The closet large shopping mall to
Disneyland is called The Block. It's an outdoor mall about ten minutes south of the park in the city of Orange. It features many smaller and specialty shops aimed at a teenage/young adult crowd - their big draws are a Ron Jons, a Vans skate park and a 30 screen movie theater.
Further south (about twenty minutes) is South Coast Plaza, one of the largest and most upscale malls in the country. This place is spread over three whole complexes. It's anchored by Sak's, several Macy's (a general Macy's, then one just for home wares, and another just for men's wear), Nordstrom and Sears - and the rest of the stores cover the same huge range of pocket books. There's a Gap and then theres also those super high-end designer stores with one dress on a rack and a single handbag that costs more than my car. Restaurants range from a Morton's Steak House (built in what used to be the very first Planet Hollywood), the Clubhouse (owned by golfer Jack Nicholas and Kevin Costner) to a Rainforest Cafe to McDonalds and Del Taco. Right next to South Coast is the Performing Arts Center and several other good restaurants.
Another ten minutes will take you to the Irvine Spectrum which is a "retail entertainment" complex. It has some shopping, many restaurants, a microbrewery, a Dave & Busters and large movie theater complex. Its a place where the locals hang out and the ultimate dinner and a movie date place. This is the best bet if youre traveling with children.
But I think the place you remember is Fashion Island in Newport Beach itself. It competes with South Coast Plaza to see who can be the most upscale. What Fashion Island lacks in size it makes up for in quality. It's an outdoor mall set on a hill overlooking Newport Harbor and the Balboa Peninsula. The mall features several restaurants and high-end specialty shops. It also has a theater with one of the largest screens in the country (you have not seen a real movie until youve seen it projected 120 feet across) and a good Irish pub. The mall itself is surrounded by several four & five star hotels; Laguna Beach is just a few minutes down Pacific Coast Highway.
Getting to these places without a car might be a challenge. The Block would be a fairly quick cab ride away. For a while South Coast Plaza was running a shuttle to Anaheim I dont know if it still exists or if it runs in off season. Im guessing (based on passed experiences) that Fashion Island would be about a $50-$60 cab ride. All of these locations can easily be reached with a rental car however. If youre heading down to Newport Beach, it makes sense to rent a car because you will probably also want to see Balboa Island and the beach as well.
It is about a 20-30 min drive, depending on traffic. The freeway to Newport ends in Newport and takes you practically straight to the pier and beach. It is very easy to navigate to get there. Hop on the 5 south right by DL, take that to 55 south and that leads straight to Newport Blvd.
