Hey there, Nora - thank so much for stopping by planDisney. From one Arizonan to another, I'm thrilled to hear you're planning a trip "next door" to the
Disneyland Resort!
I'm so glad that you reached out as well, because you do need both a park reservation and a valid ticket to enter either of the parks on a given date. This means that, if you see online that there are no available reservations for a given date, then you would not be able to instead purchase a ticket at the gate on that date to enter the parks.
As you're planning for your trip, the best place to look is the
Park Ticket Availability Calendar to see what dates are available for each park. Luckily, it's looking that most of this month is still very open for reservations! This happens to be a perfect month to visit the Disneyland Resort since the parks can often feel a bit lighter at the start of the year. Also, the new
Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway attraction opens on January 27! This ride is already open at the Walt Disney World Resort, and while I haven't had a chance to ride it over there, yet, I've heard it is so fun.
Thank you again for your question, Nora! Please come back and visit us if there are other questions we can answer that would help make your vacation even more magical.
Have a Magical Day!
Greg