Hiya Marsha,
Welcome to planDisney! With all the additional details that make a visit to Disneyland Resort special, planning early is always the best practice. I personally start planning my next one on the plane home from the current vacation. But what is the best time to begin purchasing Theme Park tickets?
As you mentioned, Marsha securing those
Disney Park Reservations does make planning early essential. In my experience, once we get into the months October-December, the Theme Parks can get much busier due to the
holiday season. For example, historically, Thanksgiving season crowds peak starting in mid-November and continue through the holiday. That said, Theme Park tickets for Disneyland Resort are non-refundable and non-transferable, so if you needed to cancel your trip for any reason, you would have to find a different time to use those tickets before they expire. I would say that the latest I would wait to purchase Theme Park tickets is 60 days before you plan to visit.
Advanced dining reservations can start being made 60 days before your visit, and with bigger crowds dining locations are even harder to secure the closer you get to your dates. By having my tickets 60 days before, I can book the reservations I want, and in most cases (barring emergencies), my travel plans are solidified.
Marsha, I know I said 60 days is my limit for how close I would wait to purchase my tickets, but I understand there may be some hesitancy. You can plan a fabulous last-minute trip! In fact, I've done it before! The trip was terrific, but I was limited in my itinerary choices. When I purchased my tickets, I could only select one Theme Park because the other was fully reserved and had no dining reservations (I just joined the walk-up list for dining throughout the day). I hope this was helpful, Marsha. Please come back and see us if you need anything else.
Happy Planning,
Ashley F.