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Disneyland California Resort

More than just the iconic park

By Arthur Levine, About.com

The iconic front entrance to Disneyland California.

©Arthur Levine, 2007. Licensed to About.com

Location and Phone

Anaheim, CA
Recorded Guest Information : (714) 781-4565

Disneyland California Ticket Info

Disneyland offers single-park tickets for one day or park-hopping tickets with access to both Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure for one day up to six days. Park-hopper tickets must be used within 13 days of first use. Reduced price for children, ages 3 to 9. 2 and under are free. Discounted tickets may be available online

Save money and time. Get Disneyland California tickets in advance of your visit, and check for online discounts.

Are you planning to visit other California theme parks? Consider getting the Southern California CityPass, which offers considerable value.

When to Go

The general rule is to zag when everyone else is zigging. If possible, try to plan your Disneyland California trip away from holidays, school vacations, the early summer, and weekends. For more info, go to Making the Most of your California Theme Park Vacation.

Getting to Disneyland California

  • The two primary airports are Los Angeles International (LAX) and John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Orange County. There are also smaller airports in Burbank, Long Beach, and Ontario.
  • Driving Info: Disneyland California is located off I-5. The actual address is 1313 S. Disneyland Drive.

    From I-5 South: Exit Disneyland Drive, turn left (south), and follow signs.

    From I-5 North: Exit on Katella Avenue, turn left (west), proceed for 1.5 miles to Disneyland Drive, turn right (north), and follow signs.

    From LAX Airport: I-105E for 16.7 miles. Exit at I-605 onto I-605 N to I-5/SANTA ANA FWY exit onto I-5S. Follow directions above.

    From John Wayne Airport: I-405N towards LONG BEACH. Take the CA-55/COSTA MESA FWY exit towards NEWPORT BEACH/ RIVERSIDE onto CA-55N. Then take the I-5 N exit towards LOS ANGELES onto I-5 N. Follow directions above.

Disneyland California and Disneyland-Area Hotel Info

  • Compare rates for Disney's Grand Californian Hotel at About.com's booking partner, Kayak.
  • Compare rates for the Disneyland Hotel at About.com's booking partner, Kayak.
  • Compare rates for Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel at About.com's booking partner, Kayak.
  • Compare rates for Disneyland-area hotels at About.com's booking partner, Kayak.

The Disneyland California Theme Parks

Disneyland Park
An overview of the original Disneyland park.

Disney's California Adventure
An overview of Disney's theme park ode to the Golden State.

What's New at Disneyland California

Putting the Disney into Disney's California Adventure
Learn about the massive 5-year, $1.1 billion expansion and makeover of Disney's California Adventure.

New for 2009:

New for 2008:

More Disneyland California Info

Christmas and the Holidays at Disneyland
Info about the resort's holiday events.

The Best of Disneyland
Top picks for rides at Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure

Check Disneyland's Fastpass attractions and learn how to make the most of the Fastpass program.

Disney's HalloweenTime
Info about the resort's Halloween events.

Other Things to Do at Disneyland California

  • There is a wide array of dining options at Downtown Disney, inside the parks, and at the hotels. Among the fan favorites is Blue Bayou inside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland Park, which offers Cajun-Creole specialties. It's highly recommended to make reservations in person or by calling Disney Dining at (714) 781-3463. Other good choices include Napa Rose at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel, which features very pricey California-centric cuisine, the Mediterranean restaurant, Catal, at Downtown Disney, and Steakhouse 55 at the Disneyland Hotel. For more casual dining, consider the buffet at Goofy's Kitchen in the Disneyland Hotel. For a tasty, relatively quiet, and surprisingly reasonable breakfast, check out Steakhouse 55 at the Disneyland Hotel.
  • In addition to restaurants, the always-hopping Downtown Disney offers shopping, snacks, nightclubs, and a movie theater.
  • The House of Blues concert venue presents an ongoing live music series.

Official Site

Disneyland Resort

Disneyland California Overview

First there was Disneyland, Walt Disney's labor of love. Originally ridiculed as an expensive failure, Disney's incredible achievement eventually captured the hearts and minds of millions of guests and forever changed the very definition of entertainment, let alone the amusement industry.

After Disney died, the company opened Walt Disney World in Florida. With tens of thousands of acres, the east coast vacation resort added parks, hotels, golf courses and other diversions at a furious pace and quickly eclipsed, in sheer magnitude, the California park that inspired it. After a few false starts, Disneyland embarked on its own building spree in 2000 and is now a destination resort in its own right, albeit crammed into a much tighter footprint than its right-coast counterpart.

The original Disneyland Park shines at the center of the property. Smaller scale and more intimate than Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom (although actually boasting more attractions), there is a certain magic in the air. Maybe it has to do with Walt Disney's hands-on role in shaping the park and actually walking its grounds.

Disney's California Adventure, the second park, is a work in progress. Comparatively small and offering fewer attractions, the park barely provides a day's worth of activities. But Disney has exciting, ambitious plans and is retooling the park. Still, Disney's California Adventure has some wonderful attractions in its current form.

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