DISNEYLAND

Disneyland Characters

First of all one of my favorite places is the Magic Kingdom, Disneyland! I think part of it is I visited it a handful of times in my childhood. So it in a way brings back memories of when I was a child. Who doesn’t like experiencing some nostalgia on their vacations? Also one thing I love about Disneyland is they are always evolving as well. So every Disneyland vacation there will be new experiences! I am actually planning a trip to Disneyland in May of 2024. So the build up of this page is all information I researched for myself as well as you guys of course. And then post trip I will let everyone know how it went and any tips that I learned while there. Obviously there will be a photo dump of us and our adventures there!

Disneyland/California Adventures Tickets

First and foremost you need to plan out how many days you want to spend at each of the parks. Also you need to think about if you want to visit both parks in the same days. We will be in California for a total of 4 days. My personal strategy going in is to visit each park for one full day, this will save me on not getting the more expensive “hopper pass”. Another day will be spent at Universal Studios, which I have never been too, and I am also really excited for! So below I will map out all of the options for Disneyland/California Adventures tickets. Of course I like to save money where I can, so I found a company called City Pass that has discounted tickets. The more days the pass, the more the discount is how it works.

Your Ticket Options:

You can purchase anywhere from 2-5 Day Tickets
One Park Per Day or Park Hopper (You can do things at both parks on the same days)
You can have ticket with Genie+ Feature, which gives you the ability to get expedited Lightning Lane access for certain attractions and experiences, plus other special audio experiences and features. I will be purchasing this feature because I don’t really like large crowds and feel the extra $30.
Ticket Prices range from: $280 to $564 depending the options you choose.

Once you have your tickets purchased you need to make reservations for the park. You need to make reservations for each day and each park that you want to visit. I would be safe and do this ahead of time.

Planning what to pack for your next Disneyland vacation? See my blog post with all of the details of what you will need!

MagicBand+ is also a great add-on to your tickets, they are $34.99 and link with the Disney App. You can use it to enter the park, enter lightning lane, link photos to your app for future purchase, and also it also interacts with some the attractions to give you a special experience.

The City Pass that I mentioned above is also a great tool to get discount on attractions around Disneyland such as:

Universal Studios
Sea World
Lego Land
San Diego Zoo and Safari Park

Disneyland Vacation Accommodations

You may be asking yourself where should I stay, and there are many choices. There are plenty of good ones though. The main choice is to stay at a Disney Property or stay off site from Disneyland.

Disney Properties:

Disneyland Hotel
Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel and Spa.
Disney’s Paradise Hotel and Spa

Perks of Staying at Disney Resort

First and foremost my favorite thing about staying at a Disney Resort is you get to enter the park 30 minutes early. I love this because you can have little or no wait on you favorite ride to start the day.
At select times throughout the year you get to enjoy special activities and events with the characters!
Easy Access to the parks
Next you can charge food or shopping purchases to you room
Preferred Access to limited reservations at Disney Restaurants
Online Check In and Digital Key Access to your room
Access to Character Dining
Fitness Classes and Pool Cabanas
Access to Tenaya Spa Services
You can go to Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar

Other room options:

Find much better rates at hotels that are not Disney Branded. Also many of these you can walk from the hotel to the park in around 10 minutes. One great tool for finding a good deal on these is to check Hotel.com
VRBO Rentals: These are great for a large group or if you just like to have all the amenities that mirror your regular home.