Nabbing Tickets Is a Rollercoaster Rush for Disneyland Fans

The entrance of Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, Calif., on March 13, 2020. (Mario Anzuoni/File/Reuters)

Disneyland fans are flocking to their keyboards to nab reservations for the opening days of Disneyland in an effort they say has proved time-consuming and stressful.

“It was obscene,” said Disneyland devotee Nikki Melland, who said it took hours to secure her desired dates. “It was insane, for sure.”

Disneyland will reopen April 30 for the first time in more than a year; it’s been shut since the onset of the pandemic last March.

Right now, California’s theme parks are allowed to reopen at 25 percent capacity, and Disneyland is requiring advance reservations for visits through June 28.

When reservations became available April 15, it proved to be a test of patience for fans such as Melland. After logging into a virtual queue at about 7:30 a.m., she said she entered a black hole.

“It took me to the page of doom; the page we sat and stared at for the next countless amount of hours,” Melland told the Epoch Times with a laugh.

She said she was finally let out of the queue, only to be met with technical difficulties. She said she kept getting kicked out until 5:30 p.m., when she learned that her previous attempts to buy tickets for the Avengers Campus opening day June 4 were successful.

“It was worth it because we’re Disney addicts,” Melland said. “It’s our happy place.”

Some fans have said on social media that they spent upward of 12 hours reserving spots for the Anaheim theme park.

Disneyland fan Marianne Rice said she considers herself one of the fortunate ones.

“I got lucky and was only in the queue for maybe two hours total when most spent 12 to 20 hours in the queue,” she told The Epoch Times on April 16.

Rice, a longtime Disneyland annual pass holder, entered the line at 5:30 a.m. April 15, even though the queue opened at 8 am.

The queue was a lottery, meaning everyone was assigned a random place in line.

Rice said she was overjoyed to have her reservations booked.

“So beyond stoked,” she said. “When I got to the actual purchase window, I had so much adrenaline going I was like shaking I was so excited and also very nervous that I'd do something wrong and get kicked back into the queue.”

New Rules

Since state guidelines only allow California residents to visit the theme park, Disneyland guests must show proof of residency to enter.

While some new rides will be open for the first time, such as the Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, others will be closed to limit the risk of the CCP virus spreading.

Guests ages 2 and above are required to wear facial coverings.

Temperature screenings will be administered prior to park entry, along with enhanced cleaning procedures and cashless transactions.