The phased reopening of California has reached an exciting milestone: The Happiest Place on Earth has returned! After more than a year of closure, Disneyland Resort is now open.
As with other California theme parks, all admission tickets must be booked online with a reservation to accommodate reduced capacity limits. Disneyland’s Know Before You Go page also details the resort’s new cleaning practices, physical distancing measures, and guidelines for face coverings—along with a lot of details unique to the Anaheim hub. Here’s a rundown of the essentials:
You’ll need both a ticket and a reservation. For now, booking your visit takes a few quick—but separate—steps. First, log in to your Disney account, or create one if you don’t have one yet. Second, check the availability calendar to confirm that your chosen dates are available. Third, go to the tickets page to purchase tickets for everyone in your group. Finally, go back to the reservations calendar to lock in the date, entry time, and chosen theme park for each day of your visit. You’ll need to bring both your reservation confirmation—a QR code sent to your email—and the associated ticket to the resort .
For now, admission to the parks is open for California residents only. When buying tickets, you will also “create your party” with the names of each person in your group, which can consist of up to three households. Your ticket purchase will be linked to your Disney account’s home address, and you’ll be asked to attest that everyone in your party lives in California. Proof of residency may be required when you arrive at the park.
You can still purchase a Park Hopper ticket—with a few adjustments. For now, if you buy a multi-day Park Hopper ticket that lets you explore both Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park, there’s one new twist. You still reserve one park for each day, and you can only “hop” to the other park after 1 p.m. on that day.
Definitely download (or update) the app. The Disneyland App, with its GPS-enabled map of the parks, is a key tool for placing food orders, making sit-down dining reservations, and snagging your place in the virtual queue for the Rise of the Resistance ride inside Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
Be ready to go cashless. Disneyland Resort recommends that you bring a debit or credit card, or a contactless payment option such as a mobile wallet, for more streamlined purchases. If you have cash, you can convert it to a Disney gift card at the World of Disney store in Downtown Disney.
Expect most (but not all) rides and attractions to be open as of April 30. More than 45 rides and attractions will be running inside both Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park. The lineup includes classics such as Space Mountain, It’s a Small World, and Radiator Springs Racers, as well as the two main rides at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
Assume that a few rides and features will still be on pause. Rides that are currently closed include Matterhorn Bobsleds, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, and California Adventure’s Grizzly River Run.
Don’t miss two debuts in Disneyland Park. One Fantasyland classic got a makeover during quarantine: The former Snow White’s Scary Adventures is now Snow White’s Enchanted Wish, with new scenes and special effects, including the scent of baking pies. In New Orleans Square, you can now sip hurricanes and other adult beverages at Blue Bayou, making it only the second spot in Disneyland Park that serves alcohol—after Oga’s Cantina in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. (There are still several places to imbibe in California Adventure, including Carthay Circle Lounge.)
Expect a slightly different routine at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa. The resort’s sumptuous, arts & crafts–style hotel re-opened on April 29. For now, guests will do online check-in and checkout, so that you only need to visit the front desk to pick up your key. Some perks are suspended for now—such as room service, pin-swapping, character dining, and Extra Magic Hours. The pools and other eateries are open, however, and you can still use the hotel’s special guest entrance when going from the parks back to your room. (Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel reopened on June 15; the Disneyland Hotel will reopen July 2.)
Experience the new Avengers Campus. The Marvel-themed area in California Adventure had its grand opening on June 4, including the ride Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure.
