Non-Thrill Ride Things to do at DLR & Surrounding Areas?

[CharleneTheDM]

Hi all!

I was thinking of visiting in December (never experienced Holiday Season in the parks) from Canada!

What are some activities you'd recommend doing in the Disneyland Resort and surrounding areas? In case we have family members joining that are elderly or pregnant? We aren't renting a car and would be relying on Uber/Lyft to get around.

On property:
1. Disneyland Railroad
2. Fantasyland rides
3. Exploring Downtown Disney (haven't really done this, any recommendations?)
4. Watching the shows
5. Animation Academy

Off property:
1. Medieval Times
2. Pirate Adventures (has anyone done this? do you recommend it?)
3. Universal Studios Hollywood

Are there any holiday-specific activities in Anaheim to do too?
What is the Festival of Holidays? Is it free?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Epicnemesis]

There are a lot of rides in Disney that are pregnancy and elderly friendly up to and including Pirates. Don’t just limit yourself to fantasyland.

 

[Chickinvic]

There are so many rides that are okay for pregnancy and elderly (although, to be honest my 83 year old mother's favourite ride will always be Space Mountain). There is no shortage of stuff to do there for all ages.

 

[kristensideaoffun]

I recently went to DLR pregnant - there are only a handful of rides that are not suitable for pregnancy and the elderly (depending on their medical conditions). I wouldn’t limit yourself just to Fantasyland. Downtown Disney is pretty small and mostly just shopping and restaurants, so there isn’t much to explore. The Lego Store is a cool experience, but will probably be a 15-20 minute visit at the most. You could go bowling at the bowling alley.

We’ve been to both Medieval Times and Pirate Adventures, my family far prefers the pirate show over Medieval Times.

Universal Studios is far away from Disneyland and is filled with mostly with thrill ride attractions, way more than DLR. If you are looking to do a studio tour, I highly recommend Warner Brothers.

 

[Kingtide]

There are some museum type attractions in Santa Ana (about 15 min away)

Discovery Cube and Bowers Museum come to mind but I believe there is a whole museum district there.

Both Anaheim and Orange have cute downtowns with great restaurants. I haven’t been to Anaheim’s winter holiday festivities but can’t say enough positive things about their Halloween parade & fall festival in its pre-covid form. If they bring in the winter holidays in the same fashion as the autumn ones it should be a treat.

 

[KippyKip]

We’ve been to both Medieval Times and Pirate Adventures, my family far prefers the pirate show over Medieval Times.

OMG, I have never done the Pirate Show and was curious. I have done Medieval Times and felt a little underwhelmed. But I still enjoyed the cheese factor and my friend was totally into it, so we still had a good time!

 

[Epicnemesis]

I learned what a gelding was when I went to medieval times. Really put a damper on the whole thing.

 

[fac429]

I would add another vote for the Pirates show over Medieval Times (I liked both, but I think Pirates has a better show and better food). (And since you'll be next door, definitely head over to Porto's Bakery- there will be a huge line, but it moves fast and the food is fantastic!) The Ducks play right by Disneyland. Old Town Orange is pretty cool, a nice place to walk around and shop- it's like a town frozen in the 1950's, and will probably be decorated well for Christmas. Discovery Cube in Santa Ana is a good museum for kids, not so fun for adults. Bowers Museum is the opposite- lots of interesting art/artifacts for adults, not a lot of interesting stuff for the kids. There's a train station in Anaheim, and from there you can get to L.A. and see stuff near some of the stations like the Natural History Museum (which is really good), the Broad museum, etc.