Disneyland Resort
The world's first Disneyland, personally built by Walt Disney in 1955, featuring Sleeping Beauty Castle, Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge and the neighboring Disney California Adventure park.
The Disneyland Resort is located in Anaheim, Orange County, about 45 km southeast of Los Angeles, and includes two theme parks. Disneyland Park opened in 1955 and is the only park Walt Disney personally helped build. Disney California Adventure opened in 2001 and is themed around California. Disneyland Park is organized around Sleeping Beauty Castle into eight themed lands. Classic attractions include Space Mountain, the Matterhorn Bobsleds (the world's first tubular steel roller coaster), Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion and It's a Small World, as well as Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, which opened in 2019 (with the Millennium Falcon and the Resistance). Disney California Adventure has Pixar Pier (including Incredicoaster and the Pixar Pal-A-Round Ferris wheel), Cars Land racing, the Avengers Campus and Spider-Man ride, Soarin', and the nighttime World of Color water show. Disneyland holds a nightly castle fireworks show (in peak season) and parades. Single-park day tickets cost about $104–206. A Park Hopper ticket, which allows visits to both parks, adds $65–75. You must book tickets and a visit date in advance on the official website or app. Lightning Lane Multi Pass (about $30–35 per day) lets you skip queues for popular attractions, and it has replaced Genie+. It's best to spend at least one day per park, so two parks require two days. Arrive 30 minutes before opening (Rope Drop) to head straight for Galaxy's Edge or Cars Land. Getting there: driving from central Los Angeles via I-5 takes about 45–90 minutes (heavy traffic at rush hour), and parking costs $35. There is no subway. You can take Amtrak or Metrolink to Anaheim's ARTIC station and transfer to the ART bus, or stay in a hotel near the resort and walk to the park. Downtown Disney in the middle of the resort is free to enter and has restaurants and shops. Note: summer sun in California is strong, so use the free water refill stations in the parks. Children must meet height requirements for certain rides. Hotels near the parks need to be booked months in advance during peak season.
Opening hours
About 08:00–24:00 (varies by date; check website or app)
Nearby sights
- Knott's Berry Farm
- Queen Mary
- Aquarium of the Pacific
- The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens
- Battleship USS Iowa Museum
- Little Tokyo
- Olvera Street
- Grand Central Market