We went to the Rose Parade this year (4th one in my lifetime and well worth it if you've never seen one) and we also spent a couple of days at DLR as part of the trip.
Disneyland and California Adventure were both extremely crowded that week, though CA didn't feel quite as bad, partly because it has more walking room. To get an idea of how that crowd impacts wait times at attractions, you can go to the Touring Plans site and look at their wait time predictions.
We had pretty good success by getting to the park as soon as it opened, which last year was 8 AM all week, and 7 AM for the people staying at the Disneyland resorts. We also took maximum advantage of the single rider lines, which they have for Radiator Springs Racers, California Screamin, and Soarin. They also have them for Goofy's Sky School, which we didn't do because it's just like Primeval Whirl, and Grizzly River Run, which we skipped because the high temperatures were in the upper 50's.
You can also get FPs for a few things, though the return times got pretty late pretty fast. For RSR by the time we entered the park the line at the FP station was already long from the people who had gotten in early and the FPs were gone for the day within the first hour or two. But, rather than worrying about a FP, we went right to the ride and rode single rider and were on in less than 10 minutes. We used a FP for Tower of Terror, but did everything else standby or single rider and did everything we want.
The World of Color Show is also outstanding. We did the WOC lunch package at the Carthay Circle restaurant, which we really enjoyed both because the food and services were excellent and the restaurant itself is interesting to see. That was our one ADR for the trip.
If you have the chance, I would recommend going to CA if only to see the Cars Land area, which is very well done and very fun.
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