What is around the area on off day?

[adamkat]

Ok so we are booked for 7 days and purchased a 3 day pass and one day for MHP. My husband is a total mall rat and is looking for a nearby mall (staying at Paradise Pier Hotel) I am just leery of just going off walking around.

Any thoughts?

Thanks, Kat.

 

[ashley0139]

Ok so we are booked for 7 days and purchased a 3 day pass and one day for MHP. My husband is a total mall rat and is looking for a nearby mall (staying at Paradise Pier Hotel) I am just leery of just going off walking around.

Any thoughts?

Thanks, Kat.

Do you have a car? That will have a big effect on where you can go.

 

[RKKUNK]

The Gardenwalk is within walking distance. It is on Katella. They have shops and some nice restaurants and maybe a movie theater. I'm not sure if that is mall-like enough for your hubby, but you can google "Gardenwalk Anaheim" and see if that might fit the bill.

 

[adamkat]

Oh I should have said no but there is a car rental near Downtown Disney I beleive.

 

[tlovesdis]

The Block at Orange is a huge outdoor mall. You could take a cab from PPH. It has lots of stuff to do, shopping, eating, etc...

 

[VandVsmama]

The Block at Orange is also an outlet mall.

There's also the Discovery Cube museum in Orange County. It's just a couple of exits south of DL on I-5.

You could also take Amtrak down to Mission San Juan Capistrano and visit there. That's a good day trip. the DIS podcasts has a Day 6 Adventure podcast all about it.

 

[4Siamese]

We always go here http://www.southcoastplaza.com/. Very large Mall that has a good variety of both upscale and normal people stores. They have a dedicated shuttle from PPH (and other surrounding DLR hotels ) that takes you there and then brings you back.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

Venturing off property is easy and relatively safe. It's a very touristy area with lots of attractions and some good transit options if you don't have a car. You can walk to Garden Walk by crossing Harbor and walking down to Katella. It's an outdoor mall with shops, restaurants, a movie theater and (I think) a bowling alley. You'd be fine walking back even after dark since it's in a busy pedestrian area. South Coast Plaza is a much larger indoor mall. You can catch a bus or a shuttle to get there. It's basically a straight-shot down Harbor. If we have the rare off-day, we like to do mostly non-walking activities to rest our feet. We will usually opt for a sit-down meal and a movie at Downtown Disney, plus a long afternoon nap and an early bedtime. That's what gets us recharged to hit the parks again! Have a great trip!

 

[agamble]

There are beaches nearby too and of course other theme parks. The other parks are probably not worth the cost though, unless you were already planning one, as you could upgrade your DL pass to a 4 day pass for cheaper than tickets to another park, and DL is the best. There is DTD of course. The Gardenwalk mentioned above is a bit sad. Hopefully the House of Blues will bring new life to it. The movie theater is closed or closing as that is where the House of Blues is rumored to go. Last summer I went to the Gardenwalk; we went to a book store that was closing and had all their books for a $1 or something. The only other place that looked interesting was a chocolate shop where my mom and I had a snack. The Gardenwalk was pretty dead too, and this was the end of June, so Anaheim was hopping with tourists.

 

[22Tink]

We always like to do a beach day when we go. There are lots of great beaches!!

 

[pigletliz]

If he loves malls, I second South Coast Plaza. By far, the nicest mall around. I would only go to Garden Walk for the restaurants.

 

[SMD]

The movie theater at GardenWalk is closing at the end of the month and HOB will be moving when their lease at DTD is up. Look at what's there and see if you're even interested. It's most food. I agree with PP, South Coast Plaza is the best mall in the area.

 

[gottalovepluto]

The movie theater at GardenWalk is closing at the end of the month and HOB will be moving when their lease at DTD is up. Look at what's there and see if you're even interested. It's most food. I agree with PP, South Coast Plaza is the best mall in the area.

Oh, bummer! We went to the Gardenwalk movie theater on an off day last May for the first time and thought it was a really nice theater, rather hard to get to but nice inside. Hmm, sounds like they've had issues filling Gardenwalk, I thought it was under construction or something but it was kinda weird because it seemed just as empty as when I'd been there a year earlier...