Greetings, Mary, and welcome to planDisney! As a Magic Key holder, I have a lot of experience with theme park reservations, and am happy to help you prepare for your upcoming trip!
At the Disneyland Resort, both a valid ticket and a theme park reservation are required for entry. When you have a
Park Hopper ticket, the park you have a reservation for matters if you plan to enter before 11:00 a.m. Once the clock strikes 11:00 a.m., you can use your Park Hopper ticket to head into either park (as long as it’s not at capacity), regardless of which park you reserved. In other words, you aren't required to enter the park you have a reservation for first. You should have no problem getting to your dinner reservation.
Here's an example based on a trip I've taken. Let's say you have a theme park reservation for Disneyland, and a noon lunch reservation inside California Adventure. You arrive at the front entrance at 11:30 a.m. With a Park Hopper ticket, you could go straight into California Adventure for your lunch reservation. If you arrive at the Resort in the morning, such as 9:00 a.m., you'd need to start inside Disneyland since that's too early to park hop.
You also have the flexibility to change your theme park reservation up until 11:59 p.m. the night before, if you decide you'd rather spend the morning in one park over the other. To modify an existing reservation, hover over the "My Disneyland" button on the website and click "
Theme Park Reservations." From there, click "Make or Modify Park Reservations" to adjust one or more dates tied to your ticket. You can also do this on the
Disneyland mobile app. Tap the plus (+) icon at the bottom of the screen, tap "Make a Park Reservation," and then tap "Make or Modify Park Reservations." From here, you'd scroll to the reservation you want to change, tap "Modify Reservation," select the Guest(s), and finally select a new date and/or park. Make sure to tap "Confirm" for the change to be processed.
Since you'll be visiting during
Halloween Time, visit the Disney Parks Blog and check out the
Halloween Foodie Guide – there are some ghoulishly good food and drinks that you may want to add to your list. I have my eye on the Meatball Slider from Royal Street Veranda. You’ll also find seasonal overlays on popular attractions, festive decorations, and boo-tiful merchandise – I adore the
Cutie Ghost collection.
I have one last tip for you, Mary. With a Park Hopper ticket, you can really get the most out of the
Lightning Lane Multi Pass, since you can make selections for both parks. Just plan your selections with that 11:00 a.m. time in mind if you are crossing into the other park.
Mary, I hope this information has sprinkled some pixie dust onto your plans. If you have any other questions, please reach out. We're always happy to help here at planDisney!
Wishing you magic,
Kriss