What to do with 1 day in anaheim-not disneyland or LA highlights

cruisnfamily

DIS Veteran
Joined
Mar 6, 2002
We have a full day to spare, our flight home is at 10pm. We will be in Anaheim without a car. We are 2 50 year olds.

By this point in our trip we will already have done and all day tour of all the highlights of LA as well as our days at Disneyland and California Adventure.

Open to doing other things in LA that are not duplicating the highlights or anything else really.

We are from FL and have Sea World, Universal and Zoos here so not interested in those things.

Wishing there was a tour of Walt Disney's home or something like that but not finding such a thing.

Any recommendations? Thanks so much!
 
This link has a list of interesting things to do: DAY SIX Podcasts of Things to Do Around Disneyland. Is there anything specific that you are interested in? And which airport will you be using? Are you open to using Uber/Lyft? Do you like museums? There are several very good/renowned museums in the L.A. area. If you like shopping, South Coast Plaza (upscale indoor mall) in Costa Mesa and Fashion Island (very nice outdoor mall) in Newport Beach are both very nice malls with a Southern California flair. There is a free shuttle to South Coast Plaza that leaves from certain DLR area hotels. You might enjoy a day at the beach -- Newport, Huntington, and Laguna are nice and not too far from DLR. The Nixon Presidential Library is not far from DLR in Yorba Linda.
 
This link has a list of interesting things to do: DAY SIX Podcasts of Things to Do Around Disneyland. Is there anything specific that you are interested in? And which airport will you be using? Are you open to using Uber/Lyft? Do you like museums? There are several very good/renowned museums in the L.A. area. If you like shopping, South Coast Plaza (upscale indoor mall) in Costa Mesa and Fashion Island (very nice outdoor mall) in Newport Beach are both very nice malls with a Southern California flair. There is a free shuttle to South Coast Plaza that leaves from certain DLR area hotels. You might enjoy a day at the beach -- Newport, Huntington, and Laguna are nice and not too far from DLR. The Nixon Presidential Library is not far from DLR in Yorba Linda.

Thank you so much for all this great info! I will check out that link!

Our Airport is LAX but I kind of figured we would leave our luggage at the hotel (best western park place) all day and leave for the airport from the hotel instead of trying to drag luggage around with us.

Definitely open to using uber/lyft! Have never done it before but planning to use it several times on this trip already.

Don't want a beach day or shopping. More interested in doing things that we can only do while in that area, attractions/sightseeing,etc. Not sure about museums, would depend. My husband loves them, I prefer museums that give you a tour and tell you about things to just walking around.
 
... I prefer museums that give you a tour and tell you about things to just walking around.
One excellent museum in L.A. that fits the bill is The Museum of Tolerance in west L.A. (on Pico, I think). Very moving experience -- a unique and worthwhile visit. If you like gardens, the Huntington in Pasadena has lovely gardens and a smaller museum. And the California Science Center has the Space Shuttle Endeavor (and other interesting exhibits).
 


Knotts Berry Farm is good and that's a short Uber ride away from Anaheim. It sounds like you might enjoy San Diego more though. You can catch the train in Anaheim (over by Angels Stadium) and it will take you right to the San Diego waterfront. The USS Midway is right there, or you could take the light rail to Old Town San Diego or the downtown area.
 
Unless you're not willing/able to drive, I highly suggest renting a one-way car from DLR-LAX and taking a short road trip. Maybe go for a hike in one of California's many canyons, like Trabuco, Black Star, or Eaton. Take the lift to the top of Mt Baldy and see the desert. Drive through the Donut Hole in La Puente. Tour the Gamble House, or just check out the cactus garden at the Huntington.

Whatever you do, head to the west side in the early afternoon so you don't spend all day in traffic.
 
If you are looking to be at LAX by the evening for your flight, I wouldn't veer too far away from the general area. If you rent a car it might be easier luggage wise and you wouldn't have to come back to Anaheim and fight nasty traffic. You could read this article for a list of "Walt's LA" locations that doubles as unique Hollywood-type sightseeing stops. https://ohmy.disney.com/insider/2016/08/30/walt-disney-los-angeles/

If you can't rent a car, I would definitely recommend Knott's Berry Farm if you're looking for a unique theme park experience... or at least have a chicken dinner at Mrs. Knott's. You could also Uber to Long Beach and see the Aquarium and the Queen Mary, which you can take a guided tour of if you'd like.

Whatever you're leaning towards, we are always happy to help with the logistics!
 


All these ideas are great! Thank you all!

Let me throw a wrinkle in and ask your opinion....we were only planning 2 days at Disneyland...well 1 California Adventure and 1 Disneyland. We are now playing with the idea of just adding a 3rd day instead of all the wonderful ideas you have shared with me. What do you think? Will we have seen it all in 2 days or will we be happy to have another day?
 
All these ideas are great! Thank you all!

Let me throw a wrinkle in and ask your opinion....we were only planning 2 days at Disneyland...well 1 California Adventure and 1 Disneyland. We are now playing with the idea of just adding a 3rd day instead of all the wonderful ideas you have shared with me. What do you think? Will we have seen it all in 2 days or will we be happy to have another day?

I think it depends when you're going and how you typically do parks. If you're going to be arriving at rope drop/utilizing EMH, and purchasing Maxpass, I think you could do it in 2. If you explore at a slower pace or are going around the holidays, maybe a third day would be good to view the decorations.

If you do end up doing it in 2 days, you may want to be open-minded about a park hopper, it's much more efficient than in WDW since the parks are a stone's throw away from each other. You could possibly get more done that way.
 
What are your DLR dates? That can make a difference in how much you can get done in a day. Park hopping is so easy at DLR (5 minutes at most to walk between the parks!) that we usually recommend hoppers to people, especially if using MP since you can book FPs for one park from the other park that way. Personally, I would go for 3 days in the parks -- for me, a more relaxed touring plan is more enjoyable. And that way you can take some time to see shows, parades, maybe enjoy a TS meal or two, maybe do a tour, etc.
 
We have one day off of Disneyland and we are renting a car, visiting a nearby grove of redwood trees that were planted in the 70s, visiting the Richard Nixon Presidential Library & Museum, then going to Laguna Beach to see the sculpture beach park.
 

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