New Disneyland Resort Entry Procedures May Cause Delays.
Last month Disneyland implemented a new procedure for guests using 4- and 5-day tickets. All guests using these multiday tickets are now required to show ID with a name matching the one found on the tickets. When the new entry procedure was first rolled out guests using 4- and 5- day tickets were required to enter through separate turnstiles. This led to extremely long lines at these gates.
Disney has since changed the policy to allow guests with 4- and 5- day tickets to enter through any turnstile, but they still must show identification. This is causing entry times in to Disneyland and Disney California Adventure to be longer than usual for all ticket holders, especially during the first couple of hours of the day. Due to these elevated wait times, we recommend planning for some extra time to enter the park. For those of you planning to be in the parks at rope drop, you may want to plan to arrive at least 45 minutes before park opening (or longer depending on the crowd level for the day). This should give you enough time to get through the lines at the turnstiles and navigate up Main Street or Buena Vista Street.
Speaking of DCA rope drop, Radiator Springs Racers FASTPASS tickets are still running out 1 to 2 hours after park opening. If your goal is to obtain a Radiator Springs Racers FASTPASS, be sure to arrive at DCA as early as possible (the front gates will start letting guests enter 1 hour before the official park opening) and head straight to the FASTPASS line. The FASTPASS distribution line starts in front of It’s Tough to be a Bug and can sometimes stretch back to Tower of Terror.
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We were there 2 weeks ago. We entered 3 times with uk driving licences which included a picture with no problem, but on the 4th day a very rude cast member started moaning and questioning us about how many days we had been in and was not happy with our signatures. She then called over her supervisor who finally explained we had signed the back of the ticket in normal ink not permanent ink!! At no point have we ever been told not to sign the ticket unless it is in front of a cast member with a special pen. We then had to be issued new tickets for all 5 of us which took ages and wasted time. When we tried to get fast passes the tickets would not work! I did complain and was told the cast member would be dealt.
We were there over Halloween when they had separate turnstiles for multi-day tickets. CMs were very rude and couldn’t be bothered to try to explain the process when you asked them. I don’t think they really knew the process either. Later in the day, only 1 turnstile was open with 15 minute lines while the neighboring turnstiles were open for regular tickets with no waiting. Being a regular WDW person, I was amazed at how behind the times they were with tickets and kept thinking NextGen might make this problem go away… maybe.
The park entry procedures were one of the few things I didn’t like about my first visit to Disneyland at the end of October/beginning of November this year. We had four day parkhopper passes and they gave them more scrutiny than the TSA looks over my airport boarding pass. Why they can’t implement the fingerprint readers that work in Disney World is a mystery to me. I’m sure it’s expensive, but if it closes a loophole where the company in currently not making as much money is it thinks it can, then it should pay off for Disney in the long run and make their guests a lot happier.
It’s a huge pain. Hopefully they will come up with a better process soon.
My brother in law got 8 Fast Passes for RSRs last Tuesday (the 2nd ?) all by himself. They may have changed it overnight…
Interesting. Maybe it was a “we’re saying that you have to be in line, but you don’t actually have to be in line.” We didn’t test it…since we only had one shot to ride.
Sorry, it was Tuesday the 4th…just a few days away from home and the calendar is out the window…
They do seem to go up and down the line reminding you that everyone has to be in the Park in order to get a Fastpass. It means that their ticket needs to be “activated” by coming thru the turnstile. I can’t imagine what the line for fastpasses would be if they actually required each person to actually be there. They’ve never done that, not even when people would run to get World of Color passes when it first opened. The spiel was the same then.
My fiancé and I were there for two days a week ago (Nov 30 and Dec 1st) and they were checking our IDs on our 2 day, 1 park per day tickets. They are also requiring all guests getting a FastPass for Radiator Springs Racers to be in line for one. So, no FastPass runner for RSR right now.
That’s very strange. This is the first I’ve heard of them requiring the entire party present to obtain Fastpasses for RSR.
A Passholder turnstile would draw attention to the advantages of the AP and perhaps nudge some aspirational purchases, so you’d think that would be a marketing consideration.
A AP only line would be a dream come true.
We were there last week and they were doing the 3 day passes too. My sister-n-law did not have her ID with her and they let her in because it was her first use she was with her family who all had IDs but they did make her sign her ticket. She could not park hop or re-enter before she got her ID.
And yes, the lines were long and slow to get in. I wish they had special lines only for Annual Passholders.
Thank you for the info on the 3 day ticket. You’re right, a special Annual Passholder line would be fantastic. I hope they come up with a better policy for multi-day tickets.
We were there over Thanksgiving when the lines were long anyway. The process is slow and tedious. We were there on an extended 8 day vacation and my husband has no desire to be a Passholder. I inquired about this with Disney Travel and was told that I could either purchase multiple park hopper tickets to add up to my total days or I could purchase an annual pass. It was actually CHEAPER to get a Deluxe pass for him, but we did it on the “buy the park hopper, use it for the black out days and then upgrade” option.
As for the showing ID, some CMs are hard on guests about it. At least once we were asked if my 8 year old son had any ID. I simply said “he’s 8 years old and with parents who have the same last name, are you kidding me?” I purchased the park hoppers online for my husband and son and so my name automatically was on the adult ticket. The initial gate CM crossed my name off and put my husbands name down. One evening my husband tried to enter the park without me as part of the group and the CM gave him all sorts of grief about the name being crossed off. He was ready to call me (I was in the Park already) to come and prove I had no need of a ticket as I’m a Passholder when she finally relented and let him in. That was a pain for him as well as the long line behind him forced to wait longer.
I never saw “ticket holders only” lines but did long for a Passholder entry as I stood in the long lines to get in the park one morning. This process has a lot of flaws and the turnstile CMs should get some training on the options and in our case, what to do if the wrong name appears on the ticket. It may require an option on the online purchase for inputting the names of the ticket holders to solve for that.
You’re right, the process is a pain and has a lot of flaws. Hopefully they will come up with something better soon.
Adults for sure. All of the kids we brought were 4 and under, so no ID needed. I did overhear someone asking the same question and a DL person said a school ID would suffice. Hope this helps.
I was there on Veterans’ Day weekend, with a 2 day ticket, and had to show ID.
Are they just checking ID’s for adults or teenagers too? I have a 12 year old who does not have a photo ID.
Only for adults and teenagers. I believe they will tie your children’s tickets to yours so your ID will work for both.
Oh, and I posted a video on the Radiator Springs Racers Fast Pass line last week. It’s on YouTube. Search my name or “governmentfromage”. Truly insane.
We were just there last week and they were checking IDs daily on our 3 Day Park Hoppers, too.
Good to know. Thank you for the info.
Only 4 and 5 days? What about 6?
Disneyland is no longer selling anything beyond a 5 day Park Hopper. This and the ID checks are a result of there not being any law in California preventing “businesses” from purchasing multi day park tickets and then renting them out on a daily basis for a fee lower than a one day ticket.