Opened in 2001, Disney California Adventure (DCA) is probably Disney’s most underrated theme park. It often gets overshadowed by Disneyland, but in my opinion it’s still a great theme park. It has one of the best themed areas Disney has ever made in Cars Land, as well as some of the most thrilling attractions Disney has ever created (Incredicoaster and Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission BREAKOUT). DCA has a lot of things to do and see, so how can you possibly structure your day so that you can do and see everything? Well that’s where this Disney California Adventure itinerary comes in.

Since I moved to Los Angeles over 4 years ago, I’ve spent over 75 days at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. In that time, I’ve learned a lot about how crowds at Disneyland and DCA behave. I’ve also learned a lot about how the rides operate, so I can confidently say that this Disney California Adventure itinerary is crafted to maximize your time and enjoyment at the park. Hopefully by the end of this post, you’ll have a better understanding of how to plan your day at DCA. 

Let’s get right to it, shall we?

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Introduction to the Park and Itinerary

DCA is a very different park now compared to when it first opened. Opening day DCA was small and underwhelming. Struggling with unattractive lands, bad rides, and frankly a lack of Disney magic, the park then went through one of the biggest park expansions ever. 

Buena Vista Street and Cars Land areas were added to the park, along with rides like The Little Mermaid and Silly Symphony Swings and shows like World of Color. Suddenly, DCA was one of the best Disney Parks in the world. 

Admittedly, it has declined a bit since then, with its California theme getting eroded by the infusion of IP into the park. Paradise Pier became Pixar Pier, A Bug’s Land became Avengers Campus, and Pacific Wharf became San Fransokyo Square. It’s beginning to lose its unique identity, but in my opinion it’s still vastly better now than it was at opening.

I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy countless visits to the park and I can say confidently that it is easier to do DCA in a day than it is to do Disneyland in a day. Its lower attraction count and smaller footprint help with this, plus the fact that it lacks rides that have a ride time longer than 5-7 minutes. DCA is also easier to do in a day without Lightning Lane Multi Pass than Disneyland. 

So that’s what this Disney California Adventure itinerary will focus on: how to have a good day at DCA without purchasing any of the Lightning Lane options. I will be making a separate itinerary that includes Lightning Lanes for those of you that want to use them, but this itinerary will assume that you won’t purchase the service. 

Lightning Lanes (and Why You Don’t Need It)

Lightning Lanes are Disney’s skip-the-line service that succeeded the Fastpass system that was implemented at Disney Parks since the 2000s. This new, paid system allows you to bypass a portion of the standby queue at select attractions in both DCA and Disneyland. 

While I admit that using Lightning Lanes can save you a lot of time, they are absolutely not necessary to have a good time at Disneyland or DCA. Sure, not using them will require you to do a bit more planning and be a lot more flexible, but there’s just so much to do at both parks that you will absolutely feel like you got your money’s worth even without doing everything. However, if you’ve got a list of things you absolutely need to do on your day at DCA, this itinerary will hopefully help you accomplish everything on your list. 

This Disney California Adventure itinerary will cover a day at the park without lightning lane. A separate itinerary post using Lightning Lane will be coming in the next few weeks. 

Ways to Skip the Line Without Lightning Lane Multi Pass

Now you might be thinking, how can I possibly do everything I want to do in a day without Lightning Lanes? Well, the good news is that there are a bunch of things you can do to make your day more efficient and maximize your time even without Lightning Lanes. 

The first thing you can do is get to the park early for rope drop and stay until the end of the night at park close. Rope drop is when you arrive at the park before the official park opening time so that you can hit the most popular rides in the morning before the crowds start to arrive. Park close is the opposite, meaning you stay till the crowds have left and hit the rides then when lines are shorter. Both are effective ways to get on rides with lower wait times.

Another way to bypass long standby lines is to use the Single Rider line. The Single Rider line is a line offered by some attractions that is separate from the Standby and Lightning Lane lines and is usually much shorter than the Standby line. When these attractions have seats for 1 person that are unoccupied, they will get people from the Single Rider line to fill those seats.

This means, however, that if you and your party decide to use the Single Rider line, your party will not ride together. Many attractions at DCA offer Single Rider lines, including Radiator Springs Racers, Web Slingers, Soarin Around the World, Grizzly River Run, Goofy’s Sky School, and Incredicoaster. 

Lastly, another way to skip the regular line for an attraction is to use a Buddy Pass. A Buddy Pass acts similarly to the single rider line except it is used by groups of 1-2 adults or 1 adult and 2 children. Cast members will pull groups from the Buddy Pass line to fill in vacant rows on ride vehicles. If your party is larger than 2 people, you will be split up accordingly and assigned separate ride vehicles. This is currently only offered at Monsters Inc: Mike and Sulley to the Rescue. 

How Early Entry Affects Visits

Early Entry is a perk given to Disneyland Resort Hotel guests where they get to enter either Disneyland or DCA 30 minutes before regular guests. Hotel guests have Early Entry to DCA on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, while Early Entry to Disneyland is on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. 

It should be noted that only some attractions will be open to Early Entry guests. At DCA, the list of attractions included in Early Entry is as follows: 

• Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission BREAKOUT
• Incredicoaster
• The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel’s Undersea Adventure
• Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree
• Monsters Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!
• Soarin’ Around the World
• WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure

Now you’re probably wondering how Early Entry might affect your plans if you decide to go to DCA on a day when Early Entry is happening. I will say, based on my experience, Early Entry shouldn’t affect your rope drop plan at all. There are only 3 Disney resort hotels, and not every guest will be going to DCA that day. And even if they do, there aren’t enough hotel guests arriving that early to influence the crowd patterns for rope drop. 

I wouldn’t change your plans and bend over backwards just to avoid Early Entry. You can still have a successful rope drop experience even with the Early Entry crowds. You just need to be more strategic, which hopefully this post can help with. 

Non-Ride Things to Note

There are a couple of non-ride things to take note of before we dive into the meat of this itinerary. 

World of Color Virtual Queue

If you want to watch World of Color, the best thing to do would be to get a World of Color Virtual Queue. They drop at 12nn each day and can be accessed via the Disneyland app. This itinerary will assume that you will get a virtual queue for World of Color at 12nn for the 9pm showing. 

You could of course do a Dining Package and get World of Color viewing that way, but normal guests will be seeing World of Color via the Virtual Queue system, so that’s what I’m going to use in this itinerary. 

Shows and Streetmosphere

This itinerary will include permanent shows such as Mickey’s Philharmagic, the Animation Academy, and whatever current parade is ongoing at DCA. It will not include any of the seasonal entertainment or streetmosphere shows, unless otherwise specified. If you want to see some of the streetmosphere entertainment, pause the itinerary and resume it once the show is done. 

Characters

This itinerary will also assume that you aren’t going to meet any characters throughout the day. Of course if you want to meet characters, you can always pause the itinerary, meet a couple of characters, and then continue on with your day. This Disney California Adventure itinerary was designed so that you could pause and start whenever you like, as long as you don’t pause it for longer than an hour. 

Dining

This itinerary has you eating at a quick service meal for lunch and either a quick service or table service meal for dinner. If you want to switch it up and eat at a table service meal for lunch and a quick service for dinner, or eat two table service meals, then you can do so! 

Height Requirements and Ride Info

I won’t dive too much into the ride specifics, height requirements, and other info as I already wrote two separate posts covering every ride and non-ride attraction in the park. Read my DCA Ride Ranking and DCA Ride and Attraction Guide for up to date info on every attraction at the park. 

Now that those things are all out of the way, let’s begin this itinerary!

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Disney California Adventure Itinerary

Arriving at Disney California Adventure

To start this Disney California Adventure Itinerary, you’re going to want to make sure you’re at the front gates of DCA by 7:15am. This is so that you can be at the front of the crowd for rope drop. If you’re arriving by car, make sure you’re at the Mickey and Friends parking structure or the Toy Story lot by at LEAST 6:45am. This gives you enough time to park, get through security, and make your way to the parks. 

If you’re staying at any of the hotels near Disneyland, be sure you’re out of your room with enough time to walk over to the parks and get through security. They should let you into the park close to 7:30am. Once you’re in California Adventure, make your way to the hub of the park and turn left to go to Hollywoodland. You should be at the front of the rope if all goes according to plan.

If you’re staying at any of the Disneyland Resort Hotels, make sure you’re at the gates (or by security if they haven’t let people in) by 7am in order to maximize your Early Entry time at the park. Since they let all guests in at 7:30am regardless if you’re staying at a Disney hotel or not, being at the back of the line when the parks open will eat up your Early Entry time, so it’s best to be there early.

Once you’re at the rope, set an alarm for 11:55pm. This will hopefully remind you to get the virtual queue for World of Color when it drops at 12pm. 

Rope Drop Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission BREAKOUT!

For this Disney California Adventure itinerary, we’re going to start at Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission BREAKOUT. This ride sometimes beats Radiator Springs Racers in terms of how long the queue can get. It routinely gets waits of longer than 90 minutes during the day, so getting on this one early is essential. Also, unlike Racers, there’s a larger chance this ride is operational to start the day, so in my opinion it is THE ride to rope drop at DCA. 

Once the rope drops, walk briskly to the ride entrance. You should be one of the first ones here. The ride is similar to Tower of Terror at Walt Disney World, and it actually used to be the Tower of Terror, but Disney reimagined it as a Guardians of the Galaxy attraction. In the ride, Rocket Racoon enlists your help to save his fellow Guardians of the Galaxy, who are being held captive by The Collector, whose fortress you are visiting. After a fun pre-show, you’re ushered into a Gantry Lift and your adventure to save the Guardians begins. It’s a Top 3 attraction at DCA and one I highly recommend everyone try out. 

Take note that this ride has an on-ride picture which happens when the doors are open and you can see the Disneyland Resort from above. This ride can also cause motion sickness. The ride rises as fast as it falls, and since it’s in almost complete darkness it can be hard to tell which way the ride is going if you’re not used to it. 

Save Avengers Campus on Web Slingers

Once you’re done with Guardians, make your way to the other Avengers Campus attraction on this Disney California Adventure itinerary: Web Slingers. At this point everyone should still be in line for Guardians or over by Radiator Springs Racers. So head on over to Web Slingers so you can ride it with minimal to no wait. 

The ride is a shooting ride similar to Toy Story Midway Mania, although with more advanced shooting technology. In the ride, you’re introduced to Peter Parker, who is conducting an Open House of WEB Technologies. During the open house, his inventions known as the Spider Bots get stuck on self-replication mode and soon threaten to overrun and destroy the entire Avengers Campus. Parker enlists the help of Spider-Man and the guests to help destroy the Spider-Bots. You’re loaded into a WEB Slinger Vehicle and soon your mission to save Avengers Campus begins. 

Unlike the other shooter rides, you’ll be working as a group to get rid of as many Spider-Bots as possible. You’ll be shooting webs in rooms themed to Pym Test Kitchen, the Collector’s Fortress (where you just were on the Guardians Ride), and the Quinjet helipad. You’re then assigned an individual score and a team score. I think my highest score ever was around 275,000 and my highest team score ever was a little over a million. The team scores are used for the rankings, so it’s best to work together to get a high score. 

Once you’re done, leave Avengers Campus and head to Pixar Pier to continue this Disney California Adventure itinerary. 

Play Games at Toy Story Midway Mania

We’re headed next to the other shooting attraction in the park, which means I’m really taking you on an arm workout this early in the morning. Make your way to Pixar Pier and head to Toy Story Midway Mania. This is another ride that gets consistent 50-minute waits throughout the day, so doing it early is a must. Plus its queue might look short but it’s actually a deceptively long wait.

This ride is themed to Toy Story and is, in my opinion, the best shooter ride in the resort. In the ride the Toy Story characters have set up some 3D carnival games for you to play. From a Rex and Trixie themed balloon popping game to a Buzz Lightyear themed ring toss (my personal favorite), the ride is really fun but also an insane arm workout just like Web Slingers. At the end your points are tallied, with most people scoring between 100K to 200K points. I’ve seen people score as high as 350K though. 

After you’re done, we’re going to head to another Pixar Pier attraction. 

Help Find Jack-Jack in Incredicoaster

Head on over to the Incredicoaster to continue this Disney California Adventure itinerary. This is probably the wildest ride in the park, so if you get motion sickness or don’t really ride roller coasters or thrill rides, you may want to sit this one out. You shouldn’t encounter a wait longer than 25 minutes at this point, which is good because this is another ride that usually gets 50 minute-long waits. 

The Incredicoaster is a, you guessed it, Incredibles themed coaster. In the ride, the Incredibles are being honored with a roller coaster built in their name. As guests ride the ride, however, Jack-Jack, the youngest member of the family, teleports away from Edna Mode. The rest of the Incredibles must now get Jack-Jack back to safety, and you see them try to accomplish this throughout the ride. It’s commendable that Disney was able to incorporate a story into a rollercoaster, and for the most part it succeeds.  

This ride is really fun and also makes great use of the Incredibles soundtrack, which adds to the ride’s appeal. There’s also an on-ride picture during this ride that happens after the bunny hills where you see the many, multiple Jack-Jacks. Once you’re done with the ride, head over to Paradise Gardens Park to ride the park’s other coaster. 

Learn How to Fly on Goofy’s Sky School

Head past Toy Story Midway Mania, past the Pixar Pal-Around, around the corner past Silly Symphony Swings and Jumpin Jellyfish to Goofy’s Sky School. There shouldn’t be a wait longer than 20 minutes as this ride usually only gets busy once rope drop is over.

In the ride, Goofy teaches you how to fly a plane. It’s based on the Goofy cartoon Goofy’s Glider and, let me tell you, this ride is as fun and terrifying as people say it is. The thrill doesn’t even come from the first big drop, it comes from the series of hairpin turns the coaster takes at the beginning of the ride. 

I swear it feels like you’re going to fly off every single time. And it does so like ten times in a row. As secure as those restraints are, I always get panicked every time I make one of those hairpin turns. I fear for my safety and my belongings, which honestly just adds to the fun. This is one ride that is sure to leave you with a huge smile on your face once it’s done, and it’s tame enough that even those afraid of rollercoasters can have a good time. Just note that it does have a big drop halfway through the ride that those who don’t like drops should know about beforehand. 

Go Under the Sea with The Little Mermaid

Next up we’re heading to The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure. This is my personal favorite dark ride in the park and, unfortunately, because it was added to the Lightning Lane system, lines can get pretty long in the middle of the day. I would recommend doing this right after Goofy’s Sky School so that you can ride it with a short wait. 

The ride basically re-tells the story of the Little Mermaid. You’d need to have seen the Little Mermaid beforehand to get the most out of the experience, but I think the story should be easy to understand. The main scenes of the ride coincide with specific musical moments in the movie. My favorite part of the ride has to be the Under the Sea section. I always say that that scene is going to go down as one of the best Disney dark ride scenes of all time. 

I won’t spoil too much in case you’re going for the first time, but this is definitely a park highlight for me and I always make sure I go on it when I’m at the park. At this point, it should be around 10-10:30am. Lines everywhere are going to start to balloon so we have got to quickly make our way to the next stop on this Disney California Adventure itinerary.

Soar with Soarin

Now we’re going to head back to the front of the park and into Grizzly Peak to ride Soarin. If the standby wait is 30 minutes or shorter, I would recommend you get in the standby line. At this point you’re on schedule so it should be fine. If it’s longer than 30 minutes though, I would head into the Single Rider line for it. Just tell the cast member at the front of the attraction that you want to use the Single Rider line and they’ll direct you to the Single Rider queue. 

Soarin is a flying theater attraction that will take you to the skies above famous world landmarks. It was THE standout opening day DCA attraction and is still insanely popular with guests today. It’s my second favorite attraction in DCA and it not only has one of the most iconic pre-shows of any Disney ride, but also has one of the most iconic musical scores of any Disney ride. This is a must-do so, if you want to do it more than once, I would recommend heading to that single rider line. 

Do note that this is technically a simulator, so if you get motion sickness from screen-based rides I would reconsider riding on this one. It is milder than other motion-based rides like Star Tours and Smugglers Run at Disneyland, but some people have reported getting sick on the ride so just be forewarned. 

Go on Grizzly River Run

After Soarin, it should be around 11am. This is the perfect time to go on Grizzly River Run! Just note that this is a water attraction and as such, you may (probably will) get soaked. Of course you can take precautions before riding to avoid getting wet, such as by wearing a poncho. If, however, you don’t like getting wet, you might want to skip this and head to the next part of this Disney California Adventure itinerary.

I recommend riding this ride now, though, so you have enough time to dry off after the ride. I personally don’t ride Grizzly River Run every visit because I don’t like the feeling of getting wet, but this is a ride where the line will just get longer the closer you get to 3pm. Once you’re off, it’s time for lunch! But you have to do something first. 

Get a World of Color Virtual Queue

Your alarm should’ve gone off at 11:55, which means it’s time to get a Virtual Queue for World of Color. Head to the Disneyland app, make sure everyone in your party is scanned into the park and that everyone’s tickets are all linked to your account, and head to the virtual queue section of the app, which you can find by scrolling down the main page. Then be sure to refresh when 12pm hits and quickly join the queue. If all goes according to plan, you should’ve gotten passes for the 9pm show. Now let’s head to lunch!

Have Lunch at San Fransokyo Square

My favorite place to have lunch is San Fransokyo Square. There are many different options here. I have two tips for eating here. First, book your meal through mobile order. You can do so by going to the app, picking the restaurants you want to eat at, then placing an order and paying through the app. By doing this, you avoid having to line up at the regular queues, which can take a while if you’re eating right at meal times. 

My second tip is that there’s a shaded seating area inside the bakery tour that the majority of guests don’t know about. Reserve a table here before picking up your food to avoid eating out in the sun. My personal favorites are the teriyaki chicken at Lucky Fortune Cookery and the birria tacos at Cocina Cucamonga. But anything from either of those two places or Aunt Cass Cafe is good! If you want to try more dishes, I would recommend going family style or eating here again for dinner. 

After you’re done, head to Hollywoodland to continue this Disney California Adventure itinerary.

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Head to Monstropolis in Monsters Inc. 

The next ride you’re going to go on is Monsters Inc. Mike and Sulley to the Rescue. Now the line for this should be around 45-60 minutes at this time, but we’re gonna use the Buddy Pass system that I explained to you earlier in this Disney California Adventure itinerary. 

To get a Buddy Pass, approach the cast member stationed at the entrance of the attraction and ask for one. Once given, you’ll be directed to the exit where you’ll be seated on the next available cab (assuming the Buddy Pass line is short or empty). 

The ride loosely follows the story of the movie Monsters Inc. It has some great moments, specifically the door factory scene at the end of the ride. However, it’s obviously showing its age and a lot of the animatronics and scenery seems a little dated. It’s still a fun ride though and, in my opinion, summarizes the movie more faithfully than the Little Mermaid dark ride does. 

Once you’re done, it’s time to head to my favorite part of DCA: Cars Land. 

Ride Mater’s and Luigi’s

Next we’re entering the legendary Cars Land! It really is amazing how closely the Imagineers recreated the town of Radiator Springs. First order of business is to ride Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree and Luigi’s Rollicking Roadsters. I would recommend riding Luigi’s first and then riding Mater’s. 

Both of these rides are flat rides and last about 90 seconds. They’re both really fun, but I prefer Mater’s to Luigi’s. If you only have time for one I would say skip Luigi’s and just do Mater’s. Luigi’s is a trackless ride where you board a car which then starts to spin and dance to the music in a choreographed sequence with the other cars around you. It’s fun, but it’s not the most exciting ride. If the line is longer than 20 minutes, I’d say you can skip it. 

Mater’s, on the other hand, is a flat ride where you board a tractor and then, similar to the teacups, get whipped and flung around three large turntables. It’s insanely fun, especially when riding with another person as you both slam into each other as the cars turn on the turntable. It’s an experience that has proven so popular that it has been replicated in other parks around the world. 

Once you’re done with both, or if you’ve decided to skip one or both of the attractions, head to the back of Cars Land to get on what I consider to be the best thing you’ll experience in this Disney California Adventure itinerary: Radiator Springs Racers. 

Race like Lightning McQueen at Radiator Springs Racers

For Radiator Springs, I would recommend using the Single Rider Line. It won’t be as long as the Standby queue and moves relatively fast, although at this time of day you’ll probably be waiting 20-30 minutes, which is a lot better than waiting 60-80 minutes. You won’t get a picture with your entire party, but you may end up racing against one another, which to me is more fun. 

In the ride you board a car and cruise around Ornament Valley. You encounter all your favorite characters from Cars before eventually gearing up for a race. I won’t spoil the ride as its best experienced without any spoilers, but it is by far the most fun ride at DCA. 

The highlight is, obviously, the race that happens at the end. At the end of the ride, you and another car compete in a race around Radiator Springs. There are steep banks, bunny hills, and enough of an adrenaline rush to make you want to ride it again, especially if you lost. 

This ride is really the most well-rounded experience in the park. It doesn’t have that much of a story given that you’re just preparing for a race for most of the ride, but I like that they added elements to contribute to the ride’s re-rideability. It’s also the perfect mix of dark ride and thrill ride and has several impressive animatronics. It’s by far my favorite attraction in the park, and judging by its wait times it’s a lot of people’s favorite as well.  

Once you’re done, head to the parade route to get a spot for the parade. 

Watch the Disney California Adventure Parade

I’m placing this here because parade times will differ per parade, so I can’t really estimate when in the itinerary the parade will be performed. But as a general tip, if the park is running a parade when you visit, I would recommend watching the second show. 

In terms of this itinerary, if you find that you’re done with the previous rides and it isn’t close to parade time, I would recommend doing some of the next attractions and then just staking out a spot when the parade performance gets nearer. Conversely, if you’re not done with the rides above and parade time is near, head to the parade route and delay riding the attractions until the parade is done. 

Be at the parade route 30 minutes before showtime to get a good spot, although you can pull up 15 minutes before and sometimes still get a great view. Once done, head to Hollywoodland to continue this Disney California Adventure Itinerary. 

Enter the World of Disney Movies at Mickey’s Philharmagic

Our next stop is back at Hollywoodland: Mickey’s Philharmagic. This 4-D theater experience follows Donald Duck as he accidentally blows up Mickey’s orchestra. As he tries to retrieve Mickey’s sorcerer hat in order to restore order to the concert, he goes through a montage of Disney and Pixar movies in his quest to retrieve the hat. Movies that are part of the show include The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, and Coco.

You shouldn’t wait longer than 15 minutes for the show, depending on the timing of when you get to the waiting area. Remember to sit in the middle of the theater for the best view and that screens all around you will come alive during the show. Be sure to look behind you right at the end of the show too for a fun surprise.

Once done with Mickey’s Philharmagic, head across the street to the Animation Building. 

Draw Characters at Animation Academy 

The animation building is one of my favorite spaces in the entire park. The large screens that show concept art as well as footage from different Disney and Pixar movies, accompanied by the music from those movies, gives me chills. There are also some other attractions you can do here, but the one I would recommend to you is the Animation Academy. 

In the Animation Academy, you get to draw your favorite Disney and Pixar characters. Head to the board by the entrance of the attraction to see the schedule of characters that are being drawn that day. If you’re not particular on what character you’d like to draw, then line up and wait for the next show. If there’s a particular character you want, leave and come back when that character is scheduled to be drawn. 

You’re given a piece of paper before entering the theater. You’re then seated in rows, which have boards and pencils on them. A cast member then takes the stage and starts drawing, which you can see and follow along with by looking at the screen that projects the cast member’s drawing. At the end you get to keep your drawing, which makes for a cool keepsake.

Once done, head back to Paradise Gardens Park and Pixar Pier to ride the smaller attractions over there. 

Ride Jumpin Jellyfish, Golden Zephyr, Silly Symphony Swings, Inside Out: Emotional Whirlwind, the Pixar Pal-A-Round, and Jessie’s Critter Carousel

I will say that some or all of these rides might not appeal to you as they’re all flat rides that, while mostly well-themed, are basically versions of off-the-shelf rides you can find in amusement parks. Their waits never usually balloon longer than 20 minutes, with the exception of the Pixar Pal-A-Round and the Inside Out ride, which is why I’m saving them for now. If none of these rides interest you, feel free to jump to the next part of this Disney California Adventure Itinerary.

Starting from near Little Mermaid, the first ride you’ll encounter is Golden Zephyr. It’s a swinging ride where you ride on these large vehicles called Zephyrs and fly out above Paradise Gardens Park. The next ride you’ll see is Jumpin Jellyfish. This ride is like a very VERY mild version of Tower of Terror where you board Jellyfish and then gently go up and down on these kelp towers. 

Silly Symphony Swings is the next ride in this area. It’s a swing spinner attraction that is themed to the Mickey Mouse cartoon The Band Concert. This is probably the best of the five attractions, mostly because it actually has a story, whereas the others don’t. I do get motion sickness when riding it though so I wouldn’t recommend it if you have a tendency to get sick on spinning rides. 

Next is Inside Out: Emotional Whirlwind. This is your standard hot air balloon spinning attraction that is elevated by its Inside Out theming. It’s a simple ride, and if you’ve ridden similar rides before I wouldn’t recommend going on it. 

Next is probably the one ride I would recommend you ride among all the rides on this portion of the Disney California Adventure Itinerary: the Pixar Pal-A-Round. This is a ferris wheel, but it’s unlike other ferris wheels out there. 2/3rds of the gondolas are on a track that causes the gondola to swing rather violently as the ride makes a full revolution. Suffice to say, it’s not for the faint of heart. It’s the only ride in the resort that has barf bags inside for guests who get motion sickness. But don’t worry, there are non-swinging gondolas for those like me who would get sick on the swinging gondolas. 

The last ride is Jessie’s Critter Carousel. This is a carousel that, instead of horses, you ride on desert critters, with some of them even facing backwards, adding some uniqueness to the ride. It’s still, however, just a carousel, so if they’re not your thing you can skip it.  

Re-Do Your Favorites

Next up, you should have about 2-3 hours before your 9pm showing of World of Color, which means it’s now time to re-do your favorites! Remember that Radiator Springs Racers, Soarin Around the World, Goofy’s Sky School, Grizzly River Run, Web Slingers, and Incredicoaster all have single rider lines that you can utilize, while Monsters Inc has the buddy pass. 

Little Mermaid and Toy Story Midway Mania don’t have either of those, so if their lines are long I wouldn’t suggest riding them again. As for Guardians of the Galaxy, I will save that for the end of the night if you want to ride it again. 

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Eat at Dinner 

At around 7pm, I would recommend getting a mobile order for dinner. You can eat at San Fransokyo again if there’s food you still want to try, but if not I would recommend eating at Smokejumpers at Grizzly Peak, Flo’s V8 Cafe at Cars Land, or you could even get a walk-in seating at any of the sit-down restaurants in the park. Whatever you choose to do, be sure you’re done by 8pm so you have enough time to get to the viewing area for World of Color. 

Watch World of Color

At around 7:45pm-8pm, enter the yellow entrance of World of Color, which is beside the Golden Zephyr. Walk as close to the middle of the area as possible, and stake out a spot there for the show. You can sit on the ground until about 8:45 when they’ll ask you all to stand up. The show should be about 20-30 minutes long depending on which show is playing, so be prepared for that.

I would recommend going to the bathroom before heading to the viewing area. Take note that you may get wet so come with ponchos if that’s a concern. While you’ll mostly just get a light spritz, I have experienced it where I got absolutely soaked. So your mileage may vary. 

World of Color is a light, fountain, and projection show. Depending on when you visit, different versions of World of Color may be playing. At Christmas they usually play World of Color: Season of Light, while for the 70th anniversary they should be playing World of Color: Happiness. Whatever is playing, you’re in for a treat. This is like the Bellagio fountain show on steroids.

The fountains can shoot water up so high it surpases the height of the Pixar Pal-A-Round. You’ll also see fire effects during the show, along with light effects on the Pixar Pal-A-Round and Incredicoaster. It’s a beautiful show, and can (probably will) move you to tears. It’s the second best attraction in the park after Radiator Springs Racers, and deservedly so. 

Once the show finishes at 9:30, you have 30 minutes of park time left. So head on over to Avengers Campus to ride the last thing on this Disney California Adventure Itinerary.

Get in line for Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission BREAKOUT Again

For your last ride of the night, I recommend lining up for Mission: BREAKOUT again. At this point the line should move quickly even though it may say the wait time is long, mostly because there should be barely any Lightning Lane users in the Lightning Lane queue at this point. Once you’ve ridden and gotten off the ride, pat yourself on the back as you just conquered Disney California Adventure. 

End the Night with Shopping and 1-Day Disney California Adventure Itinerary Conclusion

End your night by perusing through Buena Vista Street. Snag a shirt or sweater, get some ears, or buy anything else you want to commemorate your visit. Then head out of the park and towards the appropriate shuttle area and head back to your car or hotel. 

And that ends one successful day at DCA! Did you like this Disney California Adventure Itinerary? If you did, share it with someone you know is going to DCA!

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