Oogie Boogie Bash 2024: Ticket Prices, Dates and What to Expect

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products or services that I believe will add value to my readers.

While we already knew that Oogie Boogie Bash would be making a return in 2024, Disney recently released additional information about this year’s event during the Halfway to Halloween celebration.

If you don’t know what Oogie Boogie Bash is, it’s an annual after-hours, separate ticketed event held at Disney California Adventure on select nights throughout the Halloween season. It’s different than normal theme park Halloween events, as it’s more about the spirit of Halloween rather than the scares.

It started back in 2019 as the successor to Mickey’s Not-so-Scary Halloween Party as a way to beef up the crowds at DCA. The gamble worked, as many would argue that Oogie Boogie Bash has surpassed its predecessor in nearly every way.

In this post, we’re going to discuss several topics pertaining to Oogie Boogie, such as 2024 event dates, ticket prices, when tickets go on sale and some frequently asked questions about the event. Let’s get into it.

Oogie Boogie Bash 2024 Dates and Ticket Prices

This year, Disney’s Halloween season at the resort kicks off on August 23. In prior years, Halloween didn’t begin at Disneyland until the first or second week of September. Consequently, as I previously predicted, Oogie Boogie Bash will expand with event dates in August.

There are a total of 27 event nights this year, which is surprising as that’s only two more than last year. Considering the immense popularity of the event (evident by it’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it ticket sales), I have to believe that Disney could’ve held thirty or more parties.

Additionally, there’s no word on if they’ll be a D23-specific night like there was in 2022. I doubt this is something they would intentionally hold back so since they haven’t announced it, it’s safe to assume it isn’t happening. I’ll be sure to update if that changes.

In 2024, Oogie Boogie Bash dates are:

August

• Sunday, Aug. 25

• Tuesday, Aug. 27

• Thursday, Aug. 29

September

• Tuesday, Sept. 3

• Tuesday, Sept. 10

• Thursday, Sept. 12

• Sunday, Sept. 15

• Tuesday, Sept. 17

• Thursday, Sept. 19

• Sunday, Sept. 22

• Tuesday, Sept. 24

• Thursday, Sept. 26

• Sunday, Sept. 29

October

• Tuesday, Oct. 1

• Thursday, Oct. 3

• Sunday, Oct. 6

• Tuesday, Oct. 8

• Thursday, Oct. 10

• Sunday, Oct. 13

• Tuesday, Oct. 15

• Thursday, Oct. 17

• Sunday, Oct. 20

• Tuesday, Oct. 22

• Thursday, Oct. 24

• Sunday, Oct. 27

• Tuesday, Oct. 29

• Thursday, Oct. 31

Disney hasn’t released date-specific pricing just yet, but did announce a price range of $134 - $189, which is the exact price range as last year. This is interesting as it marks the first time since the party’s inception that there wasn’t a price increase.

That was another prediction of mine, that Disney would forego a price increase in favor of expanding the number of nights since they’re now starting in August. That’s another reason why I’m baffled that they didn’t add more nights to the calendar.

I’ll be sure to update this post once date-specific pricing is released but generally, you can expect the price to be higher on Friday and Saturday event nights and even higher as Halloween approaches. The Halloween night event almost always sells out first and is always at the highest price point.

Furthermore, I’m predicting that three events in August will be at or near the low end of the price range. My reasoning for this belief is two-fold. For one, this is the inaugural year for Disneyland’s early start to Halloween and two, that final week or so in August is almost always slow (crowd-wise). Setting the price at the lower end of the spectrum for those dates would certainly entice more guests to visit.

When Do Oogie Boogie Bash 2024 Tickets Go On Sale?

Unfortunately, Disney made no mention as to when Oogie Boogie Bash tickets would go on sale, other than stating they would do so, “in the coming weeks”. In 2023, tickets went on sale in late June, but that was when the halfway mark to the Halloween season was closer to June. Since it’s now in early May, I would predict sales dates in late May.

As has been the case with After Dark events this year, definitely expect to see Magic Key holders to get first crack at tickets with exclusive sales dates. Disney could even hold an Inspire Key-only sales date, much like they did with the Star Wars Nite event.

As stated above, there’s not yet been any mention of a D23 night. If they do decide to add one, you would need to be a member of D23 in order to purchase tickets. If you’re not a D23 member but you know someone who is, you’ll be able to attend the party with them provided they’ve purchased the tickets.

Be wary of uninformed opinions of how quickly Oogie Boogie Bash tickets will or will not sell out. Many will point to how long it took for tickets to the bloated amount of Star Wars Nites to sell out. Honestly, they’re not entirely wrong, but Star Wars Nites are not Oogie Boogie nights. Not by a long shot. While many of the offerings during Oogie Boogie events remain the same year after year, Disney changes them up just enough to remain appealing.

Typically, one or two new villains are added to line-up of treat trails, which prove to be immensely popular with event-goers. Admittedly, the parade could use a refresh, but that’s a conversation for another post. Villains Grove is a major attraction and the chance to see even more rare characters entices more and more guests to attend.

To sum it up, don’t slack on tickets or count on them not selling out quickly. They likely will. So if you’re intent on attending Oogie Boogie Bash this year, be ready to go on the first available sales date you can participate in.

Same-Day Admission to DCA with Oogie Boogie Bash Tickets

Many ask what time do Oogie Boogie Bash events start and if they could get into the park early with those tickets. The event officially begins at 6pm and goes until 11pm but with your ticket, you can actually get into DCA earlier than that.

Guests with tickets to Oogie Boogie Bash can enter Disney California Adventure as early as 3pm. That’s three additional hours of park time. Many use this time to research the park guide, get in an early dinner, or camp out at the most popular event offerings to be the first in line.

If you do arrive early, you can check in and receive your event wristband and treat bag near the main entrance to Avengers Campus. If you arrive closer to the event start time, though, you’ll receive them the gate in which you entered.

Additionally, there’s no need to worry about reservations as your ticket is your reservation (remember those simple days?). Aside from that, if you want to spend time in the park prior to 3pm, you’ll need a regular park ticket or Magic Key, in addition to a reservation.

What to Expect at Oogie Boogie Bash

If you’ve never attended Oogie Boogie Bash before, you should know that it isn’t scary like Knott’s Scary Farm or Halloween Horror Nights at Universal. The mood at Oogie Boogie is generally lite, and more about the spirit and celebration of Halloween than the scares. If you have littles, they shouldn’t have any issues as far as being scared is concerned.

We don’t yet know what the exact offerings will be during Oogie Boogie Bash 2024, as Disney doesn’t release that information until the event gets closer. As stated above, the main offerings generally remain the same every year, with just a few changes or additions. That said, I can fill you in on what will likely be offered with a decently high degree of certainty.

Villains Grove

You can definitely expect to see Villains Grove return to the event. Each year, Redwood Creek Challenge is transformed into a ethereal world of Disney villains. If you’ve never experienced it, it’s a walk-through attraction featuring several scenes with projection, lighting, and shadow effects, in addition to musical elements, themed after many of Disney’s most beloved villains, such as Scar and the Queen of Hearts.

It’s the attraction that consistently has the longest queue during the event and many would argue that it’s worth the price of admission all its own, so be sure not to miss it. While it can always change, scenes from past events included:

• Frollo’s Sanctuary

• Maleficient

• Queen of Hearts’ Garden.

• Scar’s Elephant Graveyard

• Dr. Facilier’s Friends on the Other Side

• The Queen’s Lightning Forest

• Home of the Wisps

Treat Trails Featuring Disney Villains

Another villain offering during Oogie Boogie Bash are the treat trails that feature several, rarely-seen Disney villains. These treat trails are not your typical character meet and greets, as cast members entice guests to keep moving through the queue with handfuls of candy.

The villains will interact with guests and periodically stop to pose for photos, but you won’t be able to take a selfie or group picture with them. This keeps the line flowing, ensuring short wait times. At last year’s event, we didn’t wait longer than ten minutes to see each one. A few examples of villains from past parties include:

• Ernesto de la Cruz (Coco)

• Judge Doom (Who Framed Roger Rabbit?)

• Sid (Toy Story)

• Cruella (live-action version)

• Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty)

• Mother Gothel (Tangled)

• Oogie Boogie (Nightmare Before Christmas)

Frightfully Fun Parade

The Frightfully Fun parade is exclusive to the event and runs twice nightly at 7:50pm and 10:05pm, respectively. The first showing begins in Paradise Gardens, runs up through the Performance Corridor, then down Hollywood Land, before concluding near Mission Breakout. The second showing runs in the opposite order.

It’s a relatively short parade and it isn’t the greatest thing Disney has ever produced, but it’s fun and fine for what it is. The Headless Horseman kicks off the parade, followed by multiple villains and Halloween-themed floats, including those from Nightmare Before Christmas and the Haunted Mansion. Mickey and Minnie Mouse also make an appearance, of course.

You can add to the experience by purchasing a dining package with reserved viewing at Wine Country Trattoria or a dessert party with exclusive seating along the parade route in front of Sonoma Terrace, along the Performance Corridor. The viewing area of the latter option is in front of Grizzly Peak, just across from the main entrance to Avengers Campus.

Halloween-Themed Food and Drinks

While the Halloween season in general brings about several specially-themed Halloween treats throughout both parks, Disney will also reserve a handful that are exclusive to Oogie Boogie Bash attendees.

These special offerings include everything from tasty desserts and full-blown entrees to bagged candy and cocktails. As stated above, Wine Country Trattoria offers a special three-course meal as part of a dining package for the parade and several other locations, including Studio Catering Cart and Schmoozies, get in on the action as well.

These are the main offerings during Oogie Boogie Bash, but there are plenty of others as well. In addition to the Villain Treat Trails, you’ll also experience several traditional character meet and greets, unlimited trick or treating, ride attractions with low to no wait times and more.

Speaking honestly, I love the existing offerings, but I wish Disney would offer just a bit more. Personally, I would love to see a special dining experience with ultra-rare characters. Imagine enjoying a three or four course meal at Carthay Circle while the Seven Dwarfs make their way around the room. Or the villains of Pixar greeting you while dining at Lamplight Lounge. The possibilities are truly endless.

Oogie Boogie Bash Frequent Questions

How quickly do Oogie Boogie Bash tickets sell out?

In prior years, tickets sold out either the same day or by the next day. In other words, they go super quick. Be sure to be on-the-ball once Disney announces the on-sale date.

Are the attractions open during Oogie Boogie Bash?

As long as they’re not down for refurbishment, yes, most or all attractions are open during the event. Often with little to no wait times.

Does DAS work during Oogie Boogie Bash?

Yes and no. The only attraction that offers DAS during Oogie Boogie Bash is Villains Grove. Since there aren’t as many people in the park during the event, the rides have little to no wait times, making DAS mostly unnecessary. To read about the recent changes to DAS, go here.

Does Genie Plus work during Oogie Boogie Bash?

No. If you’ve purchased Genie Plus during normal park hours, it will no longer work once the event begins. Additionally, you cannot purchase it during the event.

Is the park crowded during Oogie Boogie Bash?

Busy is a relative term and highly depends on you perceive it. From my perspective, the crowd levels are nowhere near like they are during the day. That said, the queues at the most popular offerings, such as Villains Grove and certain character experiences, can experience long wait times.

Are costumes allowed at Oogie Boogie Bash?

Yes! Both children and adults alike can dress in a Halloween costume for the event. There are a few rules, however. They are:

• Guests who dress like Disney characters cannot pose for pictures or sign autographs

• Costumes cannot have sharp or pointed objects or material

• No part of the costume can drag on the ground

• Costumes that surround or cover the entire body may not be allowed

• Costumes must not be violent, objectionable, or offensive

• They may not contain objects that could be construed as weapons

Which entrance can I use?

All three entrances into DCA can used to access the gate. All guests can utilize the main gate and the Grand Californian entrance, and guests who’re registered at the Pixar Place Hotel may use their exclusive entrance as well.

Is there a World of Color showing during Oogie Boogie Bash?

While there was a villains-themed World of Color shown during the first Oogie Boogie Bash, it has not made a return since. This could always change in 2024, though.

Planning a trip to Disneyland? If so, be sure to consult my 2024 Disneyland Refurbishment Calendar for information on current and upcoming ride closures. If you only have one day to spend, read Disneyland in One Day: 8 Tips to Maximize Your Time. Additionally, see my 2024 Disneyland Halloween Guide. Finally, for great prices on Disneyland tickets and vacation packages to just about anywhere, visit my friends at Get Away Today.

An Overview of the Six Pixar-Themed Marketplaces at Pixar Fest

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products or services that I believe will add value to my readers.

When Disney released details of what to expect during Pixar Fest in 2024, one of the offerings mentioned were several Pixar-themed marketplaces in the Hollywood Backlot area. If you’ve ever attended a Food and Wine Festival or Lunar New Year, you’d know exactly what those “marketplaces” are.

If you don’t know, they’re essentially themed food booths with certain elements having to do with whichever festival is taking place. For example, during Food and Wine, one of the marketplaces was called “Garlic Kissed” and featured food items related to - you guessed it - garlic.

They’ve proven to be insanely popular, so it only made sense for Disney to theme after some of Pixar’s most beloved films and use them to elevate the offerings during Pixar Fest.

In this post, we’re going to take a look at the names of these marketplaces, which film they’re themed after, and images and descriptions of what each one is going to offer. Unfortunately, I can confirm that there will not be a Sip and Savor Pass for sale during this event.

While Pixar Fest begins April 26, the marketplaces below won’t be available until May 10

1) “The Spark” - Inspired by Soul

Inspired by Pixar’s hit film Soul, “The Spark” will offer several brand new food and cocktail offerings, in addition to an exhaustive amount of beers and seltzers. The booth’s sole entree offering is the Supper Club Chicken & Potato Waffles with peach cobbler sauce and cinnamon-herb crumble. For dessert is the Half Note Jazz Cake which, by the website’s own admission, is essentially a basic red velvet cake.

The Great Beyond, one of two crafted cocktails at this booth, is made with gin, maraschino liquor, violet & blue curacoa syrups, lemon juice and pear nectar. The second cocktail, SPARK-ler, seems like it’ll be on the sweeter side with a concoction of varying syrups including mango, pineapple and cotton candy.

2) 4Town Fav*4*ites - Inspired by “Turning Red”

The Turning Red marketplace is the one I’m most looking forward to, as all of the offerings look stellar! First, the Red Panda Bao is a jumbo bao stuffed with vegetables, pork and a chili-garlic sauce. The word “jumbo” in the description indicates a single bao per purchase, though a sizable one.

You can follow this up with the Panda Apocalypse, a pan-baked, chocolate-layered brownie and New York-style cheesecake topped with orange and red cream cheese frosting. Finally, wash it all down with the Nobody Like U Cooler, a non-alcoholic beverage made with Joffrey’s Raspberry Rose Tea, white cranberry, lime & orange juices and cherry syrup, garnished with an orange wedge gummy.

3) Gusteau’s To-Go inspired by “Ratatouille”

It would’ve been criminal for Disney to feature Pixar-themed marketplaces at Pixar Fest and not include the most food-relatable IP in their portfolio. After all, Ratatouille’s entire premise was centered around a rat who loved to cook.

Gusteau’s To-Go’s criminally small menu consists of the Ratatouille Pizzetta topped with mozzarella, eggplant, squash, zucchini, a drizzle of tomato sauce, and a wedge of French camembert. The only other food offering is a macaron themed after Chef Gusteau, with creme brulee mousse and a caramel center.

The two alcoholic offerings, the Le Critique Cognac Sidecar and Little French Daiquiri, make up the only drinks on the menu, with no non-alcoholic options.

4) Portorosso Pasta inspired by “Luca”

Representing Italy, the Luca booth features only one food offering, but may be the most interesting of the bunch that has the potential to “steal the show”. It’s the Portorosso Pesto Pasta, Portorosso being the fictional Italian town where the movie is based. The dish is ribbon pasta tossed in a basil pesto with potatoes and green beans mixed in.

The non-alcoholic Sea Monster Lemonade consists of white grape juice, lemonade and peach syrup garnished with blue citrus mango jellies. Rounding out the drink offerings, the adults-only Silenzio Limoncello! has a Limoncello base with amaretto & Aperol liquors, blood orange syrup, lemonade and house-made oregano tea and garnished with micro daises.

5) Hanger Management inspired by “Inside Out” 

The Hanger Management marketplace offers a simple menu consisting of two variations of a basic macaroni and cheese dish. One of which is traditional yellow mac topped with a handful of Cheeto puffs and the other being the “angry” version topped with hot Cheetos. In all honesty, this is quite disappointing and uninspiring as it looks to be nothing more than boxed mac and cheese.

The cocktail appears to be a variation of a Maker’s Mule. It’ll have a bourbon base with watermelon liquor, candied orange & watermelon syrups, and orange & lime juices topped with ginger beer and garnished with watermelon candies.

I feel Disney dropped the ball here (the food, specifically). The food offerings are about as basic as it gets without any real creativity added whatsoever. Considering all of the mood elements featured in Inside Out, this marketplace could’ve been the stand-out with multiple incredibly creative dishes.

6) Elemental Table inspired by “Elemental”

If you’re looking for plant-based options, the Elemental marketplace is for you. Food offerings include a BBQ-spiced IMPOSSIBLE chicken dish with hot mustard sauce, pickles and charred onions, followed by the Kol Nut Whoopie Cookie Pie baked with cocoa powder and filled with cream cheese frosting and topped with crushed cinnamon candies.

The drink offerings, both of which are tequila-based, are visually stunning and will undoubtedly be popular. First is the H2O-rita made with tequila, blue curaçao syrup, lychee nectar, yuja purée and lime juice garnished with a rock candy stick. Lastly, the Exothermic Margarita consists of tequila, ancho chile liqueur, passion fruit nectar, lime & grapefruit juices and agave nectar garnished with a rock candy stick.

While there are some disappointments on the menus of the marketplaces (Hanger Management, specifically), overall, I’m looking forward to sampling the majority of them.

Of the all the cocktail offerings, the two at the Elemental marketplace are sure to be the clear stand-outs as they’re the most Insta-worthy of the bunch. As it pertains to food, I’m most looking forward to the jumbo bao at the Turning Red marketplace and the pesto pasta dish at Luca’s.

I’m going to reiterate my stance on what I believe is an epic let-down at the Hanger Management marketplace. I wish Disney would have gone the BBQ route here, offering a creative version of the classic pulled-pork sandwich with several emotions represented in different variations, or something similar.

Despite this, I’m predicting Pixar Fest will be a massive success. More and more, guests are clamoring for more “non-standard” Disney. Usually, that comes in the form of an After Dark event where in order to partake, you’d have to pay for another ticket.

Special events like Pixar Fest and Season of the Force, however, are available to all guests who hold a regular ticket or Magic Key, making it accessible for everyone to enjoy. With Pixar Fest looking like an un-official “foodie festival”, I hope to see it become a part of DCA’s annual line up of festivals. Time will tell.

Planning a trip to Disneyland? If so, be sure to stay on top of ride closures by reading (and saving) my 2024 Disneyland Refurbishment Calendar. To see all the activities taking place at Pixar Fest, read Pixar Fest 2024: 10 Things to Know. Additionally, to see the newly transformed Pixar Place Hotel, read my Tour of the Pixar Place Hotel post. Lastly, for deals on Disneyland tickets and vacation packages, see my friends at Get Away Today.

An Overview of Disability Access Service (DAS) Changes at Disneyland

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products or services that I believe will add value to my readers.

Recently, Disney announced changes to their Disability Access Service (DAS) that will apply to both the Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort. This post will focus on what these changes mean for visitors to Disneyland so if you’re planning a trip to WDW, you read more about their details here.

DAS at Disneyland began a number of years ago with the intent of providing guests with certain disabilities who cannot wait in traditional queues a more comfortable experience at the parks. This service enabled those guests and their group to skip the stand-by queues in a manner much like how Genie+ works.

Unfortunately, DAS has been wrought with abuse over the years, enabling many who really shouldn’t be using the service to cheat the system by skipping lines. This has led to many issues, the worst of which being an over-inflation of wait times in stand-by queues and Lightning Lane queues alike.

The changes go into effect at Disneyland on June 18th and were made with the intention of both making the service easier to use for those who require it and to better prevent abuse and/or misuse. In this post, I’ll discuss the details of DAS, such as who can use it, how to sign up for it, policy changes and more.

What is Disability Access Service (DAS)?

As stated above, DAS is a service offered at Disneyland that provides guests with certain disabilities who are unable to wait in traditional stand-by queues quick access to select attractions in both parks. For the most part, those disabilities include autism and other development related disorders.

Instead of waiting in stand-by queues, guests utilizing DAS and their party arrive to their selected attraction during the designated return window, similar to how Genie+ works. Upon arriving, DAS guests will use either the Lightning Lane or exit to access to the attraction, bypassing the stand-by queue.

The total wait for each attraction is comparable to the posted time for stand-by but instead of waiting there, DAS guests spend that time elsewhere that’s more comfortable, or at another attraction or show that has a tolerable wait.

If you’ve ever used Genie Plus (or its predecessor, MaxPass), this process will be familiar to you. Like Genie Plus, you may select only one attraction at a time and can only make another selection once you’ve used your current allotment or a certain amount of time has passed. Unlike Genie Plus, you can select the same attraction more than once.

So what can you do while waiting for your return time? You can spend that time exploring the park, enjoying other attractions with shorter wait times (Adventureland Treehouse for example), meet your favorite characters or take this time to enjoy a meal or snack.

When approved, your DAS eligibility is good for every day on your Disneyland ticket or up to 120-days, whichever is shorter.

Who Can and Cannot Use DAS at Disneyland?

Once the recent changes have been implemented, only guests with “hidden” disabilities such as autism or similar developmental or mobility disorders that make it difficult to impossible to wait in traditional queues will be eligible for DAS.

Another feature of the program is the ability to take strollers (if the DAS eligible guest requires it) all the way to the loading area of the attraction. Most guests must leave strollers in the designated area outside of the attraction but DAS guests are given exceptions. In order to take advantage of this, be sure to ask for a stroller tag when you sign up.

If the guest’s disability requires the use of a wheelchair or scooter, that guest will not need DAS unless there are additional elements to the disability that might require it. Otherwise, those guests should refer to the cast member at each attraction about what to do.

At most attractions in Disneyland park, this typically means accessing the attraction through the exit as stand-by queues in the older attractions aren’t ADA friendly. The modern attractions in the park, in addition to those at California Adventure, do have ADA compliant queues.

If your mobility issue prevents you from standing for long periods of time but doesn’t require the use of a wheelchair or scooter, you may be asked to bring or rent one as the solution as you may not be eligible for DAS as it’s mostly for guests with “invisible” disabilities.

Furthermore, at Disneyland, you do not need to provide proof of disability as Disney take guests at their word. However, the more details you can provide to the cast member, the more they’re able to help you. It’s best to be perfectly honest as if it’s proven a guest has lied about the disability, they’ll face a lifetime ban from both Disneyland and Walt Disney World.

How to Sign Up For DAS at Disneyland

There are two ways to sign up for DAS. You either speak with a cast member on arrival at the park or online via DAS Advance up to 30-days prior to the first day of your visit. Keep in mind that starting June 18, you will no longer be able to sign up inside the park, as that service will be moved outside in the esplanade.

Both options have their advantages and disadvantages, but no matter which option you go with, the guest requiring DAS will need to be physically present. If that guest is a minor, the parent will be able to speak for them, but they’ll still need to be present as they’ll have their photo taken. Additionally, you’ll need to ensure that you have all of your tickets purchased by then.

How to Sign Up For DAS Advance

The advantages to DAS Advance are; it’ll be done in an environment the guest is comfortable with (they’re home) and as an added bonus, the cast member will assist you with making your first two attraction selections for each day of your visit. You can register to begin that process at this link.

As mentioned above, you may begin the process through DAS Advance up to thirty days, but no less than two days prior to the day of your first visit. The downfall to DAS Advance is the wait for a cast member can be long, especially in the afternoon and evening. Logging in first thing in the morning is key to avoiding a lengthy wait.

DAS Advance key info:

• Hours of availability are 9am - 8pm

• It is currently only available in the English language

Before beginning your video chat, be sure to:

• Log into your Disney account

• Review and accept the terms & conditions

• Ensure park tickets are linked together in the account

• Make sure the guest requiring DAS is physically present

Once you’ve connected with a cast member, you’ll discuss with them your needs. If approved, you’ll be able to select two DAS return times for select attractions for each day of your visit. Some of these attractions include Matterhorn Bobsleds, Big Thunder Mountain, Incredicoaster and Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission BREAKOUT.

How to Sign Up For DAS in Person

If you choose to wait until you arrive (and you’re arriving prior to June 18), make your way to guest services inside either park to inquire. At Disneyland Park guest services is at City Hall and in DCA, you’ll find it just past Oswald’s to the left, just inside the gate.

The only real advantage to this is it’s typically faster than doing it in video chat, but that could be offset if there are many others in line. People go to guest services for several reasons, not just to sign up for DAS, and there are usually only a small handful of cast members available to assist.

This could get worse starting June 18 as guests of both parks will need to go to a single location in the esplanade. A particular location hasn’t yet been announced, but it’ll likely be one or two of the unused ticket booths. For this reason, I highly recommend signing up through video chat.

How to Use DAS at the Parks

Using DAS in the parks is easy and similar in nature to Genie Plus, as you’ll book your attraction return times within the Disneyland app. You can also ask cast members stationed throughout the park to do it, but it’s much quicker through the app. To make your first selections (aside from the ones you made in the video chat) you must be scanned into the park.

One you’re in the park, open the Disneyland app and sign into your account. Scroll to the “More” option at the bottom of the main tab. Then, tap the DAS button to see available attraction selections. Note that only guests who have been approved for DAS will be able to view this.

When you arrive to the attraction for your return time, simply hold your phone or MagicBand up to the Mickey-shaped scanner to access the attraction. Keep in mind that the person who was approved for DAS must scan theirs first, followed by the rest of the group.

If you have a park hopper ticket, you will not be able make DAS selections for the other park until you have been scanned into it. For example, if you’re currently in DCA, you won’t be able to make a DAS selection for an attraction in Disneyland until you’re actually in Disneyland.

Which Rides and Attractions Work With DAS?

At Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure, guests with DAS can access all attractions. Including the ones without Lightning Lanes. This is especially advantageous for DAS guests as those with Genie Plus can only access select attractions.

For example, none of the Fantasyland attractions, aside from Matterhorn Bobsleds, are included with Genie Plus. Since these attractions don’t have Lightning Lanes, you’ll likely access the ride through the exit where a cast member will scan you in. If you’re unsure, just check with a cast member.

Additionally, the attractions with Individual Lightning Lanes are also included in DAS and do not require a separate purchase. These attractions include Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance in Disneyland and Radiator Springs Racers at DCA.

If an attraction you have a return time for were to break down, you will be issued a “Multiple Experiences Pass”. Normally, this pass would only work on attractions that are on Genie Plus but with DAS, you’ll be able to use it on any attraction.

Does DAS Work During Special Events?

Generally, no, DAS does not apply to special events such as After Dark Nites and Oogie Boogie Bash. Reason being is because during these events, there are far less people in the parks than a normal day and the majority of event attendees are there for the special event’s offerings, not the rides.

As a result, the lines for attractions during these events are mostly on the short side, at most. When we attended Disney Channel Nite in March, most of the attractions were walk-ons, with Space Mountain having the worst line of the night at just twenty minutes.

The sole exception to this is the Villains Grove attraction during the annual Ooogie Boogie Bash at DCA. Though there are ways to avoid it, the queue for Villains Grove is often long, so cast members are stationed near the entrance to assist DAS approved guests.

How Many Guests Can Be in a DAS Group?

With the old policy, the general consensus was six to a group (five family members for every one DAS guest). However, it wasn’t exactly a hard and fast rule as cast members didn’t want to break groups up so essentially, your group could be as big as you wanted it to be.

As of June 18, 2024, you’ll be permitted four to a group (three family members for every one DAS guest). From what I’m hearing, this is going to be enforced much more than it used to be, but you can discuss that with the cast member during the sign up process.

While there are no guarantees, if the fifth person in your group is a child or an elderly parent, you stand a good chance of gaining an exception. Remember, Disney’s goal here is to reduce abuse of the system, so don’t count on everyone being approved if you have a large group.

Planning a trip to Disneyland? If so, be sure to read my review of the new Pixar Place Hotel. Additionally, read up on the multiple aspects of dining with my 2024 Disneyland Dining Guide. Furthermore, learn how to save money at Disneyland by reading 10 Best Disneyland Tips: Food and Drink. Finally, to save money on Disneyland tickets and vacation packages, visit my friends at Get Away Today.

Visiting Disneyland in September 2024

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products or services that I believe will add value to my readers.

Is Disneyland Crowded in September?

Historically speaking, September has always been the best time of year to visit the Disneyland Resort (well, part of it anyway). The best time, of the best time, to visit Disneyland is between the end of August and mid-September.

That timeframe is loaded with days on the low end of the crowds spectrum. Typically by Labor Day, many schools in Southern California are back in session and parents are back in the office. Since Disneyland is largely a local’s park, it sees a temporary dip in attendance in that period.

One caveat to this that could end up making a liar out of me is the fact that for the first time at Disneyland, Halloween season begins in late August. In prior years, it began in mid-September and caused a spike in crowd levels that would continue to snowball until after well Christmas.

Another wildcard this year is the upcoming Tiana’s Bayou Adventure attraction. The current opening timeline is being billed at, “late 2024”. However, there’s been significant progress on the attraction in the last couple months, making the possibility of a September opening a decent one.

I doubt Disney wants to open this attraction in the colder months, as wait times for water-based attractions are typically low, for obvious reasons. Disney needs Tiana’s to be a smash hit, so opening it when the temperatures are still fairly hot would be preferable as demand would surely be high.

Looking at the single-day tickets calendar, weekdays during the first two weeks are priced at the low end of the spectrum at $104. Some view this as an indicator that it’ll be a slow day, but it could potentially be a situation where you might want to utilize the, “zig while they zag”, strategy.

The reason I say that is because value-seekers will likely see that price as an opportunity to go doing those low-demand days which in turn could cause crowds to swell. Weekends surge to the $160 mark and weekdays in the latter half of the month aren’t far behind that.

Keep in mind that since locals are back in school and work, the bulk of the crowds you are going to see will be in the mid-afternoon and evening hours. If you commit to rope dropping the parks and being back at your hotel by 1:00 or 2:00pm, your opinion on how crowded it is will largely differ from someone who didn’t arrive until 5:00pm.

Something else to consider is the annual Oogie Boogie Bash party at Disney California Adventure. On Oogie Boogie nights, DCA closes early to regular ticket holders, often causing a huge migration across the esplanade to Disneyland park, causing an even bigger swell.

With Halloween beginning in August this year, this is yet another wildcard that could have an adverse effect on crowds during a traditionally slow time. As it pertains to evenings, anyway.

That said, as the month progresses and Halloween gets into more people’s minds, the crowd levels will steadily rise. Due to this, I’ll stick with my usually recommendation and say go ahead and book dates between the last week of August and mid-September.

You’re going to get all the benefits of visiting during the Halloween season with far less crowds than any other time. Do be weary of weekdays, though. As I discussed above, that $104 price tag could make weekends more favorable if you can swing the extra cost.

Anaheim Weather in September

Anaheim generally has pleasant weather in September. The humidity remains low despite day-time temperatures often exceeding 80 degrees for the majority of the month. It’s more of a dry heat, though, and generally isn’t too bad.

Night-time lows dip into the mid-sixties for the first half of September. As the month progresses towards October, it’ll get down to the low sixties while rarely going below that. Many assume that because it’s Southern California it’s always warm. That isn’t the case, so be sure to pack a hoodie.

Precipitation is nearly non-existent as September is one of the driest months in Orange County, so I definitely wouldn’t bother with packing an umbrella or rain jacket.

Overall, aside from a few unusually high temperature days, September is great month, weather-wise, to visit Disneyland.

Disneyland Resort Hotel Rates

Disney has years worth of historical crowd pattern data to go off and they’re known for maximizing profits whenever and wherever they can. One of their most profitable sectors in which to do that is nightly rates at their branded hotels.

The Disneyland Resort currently has three; the Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, The Disneyland Hotel and Pixar Place Hotel. They each vary in rates and amenities, but all offer an opportunity to stay within the Disney bubble. Disney considers resort hotel guests to be the most valuable.

Hotel rates are a good indicator of expected crowd patterns for any specific period because as stated above, Disney will maximize their profits however they can. So if they’re expecting a busy week, their hotels will command high nightly rates.

The following are averages of the three resort hotels listed above. Keep in mind that if you decide to book, your average may be lower or higher than what I’m listing below. Disney prices their hotels dynamically, similar to how airlines price tickets, so they’re easily affected by demand, major area events, etc.

Grand Californian Hotel & Spa Rates: The ‘Grand’ is always priced the highest as it’s Disneyland’s luxury, high end resort. For a standard view room, the average rate in September is $761.24. For a club level room with the same view, the rate spikes to $1,351.31.

The Disneyland Hotel Rates: This is Disneyland’s original hotel (though there isn’t much of the actual original hotel remaining) and is considered their mid-range offering. For a standard view room, September’s average rate is $588.90 and for a club level room of the same view, you’re looking at $987.45. For a deluxe studio in the Discovery (Villas) Tower, it’s $680.99 per night.

Pixar Place Hotel Rates: Pixar Place is Disneyland’s newest(ish) hotel offering, recently completing it’s years long transformation from its previous Paradise Pier Hotel brand. For a standard view room, you’re looking at a nightly rate of $481.25 and $692.25 for club level.

Disney is definitely trying to entice people to stay on-property as the rates for September are indeed lower than they were in July or August. You may think that’s obvious since those are summer months but in recent years the holiday season has rivaled summer as the resort’s busiest time of year.

After breaking up the averages between the first and second half of September, the average rates are higher in the latter half than they are in the first. That’s a huge indicator to me that, despite the early kick-off of Halloween at the resort, Disney is still expecting lower crowds in that first half.

Disneyland Rides Closed in September

Disney typically doesn’t release attraction refurbishment information until 45-days ahead of time. At the time of this post’s publishing, that’s a ways off. While I don’t have anything concrete to offer at this time, I do have some suspicions as to what’ll be open or closed.

Firstly, as discussed above, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure could, in theory, be open by September. I have my doubts, personally, but it’s definitely possible given the recent progress. If I had to bet the farm, I would say September is a pipe dream at the moment.

On the flip side, I am fully expecting Haunted Mansion to reopen in time for the kick-off to the Halloween season as Haunted Mansion Holiday. It would be an “egg-to-the-face” moment for Disney if their biggest holiday attraction isn’t open in time, so I believe they’ll make it happen.

If you haven’t heard, Disney is walling off Critter Country in May in order to convert two of the land’s gift shops into themes after two supporting characters from Princess and the Frog, among other smaller projects. While I don’t know how long this closure will be for, I would be shocked if it was still closed come September.

All that said, Disney would have completed the major refurbishments by this point, as they cannot afford to lose more capacity during their incredibly busy holiday season. Still, I would anticipate a few quick closures here and there, but nothing big.

Still, there’s always the chance that both Tiana’s and Haunted Mansion experience construction delays and thus, remain closed. If this happens, capacity throughout the rest of the park will suffer as a result. I’ll keep my eyes on these and update this post as credible information becomes available.

Planning a trip to Disneyland? If you’ll be visiting during Halloween, be sure to read 2024 Disneyland Halloween Guide to read about what to expect, tips and more. For tips and advice on tickets, read 10 Best Disneyland Tickets: Park Tickets. To learn about the changes made to Advance Dining Reservations, read Improvements Made to Advance Dining Reservations at Disneyland. Finally, for great deals on Disneyland tickets and vacation packages, visit my friends at Get Away Today.

Improvements Made to Advance Dining Reservations at Disneyland

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products or services that I believe will add value to my readers.

Anyone who’s ever tried making an advance dining reservation (ADR) for a Disneyland restaurant knows how frustrating that process can be. Depending on the restaurant, the competition for a table could be fierce.

Making matters worse, using the website or app to find an available ADR was often annoying.. If there wasn’t anything available and you wanted to search for another day, you were forced to back out of the current page and begin your search all over again.

Recently, Disney announced a few changes to the ADR search process that have since been implemented. Among those changes is the ability to search for an available ADR over a period of up to ten days all at once!

Additionally, tabs are now displayed above the ADR results, indicating which meal period is being displayed. For example, if you don’t see a desired result for dinner, you can now just select the “lunch” tab for instant results, again, without having to completely start over.

This update is now available on both the Disneyland website and app (both iOs and Android). Below, I’ll discuss these changes in greater detail and what you can expect moving forward.

Issues with Advance Dining Reservations at Disneyland

Disneyland die-hards are well aware of the potential complexities of making an ADR. If you’re new to Disneyland and/or ADRs (and if you’re reading this I’m assuming you are), then you’re likely unaware of the common hiccups and loopholes involved.

For example, a seasoned planner would know not to take the unavailability of ADRs at face value. Often, one would simply need to continuously hit refresh between meal period and time searches and an available ADR would magically appear.

Additionally, with the cancellation policy instituting a per person fee if not followed, if you checked again in the days leading up to your desired date (or even day-of) you would, at times, find last minute availability.

Before these recent changes, there have always been a few rules pertaining to advance dining reservations guests had to follow. They are:

• You may make an ADR up to 60-days in advance

• You must provide a credit card to guarantee your ADR

• You must cancel within the stated window to avoid a penalty

These are still true today and apply to all guests, regardless of whether you’re a resort hotel guest or simply visiting for the day. The problem, however, was that the playing field was not level for all, as casual guests often find themselves at a disadvantage due to not being aware of reservations.

If you weren’t a seasoned pro and didn’t look for ADRs first thing in the morning 60-days out, you would often find yourself out in the cold. Even worse, most casual guests aren’t even aware that you can make reservations that far out (or even at all). So they’ve arrived disadvantaged.

These new features won’t solve these issues entirely, as I feel Disney needs to do a better job at advertising the reservation policies to guests and said guests need to do their own legwork to secure them, but they certainly help to smooth out a previously bumpy process.

The New 10-Day Search Feature for Dining Reservations

As mentioned above, when searching for a Disneyland ADR, you would select your desired date, party size and meal period. You would then be presented with a list of restaurants with availability within the parameters of the information you have entered.

Assuming you weren’t satisfied with the results and wanted to search for another day of your visit, you would need to back out and begin the process all over again. Meaning, you would need to re-enter all of your information, not just a new date.

With the recent change, you can now search up to ten days at once, making the process much easier. You have two options in which to do this:

1. Select “Check all Availability” on the Disneyland website or “Check Dining Availability” in the app. Then select your party size, desired date, and meal period. You’ll then presented with a list of restaurants. Under each restaurant, you’ll see “Check Availability for Multiple Days”. Select that to search a range of up to ten days if you don’t see any initial times.

2. On the Disneyland website, go to the “Things to Do” tab and select “All Dining”. You’ll be taken to a list of all restaurants. Those that accept ADRs will have “Check Availability for Multiple Days” underneath them. Select that to conduct a range search right from the beginning.

For some reason, Disney IT decided to implement the ten-day search differently between device and method. In the first example above, you cannot conduct a range search from the start when using the app. For some reason, you’re forced to search a singular date before being presented with the ability to select a range of dates.

This presents a potential issue because by having to initially search for one day, you’ll only be presented with restaurants that have availability for that specific date. Other restaurants may have availability on days at either end of the selected date but because you’re presented with limited options, you won’t have a full list to work with.

For example, say you want to dine at Lamplight Lounge for dinner and you’re utilizing the app to conduct your search. You search for May 12 for a party of four, but since there’s no ADRs available, Lamplight wouldn’t be included in the list and consequently, you’re never given the opportunity to search for that particular restaurant.

To circumvent this, I recommend using a computer (or the browser on your phone) to access the actual website. This way you can select the “All Dining” option to see a list of ALL restaurants that accept reservations and conduct a date range search right from the beginning.

Additionally, there will be four tabs at the top of the search results for different meal periods. They’re presented in time ranges, but essentially are for breakfast, lunch, dinner and an “all” option. If you don’t see availability for dinner, you can now easily hit the “Dinner” tab for instant results, rather than having to start over.

As you can see in the image above, the search results will be presented in descending order from top to bottom according to date and for the reservation times, from left to right beginning with the earliest.

The amount of available reservations will vary depending on which restaurant you are trying for, as some are more in demand than others. You’ll seldom see wide open availability for the harder-to-get eateries. Some of these include:

• Lamplight Lounge

• Blue Bayou

• Napa Rose

• Carthay Circle

The less popular restaurants typically have many options for dining times, often in just a few days notice or even day-of. In the search results for these restaurants, you’ll often see availability in 15-minute increments, rather than a spatter of random times. Some of these restaurants include:

• Wine Country Trattoria

• GCH Craftsman Bar & Grill

• Great Maple Modern American Eatery

• Cafe Orleans

Ultimately, I’m happy with the changes Disney has made to the ADR process. There’s definitely some fine-tuning that needs to occur, along with additional changes for the quirks and annoyances that remain. Overall, it’s made the process less time consuming and more efficient for the guest, which should always be the goal.

Planning a trip to Disneyland? If so, be sure to read 10 Best Disneyland Tips: Park Tickets for tips on saving money on tickets and how to avoid getting scammed. If you’re visiting in May or June, be sure to read Disney Closing Critter Country Indefinitely in May. For information on Pixar Fest, read Pixar Fest 2024: 10 Things to Know. Finally, to save money on Disneyland tickets and vacation packages, visit our friends at Get Away Today.

Star Wars: Season of the Force 2024 Foodie Guide

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products or services that I believe will add value to my readers.

On the morning of March 25, Disney finally announced the foodie guide for this year’s Star Wars: Season of the Force event taking place at Disneyland Park and, partially, at Downtown Disney.

The event begins in the spring and runs through early summer and celebrates all things Star Wars. Throughout the event, there will be a new way to watch the fireworks from within Galaxy’s Edge, exclusive merchandise, limited-time experiences and themed food offerings.

Season of the Force begins on April 5 and will culminate on June 2, running (partially) concurrently with Pixar Fest, which is mostly taking place across the esplanade at Disney California Adventure.

So what are the food and drink offerings going to be this year? Where will they be sold? I answer these questions and more in the post below. Let’s get into it.

Tomorrowland Star wars offerings

As mentioned above, the majority of the Star Wars festivities will be taking place at Disneyland park, mostly within two of the park’s lands, Galaxy’s Edge and Tomorrowland.

You won’t find any Season of the Force offerings at Disney California Adventure as there isn’t anything Star Wars related in that park and DCA will be busy hosting the majority of Pixar Fest activities.

In Tomorrowland, the only restaurant that will be offering Star Wars-themed foods is Galactic Grill, as Alien Pizza Planet will be preoccupied with celebrating, you guessed it, Pixar Fest.

The above are reference photos provided by Disney, showcasing the foods and drinks you’ll be able to order at Galactic Grill. They are, in order from top left to bottom right:

• Bantha Burger: An angus beef and vegetable patty, marinated pork belly, American cheese, Asian-inspired slaw and “sambal” sweet mayo on a toasted brioche bun (new offering)

• Chorizo Loaded Fries: Waffle fries, pork chorizo, chile de arbol cheese sauce and black beans, topped with avocado-tomatillo sauce, green onions and Oaxaca cheese

• Wookiee Parfait: Chocolate sponge cake, chocolate pudding and caramel mousse on a chocolate-coffee crust with chocolate pearls

• Watermelon Slush with Death Star glow cube (new offering)

• Granny Smith Apple Slush with Millennium Falcon glow cube

For me, the two stands outs from this line up at the chorizo fries and Wookiee parfait. In prior years during Halloween, Disney sold a favorite of ours, the “Darth by Chocolate” parfait at Galactic Grill. It’ll be interesting to see how the Wookiee version of the parfait will hold up against it.

Also offered in Tomorrowland are two, sure-to-be insanely in-demand popcorn buckets themed after Jabba the Hut and a “Salvaged Stormtrooper Helmet”.

The Jabba the Hut bucket will be sold at two locations - Galactic Grill and the popcorn cart near Star Trader. The Stormtrooper helmet will also be sold in those locations, in addition to several locations within Galaxy’s Edge.

The press release stats that these will be available “beginning April 5”, which is the start of the seasonal event, but doesn’t mention an end date. Indicating they could possibly (and probably) sell completely out before the end of the event.

Disney’s themed popcorn buckets have surged in popularity over the last few years, often commanding huge queues upon their release and selling out quickly. I predict these two will be no different and will, given their themes, likely eclipse past buckets.

The aforementioned popcorn buckets won’t be the only food-related accessories you’ll be able to purchase at Galactic Grill. Others, in order of top left to bottom right in the photo above, include:

• Darth Vader Stainless Steel Tumbler

• Grogu Sipper

• Millennium Falcon Popcorn Bucket

• Death Star Glow cube

Both the stainless steel tumbler and sipper will include a fountain beverage at time of purchase, but they will not entitle you to free refills.

In addition to Galactic Grill, you’ll also be able to purchase the Darth Vader tumbler at GCH Craftsman Grill at the Grand Californian Hotel. Additionally, the Gorgu sipper will also be sold at the Tomorrowland fruit cart.

Not pictured is the Darth Vader premium mug, also sold at Galactic Grill. It’ll include the option of a fountain beverage or bottle of DASANI water at time of purchase. ALL of these accessories are limited to two per person.

Star wars galaxy’s edge offerings

The fun doesn’t stop at Tomorrowland as Galaxy’s Edge is also getting in on the fun. Here is where the new fireworks experience named "Fire of the Rising Moons” will take place. Note this isn’t a separate fireworks show, but a new way in which to view it.

From within Galaxy’s Edge, you’ll be viewing the same fireworks show as everyone else but instead of hearing the show’s usual music, you’ll hear Star Wars-related music. It’s essentially like you’re watching fireworks in actual Batuu, furthering the immersive nature of the land. Personally, I’m excited for this.

Let’s get back on track with the food offerings at Galaxy’s Edge. While all food-related locations in the land will be offering something, the vast majority are concentrated between Docking Bay 7, the sole quick-service location in the land, and Oga’s Cantina, which you’ll need a reservation or join the walk-up list to get into.

There will be two new entree offerings at Docking Bay 7. One is a returning favorite and the other is a brand new option. They are:

• Fried Chicken Baos: Two crispy chicken boas with spicy katsu sauce and creamy slaw (new offering)

• Dewback Chili Noodles: Spiced fettuccine noodles with gingered ground pork, broccolini stems and red cabbage shred

They couldn’t have come up with two dishes more perfect for Kisha and I. Kisha is a huge fan of baos and those spicy noodles are calling my name. We can’t wait for them to hit the menu.

Unfortunately, they won’t be selling a specialty cold brew, outside of the usual Black Caf. I’m a sucker for cold brews and while I love me a Black Caf, I would’ve liked to have seen another option added to the event line up.

At Oga’s Cantina, five brand new galactic-themed drinks will make their way to the menu. Four of the five contain alcohol while the fifth is the sole kid-friendly option. They are:

• Oga’s Obsession: Minute Maid lemonade, wild strawberry flavor, yogurt-filled boba, garnished with strawberry and grape candle pebbles (Nerds)

• Fiery Mustafarian: El Mayor Añejo Tequila, Aperol Aperitivo Liqueur, peach purée, peach syrup and lime juice served with a dropper of spicy lava syrup

• Silver Sea Martini: Hendrick’s Gin, Minute Maid Lemonade, ginger syrup, honey and mint syrup with a shimmery butterfly pea flower tea topping

• Chandrilan Chalice: Hendrick’s Gin, Minute Maid Lemonade, ginger syrup, honey, and mint syrup topped with a shimmery butterfly pea flower tea served in a souvenir wine glass

• Chandrilan Orb Glass: El Mayor Añejo Tequila, Aperol Aperitivo Liqueur, peach purée, peach syrup and lime juice served with a dropper of spicy lava syrup in a souvenir wine glass

Normally, I don’t get excited over the food and drink accessories sold at Disneyland. This one, however, might be the one that breaks me. In addition to the drinks above, Oga’s also selling a beer flight served on a souvenir board with four Rancor teeth.

I have no idea how much it’s going to cost, as Disney neglected to list that detail in their press release. My guess is a minimum of $50, as this will surely be a high-demand souvenir. I’d make a reservation early in the day to ensure you can get one.

Rounding out the options in Galaxy’s Edge is the Pasaana Punch at Ronto Roasters (pictured in the top photo), the Celto Slush at Kat Saka’s Kettle and the Toydaria Swirl at Milk Stand.

Ronto Roasters is known for their delicious Ronto Wraps, but also for their specialty beverages like the famed Tatooine Sunset (a personal favorite of mine). I’m curious to see how this new beverage compares.

Resort Hotels & Downtown Disney offerings

The seasonal offerings continue throughout the resort, namely at the Grand Californian Hotel & Spa and select locations in the Downtown Disney District.

At the snack cart near the lobby of the Grand Californian, there will be several Star Wars-themed treats for sale, similar to the ones sold during the holidays and other events. One such example, as pictured above, is a Grogu shaped macaron.

Additionally, the lobby will feature a massive, showpiece cake in the shape of the Millennium Falcon arriving in Black Spire Outpost. Designed by Disney’s in-house culinary team, this cake will surely impress. It’ll only be available to view from April 5 - May 31.

Furthermore, two of the hotel’s restaurants, GCH Craftsman Grill and Hearthstone Lounge, will serve a “Bitter Martini” made with Hendrick’s Gin, Campari liqueur, lemon juice, simple syrup and green grapes. I’m not much of a gin person, but I’ll likely give this one a shot.

In Downtown Disney, there were only two eateries listed as participants in Season of the Force. They are Salt & Straw and Splitzville Luxury Lanes.

At Salt & Straw, they’re serving up an interesting, frozen concoction called, “Maraschino Cherry with Tye-Dye Marshmallow Fluff”, made with pink and blue marshmallow “milky way” fluff with purple, dark cherry ice cream.

If you’re a fan of sushi, you’ll want to head over to Splitzville. On the menu will be the “Cosmic Roll”. It’ll feature nori wrapped around sushi rice with tempura-fried kanikama crab, avocado, jalapeños and crispy garlic topped with eel sauce and sesame seeds.

When it comes to libations, only one drink is making its way to their menu. It’s called the “Order 2018”, made with gin, Italian liqueur and fresh-squeezed citrus (pictured on the right of the photo collage).

Planning a trip to Disneyland? If you’ll be visiting for Pixar Fest, read Pixar Fest 2024 at Disneyland: 10 Things to Know. For information about the different aspects of dining, read my 2024 Disneyland Dining Guide. Furthermore, for information and tips, read 10 Best Disneyland Tips: Food and Drinks. Finally, for great deals on Disneyland tickets and vacation packages, as well as expert travel assistance, visit my friends at Get Away Today.

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Disney Closing Critter Country Indefinitely in May (+ My Thoughts)

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products or services that I believe will add value to my readers.

Disneyland is currently in the process of reimagining the former Splash Mountain into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and as part of that reimagining, it’s been recently announced that Critter Country, the land in which the attraction is located, will temporarily close to guests on May 1 for an indefinite amount of time.

The purpose of the closure is to transform two of the land’s current gift shops, The Briar Patch and the left half of Pooh’s Corner, into shops themed after two popular supporting characters from the Princess and the Frog movie, Louis the Gator and Raymond the Firefly.

This closure signifies to me that construction on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is moving along nicely (though still behind), and this new project puts us one step closer to an opening date. Don’t get too excited, though, as we’re still months out, with a presumed opening timeline around Thanksgiving or later.

This is in stark contrast to Walt Disney World’s version, who closed their Splash Mountain months earlier than Disneyland did, and while there’s still no hard opening date, its timeline has been recently updated from “late 2024” to “summer 2024”. Lucky them, right?

I haven’t heard anything credible regarding the opening date of Disneyland’s version but as stated above, I’m sure there’s a push from Disney to have it ready by Thanksgiving time. It could get pushed into January, but Disney likely wants to avoid the “go woke, go broke” crowd by opening it before winter, when water-based attractions typically see low wait times and give a false perception that they’re not popular.

Disney wants needs this to be a smashing success. So opening the attraction during the busy holiday season would be ideal, as demand for it would surely be off the charts. Anyway, let’s back to Critter Country.

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Which Critter Country Gift Shops Are Getting reimagined?

As mentioned above, Disney is closing Critter Country in order to transform the land’s two gift shops into themes more aligned with Tiana. First, The Briar Patch, the sole-remaining remnant of Splash Mountain’s Song of the South theme, will be reimagined into Ray’s Berets (named after Raymond the Firefly, who served as a guiding light, of sorts, for Tiana in frog form).

The gift shop will sell similar merchandise as it does currently, with selections including headware, apparel, accessories, toys and more, with Raymond and his firefly kin in the coziest cabin in Critter Country. Don’t expect a lot of Tiana or bayou-like merchandise, as Disney will likely stick with the generic stuff at this location.

With the exterior lighting package that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is expected to receive, and this gift shop being themed after a firefly, I expect the lighting package for Ray’s Berets, as seen in the concept art above, to be a nice complement to the neighboring attraction and a sight to see all its own, particularly at night.

At the other end of Critter Country, near the exit of the former Splash Mountain, is where Louis’ Critter Club (currently Pooh’s Corner) will be. Before you freak out, it’s important to note that only about a third of Pooh’s Corner will be consumed by Louis’, as part of the current shop and the entirety of the treats portion will remain as is.

Louis’ Critter Club will be themed after Louis, the trumpet-playing Alligator who befriended Tiana and Prince Neveen in the movie. The character was named Louis as a way to honor legendary jazz musician Louis Armstrong, who was born and raised in New Orleans.

Disney has stated that the gift shop will offer merchandise such as apparel, accessories, home decor and more, featuring Tiana and her critter friends. This is the shop I predict will have mostly Tiana-themed merch, with some generic park-wide stuff sprinkled in.

As you’ll see in the concept art above, there will be a lot of new design elements added to this shop. There are band posters plastered on the walls of the gift shop, in addition to the “break room” porch on the roof. If you zoom in, you’ll see instruments and other musical props.

Considering Louis played a trumpet and dreamed of being accepted by humans as a legitimate jazz musician (he did so at the end of the movie), I would expect to hear zydeco music emanating from the porch or gift shop in general. If you don’t know, zydeco music was created in rural Southwest Louisiana and is a blend of blues and rhythm & blues. Pull up your preferred music streaming app for examples.

In addition to the gift shops, Disney has stated that they’ll, “continue to invest in the improvements of the pathways and other areas to provide a better guest experience”. This could mean numerous things, but I honestly don’t anticipate huge changes as I doubt this project will be a long one.

How critter country closing will affect crowds

With construction projects mandating the closure of two of Disneyland‘s biggest people-eater attractions, Splash Mountain and Haunted Mansion, capacity in the park has taken a hit in recent months. When high capacity attractions close, it sends a ripple effect throughout the park, causing otherwise lower wait times at other attractions and walkways to swell.

So the addition of Critter Country to the closure list is definitely going to affect crowds. If you’re visiting Disneyland in May, or potentially even June or July, prepare for crowds to feel more dense than they usually do. Of course, how dense they’ll get entirely depends upon how much of Critter Country will be closed to guests.

I seriously question whether Disney will close the entirety of Critter Country, as that’ll only make the current capacity issue much worse than it needs to be. If they do completely close it, I don’t expect it to begin until just after Hungry Bear Restaurant in order to keep the pathway to Galaxy’s Edge open in order to maintain guest flow.

In regards to Hungry Bear itself, I presume Disney will keep it open as it’s a high capacity quick-service restaurant and they definitely do not want to lose that. Additionally, Disney will likely use this time for a quick refurbishment of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, keyword being “quick” because, again…capacity.

I’m sure you’re sick of hearing about capacity at this point, but it has everything to do with this project and thus, this post. Capacity determines how many tickets Disney can sell in a particular day. Decreased capacity means less available tickets, which equates to less money for Disney.

My belief is this project won’t be a long one and Critter Country will presumably reopen prior to the peak tourist season in July, if not, definitely before the beginning of the Halloween season in late August. That’s also when I’m predicting the Haunted Mansion, with its Nightmare Before Christmas overlay intact, will also reopen.

Regardless of how much of the land closes, it’ll definitely have an effect on crowds. Not necessarily more people, as all this construction will keep some away, but because of the decreased capacity, the remaining walkways around the park will become dense. I doubt it’ll reach the levels of Main Street U.S.A after a fireworks showing, but it’ll be noticeable.

‘The Bayou’ - a missed opportunity?

I’m going to turn to commentary now and discuss some blue-sky ideas of my own. I’m sure I’m going to get pushback in the comments over this, but I feel like Disney maintaining the “critter” theme of the area is a missed opportunity.

Before we get too deep into this, realize that this isn’t meant to be perceived as hate or disdain for Critter Country or Winnie the Pooh, as I’m a fan of both. The original animated movie was a favorite of mine as a kid and the older I get, the more I appreciate the serene environment of Critter Country, with its obvious ties to Hundred Acre Wood.

My position has more to do with immersive, continuous theming than anything else. Walt Disney himself stated that he never wanted Disneyland to become a museum, but rather, continue to evolve and improve. Sometimes, that means replacing beloved attractions, lands and elements.

So what is my idea? From the start, when Disney first made the announcement of Tiana’s takeover of Splash, I hoped and prayed that Disney would do away with the Critter Country theme, Winnie the Pooh included, and simply rename the land, “The Bayou”, a mini-land acting as a natural extension of New Orleans Square.

Keep an open mind and think about it for a minute. Tiana’s gift shop, Eudora’s Chic Boutique, and restaurant, Tiana’s Palace, are both located in New Orleans Square proper, which in this scenario would act as New Orleans, the city. Tourists visiting Tiana‘s locations in the “city”, would then have to make their way to “The Bayou” in order to experience her tourist attraction, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, much like they do in actual New Orleans with bayou boat tours.

Over in “The Bayou”, the two aforementioned gift shops would receive the same re-theming they are getting now, with Hungry Bear becoming “Louis’ Gator Shack”, or something to that effect. Structurally, Hungry Bear wouldn’t need to change at all. Simply swapping out signage, a refreshed menu and music elements would be all that’s needed.

Now let’s address the yellow bear in the room and discuss what they would do with the Winnie the Pooh attraction and meet n’ greet. Personally, I would’ve loved to have seen the attraction reimagined into one themed after Raymond the Firefly, or even Mamma Odie. The ride vehicles could easily become fireflies in their current form and neither the track or layout would need to change. All that would be needed are new ride elements, lighting and props.

The neighboring meet and greet, where Winnie the Pooh and friends currently meet guests, would feature characters from the movie, such as Louis, Prince Naveen, Dr. Facilier, Tiana herself and perhaps even Mama Odie. Speaking of Mama Odie, she could takeover Pooh’s Corner. The storyline being she uses her magical powers to concoct delicious bayou treats for guests.

You can tell that I’ve thought a lot about this. As much as I would love to see these ideas become reality, I fully understand and acknowledge Disney’s desire to keep Winnie the Pooh featured in Disneyland, as that little, yellow bear is a merch-moving monster.

However, I have a potential solution. Over at Walt Disney World, their version of the Winnie the Pooh attraction is located in Fantasyland. At Disneyland, there isn’t much space in their Fantasyland, but they could remove the seldom-used Fantasyland Theatre and transform that area into a mini-land themed to the Hundred Acre Wood.

Considering pooh-bear can move merch like none other and is consistently one of Disney’s most popular IP’s, I think giving Winnie his own, dedicated land is more than justified. Plus, Disney would be doing what, exactly? Increasing capacity! It’s a win-win in my eyes.

Still, depriving Pooh fans of their favorite bear, even for the short-term, is a gamble Disney probably isn’t willing to make. I get it, I understand it, but I stand firm on my opinion that the current Critter Country should be transformed into “The Bayou”. Perhaps it will be in the future, but I’m not holding my breath.

Planning a trip to Disneyland? If you’re considering visiting in May, when Critter Country closes, read A Guide to Visiting Disneyland in May. For tips and advice regarding dining, read 10 Best Disneyland Tips: Dining. Additionally, be sure to keep up with ride closures and future projects by reading my 2024 Disneyland Refurbishment Calendar Guide. Lastly, check out my friends at Get Away Today for deals on Disneyland tickets, vacation packages, hotels and more.

I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU

Are you planning to visit Disneyland in May or even into the summer months? What is your opinion of the Critter Country makeover? Are you excited for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure? What do you think of my ideas about removing Critter Country and retheming it into The Bayou? Anything to add? Sound off in the comments below.

Pixar Fest 2024 at Disneyland: 10 Things to Know

Beginning April 26 and continuing throughout the summer months, the Disneyland Resort will be hosting Pixar Fest, a fan-favorite event that’s returning to the resort for the first time since 2018.

The event celebrates all things Pixar, as beloved stories and characters from the endeared Pixar Animation Studios come to life in a way that only Disney can offer.

Throughout the event, many all new features will be offered, in addition to returning favorites with new enhancements. If you’re a fan of Pixar and you’ve been thinking of booking a trip to Disney, here’s your sign.

So what is Disney planning to offer guests during Pixar Fest? Below, I’ll discuss and present ten special offerings you can expect to experience.

Here’s a few things to keep in mind about Pixar Fest 2024:

• The event runs daily from April 26 - August 4, 2024

• Unlike After Dark Events, Pixar Fest does NOT require a separate ticket

• The event primarily takes place in DCA, but Disneyland Park, Downtown Disney and Pixar Place Hotel will also be partaking

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1) Pixar Themed Food & Marketplaces

While Disney has yet to share specific details about food and drinks (aside from a returning favorite we’ll discuss below), rest assured there will be no shortage of Pixar themed treats, dishes, cold brews and cocktails.

The returning favorite I mentioned above is the Pixar Cake pictured above, which will be available to order at Plaza Inn in the hub adjacent to the main entrance of Tomorrowland.

In 2024, the Troubadour Tavern’s menu will get a makeover, offering many Pixar-inspired foods and beverages. Additionally, Paradise Garden Grill at DCA will again offer Coco-inspired dishes.

Beginning May 10, a marketplace with several food booths (similar to the one’s used during Food and Wine) will be set-up near the Hollywood Backlot in DCA and will offer foods inspired by several characters from movies such as Luca, Ratatouille, Soul and Inside Out.

It’s a bit of a head scratcher as to why Disney decided to hold off on this until mid-May, instead of making it available in time for the advertised April start date. Though, with Food and Wine ending on April 22 and Pixar Fest beginning four days later, it could just be a timing, as Disney will need those extra couple weeks to convert the booths to their new Pixar themes.

2) Pixar Pals Playtime Party at Fantasyland Theatre

Based on the description on the Disney Parks Blog, this appears to be a family-friendly dance party with a variety of Pixar characters appearing on the stage and photo opportunities scattered throughout the viewing area, though it’s hard to tell if the characters on stage will be cut-outs or not.

They do specify it as taking place, “throughout the day”. While that doesn’t necessarily guarantee it won’t take place during night hours, the fact that it’s mainly geared towards children does suggest it.

The concept art also suggests that it’ll be more of an interactive experience, rather than a stage show. The stands are empty and all of the action is taking place in the space between the stage and stands, which at Disneyland is typically a no-go area during performances.

It’s a shame Disney isn’t pulling the trigger on a stage show, as I feel one would’ve rounded out the offerings quite nicely and Disneyland is sorely in need of more live performances, but I digress. It should be great for the kids (or the young at heart) or at minimum, a great way to get out of the sun for a bit.

3) Photo Opportunities with Pixar Characters

No special event would be complete without special and/or rare character appearances, and Pixar Fest is no exception. You’ll likely encounter all the usuals, with characters from The Incredibles, Inside Out and Toy Story making their standard appearances throughout Pixar Pier. Some of Pixar’s furrier characters, such as Dug from Up, will likely appear in the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail area.

In Disneyland Park, you can expect Buzz Lightyear to appear in Tomorrowland and Miguel from Coco in his usual spot in Frontierland, near the Big Thunder Mountain attraction. We’ll be attending Pixar Fest in early May, so I’ll loop back to provide more character location details at that point.

We can also presume that Bing Bong (Inside Out) and Joe Gardner (Soul) will continue to make their seemingly random appearances in the lobby of Pixar Place Hotel (for how long is the question). Additionally, Ember and Wade (Elemental) will make their debuts in the park, no word on where yet, though.

4) Pizza Planet Truck Popcorn Bucket

Themed popcorn buckets have become quite the sensation at the resort in the last few years, with each new release being more sought after than the last. It isn’t unheard of to see massive queues snaking around Town Square and other areas of the park during the first few days of each new release.

For Pixar Fest, Disney will present a popcorn bucket molded into the shape of the Pizza Planet truck from the Toy Story franchise (or every Pixar movie ever created if you’ve been paying attention). There isn’t a doubt in my mind that it’ll be in high demand.

If you’re going to want to purchase this, I would make it a point to arrive early and make it your first stop of the day, especially if it’s within the first week of release. Unfortunately, resellers converge onto the parks during new releases so they can buy as many as they can and then sell on Ebay (and other sites) for grossly inflated prices. They’re usually the cause for the huge queues and quick sell-outs.

5) Pixar Decor Throughout the Resort

The Disneyland Resort is no stranger to decorating its parks to “plus” them during a special event or occasion. During Pixar Fest, there will be no shortage of brightly-colored displays and photo-worthy sculptures.

Between the parks in the esplanade, there will be a 25-foot tall sculpture of the iconic Pixar Ball. Additionally, there will be Pixar-themed installation in DCA that your MagicBand+ will be able to interact with. These were the only two mentioned in the press release, but there will likely be many more.

6) The New, “Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration” Parade at DCA

Disney California Adventure will host the centerpiece of Pixar Fest, “Better Together”, a new parade dedicated to the celebration of all things Pixar. It’ll be stacked with vibrant and colorful floats, and more than two dozen Pixar characters.

A few examples include:

• Red Panda Mei and her friends dancing to their favorite boy band; 4*Town

• Joe Gardner and 22 from Soul

• Luca, Alberto and Giulia from “Luca” spending time on the water’s edge in Portorosso

Additionally, the grand finale will include appearances from multiple legacy Pixar characters together, such as Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl, Mike, Sulley, Woody, Jessie and Buzz Lightyear.

This a great news as it’s been many years since we’ve seen a proper day parade at DCA and since their parade route is longer and, historically speaking, draws lighter crowds, an ideal spot to watch the parade from generally isn’t hard to come by.

I’m not claiming you’ll be able to show up with minutes to spare and snag a great spot (though it isn’t unheard of), but you definitely won’t have to camp out hours ahead of time like you do for Magic Happens at Disneyland.

As far as vantage points go, I recommend a spot at the beginning or end. Where the parade begins will depend on if they’re running one or two parades daily but historically, parades at DCA begin near Paradise Garden Grill and end in Hollywood Land, adjacent to Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission Breakout. If there are two showings, the second showing will begin where the first showing ended.

If you choose a spot at the end of the route, keep in mind that the parade route at DCA is long and takes the performers roughly 20 minutes or so to get from one end to the other. It’s advantageous to be at the end, though, because by the time the parade route passes you, the crowds at the beginning and middle of the route would have largely dissipated.

If you’re looking to photograph the parade, I highly suggest the vantage point in the concept art above, or any spot in that space where you can place Pixar Pal Around and Incredicoaster as the backdrop. The downside to this area, is people tend to camp out here more-so than others, so you’ll need to arrive early to attain an ideal spot.

7) Club Pixar at the Hollywood Backlot

During the day-time hours, the Hollywood Backlot will feature multiple Pixar-themed backdrops for photo opportunities, games and even character encounters. At night, however, the area transforms into Club Pixar.

This is sure to be the counter to the family-friendly Playtime Party at Disneyland Park, with features such as a DJ dance party, live performances, themed food and specially crafted beverages (cocktails), this is an obvious attractant to teenagers and “Disney Adults”.

To those who remember, this is an obvious call-back to the past when the Hollywood Backlot hosted other nighttime dance parties like elecTRONica and Mad T Party, which celebrated the films Tron and the live-action Alice in Wonderland, respectively. Despite being hugely popular events, Disney hasn’t held one of these in the last decade, so it’ll surely be a welcomed addition.

8) Special Pixar Merch Throughout the Resort

Popcorn buckets aren’t the only pieces of merchandise that’ll drop for Pixar Fest. In fact, TONS of special and limited edition Pixar-themed and inspired merchandise will make their way into the gift shops in time for the event.

There hasn’t been much of any details released, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see the usual suspects appear on shelves, such as Mickey ears and caps, spirit jerseys, LoungeFly bags, pins and more.

Additionally, you’ll also find plenty of collectable medallions themed to your favorite Pixar characters (for a limited time). A few examples of these characters include those from “Toy Story”, “A Bug’s Life”, “Elemental” and more.

9) Downtown Disney District

The festivities don’t end at the parks and resort hotels, Downtown Disney is also getting in on the action with vibrant decorations, photo opportunities, special merchandise collections and of course, Pixar-inspired menu items at select restaurants.

10) ‘Together Forever - A Pixar Nighttime Spectacular’ at Disneyland

‘Together Forever’ is a returning favorite from prior Pixar Fest events. It features fireworks (on weekends), colorful lasers, music and projections from the original productions and new additions, such as moments from “Luca”, “Onward”, “Elemental” and more.

As is the case with most firework/projection shows, there will be multiple viewing locations to choose from. The three most poplar include in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle, between the Main Street U.S.A shops and in front of the “it’s a small world” facade (all of which will feature projections). Additionally, your MagicBand+ will react with lights and vibrations.

If you decide to go with the classic front-and-center view, note that it’s a risky choice, in that Disneyland’s fireworks are often canceled (though you’ll still get the projection portion of the show) and you’ll need to camp out at least an hour prior. However, the upsides are obvious, in that you’ll have a largely unobstructed view of the projections on the castle and the fly-overs that take place (likely to be the house from Up or Buzz Lightyear this year).

Further back between the buildings of Main Street is another popular option. Here, you can generally snag a great spot without having to camp out and you’ll be surrounded by the projections on the walls of the shops. You’ll still have a decent view of the castle, though it’ll be distant and you’ll likely have to contend with those who’re taller or have kids on their shoulders blocking your view.

You’ll often see recommendations for the area around the “it’s a small world” facade and the Rivers of America, but they’re typically a no-go for me. They’re definitely fairly stress-free spots, as there are rarely large crowds in these areas, but both pail in comparison to the castle and Main Street, in my humbled opinion.

A Guide to Visiting Disneyland in August 2024

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products or services that I believe will add value to my readers.

August is an interesting month to visit the Disneyland Resort. Crowd patterns are difficult to nail down, refurbishments are up in the air and of course, the wildcard for August 2024, Halloween season kicks off for the first time ever!

On the other end of the spectrum, the weather, while warm (it is August, after all) is still fairly comfortable, single day ticket prices start to come down in price, and for Imagine and Enchant Key holders, the summer blockout period begins to lift.

So is August a good month to visit Disneyland? How crowded will the parks be? Which attractions will be closed for refurbishment? I discuss all of these topics and more in this post. Let’s get into it!

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Check out these products I recommend for a trip to Disneyland in August…

• Element Equipment 50L Travel Duffel w/ Shoulder Straps

• Moleskin Blister Protection

• Owala Insulated Stainless Steel Water Bottle

• Sun Bum SPF 30 Sunscreen Spray

• Mickey and Minnie Mouse Ears (way more affordable than the ones at the park)

Anaheim Weather in August

As stated above, the weather in Anaheim in August gets on the warmer side, but it maintains a more comfortable level of warmth due to the low humidity. In fact, August is one of the months with the lowest humidity, with the chances of mugginess being 10% or less each day.

The average highs and lows are 86 and 66 degrees. Some days get into the low 90’s but rarely, if ever, exceed 94 degrees. A common rebuttal from locals to visitors complaining about the heat is, “it’s more of a dry heat, though”. Honestly, it’s hard to argue that logic once you’ve been there.

If you’re not a fan of rainy days then you’ll definitely love August as it’s one of the driest months in Anaheim. The chance for rain throughout the entire month remains at 2% with a comparatively low chance of thunder and lightening, leading to regular periods of clear, blue skies.

August also brings about longer than usual periods of daylight, though the amount you get decreases as the month progresses. The average for the month is 13.4 hours of daylight but by the time the end of the month arrives, that amount would have decreased by 55 minutes.

All that said, days are consistently warm but nights benefit from that cool coastal air and rarely exceeds 70 degrees. Despite it being summer, it would be wise to pack a light hoodie or sweater with your warm weather clothing (check out this great 50L travel duffel bag).

Is Disneyland Crowded in August?

In terms of crowds, August is chaotic. Crowd patters jump from one extreme to another throughout the month, making it difficult to pin down.

The crowds in the first half of the month will likely be as dense as they were in July, but that will start tapering off as we progress into the middle of the month as Orange County and Los Angeles school summer breaks come to a close.

However, the offset will be minimal as at around the same time, the blockout periods for the Imagine and Enchant Keys will begin to lift. This is when what I call the late afternoon “Locals Swell” returns.

Meaning, the first half of the day will likely receive the usual amount of crowds but as locals start getting out of school and work for the day, they converge onto the parks in the late afternoon or early evening, causing a swell in crowd levels.

To make matters worse, these key holders, I believe, make up the majority of local Magic Key holders, and they’ve been completely blocked out of the park since mid June. That’s a lot of pent-up demand, so be sure to compare your dates to those of the Magic Key calendar.

Another wildcard for this month is the fact that the Halloween season officially kicks off in the second half of August for the first time ever. This will definitely bring in the locals, as they’re the main demographic Disney targets for the special food and merchandise offerings.

As we’ll discuss in more detail below, the weekdays in the second half of the month are priced at their lowest - $104. Disney prices low demand days at these price points to entice more people to visit, and that’s exactly what I think will happen.

Many bargain hunters likely committed to a self-imposed lockout of the parks throughout the summer due to high prices but now that they’re coming down again, those same bargain hunters could hit the parks on those lower demand days en masse.

Finally, another aspect to consider is the Oogie Boogie effect. By that, I mean Oogie Boogie Bash, Disney California Adventure’s nighttime Halloween party.

With Halloween starting in August, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Oogie Boogie nights added to the August calendar. Since DCA closes early to regular park guests on those nights, this often causes a swarm of people to migrate over to Disneyland Park.

So in addition to locals causing a swell in the evenings, you’ll also have guests park hopping from DCA to contend with.

All that said, I would still recommend booking the weekday dates of 8/19 - 8/22 or 8/26 - 8/29 as your best chance of lower crowds. Magic Key holders may (somewhat) have free rein again, but locals are back in school and the peak tourist season has come to a close.

Single Day Ticket Prices + Magic Key Blockouts

For those who’re unaware, Disney prices their single day tickets on a dynamic pricing structure. Meaning, the price you’ll pay for a specific day is driven by predicated demand based off of Disney’s historic data.

For example, generally, weekend dates are always going to be priced higher than weekday dates as they tend to be busier. This allows Disney to maximize profits on busy days, while padding the parks with more guests on slower days by pricing them lower.

In August, the price range for adult single day, one park tickets is $104 - $194. All days priced at $104 are weekdays in the second half of the month, they are 8/19 - 8/22 and 8/26 - 8/29.

There are only two days priced at the $194 mark, they are 8/3 and 8/10. Both of these are Saturdays. All Fridays and Sundays in the month vary between $169 and $184, with weekdays in the first half of August varying between $134 - $169.

The child single day, one park ticket is priced between $98 - $183 and follows the same general high and low pattern as the adult prices above.

Keep in mind that while the $104 price may sound enticing (and it is), but that low price doesn’t always equate to a slower day, crowd wise. Disney prices these days lower to entice more people to visit. If a large group of bargain hunters buy tickets for one of those days, it’ll be a busier than normal day.

To avoid that, it’s sometimes worth it to go on a day where the price is closer to the middle range. High demand days are typically always busy while lower demand days could see an influx from the lower price. It’s possible to get around that by going on a day where crowds will be closer to neutral.

If you’re a Magic Key holder, or you’re hoping to be one by August, you’ll need to be mindful of the blockout calendar. In August, the blockout periods for Imagine and Enchant Keys that have been in effect since mid-June begin to lift.

Inspire Key holders, of course, need not be concerned about blockouts as you have none in August. Believe Key holders, the only day in the month you can’t visit the parks is 8/3 (a Saturday).

Enchant Key holders will get first crack at the parks since your summer blockout period lifts on 8/5. You will still be blocked 8/1 - 8/4 and then again on 8/10, 8/17, 8/24 and 8/31, all of which are Saturdays.

Imagine Key holders, you’ll be blocked for the first eleven days of the month. Your first eligible day to enter the parks will be 8/12. After that, you’re blocked on 8/16 - 8/18, 8/24 - 8/25 and 8/31. All of these are weekends and/or Fridays.

Hotel Rates for August

Which hotel you’re going to stay at for your Disneyland vacation is a big decision. There are many hotels surrounding the parks, including three Disney owned properties, all of which vary in quality, rates and amenities.

The three Disney owned hotels - The Grand Californian, The Disneyland Hotel & Villas and Pixar Place, are undoubtedly going to be most expensive hotel options.

Outside of that, there are dozens of what are called Good Neighbor hotels that surround the resort, namely on South Harbor blvd and Katella ave. South Harbor runs parallel to the resort on its east side (the main entrance), while Katella runs south along the backside of DCA.

The following rates are average nightly rates in August for these hotels. Remember, these are averages and they’ll vary based on too many variables to keep proper track of. These are just examples of what you can expect to pay in August:

• The Grand Californian Hotel and Spa, Disney’s most expensive property in California, has an average nightly rate of $779.45 for a standard view and $1,368 for club level of the same view.

• The Disneyland Hotel & Villas, the original Disney hotel, fares a little bit better with an average rate of $576.52 for a studio in the Villas Tower, $589.09 for a standard view room and $896.28 for a club level room of the same view.

• Disney’s newest addition to the line up, Pixar Place, is the most budget friendly of the three with an average rate of $457.66 for a standard view and $705.14 for club level.

The Good Neighbor hotels are a bit harder to track, as there are many of them and I have to rely on third party websites to obtain an acceptable average.

If you’re looking for the most budget friendly options and you’re not all that concerned with amenities, there are four hotels within walking or shuttle distance that average under $125 per night, they are Motel 6 Maingate, Anaheim Astoria, Kings Inn Anaheim and Solara Inn and Suites.

If you’re wanting better amenities but you’re not looking to re-finance your house to do it, there are several properties under $250 a night that offer such, they are the Howard Johnson Hotel and Water Playground, Tropicana Hotel and Suites, Grand Legacy at the Park and The Anaheim Hotel. All of these are within close proximity of the resort’s east entrance.

That said, the majority of which that sit between the I-5 overpass and the Katella intersection run between $200 and $300 per night, with some reaching as high as $360. Of course, there are higher end hotels located nearby such as the Westin and Courtyard Marriott that often reach the $500 mark.

Halloween Season at Disneyland

For the first time ever, Halloween season at the Disneyland Resort officially begins on Friday, August 23. This is in direct response to the overwhelming popularity of the holidays at the park.

There hasn’t been any details released by Disney about what to expect this year, as those are typically announced in June. However, we have plenty of historical data to go off of that’ll give us a general idea.

For starters, Disney’s nighttime Halloween party, Oogie Boogie Bash, will certainly return in 2024. With the addition of August in the timeline, I expect expanded dates and potentially more offerings during the hard ticket event.

Halloween decor is also a given. In Disneyland Park, Main Street U.S.A and parts of Frontierland are generally the only two lands that receive decor. Additionally, we’ll also have the return of Haunted Masnion Holiday with a newly expanded queue and exit.

At DCA, the decor runs throughout much of the park, including and especially at Cars Land, which transforms into Radiator SCREAMS. If you’ve never seen Cars Land during Halloween time, it’s an attraction all its own and will have you exploring every nook and cranny of the land.

There are Halloween overlays at select attractions in DCA as well, including Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree and Mission Breakout. Additionally, there are sure to be dozens of special food, treat and drink offerings, along with limited edition merchandise.

I’ll be sure to update this post when more information becomes available. For now, be sure to give my 2024 Halloween at Disneyland guide.

Disneyland Attraction Refurbishments in August

The Haunted Mansion, which is currently closed while it undergoes an expansion of its grounds, queue area and exit, will likely be down for the first few weeks of August, but I expect it to reopen in time for the Halloween season kickoff on August 23.

Another closure that’ll be a sure thing is Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. While Walt Disney World’s version has received a summer 2024 opening, ours is taking longer due Disney closing it months later and workers running into issues. I don’t expect ours to open anytime before November.

Beyond that, nothing is certain as Disney doesn’t release refurbishment information sooner than 45 days out. A persistent closure that occurs often during the hot summer months is the Monorail, though.

Unfortunately, the Monorail wasn’t built with air conditioning in mind so when it gets too warm, usually around the mid-day mark, Disney temporarily closes the Monorail for guest safety. Once it cools back down, they’ll reopen it.

As August approaches and Disney releases more information, I will update this post. Be sure to read and save my 2024 Disneyland Refurbishment Calendar, as I relentlessly keep it up to date with ride closure and future project information.

Disneyland Halloween 2024 Guide

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products or services that I believe will add value to my readers.

Visiting Disneyland during normal times of year can feel daunting enough. Throw in the Halloween element and things go to a different level entirely. Second only to the Christmas season, Halloween at the Disneyland Resort has grown in popularity year over year and is showing no signs of slowing down.

We have been to Disneyland during the Halloween season multiple times and can profess to how awesome the entire experience is. From Oogie Boogie Bash at DCA to the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay of the Haunted Mansion in Disneyland proper, we’re here for it all.

If you’ve never been to Disneyland during Halloween, this guide is for you. In it, we cover what to expect, dates, special events and more. Let’s get into it.

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When Is Halloween Begin At Disneyland?

Halloween season at the Disneyland Resort isn’t just a one day celebration on the holiday itself. Rather, Disneyland celebrates Halloween throughout multiple months.

In years’ past, Disneyland would kick off its Halloween season in early September, usually just after Labor Day. In 2024, however, you’ll have even more time to enjoy the spooky season, as it’ll now begin on August 23, 2024 (Friday).

This expansion of dates is a testament to the growing popularity and demand for more Halloween at the resort. In what was once considered a slow time of year at the parks, it has morphed into the busiest, rivaling even July.

While Disney hasn’t announced it yet, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Oogie Boogie Bash dates also be expanded, as it’s a way for Disney increase profits without the bad press of high price increases.

Is Halloween At Disneyland Crowded?

The Halloween season USED to be a fairly slow time at the Disneyland Resort. It was because of that why that timeframe was our go-to for a relatively crowd-free experience but as stated above, that’s no longer the case.

The Halloween season, largely due to the annual Oogie Boogie Bash event, has experienced massive growth and an increase in popularity over the last few years. This began prior to the covid closure, but has exploded since.

This is why much of the event has migrated over to Disney California Adventure. Disneyland Park typically sees heavier crowds than DCA, Halloween or not, so the shift was one of many tactics taken to boost sagging attendance there.

Generally, the closer to Halloween it gets, the more dense the crowds. If your goal is to enjoy the Halloween season without heavy crowds, I would aim for dates in the first ten days of September, or potentially even weekday dates in the latter half of August.

That period, namely the first ten days of September, has managed to maintain its status as one of the least busiest times of year at the resort. It’s towards the end of the month and into October when crowd levels begin to rise exponentially.

The Oogie Boogie Bash Variable

An important element to the Halloween season that will have an overall effect on crowd patterns at the resort is the mega-popular annual event, “Oogie Boogie Bash”, at Disney California Adventure.

In 2024, the event will likely be held on nights throughout the months of August, September and October, typically with one to three days between each. On nights with a scheduled event, DCA will close early to regular park guests at 6pm.

On days when there’s a scheduled event, the majority of the crowds are across the esplanade at Disneyland, with DCA seeing minimal crowds.

The reason for this is simple. Since DCA closes early on bash nights (6pm), most visitors don’t want to waste a full-day ticket on a partial day at the park. There are no discounts for these days.

Generally, visitors that are in DCA on a bash-night are either locals, Magic Key holders (or both) or have the park hopper option on their ticket. When DCA closes, they just hop over.

The opposite, however, is true for non-bash nights. California Adventure will see higher crowd levels since those guests have a full day available to them.

If you purchased the park hopper option (or are a Magic Key holder) and you’re NOT attending the bash, I recommend beginning your day at DCA to take advantage of the lower crowds.

Around 3pm, when they start letting bash ticket holders in, is when you should consider heading over to Disneyland Park (or back to your hotel for a break).

If you DON’T have the park hopper option, I recommend spending your day at Disneyland to take advantage of the full day. The hours you’d be losing at DCA far outweigh the lower crowd levels.

Normally, I don’t purchase the park hopper option for myself and usually advise against it. One of the exceptions to both of those is during the Halloween season, when your dates coincide with Oogie Boogie Bash events.

Oogie Boogie Bash 2024

A big reason for Disney’s success during Halloween is the annual event, Oogie Boogie Bash. It’s held semi-nightly at DCA throughout the entirety of the season, concluding with the final bash on October 31st.

The bash is five hours long (6pm-11pm) and features multiple exclusive attractions, such as villain treat trails, ‘Villains Grove’, rare character appearances, ‘Fightfully Fun Parade’ and more.

In 2023, tickets to the event sold out in record time. I would expect much of the same for 2024 so if you’re planning to attend, keep your finger on he pulse (be sure to follow our Facebook page as that is where i’ll announce when tickets go on sale)

If you’re expecting a scary Halloween party, this isn’t it. It’s more about the overall vibe and celebration of Halloween rather than the scares. If scares are your thing, drive north to Universal or Knott’s.

Oogie Boogie Bash is appropriate for all ages so if you have littles, this won’t exclude them. Far from it, actually. What kid wouldn’t relish the opportunity to trick or treat with their favorite characters?

I wrote a comprehensive guide detailing our experience at Oogie Boogie Bash 2022. If you’re considering attending (or just mildly curious), be sure to give it a read at the link below.

READ: Oogie Boogie Bash 2024: Ticket Prices, Dates, and What to Expect

Attraction Overlays

Each season, select attractions throughout both parks receive Halloween themed overlays to help celebrate the festivities and make it an even more unique experience for visitors.

These include:

• Haunted Mansion

• Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission BREAKOUT!

• Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree

• Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters

We’ll start with the Halloween flagship attraction; Haunted Mansion. Each year, Disney converts it into, “Haunted Mansion Holiday”, where characters from the beloved film, “Nightmare Before Christmas”, take over.

This has proven to be mega popular over the years and the queue often reflects that. It isn’t uncommon to see seventy to eighty minute wait times and Genie+ return windows being hours out.

If this is something you’d be interested in, I suggest either rope dropping it, making it your first Genie+ selection or try to hitting it just before park closing (if you’d want to avoid the long wait, that is).

At DCA, one of their biggest draws is Mission Breakout’s conversion to, “Guardians of the Galaxy - Monsters After Dark”. The ride itself is generally the same, but the plot differs from the original.

The plot for ‘Monsters’ takes place after the events of Mission Breakout, when the Guardians successfully escape the Collector's grasp. Groot, however gets left behind and now you’re tasked with sacrificing your safety - or assisting Rocket by distracting the monsters while he saves Groot.

The monsters version of ride is fun. It has its moments and features just as many drops as Mission Breakout, but to me it isn’t as exciting as the original. In this version, you’re without the classic rock songs and instead, are forced to listen to a what I assume to be a generic death metal song that just sounds like noise.

The classic rock songs are a huge part of why I and so many others love that ride so much. I appreciate the original storyline and effort they put into it but for my money, I’ll take Mission Breakout over ‘monsters’ any day.

Halloween Decor & Character Outfits

Throughout the season, both parks at the Disneyland Resort are adorned in orange and black Halloween decor and many characters are dressed in their favorite (not-so) spooky costumes.

The majority of the characters you’ll see adorned in Halloween garb are Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto and Chip n’ Dale. They’ll likely be in their usual spots within Town Square and Buena Vista Street, respectively.

Disneyland Park

The majority of the resort’s decorations will be at Disneyland Park. To set the tone of things to come, above the turnstiles at the entrance are each of the Fab Five represented in pumpkin form.

Once inside the park, you’ll also take notice of the Main Street Train Station adorned in decor and below that, a Halloween version of Floral Mickey usually makes an appearance.

Past the tunnels and into Town Square, each building and lighting fixture is lined with pumpkins, bows, orange and black garland and floral.

In the center of Town Square is the massive and ever popular Mickey pumpkin head photo-op.

*Tip: Most people want their picture taken here at night when everything is lit up. The line will be HUGE, but it goes by fairly quickly. So don’t let it scare you off.

If you’re leaving before nightfall and still want your photo in front of the pumpkin, do it mid-day when the coastal haze has given way to blue skies.

If your aim is to get your photo at night and with as little people around as possible, save it for closing. Main Street stays open one hour past official closing time and this includes the pumpkin!

A lot of people would have headed back to their hotels by this point so your chances of a people-free photo with the pumpkin are decent. Any other time of day/night…forget about it.

As you move past Main Street, Halloween decor begins to wane. With the exception of Frontierland, you won’t much (if any) decor in the themed lands; including and especially Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

Frontierland has perhaps the coolest of all the Halloween decor in the park; The Halloween Tree. You can’t miss it. It’s literally the only tree in the land with decoration and lights.

The tree is a tribute to Ray Bradbury and his 1972 novel of the same name. He was a huge proponent of Disney theme parks, including and especially EPCOT Center in Florida.

Also in Frontierland, near the Rancho del Zocalo restaurant, are decorations celebrating Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead). The vibrant colors give life to an otherwise underutilized part of the park.

As stated above, don’t expect decor (or even a mention of Halloween) in Galaxy’s Edge. This is to preserve the commitment to theming as Disney wants you to feel like you’ve actually in the Star Wars universe.

Disney California Adventure

DCA takes a heavy ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ vibe as it pertains to its decor on Buena Vista Street (for obvious reasons). You’ll find a silhouette of Oogie Boogie himself above the entrance on both sides.

Like its big brother park across the esplanade, DCA’s decor come to life in a big way at night. Green and purple lighting effects amplify the Halloween spirit and gives everything an enjoyably spooky vibe.

Just down the way from Buena Vista Street, though, is where you’ll find the undisputed champion of Halloween decor - Cars Land.

Cars Land goes above and beyond from simple Halloween decor. In fact, you could argue that Radiator Springs goes through a full-blown overlay and gets transformed into a literal Halloween-town.

Between the spider-car in front of Flo’s V8 Cafe, the green/purple lighting effects on the Cadillac Range mountains of Radiator Springs Racers, the Cozy Cone Motel going through a ghostly transformation and more, the town (temporarily) becomes, ‘Radiator Screams’.

The sheer level of detail found throughout the land is incredible. No proverbial stone is left unturned as literally every building, character and attraction is smothered in the Haul-O-ween spirit. One could easily spend an entire evening looking around.

Disneyland Halloween Treats

No one appeals to foodies quite like Disney. Seasonal foods, deserts and treats are offered throughout the year and Halloween is no exception. In fact, a lot of people (us included) can only get their favorites during this time of year.

Both parks, resort hotels and most establishments in Downtown Disney offer a variety of seasonal items, such as entrees, alcoholic drinks, non-alcoholic drinks, deserts, hand-held treats and more.

If you’re into pumpkin flavored, well….anything, then Disneyland is where you’ll want to be. The parks heavily cater to pumpkin lovers. If you’re not into pumpkin, don’t fret. There will be plenty of options for you as well.

Don’t stress over trying to eat everything. There’s simply too many options. Disney markets these seasonal offerings to locals as they’re able to go to the parks simply to try a new desert. The average visitor doesn’t have that luxury, unfortunately.

READ ALSO: “Disneyland Dining Guide: Mobile Order, Mobile Walk-Up, Reservations and More”

Details Released for Disneyland’s 2024 Star Wars Nite Event

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products or services that I believe will add value to my readers.

A few months ago, Disneyland officials announced the park’s 2024 After Dark lineup and to the surprise of absolutely no one, Star Wars Nite would once again headline the series.

Second only to Oogie Boogie Bash (maybe), the Star Wars brand has been anchoring Disney’s After Dark events since 2018 and has been growing in popularity ever since.

In 2024, there will be twice as many Star Wars Nites as there were in 2023! A total of eight, to be exact, spread out over the months of April and May.

Recently, Disney finally announced the specifics about the event, including a few changes that you may or may not be thrilled about.

In the post below, I’ll discuss what you can expect from Star Wars Nite in 2024, ticket prices, dates, on sale dates, Magic Key pre sales and more!

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2024 Star Wars Nite Dates and Ticket Prices

In 2024, Disneyland will be hosting eight Star Wars Nite events on April 16, 18, 23, 25, 30 and May 2, 7, and 9. This is twice as many as they held in 2023, proving the Star Wars brand is just as strong as it’s ever been.

As predicted, the ticket prices for Star Wars Nite jumped a bit this year, but not by much. In 2024, prices for tickets range between $159 and $169. Specific date pricing is as follows:

• April 16: $159

• April 18: $169

• April 23: $159

• April 25: $169

• April 30: $159

• May 2: $169

• May 7: $159

• May 9: $169

As per usual, there are no Magic Key discounts (or any at all, for that matter), and there is no distinction between adults and kids as both pay the same rate.

There reason why Disney doesn’t offer a lower rate for kids for After Dark tickets is because the main draw at these events are the special offerings, instead of the usual, everyday attractions.

Many of the attractions have height requirements that some kids don’t meet and thus, won’t be able to experience the attraction. So on a normal park ticket, they’re priced less to compensate.

The offerings during After Dark events, which usually consists of rare character meet and greets, dance parties, photo opps and the like, do not require a height requirement. So both adults and kids can experience them the same. Hence, why they’re priced accordingly.

One of the benefits of your ticket is being able to access Disneyland three hours prior to the event’s start time. With Star Wars Nite kicking off at 9pm, that means you can get in starting at 6pm.

2024 Star Wars Nite Offerings

Unless a specific attraction is closed for refurbishment or a closure of some other kind, most Disneyland Park attractions will be open during the event.

This is great because compared to a normal park day, the crowds at After Dark events are generally lighter. Additionally, most attendees are focusing on the special offerings.

This usually means you’ll experience minimum wait times. I’m not saying they’ll all be walk-ons, though. The Star Wars themed attractions, such as Rise of the Resistance, will likely still have a decent wait. Though not as high as it normally is.

Conversely, Star Tours and Smuggler’s Run will likely experience decent wait times, but nothing like they do during normal park hours.

Low wait times aside, the real draw here are the numerous Star Wars themed offerings. In 2024, some of these include special character opportunities, themed photo opportunities, Star Wars themed food and more.

Some of these include:

• An encounter with Captain Phasma and her elite unit of Stormtroopers in Tomorrowland

• The ‘Resistance Show of Unity’ in front of the Millennium Falcon in Galaxy’s Edge

• Numerous Star Wars themed treats available for purchase, including a Street-Style Elote Burger at Hungry Bear and Pork Belly Sisig-inspired Loaded Fries at Red Rose Taverne

• A Galactic Dance Party with a DJ on Main Street U.S.A

• Rare character meet and greets scattered throughout the park

• A special cavalcade led by Mickey and Minnie Mouse down Main Street U.S.A with guests wearing Star Wars costumes

• and much more

If you’ll be wearing a Star Wars-themed costume to the event, taking part in the cavalcade down Main Street is sure to be one of the biggest highlights of the event.

You’ll begin near the train station and be led up Main Street U.S.A by none other than Mickey and Minnie Mouse. The cavalcade will culminate at Sleeping Beaty Castle, where a group photo of the participants will be taken.

Many of the treat options can be mobile ordered, but I implore you to do so ahead of time. Remember, you’re permitted entry into the park three hours prior to the event’s start time.

I recommend booking your pick up windows during this time, if possible, as these treats have been known to sell out fast. It is not yet known if Magic Key holder discounts will apply.

When Do 2024 Star Wars Nite Tickets Go On Sale?

Star Wars Nite tickets are sold exclusively on the Disneyland website (NOT the app), and there are multiple sale dates to be aware of this year. Magic Key holders, you need to pay attention.

For the first time, Inspire Key (the highest key tier) holders, will get first crack at Star Wars Nite tickets prior to everyone else - on February 20, to be exact. Reminder - unless you have an activated Inspire Key, you will NOT be able to purchase tickets on this date.

By activated, I mean you’ve either already used your key to access one of the parks or you’ve used your parking entitlement. If you recently purchased an Inspire Key on January 10 and HAVEN’T yet used it, then it is NOT activated.

For Believe, Enchant and Imagine Key holders, you’ll have your exclusive purchase days on February 21 AND February 22. Note that Inspire Key holders will NOT be able to purchase tickets on these two dates.

Finally, the general public sale will be held on February 23. If you’re not a Magic Key holder, don’t fret. Disney holds a certain amount of tickets aside for each sale date. Exactly how many is unknown, but there will still be tickets available for each sales date on February 23.

No matter the sale date you’re eligible for, tickets go on sale no sooner than 9am through the Disneyland website and you’ll be placed in a virtual queue. New for this year will be the “Notify Me” option while in the virtual queue.

With this feature, you can opt to provide Disney with an email address to notify you when it’s your turn to purchase tickets. This way, you’re not staring at the computer screen for hours on end. When you receive notification, you’ll have ten minutes to make your selections.

Why Disney went with an email option and not a text message one is a bit of a head scratcher to me, but I digress. As someone who can testify to how stressful the virtual queue can be, this is certainly better than nothing.

Much like Oogie Boogie Bash and Sweetheart’s Nite, this event will sell out quickly. Just because sales begin no sooner than 9am, doesn’t mean there isn’t anything you can do to give yourself an advantage.

Disney doesn’t announce this, and it doesn’t happen every time, but you’re often able to enter a “virtual waiting room” starting at 8:45am. Doing this could mean the difference between getting to purchase your tickets in under an hour or having to wait multiple hours.

Additionally, instead of going directly to the Disneyland website at 8:45am, go to Google and search “2024 Star Wars Nite tickets”. Click the first Disneyland website link in the search results and that’ll take you directly to the virtual queue.

Refreshing the Disneyland website sometimes doesn’t work and there are occasional delays that could derail your chances. It nearly happened to me during the Magic Key sale in January. That five minutes I missed while constantly hitting refresh caused to wait over six hours to purchase my keys.

READ NEXT: “Disneyland in One Day: 8 Tips to Maximize Your Time”

A Guide to Visiting Disneyland in July 2024

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products or services that I believe will add value to my readers.

Visiting Disneyland in July is only for the bravest of souls. Of all the summer months, July tends to be the busiest, as blocked out Magic Key holders make way for the peak tourist season swell.

In most cases, school aged children are out for summer break, making it a prime opportunity for their parents to cash in their PTO. Combine that with the thousands of Inspire Key holders still able to access the parks, and you have a recipe for dense crowds.

So how crowded is Disneyland in July, exactly? Are there any special events? How much are hotels going to cost? I discuss all these topics and whole lot more below. Let’s get into it.

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Anaheim Weather in July

For starters, it’s hot. July is Anaheim’s hottest month of the year but with its low humidity (around 57%), it doesn’t feel too bad. Nights can still be on the cooler side, so bringing a light hoodie wouldn’t be a bad idea.

The average lows and highs are in the mid 60’s and the low 80’s, respectively. There will be a few miserably hot days where the heat rises into the 90s but overall, it’s a comfortable level of warmth. You’ll also get an average of 14.2 hours of daylight.

If you’re not a fan of rainy days, you’re in luck. July is one of the months with the least amount of rain in Anaheim. According to AccuWeather, there’s only a 5% chance of rain on any given day and in Southern California, there are very little summer thunder storms as well.

Wind is rarely an issue either. The average wind speed hovers around 7.7 mph (in other words, barely noticeable). All in all, aside from a few overly hot days, July isn’t a bad month, weather wise.

Be sure to pack for warm weather but as stated above, you’ll definitely want to bring along a light hoodie and maybe joggers for the cooler evenings.

Is Disneyland Crowded in July?

In a word, yes. As stated above, July is the peak tourist travel season at the Disneyland Resort. However, there’s generally no significant difference between weekday and weekend crowds, so you’ll have more options as to which dates to book.

All of the special ticket promotions Disney was running earlier in the year will have long expired by this point, so expect to pay sticker price on multi-day and the high end of the spectrum for single-day tickets.

The fact that all Magic Keys sold out in record time on January 10th could indicate higher than usual crowds. In fact, both the Inspire and Believe Keys, which are the only two that are not entirely blocked for the month, were the first to sell out. That doesn’t necessarily equate to higher crowds, though.

I say that because locals are the biggest drivers of crowds at Disneyland, and more of them are opting for the lower two Magic Key options. While it’s believed there are more holders of those versus the higher two, the lower two are blocked out entirely in July. Some will surely purchase single day tickets to get their fix but they’re the exception, not the rule.

In fact, due to the Imagine and Enchant Keys being blocked out entirely and the Believe Key being blocked on select dates, I expect July 4-6, 13, 20 and 27 to potentially be the “slowest” days of the month. Of course, the word slow at Disneyland is a relative term, and all depends on perspective. It’s going to be packed, just potentially not as much so as the rest of the month.

Aside from Independence Day, Disneyland’s Birthday and the continuation of Pixar Fest, there are no special events or After Dark events scheduled for July. The rush to see the offerings of Pixar Fest would have likely died down by now.

Due to the heavy crowds in July, you’ll need to be on the ball when it comes to dining reservations. Meaning, exactly 60-days before each day of your visit, you’ll need to be signed into your account on the Disneyland website or app. They usually start releasing reservations at around 6am or so.

If your goal is to visit the parks with the least amount of people around as possible, I recommend skipping a visit in July and consider booking for late August or early September, if at all possible.

Disneyland Single-Day Ticket Prices and Magic Key Blockouts

Disneyland prices its single-day tickets on a dynamic structure, meaning the price you pay is driven by demand. For example, the price you’ll pay for a Saturday will almost always be priced higher than a ticket purchased for a Tuesday.

Due to July being the peak of the tourist travel season, just about everyday that month is going to be at the higher end of the spectrum, with few exceptions. The current price range for single-day, adult tickets is $154 - $194. This is for one park, by the way.

Currently, there are only three days at the $154 price, they are July 9, 18 and 22 (a Tuesday, Thursday and a Monday). Interestingly, July 4, Independence Day, is priced at only $169. I know only is a subjective term but considering it’s a national holiday, that price is almost a bargain.

Conversely, all Saturdays in the month and one Friday (7/5) are priced at the high end at $194. Sundays are priced just below that in the $180 range. Weekdays have an average price of $169 and as stated above, the differences in crowd levels aren’t that great. So save yourself some money and go on a weekday.

Single-day child tickets are priced between $146 - $183 and follow the same general pattern as the adult tickets. This is why it’s always a good idea to commit to, at minimum, a two day visit. Yes, technically, you’ll pay more on a two day ticket, but you’ll have more time and thus, more value for your money, as multi-day tickets aren’t subject to dynamic pricing.

Magic Key holders, much like regular ticket holders, are subject to the reservation system and thus, have blockout days where they are unable to access the parks. The Imagine and Enchant Keys, the lower two tiers, are blocked out entirely in July.

Believe Key holders only have a handful of blockout dates. They are July 4, 5, 6, 13, 20 and 27. The Inspire Key, Disney’s top tier, isn’t blocked out at all in July.

July Hotel Rates at Disneyland

A hot button topic when planning a trip to Disneyland is which hotel you’re going to stay at. Unlike its Florida counterpart, whom has dozens of on-site hotels, Disneyland only has three. However, there are a plethora of what are called, “Good Neighbor” hotels. Many of which are within walking distance of the parks.

The three resort hotels are:

• Grand Californian Hotel and Spa

• The Disneyland Hotel and Villas

• Pixar Place Hotel

All three range in amenities, offerings and price but for many, the cost of these hotels is prohibitive. In July, the average nightly rate at the Grand Californian is $874.26 for a standard room with a view of the gardens. For club level of the same classification, you’re looking at a $1,521.74 per night average.

You’ll fare a little better at the Disneyland Hotel with an average nightly rate of $634.76 for a studio in the Villas Tower, $640.60 for a standard room in the other three towers and $948.90 for club level. Pixar Place, Disney’s newest hotel offering, is the most affordable at $503.50 for standard and $718.75 for club.

As you can see, the rates at the resort hotels aren’t for the faint of heart. As stated above, there are literally dozens of more affordable options surrounding the resort. Many of which offer similar or superior amenities to those found at the Grand Californian for more than half the cost.

Obtaining a nightly average for these hotels proved to be a bit more complicated but overall, the Good Neighbor hotels I researched ranged between $70 - $339 per night, with the majority of those that are within walking distance having a nightly average of $180 - $230. As you can see, the savings can be substantial.

Many of the South Harbor hotels between the I-5 overpass and Katella intersection are at $208 or higher, with Motel 6 Maingate, The Clarion and Anaheim Astoria having the lowest averages of $115 or lower per night. I’ve personally stayed at the Motel 6 Maingate and Clarion, neither of which I’ve ever had an issue with. If you’re just looking for a place to sleep, they’re great options.

Despite many of these hotels being within walking distance, many of them offer shuttle service to the parks via the Anaheim Rapid Transit (ART). The cost for that service is $6 - $25 for adults and $2.50 - $5.50 for kids (ages 3-9). You can purchase passes for ART here or in the lobby of your hotel.

Disneyland Ride Closures in July

The Disneyland Resort puts its attractions on a regular closure schedule for ongoing maintenance, extensive repairs, new safety features or including new scenes or technology. These are known as, “refurbishments”. Regardless of the reason, no one likes showing up to the park, all to discover that their favorite attraction is closed.

To help deter this disappointment, Disney releases refurbishment information roughly 45-days in advance. Though, last minute additions or date changes do occur from time to time.

At the time of this post’s publishing, refurb information for July hasn’t been released. However, I can say for certain that the Haunted Mansion attraction will be closed. Disney is currently reimagining the mansion’s grounds, queue space and exit, as well as constructing an ADA elevator.

Another attraction that’s sure to be down is Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Officials at Walt Disney World recently announced a summer 2024 opening for their version of the ride but sadly, we’re going to be waiting a bit longer on the west coast. Our version is currently slated for a late 2024 opening.

This section will be updated as more information about refurbishments become available. In the meantime, I suggest reading and saving my official 2024 Disneyland Refurbishment Guide. In addition to ride closures, I also discuss ongoing and future projects at the resort.

Dates in 2024 to Avoid Visiting Disneyland On

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products or services that I believe will add value to my readers.

Previously, I wrote a post about the most affordable dates to visit Disneyland in 2024 (you can give that one a read here). After publishing it, I started getting questions about which dates people should avoid.

While some may think there’s no such thing as a bad day at Disneyland, the truth is, crowd levels can get so out of control that even queues at the churro carts get deep, let alone attractions like Space Mountain.

Shortly before the covid closure, crowd patterns began to shift with the opening of Star Wars - Galaxy’s Edge. In the before times, predicting busy or slow days was relatively easy.

Since the opening of Galaxy’s Edge and especially after the covid closures, predicting crowd patterns have become quite the craft-shoot with more people working from home now more than ever.

That said, I cannot guarantee that one particular day will be slower or busier. However, despite the change in guest behavior, there are still dates that I can say with a relatively high degree of certainty will definitely be busy. If your goal is to avoid crowds, this post is for you.

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January 1st, 2024 (New Years Day)

This one’s obvious. New Year’s Day is one of the busiest days of the year at the Disneyland Resort. It hasn’t happened since reservations became a thing but in the past, they’ve had to close the gates its gotten so busy.

To some, kicking off their year at Disneyland seems like a great idea and if it’s worth it to you then hey, do you. However, if you’re looking to avoid soul crushing crowds, definitely skip this day and plan for the last three weeks of January instead.

January 11 - 14, 2024 (Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend)

After a five year hiatus, the Disney Half Marathon is returning to the Disneyland Resort. With it, an influx of joggers (who also happen to be Disney fans) show up and give attendance a nice boost.

While the event takes place in the early morning hours, many of the participants end up making a day out of it and head to the parks after the event (and hopefully a shower). So unless you’re planning to participate in the event, I would recommend avoiding these dates.

Mid-March - First Week of April (Spring Break)

This one is right up there with the New Year’s crowds, only instead of just one day, the parks are slammed for about a three to four week period.

Some school districts let their students out for two weeks while others keep it to just one. With Easter falling on March 31 in 2024, that means the latter half of March and the first week of April are spring break crowd danger zones.

For more details on visiting in the months of March and April and how to avoid the spring break crowds, check out the posts below:

• A Guide to Visiting Disneyland in March

• A Guide to Visiting Disneyland in April

Grad Nite Dates in May & June

If you don’t know what Grad Nites are, they’re essentially a souped-up field trip for high school seniors. It’s a congratulatory event for their years of hard work and a way for them to blow off some steam.

Avoiding these dates doesn’t necessarily mean avoiding the resort all together, as Grad Nite events take place at Disney California Adventure. However, attendees are also afforded day access to Disneyland, so keep that in mind.

For what it’s worth, I’ve been to the park during a grad nite event and while the walkways were definitely dense, wait times at the attractions weren’t much worse than usual. Just something to consider. To see specific Grad Nite dates, read the posts below:

• A Guide to Visiting Disneyland in May

• A Guide to Visiting Disneyland in June

November 28 & 29, 2024 (Thanksgiving & Black Friday)

Thanksgiving and Black Friday are notorious for heavy crowds at Disneyland. In addition to the holiday itself, the proceeding few weeks are the last chance for all Magic Key holders to get in their Disney fix before the key-wide blockout period commences.

Usually, the days leading up to Thanksgiving aren’t all that bad, so if you must go during that week, I recommend doing so between November 25 - 27. The crowds on the weekdays after Black Friday are also typically better as well.

December 24 & 25 (Christmas Eve & Christmas Day)

New Year’s Day and Thanksgiving - while crowded in their own right - are nothing compared to the epic crowds that converge onto the parks on Christmas Eve and day.

All Magic Key holders are still blocked on these days, but we’re still in the midst of winter school breaks and parents using the last of their PTO before losing it.

In addition, for those of you who’re wanting to do Disneyland in one day, you’ll also pay inflated ticket, Genie+ and Lightning Lane prices.

December 31, 2024 (New Years’ Eve)

Much like the people who want to start their new year off right - at Disneyland, many of those same people flock to the parks to mark the transition from the old year to new one.

Due to this, New Year’s Eve is a tremendously busy day. Each year, Disney rings in the new year with an epic fireworks show at the stroke of midnight. Believe me, it’s a crowd pleaser, but you’ll pay the price by having to stand in shoulder-to-shoulder crowds.

Multiple 3-Day Weekends Throughout the Year

Any time you have a holiday falling on a Friday or Monday, it creates a three day weekend. If that holiday is a federal one, the school districts and workforce typically get an extra day off, and that almost always translates to a busy day at the resort.

In 2024, there are multiple three day weekend dates to be weary of. They are:

• January 15 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day)

• February 19 (President’s Day)

• May 27 (Memorial Day)

• September 2 (Labor Day)*

• October 14 (Indigenous Peoples Day)

• November 11 (Veteran’s Day)

*PRO TIP: The one exception is Labor Day. Of all holiday weekends, that one generally sees the lowest crowds as locals have returned to school and work from their summer vacations.

2024 Disneyland Dining Guide: Reservations, Mobile Order and More

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products or services that I believe will add value to my readers.

One of the biggest (and costly) considerations you’ll make when planning a trip to the Disneyland Resort is where and what you’re going to eat.

Between the two theme parks, three resort hotels and Downtown Disney District, there are more than 130 dining options ranging from snack carts to fine dining establishments.

Additionally, there are aspects of Disney dining such as mobile order, mobile walk-up and dining reservations to consider.

Of course, you can save yourself a considerable amount of money by bringing your own food. Disney does allow you to bring snacks, cold sandwiches, fruit and the like into the park.

Just outside the Disneyland Park gate, behind tall greenery and underneath the Monorail track, is a private picnic area with tables and chairs that are free for all guests to use.

However, if you’re able to, I do recommend trying at least a couple of the resort’s restaurants. Some of which serve food you can’t get at most places and are actually VERY good.

So if you’re bringing kids, which restaurants have the biggest portions so you can split entrees? If you’re Disney adults, which restaurants serve cocktails? Which ones are the hardest to get into? I answer all of these questions and more below.

Let’s get into it.

*Quick Note: If you’re looking to book a vacation to the Disneyland Resort (or Disney World, Disney Cruise, Universal and more) consider tapping/clicking the above image to visit our partners at Get Away Today.. Going through them is the same as going directly through Disney only through them, you’ll receive personalized service by Disney experts and receive the absolute best price and any accompanying discounts. To see their amazing deals on Disneyland tickets, click/tap here.

Table-Service Restaurants

Disney’s table service restaurants are akin to the type you usually visit in your everyday life. You are greeted by a host/hostess, are seated, you place your order with the waiter/waitress and are brought your food.

Nearly all restaurants under this classification accept dining reservations, which you can make up to 60-days in advance and can do so on the Disneyland website or app. The following restaurants are table service AND accept reservations:

Disneyland Park

• Blue Bayou

• Cafe Orleans

• Carnation Cafe

• Oga’s Cantina

• River Belle Terrace

Disney California Adventure

• Carthay Circle

• Carthay Circle Alfresco Dining

• Lamplight Lounge

• Magic Key Terrace (Magic Key holders and their guests only)

• Wine Country Trattoria

Downtown Disney District

• Naples

• Jazz Kitchen Coastal Grill & Patio

• Splitsville Luxury Lanes

• Tortilla Jo’s (permanently closes March 31st)

*This list will expand further with the opening of several new restaurants in Downtown Disney throughout 2024/2025

Disneyland Resort Hotels

• GCH Craftsman Bar

• Great Maple Modern American Eatery

• Napa Rose

• Palm Breeze Bar

• Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar

As stated above, you can start making dining reservations 60-days in advance. You DO NOT need to have a theme park reservation in order to make one.

Many of the restaurants listed above are difficult to get into, even at the 60-day mark. It really boils down to the time of year you’re going. If you’re going in January - early March, it shouldn’t be too difficult to get your preferred date/time 60-days out.

Conversely, if you’re going in the summer or holiday seasons, the demand will be higher and thus, more competitive. When you’re 60-days out, be logged into your account on the Disneyland website or app as early as 6am (when reservations are rumored to be released).

A handful of the difficult-to-get reservations from the list above include; Lamplight Lounge, Napa Rose, Trader Sam’s, Blue Bayou and Carthay Circle.

If you’re unable to snag a reservation for one of those, you can typically always get a reservation at Wine Country Trattoria, River Belle Terrace, Cafe Orleans and GCH Craftsman Bar, all of which are solid options.

*NOTE: I discuss another detail about reservations at the end of this post. You DON’T want to skip it.

Another trick you can try if you weren’t able to get a reservation for your preferred restaurant is to try the mobile walk-up list. Just about every restaurant that accepts reservations offers this.

Lamplight Lounge, for example, has gone as far as to reserve an entire section of the restaurant for it. The boardwalk area of Lamplight, formally known and fondly remembered as ‘Cove Bar’ is reserved for mobile walk-up guests.

To do this, simply approach the restaurant and open the Disneyland app. Once the app detects you, you’ll be able to join the list. Keep in mind that, at least at Lamplight, you’re only able to join the walk-up list between the hours of 11:30am - 4:30pm.

Quick-Service Restaurants

Quick-service restaurants are comparable to fast causal places like Chipotle and MOD Pizza, in that they’re the type where you’ll walk up to the window, order/pay for your food and find yourself a seat.

They’re located throughout both theme parks and are typically the busiest as they’re built to serve thousands of people daily.

To make things even more convenient, many of these quick-service eateries offer mobile order, a feature in the Disneyland app that enables you to order and pay for your meals digitally.

While not all quick-service restaurants offer mobile order, many of them do. Especially the most popular ones. Those include:

Disneyland Park

• Alien Pizza Planet

• Bengal BBQ

• Docking Bay 7

• Galactic Grill

• Gibson Girl Ice Cream

• The Golden Horseshoe

• Harbour Gallery

• Hungry Bear

• Jolly Holiday Bakery

• Mint Julep Bar

• Red Rose Taverne

• Refreshment Corner

• Ronto Roasters

• Royal Street Veranda

• Stage Door Cafe

• Tiana’s Palace

• Tiki Juice Bar

• Troubadour Tavern

Disney California Adventure

• Award Weiners

• Flo’s V8 Cafe

• Smokejumpers Grill

• Bayside Brews

• Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill

• Rita’s Turbine Blenders

• Sonoma Terrace

• Aunt Cass Cafe

• Corn Dog Castle

• Hollywood Lounge

• Lucky Fortune Cookery

• Paradise Gardens Grill

• Pym Test Kitchen

• Schmoozies!

• Studio Catering Co.

Disneyland Hotel

• The Coffe House

• Tangaroa Terrace Tropical Bar & Grill

As you can see, the list is extensive. Do note that currently, mobile order is not available at any restaurant in Downtown Disney, Pixar Place Hotel or the Grand Californian Hotel and Spa.

Using mobile order is quick and easy. First, make sure you have the Disneyland app downloaded to your device and create an account before going to the parks. You’ll also want to add a credit or gift card as your payment method.

When you’re ready to order yourself lunch, simply open the app and select, “order food”. Then you’ll scroll through the list and select the restaurant you want to order from.

Next, you’ll select your pick up window. Unless it’s a brand new restaurant or a particularly busy day, you shouldn’t have issues with pick up times being too far out. If so, you’ll need to think ahead and submit your order earlier in the day.

Once you’ve chosen your pick up window, you’ll then be presented with the restaurant’s menu and from there, make your selections and select your payment method. You can pay with credit/debit/gift cards or Apple Pay. Paying cash on pick up is not an option.

When your pick up window approaches, make your way to the restaurant, find yourself a seat and open the app. Select “I’m Here” and patiently wait while the cast members get to work.

When your order is ready, you’ll be notified by the app and given a numbered pick up window (I don’t know who needs to hear this, but there’s no need to clog up the pick up windows by waiting there). Simply head to your assigned numbered window and pick up your food when you’re called.

As stated above, you may need to think ahead a bit when using mobile order. If it’s a slow(ish) day, you should be able to get pick up windows within thirty minutes or so.

If it’s busy (think Halloween, summer, etc), you’d be better served by playing it safe and placing your order earlier in the day. For example, select your pick up window for lunch while everyone else is eating breakfast. This way, you’re not caught off guard.

If the pick up windows are too far out or you’re paying cash, then you’ll need to utilize the stand-by queue. I always recommend mobile order, though. Every time I use it, I always end up with my food long before those in stand-by do.

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Alcohol at the Disneyland Resort

If you’re a proud “Disney Adult” (or simply, a stressed out parent who wants to take the edge off), you’ll be happy to hear that alcohol is now served extensively throughout the resort.

Previously a mostly dry park, Disneyland Park now has a number of locations that serves beer, wine, cocktails or all the above. They are:

• Blue Bayou

• River Belle Terrace

• Carnation Cafe

• Cafe Orleans

• Oga’s Cantina

Additionally, guests who can afford it and/or who’re members, can order drinks at 21 Royal and Club 33. At DCA, most restaurants, even quick-service locations, serve alcohol.

As far as the theme parks are concerned, the only two locations that could primarily be considered a bar/lounge would be Oga’s at Disneyland and Pym Test Lab at DCA. The former does sell small bites but is mostly a bar and the latter serves alcohol exclusively.

Essentially, every restaurant in the Downtown Disney District serves a combination of beer, wine and cocktails, and most locations in the three resort hotels do as well.

If you’re interested in having a drink at Oga’s, you’ll need to be on the ball by getting a reservation 60-days out as it’s a popular place. You could try getting on the mobile walk-up list, but securing a reservation would be preferable.

Other bars and lounges in the resort, such as Pym Test Lab in Avengers Campus and Hearthstone Lounge in the Grand Californian Hotel, do not offer reservations and are generally easy locations to get a seat at.

Specialty Dining

Specialty dining can mean many things at Disneyland but generally speaking, this includes things like character dining and dining packages for the nighttime shows such as Fantasmic and World of Color.

The following locations offer dining packages for Fantasmic! (returning May 24th):

• Blue Bayou

• River Belle Terrace

• Hungry Bear Restaurant

I wrote an extensive post about my experience with the River Belle Terrace Fantasmic! dining package. You can read that here if you’re interested.

At Disney California Adventure, where World of Color show is shown, the following locations offer dining packages for that show:

• Carthay Circle (temporarily unavailable)

• Wine Country Trattoria

• Magic Key Terrace (for Magic Key holders and their guests only)

Character dining has long been a favorite of Disneyland fans. If you don’t know, they’re experiences where some of your favorite Disney characters interact with you at your table while you dine. It’s a time-saver as you won’t have to queue up to meet them.

Character dining experiences are available at the following locations:

• Minnie & Friends at Plaza Inn - Disneyland Park (breakfast only)

• Goofy’s Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel (breakfast, lunch & dinner)

• Storytellers Cafe at the Grand Californian Hotel (breakfast, lunch & dinner)

• Disney Princess Adventure at Napa Rose (breakfast only)

The first three are all buffet, all-you-care-to-eat style meals. Disney Princess Adventure, though, is a prix fixe menu in which your selections are brought to you.

The three traditional character dining options are usually priced between $35 - $60 for adults and $25 - $35 for kids. The Disney Princess Adventure breakfast, however, commands an eye-watering $135 per person (yes, even kids).

You’ll typically get to meet, on average, 3-5 characters during your meal, dependent upon how busy it is. I was at the Plaza Inn on a slow day once and was bombarded with characters, multiple times over.

Conversely, at Goofy’s Kitchen, we only had a few characters come to our table throughout the entire meal. So your milage may vary. Just be understanding that the characters have to work their way through the whole restaurant and some parties are larger than others.

Additional Information About Reservations

In the Table-Service section at the beginning of this post, I briefly discussed making reservations for the more popular restaurants 60-days out.

There is another aspect of the reservation system I feel you should be aware of - the cancellation policy. For the most part, the cancellation policy is the same within the theme park eateries, but it varies throughout the rest of the resort.

When making a reservation, you’ll be asked to submit a credit or debit card number as a guarantee. If you fail to show up for your reservation or cancel outside the specified timeframe, your card will be charged a certain amount, per person.

This is done in order to prevent people from hoarding reservations and holding them for other people. It helps to ensure that the person making the reservation actually shows up or cancels in time for someone else to have a chance at getting it.

Cancellation policies at the following restaurants are:

Restaurants with a TWO HOUR cancellation window/$10 per person no-show charge:

• All restaurants inside Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure

• GCH Craftsman Bar at the Grand Californian Hotel

• Storytellers Cafe at the Grand Californian Hotel

• Goofy’s Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel

• Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar at the Disneyland Hotel

• Palm Breeze Bar at the Disneyland Hotel

• Great Maple at the Pixar Place Hotel

• Blue Bayou Fantasmic! Dining Package

Restaurants with a ONE DAY cancellation window/$10 per person no-show charge:

• Naples

• Jazz Kitchen Coastal Grill & Patio

• Tortilla Jo’s

• Splitsville Luxury Lanes

• River Belle Terrace Fantasmic! Dining Package

Restaurants with a ONE DAY cancellation window/varying per person no-show charge:

• Napa Rose - $25 per person

• Disney Princess Adventure - $135 per person (full charge)

• World of Color Dessert Party - full, per person charge (starts at $89)

Restaurants with a TWO DAY cancellation window/varying per person no-show charge:

• Tomorrowland Skyline Terrace - full per person charge (starts at $60)

As you can see, the penalties for no-showing or simply not cancelling within the specified window can be steep. If you find yourself in a situation where you’re going to miss your reservation and you’re within that window, there are two things you can try to avoid being charged:

1. Speak with the cast member and plead your case. I’ve heard of instances where after politely asking, people were able to cancel their reservation without being charged, despite being minutes away from their reservation time.

2. You can “modify” your reservation in the app or website to a date that’s further out and then cancel said reservation (note that this will NOT work if you’re close to your reservation time. Option #1 would be best in that instance).

There’s no guarantee of either working to your advantage, but it’s worth a shot. It’s understandable that things come up, but the best thing you can do is make it to your reservation.

Another thing to note is, say you’ve made a reservation for a party of six at Blue Bayou. Let’s assume that two of those six aren’t going to make it for one reason or another. You will not be penalized for that. As long as the person who's name is on the reservation is present, you’re good.

*PRO TIP: If the person who’s name is on the reservation cannot make it but you can, just give that person’s name to the host/hostess. They don’t check ID’s.

A Guide to Visiting Disneyland in June 2024

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products or services that I believe will add value to my readers.

June is a magical time to visit Disneyland, where the transition phase of spring to summer is in full swing, offering comfortably warm weather and a chance of beat the insane July crowds.

If you're planning a trip to the Happiest Place on Earth this summer, it's essential to be prepared for many factors that’ll have an impact on your park experience.

In this blog post, we'll dive into the details of what you can expect during your June visit to Disneyland. Topics such as weather, crowds, ticket prices, ride closures, and more will be covered.

*Quick Note: If you’re looking to book a vacation to the Disneyland Resort (or Disney World, Disney Cruise, Universal and more) consider tapping/clicking the above image to visit our partners at Get Away Today. Going through them is the same as going directly through Disney only through them, you’ll receive personalized service by Disney experts and receive the absolute best price and any accompanying discounts. By going through Get Away Today, you’ll be getting the best price on your vacation and support our website at the same time. To see their amazing deals on Disneyland tickets, click/tap here.

June Weather at Disneyland

Daylight Hours:

In June, Anaheim experiences longer daylight hours, giving you ample time to explore the park. Expect approximately 14 hours of daylight each day, allowing you to make the most of your day.

Temperatures:

• Average High Temperatures: As summer unfolds, Anaheim sees average high temperatures ranging from a comfortable 75°F to a warmer 84°F.

• Average Low Temperatures: Evenings bring a touch of coolness, with lows ranging from 60°F to 66°F. Pack a light jacket or sweater for those cooler nights, especially if you plan to watch the evening fireworks show.

Rain or Shine:

June is typically a dry month in Anaheim, with minimal rainfall. You'll likely encounter little to no rain during your Disneyland trip, making it an ideal time for outdoor attractions, parades, and evening fireworks.

While rain is uncommon, it's always a good idea to check the weather forecast closer to your visit, as California weather, specifically that close to the coast, is known to surprise people from time to time. Bringing a packable umbrella wouldn’t be the worst thing.

What to Wear:

Dress comfortably in light clothing, but don't forget to bring a hat and sunscreen to shield yourself from the sun's rays. As temperatures drop in the evening, having a light jacket or sweater on hand is advisable.

Is Disneyland Crowded in June?

By June, the light(ish) crowds of spring make way for the incoming summer swell. The month as a whole sees above average crowds, with no day (weekend or weekday) being much worse than the next.

The recent Magic Key sale will likely drive up crowd levels, given how Disney sold out the higher three tiers in less than 12 hours, with the fourth completely selling out the next morning.

Additionally, there’s always the possibility that Disney could do another sale in the spring to drive summer business. If they do, it’ll likely only be the Inspire Key (possibly Believe Key as well) as they’re the only two not totally blocked for the summer.

If they don’t do a spring sale, there’s still those newly minted Magic Key holders from the January sale that are eager to use their prized possession they waited hours in a virtual queue for.

The Inspire Key was one of the first to sell out, and it doesn’t have any blockout dates in the summer. The Believe Key, the second highest tier, is only blocked on the 29th. Given how quickly these keys sold out, I do expect them to have a major impact on June crowd levels.

Lastly, the Imagine and Enchant Keys will have little to no impact on crowds in June. The latter is blocked for all but four weekday dates in the beginning of the month while the former is blocked out entirely. So impact will be minimal.

The exception being those four dates in the beginning of June (3rd - 6th). Enchant Key holders will flock to the parks to get their fix before getting blocked for the summer and cause a spike in attendance in the process. Expect them to be busier than on a normal weekday - especially in the evening.

Normally, I would always recommend weekdays over weekends, but the crowds on those dates are likely going to be insufferable. The next two weeks likely won’t be much better as you’ll be dealing with Father’s Day crowds. People tend to book for the few days leading up to or proceeding a holiday.

Secondly, the summer months are typically when the tourist season begins. Disneyland is largely a locals park, but as schools let out for summer break and parents begin cashing in their PTO, out-of-area guests temporarily take over.

This causes a shift from the norm, where the crowds tend to be heavier in the morning and thin out in the evening. Generally, locals show up to the park en-mass in the evenings. With many of them blocked out, evenings in the parks will be slightly more tolerable over daytime.

Lastly, there are several special events occurring in June, all of which will impact crowds one way or another. However, the one I predict will have the greatest impact is Grad Nite - and particularly at Disney California Adventure (where they take place).

If you don’t know what Grad Nites are, they’re an extended field trip of sorts for California (and some neighboring states) high school seniors. It’s essentially an opportunity for them to blow off some steam, so-to-speak, and celebrate their hard-earned, milestone achievement.

As stated above, Grad Nites take place at DCA - after hours - but they’re given daytime access to BOTH parks. In June, Grad Nite dates are June 2, 5, 7, 9, 12 and 14. Avoid DCA on these dates, as the hordes of teenagers in the park have been known to rival peak summer crowds.

As a general rule, the crowds continue to get worse as the month progresses, usually peaking in the middle of July, and starts tapering off in August. While there generally isn’t a “great” time to visit in June, if I had to recommend a specific timeframe, it would be June 16th - 20th.

The reason, you ask? Well, after taking into account special event dates and the Magic Key blockout calendar, that seems to be the sweet-spot. They’re after Grad Nite dates, after blockouts take effect and are before the peak summer crowds arrive.

Of course, as stated above, there’s still the potential for heavy crowds on Father’s Day. However, it generally isn’t a holiday where people travel much. Most are gathering with their families at home, BBQ’ing. It’s worth the gamble over the sure-to-be crowded Grad Nites dates.

Single-Day Ticket Prices & Magic Key Blockout Dates

Buying a single day to Disneyland these days is similar to that of a plane ticket - you’re at the mercy of dynamic pricing. What is that, you ask? It means that, based on Disney’s historical data, if they predict a specific day will be busy, then it’ll command a higher price. Conversely, if they think it’ll be on the slow side, they’ll lower the price to entice you to come on that day.

This allows Disney to do two things (well…probably more than two, but these are ones I’m aware of):

1. It allows Disney to maximize profits by collecting more money on busy days.

2. It enables them to spread out the crowds a bit, while helping to boost sagging attendance on slower days.

Disney’s general belief is the more people they can pack in the park (within reason), the more Genie+ services, $7 churros and merchandise they can sell. And they’re not wrong. It’s a numbers game, really. Have you seen the queues for popcorn buckets lately?

June is the kick off month for Disney’s busy summer season, and the prices for single-day ticket reflect that. The least an adult will pay is $154, with a max price of $194. That $154 price is mostly on weekdays for the first three weeks, with the last week amping up to $169.

The majority of weekend dates have a range of $184 - $194, the sole exception being the first two Sundays, which are priced at $169. Child ticket prices follow the same general pattern, with a range of $146 - $183. Remember, these prices are for one park, per day. Adding park hopper will set you back another $65 per ticket.

If you’ve purchased the SoCal resident ticket, you have until June 2nd to use all the remaining days as that’s when they expire. Likewise, blockout dates for Magic Key holders start kicking in this month:

• Inspire Key: No blockout dates.

• Believe Key: ONLY blocked on the 29th (Saturday).

• Enchant Key: Blocked on all days except for the 6th - 9th.

• Imagine Key: Blocked for the entire month.

Special Events

Special events at Disneyland at still going strong in June with several happening all at once. The one exception being Star Wars: Season of the Force, as it ends on the 2nd. The special events happening in June at Disneyland are:

• Grad Nites: June 2, 5, 7, 9, 12, & 14.

• Pixar Fest: All month.

• Pride Nites (Disney After Dark): June 18 & 20.

• Season of the Force: June 1 & 2.

We’ve already discussed Grad Nites above but I’ll reiterate - avoid DCA on those dates! Ok? Moving on. Don’t expect Season of the Force to have too much of an impact on crowds, as it’s ending two days in and is mostly just a way for Disney to sell limited time food offerings and merch.

Prides Nites, as is the case with most Disney After Dark events, likely won’t have an impact either. These events require a separate ticket and take place after park closing. While the majority of people who attend these are Magic Key holders, remember, two of the four keys are blocked on those dates. So don’t expect daytime crowds to be affected much.

However, After Dark attendees are allowed into the park three hours prior to start time. So DO expect an uptick in attendance in the evenings as these guests start arriving. If you’re not attending, I would make your reservation for DCA on those dates so you’ll get the most value for your money. Remember, you pay the same whether Disneyland closes early or not.

Pixar Fest, on the other hand, will be in full swing, and is the event that I predict will have the greatest impact on crowds. A new parade, rare character meet n’ greets, a Pixar-themed fireworks show, limited offering food and of course, special merch will surely drive attendance for one of Disney’s most popular brands.

Disneyland Ride Closures in June

At the time of this post’s publishing, it is not yet known which attractions will be down for refurbishment, as Disney typically releases that information 45-days in advance. However, there are a couple I know of for sure.

If you somehow still haven’t heard, Splash Mountain closed last year in May to make way for its reimagining into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. This attraction is slated to open sometime in late 2024, so June is officially out and your only chance to get wet on a ride is at Grizzly River Run in DCA.

The other attraction that’ll likely be down is Haunted Mansion. Disney is completely revamping and expanding the grounds and queue area, in addition to adding a new gift shop at the exit and installing a more efficient ADA entrance/exit.

Haunted Mansion isn’t expected to reopen until the Halloween season. When it does, it’ll still be in its Nightmare Before Christmas overlay. This means that, for the first time since the attraction opened, the original Haunted Mansion won’t be open at all in 2024.

While I do expect to see a splatter of additional attractions added to the refurb calendar here and there, I don’t think any of them them will be for an extended period given the fact that two popular attractions are already be down for the majority of the year.

I will update this post as more information becomes available. For now, follow my 2024 Disneyland Refurbishment Calendar post for all the latest information.

River Belle Terrace Fantasmic Dining Package

Last year in April, tragedy struck the Disneyland Resort when Murphy, the animatronic Maleficent dragon, caught fire during a live performance of Fantasmic!, forcing the fan-favorite show to go on an extended hiatus.

The future of the show was in doubt as fans were unsure of when, if ever, it would return and if it did, would it be changed so significantly that it would no longer be the same…

Disney finally answered those questions in November 2023, confirming that Fantasmic would indeed be returning on May 24th, 2024. With it, there’s expected to be a new battle scene between Sorcerer Mickey and Maleficent, new floats and the return of Peter Pan and Captain Hook.

With Fantasmic returning soon, you may be interested in booking a dining package to secure a reserved spot to watch the show. Gone are the days where you can camp out at the waterfront to save yourself a spot. If you want to sit up close, you’ll need to book a dining package.

There are three Disneyland restaurants that offer these. They are:

• Blue Bayou

• River Belle Terrace

• Hungry Bear Restaurant

While this post will focus on the standard package offered at the River Belle Terrace, I will also discuss the other two restaurants as well. Full disclosure, I have not personally purchased dining packages with Blue Bayou or Hungry Bear - only River Belle Terrace.

*Quick Note: If you’re looking to book a vacation to the Disneyland Resort (or Disney World, Disney Cruise, Universal and more) consider tapping/clicking the above image to visit our partners at Get Away Today. Going through them is the same as going directly through Disney only through them, you’ll receive personalized service by Disney experts and receive the absolute best price and any accompanying discounts. By going through Get Away Today, you’ll be getting the best price on your vacation and support our website at the same time.

To see their amazing deals on your favorite destinations, click/tap here (and tell them we said “hi”

River Belle Terrace Fantasmic Dining Experience

The Fantasmic (standard) dining package at the River Belle Terrace is a three-course meal offered at both lunch and dinner. The price for this package in 2024 is:

• $55 per adult

• $32 per child (ages 3 - 9)

Each person will receive one starter, one entree and one dessert. Regular drinks such as soda, juices and coffee are also included in the price. What isn’t included are alcoholic drinks, tip and tax.

Note that there are two versions of the dining package at River Belle Terrace - the standard and premium. The differences between the two are:

• Standard: You make a normal reservation for River Belle and at the time of your meal and inform your waitress that you want the Fantasmic dining package. At the conclusion of your meal, each person will receive a voucher to return to the viewing area prior to showtime.

• Premium: You’ll make a reservation for this package specifically at this link 60-days in advance. This package is only available during dinner and you’ll watch Fantasmic from your table. The cost for this package is $75 (adult) and $45 (child).

The River Belle Terrace Fantasmic! menu has a number of tasty offerings. Our table of four had no problem making our selections. I don’t know this first hand, but I’ve read numerous reviews of this location being flexible with substitutions. If you don’t see something you like on the Fantasmic menu, ask for the normal one.

On our visit, some of the menu items our party ordered were:

• Red Beans & Rice cup w/ Andouille Sausage

• Burnt Ends Grilled Cheese Sandwich

• Buttermilk Fried Chicken Sandwich

• Pimento Mac and Cheese Skillet

• Cookies n’ Cream Cheesecake

• Housemade Pudding

• The Seasonal Cobbler

No one at our table had a single negative thing to say about the food. All of it was presented well, was delicious and the portions were more than sufficient. Additionally, despite being a busy day, the service from our waitress was top notch.

*PRO TIP: If you’re just looking for somewhere to eat and looking to save money, dine here and split entrees. Disney allows this (from the regular menu, NOT the package). The portions here are enough for even two adults to split, let alone two children.

At the end of our meal, we were asked which of the two showings that night we wanted the voucher for. We booked a lunch reservation, so there were plenty of vouchers left. The danger of booking a dinner reservation is you may not be able to choose as they could have run out of one.

We chose the 10:30 showing and were advised to head over to Harbor Gallery/Pelican’s Landing (across from Haunted Mansion) about thirty minutes prior to showtime.

After everything was said and done, I paid about $260 for the four of us (all adults, inclusive of tax and tip). While I was really paying for a great view of the show, the food being as good as it was helped ease the pain of the final bill a bit.

The Viewing Area

Regardless of which restaurant you purchased your dining package, the check-in area is the same. Again, it’s located adjacent to Harbor Gallery/Pelican’s Landing. You’ll see cast members holding up signs in rows with each restaurant’s name on them. Simply line up in the row of your restaurant.

Shortly prior to showtime, the cast members will begin escorting you to your assigned viewing area. Blue Bayou guests will be seated (mostly) dead center to the stage, followed by River Belle guests, who’ll be seated to the right. Lastly, Hungry Bear guests will be to the left.

As you can see in the photo above, we were seated right up front. We weren’t directly center to the stage (we would’ve needed to dine at Blue Bayou for that) but it was a great view regardless. Not too shabby if you ask me.

If you want a chance at being seated in the front row, you’ll need to arrive at the check-in area early. It’ll state on your voucher to arrive thirty minutes prior to showtime. However, if you wait until then a rather large queue would’ve already formed.

Instead, I would suggest arriving closer to one hour early. When we first arrived, there were no cast members guiding the way, so we just hung around until they showed up. So if you do the same, don’t be alarmed. As long as you’re next to Harbor’s Gallery, you’ll be fine.

Also keep in mind that there are no actual seats included with the price of these dining packages and thus, you’ll be sitting on the ground (bringing a waterproof outdoor blanket to sit on, like this one, would be wise. Just think about how many people have walked over that spot).

The only exception to this is the premium package offered at the River Belle Terrace. You’ll enjoy the show from the comfort of your table on the restaurant’s patio. The downside is you’ll have the walkway and the Genie+ viewing area in front of you with little elevation.

All Fantasmic Dining Packages

There are three dining locations that offer a total of four Fantasmic! dining packages. They all vary in price and offerings, but the seating is generally the same. All of them are on the waterfront of the Rivers of America and form a horseshoe of sorts around the stage. Here is the information for all packages in 2024:

• Blue Bayou: Price is $89 (adult) and $35 (child), lunch or dinner. Each person receives an entree of choice, a non-alcoholic specialty drink and a Fantasmic! speciality dessert. Cocktails are separate. The viewing area is located center, or near-center, of the performance stage.

• River Belle Terrace Premium: Price is $75 (adult) and $45 (child). Each person receives a three-course meal from the Fantasmic! menu (though you CAN order from the regular menu if you wish). Cocktails are separate. You’ll watch the performance from your table on the outdoor patio of the River Belle. *Dinner only.

• River Belle Terrace Standard: Price is $55 (adult) and $32 (child), lunch or dinner. Each person receives a three-course meal (starter, entree and dessert), plus cold drinks. The viewing area is located to the right of the performance stage.

• Hungry Bear Restaurant: Price is $38 (adult) and $27 (child), lunch or dinner. Pick-up times are between 3pm and 8:30pm on most days. Each person will receive their choice of entree and side, in addition to a fountain beverage and Fantasmic! themed dessert. The viewing area is located to the right of the performance stage. *You cannot mobile order this package.

Clearly, Blue Bayou is the high end choice, followed by River Belle in the middle with Hungry Bear being the budget-friendly option. If seeing Fantasmic up close is important to you and your group, you really can’t go wrong with any of these as the view is essentially the same.

What it boils down to from there is your food preference. Blue Bayou and River Belle offer a traditional sit-down meal versus Hungry Bear’s grab-n-go style. Blue Bayou arguably has the best atmosphere, as it’s located inside of the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. My recommendation, though, is River Belle. The viewing area is great and the food is satisfying. All for a middle-of-the-road price point.

To recap, if you want to book for the Blue Bayou or the premium option at River Belle, you’ll book a reservation through this link. Conversely, if you want to go with Hungry Bear, you’ll need to book through this link. If you’d rather do the standard option at the River Belle, then you just need to make a standard brunch or dinner reservation and inform the host when you arrive.

A Guide to Visiting Disneyland in May 2024

Are you planning a trip to the Disneyland Resort for May 2024? Whether you’re still deciding or you’ve already booked and are looking for more information, I have you covered.

In this post, I’ll discuss what the weather is typically like in May, how crowded it is or isn’t, which attractions are going to be closed, ticket prices and more.

*Quick Note: If you’re looking to book a vacation to the Disneyland Resort (or Disney World, Disney Cruise, Universal and more) consider tapping/clicking the above image to visit our partners at Get Away Today. Going through them is the same as going directly through Disney only through them, you’ll receive personalized service by Disney experts and receive the absolute best price and any accompanying discounts. By going through Get Away Today, you’ll be getting the best price on your vacation and support our website at the same time.

To see their amazing deals on your favorite destinations, click/tap here (and tell them we said “hi”)

Anaheim Weather in May

As May unfolds, Disneyland basks in pleasant weather, creating an ideal atmosphere for a magical adventure.

Temperatures range from a delightful 55 to 75 degrees, providing both a comfortable warmth during the day and tolerable chill in the evenings.

As the month progresses, the nightly lows will begin to increase, capping off at around 60 degrees by the end of May.

Be sure to pack sunscreen for the warm days and a light jacket or sweater for the evenings. An umbrella is unnecessary, as Anaheim sees very little, if any, rain in May.

May also brings an explosion of color to Disneyland as flowers bloom, transforming the parks into a floral spectacle. The meticulously landscaped gardens, iconic topiaries and vibrant floral arrangements add an extra layer of beauty to the already magical surroundings.

Is Disneyland Crowded in May?

Generally speaking, May (or part of it, anyway) is a great time to visit Disneyland. It’s in that sweet spot between spring break and summer crowds and as mentioned above, the weather is pleasant.

Two major caveats to that are Grad Nites (discussed below) and of course, Memorial Day and the weekend leading into it.

While there will be one Grad Nite on the 10th of the month (a Friday), the events mostly begin to ramp up in the second half of the month, leading well into June.

Memorial Day weekend is a three-day’er for many people and the crowds reflect that. Expect dense crowds that weekend and on the holiday itself.

Another wildcard that can affect crowds is if Disney will resume Magic Key sales in April, much like they did in 2023. On January 10 this year, Magic Keys went on sale and mostly sold out in the first day.

With that much pent-up demand, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Disney do another round of sales in the spring to pad the books for the next earnings call.

Additionally, special events such as Star Wars Nites, Season of the Force and Pixar Fest will be in high gear. May 4th (May the Fourth - be with you) being an unofficial, fan-driven event day that’ll surely increase crowds, particularly inside Galaxy’s Edge.

Lastly, Disney confirmed back in November that Fantasmic would be making its highly anticipated return to the Rivers of America on May 24th! The devastating fire last year caused an abrupt pause on this fan-favorite spectacular, so the demand for it, especially for the first few performances, will draw hoards of locals and tourists alike.

These are my recommendations for avoiding crowds in May:

• Avoid Memorial Day weekend at all costs.

• Book for the first week of May, but be mindful of Star Wars After Dark dates (see below).

• Keep to weekdays as much as possible.

• Avoid Grad Nite dates (see below).

May Ticket Prices & Magic Key Blockouts

Similar to airlines and hotels, Disney utilizes a dynamic pricing structure to price its single-day tickets. Meaning demand will dictate the price you’ll pay on the particular day you want to visit.

The high end of the price range for single-day, one-park tickets can flirt with $200 on many days, especially as summer approaches and on weekends. This is why I always recommend planning a multi-day trip.

Multi-day ticket prices are not affected by demand. Those have a set price, and the more days on your ticket, the less you’ll pay per day. Unless you’re hopelessly restricted to one day, try to plan for at least three to get the full experience and most value for your money.

May 2024 single-day ticket prices are as follows:

• Single-Day Adult: $119 - $194

• Single-Day Child: $112 - $183

If you’re planning to visit during Memorial Day weekend, expect to pay the highest price (currently $194). As of the publishing of this post, May 8th is the only date listed at the lowest price ($119). Every other weekday date is at least $134, with most weekend dates topping out at $184.

Of course, this could always change as dates approach (remember, they’re subject to demand). The price you see for a particular date today could jump later that afternoon. So if you’re keen on going for one day, secure your ticket while the price is right.

Fellow Magic Key holders - like it or not - we’re beholden to the reservation calendar. As you all know, depending on which key you hold, the day you want to visit could be unavailable to you (blocked or no available reservations).

The blockout dates for Magic Key holders for the month of May 2024 are:

• Imagine Key: Blocked on all Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

• Enchant Key: Blocked on all Saturdays, 5/19 (Sunday), 5/26 (Sunday) and 5/31 (Friday).

• Believe Key: Blocked only on 5/4 (Saturday) and 5/25 (Saturday).

• Inspire Key: No blockout dates.

May Special Events & Showings

There’s going to be a broad spectrum of special events throughout the month of May. There will literally be something for everybody!

The two big draws for the month will be the two official Star Wars related events; Season of the Force and Star Wars Nite events. The former is a seasonal celebration of Star Wars, available to all ticket holders, while the latter is a hard ticket event requiring a separate purchase. (read about Disneyland After Dark events here.)

The other major draw this month will be Pixar Fest, a summer long celebration of all things Pixar. Showings include a new parade at DCA, Pixar themed food and drink offerings, a new fire work show at Disneyland Park, rare character sightings, and more!

Keep in mind that Pixar Fest runs throughout the summer into late August, and begins in the last week of April. So if you’re a huge Pixar fan and can’t make it in May, you’ll have three additional months to make it out.

Lastly, I’d be remiss if I didn’t discuss the return of everybody’s favorite nighttime spectacular - Fantasmic. Last year, the show abruptly ended after a devastating fire destroyed Murphy, the Maleficent animatronic, during a live performance.

It’s been absent from the schedule ever since and there was serious doubt over its future. Alas, Disney announced last November that it would make its grand return to entertain audiences on May 24th. (read about Fantasmic! dining packages here.)

While not confirmed, Murphy is rumored to have been repaired and will make his return to the show. Confirmed to return is the pirate ship Peter Pan/Captain Hook battle scene. Additionally, new floats are expected to debut, along with a new battle scene between Sorcerer Mickey and Maleficent.

May 2024 special event dates are as follows:

• Season of the Force: All month.

• Star Wars Nite: May 5th, 7th and 9th.

• Pixar Fest: All month.

• Grad Nites: May 10th, 14th, 15th, 17th, 19th, 22nd, 23rd, 28th and 31st.

• Fantasmic Return: May 24th

• Memorial Day Weekend: May 25th - 27th.

• Mother’s Day: May 12th

Disneyland Ride Closures in May

At the time of this post’s publishing, attraction refurb information for the month of May hasn’t yet been released. Disney typically releases this info 45-days ahead of time.

That said, we do know of two attractions that will definitely be down all month; Haunted Mansion and Splash Mountain. The former is currently going through a remodel of its queue and exit while the latter is being reimagined into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.

While I don’t expect too many extended refurbs this year due to the aforementioned reason, don’t be surprised to see short term refurbs on a few additional attractions pop up on the calendar.

*UPDATE: Disney has recently announced the impending (temporary) closure of Critter County beginning May 1. No official reopening date was announced with the closure announcement. The purpose of this closure is to convert two of the land’s gift shops into themes for two supporting characters from Princess and the Frog - Raymond the Firefly and Louis the trumpet-playing Gator.

Disney will also take this opportunity to take down the land’s sole operating attraction, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, for a refurbishment, though I don’t foresee it being a long one. My guess is they’ll reopen the Pooh attraction within three weeks or less, while keeping the rest of the land behind construction walls. As mentioned above, no reopening date for Critter Country has been released, but I’m predicting it’ll reopen by July or August. You can read a more in depth analysis about it here.

The following attractions will be down for refurbishment in the month of May 2024:

• Critter Country: May 1 - TBD

• Haunted Mansion: January 21 - TBD (I expect it to be down until the start of the Halloween season)

• Splash Mountain: Permanently closed in May 2023 (expected to open as Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in late 2024)

• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: May 1 - TBD

To stay updated on Disneyland attraction refurbishments and park projects, read and save my 2024 Disneyland Refurbishment Calendar post.

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All Disneyland After Dark Events in 2024

Disneyland After Dark events have grown in popularity over the last few years - and for good reason. They’re filled to the brim with photo opps, meet and greets with rare characters, special food offerings, unique nighttime entertainment and best of all, lower than usual crowds.

The caveat? These events are separate ticketed. Meaning your regular Disneyland ticket will NOT get you access. Depending on the event and date, ticket prices are typically between $139 - $169 (even higher for Oogie Boogie Bash).

As the name implies, they take place at night, after the park closes to regular ticket holders, between the hours of 9pm and 1am. As an added bonus, your ticket permits you to enter the park three hours prior to the event’s start time. Additionally, there’s no need to worry about reservations as your ticket is all you’ll need.

Tickets to these events are sold exclusively through the Disneyland website (not the app) and generally sell out quickly. They’ll go on sale no sooner than 9am on the sales date and depending on the specific event’s popularity, you’ll likely wait in an hours-long virtual queue.

The good news, is Disney sells far fewer of these tickets than regular ones, so the crowds are generally lite. Though many of the special attractions of the night (i.e - a rare character or show) can have massive queues, all of the rides remain open, often with low wait times.

In this post, I’ll list all of the Disneyland After Dark events in 2024 - including their dates, ticket prices and more. Additionally, I’ll discuss Oogie Boogie Bash and what the future may hold for these fan-favorites. Let’s get into it.

*Quick Note: If you’re looking to book a vacation to the Disneyland Resort (or Disney World, Disney Cruise, Universal and more) consider tapping/clicking the above image to visit our partners at Get Away Today. Going through them is the same as going directly through Disney only through them, you’ll receive personalized service by Disney experts and receive the absolute best price and any accompanying discounts. By going through Get Away Today, you’ll be getting the best price on your vacation and support our website at the same time.

To see their amazing deals on your favorite destinations, click/tap here (and tell them we said “hi”)

Sweethearts’ Nite

Sweethearts’ Nite proved to be a hit with After Dark attendees in 2023, so it only made sense to bring it back for another go - this time with expanded dates.

This year, some of the offerings include:

• A “royal ball” with Disney princes and princesses.

• A royal cavalcade parading through the streets of Disneyland featuring Disney royals.

• A dance party on the Tomorrowland stage featuring Stitch and Angel.

• Photo opportunities throughout the park with backdrops themed after “Lady and the Tramp”, “Tangled” and more.

• Unique lighting, music and projections throughout the park - including on Sleeping Beauty Castle.

• Special food offerings - including a shortbread cookie churro with strawberry cheesecake dipping sauce and Cafe Daisy’s fried heart-shaped ravioli.

• Plus, special dining packages at River Belle Terrace, Cafe Orleans and Plaza Inn.

Last year, the event was held on only one day in January, with the remaining dates held in February. Due to its popularity, Disney expanded the dates in 2024, holding several event dates in both months. They are:

• January 23, 25 and 30

• February 1, 6, 8, 12 and 14

Like most After Dark events, Sweethearts’ Nite takes place at Disneyland Park. Its hours are 9pm to 1am. Ticket sales begin no earlier than 9am on the dates below and are priced $139 - $169, based on date. Demand will likely be high, so be sure to be logged in prior to 9am:

• December 12, 2023 (Magic Key holder pre sale)

• December 14, 2023 (general public)

*EDIT: Tickets for all Sweetheart Nite dates are now sold out

Disney Channel Night

Disney Channel Night is the newcomer in 2024, as it’s the only After Dark event this year that wasn’t held in 2023. In fact, the After Dark event that was held on identical dates last year was Princess Nite (which isn’t happening at all this year).

According to the Disneyland website, some of the offerings include:

• A “High School Musical” pep rally featuring characters and music from the popular franchise.

• A dance party featuring Phineas and Ferb at the Tomorrowland stage.

• “Camp Rock” karaoke at The Golden Horseshoe.

• Enjoy music from “Descendants” as you sail along the Rivers of America on the Sailing Ship Columbia.

• Photo opportunities with backdrops themed after “Lizzy McGuire”, “The Cheetah Girls” and “Teen Beach Movie”.

• Special food offerings at Cafe Daisy and Red Rose Taverne, as well as dining packages at select table-service restaurants.

The description on the Disneyland website doesn’t specify character meet and greets, but I imagine there will be as these events typically feature characters you don’t normally see. Even if they have nothing to do with the general theme of the event.

Disney Channel Nite takes place on only two nights in March (5th & 7th), also between the hours of 9pm and 1am. They’re priced at $139 and go on sale on the same date and time as Sweethearts’ Nite above.

*EDIT: Tickets for the March 7th event have sold out. As of January 27th, there is still availability for the March 5th event.

Check out my post, Visiting Disneyland in March, if you plan to visit in March for this event.

Star Wars Nite

Stars Wars Nite is another repeat from 2023, a popular one at that. Aside from dates, not much is known about the offerings and prices for 2024, but we can speculate by going off last year’s information.

In 2023, some of the offerings included:

• Unique character experiences.

• A galactic dance party in Tomorrowland.

• Themed Star Wars treats and dining.

• A special nighttime fireworks spectacular - Star Wars: Celebrate the Night

In 2023, prices ranged from $149 - $169, depending on the date. The Star Wars brand proved to be as popular as it has ever been, as nearly all dates sold out in the first day. Despite having expanded dates this year, I expect the same to happen in 2024, in addition to price increases.

The 2024 Star Wars Nite dates are as follows:

• April 16, 18, 23, 24 & 30

• May 2, 7 & 9

At the time of this posts’ publishing, there hasn’t been word from Disney as to when tickets will go on sale but if they follow the same formula as last year, I would expect it to happen sometime in February.

If you’re planning to attend this event in April, be sure to read my posts, “Visiting Disneyland in April”. and, “Visiting Disneyland in May”.

Pride Nite

After YEARS of unofficial fan events formally known as “Gay Days”, Disney finally threw their support behind the LGTBQIA+ community by adding the officially sanctioned “Pride Nite” to the After Dark calendar.

Similar to Star Wars Nite, there hasn’t been any information from Disney as to how much the tickets or what the offerings during the event will be. All we do know is, much like last year, Pride Nite will take place on only two nights - June 18 & 20.

In 2023, some of the offerings included:

• Rare character appearances and experiences.

• Unique lighting, music and projections throughout the park (including on Sleeping Beauty Castle.

• Ohana Dance Party featuring Stitch.

• Exclusive food and drink offerings, dining packages and merchandise.

In 2023, tickets to this event were priced at $139 for both nights. While it was popular, it didn’t sell out as quickly as Sweethearts’ and Star Wars did, so I expect the price to either remain the same or see only a slight increase.

I will update this post as more information about Pride Nite becomes available.

Oogie Boogie Bash

No After Dark post would be complete without discussing the GOAT of events done in the dark - Oogie Boogie Bash. While it isn’t presented with the “After Dark” banner, it is an event that requires a separate ticket to attend and features many of the same general offerings the others do.

Oogie Boogie Bash is the spiritual successor of Mickey’s Not-so-Scary Halloween party and is held on select nights in September and October at Disney California Adventure. Though with Halloween season now kicking off in August at the resort, I wouldn’t be surprised to see one or two August dates added this year.

Information such as dates, ticket prices and offerings for 2024 haven’t yet been released, as Disney typically announces that information in June. In 2023, ticket prices were date specific and started at $134 and topping out at $189. Those prices were up $5 — $10 from 2022.

This year will likely see another increase, as the event completely sold out in just one day last year, strongly demonstrating its popularity. Disney will likely meet this demand by adding more dates and as stated above, increase the price. It wouldn’t shock me to see prices hit $200 at the top end.

While we don’t yet know what the exact offerings will be, in general, they’ve been mostly the same since its inception (albeit with some minor changes). These include:

• Villains Grove: A walk-through attraction with special effects, lighting and music themed to classic Disney villains.

• Villain Treat Trails: Villains featured in past events included Ernesto de la Cruz (Coco), Cruella (live-action version), Sid (Toy Story) and Judge Doom (Who Framed Roger Rabbit?).

• The Frightfully Fun Parade.

• Various character meet and greets.

• A dessert party with a great view of the parade.

• Specialty food and drink offerings and dining packages.

I’ll be sure to update this post once Disney releases more information about the 2024 event. To read more about Oogie Boogie Bash, read my post about it here.

What The Future Holds for After Dark Events

This is purely speculative on my part, but I love blue-skying ideas. The future of After Dark events definitely looks bright as due to their proven popularity, it is evident they’re not going anywhere. It’s just a matter of which themes will stick around.

Disney seems to be trying to iron out the perfect line up. In 2023, they held two events that are not happening this year - Princess Nite and Throwback Nite. I honestly don’t know why they decided against holding another Throwback Nite as it seemed to receive generally positive reviews online.

Princess Nite is sort of a given. While plenty of “Disney Adults” attended it, let’s face it, Disney princesses mainly appeal to one niche - small children. Given the fact that these events go well past midnight and children are typically sleeping at those times, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why it isn’t on the repeat list.

Sweethearts, Pride and Star Wars Nites all seem to be a lock, but that fourth slot still appears to be in question. This year, they’re giving Disney Channel Nite a try. Tickets for Disney Channel went on sale on the same date and time as Sweethearts’. While the latter sold out quickly, the former still has tickets available for one of the dates.

I’m not saying Disney Channel Nite is poised for failure, but Disney prefers that tickets to events like these sell out quickly. It creates a, “I have to have it”, mindset (much like they did for Magic Keys), driving up demand and in turn, allowing them to keep prices high (along with raising them).

Personally, I would love to see Throwback Nite return, but with a 90’s overlay. I don’t speak for all of us, but I do believe Disney millennials would converge onto the park en masse for something like this. Imagine - a performance on the Tomorrowland stage featuring Powerline! That alone would sell the event for me, personally.

Another addition I would love to see is for DCA to get their own After Dark events. Currently, the only one they feature is Oogie Boogie Bash, but it technically isn’t an After Dark event. Their main drivers are festivals such as Lunar New Year, Food and Wine, and Festival of Holidays, but I think there’s room for an After Dark event (or two).

The two biggest brands that DCA features are Pixar and Marvel. With Pixar receiving its own summer long promotion this year (and if it’s successful, it’ll likely become an annual thing) that leaves Marvel as the only Disney brand without its own special, annual event.

Would Marvel Nite be too far fetched? Is there enough demand? Clearly, Marvel is a successful brand. Otherwise, Disney wouldn’t have plopped down $4 billion for it. Lately, though, the once bullet-proof Marvel movies have dwindled, both in the box office and on the Disney+ streaming service. That could lend credence as to why Disney has yet to pull the trigger on anything Marvel related at the parks since the underwhelming debut of Avengers Campus in 2021.

Whatever the future holds for specific After Dark events, the concept as a whole is here to stay. They’ve become a great way for Disney to boost profits during their slower season. They sell an additional ticket to guests who’ve already purchased regular tickets AND to people who wouldn’t have purchased a ticket otherwise - Magic Key holders.

These events have become largely character driven, as they often feature those who’re rarely, if ever, seen in the parks any other time. They can also sell exclusive food offerings and merchandise during the event, boosting profits even higher. And Disney adults (whom I believe are the main target niche for these events), love spending money on exclusive items.

The prices may be high, with some exceeding the highest price of a one day ticket. But you know what? I’m here for it. Admit it, you are too.

Disneyland in One Day: 8 Tips to Maximize Your Time

Attempting to do it all at Disneyland is a daunting task. There are nearly fifty attractions in Disneyland Park alone. That doesn’t even include the attractions at California Adventure.

Despite there being so much to see and do, many people decide to go to Disneyland for only one day for one reason or another. You may one of them.

While it’s impossible to do everything in just one day, if you have a strategy in place, it’s entirely possible to enjoy many attractions and experiences.

In this post, I’ll offer eight tips that’ll help you maximize your time if you only have one day to spend. If your goal is to ride as many attractions as possible, you’ve come to the right blog.

*Quick Note: If you’re looking to book a vacation to the Disneyland Resort (or Disney World, Disney Cruise, Universal and more) consider tapping/clicking the above image to visit our partners at Get Away Today. Going through them is the same as going directly through Disney only through them, you’ll receive personalized service by Disney experts and receive the absolute best price and any accompanying discounts. By going through Get Away Today, you’ll be getting the best price on your vacation and support our website at the same time.

To see their amazing deals on your favorite destinations, click/tap here (and tell them we said “hi”

1) Choose Your Park Wisely

The resort consists of two theme parks - Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure. When deciding to only spend one day at one park, you need to decide which one is most important to you because it isn’t worth the extra money to park hop on a single-day ticket.

Most people choose Disneyland Park over DCA but what you should know is Disneyland has nearly 50 attractions to DCA’s 20. Keep in mind that Disney uses the word “attractions” as a catch-all for their offerings. I’m only counting attractions you can actually ride.

With that wide of a gap between the two, you need to decide which park’s attractions appeal to you the most. They each have an equal amount of “thrill” rides whereas Disneyland has more of the traditional, easy-going dark rides than DCA does.

Getting DCA done in a single day is entirely doable. Disneyland - not so much. Disneyland is generally busier and has more than double the attractions than its sister park. So choose wisely. Remember, a single-day ticket costs the same no matter which park you choose.

2) Make a List of “Must-Do” Attractions

Once you’ve decided which park you’re going to visit, research that park’s attractions and make a list of the top ten you want do most. Ten attractions in one day is realistic and a great starting point. Anything after that is a bonus.

Avoid trying to do everything. There’s too many variables for that. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but chances are you’ll just wind up disappointed. Also, come up with plan b’s on your list in case your first choice is closed or temporarily unavailable.

If you’re looking to hit the popular attractions and are choosing DCA, some you’ll want to consider are Mission Breakout, Radiator Springs Racers, WEB Slingers, Incredicoaster and Soarin’.

Across the esplanade at Disneyland, a few of the most popular attractions include Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mountain, Rise of the Resistance, Indiana Jones Adventure and Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway.

3) Rope Drop, Rope Drop, Rope Drop

Prior to the official park opening time - usually around thirty minutes - Disney allows guests to access the hub area of the park but has the individual lands “roped off”. Then, when the park officially opens, they drop the rope (hence, rope drop) and you’re off to the races.

The reason I recommend rope drop so much is because the first two hours of park opening (especially at Disneyland) are the prime hours to get many attractions done. It may seem like a lot of people are there to rope drop as well but once they spread out, the wait times on most rides are minimal.

If you’re there for thrills, always start rope drop at Tomorrowland and go straight to Space Mountain. The worst I’ve waited for Space at rope drop was five minutes, but it’s usually a walk-on. If you’re there for the kiddie rides, head straight for the castle into Fantasyland and ride Peter Pan, first thing.

For context, the photo above was taken of the Space Mountain loading station just three minutes after rope drop. As you can see, it was a walk-on.

4) Buy Genie+

Disney introduced its Genie+ service back in 2021 as the replacement for FastPass/MaxPass. Each day, you’re given a certain number of allotments (one per attraction), allowing you to bypass the stand-by queue. As a result, you often end up with a minimal wait.

Genie+ isn’t cheap, though. Buying this service is going to cost you, at least, another $30 per ticket. Where you lose monetarily, you gain in time. If your goal is to indeed ride as many attractions as you possibly can, then it’s a wise investment.

*PRO TIP: Purchase Genie+ for $30 ahead of time, when you purchase your ticket. If you do it day-of your visit, you’re subject to dynamic pricing and could end up paying up to $10 more.

Remember, you can only redeem ONE Genie+ allotment per attraction, per day. So use it in conjunction with rope drop and resist the temptation to use it before 10:00am. This way, you can use Genie+ to ride some of your favorites a second time.

5) Purchase Individual Lightning Lanes

One downfall to Genie+ is not all attractions are on the service. What’s worse is that two mega-popular attractions, Radiator Springs Racers and Rise of the Resistance, are not only NOT on the service, but you’re forced to pay extra to bypass the often hefty stand-by queue.

These attractions often see 60-70 minute (or more) stand-by queues. Wait times like that will put a serious damper on your day when you only have one. If “Rise” or “Racers” is on your list as a must-ride, then bite the bullet.

Pricing for Individual Lightning Lanes are dynamic (meaning they’re based on demand). The following prices are typical:

• Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance: $23 - $30

• Radiator Springs Racers: $7 - $19

I’ve seen both at every end of the spectrum. Rise NEVER drops below $23. If you’re visiting in the winter or spring, it’ll probably be around that. Conversely, if you’re visiting in the summer or during the holidays, expect to see it at the $30 mark, possibly higher.

Racers is a craft shoot as I’ve seen it as low as $7, as high as $19 and around the middle at $12. Again, demand in the biggest driver, and that could occur even on the slowest of days. So as always, prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

*PRO TIP: You can negate having to pay for ILL for Radiator Springs Racers by following the tip below.

6) Take Advantage of Single Rider Queues

The single rider queue can save Disney-goers a significant amount of time. In fact, I recommend using it, whenever possible, during rope drop to save even more time. Disney uses single rider as a way to fill empty space in the ride vehicles. They get higher capacity rates and you get on the attraction faster. It’s a win-win.

While not all attractions have single rider queues, many do. They are:

Disneyland Park

• Matterhorn Bobsleds

• Millennial Falcon: Smuggler’s Run

• Space Mountain

Disney California Adventure

• Grizzly River Run

• Goofy’s Sky School

• Incredicoaster

• Radiator Springs Racers

• Soarin’ Around the World

• WEB Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure

Even if you’re not a solo rider, you can still take advantage of this. Keep in mind, though, that you and your party will likely be split up into separate ride vehicles. DON’T be that person that argues with the cast member about your party getting split up. If it’s important for your group to ride together, then don’t get in the single rider queue.

This mostly works if it’s just you, or you and one other person who doesn’t mind riding alone. Using single rider with small children isn’t a good idea. The cast members may have you exit and get into the stand-by queue if they’re too young.

7) Buy Your Ticket Ahead of Time

Everything is digital these days, and the Disneyland Resort is no different. Buying your tickets through the Disneyland app or website is quick and easy. The cast member will scan the ticket on your phone and send you on your way, saving you a boat load of time.

If you’re sticking with just one day at the park, the last thing you’ll want to do is waste time at the ticket booths, waiting in line to buy your ticket. Those lines get long, and it isn’t unheard of to spend upwards of an hour waiting. That’s an hour that you do not have.

8) Choose Quick Service & Utilize Mobile Order for Dining

You’re going to burn a ton of calories walking around the parks all day, so it’s important to replenish those calories and keep yourself hydrated. For the latter, I recommend bringing a refillable bottle so you can refill on the go (and save money in the process). For the former, utilize mobile order and quick service dining.

Mobile order allows you to save time by placing a food oder for your favorite restaurants through the Disneyland app ahead of time. You can make your food selections, choose your pick-up time and pay, all through the app.

In the past, Disney’s quick service restaurants weren’t known for their delicious fare. While some still remain in that realm (lookin’ at you, Pizza Planet), many have made the leap into culinary delights, offering flavorful food that rival some of the traditional ones.

Quick service restaurants have it right in the name; they’re quick. Combine that with Disney’s mobile order service and you can enjoy a fast, scrumptious meal before getting back to the attractions. Some of my favorite quick service eateries include:

• Lucky Fortune Cookery (DCA)

• Bengal BBQ (Disneyland)

• Cocina Cucamonga Grill (DCA)

• Jolly Holiday Bakery (Disneyland)

• Tiana’s Palace (Disneyland)

A Guide to Visiting Disneyland in April 2024

Planning a trip to Disneyland in April? You're in for a treat! April offers a unique blend of enchanting experiences and pleasant weather that will make your visit a truly magical experience.

April is one of the best months to visit the Disneyland Resort! Crowds are typically lite (outside of the first week), the rainy season has passed and there’s many special events happening to help make your visit even more memorable.

Let's dive into what you can expect during your Disneyland adventure in April.

*Quick Note: If you’re looking to book a vacation to the Disneyland Resort (or Disney World, Disney Cruise, Universal and more) consider tapping/clicking the above image to visit our partners at Get Away Today. Going through them is the same as going directly through Disney only through them, you’ll receive personalized service by Disney experts and receive the absolute best price and any accompanying discounts. By going through Get Away Today, you’ll be getting the best price on your vacation and support our website at the same time.

To see their amazing deals on your favorite destinations, click/tap here (and tell them we said “hi”)

April Weather in Anaheim

April brings a welcoming change in weather to Disneyland. With temperatures ranging from 60°F to 75°F (15°C to 24°C), you can enjoy the parks without the scorching heat of summer or the frigid chill of winter.

You’ll definitely need to pack a light jacket or sweater for the cooler evenings, but overall, you'll find the weather just right for enjoying the attractions or taking in the night time ambiance.

Don’t be one of those visitors who thinks it’s always warm in California, though. Anaheim is near the coast. So when that evening chill blows in, it catches many off-guard.

Another highlight of visiting Disneyland in April is the explosion of color as flowers bloom throughout the parks. Particularly the tabebuia trees that surround the Partners statue near the castle. The vibrant pinks and purples from these trees are an amazing contrast to the blues and grays of Sleeping Beauty Castle.

If you’re not a fan of rain, you’re in luck. April marks the official end of the rainy season in Anaheim. While it’s always possible you’ll see a spatter of rain here and there, the chances are low.

April is generally a sunny month and the hours of daylight you’ll get each day progresses with it. The first half of the month sees about 12.5 hours of daylight while the second half creeps up to 13.5 hours.

Disneyland Crowd Levels in April

By April, the 100 Years of Wonder Celebration would have come to an end. That said, Disney will likely roll out another promotion in order to entice people to visit.

The winter kid ticket deal expires on March 10th, but the SoCal resident offer, which lowers the per day cost to either $75 or $92 will continue to run through the beginning of June.

There’s also the January 10th sale of Magic Keys that’ll likely impact crowd levels as newly minted key holders converge onto the parks.

Thousands of people waited in an hours-long virtual queue for the chance of purchasing one. All but one tier sold out in less than 12 hours, while the final tier sold out the next morning.

There hasn’t been any announcements regarding the return of Fantasmic (other than it’ll return in the spring). If that return does occur in April, I would expect an uptick in visitation. There’s also a rumor that the Paint the Night parade could be returning in the spring as well.

*EDIT: Disney confirmed that Fantasmic will return on May 24th.

Generally, crowds aren’t much of a problem in April. The sole exception being the first week. Many schools are still on break at this point, but since Easter falls on March 31st this year, it’ll help soften the blow a bit.

Through the remaining three weeks, the heavy crowds start tapering off. If your trip falls within that first week, prepare yourself. If your dates are still open, I recommend booking in the second half of the month so you’re well out of dodge.

That said, there are a handful of special events taking place in April which, depending on their popularity, can have an impact on crowd levels (we’ll discuss those below).

Ticket Prices & Magic Key Blockout Dates

Single-day tickets are priced according to demand on a particular day. For instance, you’re likely to pay much higher on a Saturday than you would for a Tuesday because generally, the parks are busier on weekends.

That is why I always recommend purchasing a multi-day ticket. The more days on your ticket, the less you’ll pay per day. However, if you must purchase a single-day, here is the price range for April:

• Single Day Adult: $134 - $194. In the first week of April, you’re going to pay at the high end of the spectrum. This is due to many schools still being on break. As the month progresses, though, you’ll pay less, with weekdays costing the least.

• Single Day Child: $127 - $183.

There’s also the SoCal resident promotion that Disney is currently running. Depending on which variation you choose, this three-day ticket lowers the per day price to just $75 and $92, respectively. You can read more about this promotion and others in my post here.

If you’re a Magic Key holder, you’ll need to be cognizant of the blockout calendar before planning a visit. The blockout dates are as follows:

• Imagine Key: This key is blocked on all Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in the month.

• Enchant Key: This key is blocked on April 5th (Friday) and all Saturdays throughout the month.

• Believe Key: This key is only blocked on April 6th (Saturday).

• Inspire Key: This key has no blockout dates in the month of April.

April Special Events & Showings

As with most months at the Disneyland Resort lately, there are a handful of special events taking place in April. Some are getting to the end of their run while others are getting their start. These events are as follows:

• DCA Food & Wine Festival: Taking place March 1st - April 22nd

• Wondrous Journeys: Running through April 14th

• Season of the Force: April 5th - June 2nd

• Star Wars Nights After Dark Events: April 16th, 18th, 23rd, 25th and 30th

• Pixar Fest: Begins April 26th

The Food and Wine Festival will continue its run into the third week of April. The locals love this event, so expect the crowds to swell around late afternoon and throughout the day on weekends.

The event with the biggest impact on park guests will be Star Wars Nights. While they don’t have a direct impact on crowds during the day, they will impact you if you don’t have a ticket.

These events are hard ticketed, separate from normal park tickets. Additionally, the park closes early (8pm) to those guests with regular day tickets. To make matters worse, DCA will likely be closing at 9pm or 10pm in April. So you’ll have little, if any, time to park hop.

It’s a big if, but IF DCA does remain open until 11pm on those nights and you decide to park hop, there will be a max exodus of many others doing the same.

Pixar Fest kicks off at the end of the month. I see it being a huge draw eith the locals, especially during the first few days when every Disney YouTuber, Influencer, and Instagrammer jocking for position to the first to document it.

Disneyland Ride Closures in April

Disney releases attraction closure (also know as, refurbishment) information roughly 45 days ahead of time. Though last minute refurbs do happen from time to time.

Right now, the only attractions confirmed to be down in April are Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain (currently being reimagined into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure) and Incredicoaster.

What’s interesting about Incredicoaster going down on is it is/was going/gone through a ten day refurbishment in March. It’s likely they couldn’t get a part on time for the first refurbishment, so they’re taking it down a second time to complete whatever it is they’re working on.

While it’s currently unclear how long it’ll be down for, considering it’s one of the major Pixar related attractions in the park, I believe Disney will move mountains to ensure it’s operational in time for the start of Pixar Fest later this month.

While I expect refurbs to be minimal this year due to the two aforementioned attractions being down for the majority of the year, don’t be surprised if two or three more pop up on the calendar, if only for a few days.

The following attractions will be closed in all or part of April 2024:

• Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln: Closed April 16 - TBD

• Haunted Mansion: Closed January 21 - TBD (it’ll likely be down until the Halloween season).

• Incredicoaster: Closed April 8 - April 18

• Matterhorn Bobsleds: April 15 - April 25

• Splash Mountain: Permanently closed in May 2023 and being reimagined into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Currently projected to open in late 2024.

To see all the latest updates on Disneyland ride closures and upcoming projects, read and save my 2024 Disneyland Refurbishment Calendar post.