Know Before You Go: Visiting Disneyland® Resort in California

Disneyland® Park is the world's original—and first—Disney® park (all other Disney® parks opened after Walt’s death in 1966), known for the iconic Sleeping Beauty Castle at the top of Main Street USA. Just adjacent to it is Disney California Adventure® Park, which was built in 2001 as an homage to the state that put Disney® on the map. It features themed lands that celebrate the state's history, culture, and natural beauty, including Buena Vista Street, Hollywood Land, Grizzly Peak, Paradise Pier, and Cars Land (the exception to the Californication is the Marvel-themed Avengers Campus, which opened in 2021).

Insider tip: If your kids are more into Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion, choose Disneyland® Park; if their thing is more Cars Land or The Avengers, then Disney California Adventure® Park might be the way to go.

Disneyland® Park and Disney® California Adventure Park are located directly across from each other (they share an entrance plaza), so it’s easy to criss-cross back and forth between the two if you buy a Park-Hopper ticket (which costs an additional $70 on top of the single-park ticket).

That said, there’s a lot of ground to cover: Disneyland® Park is spread across 85 acres (34 hectares) and features more than 40 attractions, while Disney California Adventure® Park covers 72 acres (29 hectares) and has more than 30 attractions. You’ll have a hard time fitting everything in (especially if you’ve got small children with you) if you don’t spread things out. We recommend two or three days to see it all.

A discounted Disneyland® Resort multi-day pass lets you visit one park one day and the other on a second day within 14 days of the first visit.

Insider tip: If you’re visiting both parks and have young children, rent or bring a stroller so you can navigate the lands faster when your littles get tired of walking.

The Downtown Disney® District is free to explore—no tickets necessary (though you do have to pass through a security checkpoint and pay for parking if arriving by car). You’ll find a slew of shops, including one of the largest World of Disney® stores in the US, a massive LEGO® store, a huge array of eateries, and a few locations where you can see the Disneyland® Park fireworks shows (see full list below).

Disneyland® Park is generally open from 8am until midnight, while Disney California Adventure® Park is open 8am to 10pm. Closing hours change depending on the day and season, so be sure to check the website before you go. Want a 30-minute head start on the attractions? California Adventure also offers an early-park entry at 7:30am to all guests of Disneyland® Resort Hotels.

There are plenty of attractions for kids of all ages at both Disneyland® Park and Disney California Adventure® Park. Rise of the Resistance, Space Mountain, and Indiana Jones Adventure are considered the top three attractions at Disneyland® Park, while Radiator Springs Racers, Soarin’ Around the World, and Toy Story Midway Mania are considered Disney® California Adventure Park’s best attractions.

Many attractions do have height requirements, though. At Disneyland® Park, kids as small as 32 inches (81 centimeters) can ride Autopia if accompanied by someone at least 54 inches (137 centimeters) tall, and height requirements go up from there for other attractions. However, for thrill attractions such as Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Space Mountain, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Star Tours, and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, riders must be at least 40 inches (102 centimeters) tall. Indiana Jones Adventure tops the list with a 46-inch (117-centimeter) minimum.

Over at Disney California Adventure® Park, little ones can enjoy Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree starting at 32 inches (81 centimeters). Several other attractions—including Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters, Jumpin’ Jellyfish, Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!, Radiator Springs Racers, Silly Symphony Swings (tandem seats only), and Soarin’ Around the World—require riders to be at least 40 inches (102 centimeters) tall. The most height-restrictive attractions are the Incredicoaster and Silly Symphony Swings (single seats), both of which require a minimum height of 48 inches (122 centimeters).

Purchasing your Disneyland® Park and Disney® California Adventure Park tickets in advance is highly recommended to secure your spot, especially during busy times when the parks may reach capacity. While there’s a ticket booth on-site, you won’t be allowed in if you’re trying to buy tickets and they’ve already maxed out. Making your reservation ahead of time ensures your access to each theme park.

Insider tip: Don’t worry if you have to change your reservation. Tickets can be cancelled or changed up to the day before your visit. Even if you wake up on the day of your visit and can’t make it (if your kids are sick, for instance), you can still change the reservation to another day.

As of April 2025, Disneyland® Resort tickets start at $100 for guests over age 9, with prices reaching $206 or higher on peak days. Disneyland® Resort tickets have demand-based pricing, meaning ticket prices on more popular days—say, anytime in July or December—will be significantly higher. Similarly, weekdays, especially during the “low season” (mid-February, January, and September) are generally less expensive.

If you’re here for a few days, you can save by buying multi-day passes. The 5-day passes offer the cheapest per-day rate—though two to three days is generally enough time to see and do everything at both parks.

Insider tip: Children under 3 get free admission, so bring those toddlers while you can!

Even during low season, Disneyland® Resort still packs in the crowds. To make the most of your time—and to be able to ride as many attractions as you can—it’s worth buying a Lightning Lane Pass. These passes (formerly called Disney® Genie+ service) let you use the Disneyland® app to schedule your attractions ahead of time so you don’t waste time waiting in line. You can also use the app to buy a Single Attraction Lightning Lane Pass to top attractions such as Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at Disneyland® Park and Radiator Springs Racers at Disney® California Adventure.

Insider tip: If you want to ride Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, one of Disneyland’s® most popular attractions, book your Lightning Lane pass first thing in the morning. This ride often books out within a few hours of the park opening.

If you don’t mind a little crowding, there are several special events at Disneyland® Resort that are can’t-miss experiences for hardcore Disneyphiles. These include:

• The Holidays at the Disneyland® Resort: From late November through early January, you can celebrate the winter holidays with elaborate decorations, special entertainment, and holiday-themed food and beverages across both parks.
• Halloweentime at Disneyland® Resort: From late August through Halloween night, you can experience themed attractions, spooky (but not scary) decorations, special entertainment, and autumn-inspired food and beverages spread across both parks.
• California Adventure Food and Wine Festival: Usually occurring in the spring (check the Disneyland® website for specific dates), this festival is another favorite. While we definitely don’t recommend drinking before the Incredicoaster, this annual Disney California Adventure® Park festival is a unique way to experience the park, with curated California-inspired cuisine booths spread across the park, cocktails, and live entertainment.

Disneyland® would never miss an opportunity to celebrate, and the Disneyland® Resort 70th Celebration is no exception. Starting May 16, 2025, and running through summer 2026, the resort will honor its seven decades with limited-time entertainment, colorful decor, themed food and beverages, collectible merchandise, and more.

At Disney California Adventure Park, guests will have a nightly opportunity to vote via the app on which emotion (Sadness, Anger, Disgust, or Envy) from Pixar Animation Studios’ Inside Out 2 will be featured in both showings of the nighttime spectacular “World of Color Happiness!” There’s also new interactive merch, including a MagicBand+ experience that will unlock effects at five interaction points in the original lands throughout Disneyland® Park, and an adorable new “Key to Disneyland® Resort” that enables guests to use a giant decorative key to activate special features at “lock stations” across the nine lands of Disneyland® Park.

Want a deep dive into Disneyland® Resort history? The park also just announced a new limited-time 70th Anniversary Guided Tour, which will be a 2-hour add-on experience for those who want to explore the rich heritage of the park.

Like many Southern California cities, Anaheim has a temperate, semi-arid climate that’s generally warm during the day and chillier at night (it can plunge into the 40s and 50s at night, especially in the winter months). Consequently, layer, layer, layer!

While Southern California has a relatively dry climate, November through March is the “rainy season,” which means isolated periods of rain are possible. To be safe, check the weather forecast and bring rain gear if needed.

And opt for comfortable walking shoes—no flip-flops for the kiddos, or you’ll be carrying them by day’s end. (On average, Disneyland® Resort visitors walk between 20,000 and 25,000 steps per day!) A change of clothes is also a good idea for children, who may want dry clothes after getting soaked on a ride or running through a splash pad.

As for food, Disneyland® Resort is one of the few theme parks that allows guests to bring outside food and (nonalcoholic) drinks into its parks, provided they are not in glass containers, do not require heating, and don’t have pungent odors.

Insider tip: Costumes at Disneyland® Resort California are only allowed for children 14 and under.

Disneyland® is committed to ensuring all of its visitors can enjoy the attractions, shows, parades, and food at its parks. The park makes a variety of accommodations for anyone with mobility, visual, hearing, or neurodevelopmental impairments. This means most of the attractions (but not all) are fully wheelchair accessible, with dedicated load and unload areas at attractions. In addition, service animals are allowed throughout the park.

Guests can also rent wheelchair access vehicles (WAVs) that allow them to remain in a wheelchair and experience many attractions without transferring; transfer access vehicles (TAVs) help guests enter and exit the vehicles. People with autism or other disabilities that make waiting in lines difficult can request Disney® Disability Access Service (DAS), which will allow them (and up to three guests in their party) to bypass the line by requesting a specific return time for attractions. Generally, the return time is comparable to the current wait time at the ride.

• What was Disneyland® Park like when it first opened? The original Disneyland® Park had only four lands—Frontierland, Tomorrowland, Adventureland, and Fantasyland— and 20 attractions, including the still-popular Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Snow White’s Scary Adventures, The Mad Tea Party, Peter Pan’s Flight, Autopia, and the Disneyland® Railroad.
• Does the Disneyland® Resort have hotels on-site? Yes, Disneyland® has three on-site hotels: Disney®'s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, Disney®'s Pixar Place Hotel, and the original Disneyland® Hotel, which opened in 1955 (and has been renovated several times since). While all three hotels offer a 30-minute early admission to the parks, only the Grand Californian, which is connected to Disney California Adventure® Park, has an entrance that actually opens into the park.
• What are the closest airports to Disneyland® Resort California? John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Orange County is the nearest airport to Disneyland® Resort California, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) away. Many airlines don’t fly directly into it, so you may want to opt for Disneyland® admission with transport from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), which is 40 miles (64 kilometers) away.
• What are “Magic Bands,” and do I need to buy one? Magic bands are customizable tech bracelets that can be used instead of park tickets for park entry, Lightning Lane access, and interacting with select experiences (they also glow and vibrate in sync to the nighttime spectaculars). They’re fun, but they aren’t necessary.
• Are there single-rider lines at Disneyland® Resort California? Yes, many of the larger rides (including Radiator Springs Racers, Space Mountain, and the Incredicoaster) have single rider lines. It’s a service that allows solo riders to skip the line in exchange for filling empty seats on the ride vehicles.
• Can you see the Disneyland® Park fireworks from outside the park gates? Yes, and it’s a great option if you want to avoid getting stuck in the swarm of people exiting Main Street when the 14-minute spectacle ends. You can see the fireworks show from these locations:

• The Esplanade has a straight-shot view of the fireworks (though you can’t hear the accompanying music).
• Downtown Disney® District across from the LEGO Store, or near Splitsville.
• Disneyland® Hotel has some rooms with views of the fireworks show.
• The Anaheim Marriott has rooms (with balconies!) that face the fireworks. The view gets better the higher you are.
• Restaurants along Harbor Boulevard offer views of the fireworks.
• The Parkestry Rooftop Bar at the JW Marriott has a great view of the fireworks and children are allowed in all non-bar seating areas.
• The third-floor pool deck of the Pixar Place Hotel reportedly has a great view of the fireworks, complete with music and narration.