Hi there, Tricia!
A first trip to Disneyland is one for the books! Get ready to step into a swirl of pixie dust with magic at every turn. There is so much to see and do, especially with the 70th Anniversary festivities in full swing, that I can understand it's a lot to take in for a first-timer. Not to worry, I'm happy to help point you in the right direction!
The Disneyland Resort has entered the digital age, providing Guests with a complimentary planning tool right in the
Disneyland app. This service is appropriately named
Disney Genie, since your wish for an itinerary will come true! This is even better than a printable itinerary as it allows you to really personalize your visit based on your interests and priorities. Before any Disneyland trip, I recommend downloading the app and spending some time exploring the features and functions that will be right in your pocket during your visit. When you open the app, just under "Upcoming Plans", you will see a recommendation to "Start Here to Plan Your Day". You'll walk through a few steps where you select the day you'd like to plan and the Guests in your party, which will automatically populate based on the tickets you are holding in your account.
Now comes the fun part! You will be asked to select a few experiences that you'd like to do, from
attractions to
dining to entertainment. For each day, my recommendation would be to choose 3 top attractions, 1 dining, and 2 enchanting extras. This is not to say that those are the only things you will experience, but it helps Genie to push those priorities to the top. I just did a bit of a test run myself for a date in October. One thing to note here is that you are visiting during Halloweentime! This means that some of the current entertainment offerings will be paused to make way for the limited-time fall fun, like the Halloween Screams fireworks! They haven't quite confirmed or released the fall entertainment yet, so it is not showing up in Genie. You may want to play around in Genie now, but wait until about 4-6 weeks out from your trip to really load in your selections here. The Entertainment Schedule is released about six weeks ahead of time.
Next, Genie will ask you to select a few favorite interests. This will help him give you tailored suggestions while you are in the parks. You can choose from Disney Princesses to Mickey and Minnie to pirates and more. You can also let Genie know if you are mostly interested in experiences for younger Mouseketeers, live entertainment, park classics, and even slow rides over thrill rides. As before, I would try to keep your selections here to two from each category to harness Genie's power. All that's left for you to do now is sit back and relax as he creates your Disney day!
While you are in the parks, you can always refer back to your itinerary. The easiest way to navigate to this is to tap the "+" in the bottom navigation bar and select "Book Lightning Lane Entry", even if you have not added Lightning Lane Multi Pass to your ticket. This will take you directly to the Tip Board, where you will find the current attraction wait times. If you toggle to the "My Day" tab at the top, that's where you will find your itinerary.
Phew, Tricia, that was a lot to take in! I hope you're still with me! We are just scratching the surface on your visit, so if you have any more questions, feel free to drop us another one here at planDisney!
Wishing you a magical visit!
Tara