Disneyland Reopening: Everything you need to KNOW!

The Disneyland park has reopened after over a year being closed, magic returned on April 30, 2021, for California residents only!  Out of state residents returned on June 15th and I was there!  In order to visit Disneyland you MUST have a reservation.  I don’t see them ever taking the reservation system away, get used to it.  In this post I’ll share all the details about how to get tickets and reservations for the parks.  I’ve got arrival tips, parking information, refurbishments, entertainment is back, single riders and more.  Hang on there’s lots of information to share!  This post contains affiliate links which means I make a little something when you purchase through the link with no extra cost to you.

Theme park reservations

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 available online, in advance only, for a specific date, subject to availability.  Theme park reservations can now be made up to 120 days in advance.  If you have a multi-day ticket, you must make a park reservation for each date of your visit. 

Need theme park tickets?

Single day tickets will be available for purchase on the Disneyland website.  But if you want to purchase 2 day or more tickets I recommend purchasing from Get Away Today for discounted multi-day Disneyland tickets.  Keep in mind multi day tickets have to be used within 13 days of the first day of use.  And these tickets can be used for any day, no certain days blocked or based on tiers.  Plus they offer the only refundable Disneyland ticket.  I always purchase my tickets through through Get Away Today for many reasons.  One, they are a Disney partner, the same tickets, but at a discounted price. Two, their website is user friendly and they have top notch customer service.  The tickets once purchased are emailed to you immediately and then you can make your theme park reservation.  You will link your tickets to your Disneyland account and make a park reservation.  I 100% trust and guarantee these tickets for those who have never purchased through Get Away Today.  I have worked with them for years and they have worked with Disney for over 30 years!

Park Hopper Tickets

Guests who purchase or have a Park Hopper ticket and an appropriate park reservation may visit the second park on the same day beginning at 1 PM. Please check the Park Hours calendar and the Disneyland app for the most up-to-date Park Hopper hours, as they could start earlier at a later date, depending on the day and park. Guests with Park Hopper tickets must make a park reservation for the first park they plan to visit AND enter that first park prior to visiting the other park.  There have been no problems park hopping from park to park.  And you can go back and forth as much as you want after 1 p.m.

Update on Face Coverings

The following announcement was shared on the Disneyland website 2/15/22. “The State of California strongly recommends that all Guests be fully vaccinated or obtain a negative COVID-19 test prior to entering the Disneyland Resort. Beginning February 17, 2022, face coverings are required for unvaccinated Guests (ages 2 and older) in all indoor locations, including throughout indoor attractions and indoor queues. Face coverings are required for all Guests, regardless of vaccination status, in certain indoor settings including Disney shuttles and in health settings, such as in First Aid. Face coverings are optional for Guests in outdoor areas. If planning to travel, please check and follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations and any State travel advisories. Do not travel to or enter Disneyland Resort unless you are free of any COVID-19 symptoms and otherwise comply with the requirements of such advisories and restrictions.”

Refurbishments:

• Tarzan’s Treehouse still closed reopening TBA
• Finding Nemo closed until later in 2022
• Pirates of the Caribbean closed until summer of 2022
• Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters closed April 11 reopens April 15
• Silly Symphony Swings closed until TBA
• Animation Academy closed May 2  reopens TBA
• Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree closed May 9th and reopens on May 13th. 
• Golden Zephyr closed on May 9th and reopens on May 20th
• Mickey’s Philharmagic closed May 16th reopening TBA

Everything you need to know about FOOD

There is so much to cover with the food available, changes in menus, planning your meals now and more that I’ve created a whole other blog post.  Hop over there for everything from mobile ordering to where you can find your favorite foods and my TOP picks!

What will be open and closed in each park?

I’ve updated this section to now only read what’s still closed.  If you don’t see it on here then it has reopened.  Most of the parks are back to normal operating so I’ll just share and update when these things reopen.

Disneyland attractions CLOSED

• Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage
• Mickey’s House and Meet Mickey
• Minnie’s House
• Star Wars Launch Bay

Disneyland Park Dining CLOSED

• Blue Bayou (under refurbishment April 21st until TBA)
• Clarabelle’s
• Daisy’s Diner
• Goofy’s Freeze
• Pluto’s Dog House
• Troubadour Tavern

 

Disney California Adventure Attractions CLOSED

• Red Car Trolley

 

NEW virtual queues at Disneyland and DCA

UPDATE:  The virtual queues for attractions are no longer used, but for World of Color check this post.  Disney says they will open the virtual queue as needed.  So far we have not seen it reopen since they took it away.  The best way to plan your day and fit in all the rides can be found on this Disneyland strategy post or this Disney California Adventure strategy post.   A virtual queue is just a fancy way of saying you’re in line but you don’t have to stand and wait in an actual line. Instead of waiting in a physical line you can enjoy other things in the park until it’s your turn to go on the ride.  Joining the virtual queue on your phone in the Disneyland app requires some explanation and practice before you go to the parks.  Find the whole tutorial with step by step instructions and photos in this post.  Again this is only offered for World of Color right now.  But I want to keep the information available in case it returns in the future.

Tips for the virtual queues

UPDATE: this is no longer in service.  You CAN’T be in a virtual queue for both Rise of the Resistance and Web Slingers at the same time.  Both of these E-ticket attractions only allow you to have one of the other at the same time.  Again more details about virtual queues… what time to join the virtual queue, what park you start in determines which ride you can go on and if you can ride both Web and Rise in the same day can be found in here.

Single Rider is BACK!!!

Single rider is back, but NOT available at all times.This option is offered on an as needed basis depending on the regular stand by line and staffing at attractions.  Here’s a list of all rides that have a single rider line in each park.  These are subject to change.

Disneyland list

• Indiana Jones (taken away as of March 2022, could return)
• Matterhorn
• Millennium Falcon 
• Space Mountain (has been taken away as of January 2022, could return)
• Splash Mountain 

Disney’s California Adventure list

• Goofy’s Sky School 
• Grizzly River Run 
• Radiator Racers 
• Incredicoaster 
• WEB Slingers: A Spiderman Adventure

For access to the single rider line just go to the entrance of the ride and tell the cast member you want to go in the single rider line.  The exception to this rule is on Space Mountain and Splash Mountain.  For those rides you go to the exit to access the single rider line.

Services NOT available 

• FASTPASS new Disney Genie+ read more here
• Disney MaxPass 
• Magic Morning
• Extra Magic Hour
• Character Meet and Greet returning April 18th, but you will see characters out and about.
• Magical Makeovers at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique

Character interactions

Characters will be in the parks in new ways that are sure to entertain and delight guests.  There will not be traditional lines to meet characters and get autographs.  Instead it will be more of a character sighting and you can take a selfie with characters throughout the park.  Here are a few of the locations where you can find characters over in Disneyland.

• Mickey Mouse and some of his pals will be at the Main Street, U.S.A. railroad station. Or outside their homes in Mickey’s Toontown.
• Disney Princesses at the Royal Theatre in Fantasyland
• Rapunzel and Flynn over near her tower by the Royal Theatre.
• Find Alice, Tigger and  Eeyore in the grass near the castle
• Peter Pan, Wendy, Captain Hook, Mary Poppins, Bert, Pinocchio and Geppetto rotate  over near It’s a Small World
• Captain Jack Sparrow, Redd and Tiana from the balconies in New Orleans Square
• Miguel Pixar’s “Coco” and Mirabel from Entancto near Rancho del Zocolo in Frontierland.
• Stitch is over by Autopia and can be seen from Star Wars Launch Bay.
• Rey, Chewbacca and Vi Moradi may be spotted above the speeder garage at Black Spire Station in Galaxy’s Edge
• Kylo Ren plus Stormtroopers will be patrolling the platform of the TIE Echelon starfighter

Character sightings at Disney California Adventure park may include friends appearing at Carthay Circle up on the balcony and over along Pixar Pier at the bandshell.

• Vampirina, Doc McStuffins and other Disney Jr. characters may say hello from the stage of the Disney Theater in Hollywood Land.
• Anna and Elsa near the fountain in front of Carthay Circle Lounge.
• Mickey in his Buena Vista outfit and other characters near the fountain as well.
• Lightning McQueen, Mater and Red will be out along Route 66.
• Max and Goofy fishing over by Pacific Wharf.
• Edna and Frozone near the Incredicoaster.
• Chip and Dale along the path to Grizzly River Run.
• Nick Wilde from Zootopia next to Little Mermaid
• Big Al from Country Bears over near Redwood Creek Challenge entrance
• Over in Avengers Campus you can see so many super heroes throughout the day … Black Widow, Captain America, Thor, Spider-Man, Black Panther and the Dora Milaje to name a few.

Park Hours

You can find updated park hours in the app.  On the home page scroll all the way to the bottom and view hours. Even though the park hours start at 8 a.m. guests are allowed in the parks before that time.  The time varies but usually 30 minutes before the park officially opens.  I always recommend arriving at least an hour before the scheduled park opening hours.  This gives you time to go through security, the gates (when they open), snap a few pictures and be well on your way to your first attraction.  But read below if you’re parking at Mickey and Friends parking lot. 

Parking

Theme park parking is available at the Mickey & Friends and Pixar Pals parking structures, located off Disneyland Drive for a $30 fee.  The parking structures open 90 minutes before the official park hours for that day.  The trams are back now!  No more walking the tram route to get to the gates.  See below for other parking options. There are a few parking options on the Harbor side as well.  The Toy Story parking lot is now open 60 minutes before the official park hours too.  See map below.  You can park here for $30 and then a bus will take you over to the Harbor entrance.  The nice thing about this option is you go through security in the parking lot.  When you are dropped off on the Harbor side you have a separate entrance right into the Esplanade, you bypass the Harbor side security checkpoint. 

The Anaheim hotel, offers parking, the Anaheim Garden Walk is across Harbor and down the street (about 7-8 min walk).  You pay by the hour at the Garden Walk to park.  The first hour is free and then it’s $3 per hour to park up to $30 total for the day.  Plus this location is open 24 hours, 7 days a week.  The Best Western, Fairfield Inn, Tropicana and Grand Legacy no longer offer parking.  The last option is Uber or Lyft to the Harbor side entrance and get dropped off.  These locations and prices are subject to change.  I continue to update this as things change. Updated 4-22  

Arrival tips

Everyone wants to know what time to arrive.  I always recommend arriving an hour before the official park hours posted.  This allows you to hit the rides first thing before lines start to build up.  If that’s your goal plan to arrive by 7:00 a.m.  No matter which side you line up on that will give you plenty of time to get through security and the entrance turnstiles.  They are letting guests through security about an hour before the posted park hours and through the gates around 7:30 a.m.  This is an ever changing situation.  At Disneyland they were holding everyone at the hub at the end of Main Street until 8:00 a.m. then letting guests on rides. And over at DCA they open the gates and let guests on rides like Soarin’ and Radiator Racers.  So arriving early is very beneficial because from day to day it changes.  You never know exactly when they are going to let guests in.  

Here’s a look at our timeline from June 17th the park opened at 9:00 a.m.

• 8:37 a.m. we arrived at the Harbor Blvd. crosswalk 
• 8:48 a.m. went through the security checkpoint
• 8:50 a.m. got in line for Disney California Adventure
• 8:56 a.m. through the turnstile and inside the gates 
• 8:59 a.m. got in line for Soarin’ Around the World
• 9:08 a.m. on the ride

The lines move quickly in the morning.  They look long, but Disney has it down to a science.  These times are just to give you an idea of what it looked like on one of our mornings.  Normally I like to be in the parks before they open, so take my advice and arrive one hour before the posted park hours to make the most out of your day!

Hotel Reservations

• For guests planning on staying at a Disneyland Resort property, hotel reservations do not guarantee park access. Guests will need to make theme park reservations on their own.
• If you plan to visit the theme parks during your stay, get your theme park reservation prior to making your hotel reservation.
• To find a hotel near Disneyland that is open for guests check here for pricing!  And for hotel recommendations this post has over 15 options.  

Guests with disabilities  

The parks are very accommodating for guests with disabilities.  Just as before Disney offers a DAS pass for guests.  You can read more on their website here.  At this time if you need to rent an ECV, wheelchair etc. you can find them at the front gates or at the Mickey & Friends parking structure.  If you’d like to rent and secure a scooter, wheelchair etc. before you arrive, I have used A Scooter 4 U several times.  Call Jerry at 562-697-7725 and tell him I sent you for 5% off your rental fee.  He can deliver to hotels or meet you at the park.

General Information:

• EVERYTHING you need to know about food, menus, my top picks and more can be found here.
• You can leave the park and go to Downtown Disney at any time and have no problem returning back inside a park.
• A new Magic Key program is available, replacing the old annual pass program.
• Also Rider Switch/Swap is available.  To learn more about this great option for groups with children too young to ride click here.
• Character dining, more details on this post!
• Downtown Disney parking and info found on this post.
• Visiting Avengers Campus here’s what you need to know!
• Nighttime shows returning everything you need to know found here.

Check back on this post frequently if you’re planning a trip to Disneyland anytime soon.  I will update as needed.  Make sure you’re following along on Instagram for the most current day to day information and news!

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