Anaheim, California is the Disneyland Resort
Destination
Anaheim, home to
Disneyland, is located 28 miles south of Los Angeles in Orange
County, California. Just 25 minutes from the Pacific Ocean, the city enjoys
mild year-round climate and very little rain. The highest average
temperature is 79 degrees F in the summer and 65 degrees in the winter. Mild
temperatures, affordable hotel accommodations and hundreds of activities
make this city one of the most popular in all of California.
Anaheim California
travel guide: You can get
deals on hotels to this Disneyland destination, or find
travel tips to Anaheim. One of the the things tourists want most when
going to the theme park is a stay at the beach. We
produced a map with
Southern California beaches and show the distances from each one to
Disneyland.
From Anaheim, you can travel to the beaches, airports and major California
attractions and cities such as San Diego, 90 miles south and San Francisco,
400 miles north. Appearing in photo upper left clockwise: Sign from Disney
California Adventure, Mighty Ducks, California Adventure and Paradise Pier
Hotel, Disneyland's Toon Town, Mickey Mouse, Anaheim Convention Center.
Anaheim is one of the top
destinations in California. It's convenient, central location and hundreds
of quality and budget hotels make this a very affordable Orange County city
to park your family while visiting the region's theme parks. From your hotel
you can walk, dine, shop and even catch buses that travel to major hotels to
pick up guests for day trips to Universal Studios Hollywood, Las Vegas
casinos and San Diego. In addition, you can catch the Amtrak train to ride
to downtown Los Angeles and travel throughout the United States.
Things to do in Anaheim,
California include Disneyland and Disney California Adventure theme parks,
conventions at Anaheim Convention Center, music at The Grove, entertainment
in Downtown Disney
with ESPN Zone or House of Blues, Farmer's Market and Craft Fair on
Thursdays, ball games at Angels Stadium, shopping for sneakers in the
discount stores near Disneyland, driving tours of the historic homes and
more! Daily bus tours leave Anaheim for Universal Studios Hollywood and
Hollywood Studio and Star Tours, as well.
Ranked recently as the
third highest grossing venue for concerts is The Pond in Anaheim. It is
located in the building that also houses Anaheim ice hockey Mighty Ducks
team. Top musical acts play regularly, often to sold out crowds at this
popular venue. While you are visiting Anaheim, you can go to the theme
parks, take in a concert, professional ball game, see live entertainment at
House of Blues, shop till you drop Downtown Disney and dine at hundreds of
fantastic restaurants and brew houses.
History of Anaheim
Anaheim, California is a
city with immaculate buildings on historic, palm-lined streets that face
new, glass structures rising to the sky. Anaheim is a place where old and
new reside side by side.
Established by German
immigrants in 1857 as a wine producing colony for the rapidly growing town
of Los Angeles, the city's German name means "Home on the Ana (River)."
Vineyards and wineries flourished until the 1880's when they were destroyed
by plant disease. Oranges replaced grapes and became the favored fruit in a
county named Orange. Orange crops that thrive in temperate climates could be
seen in groves stretching for miles. While they produced a hearty bounty,
it wasn't enough to compete with top dollar prices offered for land in the
boom of the early 1900's.
Not far from Anaheim,
beach cities featured amusement rides and theme park attractions. The
Plunge, The Pavilion, The Pike, the piers and Red Cars were drawing cards
designed to bring people to the California coast to spend their money. Land
developers built them, hoping to create demand for nearby housing.
While growth did occur, a
stock market crash and several world wars focused the country on other
things. Played out over a number of years, many of the parks were abandoned
or torn down. Some Red Cars were even dumped into the Pacific Ocean.
Finally, the economy
recovered from World War II and families once again had money to spend. With
many of the beach amusements in decay or gone, Walt Disney sought a place to
take his kids for entertainment. He reportedly sold his car to help finance
the fledgling park he dreamed up as a fantasy escape. Disneyland continues
to grow, making it crystal clear that the theme park's success has
influenced nearly every aspect of life in Anaheim since its opening on a
former grove in 1955.
Visiting Anaheim
Around 15 million guests
per year visit the city (with approximately 13 million of them attending
Disneyland.) It outshines every other theme park in California with over
double the attendance of the next contender, Universal Studios. Who could
have known such success was to come? And as the city learned, maintaining a
balance between the quality of life for local residents and providing the
environment to attract tourists is a formula subject to many changes.
Wrecking balls and construction zones have been part of the landscape for
several years. Recent announcements of approval for Disney's third theme
park means construction will likely continue in future years.
If getting there is a
concern, a trip to Disneyland is very easy with Amtrak train station only 10
minutes away. Airport Bus takes passengers to and from Los Angeles
International Airport on daily scheduled trips and tour buses depart major
Anaheim hotels daily for excursions to Los Angeles attractions such as
Universal Studios. Freeway construction addressed automobile access
problems so that the Santa Ana 5 Freeway now exits directly to the
Disneyland Park for visitor convenience.
Anaheim has made it a
goal to get you, the tourist, to stay. And though there is no sandy beach,
per se, Disneyland's California Adventure theme park recreates a beach
region complete with Paradise Pier. It's the beach without the sand.
Getting to Anaheim and
Disneyland: John Wayne/OC Airport (Code: SNA) 13.7 miles. ocair.com
Los Angeles
International (Code: LAX) 34 miles. www.lawa.org
Airport Bus to Disneyland or Knotts Berry Farm & nearby hotels: Offers best
prices and leaves hourly during the day from both airports listed above.
airportbus.com or Call 714-938-8900
Disneyland Fireworks
Disneyland Fireworks Show
is not only beautiful to watch, it also employs one of the leading fireworks
technologies more beneficial to air quality than previous fireworks launch
methods. In an amazing move, this Disney Imagineering effort years in the
making, has been offered for use in other theme parks and shows to help
promote sounder practices in amusement and theme parks entertainment. See
our photos of the spectacular fireworks show and read about the technology.
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