Best Strategies for Disney's California Adventure

last updated: 06/17/2023

California Adventures is easily my favorite Disney Park, for so many reasons. DCA has such an assortment of rides, food, and atmosphere that it stands out against the rest. Animal Kingdom is a close second for me, but I think California Adventure has more (and for the most part better) rides and much better food. Maybe it’s the SoCal in my blood, but this is the pentacle of a Disney Day for me.

Now, since California Adventures does have so much to do, it’s important to have a game plan. Especially since it closes earlier than Disneyland on most nights. What makes me the person you should listen to when it comes to your next trip? Well, I’ve been going to Disneyland Resort nearly every weekend for the past 12 years. I know both parks inside and out and can help you get the most out of your days.

Ride Strategies Available at Disney‘s California Adventures

California Adventures is the last Disney park to have opened in the United States, at least at the time of this writing, which provided the company with a ton of valuable insight and information for planning. Now, if you were one of the lucky ones to visit DCA in those first few years – you might wonder “Really? Interesting they decided to ignore that insight and information.” Now, I could certainly spend some time arguing why California Screamin’ is superior to Incredicoaster, or how Sunshine Plaza was actually the best central hub at the resort. But we’ll save that conversation for another day because my point (yes I do have one) is the majesty and magnificence of the Single Rider Line. This is just one available strategy for the park though, so let’s take a step back and talk about some of the others real quick.

Rope Drop at Disney‘s California Adventures

Did you know that you can get into Disney parks before they open? Oh yes, my friend. While rides may not yet be open, you can normally enter the parks 30 minutes to an hour before the published opening time. This window of time is known as Rope Drop, because the entrance to each land in the park is roped off until that published opening time when cast members simultaneously drop these ropes and allow guests to enter. Since the parks already open fairly early, 9:00 am in most cases, most folks are still waking up and getting ready while you and I will already be in the park.

There is some criticism that even at rope drop you are still waiting in a line, but that’s it’s just a different (and far less organized) line. Maybe. But I’d rather wait in line at 8:30 am when it’s 65 degrees than 2:00 pm when it’s probably in the 80’s or 90’s during summer. I still disagree with this complaint though, because once those ropes drop there’s a solid two hours before crowds start to swell. Do you know how many attractions you can experience in TWO HOURS when there’s little to no line?

3-4 normally. Though I’ve been able to check off 6 on a few occasions. Here’s what to prioritize – or not prioritize.

Radiator Racers

No, don’t do it – trust me! Radiator Racers is the most popular rope drop attraction, every day. The ride opened over a decade ago and still pulls wait times of over 2 hours on a regular basis. The line is 100% outdoors and any shade cover is provided by small cement rooms decorated with glass bottles in the walls. Glass, sun, summer – it’s HOT. This is one of the worst line in the park (second only to Grizzly River Rapids) and the absolute last queue that you want to get stuck in – and you will get stuck in it. The queue goes from walk-on to forty-five minutes before you can even get to the entrance. Rope drop should be your last-ditch strategy for this one. We recommend using Single Rider (if your party can be broken up), Lightening Lane (if within your group’s budget for the day), or Late Night Hours.

Then, only if you know that none of these are an option should you use Rope Drop for Radiator Racers.

Pixar Pier Attractions

At the very top of our priority list for rope drop are Toy Story Midway Mania and Incredicoaster. Both rides are incredibly popular, for good reason, and will see one-hour-plus waits throughout the day. Since the area closes early for World of Color these will not be available to leverage for late-night hours. Midway Mania is the first priority here since your only other option to beat the line will be purchasing Genie+. Incredicoaster offers a Single Rider as well as Rider Swap, and the line can fluctuate in the late afternoon.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout

After Pixar Pier, you’ll need to make a choice. There are three more attractions with queue times that will go wild in the next few hours – and they’re on opposite sides of the park. You can make your way to Guardians of the Galaxy, but expect that to be your final Rope Drop attraction. By now, the line is usually around 30 minutes – but that’s shorter than it will be for most of the day. This queue is largely outside, but it is shaded. There are also quite a few snack carts along the route, so we normally grab a pretzel and plan to deal with a short wait.

Soarin’ Around the World

Alternatively, you can head to Soarin’ Around the World. A majority of this queue is also outside, but there is shade and misters when it gets too hot. Given the choice between the Guardians line or Soarin, I’d take Soarin. This also puts you close to one final ride that will likely still have little to no line.

Grizzly River Run

Yes, I am recommending that you go on a water ride at 10:00 in the morning. What’s a vacation without an early morning bromine shower?

It is really one of the best times for this attraction. The crowds are already thin, and most people will walk right by until the heat of the day thinking that it’s too cold or too early to get soaking wet. Disney knows this though, and they have control over the amount of splash (based on the water levels, water speed, drop release timings, etc.). So, it’s extremely unlikely that you’ll walk off drenched anytime before lunch.

Genie+ at Disney‘s California Adventure

We can’t go too in-depth about Genie+ in this guide, or we’ll be here all day. Luckily though we’ve already got a complete guide about Genie+ at Disney’s California Adventures! In this section, we’re going to focus on what attractions you should prioritize when making selections, and whether you should even purchase it at all.

Toy Story Midway Mania

Midway Mania is so incredibly popular and so incredibly good, it closes earlier than the park (thank you World of Color), and usually breaks down at least once a day. All that means that the line picks up fast and stays outrageous all day, and the Genie+ reservations book up quickly. Bump this one down the list if you were able to check it off during rope drop.

Incredicoaster

Again, Pixar Pier closes early. So you’ll want to prioritize anything in this area that’s on your bucket list.

Grizzly River Run

The only water ride in the park gets crowded in the heat of the day. I’ve personally waited for over two hours for this ride (it was high school – I didn’t know any better!!), and it was literally hell. The queue wraps back and forth around a big section of the ride track, which makes it a challenge to get in and out if you need to excuse yourself for any reason. Most of the pathway has cover directly above your head, but the cover is so skinny and tall that it doesn’t accomplish much. It’s hot – the air, the rails, the ground – and this ride is not good enough for anyone to wait in this line.

Genie+ reservations will be booked up, so grab one when you see it. Even if the time is earlier than you’d like it to be – take it. You can always go in and edit the reservation in a couple of hours when later windows are available.

Soarin Around the World

Another popular ride with an exterior queue. Disneyland California is my favorite resort and California Adventure is my favorite park – but Florida got a lot of things right with the predominately indoor queues. Anyway, make sure to book your Genie+ reservation for Soarin!

Should You Purchase Genie+ at Disney‘s California Adventure?

There are so many different strategies to beat the lines at California Adventures, you really don’t need to buy Genie+. It’s nice to have and if you are visiting during a festival or seasonal event of some kind, it’s worth it to be able to walk around and explore. But no, you don’t need it. Save your money and use it for the Lightening Lane instead.

Lightening Lane at Disney‘s California Adventure

There is one ride at Disney‘s California Adventure that is not included in Genie+ and requires a separate purchase. (I hate to keep bringing this up, but I absolutely called this back before Galaxy’s Edge opened). That’s Radiator Racers, and yes you should probably spend the extra money. Cars is one of Disney‘s most infamous franchises (aside from Frozen, and much like Bruno – we don’t talk about Frozen here), and it continues to resonate more than 15 years later. Radiator Racers is, easily, one of the best examples of Disney Imagineering. I rank it up there with Rise of the Resistance, honestly. You’re placed in the movie, you drive through the town of Radiator Springs, and you race – it’s fantastic.

But the queue is horrible. I don’t even have pictures to show you – because I refuse to wait in this line. Sorry, but not even for you dear reader. There is a Singe Rider option which is my recommendation for this attraction, but if you absolutely cannot break your party up for one reason or another – spend the money for the Lightening Lane.

Rider Swap at Disney‘s California Adventure

Available at all rides in both California Adventure and Disneyland park, Rider Swap (or Rider Switch, Baby Switch, Baby Swap) allows you to break your group up without having to wait in line twice. The best way to explain this is by example, let’s look at Guardian’s of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout. GoG is not very kid friendly – it’s a thrilling, heart-pounding ride with a minimum height requirement. If you are visiting the parks with kids you might just skip it, since smaller kids won’t be able to (or may not want to) ride. But there’s another way, if you’re willing to briefly split up your group. Your group should first approach the cast member at the queue entrance to request a rider swap pass, Adult A will then enter the queue and wait in the standby line. Adult B can then take the rest of the group to another more age-appropriate activity. Once Adult A has gotten off of the attraction they can swap and Adult B can enter the Lightening Lane queue using the Rider Swap pass.

It’s not ideal, since someone still has to wait in line, but it’s a good tool to minimize waits for the group and take advantage of rides you might otherwise skip. This comes in especially handy for a lunch or nap break, where one adult can wait in line without missing too much of the experiences with the children.

Single Rider at Disney‘s California Adventure

There are SIX single-rider queues at California Adventure, there’s only four in all of Disney World. If I’m being honest, this is probably a HUGE part of why DCA is my favorite park. It’s magic. You can, basically, walk on to some of the most popular attractions. You don’t have to pay for anything extra and there are no frequency limitations. Want to go on Incredicoaster 16 times in a row – Single Rider. Only person in your party that wants to cool down on Grizzly River Rapids in the middle of the day – Single Rider. Are you a weirdo like me who goes to the parks alone because you prioritize your own adventures of the stares of strangers? Single Rider all day. Here are the (6) attractions in DCA that offer Single Rider:

Goofy’s Sky School
Incredicoaster
Radiator Springs Racers
Grizzly River Run
WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure
Soarin’ Around the World

Late Nights at Disney‘s California Adventure

So, you slept in on your Disney trip and missed rope drop? What do you think this is, a vacation? If you’re more of a night owl, or someone in your family thought it would be a funny prank to change your alarm (true story) – don’t fear, there’s another window at the parks when crowds will die down and you can take advantage of some shorter waits. Evening hours either during nighttime shows, like World of Color, when everyone is preoccupied, or afterwards when most folks (and especially families) will make their way to the exit. This is prime time to hop on some of the most popular attractions, or even repeat some of your favorites.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout

There is no better nighttime ride in Disney‘s California Adventure than Guardians of the Galaxy. You could ride this a million times during the day, but when you get to the top and the doors open up to the park lit up after dark – it just hits different. Bonus points for the fact that this ride is too scary for most small children, so while some families might linger for rides like Soarin’- GoG is nearly a sure thing.

Web-Slingers

This ride is just a rethemed version of Toy Story Midway Mania, but as long as you’re in Avenger’s Campus you might as well take it for a spin.