Welcome back to the Disney Parks Moms Panel, Randy. Thanks for stopping by with your question about Early Admission at the Disneyland Resort. There are two options for early admission:
Magic Morning and
Extra Magic Hour.
Extra Magic Hour is for Guests staying at any 3 Disneyland Resort Hotels with valid park admission. Each morning of their stay, they are entitled to early entry to Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure Park, depending on which is offering Extra Magic Hour. Disneyland Park has Extra Magic Hour on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Disney California Adventure offers Extra Magic Hour on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Whenever my family and I stay onsite, we take advantage of this extra pixie-dusted-hour to enjoy the parks before they get too crowded.
On the other hand, Guests NOT staying at one of the Disneyland Resort Hotels can purchase a 3-day or longer Park Hopper or a Southern California CityPASS and receive ONE Magic Morning at Disneyland Park on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Early entry to Disney California Adventure Park is not valid, unfortunately.
So to go back to your original question, if you're staying onsite, I would definitely take advantage of both parks during Extra Magic Hour. I love taking photos before it gets too busy. We also enjoy riding Hyperspace Mountain and Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland Park, and of course, Radiator Springs Racers and Toy Story Mania at Disney California Adventure Park while wait times are short.
I hope this information is helpful for you, Randy. Please visit us on the Panel if you have further questions.
Have a magical day,
Kiki