If you only have one day to spend at Disneyland and California Adventure then you need to know how to prioritize your time so you don't miss any of the top rides at either park. Though we highly recommend visiting Disneyland for more than one day, this is our top highlights itinerary to see both theme parks at the Disneyland Resort in one day.
Which rides are the ones you can skip? Which Disneyland rides are best? This Disneyland & California Adventure 1-day itinerary answers all those questions plus prepare you on how to rope drop, use Lightning Lane Multi Pass, and park hop. Keep reading for our detailed Disneyland & California Adventure 1-day itinerary.
While you can jam the highlights of the Disneyland Resort into one day, we recommend that you visit Disneyland for longer in our answer to – how many days do you need for a Disneyland trip? See our Disneyland 3-Day itinerary with Lightning Lane Multi Pass for the best guidance on how to get to all of the major attractions and experiences during a multi-day trip.
If you are considering spending a full day at one park, you can read our comparison of Disneyland vs. California Adventure for everything you need to know about what each park has to offer.
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Before I jump into the essential Disneyland & California Adventure 1-day itinerary, there are some steps you should take to prepare for your day at Disney before you arrive!
Before you arrive at Disneyland, first you need to download the Disneyland app and become familiar with it. This app gives guests the most accurate wait times for rides plus this is how you will use Lightning Lane Multi Pass (more on this below) to skip the long lines. You can also link your park tickets to it, make dining reservations and mobile order food.
Take a look at the layout of each park on the app so you have a rough idea of where you are going once you enter!
Lightning Lane Multi Pass is an option that Disney offers for guests to skip long lines for popular attractions. The most popular rides in the park have two separate lines: a standby line and a Lightning Lane line. The Lightning Lane lines are far shorter since only guests with Lightning Lane Multi Pass or disabilities have access to them. The Lightning Lane wait times rarely exceed 15-20 minutes and at times, are walk on! The standby lines any guest can join and these lines can easily exceed an hour or more.
Guests with Disabilities- To read more about how to navigate Disneyland with disabilities, read our guide to Disneyland's disability service.
If guests want to access the Lightning Lanes, then they need to purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass which starts at $30 per person, per day. If you only have one day to spend at Disneyland then this service is absolutely worth it so you can see MORE in your day and spend less time in line. After purchasing the service, you use the Disneyland app to pick which rides you want to use Lightning Lane Multi Pass as you go through your day. There are limitations to this service- you can only book a new ride reservation once you've used your previous one or after two hours have passed. So this is why some planning is still required to make sure you see everything in one day!
We have a thorough guide to Lightning Lane Multi Pass based on days of testing out the service that is a MUST READ as you get ready for your Disneyland trip. Read the Lightning Lane Multi Pass tips included in that guide so you are prepared to tackle our Disneyland & California Adventure 1-day itinerary.
Lightning Lane Single Pass Rides! There are two rides at Disneyland and California Adventure that are not included in the general Lightning Lane Multi Pass price and have to be purchased separately if guests want to experience them. These two rides are also two of the best rides in the entire theme park so you may want to consider splurging on purchases for these rides. These attractions also offer a regular standby queue if you do not want to pay the extra cost and are willing to wait! Right now, these two Lightning Lane Single Pass attractions are Rise of the Resistance at Disneyland and Radiator Springs Racers at California Adventure. I will incorporate them into our strategy below with the assumption that you will NOT be purchasing access to them but if you decide it's worth it, it might make your day easier! Access to these Lightning Lanes for these two rides averages about $15-20 per person.
Lightning Lane Multi Pass Reservations WILL Run Out for Popular Rides!
The most popular Lightning Lane Multi Pass attractions will run out of available reservation times which is why my itinerary tries to prioritize those before the other options. Here are the top three rides ranked in order of popularity for Lightning Lane Multi Pass reservations in both parks:
Disneyland
California Adventure
You'll see how in my itinerary below, I recommend using Lightning Lane Multi Pass on these rides first so you don't risk them running out.
Rope drop is the term for when guests arrive at the theme park before opening and line up around the park to wait for the official opening music and this is when the ropes blocking guests from entering the full park are then dropped. If you are one of the first groups positioned at these ropes before the park opens then you can essentially walk right on to an attraction. To arrive in time for Disneyland rope drop, guests should be lined up at the front gates at least 45 minutes to one hour before official park opening. Disneyland cast members will start scanning tickets about 30 minutes prior to park opening and let guests in the park so they can line up near the ropes or just hang out on Main Street, U.S.A. before they start their day.
Early Entry for Disneyland Resort Guests! Guests staying at Disneyland Resort hotels are allowed to access select attractions 30 minutes prior to park opening giving those guests an advantage for some popular attractions. Read more about early entry and our advice on what you should prioritize during that 30 minutes if you have it in our Disneyland Early Entry guide!
What day should you visit Disneyland? If you have some flexibility in your choice, pick a weekend when park hours are longer and fireworks are guaranteed to make the most of your time. Disneyland's operating hours on weekends average an opening time of 8AM with a closing time as late as 11PM or midnight. Fireworks are only shown on weekends (Friday through Sunday) during Spring and Fall so this is also a good way to guarantee you will see the fireworks. Weekends are also less busy since most local annual passholders (called Magic Key holders) are blocked out from visiting so contrary to popular belief, you may even experience lower crowds on a weekend too.
Aside from the top attractions that I will cover in our Disneyland & California Adventure 1-day itinerary, there are also plenty of entertainment options at Disneyland to enjoy. So before you start following my Disneyland & California Adventure 1-day itinerary, it's helpful to think about what Disneyland entertainment you want to see!
There are three different entertainment options offered year-round at Disneyland: stage shows, parades, and fireworks. The time of year you visit will impact your entertainment options greatly. If you are visiting during the Disneyland Halloween season, the fireworks at Disneyland will be Halloween themed while the ticketed Halloween party, Oogie Boogie Bash, will feature an exclusive parade. During Disneyland Christmas, there is a seasonal Christmas parade (my favorite Disneyland parade!) and a holiday fireworks show. If you are visiting any other time of year, then you may want to check our Disneyland parade and Disneyland fireworks guide to see which show you can expect!
As for stage shows, there are a few that are offered around the parks year-round like A Tale of the Lion King. Cruise the Disneyland website entertainment schedule for your park day and see what is offered and if you'd like to add that to your day. Or if you want to focus all on rides, that is just fine too!
Now that we've covered all the basics, let's dig into my Disneyland & California Adventure 1-day itinerary!
In my Disneyland & California Adventure 1-day itinerary I recommend that you start your morning at Disneyland, park hop to California Adventure for the afternoon, and then park hop back to Disneyland for the fireworks!
You will need to purchase a Disneyland park hopper ticket to be able to do this and you will need to make a reservation for Disneyland. You do not need a California Adventure reservation to park hop! You can park hop after 11AM so my itinerary keeps those rules in mind.
Disneyland and California Adventure are located right next to each other- literally, a few-minute stroll! That's what makes it so much easier to do both in one day.
Arrive at Disneyland early enough to rope drop (at least 45 minutes prior to park opening) and line up facing Adventureland.
By this point, it should be around 10 a.m., and you have finished most of the best rides in the park! The key to accomplishing that is to move through these plans swiftly to take advantage of the lowest wait times in the morning which is the first two hours of park opening. You can move more leisurely through our itinerary after lunch, the morning is more fast-paced!
This would be a good time to break for lunch. Pick one of our top favorite dining locations from our best Disneyland restaurants list to enjoy lunch! Some of these require reservations so if you decide to pick one of these options do not forget to reserve your spot! You should aim to be eating lunch around 1130-noon.
Once you've finished with lunch, it's time to tackle the rides in California Adventure as the next part of our Disneyland & California Adventure 1-Day Itinerary!
Park hop to California Adventure! You may have done this already if you've chosen to eat lunch in this park vs. Disneyland.
Radiator Springs Racers is the MUST DO ride in this park but is only available for separate purchase with Lightning Lane Single Pass. I do feel the cost is worth it to skip the long line so if you are willing to pay, reserve it for sometime after 1PM.
By this point, the park will be crowded and most lines will be long. As you're waiting for your Lightning Lane reservations to redeem, pull up the Disneyland app to see which lines have low wait times. Look at rides around Pixar Pier first, most of these tend to have more manageable wait times. You can also look at the two smaller attractions in Cars Land which may also have more reasonable wait times. Avengers Campus is also packed full of shows and characters throughout the day so this is also a great area to enjoy while waiting to redeem your ride reservations.
This is where the itinerary gets a bit more flexible but keep in mind Lightning Lane Multi Pass reservations can run out which is why I've given you this order to follow to book the most popular ones first!
If you want to do BOTH Toy Story Midway Mania or WEB Slingers, keep in mind that both are popular for Lightning Lane Multi Pass reservations and you may tie up your ability to use Lightning Lane Multi Pass if you do both. I recommend picking just one for efficiency!
Can Not Skip Rides California Adventure
It can be tricky to give you a point-by-point timeline for California Adventure as Lightning Lane Multi Pass return times become a bit more unpredictable in the afternoon. If you follow my path above or tackle things in your own order, here are the can't skip rides in this park:
You can choose to stay in California Adventure for dinner- Cars Land is a great place for quick-service options that are quick, and affordable and offer great theming! The theme of Cars Land is the best in this park.
Once you've finished tackling the rides above, whether you followed my order or deviated a bit, it's time to head back to Disneyland to complete our Disneyland & California Adventure 1-Day Itinerary!
Park hop back over to Disneyland for the fireworks and the not-miss rides in this park that tend to have lower waits towards the end of the day and dinner. Watching the Disneyland fireworks is essential for our Disneyland & California Adventure 1-Day Itinerary!
The Disneyland fireworks usually start at 9:30PM and I suggest watching them in front of it's a small world so you spend minimal time waiting for a good spot. You can show up in this area by 9PM and still get a great view. Once the fireworks end, head to Fantasyland to finish off your day with the historic rides in this area of the park!
Fantasyland has a few great attractions that are great for kids and those who love historic Disney attractions. My favorites are Peter Pan's Flight, Snow White's Enchanted Wish, Storybook Land Canal Boats, and Alice in Wonderland. This is also the area that has the teacups! Storybook Land Canal Boats is pure Disney magic after dark, this would be a perfect ride to end a perfect day with at Disneyland.
The Fantasyland rides will have the lowest wait times of the night AFTER the fireworks so if you plan on staying late, hit these rides once the fireworks end to complete your night at Disneyland. Most of them, aside from Peter Pan's Flight, will be walk-ons!
Save your shopping for the end of the day as the stores on Main Street, U.S.A. will stay open for an hour after the official park closing! This is the best time to do your shopping as it won't cut into your park time and you do not need to worry about carrying your purchases around the park.
Anything else you'd like to see in our Disneyland & California Adventure 1-Day Itinerary? Questions about how to tackle both theme parks at Disneyland in a day? Ask in the comments!
There is always a lot of information to consider before planning a Disneyland vacation. Make sure to spend time planning your days in the theme parks and become familiar with everything Disneyland has to offer. Don’t forget to subscribe to our FREE Deals Newsletter to stay on top of the current planning tips, strategies, and deals.
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