How to Start Your Day at Disneyland – Your Best Strategies with and without Genie+ – SoCal Daily (2024)

Updated April 8, 2024

So, you know how to get started at California Adventure. It’s busy over there. Be sure you know.

How about Disneyland?

I’ve detailed all you need to know to maximize your time in the park.

Giddy up. Let’s go!

Tips for Making These Strategies Work

• It’s imperative that you arrive an hour early. Why? On most days, you’ll be allowed to enter the park about 30 minutes prior to official park opening. Arrive an hour early so you’re at the front of the line when guests start going in.
• Disney Genie is a must for these plans to work.
• I recommend bringing breakfast/snacks with you to eat on your walk into the Disneyland Resort or to munch on while you’re walking from one stop to the next. Save a sit down breakfast for another day.
• My goal for you with these plans is to complete most iconic attractions in Disneyland by lunch. Start your day with one of the plans I share below and then take a break after lunch. Go back to your hotel and nap, swim, etc. Then, return late afternoon/evening. This allows you to avoid the most hectic and hottest time of the day when most park guests start melting down. Upon returning, meet characters, enjoy lower line attractions, see shows, visit walk through attractions, watch parades, etc. Then, once evening arrives, start “riding” attractions again.

How to Choose – Big Kids or Little Kids Strategies?

• Big Kids plans include all attractions. They’re designed for guests who wish to conquer everything.
• Little Kids plans are created without the bigger, “scarier” attractions little ones might not like.
• Choose which works for your group based on interest.
• This link shares info on each attraction. Scroll through it and use the filters at the top of the page to get an idea of what each attraction is like.
• Have both big and little kids? I recommend using the Big Kids plan, as it includes all attractions. When you come across an attraction that little ones can’t ride, find a nearby alternative (cast members at the entrance to the big kid ride can advise) or have a quick snack/use the restroom. Because the big rides are scheduled for early in the day, those riding will be in and out quickly.

Consider these options for little ones in each land when they can’t or don’t want to ride:

Tomorrowland: Astro Orbitor, Buzz Lightyear (short wait in the morning; do this a couple of times if needed)
Adventureland: Tiki Room, Jungle Cruise, Tarzan’s Treehouse
Frontierland: shooting range (bring quarters), Mark Twain Riverboat
Critter Country: The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

The Disneyland Strategy for Big Kids with Genie+

• Arrive at the Disneyland Resort an hour prior to park opening.
• Purchase Genie+ for each person in your group as soon as you walk in the gate.
• Open Genie+ and select your first attraction – Star Tours – and then walk to set up to rope drop Tomorrowland. As soon as you’re eligible for your next attraction on Genie+, choose another big attraction down the list. Keep doing this until around 1:00pm and then break for lunch. During your break, reassess your day and start looking at Rise of the Resistance wait times on the Disneyland app. Consider these attractions (and exploring Galaxy’s Edge) for late afternoon/early evening when wait times should be lowest.

Here’s my list of attractions for Disneyland for Big Kids in the order I recommend:

• Grab Genie+ for Matterhorn
• Ride Space Mountain
• Ride Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters
• Ride Star Tours (if not enough time, save for later)
• Ride Matterhorn with Genie+
• Grab Genie+ for Indiana Jones
• Ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
• Ride Pirates of the Caribbean
• Ride Jungle Cruise
• Ride Indiana Jones with Genie+
• Grab Genie+ Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway

(((Lunch)))

After lunch….and an afternoon break if you can…..

• Ride Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway with Genie+
• Grab Genie+ for “it’s a small world”

Proceed with Fantasyland and Tomorrowland rides in this order, grabbing Genie+ options as you can. But, look ahead to dinner time and aim to ride Millennium Falcon around 6:00pm. You’ll need to watch the app and select a Genie+ for it in the afternoon to achieve a return window around that time. This part of the day is ideal for Rise of the Resistance, which you should also ride standby around this time, at a 60 minute wait or less.

• Peter Pan (if the wait time is 30 minutes or less, ride it; if not, wait and watch the app)
• Alice in Wonderland
• Mad Tea Party (teacups)
• Storybook Land Canal Boats
• Casey Junior Circus Train
• Dumbo
• King Arthur’s Carrousel
• Snow White’s Enchanted Wish
• Pinocchio’s Daring Journey
• Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride
• Astro Orbitor
• Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room
• Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

• Ride Rise of the Resistance
• Ride Millennium Falcon with Genie+

Remember, Rise of the Resistance closes at 8:00pm most evenings. So, don’t leave this one until the end of your day and plan to jump in line.

Notes:

• Pirates is now on the Genie+ list (starting January 22, 2024), but I don’t recommend using Genie+ for it in the morning. Ride standby as I suggest and then repeat it later on with Genie+.
• Although some notable attractions are listed in the second half of the day, the first grouping includes those with longer lines.
• I don’t recommend trying to tackle every attraction in the park in one day, as they are listed above, but I put them in the best order for such if you plan to try it.
• If you choose not to break in the afternoon as I recommend, you can continue working through the attractions listed, however, you’ll be doing so during a very warm part of the day. Many guests get grouchy at this time, hence my recommendation to take a break. If you are staying in the park and want to avoid the mid-day heat, consider these options to stay cool: Ride the Disneyland Railroad, enjoy The Disneyland Story Presenting Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln, explore Tom Sawyer’s Island, walk through Tarzan’s Treehouse, visit Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough, ride the Disney Monorail, or enjoy the Main Street Vehicles.
• This plan allows you to tackle all four mountains, Star Tours and Pirates within the first couple of hours after park opening. With that behind you, you’re in great shape for the rest of the day.

The Disneyland Strategy for Big Kids with Early Entry

• Arrive at the Disneyland Resort an hour prior to official park opening.
• Line up at the Disneyland main gate.
• You should enter at the 30 minute mark. Purchase Genie+ for each person in your group as soon as you’re let in the park.
• Open Genie+ and select your first attraction – Star Tours.
• Ride Space Mountain standby.
• Line up at the Fantasyland ‘rope drop’ to Galaxy’s Edge. (between Pinocchio’s Daring Journey and Casey Jr’s Circus Train)
• At official park opening, walk to Rise of the Resistance and ride it! Then, walk back to Tomorrowland to proceed with the plan….

Here’s the list of attractions in the order I recommend you follow:

• Grab Genie+ for Matterhorn
• Ride Space Mountain
• Ride Rise of the Resistance at Rope Drop
• Ride Matterhorn with Genie+
• Grab a Genie+ for Indiana Jones
• Ride Buzz Lightyear
• Ride Star Tours
• Ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
• Ride Pirates of the Caribbean
• Ride Jungle Cruise
• Ride Indiana Jones Adventure with Genie+
• Grab Genie+ for Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway

(((Lunch))))

• Ride Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway with Genie+
• Grab a Genie+ for Millennium Falcon

Proceed with Fantasyland and Tomorrowland rides to finish your day in this order, grabbing Genie+ options as you can……

• Peter Pan (if the wait time is 30 minutes or more, skip it and come back later)
• “it’s a small world”
• Alice in Wonderland
• Mad Tea Party (teacups)
• Storybook Land Canal Boats
• Casey Junior
• Dumbo
• King Arthur’s Carrousel
• Snow White’s Enchanted Wish
• Pinocchio’s Daring Journey
• Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride
• Astor Orbitor
• Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room
• Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

The Disneyland Strategy for Little Kids with Genie+

If you’re hoping to tackle Fantasyland and focus entirely on attractions for little ones who can’t enjoy all of the ‘big’ rides, I recommend following this plan.

• Arrive at the Disneyland Resort an hour prior to park opening.
• Purchase Genie+ for each person in your group as soon as you walk in the gate.
  Open Genie+ and select your first attraction – Buzz Light Year’s Astro Blasters – and then walk to set up to rope drop Tomorrowland. As soon as you’re eligible for your next attraction on Genie+, choose another attraction down the list. Keep doing this until around 1:00pm and then break for lunch.

Here’s my list of attractions for Disneyland with Little Kids in the order I recommend:

• Grab Genie+ for Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
• Ride Alice in Wonderland
• Ride Dumbo
• Ride Storybook Land Canal Boats
• Ride “it’s a small world”
• Ride Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters with Genie+
• Grab Genie+ for Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway
• Ride Autopia
• Ride Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway and explore Toontown, meet Mickey
• Grab a Genie+ for Pirates of the Caribbean

Lunch – Jolly Holiday would be an ideal location as you move from Tomorrowland/Fantasyland to the other side of the park. For table service options, consider Cafe Orleans or River Belle Terrace.

• Ride Pirates of the Caribbean with Genie+
• Ride Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
• Ride Jungle Cruise
• Enjoy the Tiki Room
• Ride Finding Nemo’s Submarines
• Ride Astro Orbitor
• Ride Mad Tea Party (teacups)
• Ride King Arthur’s Carrousel
• Ride Casey Junior’s Circus Train
• Ride Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride
• Ride Pinocchio’s Daring Journey
• Ride Snow White’s Scary Adventures
• Ride Peter Pan’s Flight(use the Play Disney Parks App while in the queue); this is ideal just after fireworks (line up near Dumbo to watch fireworks and then you’ll be escorted to Peter Pan’s Flight once Fantasyland reopens)

Notes:

• As you can see in my line up, there aren’t many attractions for little ones that require Genie+. If you choose not to purchase Genie+ for your entire party, be sure you purchase it for yourself so you can get all the PhotoPass images. Here’s more on that.
• Feel like you’re missing out on the good stuff? Consider using Single Rider Lines for less wait on bigger attractions. This is a great option for parents who still want to enjoy the big rides, but don’t want to have their family stand in line. This post explains Single Rider Lines.
• This is a really ambitious plan, so on busy days, you might only get the first half done before lunch. But, I wanted to provide you with the main idea. My goal for you is to knock out popular, but reasonable, attractions for little ones early. Those include Alice in Wonderland, Storybook Land Canal Boats, and Dumbo. Return to Fantasyland later in the day to enjoy the King Arthur’s Carrousel, Casey Junior’s Circus Train, Mad Tea Party (teacups), Pinocchio, etc, etc. Ride Peter Pan during the evening so that you’re not standing in that long line in the sun.
• Keep in mind that Disneyland includes some rides that might be scary for little ones. Visit this post to review those.
• For guests wanting to do Jedi Training (on hiatus right now), you will need to adjust this plan to start with registering kids first. Go to registration first thing and then follow this plan. For more on how to register, visit this post.

The Disneyland Strategy that goes Straight to Rise of the Resistance

Although I don’t recommend doing it, I have tested this strategy that includes going directly to Rise of the Resistance and it works. First timers shouldn’t attempt this. Here’s why.

If you insist, arrive an hour early and be at the gate as close to 7:00am as possible. Line up for Rope Drop at Frontierland. While you’re waiting, ask the Cast Member at the rope which openings should be open that day for Galaxy’s Edge. Assuming Frontierland is one of them, head that way. Critter Country is often closed at opening and Fantasyland doesn’t make sense logistically.

Here’s the plan:

• Grab a Genie+ for Millennium Falcon
• Ride Rise of the Resistance standby
• Ride Millennium Falcon with Genie+
• Grab a Genie+ for Indiana Jones
• Ride Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
• Ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
• Ride Pirates of the Caribbean
• Ride Jungle Cruise
• See Walt’s Enchanted Tiki Room
• Ride Indiana Jones with Genie+
• Grab a Genie+ for Space Mountain

Lunch!

I’m stopping my plan here for lunch because your return window for Space Mountain will be pushed out a few hours. Make the best use of this time by breaking from the parks and returning to your hotel room. While you’re there, continue to select Genie+ options every 2 hours and/or you return to the park.

After Space Mountain, continue with Tomorrowland (Buzz Lightyear, Matterhorn, Star Tours) and then move on to Fantasyland. Finish with Toontown and use Genie+ to ride Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway.

If You Don’t Want to Pay for Genie+ or Lighting Lanes

I get it. You paid a lot to get in.

If you don’t want to pay for Disney Genie+ or the a la carte Lightning Lanes, I have strategies for you.

This post gives you the best strategies for Disneyland using only standby lines.

If You Have Two or More Days at Disneyland

If you’re lucky enough to have two days at Disneyland, simply cut the plan of your choice in half.

Focus on the first half on day 1 and then the second on day 2.

If you have three days, split your plan in two for the first 2 days and then start over on the third.

Rope Drop

I mention Rope Drop in this post several times.

Here’s what you need to know about it.

How to Know When You Can Select Your Next Genie+

The more you understand Genie, the more successful your visit will be. Please keep in mind the following rules that debunk many popular Genie+ myths:

• You may hold more than one LL with Genie+ at a time.
• You do not have to complete the attraction you’re holding your current LL for in order to pull your next one if that attraction’s return window is 2 hours away from your current one.

How to Use Rider Switch with these Strategies

Rider Switch is a free service offered to all park guests. You may use it in conjunction with Genie or without it.

The rules changed in 2018, so be sure to review those here. Essentially, now guests must use their return pass(es) from the Rider Switch system within an hour of them being issued.

Before this change, I encouraged guests to save the return passes until later in the day so as not to interrupt your progress in the morning. Those earlier hours in the park are essential for getting lots done before the crowds arrive. And, doubling up on attractions will slow you down.

Since this is no longer an option, I have a new plan for you:

Arrive an hour early each day and use one of my strategies shared, above. Use Rider Switch for the attractions you’re interested in with the exception of those that offer a Single Rider Line. I share a list of possible Single Rider attractions with details on how they work here.

For Disneyland, that may include:

• Space Mountain
• Star Tours
• Matterhorn
• Splash Mountain
• Indiana Jones
• Millennium Falcon

These options can vary each day, so as I recommend in that link that elaborates on Single Riders, check what’s available in the app the day of.

Instead of asking for a Rider Switch return pass for these attractions, move on to your next step in the strategy and know that you’ll be able to enjoy these attractions later in the day with a short line.

Afternoons are great for taking a break from attractions and instead, focusing on entertainment or even taking a break at your hotel. While one adult has kids at a show or on break, have the other tackle those four attractions that offer a Single Rider Line.

The following Rider Switch attractions do not have Single Rider Lines, so you’ll need to use Rider Switch for them if desired:

• Autopia
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
• Gadget’s Go Coaster

Cutting down on Rider Switch return passes will allow you to move more efficiently during your day.

The only catch with Single Rider lines is that there is no guarantee that an adult and child will sit together. And, the child has to be 7 years old to use the Single Rider line.

If those restrictions don’t work for you, simply move through the strategy using Rider Switch return passes immediately after the first ride. You’ll be delayed a bit, of course, but if you get a good start with your day, you will still make good progress.

Why You Shouldn’t Start with Peter Pan and When You Should Ride It Instead

Save Peter Pan’s Flight for a time later in the day. Even if you go directly to Peter Pan at park opening, you will most likely wait an hour to ride it. Why? Everyone else goes there first. The attraction is slow loading. It’s just not the smartest way to start your day.

Save that hour wait for late afternoon or evening – not in the mid-day sun – but later on after you get other things done. You’ll wait the same amount of time as you would if you went there first thing. But, that first hour is so valuable – use it to do so much more.

Also, setting the tone of the day with an hour long wait at Peter Pan can work against you. Kids want to wait in line even less than you do. Show them that they’re going to move through the park in a fun way, riding several rides to kick off the day, rather than getting stuck in one place upon arrival.

If you watch fireworks from behind the castle – near Dumbo – you can jump in a line that forms near Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride that will lead guests to Peter Pan when this part of Fantasyland reopens after fireworks. Getting in this line will result in waiting only 5-10 minutes for the attraction. If you’re planning on being in the park late, I recommend this.

How These Strategies Test in the Parks

I test my strategies in the park monthly and occasionally share the results here.

Take a look at some of these examples so you can see how to adjust as your day develops.

August 2023 – great morning with lots done before noon

October 2023 – Haunted Mansion Holiday with a low wait, great day

November 2023 – Opening day of Holidays at the Disneyland Resort

February 2024 – nice morning with low wait times

Notes:

• I test the strategies as the park changes and also randomly to ensure they’re the best way for you to tour the park. When I test them, I often share the results on Facebook with details from my day. Follow me there to see me walk through the plans above about once a month.
• When I test, I do so alone, with my kids, in heels on Dapper Day, and even once with 50ish people! I, by no means, run from attraction to attraction. My intention with testing is to make sure the strategies work for you guys.
• If I’m solo, I walk through the park as a family would – as I have many, many times over the years with my own kids – pushing a stroller and corralling children. I’ve been there. I know what it’s like. I do my best to mimic a family’s walk through so that you can see how my plans would work for you.
• I encourage you to take a look at those posts above to see how the plans work during an actual day in the park. You’ll learn how I adjusted my plan to accommodate a ride closure or other surprise you might encounter. While every park visit is different, it’s good to have an overall idea of what you can expect during your day.

What About Entertainment?

Because you arrived early and focused on attractions during the first part of your day, your evening is clear for some shows.

I recommend watching the 8:45pm Main Street Electrical Parade from the “it’s a small world” viewing area. When it ends, stay where you are to watch Disneyland Forever Fireworks at 9:30pm. This link goes into more detail about your evening line up, including when to arrive.

Other Tips

A few tips to keep in mind:

• Three dark rides (Snow White, Pinocchio, and Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride) all have super short wait times at the close of day. I recommend you skip these three until the park is nearly closed. You should be able to enjoy all three within 20 minutes if the lines are low enough. (I’ve actually walked onto each of these moments before the park closes.)
• Have one person keep track of all theme park tickets and Genie+. If children have lanyards for their pin trading, do not allow them to hold their own tickets or passes. One person should be in charge of all tickets and passes, and it should absolutely be an adult.

Got other ideas? Find me on Facebook and let’s chat!

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