Your Guide to Disneyland's Theme Park Reservation System — How to Make Your Disneyland Reservation!

Hop, hop, hurray — A lot is hoppening this next year at Disneyland Resort. A new ride — Tiana's Bayou Adventure — is  open for the holidays as of Nov. 15, 2024! Disneyland's 70th anniversary celebration kicks off in 2025. And the Kids Special Offer ticket is on sale now for select days in January, February and March 2025! Ticket holders can now view the availability calendar and reserve park dates up to 180 days in advance (or 90 days for Magic Key pass holders). Here's how to make Disneyland theme park reservations and purchase Disneyland tickets!

Hop To

• Types of Tickets
• Buying & Reserving
• Disneyland Tickets
• Undercover Tourist Tickets
• Magic Key
• Disneyland app
• Pricing 1-Day
• Pricing Multi-day
• What to Know
• Other Reservations

You'll want to read carefully because the way you reserve tickets purchased through Disneyland differs from tickets purchased through Undercover Tourist. If you purchase directly through Disneyland, you must select dates to reserve before purchasing. If you already have tickets, plan to purchase from Undercover Tourist or have a Magic Key pass, you'll need to use the Disneyland Park reservation system to reserve your dates. Even if you do purchase directly from Disneyland, you will still use this same system to manage your reservations in case you need to modify or cancel them.

To visit Disneyland or Disney California Adventure, you will need valid admission for that park AND a reservation using the Disneyland theme park reservation system. This post will walk you through all of the key details you need to know to get a ticket and reserve your spot at Disneyland Resort!

Types of Tickets that Need Disneyland Reservations

Short and simple answer: All guests ages 3 and up!

Disneyland has set aside a limited number of park reservations for visitors to limit capacity. All guests who have existing tickets or who need to purchase theme park tickets require reservations. Hotel guests with tickets also need to make reservations. These reservations are released on a rolling basis, 180 days in advance. We do see more reservations released in batches, so definitely keep checking if you do not see availability right away. If you do see your date appear, reserve quickly, as popular dates go quickly.

What About Magic Keys?

The Magic Key program replaced the former annual pass program. Magic Key holders must make advance reservations to visit the parks. Magic Key holders use the same reservation system and may make reservations up to 90 days in advance and have a limited number of reservations they can hold at a time, which varies by type of pass. But as soon as a reservation is used, modified or canceled, a new reservation may be booked. The availability calendar for Magic Key holders differs from other ticket holders. You might see a day without reservations available for Magic Key holders while there is plenty of availability for other ticket holders and vice-versa. We will discuss Magic Keys in detail below.

Which Type of Ticket Does Not Need a Reservation?

If you purchase a dated ticket for an after-hours event, such as a Disneyland After Dark party or the Oogie Boogie Bash, you do not need to make a theme park reservation for that event.

How Do I Buy Tickets and Make a Reservation?

All ticket holders who visit during normal park hours need to use the theme park reservations page.

And don't froget: You can get discounted Disneyland tickets from your favorite froggies! After you purchase, you will link your tickets and visit the theme park reservations page. Plus, we've got deals on tickets with Lightning Lane Multi Pass so you can save on this benefit in advance! We now sell refundable 1-day tickets, too, now with some discounts! Ribbit!

Important Links

It's so easy for the information you need to find to get lost in all the details. Here are all of the important links you may find hopful: 

• Disneyland Park Availability Calendar — This calendar allows you to make sure the park you want to visit is available the day you want to visit (before you buy or start to reserve). Some days have only one park available, and others have no more availability for either park. Check the Park Hopper calendar versus the 1-Day ticket calendar, as they are different. You can even check the availability for hotel guests!
• Disneyland Promo Ticket Availability Calendar — If you buy a SoCal Resident ticket or Summer Promo ticket, these extra discounted 3-day tickets have a different reservation pool from other tickets. You'll want to buy and reserve your dates early.
• Disneyland 1-Day Ticket Tier Blockout Dates — If you have or wish to purchase a 1-Day ticket, you can see which days are blocked for each tier. Popular days such as weekends and holidays are higher tiers and cost more than, say, Tuesdays and Wednesdays at a non-peak time. Note that this calendar does not show if the days are full. You must also visit the Disneyland Park Availability Calendar to see which days are currently available to reserve.
• Magic Key Holder Availability Calendar — If you have a Magic Key pass, you can check availability and blackout dates here.
• Disneyland Theme Park Reservations — This is where you can get started, whether you need to buy tickets and/or reserve your days. A step-by-step guide is below.
• StartYourDisneylandExperience.com — After you've purchased tickets, this link also takes you through the step-by-step process.

When to Book

You'll need to plan your visit in advance, but you are limited to 180 days in advance. The reservations are released on a rolling basis, and new reservations out go live at 8 a.m. Pacific Time each day. The earlier you book, the better park availability there is. In our experience, dining reservations go live before then on the same day, so book your dining 60 days out early in the morning before you even make your park reservations (usually about or shortly after 6 a.m.). You can always cancel dining up to two hours in advance if your park reservations change or you do not start your day in the park you had originally planned to visit.

Purchasing Tickets Through the Disneyland Site

If you want to purchase a 1-Day ticket, you can purchase it through the Disneyland site or from Undercover Tourist. The 1-day tickets vary in price by date. You can now get Tier 1 through Tier 6 1-Day tickets through Undercover Tourist! Multi-day tickets are a set price for several days (or dates)

You can now purchase and reserve tickets at the same time when you buy through Disneyland. When purchasing through the Disneyland site, you'll follow these steps:

1. Visit Park Reservations and select the ticket you want.
2. Select the number of days you wish to visit the parks (in this case, one).
3. Choose the number of tickets you need for all of the guests in your party, per age group.
4. Select your ticket type — one park per day, or Park Hopper tickets.
5. Pick a date (or dates) and Continue.
6. Select your park. Pick a park for each day of your theme park reservation, subject to availability. With a Park Hopper, select your starting park for each day of your visit and Continue.
7. For added convenience, you may now select the add-on option of purchasing parking vouchers in advance as well as Lightning Lane Multi Pass service.
8. Review your current selections, and hit Continue to check out.
9. Add the name of the guest to each ticket. Do this properly so you'll know how to distinguish each person's ticket. It's mostly for your reference. Let's say Dad has to cancel coming to Disneyland and Grandma wants to use his ticket. As long as it's unused, she can use it. Once she enters the gate and gets her photo taken, that ticket is hers no matter what the name says on it.
10. Finish checking out and verify that you provide the correct email address and payment information.

Because you're purchasing directly through the Disneyland site, your ticket will automatically be linked to your account. You do not have to make a separate reservation.

Before you purchase through Disneyland, you'll want to hop down to compare costs for purchasing from Undercover Tourist. You can save a lot of money by purchasing authorized tickets through Undercover Tourist. They are the same tickets as Disneyland tickets but cost less!

There are a few things to keep in mind when purchasing directly from Disneyland. You can no longer purchase tickets to Disneyland without first choosing your reservation dates. You must reserve all the dates for multi-day tickets before you purchase. But if you need to change them, you can modify the reservations or cancel them. Keep in mind that the 1-Day tickets are subject to tiers so if you change your dates, you can only visit the same level tier or below. If you are buying for multiple people, you need to book the same dates for your entire party. If you have different dates that some party members wish to visit, purchase those tickets separately.

To save money on multi-day tickets, read on for how to purchase and reserve.

How to Make a Disneyland Reservations for Existing Tickets or Tickets Purchased from Undercover Tourist

To limit capacity at Disneyland, every park-goer must make an advance reservation. To enter a theme park, guests 3 and up must have both a theme park reservation and valid admission to that same park.

It's a good idea to check the park reservation availability before you purchase to make sure the park you want to visit has availability for your day. (If park hopping, you will want to make sure the park where you want to start your day is available.) Once you have your theme park ticket, you will want to make your Disneyland reservation ASAP!

How to Make a Disneyland Park Reservation 

First off, you need to buy a ticket or link an existing ticket. (For 1-Day tickets and prices, hop down to Ticket Pricing and How to Check Ticket Calendars for 1-Day Tickets.) If you're purchasing through Undercover Tourist, our E-tickets are typically processed within a few minutes and emailed to you (though this may take up to 24 hours). We suggest purchasing a few days in advance. You'll receive a confirmation email that includes your E-ticket so that you can hop on those reservations!

Here is how to make your Disneyland theme park reservation:

1. Register or sign in to the Disneyland app or head to StartYourDisneylandExperience.com and link your admission. To link your ticket from Undercover Tourist, you'll simply enter your ticket's 19-digit confirmation number. This can be found in your confirmation email, or just beneath the barcode on your ticket (or, using the barcode on the ticket, you can scan it directly into the app). You may need to enter the name of each ticket holder (it's important to do this correctly as you cannot change this).
2. Access the theme park reservation system. Click to make a park reservation by selecting Make or Modify Park Reservations. You'll then see two choices: Book Theme Park Reservation and Retrieve Hotel Reservation. If you are staying on-site or through a Good Neighbor package, you can link your hotel reservation or confirmation number. That unlocks better reservation availability. (If you have linked a hotel reservation, you'll want to go to the reservation, click View Details and then Make Theme Park Reservation. It will unlock more availability for you.)
3. Create your party. Select Book Theme Park Reservations and then you can create your party. Select the ticket you want to make a new theme park reservation for and click Next. You may only make park reservations for up to 15 tickets at a time. (If you do not see your tickets, click +Link a ticket or Magic Key Pass to link your park admission.)
4. Select a date and theme park. Choose the date and the theme park that you'd like to visit. You'll see a calendar that shows availability (availability changes all the time). If there is not any park availability left on a selected date, you'll see a slash through it on the calendar. If you have a multi-day ticket, after you confirm one day, you'll return to the previous screen and select Book Theme Park Reservation to repeat the process and make reservations for each day of your ticket. If you have a Park Hopper ticket, choose the theme park where you want to start your day (before 11 a.m.). After 11 a.m. you can visit either park. The Park Hopper availability can vary from the 1-Day availability. Once all of your ticket's days have been reserved, the button to book a reservation will no longer appear, leaving just the option to view existing reservations. To make changes, you can modify or cancel.
5. Review and confirm your visit. Scroll down Terms and Conditions and check the box and Confirm Changes. Provide an email address (this may be auto-populated, so be sure to double-check it) to receive confirmation of your reservation and the QR code. You'll be able to see or manage your park reservations in the Future Plans part of the Disneyland app at any time. (Cast members do not usually ask for the reservation QR code — you just need your ticket — when you enter. But it's good to have proof just in case something goes wrong or the system goes down. We once had to prove we had a reservation when the park's system went down.)

The hoppy news is that instead of needing to completely cancel and rebook a park reservation if you have to change the date or park for your visit, you can now simply modify the reservation to your new date or park without having to cancel the reservation first. 

Guests can make reservation changes on Disneyland.com (those using the app will be redirected to the website). This ability is still subject to reservation availability and blackout dates.

Tips for Navigating the Site

Though it may seem complicated, overall, the process is simple: Book your tickets. Link the tickets to your Disneyland account. Then make the Disneyland theme park reservations.

You may have a lot of questions. There is a bit of flexibility in the system if you have several people with tickets. In our case, we have days we want to visit together and days where some people will visit separately. We were able to make each person's reservations and customize the visits for our extended froggy family.

On the Disneyland home bar, you will see My Disneyland. On the pull-down menu, click Ticket and Reservation Details to start reserving. Click Make or Modify Park Reservations.

You should see your tickets or upcoming reservations listed. For people who will be visiting together, click all the tickets that apply. To customize, click just the ticket you want to reserve. If you have a 1-Day tiered ticket, your calendar will look different from the park hopper calendar.

When park hopping with a multi-day ticket, you will select your date and park for your first day, and then you may select other dates and the park you'd like to start at for your additional days. You will be shown all eligible dates. The first date you pick does not need to be the first date you visit. You'll be shown available dates that are 13 days before and after the date you selected.

Theme park reservation dates can be changed (provided your ticket isn't date-based). You can now modify your current reservation and rebook for your new date — so check availability before you make that move! You can do this directly through the Disneyland app or site at any time.

Always go back and view your reservations. Confirm that everyone in your party is starting at the same park on the same day. So many people accidentally have a different park reservation than the rest of the party. And once reservation fill up for a park, you can't change it.

Reservation Limitations:

• Guests may make reservations up to 180 days in advance.
• Magic Key Holders may make reservations up to 90 days in advance.

How to Make a Magic Key Reservation

To use a Magic Key pass:

1. Access the calendar. Make sure your pass is valid the day you want to visit up to 90 days in advance and that the park has availability.
2. Go to the reservations page and log in to your Disneyland account and make or modify a reservation the same way other ticket holders reserve their days. You can make reservations for one park, choosing the park you want to visit first if both parks are available. All Magic Keys are park hoppers. You can hop back and forth after 11 a.m. Park hopping guests can enter either park no matter the reservation if arriving after 11 a.m.
3. Review and confirm your visit by checking the Terms and Conditions box. (Do not froget to scroll down and complete this step. That's another big mistake people make.)

Don't froget! You can now simply modify your park reservation to your new date or park without having to cancel the reservation first. 

Magic Key holders use the same reservation system as everyone else but may have a more limited selection of days when booking. Weekend days, festivals and holidays fill up quickly for Magic Key holders, so reserve early. It can be challenging to find same-day reservations, even during the week at times. Park availability changes frequently. If you don't see what you want, just keep checking, especially the night before and the middle of the night.

If you hoppen to have both Magic Keys or regular tickets in your account, you will see all of your reservations and tickets/passes in the same place. When you link friends or family members to your Disneyland account or app, you'll also see their reservations. We have found that hopful in coordinating plans and starting theme parks.

Penalties for No-Shows

Unlike people with 1-day and multi-day ticket reservations, Magic Key holders face penalties for no-shows. Key holders can cancel or modify a reservation without penalty up until 11:59 p.m. the night before the reservation. However, if they do not show up three times in 90 days, the ability to make new reservations will be suspended for 30 days. Existing reservations are not deleted at that time. In comparison, if regular ticket holders do not show up, they can simply make a new reservation. To avoid a Magic Key no-show, a Key holder should cancel or modify by the night before or enter the park before closing on the day of the reservation.

The good news is that Magic Key holders can now see if they have any no-shows when they go to make a reservation. When you go to select a person to make a reservation for, you'll see the number of reservations available as well as the number of No-Shows. Click View Details to show the history.

Managing Reservations Through the Disneyland App

You can initiate managing your theme park reservations through the Disneyland app. There are two ways to start the process. Tap the "+" sign and then Make a Park Reservation. The other way, you will tap the three horizontal lines at the bottom of the home screen, then scroll down to Future Plans. Tap any of the plans to be sent to the site to modify or check plans. You'll need to sign into your Disney account and follow the same steps you would follow for the site. Don't froget to scroll down to tap the Terms and Conditions box.

Ticket Pricing and How to Check Ticket Calendars for 1-Day Tickets

Disneyland has a tiered pricing schedule for 1-Day tickets. Each day has a different price based on expected crowds. Before you purchase, you'll have to check the Ticket Calendars to see which dates are valid. If you already have an unused tiered ticket, you can look at which days are blocked for your tier at disneyland.disney.go.com/park-availability. It does not indicate that the day is still available. You'll have to hop over to the Disneyland Park Availability Calendar to see which days have filled up or still have room for reservations.

We know you want to save as much money as you can, so looking at the park availability calendar can help you pick the cheapest ticket for your day. If you already have a ticket, you can see which days the ticket is valid for making a park reservation.

The best savings come with Tier 0 tickets or with multi-day tickets (as well as promo tickets that pop up in summer and other times). Multi-day tickets are not subject to the tiered pricing or date restrictions (whew, one less thing to worry about!) — and we have hoppin' good news! Undercover Tourist is offering discount multi-day Disneyland tickets, available now! Our official Disneyland tickets can be linked to your account and used to make park reservations.

For now, Disneyland has released pricing schedules. More details will be released on a rolling basis. Hop over to view the ticket dates each tier is good for.

Let's take a look at Disneyland ticket tiers and prices for 1-Day Adult Tickets with admission to 1 park per day (not refundable):

• Adult 1-Day Tier 6 Ticket with Admission to 1 Park Per Day — $206
• Adult 1-Day Tier 5 Ticket With Admission to 1 Park Per Day — $196
• Adult 1-Day Tier 4 Ticket With Admission to 1 Park Per Day — $180
• Adult 1-Day Tier 3 Ticket With Admission to 1 Park Per Day — $164
• Adult 1-Day Tier 2 Ticket With Admission to 1 Park Per Day — $142
• Adult 1-Day Tier 1 Ticket With Admission to 1 Park Per Day — $126
• Adult 1-Day Tier 0 Ticket With Admission to 1 Park Per Day — $104

Undercover Tourist now sells 1-Day Tickets! If your plans are tentative, but you want to secure your dates, Undercover Tourist Disneyland tickets are refundable for up to 365 days. Tickets purchased directly from Disneyland are not. Disneyland 1-Day tickets expire Dec. 30, 2026.

Keep in mind that a ticket can be used for its tier as well as a lower tier. But a lower-tier ticket cannot be booked for a higher-tier date if you change your mind. You can now upgrade tiers online and through the Disneyland app. One reason we love multi-day tickets is that you do not have to worry about tiers or blackout dates. Another reason to love multi-day tickets is that it's generally cheaper per day, plus it's cheaper per day to add park hopping to a multi-day ticket than to a 1-day ticket!

If you are unable to use your tickets before they expire, keep in mind that Disneyland tickets never lose their value. You can apply them toward a future purchase. We have hoppin' good news! Unused Undercover Tourist Disneyland tickets now have a 365-day refund policy when booking through Undercover Tourist. Look at the refund policy on the ticket you wish to buy for the details.

If you need a rental car on your trip, if you add it to your cart when purchasing Undercover Tourist theme park tickets, you can unlock deeper savings of up to 50 percent off!

Multi-Day Disneyland Ticket Prices

Hoppy news — multi-day tickets are available too! As we mentioned, these tickets are not subject to tiered pricing or blackout dates like 1-Day tickets. Multi-day tickets expire 13 days after their first use, or Jan. 12, 2027, whichever comes first. You have your first use, plus 13 days. Advance theme park reservations are required for each day of your visit, in addition to valid admission. If you'll be park hopping, you'll only need to make a theme park reservation for the first park you wish to visit. Multi-day ticket reservations are much easier to modify than the tiered 1-day tickets because the multi-day ticket have no blackout dates.

Follow our advice on how to save money on Disneyland tickets with Undercover Tourist. We have a saying about the savings: That's a lot of churro money! (We tend to use our savings for snacks and park experiences.) Disneyland raised prices for tickets, Lightning Lane Multi Pass and park hoppers on Oct. 9, 2024.

Multi-Day Park Hopper Tickets from Undercover Tourist 

• 2-Day Disneyland Park Hopper Ticket
• 2-Day Disneyland Park Hopper Ticket with Lightning Lane Multi Pass
• 3-Day Disneyland Park Hopper Ticket
• 3-Day Disneyland Park Hopper Ticket with Lightning Lane Multi Pass
• 4-Day Disneyland Park Hopper Ticket
• 4-Day Disneyland Park Hopper Ticket with Lightning Lane Multi Pass
• 5-Day Disneyland Park Hopper Ticket
• 5-Day Disneyland Park Hopper Ticket with Lightning Lane Multi Pass

Want to know how to get a 5th day free? An Undercover Tourist 5-day ticket costs $1 less than a Disneyland 4-day ticket! Did you notice that our Lightning Lane Multi Pass tickets have additional savings? This is the best way to lock in the lowest Lightning Lane Multi Pass rate you can get. If you wait to purchase in the park, the price can go up. It varies each day.

Multi-Day Base Tickets from Undercover Tourist

• 2-Day Disneyland Base Ticket
• 2-Day Disneyland Base Ticket with Lightning Lane Multi Pass
• 3-Day Disneyland Base Ticket
• 3-Day Disneyland Base Ticket with Lightning Lane Multi Pass
• 4-Day Disneyland Base Ticket
• 4-Day Disneyland Base Ticket with Lightning Lane Multi Pass
• 5-Day Disneyland Base Ticket
• 5-Day Disneyland Base Ticket with Lightning Lane Multi Pass

Keep an eye out for even cheaper sales and promo tickets that appear from time to time! We often run Adults at Child prices tickets for 3-day and longer visits. Hop on that deal if you see it! You can buy now for future visits (through early 2027)! A very discounted Kids Special Offer ticket is back on sale. You can take your kids select dates in January, February and March for as low as under $50 a day!

We usually have great SoCal Resident Promo 3-Day ticket promos available during January to early June. In summer, we have discounts on the 3-Day Summer ticket too! With this ticket, you can visit on three separate days, but with a longer usage window than a standard ticket. There are park hopper and Lightning Lane Multi Pass options as well. In fact, this is the cheapest you will find Lightning Lane Multi Pass! Follow us on social media for more sales and deal announcements. Look for our Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals! Sometimes, especially near holidays, you can take advantage of additional sales on multi-day tickets!

What to Know Before You Make Your Disneyland Reservation

Before you make your Disneyland reservation, there are a few important things to remember:

• You must have valid theme park admission to make a reservation.
• You'll make a reservation for a specific park.
• Disneyland on-site hotel guests have a different pool of reservations, so if you really want to visit but your days are full, check the Disney hotel guests' availability and book a room.
• You will want to link all the tickets to at least one account to make joining a virtual queue for World of Color or using Lightning Lane Multi Pass or DAS easier.
• Reservations are limited and subject to availability.
• You must make a park reservation for each day of entry. If you have a multi-day ticket, you must make a park reservation for each day of your visit.
• Guests aged 2 and under do not need a ticket or reservation.
• You can view a Disney Park Reservation Availability calendar at disneyland.disney.go.com/availability-calendar.
• Some limited-time California Resident Tickets and Summer Promo tickets have a different pool of availability.
• You can modify or cancel your reservation if you need to make a change.

Theme Park Reservations for Disneyland Resort Hotel Guests

As we mentioned, one of the perks of staying at an on-site hotel is that hotel guests have a different pool of theme park availability. That goes for any ticket holder or Magic Key holder with a hotel reservation. Hotel guests can tap My Hotel Reservation in the Disneyland app to access the hotel guest theme park reservations. Be sure to link your hotel reservation to your account to access this. It's such a nice perk (along with theme park Early Entry)! Then View Details and reserve your park visits.

Making Dining and Other Experience Reservations

Once you make your Disneyland Park Reservations, you may want to book dining or the lightsaber-building experience at Savi's Workshop right away. Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique reservations fill up quickly. You may book up to 60 days in advance. You can even book dining or other experiences before you book your park reservation. Just remember to modify or cancel it if you are not able to make a park reservation that day. We recommend booking in-park dining and other experiences at the park where you have a theme park reservation or after hopping time if you have a Park Hopper Ticket.

Since Disneyland requires you to have both a theme park reservation and a valid admission ticket for the same park on the same date, having reservations for dining experiences and other pre-booked experiences does not guarantee access to a park.

If you are new to Disneyland, hop over to our post on using the Disneyland app. It's full of tips and tricks to make your day easier.

Hop to it! It's time to make those Disneyland reservations. What questions do you have about Disneyland's new reservation system? Let us know in the comments below! And remember, you can save some green by purchasing your Disneyland tickets and your hotel stay through Undercover Tourist. Ribbit!

Hoppy planning!