Our One-Day California Adventure Itinerary offers an excellent and efficient plan to spend a day exploring Disneyland’s sister park. From racing around Radiator Springs or soaring around the world, this itinerary will allow you to experience everything that California Adventure has to offer.
We highly recommend spending three days at the Disneyland Resort, with one day dedicated to each park and saving the third day for anything you might have missed. However, if you only have one day to spend at the park, then this itinerary is for you.
Additionally, if money is no object, we recommend staying onsite at the Disneyland Hotel. This is our absolute favorite hotel on property and allows you easy access to the parks and Extra Magic Hours in the morning.
To begin this itinerary, we need you in front of California Adventure thirty minutes before the scheduled park opening. If the park opens at 8AM, be in front of California Adventure by 7:30AM. Or if the park opens at 9AM, be in front of the park by 8:30AM. To ensure maximum efficiency, you MUST be ready to go thirty minutes in advance.
California Adventure, like Disneyland, “unofficially” opens the park gates thirty minutes before scheduled opening to allow guests to roam Buena Vista Street and shop. All attractions and shows will be off limits until the scheduled opening. But this allows for one massive perk, Fast Pass selection. But how can one select Fast Passes if they cannot walk to the attractions?
The answer? Disney Max Pass. If you only have one day at California Adventure, pay for Disney Max Pass. For $15/day per person, you can select your Fast Pass selections from your phone via the official Disneyland app.
Rather than physically walking to the ride and burning up a huge amount of time, you can just pull out your phone and pick your next Fast Pass in seconds. It’s easily worth the extra $15. Plus, it also includes unlimited PhotoPass downloads.
Trust us, buy Disney Max Pass. Pull up the app and it will have an option to purchase. Just do it. Don’t think about it. You won’t regret it.
With Disney Max Pass, you can pick your Fast Pass selections as soon as your ticket is scanned and you are in the park. And if you enter the park at 7:30AM, you can start picking Fast Passes.
For those without Disney Max Pass, they will have to wait till park opening, then walk to the ride and THEN scan their ticket for a Fast Pass. By the time they scan their ticket, you are already on the ride and picking your next one. Again, add Disney Max Pass. Just do it.
Once you are in the park, here is a list of what to do…
Morning: E-Ticket Attractions
First thing you want to do is tackle the more popular E-Ticket rides. “E-Ticket” is Disney speak for the big-name attractions, like Radiator Springs Racers or Soarin’ Round the World. In the morning, we want to knock these attractions out of the way first before they become too crowded. The morning is the perfect opportunity to ride these attractions.
Once your ticket is scanned, pull out your phone and Disney Max Pass to select a Fast Pass for Radiator Springs Racer. Radiator Springs is California Adventure’s most popular attraction. The attraction opened in 2012 with the opening of Car’s Land. It has consistently remained not only California Adventure’s most popular attraction, but one of the most popular at the entire resort.
Radiator Springs usually has a standby wait time of over an hour every day. Its Fast Passes run out early so best course of action is to use Max Pass in the morning right when you walk in to grab this highly popular Fast Pass. With this strategy, you should have a Fast Pass return time of around 8:30AM – 9:30AM (we are assuming the park opens at 8AM).
Once you collect the Radiator Springs Racer Fast Pass, go back to the menu to select a Fast Pass for World of Color, California Adventure’s nighttime show. You can collect this Fast Pass even with a Fast Pass for another attraction, as they are not linked. Remember to do this first thing in the morning as World of Color Fast Passes run out by the afternoon.
Once you collect you Fast Passes, walk down Buena Vista Street and take a left towards Hollywoodland. Walk to the end of the street to the rope. Wait here until 8AM when they drop rope. Once the park officially opens head around the corner and walk right on to Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout!
Guardians of the Galaxy replaced the Tower of Terror attraction in 2017. The attraction is fundamentally the same. It still boards guest onto an elevator and lifts them up and down a number of times.
However, thematically it changed with a new story. Now, guests are being recruited by Rocket from Guardians of the Galaxy to help break out the other guardians.
We were skeptical at first of this retheme, but we enjoy it much more than the Tower of Terror. The attraction operates at a quicker pace, its more lively and is different each time you ride. How many times you lift up and down and the music during your ride through change each time.
At this time in the morning, it should have a 10-15 minute wait, at most. Once inside the building, you’ll see the Guardians on the big screen along with props from the Marvel movies before entering a preshow area. After the preshow, there will be another line before you board the attraction.
Enjoy the attraction and once you are off, it will be time to collect your next Fast Pass. We recommend scoring a Fast Pass for Soarin’ Around the World. Use your app and Disney Max Pass to collect this Fast Pass and walk over towards Car’s Land for Radiator Springs Racers!
Once you enter Car’s Land, it will be time to redeem your Radiator Springs Racers Fast Pass. The attraction is located at the very back to the right. Once you see the entrance, pull out phone, scan your Fast Pass and walk down the Fast Pass line.
Once you reach the end of the line, it should be about another ten minutes before you board. Go through the second line area, board your car and enjoy!
The attraction is a lot like Test Track from EPCOT, but themed to the movie Cars. It’s a lot of fun. We recommend you make a bet with your party to see if the car will be repainted or refitted with new tires. Loser buys a beer, or a churro.
After Radiator Springs, pull out your phone and select your next Fast Pass for Toy Story Midway Mania! This should be your last Fast Pass before lunch. With your Fast Pass selected, it’s time to redeem your Fast Pass for Soarin Around the World.
Walk back towards Buena Vista Street, marvel at the construction of Avenger’s Campus and take a left into Grizzly Peak. From here, it’s short walk onto Soarin. Scan your Fast Pass and head inside the show building.
Although you have a Fast Pass, Soarin still takes forever. At this time, I would estimate it will be about 30 minutes from the time you scan your Fast Pass until the time you leave the ride. And cell phone signal sucks inside. Thankfully, it’s a fun attraction.
Once you finish Soarin, walk towards Toy Story Midway Mania if it’s time to redeem your Fast Pass. If you still have plenty of time before the Fast Pass expires, use the extra time to ride the Incredicoaster.
Both attractions are right next to each other. Hopefully you have 40 minutes or more before Toy Story Mania expires, which is plenty of time to ride the Incredicoaster. But if not, we’ll save it for after lunch.
Let’s assume you do not have time. Walk onto Toy Story Midway Mania in Pixar Pier. The attraction is great and interactive. Guests “shoot” various objects with a gun on their ride vehicle. Don’t worry, it’s a video game. Score is tracked and loser buys a beer, or a churro.
Once you finish, it’s time to eat. For lunch, we recommend a couple places.
Afternoon: Lunch and Relaxation
California Adventure has a superior dining lineup compared to Disneyland. Plus, alcohol is served in California Adventure. For lunch we recommend the following:
- Lamplight Lounge
- Carthay Circle Lounge
Lamplight is our favorite dining location for lunch in California Adventure. Located on Pixar Pier, it’s a stone throw away from Toy Story Mania and the Incredicoaster (See our full review of Lamplight Lounge HERE).
Themed to all things Pixar, the restaurant serves great drinks and great food. It is very popular and reservations are highly recommended. Reservations can be made 60 days in advance via the Disneyland app. And if you couldn’t score a reservation, it does have standby seating and an area without reservations. Best thing to do is to ask the host stand for all your available options.
Carthay Circle is another excellent option. Located at the end of Buena Vista Street, Carthay Circle is California Adventure’s signature dining location. The restaurant is open for lunch and reservations are highly recommended. But, the downstairs area has a first come first serve lounge that serves excellent food and drinks.
It is also all inside with nice cozy chairs to rest and relax. The lounge is also very popular and small with limited seating. It’s best to arrive before opening time to score a spot in line. Lastly, if you want to escape the parks for awhile, we recommend our favorite bar, Trader Sam’s at the Disneyland Hotel.
For more information, check out our review of Trader Sam’s HERE. And for a quick summary for Carthay Circle and Lamplight, check out my post of the best place to eat at Disneyland HERE.
Once you finish lunch, we recommend you knock out the Incredicoaster, if you didn’t already. Hopefully you grabbed a Fast Pass after Toy Story Midway Mania. If you didn’t, no worries. You can grab one now for later or wait in standby. Standby moves fast and is usually around 30-45 minutes at most.
Once you finish with the Incredicoaster, you’ve ridden all the major attractions at California Adventure. The last big attraction is Grizzly River Run, a wet raft ride. It’s okay. If it’s cold, skip it. If it’s hot, it’s a little bit more fun. You’re call but Stella and I barely ride it.
Since you rode all the major attractions, use Max Pass to score Fast Passes for attractions you already rode. I would pull out my phone and just pick Fast Passes for attractions that are available.
You can also ride the Little Mermaid attraction and the Monster’s Inc attraction. Both aren’t anything to write home about, but they are good to burn some time.
Also, in Hollywoodland, Mickey’s Philharmagic recently opened. It’s a replica of the show at Magic Kingdom and it’s good to burn time in the shade. Plus they allow you to drink your beer during the show!
Evening: Dinner and World of Color
If you followed my above recommendations, it will now be evening. You’ve ridden every attraction, maybe met some characters and enjoyed the ambiance of the park.
For the evening activities, we recommend finding a place to sit down and have dinner. Carthay Circle offers an excellent, albeit pricey, dinner (reservations recommended). Or leave the park and check out Downtown Disney or the resort hotels. Again, reference my post HERE for the best places to eat.
Once you finish dinner, head back to the park and use Max Pass for any rerides, if any Fast Passes are still available. If not, its fun to walk down Pixar Pier in the dark and see all the lights.
World of Color starts at 10PM, with your Fast Pass return time at 9:30PM. Plan to arrive at 9:30PM so you can grab a great view of the show without anyone in front. The show is fantastic and is not to be missed. This show helped save California Adventure back when the park was struggling.
At 10PM, sit back and relax as Disney music and colorful water fountains dance along the pier. Once the show is over, the park is officially closed and it’s time to head back to your hotel or drive back home. And just like that, you won the day.
Conclusion
California Adventure is a small park, like Hollywood Studios in Florida. Unlike Disneyland, it’s entirely possible to see most of the park by the afternoon. And Disney Max Pass makes it even easier.
If you use Max Pass to select Fast Passes for the major attractions in the morning, you’ll be set and ride every attraction with ease. And after lunch, you can continue to use Max Pass to reride these attractions.
But, the park isn’t just about attractions. During breaks, use that time to take pictures, find characters and sample snacks. The Karl Strauss beer cart in Pacific Wharf offers a great selection of craft beer and Pixar Pier has some great places for snacks.
Hollywoodland hosts the Frozen show at the Hyperion Theater. If your schedule allows, we recommend viewing this show, especially if you’ve never seen it. Fast Passes and showtimes can be found in the official Disneyland app.
Once it’s the evening, use that time to eat and enjoy a nice cocktail. It’s time to reward yourself after a long day in the park. Unless you are eating at Carthay Circle, we recommend leaving the park and grabbing a drink in Downtown Disney or a resort hotel.
Personally, we walk to the Disneyland Hotel and grab a drink at Trader Sam’s (if it’s not busy) or the Lounge at Steakhouse 55. We love the Disneyland Hotel, its ambiance and dining selections.
Both bars offer food and we usually eat there before heading back to the park. Plus, it gives us time to relax inside and away from the crowds found at the parks. Please read our review of the Disneyland Hotel HERE for more information.
After we eat, we head back to the park. If it’s still early, we may ride another attraction (Guardians is fun at night) or grab ice cream at the Pacific Wharf. Either way, we aren’t running around anymore, just enjoying each other’s company.
At 9:30PM, we redeem our World of Color Fast Pass and enjoy the show at 10PM. Then it’s time to make the short drive home.
Thoughts?
We hope you enjoyed our one-day itinerary for California Adventure. Our hope is this itinerary will make your day at California Adventure as painless and as fun as possible. Please read our review of Lamplight Lounge HERE and check out our Disneyland One-Day Itinerary HERE!
What is your favorite attraction? Highest score at Toy Story Midway Mania? Beer or churro? Let us know in the comments below! Thanks for reading!
