What Times Does Disneyland Open and Close for the Day?

It’s a simple question on the surface: Exactly what time does Disneyland open and close for the day?

Unfortunately for you, the answer is far more complicated than you may have guessed. And the last thing you want to do is arrive at 8 a.m. wearing your Mouse ears, all excited and ready to play, only to find that the park won't open until 10 a.m. — or vice versa.

Let's start with the basics. Disneyland hours vary with hours of sunshine. They are open fewer hours in winter and longer in summer. Daily hours also depend on how many people they expect. Expect the parks to be open longer during the summer vacation season, school breaks and holiday weekends than in the middle of the week offseason.

Don't fret if that seems confusing and vague. This guide includes everything you need to know to get to Disneyland at the right time, and how you can sometimes get in even before the park officially opens.

Disneyland Times for the Next Few Weeks

No matter how much you want to plan every magical second of your Disneyland visit, you will have to wait until approximately six weeks before your visit to get the official opening and closing times. That's how far ahead Disney posts the short-term schedule (in calendar form) for both Disneyland and California Adventure on the Disneyland website.

The calendar also includes times for parades, fireworks, and featured entertainment so you can plan your trip down to every last magical detail.

You can also use one of the best Disneyland apps to find out what the hours will be.

If you want to hear the official hours from a human being instead, call Disneyland Guest Relations at 714-781-7290. This may give you the extra peace of mind you need to enjoy the park without having to wait for it to open.

Disneyland Hours At Other Times of Year

If you're planning more than six weeks ahead, you won't get exact times on the Disneyland website. These general rules may help you know what to expect:

• Disneyland is often open longer than Disney California Adventure. It typically opens earlier and stays open later.
• Both parks are open for more hours during busier times. That includes summer, spring break, three-day holiday weekends, Fourth of July, and the year-end holiday weeks from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day as well as any time they introduce something new that lots of people want to see.
• Disneyland hours are longer on weekends than they are during the week.
• The Anaheim area gets about 10 hours of daylight per day in December and about 14 hours in June. You can estimate that park hours will be longer than that. The parks usually open a few hours after sunrise and close after it gets dark. In summer and other busy times, they will stay open later but not after midnight.

Typical Disneyland Hours by Month

The typical Disneyland Resort hours (along with weather, crowd predictions and other considerations) are included in these guides to Disneyland by month. Use this list to shortcut straight to the month you're interested in: January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December.

Insider Secrets About Disneyland Hours

Visitors who stay at a Disney-owned hotel or some of their partner hotels — and people who buy tickets for multiple days — may get into the parks earlier than other ticket holders on specific days of the week. It sounds fantastic, but there are restrictions, and you won't be the only person who gets in early. In fact, it's not quite as good a deal as it seems. Check out the ins and outs of early entry.

Sometimes the Disneyland or California Adventure front gates open early to anyone who is in line and has a ticket. That happens about a half-hour earlier than the "official" posted opening time. There's no guarantee on this and no way to predict when it will happen. When it does, it's fun and worth getting there ahead of time just in case.

On those days, you can get inside the gate but not the entire park. The shops on Main Street U.S.A. or Carthay Circle will be open. You can use the extra time to shop before things get busy, but stow your purchases at package pick up and collect them on your way out instead of lugging them around all day.

You'll find lots of characters out and the lines to greet them are short. Best of all, you can line up for the very fun "rope drop," which happens at the official opening time. After that, you can enter the rest of the park.