California Adventure Park at Disneyland California

We planned our first trip to Disneyland for during the 2023-2024 Holiday Break. Knowing that our break overlapped with many California Public Schools’ holidays, so we were prepared for big crowds. Both parks were sold out the entire week, but with Disney Genie+ we were able to ride many of the main attractions with just a 3-day park ticket.

We arrived in Anaheim on Tuesday, January 2 after a 2-hour drive from Palm Springs. We were able to quickly send our bags directly from our car to luggage holding at the Disneyland Resort. The biggest benefit to staying onsite was the quick 10-minute walk through Downtown Disney to the entrance to both parks. We arrived at 11am to long lines at California Adventure, just as the Park Hopper ticket holder’s entry window opened.

Disney Genie+

• 11:30am- Animation Academy (no wait)

  We drew Oswold and learned about the history of the character. The short 20-minute “show” offered different characters all day, and if we had more downtime we would have returned.

  

  

  
• 11:45am- Award Wieners Quick Service Lunch- Vegan hot dog

  

  

• Character Meet & Greets

  Pluto, Nick Wilde & Judy Hops from Zootopia

  

  

• 12:45pm- Redwook Creek Challenge Trail– The large wooded section provided a ton of opportunities for kids of all ages to explore and climb. 

  

  

  

  

  

• 1pm-2pm- Rides on Pixar Pier & Disney ¡Viva Navidad! Street Party

  Golden Zephyr (10 minute wait)
  Silly Symphony Swings (10 min. wait)
  Emotional Whirlwind (25 min. wait)
  Jessie’s Critter Carousel (15 min. wait)

  

  

  

  

• 2:30- 4:00 PM Avengers Campus & Hollywood Land

  Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout! (Lighting Lane)
  Warriors of Wakanda- “Training” show on the Avengers Campus
  Monster’s Inc. Mike & Sully to the Rescue! (Lighting Lane)

  

  

  

Carthay Circle restaurant

• 5:30pm-7:30pm- Pixar Pier
  

  We met Goofy. (Sadly he was a consolation character; after waiting 20 minutes to see the Three Caballeros they had to go star in the street party before our turn.)
  
  We then queued for Pixar Pal-Around Non-Swinging. The wait time was advertised as 30 minutes, but because the ride had broken down earlier, a lot of people returned to use their passes. We waited over an hour before boarding. 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

• 7:30pm-9:00pm Avengers Campus

  7:30pm- Snack & Dessert at Pym Test Kitchen Quick Service– This Ant-Man themed restaurant was creatively themed and the giant pretzel was a significant appetizer.

  8:00pm- Loki meeting followed by the show Dr. Strange: Mysteries of the Mystic Arts. The small audience and fantastic actors made this show one of the highlights of the park.

  8:30pm- WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure (Lightning Lane)

  

  

  

  

  

• 9pm-10pm Cars Land

  9pm- Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree (5 minute wait)
  9:30pm- Luigi’s Rollicking’ Roadsters (15 minute wait)

  

  

  

  

World of Color

Even with a late arrival we were able to complete all of our “must-dos” on a first visit between 11am-10pm. The large crowds probably took away from being able to enjoy the ambiance as much as we would have on lighter days, especially in congested areas like San Fransokyo Square. If we had visited with a full day at rope drop, we would have purchased individual Lightning Lanes for Radiator Springs Racers, but we couldn’t justify a 2-hour wait in standby. Visiting during Christmas also made it okay to have time to see holiday-themed parades, shows, and photo opportunities instead of waiting in long lines. Cars Land was especially festive, with retro decorations and rides re-themed with holiday songs.

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