What do you have to plan in advance for Disneyland and how far in advance?

[hllb]

Is it just dining reservations you have to plan ahead of time? Maxpass is only day of, correct? And then any extra shows or events you may want?

 

[mom2rtk]

Pretty much. Dining and special packages (like Fantasmic) open up 60 days out.

MaxPass day of only. Which I love to bits.

 

[hllb]

Pretty much. Dining and special packages (like Fantasmic) open up 60 days out.

MaxPass day of only. Which I love to bits.

I think I'll prefer the day of too. While I enjoy trip planning, it gets so complicated and stressful for WDW. We were able to do absolutely everything we wanted to at WDW last time, but only because I was up at the crack of dawn on all the appropriate days LOL. I will say Flight of Passage was worth it and we were able to ride it twice!

I'm thinking the DL vacation will be more relaxed.

 

[ExcitedMama]

Definitely considered any reservations you want or Fantasmic packages. BBB if that’s of interest.

MP is the day of and can’t be used until you scan in and you cannot scan others in.

Check out the entertainment schedule so you can decide what’s of interest and where to be for it.

 

[figment_jii]

As others have said, pretty much the only things you can "plan" in advance are dining (60-days out, in most cases, but sometimes the system is slow to add information) and hotel reservations. MaxPass is day of (and after you've gotten into the parks using that ticket). Entertainment schedule is usually posted about 45-days in advance (but not always complete at that point). So overall, pretty much the only thing you can/need to do in advance is make dining reservations (table service, packages, and dessert parties).

Once in a great while there is some special event (e.g., Mickey's Halloween Party) for which reservations/tickets come available on its own schedule. Things like that are usually announced on the Parks Blog, Disney Social Media, and on fan sites (like the Disboards).

 

[skyblue17]

It depends what you want to do! My friend and I decided less than a month in advance that we would go to Disneyland and literally all we did ahead of arriving was decide we were buying a MaxPass. We had been to Disneyland together before, so we pretty much stuck to our usual plan of going to DCA first, then over to Disneyland, then assess and do whatever worked. We ended up rope-dropping, mostly by accident (we were awake and ready to hit the road early, so we left and alas, the parks were not yet open by the time we were parked and ready to go) and that gave us some pretty quick rides in DCA and the ability to set up some early FastPasses.

I'd say it's good to have an IDEA of what you want to prioritize, ride-wise, but if you have a park hopper, you really do have the freedom to bounce around, as it takes so little time to go from one park to the other. You can even have a meal in Downtown Disney since it's right there. But the ability to kind of decide as you go at Disneyland is pretty great.

 

[TeresaR]

Since I live up in Seattle, the only real planning I do is making airline and hotel reservations about 6 months in advance for good prices. Otherwise I find I can usually get most dining reservations right about the week I am going. If I'm there during the holidays I might make one or two dining reservations a week or so before I get there.

 

[Niltiac]

Dining is pretty much the only thing you can book ahead, unless you want to do an extra like a tour, for example. If you want to do some kind of specialty dining like a show package or afternoon tea, or if you want to eat at Blue Bayou or Lamplight Lounge, you should book that as soon as your booking opens if you can. Other dining can be booked much closer to the trip, especially if you're not picky about the exact time.

But I wouldn't say it's the only thing you should plan at all. I have seen people who are accustomed to WDW say "everyone told me you don't have to plan for DLR, so I planned nothing" and sometimes those people end up disappointed. For a first trip, I would try to have an idea which few rides you want to do first if you're going to do rope drop, which FP are most likely to run out earlier in the day, understand that character meets are a bit different, know the basic layout, know how to get a decent spot for shows that are important to you, etc. Planning for DLR involves less booking things and more just trying to get a feel for how things work.