Greetings, Bryan, and welcome to planDisney! Surprising your girlfriend with tickets to the Happiest Place on Earth is such a nice gesture. I have some information to share and some ideas to make your trip memorable.
I chatted with a Cast Member and confirmed that it would not be possible to convert your eTickets to physical tickets once you arrive at the Disneyland Resort. You can purchase a physical ticket on-site at the ticket booth in the Esplanade, but I wouldn't recommend doing so on the day you want to go to a theme park. That's because if no
theme park reservations are available, you wouldn't be able to use the ticket that day. If you want to make the trip in advance to purchase tickets for a future date, that would be fine. But if you already have your eTickets, then let's think of some different ways to commemorate the trip.
When I bought my dad a theme park ticket for his birthday, I made a decorative ticket to surprise him with the news that he was going to Disneyland. You can search online for some fun inspiration. When my mom bought a ticket for my brother, she wrote, "You're going to Disneyland" on the wrapping of a cookie – delicious and exciting!
If you’d like a few tangible mementos from inside the park, here are some fun ideas:
- Bring your MagicBand+ with you – there are stations across Disneyland Park with special interactions that you can unlock with it. Some even distribute a printed souvenir card that is perfect for a scrapbook.
- Purchase a Disney Gift Card from a retail location and add some funds to it for food and merchandise purchases. You might find gift cards with cute designs that would make lovely keepsakes after the card has been used up.
- Stop at the Disney PhotoPass locations inside the park to take pictures together in front of iconic backgrounds, like Sleeping Beauty Castle. If you have the Lightning Lane Multi Pass, you'll get unlimited downloads of PhotoPass photos you take that day.
- Bring some quarters with you and stop at the Audio-Animatronics fortune-telling attractions, Esmeralda and Fortune Red. Each will provide you with a printed fortune for one quarter. It's fun, and a great souvenir!
I do want to mention that having an
eTicket is quite convenient, especially if it's tied to your account in the
Disneyland mobile app. When it's time to scan into the park, you'll simply pull it up in the app and scan it. There's no need to worry about potentially misplacing your ticket. The app is useful for other reasons, too – use it to check wait times at various attractions, mobile order food, see when and where Characters can be spotted, check showtimes for the day, and more.
Bryan, I hope you and your girlfriend have a wonderful time at the Disneyland Resort. If you think of any other questions as you plan your trip, please reach out – we're always happy to help here at planDisney.
Wishing you magic,
Kriss