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Fans eager and excited to visit Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park lined up for hours to enter the theme parks Friday morning as they reopened for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic forced an unprecedented 13-month closure.

But with capacity limited and currently restricted to in-state visitors only, guests will no longer simply be able to go to the ticket booth and buy admission on the day of their visit. Gone too are the days where annual passport holders can simply show up, cards in hand, and be scanned in at the gates — that program was sunsetted during the shutdown.


The coronavirus has changed many things in the past year, and the protocol for going to Disneyland will be no exception. From new requirements to a reservation system, fans will be navigating some changes as the theme park brings back the magic.

Entrance requirements:

There are three requirements to enter the “Happiest Place on Earth”:

The reservation system

Disney opened up its online reservation system on April 12 to those who bought tickets prior to the pandemic-related closure, and then on April 15 to the general public.

Ticket costs have not changed since the theme park expanded its tiered pricing to five levels shortly before the shutdown started, and range from $104 to the $154 to visit a single park, depending on the day the guest picks. The park hopper option adds $55 to the total cost, and multi-day tickets can still be purchased.

Reservations can be made up to 60 days in advance and are currently available for both May and June. As of Friday morning, some dates for both theme parks were completely sold out, while on others only California Adventure was available, according to the reservation calendar.

For those wanting to get into Disneyland over the next two months, the park hopper option had much more availability. One note about the park hopper tickets: unlike in years past, guests won’t be able to get into the second park until after 1 p.m.

“We highly recommend that you make your theme park reservation as soon as you complete your ticket purchase, as availability can change until the reservation is finalized,” Disney’s website says.

Other things to know

As has been the case since the Downtown Disney District reopened last summer, a slew of health and safety measures are in place at the Disneyland Resort to slow the spread of the coronavirus. They include: