Disney California Adventure (DCA) has really grown into its own after its abysmal debut over 24 years ago. The park initially opened with a lackluster slate of attractions and ugly themed spaces, before getting a billion dollar refresh that turned it into one of Disney’s most thematically cohesive and interesting parks. Since then, the theme has eroded little by little, but DCA remains a fun and enjoyable park to visit. But how should you structure your day to ensure you do everything in the park in a day? That’s where this Disney California Adventure Itinerary with Lightning Lane comes in!

This itinerary was designed to help you maximize the use of Disney’s Lightning Lane system at Disney California Adventure. While I believe this should still be a free service, it seems like the Lightning Lane system is here to stay, so we might as well do what we can to maximize our use of it. I will admit though that the Lightning Lane system does improve on the old Fastpass system in some ways, which will be discussed below.

So if you only have one day at DCA and want to make sure you do everything there is to do in the park, then continue reading to find out how to best maximize your day at DCA. 

Buy Disneyland Tickets Here

Buy Walt Disney World Tickets Here

Buy Tokyo Disneyland Tickets Here​

Buy Disneyland Paris Tickets Here

​Buy Hong Kong Disneyland Tickets Here

Buy Shanghai Disneyland Tickets Here

Like me on Facebook at The Disney Specialist, and follow me on Instagram / Twitter / Tiktok!

This post contains affiliate links. We receive a small commission for purchases made after clicking on these links at no extra cost to you.

Check out these helpful posts to plan your Disneyland trip!

• DCA Ride Ranking
• Disneyland Ride Ranking
• DCA Ride and Attraction Guide
• Disneyland Ride and Attraction Guide
• Best Times to Visit Disneyland
• Disneyland Lightning Lane Guide
• Disneyland Early Entry Guide
• DCA Rope Drop Guide and Strategy
• 1-Day DCA Itinerary
• 1-Day DCA Itinerary with Lightning Lane
• How Many Days to Visit Disneyland

Klook.com

Introduction to the Park and Itinerary

If you visited DCA when it first opened in 2001, you probably wouldn’t even recognize the park. 

DCA was underwhelming on opening day. Featuring disjoined lands, lackluster rides, and a dearth of Disney Magic, the park then underwent a ginormous reimagining in order to fix the problems that have plagued it since opening day. 

The biggest introductions were that of Buena Vista Street and Cars Land, with other rides and attractions like World of Color, Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure, and Toy Story Midway Mania also debuting in an effort to round out the park. Suddenly, Disney California Adventure became a proper Disney Park, with a great assortment of rides and attractions that gave the park its own unique identity. 

It’s sad to think that, since this huge transformation, DCA has lost some of that unique identity. Its California theme is slowly eroding to make way for more IP infusion into the parks. The loss of Pacific Wharf to San Fransokyo Square and Paradise Pier to Pixar Pier are the most evident signs of this. It remains a strong park, through, and one that you should definitely visit on your trip to the Disneyland Resort. 

After more than 85 visits to the park in the span of 4 years, I have come to the conclusion that it is easier to do DCA in a day than it is to do Disneyland in a day. This is due to a variety of factors, including its lower ride count, smaller footprint, and lack of attractions with a ride time longer than 5-7 minutes. DCA also has a larger share of attractions that have Lightning Lane queues as compared to Disneyland. 

So that’s what this Disney California Adventure Itinerary with Lightning Lane will focus on: how to get the most out of your day at DCA with Lightning Lane Multi Pass. This post will only cover Lightning Lane Multi Pass, which is the only form of Lightning Lane I recommend you purchase. Lightning Lane Premier Pass doesn’t really require a strategy because you can use all your Lightning Lanes at any time, and in my opinion you don’t need to purchase the Lightning Lane Single Pass for Radiator Springs Racers.

Before we get into the meat of this Disney California Adventure Itinerary with Lightning Lane, let’s discuss the benefits of the Lightning Lane system. 

Lightning Lanes (and Their Benefits)

I know most people don’t like the new Lightning Lane system and long for the days of Fastpass. This is mainly due to the fact that Lightning Lane is a paid service, whereas Fastpass was free. Even I wish that the old Fastpass system was back, but I do have to admit that there are some benefits to the Lightning Lane system that improved upon the Fastpass service.

The first benefit is that you can make Lightning Lane reservations from anywhere. The old Fastpass system had you running from attraction to attraction in order to obtain these little paper tickets. With everything being digital with Lightning Lane, that means you can make reservations from anywhere, even outside the park (assuming you’ve already scanned into DCA or Disneyland that day).

Another benefit of the Lightning Lane system is that you can modify your Lightning Lane return time. You can push back your return time to a later hour or use the refresh method to try and get an earlier return time. With Fastpass you were always locked into a certain return time and you couldn’t change it at all. So this is a huge improvement over Fastpass.

Another thing you can do in the Lightning Lane system is switch attractions. Just like modifying your return time, you can also modify the attraction you want to use a Lightning Lane on. For example, you could switch your Lightning Lane for Space Mountain for a Lightning Lane for Indiana Jones. In the Fastpass era you were stuck with the attraction you got a return time for.   

If you’d like to read a guide to the Lightning Lane system at Disneyland, I have a post that covers just that.

Ways to Skip the Line Without Lightning Lane Multi Pass

There are a couple of ways to skip the line without using Lightning Lane Multi Pass, and you need to know about them especially if you want to ride these DCA attractions more than once. There are basically four other ways you can bypass lines at DCA: Rope Dropping, Park Closing, Single Rider Lines, and the Buddy Pass. 

Rope Dropping is the practice of arriving before the parks open in order to take advantage of the low wait times in the first few hours of the day. Lines will generally be short until about 2 -2 ½ hours after the park opens. By arriving early, you get to experience these attractions before most other guests arrive for the day. It’s basically become a tradition at all 12 Disney Parks around the world and you would be wise to participate in this tradition if you want to do as many attractions as possible. 

Park Closing is another way you can experience attractions with low wait times. This is basically the opposite of rope drop where you stay at the park until closing to ride rides with minimal to no wait times. Lines will shrink about 2 hours before the park closes and, in the case of DCA, will decrease when World of Color is playing. This is a great time to get some rides in as most people have already gone home for the day or are watching World of Color. 

Single Rider Lines are special lines at some attractions in DCA that cast members use to fill empty single seats on attractions. What this means is that when cast members see that a certain row or vehicle has one empty seat, they will get a guest from the single rider line to fill the seat. This service is currently offered at the following attractions in DCA: Soarin Around the World, Grizzly River Run, WEB Slingers, Radiator Springs Racers, Goofy’s Sky School, and The Incredicoaster.

Finally, the Buddy Pass is a pass that works the same way as the Single Rider Line, except it’s used to fill in the third row of some attractions with groups of up to two adults or two adults and a small child. This system is currently only in place at Monsters Inc, Mike and Sulley to the Rescue. 

Buy Disneyland Tickets Here

Buy Walt Disney World Tickets Here

Buy Tokyo Disneyland Tickets Here​

Buy Disneyland Paris Tickets Here

​Buy Hong Kong Disneyland Tickets Here

Buy Shanghai Disneyland Tickets Here

Klook.com

How Early Entry Affects Visits

Early Entry is a perk that Disneyland Resort Hotel guests get where they can enter Disneyland or DCA 30 minutes before everyone else. Only 1 park is open for early entry per day, with hotel guests getting Early Entry to DCA on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, and Disneyland on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. 

Not every attraction is open to guests during the early entry period. Here is the list of attractions included in Early Entry at DCA: 

• 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 could affect your rope drop plans if you decide to go to DCA on an Early Entry Day. While some rides will already have lines in the morning because of Early Entry, it shouldn’t affect your rope drop plans too much. Not all hotel guests will go to DCA during an Early Entry day and, even if they do, they aren’t numerous enough to seriously affect the lines for Rope Drop (except maybe for Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission BREAKOUT). 

While it would still be best to avoid visiting on a day when DCA has Early Entry, I wouldn’t change all 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 some non-ride things you need to be aware of before we dive into the meat of this itinerary. 

World of Color Virtual Queue

This itinerary will assume that you want to watch World of Color and recommends seeing the 9pm show. If you would like to see World of Color, remember to get a virtual queue for the show at 12nn on the day of your visit. The virtual queue system can be accessed via the Disneyland app. 

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

Shows and Streetmosphere

This itinerary includes permanent shows such as Mickey’s Philharmagic and the Animation Academy. It will not include any seasonal entertainment or streetmosphere shows, unless otherwise specified. If you would like to see these entertainment offerings, however, feel free to pause the itinerary and resume it once the show is done. 

Characters

Just like the seasonal entertainment, this itinerary assumes you aren’t going to meet any characters throughout the day. If you would like to meet characters, pause the itinerary and resume it once you’ve finished meeting characters. Don’t take too long, though, as meeting too many characters could mean not doing many rides and attractions at the park. 

Dining

This itinerary has you eating at a quick service meal for lunch and either a quick service or table service meal for dinner. You can switch it up if you want to but this is generally what I would recommend you do to save time and money as eating at 2 table service meals could eat up a lot of time and will be expensive. 

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. 

Ride Breakdowns

Do note that, as with all things, a day at DCA will not go perfectly. Rides will break down, and could break down in a way that will totally mess up this itinerary. I can’t guarantee that your day won’t include having to pivot to another attraction because of a ride breakdown, but if it happens to you just continue on with the itinerary until the ride opens and then proceed to that attraction as soon as possible. And if it happens to multiple attractions, don’t be afraid to pivot to a new plan. Sometimes pivoting is the best thing you can do, so you must be prepared to do so if needed. 

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

Buy Disneyland Tickets Here

Buy Walt Disney World Tickets Here

Buy Tokyo Disneyland Tickets Here​

Buy Disneyland Paris Tickets Here

​Buy Hong Kong Disneyland Tickets Here

Buy Shanghai Disneyland Tickets Here

Klook.com

Disney California Adventure Itinerary

Arrive Early for Rope Drop

In order to make full use of your Lightning Lane, you need to rope drop the park. That’s because the sooner you arrive at the park, the sooner you get to make your first Lightning Lane selection. You can only make a selection once you and your entire party have scanned into the park, so the earlier you arrive, the earlier you can make a selection. This is crucial as the first ride you’re getting a selection for usually runs out of Lightning Lanes pretty quickly. 

Get Your First Lightning Lane for Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission BREAKOUT

Once you and your party are scanned in, open the Disneyland app, purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass for your entire party, then immediately get the earliest reservation possible for Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission BREAKOUT. Use the refresh method to get the earliest return time possible. If you don’t know what the refresh method is, consult my post regarding using Lightning Lanes at Disneyland. Once you’ve gotten the selection, it’s time to head to our first ride of the day. 

Rope Drop Soarin Around the World

We’re rope dropping Soarin Around the World to begin our day. This is a good ride to rope drop as lines can sometimes balloon to over 75 minutes. Since you have a Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission BREAKOUT Lightning Lane, it makes more sense to make this your first ride of the day. Soarin is a flying theater attraction where you get to fly over different world landmarks. It was an opening day DCA attraction, although back then the Over California version was the one that played at the park. It’s pretty popular, so get there before the crowds do. 

Get a High Score on Toy Story Midway Mania

Once done with Soarin Around the World, continue this Disney California Adventure Itinerary with Lightning Lane by heading to Toy Story Midway Mania. This is a 3D shooter attraction hosted by the Toy Story characters where you compete in various mini games to earn points. This is another popular ride and was actually the ride that began the transformation of DCA into the park it is today. If you want to ride it more than once, you’ll get another opportunity to ride it later in the day.

Scream on the Incredicoaster 

At this point, the line for the Incredicoaster should be short, so head there next. This coaster, formerly called California Screamin, is an Incredibles-themed rollercoaster featuring a story about the Incredibles trying to bring Jack-Jack to safety after he teleports away from them during the coaster’s dedication ceremony. It’s a fun coaster and is probably tied with Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission BREAKOUT for the title of most intense ride at DCA. 

Learn to Fly on Goofy’s Sky School

Head to Paradise Gardens Park next and ride the park’s only other coaster: Goofy’s Sky School! Inspired by the short film Goofy’s Glider, Goofy’s Sky School is a ride where you get in a plane as Goofy tries to teach you how to fly. As with most Goofy-related shorts, things don’t always go according to plan, and the lesson ends up being kind of a mess (in a good way). It’s a fun wild mouse coaster, and what it lacks in theming it more than makes up for in thrills. 

Buy Disneyland Tickets Here

Buy Walt Disney World Tickets Here

Buy Tokyo Disneyland Tickets Here​

Buy Disneyland Paris Tickets Here

​Buy Hong Kong Disneyland Tickets Here

Buy Shanghai Disneyland Tickets Here

Klook.com

Go Under the Sea with The Little Mermaid

Head around from Goofy’s Sky School and make your way to your next attraction on this Disney California Adventure Itinerary with Lightning Lane, The Little Mermaid Ariel’s Undersea Adventure. As the name suggests, this ride retells the story of The Little Mermaid. 

You board a clamshell and get immersed in the world of The Little Mermaid. It’s one of my personal favorite rides at the park. I still think that the Under the Sea scene is one of the best Disney dark ride scenes ever. If you love dark rides, I guarantee you’ll love this ride. 

Ride Guardians of the Galaxy with a Lightning Lane

Now it’s time to redeem your Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission BREAKOUT Lightning Lane selection. Head on over to the attraction and scan into the ride. Guardians of the Galaxy is a drop tower ride where you as the guests embark on a mission to try and save the Guardians of the Galaxy from captivity in the Collector’s collection. It’s a fun ride featuring 6 different songs that could play during the ride, each with its own distinct ride pattern. 

Get a Lightning Lane for Grizzly River Run

Before you get on the ride, however, make sure to make your second Lightning Lane selection, this time for Grizzly River Run. Remember that you can only make your next selection when you scan into your previous selection or when two hours have passed since you made your previous selection, whichever comes first. If your first return time is past two hours from when you booked it, be sure to get another Lightning Lane as soon as the two hour window rolls by. 

Get World of Color Virtual Queue

After getting off Guardians of the Galaxy, it should be time to get a World of Color Virtual Queue. Open the Disneyland app, head to the Virtual Queue page, and get a virtual queue as soon as they drop at 12nn. Once that is done, head on over to San Fransokyo for lunch!

Have Lunch at San Fransokyo

For lunch, I recommend eating in San Fransokyo. My two favorite restaurants here are Cocina Cucamonga, which has amazing QuesoBirria tacos, and Lucky Fortune Cookery, which has good teriyaki bowls. Either is a good option for lunch, so quickly do a mobile order and wait for your food. 

In terms of where you should sit, not a lot of people know that the area inside the Bakery Tour has tables and chairs. It’s the perfect secret spot to eat your food while avoiding the sun that tends to be harsh in the middle of the day. Once you’re done eating, head on to the next attraction on this Disney California Adventure Itinerary with Lightning Lane.

Ride Monsters Inc with Buddy Pass

The next ride we’re gonna ride is located in Hollywoodland. It’s actually the only ride in Hollywoodland now that the Red Car Trolley is gone. Monsters Inc: Mike and Sulley to the Rescue is a retelling of the classic Pixar movie. In my opinion, it retells its movie better than Little Mermaid does, but Little Mermaid just feels a lot more alive. That being said, the door scene at the end is an amazing and ingenious dark ride scene. 

For this ride, we’ll be using the Buddy Pass system. To use it, just ask the cast member stationed at the front of the ride for a Buddy Pass. You’ll then be directed to the exit where you can get in the Buddy Pass line. You shouldn’t wait longer than 10 minutes.  

Go on Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree and Luigi’s Flying Tires

Now it’s time to ride the smaller rides at DCA, starting with the two Cars Land rides. First up is Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree. This is a flat ride that packs in a lot of fun. It’s always such a smile-inducing experience to get flung around in the tractor. This is the sleeper hit of Cars Land, and one you should make time for if it interests you. 

The second is Luigi’s Rollicking Roadsters. This was the first trackless ride at the Disneyland Resort. You climb aboard Luigi’s cousins and glide across the dance floor as the cars dance and move to the music. It’s a fun experience that vastly improves on Luigi’s Flying Tires, which was the attraction that was previously here.

It’s worth noting that, while I include these attractions in this itinerary, if you have no interest in these rides, you don’t have to ride them. You can simply proceed to the next part of this itinerary. 

Race on Radiator Springs Racers Single Rider

Now it’s time to ride DCA’s signature attraction: Radiator Springs Racers. You will be utilizing the Single Rider Line to experience this attraction. You shouldn’t wait longer than 30-40 minutes in the single rider line. The ride has you exploring Radiator Springs as you gear up for a race, with the ride ending in a thrilling race sequence through the landscape of Radiator Springs. It’s fun, exciting, has some great animatronics, and is sure to leave a lasting impression. 

Ride Grizzly River Run with Lightning Lane

Now it’s time to ride Grizzly River Run! Head on over to Grizzly Peak and scan into the ride. Grizzly River Run is a raft ride that goes throughout the entire land. It’s not my favorite ride, mostly because there are no animatronics on the ride, but it’s still pretty fun and, be warned, you will probably get wet and possibly even soaked. 

Get a Lightning Lane for Soarin

After riding Grizzly River Run, it’s time to start doing attractions twice and checking out some of the entertainment at DCA. Grab a Lightning Lane reservation for Soarin Around the World, either once you scan into Grizzly River Run or if two hours have passed since you pulled the Lightning Lane for Grizzly River Run. Use the refresh method to get an earlier return time, then head on over to Hollywoodland!

Enter the 3D World of Mickey’s Philharmagic

The first show we’re seeing is Mickey’s Philharmagic. This 3D show follows Donald Duck (I know, it’s called Mickey’s Philharmagic but Mickey only appears at the beginning and at the end) as he tries to retrieve Mickey’s sorcerer’s hat in order to restore order to the concert. Along the way, he’ll enter the worlds of many different Disney and Pixar animated films. It’s a classic Disney attraction and one of the best 3D experiences ever made by Disney. 

Admire the Animation Building and Draw with the Animation Academy 

Next, head across the street and into the Animation Building. The Animation Building is, in my opinion, one of the best spaces in the park. Its huge screens playing classic scenes from Disney and Pixar films is breathtaking. There are some attractions here too, with the one we’re doing located to the left as you walk in: Animation Academy. 

In the Animation Academy, you learn to draw your favorite Disney characters. The cast members provide you with paper, a pencil, and a drawing board and the whole 15-minute class has you drawing different Disney characters. There’s a schedule at the entrance of the attraction which shows the different characters being drawn that day. You can either draw the next available character or come back later if a character you want to draw is scheduled later in the day. You get to keep your drawing too, which is a fun little souvenir. 

Buy Disneyland Tickets Here

Buy Walt Disney World Tickets Here

Buy Tokyo Disneyland Tickets Here​

Buy Disneyland Paris Tickets Here

​Buy Hong Kong Disneyland Tickets Here

Buy Shanghai Disneyland Tickets Here

Klook.com

Shoot Webs on Web Slingers Single Rider

Next you’re going to ride the other shooter ride in the park: Web Slingers. The Single Rider line for this attraction moves at a relatively fast pace, so I would recommend using it. The story of Web Slingers has you attending an Open House for W.E.B. One of Peter Parker’s inventions, the spider bots, starts to spiral out of control and begins multiplying quickly, threatening to overrun the campus. 

You’re then recruited to help Spider-Man in saving Avengers Campus by getting in a WEB Slinger vehicle and shooting webs to try and take down the spider bots. It’s a fun attraction, but may be a one and done for some people. 

Watch the Parade

Depending on when you visit, there could be a parade running at DCA. As part of this Disney California Adventure Itinerary with Lightning Lane, I would recommend watching the parade. Parades are a long-standing Disney tradition, and they’re almost always worth watching. I recommend watching the second showing as that is usually less crowded. You can often get a spot as late as 15 minutes before the parade if you watch the second showing. Remember to watch it from where it starts (which varies depending on the showtime) so you can save some time. 

Re-ride Soarin Around the World with Lightning Lane 

After watching the parade, head on over to Soarin Around the World and ride it again. Remember to make your next Lightning Lane selection as soon as you scan in or if two hours has passed since your last selection. 

Get Lightning Lane for Toy Story Midway Mania

Next, you’re going to get a Lightning Lane for Toy Story Midway Mania. If this ride was a one and done for you, however, you can get a Lightning Lane for something else. I would recommend getting one for the Incredicoaster. 

Ride the “Other” Paradise Gardens and Pixar Pier Rides

While waiting for your Lightning Lane return time, I would recommend riding the Paradise Gardens Park and Pixar Pier rides that you haven’t ridden yet. There are 6 rides in this area that you could potentially ride: The Golden Zephyr, Jumpin Jellyfish, Silly Symphony Swings, Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind, Pixar Pal-A-Round, and Jessie’s Critter Carousel. These are smaller rides that will have low waits this late in the day. The ones I would recommend riding are Silly Symphony Swings, the Pixar Pal-A-Round, and Jessie’s Critter Carousel. 

Ride Toy Story Midway Mania with Lightning Lane

Riding the smaller rides in this area keeps you in the vicinity of Toy Story Midway Mania. Once your return time comes, quickly scan into the ride and book your next Lightning Lane. 

Get an Incredicoaster Lightning Lane

Once you’ve scanned in, get an Incredicoaster Lightning Lane. You’ll be using this after dinner so if the return time is too late (past 7:30pm), I would recommend using the refresh method to get an earlier return time. 

Keep riding the “Other” Paradise Gardens and Pixar Pier rides

Continue riding the other Paradise Gardens and Pixar Pier rides until dinner comes or you’ve ridden all the rides you want to ride. Once you’re done, it’s time for dinner!

Eat Dinner

I would recommend eating at San Fransokyo again to try the restaurant you didn’t try earlier in the day for lunch. If not, I would recommend eating at Flo’s V8 Cafe for dinner. They have standard theme park food but their milkshakes are amazing. Another good option would be Pym Test Kitchen, which has a pretty unique menu and also sells really good (albeit expensive) drinks. 

Ride Incredicoaster with Lightning Lane

Once dinner is done, head on over to Incredicoaster! If you don’t feel like riding it because you’re too full, you can always modify the Lightning Lane to use at another attraction. 

Get a Web Slingers / Monsters Inc Lightning Lane

At this point, the only available rides will be Web Slingers, Monsters Inc, and Little Mermaid. Little Mermaid isn’t worth getting a Lightning Lane for, so it’ll have to be Web Slingers or Monsters Inc. Make sure it’s for after 9:30pm as World of Color will end around then.

Watch World of Color 

At around 7:30pm, boarding groups for World of Color will be called. I would recommend getting there at 7:45-8pm to get a good spot. World of Color is a nighttime fountain, music, pyrotechnic, and light show that is set to classic Disney songs. 

Multiple versions of World of Color have been played throughout DCA’s history. Starting with the original World of Color, other versions include the holiday-inspired World of Color: Winter Dreams and World of Color: Season of Light, the Halloween-themed version called World of Color: Villainous, and anniversary shows such as World of Color Celebrate (for Disneyland’s 60th), World of Color: One (for the Disney 100 celebration), and World of Color Happiness (for Disneyland’s 70th). 

World of Color is a visual delight and is the perfect way to cap off a day at DCA. But this Disney California Adventure Itinerary with Lightning Lane isn’t over yet! We’ve still got some park time left. With 30 minutes left, you can still get 1-2 rides in, so let’s do it!

Sling Webs (again) in Web Slingers or Travel Through Monstropolis (again) in Monsters Inc with Lightning Lane

Whichever ride you got a Lightning Lane for, this is the time to use it. Hopefully you finish whichever ride you picked by 9:45. This would give you enough time to walk to another ride and get in line before the park closes. 

Get in Line for Guardians of the Galaxy or Radiator Springs Racers as the Park Closes

Disneyland will allow you to enter a ride right at closing and still be able to ride it. Because of this, we recommend getting in line for either Guardians of the Galaxy or Radiator Springs Racers depending on which one you enjoyed more. You can’t go wrong with either, although for Racers I’d still recommend riding via the Single Rider Line. 

Once you’re done, do some last minute shopping at the front of the park and pat yourself on the back for a successful day at DCA!

Disney California Adventure Itinerary with Lightning Lane Final Word

Thanks for taking the time to read this Disney California Adventure Itinerary with Lightning Lane. If you have any questions, as always, feel free to reach out!

If you enjoyed this Disney California Adventure Itinerary with Lightning Lane, consider subscribing to my newsletter and bring the magic of Disney parks to your inbox. Whether you’re planning your first trip or you’re a Disney pro, my newsletter is your ultimate guide to creating magical memories.

🌟 What You’ll Get:

• Expert tips for navigating the Disney parks.
• The latest updates on new attractions, events, and dining experiences.
• Exclusive tips to make your visit extra magical (and budget-friendly!).
• Personalized itineraries and seasonal guides.

From Walt Disney World and Disneyland to Disney Cruise Line and the international parks, we’ll help you plan the trip of your dreams with less stress and more pixie dust

👉 Subscribe below and let the magic begin! 🏰✨

Buy Disneyland Tickets Here

Buy Walt Disney World Tickets Here

Buy Tokyo Disney Tickets Here​

Buy Disneyland Paris Tickets Here

​Buy Hong Kong Disneyland Tickets Here

Buy Shanghai Disneyland Tickets Here

Klook.com

SUGGESTED READING: