Hi there, Dustin! We are so happy you found your way to our little corner of the magic here at planDisney! It sounds like you are planning a family trip full of magic that starts in just a few days! As Tiana would say, let's dig a little deeper into your question and get you on your way to the Happiest Place on Earth!
When planning a trip for a large party, I think it's always a good idea to have one or two Guests that will be your Disneyland captains for the day. It sounds like this will likely be you, especially if you are purchasing
tickets for the full group! When you purchase the tickets all at once, you will be able to make
theme park reservations for everyone at the same time. Currently, both a theme park ticket and a theme park reservation are required to enter the parks. Reservations are subject to availability, but you can always take a look at the
calendar ahead of time. As part of the checkout process, you will choose which park you want to enjoy for the day - either Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure Park. If you are buying Park Hopper tickets, you can hop between the two starting at 1 p.m. You might want to also consider adding
Genie+ to your tickets at the time of purchase. This will grant you access to 19
Lightning Lanes across both parks so you can stay one jump ahead of the crowds! If all the tickets are linked to your account, you would be able to make Lightning Lane selections for everyone in your group to guarantee the same return window. How's that for some phenomenal cosmic power?!
While it's pretty magical to create those Disneyland memories together, sometimes it's nice to break off into smaller groups at points throughout the day. I'm happy to report that even if you have purchased all of the tickets initially, you can give your brother and his family their eTickets so they can experience parts of the day on their own. This can be done ahead of time or once you are together about to enter the parks. Simply have your brother create his own Disneyland account on the website and download the
Disneyland mobile app. When he opens the app, he can head to the three-bar menu in the bottom right-hand corner and select "Tickets and Passes". Once here, tap the "+" in the top right-hand corner and select "Link Tickets & Passes". He can either scan the barcodes for his tickets directly from your phone or manually enter the ticket confirmation numbers. You can find the ticket confirmation numbers on your purchase confirmation email or just under the barcode if you pull up "Tickets & Passes" within your own app. If you'd both like to be Disneyland captains for the day, he can link all of the tickets for your family as well which would give him access to booking Lightning Lanes for the full group!
If you aren't quite sure about adding Genie+ to your tickets, you also have the opportunity to add it once you scan into the parks. You will see the option on the home screen in the Disneyland app! One of my favorite perks included with Genie+ is that you will have access to all the
Disney PhotoPass photos taken that day - what better way to make those memories last a lifetime?!
If you have any more questions, you are always welcome at planDisney! Keep wishing on those stars, Dustin!
Tara