Let’s be fair, even the biggest, craziest Disney fan sometimes wants a break from Churros and The Frozen Sing Along. Even if you are planning that once in a lifetime journey with your kids, a little time away from the parks and resorts might be a blessing. Let’s take a quick tour around Southern California for a glimpse of other fun things to do on day trips from Disneyland.
The top 3 questions I answer about things to do around Anaheim are:
- What’s the best beach?
- Can I visit Sea World or Universal from Anaheim?
- How amazing is the Hollywood Walk of Fame?
The Beach
Let’s start with the beach. Yes, there are many excellent beaches near Disneyland. The closest big beaches are Manhattan Beach and Huntington. Both offer wide stretches of white sand and un-broken surf. Newport is also relatively close and an excellent choice. If the waves are breaking at “The Wedge” you can watch the body surfers twist and turn in the surf. Newport also benefits from Balboa Island – a quaint shopping and walking district protected from the surf where you can ride carnival rides, enjoy a beachside corndog or a gourmet meal, and take your car on the old car ferry (totally worth it!). If you head to Balboa Island, a frozen banana is a tradition. Don’t pass up the opportunity to indulge in these chocolate covered frozen treats. And they’re bananas so they’re totally healthy! Right…
Further South, Corona Del Mar is a lovely natural cove. Further south than that is Doheny State Beach – a famous surfer’s mecca that gained international acclaim thanks to the Beach Boys. Each beach has its own unique personality with shopping and dining nearby. A bit of googling will give you some ideas on which beach you might want to visit to dip your toes into the vast Pacific.
Speaking of toe dipping, for those coming from the east coast, you need to know that the Pacific is a big, deep ocean. The water is not warm. So if you have visions of drifting along in Caribbean warm waters, stop dreaming. If the water is 70 degrees, there’s something very wrong. The Pacific Coastal waters generally hover in the low to mid-60’s. In the winter, the water can dip into the high 50’s. California weather experts call the Pacific “Nature’s Air Conditioner” for a reason. The water temperature is the reason the California coast enjoys such temperate weather.
Another note about visiting a Southern California beach comes from the sky. That cool water causes an often pervasive cloud cover along the beach. It can be 100 degrees at Disneyland and foggy and cold at the beach. In August. This “marine Layer” is most common in the spring and early summer. Called “May Grey” and “June Gloom” the beaches can go weeks at this time of year without direct sunlight. During the later summer months and fall, fog can still shroud the coast, but the warmer atmospheric temperatures generally causes it to burn off midday, allowing the sun to bathe the coast in a warm glow. This doesn’t mean it’s miserable (though I absolutely hate this weather). It also doesn’t mean you can’t get a solid sunburn – some of my worst burns growing up came on these cloudy beach days. Before you head to the beach from Anaheim, check the weather. You don’t want to be caught at the beach in shorts and a tank top in the fog.
Near the Parks
Maybe you want a non-Disney day without the hassle of driving hundreds of miles on Southern California’s maze of freeways. Never fear! There’s quite a bit to do right near the parks. Like professional sports? The NHL Anaheim Ducks and MLB Anaheim Angels both play a couple miles away. Catch a game at Angel Stadium and watch Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani dazzle you. In the offseason, both stadiums host concerts, motorcross, and other events.
If you’d like a more active, cerebral outing, the Discovery Cube is an excellent children’s science center. Near the Discovery Cube, the Bower’s Museum hosts incredible resident and travelling art exhibits in a beautiful modern facility.
Several shopping districts and cinemas are also within a quick Uber ride from the parks.
Other Area Attractions
Southern California, with a population of over 17 million people, offers endless opportunities for fun. Head south to San Diego – a destination in its own right. Balboa Park is home to a host of lovely museums, parks, and the San Diego Zoo. Catch a baseball game at Petco Park, one of the most lovely new ball stadiums, go bar hopping in the Gaslamp District, head out to Sea World, ride the ferris wheel at Pacific Beach, Tour the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier, Drive out to Cabrillo National Monument (A National Park Site) and tour the lighthouse, enjoy Legoland, or tour the San Diego Wild Animal Safari Park. That’s just the short list of incredible fun that awaits you in San Diego.
Below is a handy link to area lodging. There are options for all budgets in different areas of San Diego.
https://www.booking.com/searchresults.en.html?city=20015725&aid=7916401&no_rooms=1&group_adults=2
In the other direction, there’s the massive metropolis of Los Angeles. Universal Studios, more beaches, Malibu, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Hollywood, Griffith Park and Observatory, movie studio tours, Space Shuttle Endeavour, the Getty Museum or the Getty Villa, the Norton Simon, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, La Brea Tar Pits – the list never stops. Los Angeles also hosts concerts by big name artists, touring museum exhibitions, and any other event you can imagine. You can literally spend weeks in Southern California and not see everything. Trust me.
Explore the Getty Museum and Getty Villa below. Both are fantastic and worth a visit.
The Getty Villa offers ancient art and travelling exhibits in replica of an Italian Villa. Enjoy an afternoon wandering the grounds, exploring art, and gazing on panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean. For more information on the Getty Villa, check out our blog
The Getty Center offers hilltop views of Los Angeles in an ultramodern setting. Explore art from Getty’s personal collection as well as extensive travelling exhibits.
Both Getty museums are free, but require timed parking reservations for a flat fee per vehicle.
Then there are sports. Depending on the time of year you visit, there are sports. 2 NBA teams, 1 NHL team, 2 NFL teams, MLB baseball, Women’s professional basketball, grand prix racing, horse racing, MLS soccer, what do you enjoy? And those are the professional sports. If you like College sports, there are 2 major Division 1 schools right in Los Angeles along with many smaller colleges offering every imaginable spectator sport from La Crosse to football to women’s volleyball and swimming. If there’s a sport you really want to see, time your Disney trip to that season.
Just remember that Southern California is a huge region – Just going from Los Angeles to the Mexican Border near San Diego is over 120 miles and it’s close to 200 miles to the Nevada and Arizona borders. With all that mileage and 17 million residents, traffic is legendary. Someone recently asked how long it takes me to get to Disneyland from my home in Pasadena. I said, “45 minutes, or 3 hours on a Friday afternoon.” It’s 30 miles.
If you yearn for nature beyond the beach, there are several state parks in the surrounding mountains and deserts. Head out to Joshua Tree National Park and explore the desert or day trip to the mountains beyond San Diego. Maybe a round of golf on a world class PGA course in Palm Springs interests you. Southern California offers endless possibilities to explore, exercise, learn, and enjoy. It’s just a matter for figuring out what diversion catches your eye.
My suggestion is to do a bit of research. Then plan your free days. You will never be able to conquer it all unless you move there. Just remember to plan for that legendary traffic!