than 3 households, in line with current state guidelines.”

Theme park reservations will launch on April 12th for guests with existing theme park tickets. Ticket sales will resume no earlier than 8 a.m. PT.  To accommodate as many types of ticket holders as possible, park reservations for select dates may be made available on a rolling basis. Ticket calendars will be updated on a rolling basis.

Beginning April 15th, theme park ticket sales will resume for California residents only. Guests without theme park tickets can purchase tickets and make reservations. Ticket sales will resume no earlier than 8 a.m. PT. 

Make sure to log in to your Disney account first to link valid theme park tickets prior to accessing the park reservation system.

Guests with multi-day tickets will be required to make a separate park reservation for each day they plan to visit the theme parks.

Buying Tickets

If history repeats itself, trying to purchase tickets on April 15th from Disneyland may prove to be a bit of a nightmare. I recommend purchasing your tickets from my friends at Getawaytoday. They always have the best prices! Plus, you’ll avoid long wait times on the Disneyland website. I’ve been using Getawaytoday for over 15 years for all our Disneyland trips! I know you’ll love them. They also have great deals on hotels!

Staying On Property

If you’re planning on staying at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa you will need to have a valid theme park ticket and a park reservation. Booking a hotel stay does not guarantee a theme park reservation. Currently, only the Grand Californian will be open beginning April 29th. The Disneyland Hotel and Paradise Pier will open at a later date.

Park Hopping

Guests with Park Hopper tickets may choose(pending availability),which theme park to start their day, when making their theme park reservations. Then, they will be able to hop over to the other park after 1pm that day.

MaxPass/Fastpass

The Maxpass and fastpass systems will not be operational when Disneyland reopens. No word on how Disney will handle guest who currently hold tickets that include Maxpass. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear something.

Park Hours

Daily park hours for Disneyland park and Disney California Adventure park are currently planned to be 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Visit Disneyland.com for operating hours on the day you wish to visit, as they are subject to change.

Parking

Theme park parking will be available at the Mickey & Friends and Pixar Pals parking structures, located off Disneyland Drive.

Dining

Dining bookings for select locations will open on April 22nd. You will be able to book your dining reservation 60 days in advance on Disneyland.com or with the Disneyland App. Most quick service dining locations will offer contactless payment to help with social distancing. You can find a full list of open Disneyland dining experiences here and the dining list for Disney California Adventure here.

What Rides Will Be Open?

Almost all the rides will be up and running! Here’s a complete list of all the rides that will be operating at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. Rides will be running at a limited capacity and will be paused periodically for sanitizing.

Shopping

It seems like most shops will be open! There may be a short wait outside to enter some of them as cast members are controlling crowds within the shop. A full list of Disneyland shopping experiences can be found here and Disney California Adventure shopping here.

Fireworks, Parades and Shows

Because these events would make social distancing nearly impossible, parades, shows and fireworks will be temporally suspended. This is disappointing news, especially for those eager to see the new “Magic Happens” parade that debuted a few weeks before the parks were closed. Although disappointing, this change is understandable as safety of its guests is Disney’s number one priority.

Character Meet and Greets

Traditional character interactions will be put on hold for the foreseeable future. Don’t despair! You’ll still be able to see favorite characters from a safe, social distance.

Temperature Checks

All Guests will undergo temperature screenings prior to entering the Downtown Disney District or the theme parks; in addition, health screenings and temperature checks will be required daily for Cast Members.

Face Masks

Face masks will be required of all guests over 2 years old and cast members. For my favorite mask/ear combo check out this ETSY shop! The masks slide over your Mickey ears to prevent soreness on your real ears and are interchangeable!

Enhanced Safety Measures

Disneyland has added hand-washing stations and physical barriers, where appropriate. They will reduce theme park capacity to enable physical distancing and add appropriate signs to help Guests move responsibly throughout the property. Still no word on how many guests will actually be allowed in the parks. They are recommending cashless transactions and will reduce Cast Member and Guest interactions with helpful technology, including the expansion of Mobile Order in the Disneyland app, Apple Pay and more. They have also promised enhanced cleaning and sanitation measures.

Single rider, Magic Morning, Extra Magic hour

Single rider option, Magic Morning and Extra Magic Hour will all be paused as Disneyland reopens. We are expecting them to all be added back in, eventually.

Crowd levels, Limited park hours, Staggered entry times, ride wait times and more

At this point we know crowds will be lower(at least for a little while) because Disneyland will be closely monitoring /restricting attendance. I don’t think we can expect shorter wait times for the rides though. Social distancing will be happening on rides too, so cast members will be spreading guests out on the rides. This means lots of empty spaces on rides and probably similar wait times to normal. Time will tell!

Downtown Disney

Downtown Disney is up and running with enhanced safety measures for dining and shopping. You can find more information here.

A Touch Of Disney

Although Disneyland is not yet open, there’s a bright spot on the horizon! Disneyland will be hosting a special event at California Adventure this spring called “A touch of Disney”. You can find out more information about it here.

I will keep this page update with new information about Disneyland reopening as soon as it becomes available. You can also follow me on instagram and for more Disneyland updates and magic! Make sure subscribe to my newsletter, so you don’t miss anything!