California Adventure - Help me maximize one day there!

[CampbellzSoup]

hello to my favorite people in the world!

It's easy to read a stagnant thread about the parks but I always like hearing different options and opinions!

Can you guys tell me a few things!

What are your MUST dos if you only get one shot at pretty much ever going!

Should I do a world or color dining or try to get a fast pass for it???

What are my essential character meets?

How amazing is world of color!?

Thanks so much I've read hydros thread but I also like different opinions!

Thanks!

 

[SMD]

Unless you really want to eat at one of the places that has a WOC meal, I wouldn't waste the park time when you can just as easily get an FP.

 

[MouseEXP]

DCA is a much smaller park when compared to Disneyland.
It will be quite easy to see everything in one day. Especially if you are there at opening.
Most guests will head to Cars Land first at opening, Better to head to Paradise Pier and experience Toy Story Midway Mania first.
Make sure you get your Standard WOC FP within two hours of park opening. Once you have your WOC FP make sure you get to the WOC viewing area 30-15 minutes before the time posted on your FP ticket.
Once you are in the WOC viewing area, you want to make sure to get a spot next to a railing. If not you will have guests that will be standing directly in front of you.
WOC is similar to a Firework show than it is to something like Fantasmic.
Grizzly River starts to get crowded by 1030am (aka when the sun starts to come out). If you can ride it before then, you will not need a FP for it.
Anna and Elsa are top when it comes to the Meet and Greets and you need a FP for them.
Mickey and friends are usually on Buena Vista Street, Toy Story characters are on Paradise Pier.
Must do's... California Screamin, Toy Story Midway Mania, Mickey's Fun Wheel, Mermaid Adventure, Grizzly River, Soarin, Tower of Terror, Mater's, Radiator Springs Racers, World of Color and Aladdin the Musical.

 

[gerilyne]

Must dos are Radiator Springs Racers in Carsland, and of course seeing Carsland (in daylight and at night), California Screamin', Tower of Terror and Grizzly River Run. If I can hit all of them, which we usually do in the morning alone, I'm a happy camper. I also like breakfast at Flo's, I'm a sucker for any kind of French toast.

We aren't big fans of Midway Mania so i'm never heartbroken by skipping it. I usually hit up RSR first, then pop over to Screamin', maybe a little break on the carousal and Ariel's Adventure. Then head for TOT, a little breakfast and then Grizzly.

 

[ADLFAN]

I agree with SMD, the dining takes up a lot of time, and good spots, with the dining package or not, require you to line up early. We went to Carthay Circle for a late lunch, and the food was great and we heard later that if you get the right reservation time you can watch the Pixar Play Parade from a balcony so that might be nice for you, fake preferred seating! When we got to the WOC reserved area for Carthay later that night about a half of an hour before the show, we ended up being maybe 4-5 rows from the walkway in the back. We are tall, but you can't see through a crowd, and while we saw everything projected onto the water screens, there was some pyrotechnic stuff and fountain stuff that probably looked much cooler up close!

One unique character meet is Oswald the lucky rabbit in DCA, and I am a big fan of the 1920's costumes on Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy on Buena Vista Street in DCA. They are so cute!

No Fastpass is available for Toy STory Midway Mania, so hit it first thing, twice! I like to pull my Fastpass for Radiator Springs Racers a little later, carefully watching the return time, for a night time ride, because it's gorgeous!

I wish I had more food to recommend in DCA but it can be a little rough in there. My favorite is Paradise Garden Grill with their spicy kebab and flatbread, and the vodka lemonade and churro bites and pretzel bites at the Cozy Cone. Oh yeah, a banana split at Ghirardelli!! Yum! And a corndog from the Corndog Castle by the Pier! There's the awesome Candy store and good old Starbucks for a frozen drink. I also liked my chicken sandwich and fries at the former Taste Pilot's Grill by Soarin.

We noticed that the Pier stayed quiet with the exception of Toy Story in the early morning. I enjoyed running through the splash area in A Bug's Land in the heat of the day! I made everyone else do it, too!

The Aladdin show is awesome, and you should try to see it, I think it's only 45 minutes long. If you get in line later, you get the upper seating level, which was where we sat and it was ok. Possibly not the best view, but we didn't want to line up in the sun any earlier. I think it is currently the only show in DCA, well unless you are into the Frozen Sing Along.

Have fun!!

 

[bellazachmom]

You didn't mention who you were traveling with but there is something that can help you maximize your day ~ SINGLE RIDER LINES!!

If you are on your own, or if everyone in your party is over 7, you can ride the RSR and Screamin' using the Single Rider Lines with minimal wait. My kids and I LOVE the single rider line at the Racers for a few reasons: 1) we can ride multiple times in an hour and 2) we usually end up racing each other vs. riding in the same vehicle ... always good for bragging rites!

We start the day at rope drop or before with Extra Magic Hours and head to Paradise Pier to ride Toy Story once (or twice) and then back to Carsland where we ride the racers a few times using the single rider line. Then we experience the rest of Carsland. On our way out we stop by the RSR FP machines and check the return times. Usually at this point we can grab a set with an evening return time which allows us to ride at our favorite time of day and with each other.

We then head back towards the Pier and ride a few of the rides that never have much wait ~ single rider for Screamin, Mickey's Death Wheel, Swings, Sky School, Golden Zephyr, Mermaid and by now our 2 hour window has passed and we can get another FP so we head down and get one for Soarin. Usually lunch time at this point so grab a bite to eat and then based on return times, hit Soarin with our FP and then GRR or get a FP for GRR. The challenge trail is fun and a good way to use up some time if you need to before FP return windows open.

We then head to the other side of the park and do the attractions there, usually grabbing a FP for TOT though it isn't always needed. We enjoy the Monsters Inc. ride, Turtle Talk with Crush in the Animation Building and the Aladdin show if the showtimes work with your day.

A&E FPs for M&G are stand alone as are those for WOC so they will not keep you from having other FPs if you decide you want to meet the princesses or use a FP for WOC.

BugsLand is definitely worth a walk through, just for the execution and amazing details ~ its a great way to get from TOT back to Carsland even if you don't plan on doing any of the rides.

Hope you have a GREAT trip!

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Traveling with one other adult male you guys are truly a fountain of information!

 

[bellazachmom]

Happy to help!

Any other questions?

 

[sunshine1]

Sorry to hiajck this thread. I will probably only have one day at DCA too.

Where do you get the world of color fast pass from?

 

[bellazachmom]

A couple of character M&Gs that might be fun for you guys can be found in the "Hollywood Pictures Backlot" area ~ Sulley from Monsters, and Incredibles Characters, usually Mr. Incredible and Frozone but sometimes Mrs. Incredible, too.

They don't have FP but are pretty easy to find and waits aren't usually too bad, especially now that the sisters and their snowman have arrived in the same area

Oswald can also be found near the park entrance tucked away on a side street near Guest Services. CA is the only place to meet him in the Disney Universe as far as I know.

 

[bellazachmom]

Sorry to hiajck this thread. I will probably only have one day at DCA too.

Where do you get the world of color fast pass from?

WOC FPs are distributed near GRR

They are distributed from "Portable" FP machines and manned by CMs. There are signs pointing them out so you shouldn't have any trouble finding them if you are in the general area of the giant carved bear outside the attraction

 

[cmpeter]

I have done a one day adults only trip to DCA with my husband. We didn't arrive in the parks until 11:00 am. We pulled RSR fast passes first thing and then rode single rider. Then we headed over to Toy Story and Screamin'. Depending on crowd levels, Screamin' often has very short waits. I think we did it twice with 5-10 minute waits. Toy Story was a bit longer...closer to 30. We pulled TOT fast passes and watched Aladdin. We ate dinner at Pacific Warf Café (and had a margarita).

I don't know that the WOC meals gets you anything that great. You still need to line up early to be in the front row of the preferred dining section to avoid standing behind other people. I have done it both ways (with just a FP and with a WOC dining FP). Both times I had a great view, but both times I was in line for a spot 60-90 minutes before the show.

My husband will humor me with 1-2 character photo ops. I like to meet Donald near Ariel's Grotto. Then if we see a someone else out an about with a short line, we'll visit them. I like to get the Photo Pass photographer in front of Cars Land to take our picture (you can just hand them your own camera).

 

[PHXscuba]

I am guessing from the OP photo and number of posts that he has been to WDW before. Several DCA rides are great, but carbon copies of WDW's version -- Soarin, Toy Story Mania, It's Tough to Be a Bug. With only one day, I'd put a higher priority on unique-to-DCA experiences like Carsland, Screamin, Aladdin, Monster's Inc, Red Car Trolley, World of Color, etc. Or rides that you like at WDW but are different, like Tower of Terror or Grizzly River Run. As someone else pointed out, single rider lines are a great help as the park has many more than any park at WDW -- Soarin, Screamin, RSR, Goofy's Sky School, Grizzly River Run.

PHXscuba