Our First Day At Disneyland: Disney California Adventure Park

First day in California for all five of us, and we went to Disney’s California Adventure Park (DCA)! Initially, we had a touring plan to guide us in getting to all the major and not so major attractions on our list, but having gotten to our hotel in the wee hours of the morning, after flying from New York, then staying up to sanitize surfaces throughout the suite, unpack, and having our sons refusing to sleep, I said that I needed decent sleep. Since I went to sleep at about 4 AM, I decided we would not go to the park until about 1 PM. So, my previously scheduled touring plan starting at 8 AM was out the window. However, we had a great, well-paced experience, hitting most of what we had on our original list, plus photo ops and shows we didn’t have listed at all! Technically, we accomplished more than I’d actually planned , and we left the park at about the same time that the touring plan would have had us leave, which was a bit after 9 PM but before 9:30 PM.

Here’s a quick outline of our day to hopefully help you plan your time at DCA, and to show you how you can thoroughly enjoy DCA even if you arrive in the afternoon!

We started the day with breakfast from IHOP, which is right across the street from Disneyland, and just a few doors down from our hotel, Tropicana Inn & Suites (Anaheim). We ate at our hotel, then headed to the park, which is diagonally across the street from the hotel.

The first area we went to after entering DCA was Cars Land. There, we took official Disneyland photos by the Cars Land sign, we rode Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree, Radiator Springs Racers, and Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters!

We then headed to Avengers Campus to catch Avengers Assemble, featuring Black Widow and the Black Panther! Then, on to take official Disneyland photos at the Avengers Campus sign, and then to Dr. Strange’s presentation.

After that, we enjoyed Soarin’ Around the World (Soarin’) before heading back to Cars Land to have lunch at the Cozy Cone. I ordered the bacon mac and cheese filled cone and the “Pear of Dice” soda. Note that there are at least three different Cozy Cone ordering stations, each with a different menu: 

1 – Churros – where I got the “Pear of Dice” soda

2 – Ice Cream Cones – we didn’t order form there

3 – Con Queso – where I got my filled cone with bacon mac and cheese

I saw two other stations there, including one for “Popcones,” but they didn’t appear to be open. All the Cozy Cone stations required mobile app ordering. Those we used, provided super fast service, and there was available seating nearby. 

Allan and our sons enjoyed food from Flo’s V8 Café, which we ordered via mobile app, picked up, and brought over to our Cozy Cone seating area. While eating at the Cozy Cone, we got to see Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater driving around! Don’t you love being photo-bombed by your favorite celebs!?

After lunch, we strolled out of Cars Land, and continued to explore DCA. We enjoyed Ariel’s Undersea Adventure, then headed to Pixar Pier, where we took even more official Disneyland photos. At Pixar Pier, we enjoyed Toy Story Midway Mania, then a non-swinging gondola on Pixar Pal-A-Round. 

We then walked towards the front of the park and rode Soarin’ one more time for the day. Then, we headed over to Hollywood Studios where we enjoyed Mickey’s Philharmagic, then hopped on Monster’s Inc. Mike & Sulley To The Rescue. 

After all that, the boys had hot dogs from Award Weiners, and while they were eating, we ordered dinner from IHOP to pick up and take with us to the hotel after we left the park. As the boys ate, we heard the fireworks from Disneyland Park. 

At the end of our first day at Disneyland, my takeaway was this: We enjoyed walking through the park. We love the pace at Disneyland! It offers the magic, wonder, and the feels of Walt Disney World without the overly busy jitters of Walt Disney World. There’s definitely a laid back California vibe, and I like it! Admittedly, we’re not sure if the small numbers of people and short to non-existent rides were a result of the global health crisis or whether the last weeks of August into the first week of September is always this laid back and easy at Disneyland, but for us, we enjoyed it, and we are thankful!

After the boys finished their hot dog dinners on our first day at Disneyland, we left the park, picked up our dinner from IHOP and brought it back to the hotel. We ate, showered, and prepared for our second day in California and second day at Disneyland, which would be spent enjoying Disneyland Park!

Have you been to Disneyland before? Do you have a preference between Disney California Adventure Park(DCA) or Disneyland Park?