Hello, Matt,
Hot dog! An extended family visit to the Disneyland Resort sounds amazing. I hope this is something that can be worked out. Let’s go over some relevant points and discuss some options.
As you have seen, each Guest of the Disneyland Resort must have both a
theme park ticket and a
theme park reservation to enter the parks. Because the number of park reservations is limited, popular days may sometimes run out of reservations. Tickets can be purchased at the main entrance ticket booths at the Disneyland Resort. Theme park reservations would still need to be booked from the available set. So I highly recommend purchasing tickets in advance to be sure you will get the park reservation you desired.
It can be discouraging when we find park reservations are gone for days we wish to visit the Disneyland Resort. But when other Guests need to change their plans, they may make reservations available to you. So it is a good idea to keep a close eye on the
theme park reservation availability calendar. You never know when a reservation on your preferred dates might pop up.
If you are staying at one of the three
Disneyland Resort Hotels, take advantage of the
theme park reservations exclusively for hotel Guests. I usually notice remaining availability from that pool of reservations even when the regular pool is depleted for a certain day. And of course, you will also get to enjoy the many
benefits available to hotel guests. Hotel Guests may book theme park reservations starting from the "
My Hotel Reservations" page.
I hope that gives you some ideas about how to obtain the reservations you would like, Matt. If you have any more questions, I hope you come to visit us again at planDisney.
~Tony