The Ultimate Disneyland Reopening Guide: Ticketing, Reservations, Entertainment & more!
Alright y’all, we are just a couple of weeks away from Disneyland reopening to guests, and with the announcement this week of ticketing & reservation blockout information it seemed like the perfect time to create one giant master post of everything you need to know to start visiting the parks on April 30th!
My goal of this post is to be as comprehensive as possible, concise where I can, and to make it so you don’t have to click into a bunch of different sub pages to see all the relevant info you need (you’ll just have to scroll a bunch!) Let’s get into it!
The Basics/Key Dates
First off - until further notice by the state of California - only California residents are able to visit California theme parks at this time. This is a state rule, not Disneyland specific! There is speculation that this might change by June 15 when the state plans to fully reopen pending our COVID cases & vaccine progress, but there is no actual date set for this limitation to expire as of now.
April 12 - Reservations become available for anyone who has already purchased a ticket (no earlier than 8am PT)
Tickets are not currently on sale, so this would be for anyone with a single day or park hopper ticket in any of the previous tiered systems that would have been purchased prior to the parks closing last March 2020.
April 15 - Ticket purchasing becomes available! (Again, no earlier than 8am PT) If you did not previously have tickets, or if you were an Annual Passholder (now Legacy Passholder) whose pass was canceled & refunded, you are now able to purchase tickets and then subsequently make reservations. Also on this date you are able to make reservations for Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel. Note that staying at the Grand Californian does not guarantee a theme park reservation.
April 22 - Dining reservations open
April 29 - Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa reopens
April 30 - Disneyland & Disney California Adventure reopen to guests! 🎉
Park hopping will be available each day starting at 1pm 🎉 (subject to park capacity)
June 4 - Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure opens to guests! A quick aside of what will be open at launch:
WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure - this “perfect for up-and-coming recruits” attraction has no age or height requirements so think of it as most likely a solid C-ticket ride! The big Avengers E-ticket attraction aboard the Quinjet (which you will be able to see at opening on top of the building!) isn’t coming to the land until Phase 2 at a later unannounced date. We don’t know yet how delayed plans for this ride may have been, but more on the original announcement details are here
WEB Suppliers - the tech-focused store in the new land, where you’ll be able to get your own Spider-Bot (featured in the new ride) as well as at-home kits to create your own spider webs and more.
Pym Test Kitchen - the Ant-Man and the Wasp inspired eatery that applies the “Pym Particles” tech of growing and shrinking things to food items! Think a pasta dish with overly large & small meatballs.
The Ancient Sanctum - planned to be a Dr Strange “training area for recruits” it’s unlikely that the show portion of the area will be around at launch with entertainment limited but will update if I find out more! As of now it will be just a nice area to hang out and look for Dr Strange easter eggs ;)
Anywho onto how do tickets and reservations work?
Ticketing & Reservations
Disneyland is maintaining the tiered pricing system & prices that they introduced back in February 2020. So for sale will be a mix of 1 park & park hopper tickets in 5 different tiers, with Tier 5 tickets having the most available options for reservation days and Tier 1 tickets being the most limited.
As you can see below, tiers apply to 1 day single park and 1 day park hopper tickets, but multi-day tickets are eligible to book any available reservation day pending any specific restrictions or block outs listed on your ticket. Multi-day tickets must be used within a 14-day period (13 days after your first day of visiting the parks.)
Guests with park hopper ticket options may choose which park to begin their day. As noted above, park hopping is available after 1pm.
Here is a look at what date options are available to reserved per tier - the reservation system currently allows reservations up to 60 days out from park opening on April 30.
(A note about how to read this chart - Tier 5 can make a reservation for any of these dates, Tier 4 can only reserve the dates in purple and below, Tier 3 can only in medium blue and below etc. Tier 1 does not show any availability through June 30)
Image via @ScottGustin
If you have unexpired park tickets from Disneyland’s peak/regular/value tier ticketing system (pre-February 2020), your reservation opportunity availability looks like the below:
Image via @ScottGustin
If looking at the dates all together on one calendar is a little confusing, Disney has individual calendars for each tier (both for the Tier 5-1 system and the Peak/Regular/Value system) here
For everyone who has tickets from prior to the parks shutdown, here is the full list of modifications to expiration dates, per Disneyland’s website, but if you’re having difficulty figuring out your individual ticket, calling would be your best bet ahead of attempting to reserve a date. You can also see if you can get a quicker answer via the chat in the Disneyland app!
Another note per Nicki ( @MorningswithMickey on instagram) after confirming with a friend in ticketing, reservations can only be made on the website, NOT in the Disneyland app itself. So save yourself some time and head straight to a web browser when reservations are going to go live for you!
Image via @morningswithmickey IG stories
*Update 4/12/21
My ticket type wasn’t immediately valid to make a reservation at launch on April 12, but I wanted to show some screenshots and a quick video of what the reservation process looks like, up to where you create your party, which is where I had to stop for now. Once I am able to make reservations, I’ll update again with what the complete process looks like!
You may get dumped into a waiting room, depending on when you are accessing the system & how busy it is! Don’t refresh or you’ll lose your place in line! Just hang tight - at least today, it moved a lot faster than projected wait times
Disney has also now posted a reservation availability calendar on their site
Ok, so you have your tickets AND theme park reservations, now what?
Attractions and Entertainment
As of opening on April 30th, the following Disney Parks mainstays will not currently be available, due to COVID-19 operating restrictions: FASTPASS; Disney MaxPass; Magic Morning and Extra Magic Hour offerings; parades and nighttime spectaculars; character meet-and-greets.
Entertainment
While meet-and-greets are suspended, there will still be fun and spontaneous character sightings throughout both parks! Listed in the Disney Parks Blog post:
Mickey Mouse and friends from the steps of the Main Street, U.S.A railroad station or in Toontown
Disney Princesses (Mulan, Belle etc) at the Royal Theatre in Fantasyland
Captain Jack Sparrow in New Orleans Square
Miguel from Pixar’s Coco at Rancho del Zocolo in Frontierland
Various friends at Disney California Adventure at Carthay Circle and the Pixar Pier bandshell.
The Avengers (Black Panther, Black Widow, Captain America, the Dora Milaje, Spider-Man and Thor) in Hollywood Land at the Hollywood Backlot Stage *until Avengers Campus opens
I’m hoping they’ll also keep some of the popular sightings from A Touch of Disney, like Max & Goofy on the balcony at Pacific Wharf!
Attractions
As for attractions, OC Register compiled lists of what will, and won’t, be operational on opening day. I broke it down in a couple of at-a-glance graphics for you:
As you see, included in the reopening day list is the newly reimagined Snow White’s Enchanted Wish attraction (formerly known as Snow White’s Scary Adventures)! The King Arthur Carrousel is also out of refurbishment in time for opening.
In regards to Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance it may come as no surprise that they will still be using a virtual queue system for access to the attraction, though they will now have virtual queue enrollment twice a day - once in the morning and once later in the day.
Finally, what about dining options?
Food
A large majority of the dining options at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure will be utilizing Mobile Ordering, using the Disneyland app. Especially convenient right now when trying to maintain distancing & minimize contact with COVID-19, Disney will definitely be prioritizing this service.
Not everything will be open however, and many dining locations will feature streamlined menus. For instance, bread bowls will not be available for the time being. MiceChat has a great article as well discussing food options. Pulled from that article, here is the list of dining options open & closed at each park (subject to change of course.)
Disneyland dining - reopening
Bengal Barbecue
Café Orleans
Churro carts (park wide)
French Market Restaurant
Galactic Grill
Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor
Ice cream carts (park wide)
Jolly Holiday Bakery Café
Little Red Wagon
Market House
Milk Stand
Mint Julep Bar
Plaza Inn
Popcorn carts (park wide)
Red Rose Taverne
River Belle Terrace
Ronto Rosters
Ship to Shore Marketplace
Stage Door Café
The Tropical Hideaway
Disneyland dining - closed
Alien Pizza Planet
Blue Bayou
Carnation Cafe
Clarabelle’s
Daisy’s Diner
Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo
Edelweiss Snacks
The Golden Horseshoe
Harbour Gallery
Hungry Bear Restaurant
Kat Saka’s Kettle
Maurice’s Treats
Oga’s Cantina
Pluto’s Dog House
Rancho del Zocalo Restaurante
Refreshment Corner
Royal Street Veranda
Tiki Juice Bar
Tropical Imports
Troubadour Tavern
Disney California Adventure - reopening
Adorable Snowman Frosted Treats
Angry Dogs
Award Wieners
Carthay Circle Lounge- Alfresco Dining
Churro carts (park wide)
Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill
Cozy Cone Motel - Cones 1-3 (Churros, Ice Cream, Cone-coctions)
Cappuccino Cart
Fiddle, Fifer & Practical Café
Flo’s V8 Cafe
Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop
Hollywood Lounge
Ice cream carts (park wide)
Lamplight Lounge
Pacific Wharf Distribution Co.
Popcorn carts (park wide)
Poultry Palace
Rita’s Baja Blenders
Señor Buzz Churros
Smokejumpers Grill
Sonoma Terrace
Studio Catering Co.
Disney California Adventure - closed
Bayside Brews
Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta
Carthay Circle Restaurant
Clarabelle’s Hand-Scooped Ice Cream
Corn Dog Castle
Fairfax Market
Fillmore’s Taste-In
Jack-Jack Cookie Num Nums
Lucky Fortune Cookery
Mendocino Terrace
Pacific Wharf Café
Paradise Garden Grill
Schmoozies!
Wine Country Trattoria
In Conclusion…
This was so much information, I know! But hopefully it is helpful to be able to see ticketing, attractions, entertainment and dining options all in one place, and that ticketing and reservations go smoothly for you. Leave a comment about what you’re most excited about experiencing when you first re-visit the parks, or if you have any questions at all and I’ll do my best to answer. You can also check out my instagram where I’ll definitely be discussing more of the latest as I attempt to make reservations for myself!
