Basic Disneyland park question

[KarenB]

We are planning a four day Disneyland trip in June, using two days for park hopping. I was checking ticket options and prices and saw park reservations are required. Does anyone know if reservations will continue to be required for June 2024?

 

[Hyphen677]

I don't think anyone on this board knows for certain but I believe they're going to keep the reservation system at Disneyland. It seems helpful for them in terms of staffing so I don't see a real incentive for them to drop it.

 

[Pluto468]

There's been no indication that Disneyland is going to stop using a reservation system. I hope they get rid of it eventually, but they haven't made any announcements about it. For now it seems like it will be in place for the foreseeable future.

 

[KarenB]

Thanks for the replies. Unfortunately no room at the DVC inn for us

 

[Steven G]

unless you are trying to get a magic key reservation (annual pass), the chances of not getting into the park because of no reservations available on a regular ticket (park hop or not) is pretty small to non-existent. And if you are staying at a Disneyland hotel, you are pretty much guaranteed entry.

I do think that, eventually, they will get rid of reservations for regular ticket guests, but keep it for magic key holders. As Disneyland is more of a locals park, with a lot of Magic Keys, it seems like they want to be able to control access, so I see no end date for removing reservations for magic keys.. No idea on when for regular tickets. Probably get rid of it first for hotel guests, to make it like a perk (not sure why they have not yet done so honestly).

 

[anneeb]

I booked a room/ticket package at Disneyland's Grand Californian for September 2024 but it shows no availability for park reservations when clicked right after I placed to deposit. How far out do they allow park reservations? I'd be surprised if September is booked up, so is it just not available yet?

 

[SgtTibbs]

I booked a room/ticket package at Disneyland's Grand Californian for September 2024 but it shows no availability for park reservations when clicked right after I placed to deposit. How far out do they allow park reservations? I'd be surprised if September is booked up, so is it just not available yet?

Correct. They are not available yet.

I have a Grand Californian room booked for September as well on the website where you would book the park it says and I quote: "Make a Park Reservation will be available after Tue, Mar 5, 2024"

 

[ParkHopper1]

I can tell ya from being in an industry closed door meeting with a few DL execs present they want to try and continue the reservation system at all cost.

While it SUCKS for attendees and how we all used to tour the parks from their perspective it allows then to even out the flow of peak days but more importantly allows them to anticipate staffing needs vs making a best guess like they did in the past.

There is another business that I frequent that kept their reservations system post lockdown and on paper all there reasons make logistical and business sense but I find myself attending MUCH less often as the reservation system is such a PITA and non flexible for many guests...as is the Disneyland system. Hopefully what they loose in business is made up for in operational efficiency...only time will tell.

 

[irlandaise]

I can tell ya from being in an industry closed door meeting with a few DL execs present they want to try and continue the reservation system at all cost.

Did they give any insight as to why they dropped reservations for certain tickets at WDW but kept them for all types of tickets at DL? I thought maybe date-based tickets were only a small percentage of those used at WDW and wouldn't substantially affect crowd levels, but I just looked at the WDW website and in fact they seem to be the default ticket type for non-AP holders now.

 

[ParkHopper1]

Did they give any insight as to why they dropped reservations for certain tickets at WDW but kept them for all types of tickets at DL? I thought maybe date-based tickets were only a small percentage of those used at WDW and wouldn't substantially affect crowd levels, but I just looked at the WDW website and in fact they seem to be the default ticket type for non-AP holders now.

They did not touch on that directly but they did say something to the effect that in DL (at least pre covid) attendance was 70% AP's, regulars, and locals and 30% unique visitors (meaning once a year trip or less) and WDW was reversed with 70% one time unique visitors and 30% local so it was easter to predict trends there.

 

[ClaraOswald]

Thanks for the replies. Unfortunately no room at the DVC inn for us

Are you talking about DVC at the Grand Californian or at the Disneyland Hotel? I don't know much about DLH DVC but the Grand Californian DVC often books up pretty quickly after the 11 month mark.

 

[PineappleSky]

Maybe this is a dumb statement, but what happens if you book a flight and hotel package, and then purchase your park tickets separately only to find out that there is no reservation availability due to it being peak season. That would be horrific! Is there a way to find this out before booking any sort of vacation?

 

[starry_solo]

Maybe this is a dumb statement, but what happens if you book a flight and hotel package, and then purchase your park tickets separately only to find out that there is no reservation availability due to it being peak season. That would be horrific! Is there a way to find this out before booking any sort of vacation?

There is a separate hotel bucket for those staying on Disneyland property (DLH, GCH, PPH and the related DVCs).

 

[ClaraOswald]

Maybe this is a dumb statement, but what happens if you book a flight and hotel package, and then purchase your park tickets separately only to find out that there is no reservation availability due to it being peak season. That would be horrific! Is there a way to find this out before booking any sort of vacation?

I mean, if someone waited until the last minute to make park reservations, I could see that being a problem on a holiday or something. But for the most park, you should be safe. Especially if making a reservation a couple months in advance. If you look at the calendar now, for example, pretty much every day is available through August 9th... except today, tomorrow, and the 14th.