DL eticket....to buy or not to buy

[j2thomason]

My husband has a business trip to San Diego in a few days and I have convinced him to take me to Disneyland/DCA for one day. He has been one time before, but he has never seen Carsland....and he is a HUGE car guy. Since we only have one day and will be pushed to get a lot done, would it be a good idea to purchase a 1 day park hopper eticket before we go? Since it has to be exchanged for a paper ticket will this really save us any time. If someone has gotten an eticket before I would love to hear about your experience.

The park opens at 9:00. We plan to arrive to park the car by 8:00, go through Downtown Disney and grab some biegnets then head to the gate. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

 

[figment_jii]

I've purchased tickets through Disneyland.com in the past and found the process to be pretty smooth. I took the eTicket (printed at home) with me to the ticket gate and they exchanged it for the credit card sized ticket that you use for the rest of the stay. I generally think this is a better idea that anything that involves going to the ticket booth first thing in the morning (the lines always look pretty long).

Just a note about your plan...the tram that goes from the Mickey & Friend's parking structure drops you off near WoD. Brennan's Jazz Kitchen Express is located on the other end of DTD. It's not a long walk, but it's something to keep in mind if you want to be at the park pre-park opening.

 

[tlovesdis]

I have an AP but I take my nieces every now and then and I always buy the ticket online, then just show my phone in line and they hand a ticket over to my niece! It is faster than having to wait in the ticket booth line, then get in the regular line! I do it all the time!!

 

[ParkHopper1]

Yup...e-ticket will SAVE you time. You will not have to wait in the ticket booth line to exchange it. You cant take the printout right to the entrance gate turnstile and they will scan it and hand you a paper ticket right there as you enter.

If you buy a ticket on site you will have to wait in the ticket booth line and that can get pretty lengthy especially in the AM.

 

[lovebug33]

We had the exact opposite experience. WE had to get in line to exchange it. There was only one person exchanging tickets. We ended up behiind a party of 10, all who wanted celebration buttons with their names on it. Then, when I went up to the counter, there was some sort of issue with my ticket they said was common with tickets bought off the disneyland site. It took a total of 30 minutes to get my tickets. Utterly frustrating.

 

[tlovesdis]

Wow lovebug33 that stinks! It's very weird that you would have to go to the ticket booth! It states right on the paper that you go straight to the turnstile and now you don't even need the paper you can just show proof that you bought it right on your phone. That's what i did in December and it worked great!

And I had no idea you could get buttons at the ticket booths! Good to know since the line at City Hall is always so long for them!

 

[bumbershoot]

We had the exact opposite experience. WE had to get in line to exchange it. There was only one person exchanging tickets. We ended up behiind a party of 10, all who wanted celebration buttons with their names on it. Then, when I went up to the counter, there was some sort of issue with my ticket they said was common with tickets bought off the disneyland site. It took a total of 30 minutes to get my tickets. Utterly frustrating.

Something went wrong that day.

Buying from other sites, yes, you have to go elsewhere to exchange them. But buying from disneyland.com you take them to the turnstile, they scan it, and out pops a ticket.

 

[agamble]

If you buy the ticket directly from Disneyland it will say right on it to take it right to the gates, no need to go to a ticket booth. It's SOOO convenient. And if for some reason you forget them, you could do as one poster mentioned and use your phone to access your ticket.

 

[j2thomason]

Thanks everyone! I think I am going to give it a try after hearing about how easy it is.

 

[lovebug33]

See they told me to go to the ticket booth and that something was wrong with the tickets. They said this happened a lot. I'm going tomake sure I have tickets before I ever go again.

 

[j2thomason]

Well, I bit the bullet and bought the tickets. We are going either Monday or Wednesday. I will let all of you know how it goes.

 

[j2thomason]

Thanks for all of the advice and information about the etickets. I used them today with absolutely no issues. I would definitely purchase them again.