Hello, Tiffany! Thanks for bringing your question to planDisney!
I am a big planner, so I love to plan out my days at the Disneyland Resort with which attractions we are going to ride and
at which restaurants we are going to dine! I'll describe the process I use and perhaps you can apply a few of these techniques to your planning.
I begin with which attraction we are going to start with each day. This is usually an attraction that typically has long waits throughout the day that we can avoid if we go first thing in the morning. At Disneyland Park that might be Peter Pan's Flight, Space Mountain, or Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. Over in Disney California Adventure Park, we definitely prioritize Radiator Springs Racers or Soarin' Around the World.
Next, I decide what we want to accomplish the rest of the day. If the goal is to ride as many attractions as possible, I would plan to ride all the attractions in Fantasyland since there are a lot of attractions in one area. If the plan is to get in all the thrill rides early in the day, we would head to Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, or Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: BREAKOUT!
Then the rest of the day, we use the
Disneyland app to check current attraction wait times and let that determine where we head to next. You can check out wait times any time before your trip as well. I suggest checking the app at different times during the day so you can get a feel for average wait times. Then you can plan out your day by which attractions should be prioritized in the morning and which attractions you can do any time.
There will also be a new service coming this fall that will do all this work for you!
Disney Genie is a complimentary digital feature in the Disneyland app that will create customized itineraries based on your interests. It will update throughout the day based on current attraction times and will tell you the best time to ride. We don't yet know the exact release date, so keep your eye on the
Disney Parks Blog to see if it will be available to use during your upcoming trip.
I hope your visit to the Happiest Place on Earth is full of magic and memories!
-Linda