This post is an all-encompassing trip planning guide to Disneyland Resort. We also have the same style of guide for both Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disney Resort. All of the guides will be updated each year and likely more often than that.
Our planning guide will include our favorite times to go to Disneyland, places to stay, park tickets, itineraries, dining, and more. Most sections will include links to read further on a given topic. The goal of the post is to give you a quick summary of each subject that then will act as a jumping off point to read more about different topics.
Near the end of the post I will discuss whether 2024 is a good time to visit Disneyland Resort. I realize that people vacation when they can and sometimes that portion of trip planning isn’t all that flexible. If you can’t be flexible on what year you go, don’t fret. Disneyland Resort is fun anytime, regardless of the year or season. Sure, some are better than others, as we will discuss below, but if you are already planning then this guide will try to help you have an even better time.
As always, if there is something we didn’t cover and you have a question about then please leave a comment. Let’s get started!
What time of year to visit Disneyland?
In case you don’t want to dive deep into what month to visit, here’s a quick rundown! When you choose to visit Disneyland will likely depend on what your priorities and schedule are. Let’s start with the summer months as that is generally the time of year that is easiest for people to visit. July is the busiest of those months, especially around the 4th of July. If you must go in the summer I would recommend early June or later in August. Neither are ideal times but both have their advantages. June is slightly less busy than July and a little cooler typically. August is very hot but as people start to go back to school the parks get less and less crowded. Some schools around the area start going back in the middle of the month so August could be a great time to go in terms of crowds. Melissa and I have gone around Labor Day before and that actually proves to be a good time as many people don’t want to go on a trip right after school starts.
If you aren’t stuck to the summer months then there are plenty of great options. January is historically the quietest month at the resort but often brings many attraction refurbishments. February and March are the same albeit with slightly higher crowds (especially around President’s Day and late March). California Adventure has a Food & Wine Festival in March as well as a Lunar New Year event in late January. I wouldn’t plan a specific trip for either but it is a nice perk.
Late April and May are good times to go as the weather is nearly perfect and the crowds aren’t bad. The same goes with September and early October. Come September, Halloween decorations go up and California Adventure hosts a Halloween Party a few nights a week. The crowds start to ramp up as it gets closer to Halloween and some schools go on fall break. November and December transition to Christmas decorations and the crowds are high around the holidays. Still, the parks arguably look the best at that time with beautiful decorations.
Ultimately, I recommend going in early May, September or early December. Most of the attractions will be open at those points, the crowds are not extremely high, and Christmas decorations in December are an added bonus. If you are trying to plan your trip around a holiday then check out our post about the pros and cons of visiting the parks on each holiday.
Airfare
We have a few thoughts on this in our recent What Does a Disneyland Vacation Cost post. With Disneyland residing in Southern California, there are a number of airports that you can fly into – namely Orange County (John Wayne) Airport, Long Beach Airport, Ontario or LAX. A little further away from Disneyland is San Diego International or Burbank Airport.
If your trip’s purpose is just to go to Disneyland then flying into Orange County undoubtedly makes the most sense as it is the closest to the resort. It is not always the cheapest option though. For looking into flight options I recommend using Matrix ITA Software and putting Orange County, Long Beach and LAX in the search engine to find the cheapest option. If prices are roughly equal then Orange County is the way to go. LAX does hold some benefits if you’re going to spend anytime in LA or north of that. Likewise, Long Beach Airport is a nice airport to fly into if you want to spend your first day at the beach.
There are essentially 3 options in getting from the airport to Disneyland. If you fly into Orange County then public transportation is fairly easy and cheap, sometimes free depending on where you are staying. Long Beach and LAX are a different story. Public transportation is still available but will take a while as those airports aren’t nearly as close. Renting a car can be cheap, but hotels around Disneyland generally have hefty parking fees. There are also several shuttle companies that will get you to and from your airport with relative ease although it does cost money, as well as Uber or Lyft. We typically take a Lyft around the area, as rental car prices have gone up exponentially over the last year. It is easy to just rent a car for a day and drop it off near Disneyland though.
If you are doing other activities around Southern California then renting a car is easiest from a convenience perspective and may be the most cost efficient route. You won’t be needing that car when you are at Disneyland so a return or pick-up at that location halfway through your trip is an option. Public transportation to other Southern California destinations works but generally isn’t very efficient.
How Many Days?
With two parks at Disneyland Resort, a trip here can be shorter than Walt Disney World. Having said that, Disneyland and California Adventure, to a lesser degree, are both strong parks and ones that you could spend multiple days in. Here’s our post about how many days each at each Disney Park we’d recommend. If you are traveling a ways to get to Disneyland Resort or it’s your first time I would recommend at least 3 days in the parks. When Melissa and I aren’t regularly going we try to spend 4 days in the parks and enjoy that option.
The hard part of a trip to California is determining how many days you want to spend outside of Disneyland. We’ll discuss other activities in the area in a different section but suffice to say that spending a week in California is a wonderful vacation and there won’t be a shortage of things to do. For a first timer, I’d recommend at least a 4-day weekend in Southern California but a week is ideal.
Where to Stay?
Disneyland has plenty of options in places to stay around the resort. There are three official Disneyland hotels – the Disneyland Hotel, Grand Californian, and Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel. If you have the means, the Disneyland Hotel and Grand Californian are phenomenal hotels. We especially like the Grand Californian and its national parks lodge style. Ultimately, we don’t stay there because of the price (generally above $400/night) and we don’t see much value in staying there since we spend all day in the parks. Paradise Pier Hotel is not a good value, and is not in a great location so we do not recommend it. The official hotels come with a few perks, namely an extra hour in the parks.
The next hotel options are what Disney terms as ‘Good Neighbor Hotels’. These hotels are generally within a 15 minute walk of Disneyland, some as close as 5, and are much cheaper. It probably goes without saying but these hotels are not nearly as nice as the Disneyland Hotel or Grand Californian. Many of these places have improved over the years and I expect them to continue to do so as Disneyland becomes more and more popular. Good Neighbor Hotels are great for those who are looking to save some money and will spend most of the time in the parks. We usually opt for these and, while some are nicer than others, aren’t disappointed if we keep our expectations in check. I do recommend going for the hotels closer to the park over the brand name hotels if you aren’t going to spend much time at the hotel. A 5 minute walk compared to 15 seems like a minor detail until you have just spent 10 straight hours in Disneyland. This is a quick rundown of all of the Disneyland area hotels we have stayed in. That post includes links to all of our hotel reviews, as well.
There are many options so find the one that works for you. The price range on Good Neighbor Hotels range anywhere from ($100/night to $300/night for family suites).
Other options include staying in a hotel outside of Anaheim, which we do not recommend for your Disneyland stay, or renting a house. While the hotels are the closest option, renting a house may be good for a big group and there are some within a few miles of Disneyland.
Park Tickets
With the parks having reopened, buying park tickets will be a little different for the foreseeable future. The process will include making a park reservation and likely buying tickets online. For more information, check out this post!
Disneyland tickets will likely be the most expensive portion of your trip. As mentioned above, we recommend at least 3 days in the park. 4 and 5 day tickets are where guests ultimately see the most value, as the cost per day of the tickets go down. Of course, if you aren’t interested in spending that much time in the park then you shouldn’t be hunting for a value since it’s still paying more. We also recommend the park hopper option if you are there for more than 2 days because it adds some flexibility to your vacation but if you are looking for an easy way to save money then drop that option.
You can buy tickets once at the resort, near the park’s main gate. Save yourself time and either buy tickets ahead of time online or do it at your hotel. Both the official hotels and Good Neighbor Hotels sell park tickets and will be a shorter line than buying at the Disneyland gates.
Buying from the official Disneyland site or at the park/hotel is the easiest route but it isn’t the cheapest. We recommend buying Disney tickets from Undercover Tourist, thanks to their customer service and discounts.
One of the questions we are asked most is if there is a way to save money on Disney park tickets. There are ways to save, as we’ve detailed above, but the savings are minimal compared to other areas where you can save. That isn’t to say you shouldn’t get the discounted tickets, on the contrary as you should, but rather that you shouldn’t expect huge discounts that all of a sudden makes the vacation a good deal. Disney trips are expensive and there’s not much way around that.
What to Pack?
We cover this topic in-depth in a singular post, with a list of necessities to take to the park each time we go. Okay, maybe not all of them are necessities but we like having them around! On top of that, we do advise everyone to bring a great pair of shoes and start with light layers that you can add to.
Packing some breakfast snacks and stuff for sandwiches to bring into the park is an easy way to save money, as well. Taking food into the parks is not a problem at all as long as it’s not stored in glass containers. We enjoy protein bars and trail mix as a quick snack while standing in line. There’s always candy too. It’s never a bad time for candy.
Attractions and Entertainment Rankings
Disneyland is now offering Genie+ and Lightning Lanes which is a paid service that will allow guests to skip the lines at certain attractions. For now, we’ll say that we’re always pretty frugal in the parks and prefer to stay away from add-ons.
We have ranked all of the attractions at each park and I’d prioritize them somewhat based on these lists:
While doing every attraction in one trip is a difficult proposition, these two parks have very few bad rides that you should skip. Hopefully these rankings will help you prioritize which attractions to do.
Along with attractions, both parks have quality entertainment that is worth seeing. Here are the ratings for each park:
Finally, here are some loose itineraries to follow along for a day in each park, or two in Disneyland!
Along with that, make sure you give yourself time to relax and wander the park. Part of the charm of these parks is some of the beautiful lands inside of them. Make sure to spend ample time in Cars Land and Grizzly Peak in California Adventure. Basically any land in Disneyland is worth exploring and just walking around, especially New Orleans Square, Frontierland, Main Street, Galaxy’s Edge and Fantasyland.
Dining
We have finally made it to the most important part of the planning guide – food! Disneyland Resort has some fantastic counter-service locations that won’t break the budget. Along with that, there are some beautiful restaurants perfect for a romantic date night or special occasion. Here are a few posts to help on the subject:
- Ranking the Disneyland Resort Counter-Service Restaurants
- Ranking the Disneyland Resort Table-Service Restaurants
There are several restaurants right outside of the park gates on Harbor Blvd. that are cheap and will likely save you a little bit of money. While we recommend staying in the park almost all of the time if you have already gone in, there are options available outside the Disneyland property. I do recommend staying away from counter-service breakfast in the parks. The breakfasts are very generic and bland, outside of a few pastries, that isn’t worth the money. A few of the of the quick options at the hotels are good for breakfast as are the table-service restaurants.
Outside of Disneyland
As we’ve mentioned Southern California (SoCal, as the cool kids call it?) is a beautiful place full of plenty of activities outside of Disneyland Resort. Before we get there, we haven’t mentioned Downtown Disney, Disneyland Resort’s shopping and restaurant district. While the area is slowly improving, we don’t advise spending much time there, if any. The World of Disney Store is impressive and there are a few decent restaurants in the area but not compared to other areas.
Outside of the resort, there is plenty to do. We absolutely recommend at least one day or evening at one of the pristine beaches. Laguna Beach is a favorite town of ours and there’s no shortage of other beautiful beaches to visit.
Hollywood, Griffith Observatory, museums, sporting events, shopping and many other activities throughout LA are well worth exploring. Along with that, there are some historic theme parks in Knott’s Berry Farm and Universal Studios. If for some reason you don’t have enough to explore, San Diego is a scenic drive away and one of the most beautiful cities in the country. Los Angeles is also one of the best food cities in the world and eating should be a priority. Eating should always be a priority.
Other Resources
Naturally, there are other areas to consider when planning a Disneyland trip. Here is our rough estimate on how much a trip to Disneyland might cost. That cost can really fluctuate depending on how long your trip is and where you are flying from.
If you are looking for a rough timeline on when you should book your airfare, hotels, etc. then we have this post outlining the trip planning. Again, this isn’t a hard and fast template but if you are going for the first time then that plan can prove to be beneficial.
Once there, hopefully our 101 Disneyland Resort Tips will help you around the resort!
Should You Visit Disneyland in 2024?
There’s never a bad time to go to Disneyland Resort and that includes the present and into next year. The travel bubble has burst a little bit and crowds at the resort went down some in 2023 before rebounding for the holiday season.
2023 was fairly eventful at the resort with a new nighttime show at both parks, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway opened ahead of Toontown’s reopening in March. Those were all varying degrees of successful. They certainly have enhanced the Disneyland experience.
At the moment, there aren’t any 2024 major openings scheduled. That could change of course but I’m not sure I see any point in waiting versus going now just based on what’s open and what’s not at Disneyland Resort. Naturally, there are other things in play like the economy but you’ll be able to factor those things in for yourself more than I could! The Resort has released their schedule of events for the year, which you can find here.
Whenever you decide to visit Disneyland Resort, it should make for a wonderful time. The parks are fantastic, especially Disneyland, and the surrounding areas are well worth visiting. If you have any other questions, leave them in the comments!
We hope this guide has been helpful! If you have any thoughts or questions, please leave a comment down below. To check out our other planning guides, click here. If you enjoy what you are reading here on Wandering in Disney please share this post with your friends, as well as like our social media pages. You can also subscribe to the blog via WordPress or email. All of those links are on the right side of this page. Thank you for reading, we really appreciate it!
Categories: Trip Planning Guides, Vacation Tips
I’m very disappointed Disneyland brochures and travel planning DVDs are no longer available. I’ve visited Disneyland multiple times over the last 10 years and each time the DVDs and travel brochures helped in planning my trips with restaurant, rides, entertainment, and special occasion and holiday information.
Please reinstate the printed, travel brochures and DVD travel planning.
I’d love to see them do this and don’t know why they stopped!