1-Day at Disneyland Itinerary: How to Maximize Your Day at the Park

How to Plan 1-Day at Disneyland

These are the things you need to do at the start of your Disneyland vacation planning. Once these are set you can move on to planning your itinerary for Disneyland.

Disneyland Tickets & Lightning Lane

Before you leave home purchase your Disney tickets and Lightning Lane. These can be purchased as a bundle or separately. I recommend Lightning Lane for your park days.

Lightning Lane is the ride reservation system that allows you to reserve an attraction using the Disneyland app at a specific time to shorten your overall wait time at the park.

We always use Lightning Lane for our Disneyland park days and I never regret the purchase. We have visited in July and over spring break, having Lightning Lane allowed us to ride more attractions and maximize our day at the park.

Disneyland offers three Lightning Lane tiers: Multi-Pass (approximately $34/person/day), Single Pass for specific high-demand attractions, and Premier Pass which covers everything. Unlike Disney World, you cannot book Lightning Lane before you arrive. Your first reservation can only be made once you are inside the park. Read our full breakdown in our Disneyland Guide for Disney World Families.

Lightning Lane Attractions at Disneyland:

• Autopia
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
• Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
• Haunted Mansion
• Indiana Jones Adventure
• “it’s a small world”
• Matterhorn Bobsled
• Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
• Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
• Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin
• Space Mountain
• Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
• Star Tours: The Adventure Continues
• Individual Lightning Lane: Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance This is not include in Multi-Pass and requires a Single Lightning Lane purchase.

Lightning Lane reservations will run out by mid-day for popular attractions like Space Mountain, Indiana Jones Adventure, Haunted Mansion, and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.

For example around 2:00pm you may be booking a return time for 8:30pm-9:30pm. By 4:00pm they may be gone. You will be able to monitor this on the app and watch as you go through your day.

Learn the Layout of the Disneyland Park

If you have visited the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World you can expect a few of the same attractions and basic layout, but there are a few things that took some getting used to for us.

The park is much smaller than the Magic Kingdom but packs more attractions in. Usually I will use the castle as a landmark and this helps me know where we are going. At Disneyland the castle isn’t as tall and using it as a landmark didn’t work as easily.

Disneyland is divided into different lands with Sleeping Beauty’s castle in the middle and each land going out of the central hub. Guests will enter the park at Main Street U.S.A and from there decide which land to explore first.

The lands are Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, Toontown, Frontierland, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Critter Country, New Orleans Square, and Adventureland. I suggest taking a look at the map on the Disneyland app before you arrive to get a basic understanding of where you want to go.

Prioritize Your Day at Disneyland

Disneyland has a lot to do and there will most likely be something you will miss with a one day visit. It is important to prioritize what is important to you and plan your day around those attractions.

On our first visit to Disneyland in 2019, we did rides that are not at Walt Disney World or rides that are different but the same attraction, like Pirates of the Caribbean. Both parks have this ride but they are different at each park.

You should have a basic idea of the top 5-10 things you want to accomplish. We always suggest rope drop on our visits to maximize time at the park.

Rope drop is arriving before park opening. You will have to wake up early but will be rewarded with shorter wait times and an opportunity to experience more attractions.

When we rope drop we plan time back at our hotel to rest and then return in the evening. Before we arrive we discuss what everyone wants to do for the day to make sure everyone’s rides are at the top of our priorities.

Understand Who You are Traveling With

When planning your Disneyland day consider who you are traveling with. If you have very young kids you will spend a lot of time in Fantasyland. If you have teens the big thrill rides like Space Mountain and Indiana Jones will be on your list.

Have a Plan but Keep it Flexible

I am a big planner and always have our trip itineraries planned in advance, but I expect things will change, and try to be ready for it. We had a few issues on our most recent visit that made us go to plan B.

Try to be flexible and don’t let it derail your day. You make a plan to be prepared but going with the flow is really important when planning a Disney day.

1-Day at Disneyland Itinerary

We did have two days to spend at Disneyland but we wanted to ride our favorite attractions more than once so both days basically had the same strategy.

Day 1 was definitely more chaotic than day 2 as we learned the park and what worked, and what didn’t when it came to planning our day. Below you will find our Disneyland one day itinerary part 1 and part 2.

As you can see we didn’t even make it to Galaxy’s Edge on this day. There are so many rides and attractions at Disneyland that it can be difficult to see and do them all seamlessly. There may be bumps. My best advice is to know the attractions that you want to do and plan your day around them.

For best results you will want to use the app often to check wait times. We checked the app after each ride to decide our next step. If something had a short wait time that is where we went and I modified our Lightning Lane based on the changes.

Disneyland Itinerary for One Day (Part 1)

6:50am: Leave our hotel to make the 7 minute walk to the Disneyland entrance. We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott Anaheim Theme Park entrance. Arrive at the security check line.

7:15am: Security Line opens and allows guests to line up at the ticket entrance.

7:30am: Gates opened and guests were allowed into the park. Main Street U.S.A. is open but all attractions open at park opening, which was 8:00am during our visit.

Once inside the park you want to purchase Lightning Lane if you are planning to and haven’t already. Be sure to purchase for everyone in your party.

A word about Rise of the Resistance. If you are purchasing an individual lightning lane for this attraction you should do it as soon as you enter the park. If you are planning on riding in the stand-by line you should rope drop or hop in line late in the evening. Rope drop is the busiest time for this attraction.

We didn’t ride it during our visit because we have done it numerous time during our visits to Hollywood Studio.

8:00am: Park open! We headed straight to the classic Fantasyland rides and did them in this order: Alice in Wonderland, Mr. Toads Wild Ride, Pinocchio’s Daring Journey, and Snow White. We also made our first Lightning Lane reservation for Indiana Jones at 8:20-9:20am.

Lightning Lane Tip: You should keep an eye on the redemption times and pick one that is a bit later if you can. You don’t want an 8:00am one because the line is typically short, under 20 minutes, and you waste that pass. Lightning Lane gives you one redemption pass per Lightning Lane attraction per day. We watched and would modify when wait times were low.

The biggest lesson we learned from day 1 at Disneyland was we were going back and forth, ping-ponging around the park way more than we would like. We used this information to build a better itinerary for day 2.

Depending on the day and crowds you should expect a bit of back and forth at the parks. There isn’t much you can do to avoid it if you are trying to get as much done as possible and avoid long wait times.

8:29am: Canceled Lightning Lane for Indiana Jones because the wait was short. Went on Indiana Jones Adventure in the stand-by line then rode Pirates of the Caribbean. Made Lightning Lane for Space Mountain at 9:40am-10:40am.

9:17am: Haunted Mansion stand-by. This is where we went wrong. We should have gotten a Lightning Lane for Haunted Mansion but we thought the line was under 20 minutes. It ended up being much longer. We didn’t get out of the ride until around 10:00am. Definitely will do this different on day 2.

10:00am: At this point we headed over to Space Mountain to use our Lightning Lane. As soon as you scan in for your pass you can book another one. So we booked a Buzz Lightyear for 10:35-11:35. After we got off Space Mountain we walked over to Buzz. Guests can enter 5 minutes before their Lightning Lane window.

10:45am: Mobile order lunch at Alien’s Pizza Planet while in line for Buzz. We always mobile order at the Disney parks whenever possible. A lot of locations have this and it saves you time. Check the app to see where it is available.

11:00am: Lunch at Alien’s Pizza Planet. Secure Lightning Lane for Matterhorn Bobsleds at 11:45am-12:45pm. Lunch was fine. Kids liked the pizza. I ordered a kids spaghetti and it was a very small portion. I have always ordered kids meals because I prefer to eat lite on theme park days but this was a very small portion.

11:20am: Walked over to Sleeping Beauty’s castle to do the walk through exhibit inside the castle. This is unique to Disneyland and a nice area to check out. From there we walked over to Matterhorn for our Lightning Lane. Then we made a Lightning Lane for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at 4:50pm-5:50pm.

Our plan was to go back to the room to rest for a bit. The crowds were busy and it was hot. Lightning Lane can be booked in 2 hour intervals when not being redeemed and they can be booked outside the parks once you have checked into the park for the day.

We stopped at Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln before exiting the park and walking back to our hotel.

At 2:00pm I booked Indiana Jones for 5:50pm-6:50pm. Then I was eligible to book another at 4:00pm. I booked Big Thunder Mountain for 6:50pm-7:50pm. This is the best way to stack them in the evening if you are planning on a rest during your day.

4:00pm: Walked back to Disneyland. Rode Winnie the Pooh and then used our Lightning Lane for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. At that time Tiana’s had a 120 minute wait. We were in line for 17 minutes because of our Lightning Lane reservation.

5:26pm: Dinner at Rancho del Zocalo. There is not mobile dining available at this location so you have to go up to the counter. Portions are huge and it is a great spot.

6:00pm: After dinner we headed over to use our Lightning Lane for Indiana Jones and then Big Thunder Mountain. We secured a Lightning Lane for Millenium Falcon and rode “it’s a small world”.

8:30pm: Around 8:30 we were lucky to find a spot to watch the Parade. We sat near the end of it’s a small world and found a spot to stand. Some people lay blankets down early and wait for the show hours before.

9:20pm: At this point we went over to Galaxy’s Edge to ride Millennium Falcon. We also could see the park fireworks from Galaxy’s Edge after we rode and it was really nice.

Then we decided to mobile order Jolly Holiday to pick up a treat to take back to the room. It was a good day during the busy season and I knew I would tweak a few things for our itinerary at Disneyland day 2.

1-Day Disneyland Itinerary (Day 2)

6:50am: We started our second day at Disneyland the same as the first. Started the 7 minute walk from the Courtyard to Disneyland around 6:50am. Waited at security until around 7:15am. Let into the park around 7:30am.

8:02am First to ride Alice in Wonderland. Went to ride Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride but it wasn’t open yet so we pivoted to Pinocchio’s Daring Journey, then back to Mr. Toad, then Snow White’s Enchanted Wish.

8:26am: Storybook Canal Boat. This attraction is a slow moving boat ride and I don’t really recommend it to start your day but we wanted to avoid Fantasyland after the morning due to the very busy crowds so we decided to get it done. Secure a Lightning Lane for Indiana Jones.

We had a two part strategy for our morning. One we didn’t want to ping-pong all over the park like our first day. We wanted to be smarter about our plan. Two we wanted to ride the non-Lightning Lane attractions in the early morning.

There were also a few rides we didn’t include into our itinerary. Peter Pan, Dumbo, the Carousel, and the tea cups didn’t make our list. If you want to include them consider the first hour of park opening or later in the evening. Be aware that some Fantasyland attractions close during the fireworks.

9:00am: Ride Indiana Jones. Then Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. We tried Pirates but it was closed as we walked by so we continued to Tiana’s. Early in the morning Tiana’s is less busy, but assume you will get wet. While in line for Tiana’s we got a Lightning Lane for Haunted Mansion.

10:00am As soon as I got in line for Haunted Mansion we secured a Lightning Lane for Space Mountain at 12:50pm-1:50pm. Haunted Mansion had a malfunction and before we boarded the ride the power went down.

We had to exit the line and cast members gave us a multiple experience pass. This allows you to enter certain attractions using the lightning lane without making a timed reservation. If an attraction closes during your Lightning Lane reservation you will automatically receive a multiple experience pass. This happened each of our days at California Adventure too.

10:38am: Lunch at Tiana’s Palace. Be sure to get an order of Mickey Beignets. After lunch we got on the Disneyland Railroad and then headed back to the Haunted Mansion to ride.

12:15pm: Tiki Room. This is not a must see for us but we decided to give it a try and rest our legs in the AC for a few moments. We also had time before our Space Mountain Lightning Lane.

12:40pm: Space Mountain. Then booked a Lightning Lane for Big Thunder Mountain at 4:45pm-5:45pm. There were times when I booked our Lightning Lane as soon as I checked in and other times I waited a bit because I was looking for a specific return time. You do not get to choose from different times and basically have to take what is available. Because of this we would constantly check the app to see if times refreshed or find the time we wanted.

1:40pm-4:30pm Rest back at the room. While at the room I reserved Lightning Lane passes every two hours. When we returned for the evening we had three genie+ passes scheduled. At times it can be confusing as to when you can make your next pass. If you forget you can go on the app and go through the process of making one. The app will tell you the exact time you can make your next one.

5:00pm: Big Thunder Mountain, Winnie the Pooh, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, and Hungry Bear for dinner. We used mobile order for this.

7:00pm-9:00pm: After dinner we headed over to “it’s a small world” then Galaxy’s Edge. After Galaxy’s Edge we did Buzz Lightyear and Star Tours followed by Jungle Cruise at Night and a final ride on Pirates of the Caribbean. We were able to get immediate Lightning Lane for Buzz and then Star Tours allowing us to bypass the long lines.

Final Thoughts

Planning your 1-day at Disneyland itinerary takes a bit of research before you arrive and a lot of patience at the park. Keep in mind crowd levels, ride breakdowns, and so many more things can affect the flow of the day. This can make some rides have much longer wait times than expected.

Use the app, pivot your plans, and enjoy being at Disneyland. Watch a show or take a break if it becomes chaotic.

When using Lightning Lane there are two basic rules: You can make one, use it, make another and/or every two hours. This got a little unclear once we had three booked in the evening and cast members didn’t really know how the rule worked when applied to using one of three, this has happened on every visit and is a huge difference from Disney World. The best you can do is book and use.

It is very important to check on the app when you can book your next one. Doing this allowed us to book and use then book again, as well as stack a few reservations during our day at Disneyland.

At that point we were exhausted and decided to make our way back to the hotel. I hope this Disneyland in one day itinerary helps you plan your day to have the best time on your Disneyland vacation.

Want the full Disneyland Resort picture? Our Disneyland Guide for Disney World Families covers both parks, Lightning Lane strategy, where to stay, and the best things to do — everything you need before you plan your day.

Heading to California Adventure next? Read our 1-Day California Adventure Itinerary for our complete day plan at the second California Disney park.

Planning a bigger Southern California trip? Read our Southern California Family Itinerary for how we combined Disneyland, Universal Hollywood, and LA into one trip.

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