Hi Katie!
With so much to see and do at the Disneyland Resort, I understand that it can be hard to know where to start in your planning. Luckily, we here at planDisney love to help fellow Guests find their way to and through the magic, so you've come to the right place!
Rest assured that three days will give you plenty of time to explore, experience, and even revisit a few favorite things. Ahead of your visit, I highly recommend spending some time in the Disneyland app to get a feel for where to find information and any special features, like Mobile Ordering and how to book your Lightning Lanes. When planning, there are really three buckets of activities to consider: entertainment, dining, and attractions. We will take a look at each below, but generally speaking, I would have each Guest in your party choose one priority for the day, whether that's a must-do attraction, a must-see show, or a must-try treat. With three must-dos on your agenda, this will help you structure and prioritize your day.
Attractions: With your
Lightning Lane Multi Pass, you will be able to skip the standby queue on select attractions. When you first scan into the park, you will make your first Lightning Lane selection by heading into the app, tapping the "+" in the bottom navigation bar, and selecting "Book Lightning Lane Entry". This will take you directly to the "Tip Board", which is where you will be able to check current wait times for attractions with and without Lightning Lanes. You will be spending a lot of time here as you move through your day. Once you make your first selection, you will be given a one-hour window to return to that attraction. You can make your next selection either when you tap into the first OR two hours after you made your first selection if the original return window is for later in the day. When it comes to structuring your day, I would try to do all of the attractions that interest you in each land before moving on to another area. This not only avoids zig-zagging across the park, but also reduces the feeling of overwhelm as you can manage each land as a mini experience rather than trying to plan for the park as a whole. If someone has a must-do attraction for the day, start your day in that land and check that off your list!
Entertainment: With the 70th Anniversary festivities, there are a lot of daytime and nighttime entertainment offerings to choose from. Before your visit, I highly recommend taking a look at the
Entertainment Schedule. If you view it on the website, you can choose a "5-day View", which will allow you to see the offerings across your three days for easier planning. A few quintessential nighttime spectaculars that I would recommend are Fantasmic!, Paint the Night parade (a must!), Wondrous Journeys, and World of Color Happiness!, to name just a few!
Dining: If you've already booked
dining reservations, great! Another feature I love if you are a bit more go-with-the-flow is the Mobile Dine Walk-Up Availability feature in the app allows you to book last-minute reservations, dependent on availability. Once you are in the parks, head to the "+" in the bottom navigation bar, select "Check Dining Availability" and your party size. At the bottom, you will see the option to "Join a Walk-Up List". Sometimes you can even snag hard-to-get reservations here!
Katie, I hope this helped lay the groundwork for your visit. I know there is so much more we could discuss, and we're here for you if you'd like to keep the conversation going—happy to help!
Magic awaits!
Tara