As far as rope drop goes, you need to get there early (an hour before opening at least is what I recommend) and whether you do Galaxy’s Edge or Fantasyland first, if you aren’t toward the front and FAST, you will wait. I haven’t been to Galaxy’s Edge yet but I’ve heard everybody goes there first and the line gets long and then gets shorter as the mad herds of rope drop people stop coming so much. My experience with Fantasyland and specifically with Peter Pan, the line builds FAST because the capacity is so low. I imagine it’s the same with Alice in Wonderland (do everything else in Fantasyland in the middle of the day). So whether you do Fantasyland or Galaxy’s Edge first, get there early and be fast. I like doing rides with long lines last so it doesn’t take away from park time. You could also use Single Rider for the Millenium Falcon ride but I’ve heard it isn’t always super fast but sometimes it is.
As far as everything else goes, definitely get Maxpass. When I went for only a portion of the day earlier this year, I did rope drop for Peter Pan and got my first Fastpass for Guardians because all the California Adventure Times were earlier than the
Disneyland times. (California Adventure had EMH so FPs started right at opening but at Disneyland they started half an hour after opening). Radiator Springs Racers Single Rider is great so you don’t need a Fastpass unless you absolutely have to ride together (if so get a Fastpass early. They run out within just a few hours after the park opens!). Get a Fastpass for Soarin’. The Incredicoaster and Grizzly River Run Single Rider lines work pretty well, although you might need to get a Fastpass for Incredicoaster if the single rider gets too long (my experience is if the ride doesn’t break down, standby isn’t too long so Single Rider is pretty much empty. But the ride breaks down a lot and when it’s down for hours, tons of people use their Fastpasses they should have used earlier but it was broken down and since the Fastpass line is long they prioritize them a lot over standby which leads to an awfully long standby line which leads to people deciding to do Single Rider instead and that makes Single Rider take a while longer). Get a Fastpass for Toy Story Mania. You should be good for pretty much anything else in California Adventure to do in the middle of the day. When you go back to Disneyland, do Single Rider for Hyperspace Mountain, Fastpass for Star Tours (I’ve heard the new single rider works well), Fastpass for Buzz Lightyear or go in the morning and evening, Matterhorn Single Rider, Thunder Mountain Railroad Fastpass, Indiana Jones Fastpass (do NOT do Single Rider!!!!!), maybe a Fastpass for Haunted Mansion, Fastpass for Splash Mountain or do when it’s cooler (Single Rider works ok sometimes). Everything else should be fine to do any time without a Fastpass.
Hope this helps. Have a great trip!!!
