Disneyland Planning: "Extra Magic Hours" vs. "Magic Morning"

Talk about a steep learning curve. . .  Last night I put pencil to paper, actually cursor to excel spread sheet, to map out which park on which days and what restaurants on what days for our summer 2015 Disneyland vacation.  I’m experiencing a few bumps, but we’ll get there!

Park hours and calendars for Walt Disney World are released about 6 ½ months out.  While the park hours typically expand to accommodate fluctuations in guest population, assignment of “extra magic hours” typically does not change once the park calendars are released.  At Disneyland, the park calendar is available for two months (or less!).  Being that yesterday was February 1, I could see the months of February and March.  The good news is that “extra magic hours” which are only for the mornings, are always on the same days for the two parks—Disneyland’s extra magic hours are Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, while Disney’s California Adventure are Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.  I can work with that information for planning purposes regardless of what time the park opens/closes.

But then, I bumped into “Magic Morning” and it was listed only for Disneyland, not California Adventure, and it was on the same days as “extra magic hours”.  At this point I was confused.  The tickets we purchased had “Magic Morning” listed as a benefit but what was the difference between “Magic Morning” and “extra magic hours” which were also in the morning?

I consulted the PassPorter message forums.  After posing my question in the Disneyland/Southern California portion of the boards, I got a speedy and coherent reply.  Thanks, PassPorter!

Magic Mornings are for guests with a 3+ day ticket, are only for Disneyland, and can only be used once per ticket.  This is for guests who are staying at “good neighbor” hotels, or off property.  And, yes, they are the same mornings as the “extra magic hours.”

Extra Magic Hours are for guest staying on-site at one of the three Disneyland resort hotels:  Grand Californian, Disneyland Hotel, or Paradise Pier.  The “extra magic hours” include both parks, on different mornings, of course, and offer an unlimited access to “extra magic hours” as compared to the one-time benefit for Magic Mornings.

Got it!  Since we are staying on-site, first at the Disneyland Hotel and next at Paradise Pier, we can take advantage of “extra magic hours” on all the days of our stay at the designated park. 

Still learning!  But it does make sense why some guests are confused or may not take advantage of all that is offered.