Hi Ari,
Welcome back to planDisney! My husband and I enjoyed an adult-only trip to Walt Disney World Resort last weekend, so I fully appreciate your desire to experience as many new thrills as possible, sans kids, during your quick getaway. You've made a great decision in purchasing Park Hopper Tickets along with
Disney Genie+ Service. This will allow you to enjoy a variety of attractions with reduced standby waits, as well as take advantage of unlimited Disney PhotoPass downloads included with the purchase. A perfect itinerary is always subjective, but I'll share what my game plan would be if I were visiting on the same day. Let's do this thing!
Lots of exciting things have happened at Disney California Adventure Park, so although both parks have the same opening and Early Entry hours, I'd begin my day there and then hop to Disneyland Park later in the afternoon. This way you can begin making Lightning Lane selections for some of the newer experiences like
WEB Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure (it's a great arm workout, consider yourself warned) and enjoy
Avengers Campus before hightailing it to Disneyland Park in time for the"Magic Happens" Parade, which by the way, is also high on my to-do list.
Additionally, I wouldn't consider my day at Disney California Adventure Park complete without experiencing Incredicoaster and Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: BREAKOUT! I'd also recommend purchasing an Individual Lightning Lane for Radiator Springs Racers as well. These attractions were all open on your last visit, but they are
always worth repeating, in my opinion. You'll need to time your attractions based on the Lightning Lane return windows you happen to be assigned throughout the day. I recommend spending some time visiting the newly opened
San Fransokyo Square in between attractions.
Once you're ready to head to Disneyland Park, you'll want to take a spin on
Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway (be prepared for an earworm of a soundtrack). Carve out some time at
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge as well if you didn't experience it on your last visit, and take a spin on classic attractions like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Haunted Mansion which currently has a
seasonal overlay decked out by Jack Skellington himself.
"Magic Happens" Parade is currently scheduled for 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on the day of your October visit, so I'd plan to see the second performance before grabbing dinner at Blue Bayou Restaurant or the newly opened
Tiana's Palace if you don't want to worry about making advance dining reservations. New Orleans Square is one of my favorite areas at Disneyland Resort, so I always try to spend as much time there as I can.
As your evening comes to an end, check out
Halloween Screams before tackling some late-night attractions. Disneyland Park is scheduled to close at the stroke of midnight that evening so you'll have time to sneak in a few more favorites.
Wishing you magic and memories,
Amy