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How to Buy Disneyland Tickets and Plan a Magical Vacation

How to Buy Disneyland Tickets

A world where dreams come true, Disneyland is perhaps one of the most unique and famous family theme parks in the world. But before you get there, you need to know how to buy Disneyland tickets.

Giving visitors a truly magical experience while showcasing Walt Disney’s legacy, Disney’s theme parks bring to life the animated adventures of some of their greatest characters. From Mickey Mouse to Darth Vader, expect thrills and excitement as you explore the many attractions this park has to offer.

Being perhaps one of the most popular theme parks in the world, much like Universal Studios, it pays to think one step ahead when planning your visit to Disneyland.

With an average daily attendance of 51,000 visitors, the park gets busy quickly, so it is best to buy your Disneyland tickets online and early to ensure you have the right tickets for the park you want to visit.

In this guide, I will be walking you through everything you need to know about buying tickets for Disneyland in California, as well as giving you the rundown on the main attractions you do not want to miss at the park, along with some of the annual events they have taking place.

What is Disneyland, and How Many Parks Are There in America?

There are two Disney resorts located inside the U.S. The original theme park is the Disneyland resort located in Anaheim, California. This resort hosts two theme parks: the Disneyland Park and the Disney California Adventure Park.

The second and more recent resort to open in the U.S. is the Walt Disney World Resort in Orange County, Florida.

Opening 20 years after the Disneyland Park in California and currently comprising of six different theme parks, it includes:

  • The Magic Kingdom.
  • Epcot.
  • Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
  • Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
  • Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon.
  • Blizzard Beach.

Depending on whether you are visiting the east or west coast, you certainly need to schedule some time to experience the magic of both theme parks.

Here’s some more information on some of the attractions you will find at both Disneyland and Disney World.

Disneyland Park (California)

Disneyland Park:

  • New Orleans Square.
  • Bear Country.
  • Mickey’s Toontown.
  • Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
  • Fantasyland.
  • Critter Country.
  • Adventureland.
  • Tomorrowland.

Disney California Adventure Park:

  • Buena Vista Street.
  • Pixar Pier.
  • Paradise Gardens.
  • Pacific Wharf.
  • Hollywood Land.
  • Avengers Campus.
  • Cars Land.

Walt Disney World (Florida)

Magic Kingdom:

  • Adventureland.
  • Main Street, U.S.A.
  • Frontier Land.
  • Liberty Square.

Epcot:

  • Future World.
  • World Showcase.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios:

  • Hollywood Boulevard.
  • Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
  • Toy Story Land.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom:

Oasis

  • Discovery Island.
  • Rafiki’s Planet Watch.

Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon:

  • Mount Mayday.
  • Typhoon Lagoon.
  • Castaway Creek.

Disney’s Blizzard Beach:

  • Mount Gushmore and its waterslides.

Disneyland vs. Disney World

Disneyland is the smaller of the two resorts and boasts two parks. The Disneyland Park is the oldest of Walt Disney’s parks and is perhaps the most popular of all the resorts.

Walt Disney World is the most-visited vacation resort globally, welcoming nearly 60 million people per year.

Opened in 1955, the Disneyland Park sits on 160 acres of land and is continually being updated to add new attractions to its site. Not too far away from Disneyland is the Disney California Adventure Park, which maintains a classic fairground theme instead of a modern theme park.

When designing his parks, Walt Disney designed Florida’s Disney World to be a supplement park to Disneyland in Anaheim. The much larger park, Walt Disney World, opened 20 years after its Californian cousin and has grown to span over 25,000 acres, which is packed out by the multiple water parks, zoos and theme parks based on Walt Disney’s original ideas.

In fact, Epcot was one of Disney’s great plans for the U.S. government to test city-living innovations in a scaled environment. Disneyland Park has since turned into a theme park showcasing futuristic rides, shows and how future living could look.

Where Are the Parks Located and How Can You Get There?

Located in southeast Anaheim, the Disneyland Park and resort can be found just off the Santa Ana Freeway. It is easy to get to by public transport also.

You can ride the Los Angeles Metro and Orange County Transit Authority buses, which have routes linked to the resort. Visitors can also ride the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner to the resort, and the trip takes only 30 minutes to complete.

Meanwhile, on the east coast, the Walt Disney World Resort is just a 30-minute drive southwest of downtown Orlando along interstate freeway 4. If you are arriving in Orlando and are heading to Disney World, you can get to the parks via boat, monorail, or bus.

Visitors can also be transported between the different parks via a shuttle bus and monorail system which runs at regular intervals.

Ticket Types and Prices

The first thing to note when securing your Disneyland Park tickets online to either of the two resorts is to book your tickets in advance to secure the best deal and avoid disappointment.

Generally, the more days you intend to visit either park, the cheaper your tickets will be per day. As with most theme parks in the U.S., most will try to get visitors to purchase a multi-day ticket, as well as a multi-park ticket that will give you access to different parks over different days.

On average, a single adult day park ticket for both resorts will cost upwards of $104 per day. For three days at the resort, you will pay the same price, and for five days, you will pay around $72 per day.

Child tickets come in slightly cheaper at about $20 less per ticket per day. Also worth noting, there are some extra add-ons you will also have to pay for if you are interested in attending multiple parks during your visit, especially if you’re heading to Disney World in Florida, I highly recommend securing Disney Park hopper tickets that will give you access to all the Disney parks in both resorts. Disney Park hopper tickets range from $174 to $224 for adults and $169 to $219 for children for a day in the park. To avoid rushing between parks, it is best to purchase a multi-day ticket, especially for the huge Walt Disney World Resort, which has six theme parks to visit.

Additionally, you will also need to pay extra to add passes to Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach if you wish to attend the two water parks during your visit.

Keep in mind, it is always better to buy Disneyland or Disney World tickets online rather than at the gate to save time and begin your resort fun right away!

To buy Disneyland tickets or to make Disneyland reservations, visit Disney’s official ticketing site. For Disney World tickets, visit the official ticketing site here.

Disneyland and Walt Disney World tickets are available online now, so why wait? Get ready to make memories at two of the world’s biggest and greatest theme parks, where Walt Disney truly brings magic to life.