Hey there Kaleigh,
Welcome to planDisney and thank you for your question! I'm glad to hear you're getting a jump on planning your trip for early next year to the Happiest Place on Earth.
Currently, to enter one of the parks of the Disneyland Resort, you need both valid theme park tickets and a
theme park reservation for each day you plan to visit. When you purchase theme park tickets, they just need to be used by their expiration date, which is typically pretty far off from the purchase date. For example, the expiration date for standard theme park tickets as of the time that I'm answering your question is January 12, 2026, which you can find near the bottom of the
theme park ticket purchase page.
When purchasing tickets through the Disneyland Resort website, part of the process includes making your theme park reservations. However, keep in mind that these theme park reservations are easily and quickly modifiable through the
My Plans hub! Therefore, what I typically recommend for people planning their Disneyland Resort vacation for dates further out than the park reservations are available, is to set their reservations toward the end of the current availability when purchasing their tickets, and then change them to the correct dates when they become available!
Theme park ticket pricing is always subject to change, so if you're happy with the current ticket prices then I'd recommend locking that price in now by purchasing your tickets! Then once your dates become available, you can easily change your theme park reservations through the My Plans hub.
Thanks again for your question, Kaleigh! I hope you have a wonderful time visiting the Happiest Place on Earth next year.
Have a Magical Day,
Greg