Hi, Channing, welcome to planDisney!
I'm glad you checked the
Theme Park Reservation Availability Calendar for Disneyland Resort before your arrival. As you noticed, reservations are hard to come by this time of year due to the popularity of the holidays. To enter a theme park, guests must have both a ticket and a reservation.
In the future, I would always recommend you purchase your valid admission
ticket and make your park
reservation before your arrival. Tickets are sold at the gate, but only when they are available. If there are no reservations available for that park, no tickets will be sold, and it has to be very disappointing to arrive and not be able to visit the parks as planned.
There are other magical options, however!
Downtown Disney District does not require a ticket or reservation. You'll find plenty to fill the day there. My family likes to dine at
Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen, and we always stop by
Star Wars Trading Post and
World of Disney for authentic gear. At this time of year, another option from Downtown Disney District is to pop into
Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa and
Disneyland Hotel to enjoy the festive decorations.
I'd keep checking that availability calendar. Guests' plans change and you do see availability open when there was none before. There's no guarantee, but sometimes magic happens!
If you didn't get a reservation on this visit, I hope you come back real soon.
Elizabeth