things to do in anaheim area for young adults

[Nancyvv]

We will be at Disneyland Feb 23-March 2. My DD and her BF will be flying into LAX and staying at the Menage on the 25th. They don't really want to do Disneyland as her BF doesn't do rides and she has been to DW several times... well I know it IS hard to imagine anyone not wanting to go to DL
But anyway.. the plan is that we will all have dinner together every day and we are all planning on doing the Hollywood tour on one of the days. My question is: what other things could they do in the Anaheim area on the days when the rest of us at at DL. I had thought that maybe they can take a beach tour or take a taxi to the beach. I know there is Garden Walk and the Block at Orange but neither of those seem things that would take up a whole day. Is there a nice mall near by that they could take a taxi to? I know there are outlet mall tours but I was thinking more of a nice shopping mall.

Any ideas would be appreciated. They are 20 and 22 years old. I chose the Menage because it seemed like a good hotel for a young couple and the pool stays open 24 hours. Thanks in advance

 

[CrazyDuck]

Tell your DD that she needs to find a new BF!

 

[Nancyvv]

Tell your DD that she needs to find a new BF!

Haha I hear ya- but he is a really great guy. I feel bad that they will miss out on Disneyland but we did just go to DW last June. I have a feeling that after they get there DD might have second thoughts and want to do DL for a day but we shall see.

 

[skiingfast]

Block at Orange is a good shopping experience and not easily topped by many malls.

They could take a train to SD and see the Zoo, or Seaworld which has more wildlife shows than rides.

Venice Beach can take a good part of a day to visit. You can watch sufers by the Santa Monica Pier and see muscle beach and many preformers or various kinds.

There is La Brea Tar Pits and many museums.

Maybe a ball game, the Angels are just down the street for DLR and Dodgers are in LA. Between the Dodgers and Union Station is a little China Town.

 

[wingednike]

If they really want to go shopping then they should go to the South Coast Plaza. It's huge and the Orange County Performing Arts Center is adjacent to it. Check if one of the hotels sends a shuttle down there.

 

[Nancyvv]

If they really want to go shopping then they should go to the South Coast Plaza. It's huge and the Orange County Performing Arts Center is adjacent to it. Check if one of the hotels sends a shuttle down there.

Thanks! That sounds just like something my dd would love and I checked and they send a shuttle to the paradise pier every day and that is where we are staying so they could get on there if they wanted to.

 

[wingednike]

You're welcome! I thought of one more place: The Citadel is an outlet shopping center and I believe they have a shuttle going from there to Anaheim. It's good for nabbing shopping deals but there isn't much to do afterwards.

 

[brookies_mommy]

Tell your DD that she needs to find a new BF!

bhahahahaha thats what I was thinking!

 

[luckycharms2010]

Universal Studios is a lot of fun and it's not too far away if they rent a car. It's less ride oriented than DL. They could also do a star tours or something? I hear LA has a great wax museum too.

 

[DSNY4ever]

Maybe I missed it, but will they have a car? If not I would probably find it to be a pretty boring vacation. Yes, they can shop (but for us we have malls that are just as nice at home). They can make a trip over to the beach, but they will need a car and there will be lots of traffic. There is so much more to do in San Diego that he would probably like, but that would be too long of a drive to do every day. They could do that one day and if they do send them to Balboa Park, they have the option of gardens, the zoo and museums there (all at Balboa park), or they could go to Old Town or Mission Beach.

Could he not go into the parks and just enjoy some shows and stuff for at least one day to help fill some time? I had to drag my husband to the Aladdin show the first time we went, but he loved it! The fireworks and Fantasmic are also fun, and they could spend time in the Animation building at California Adventure etc.

Good luck!

 

[Califgirl]

There's the 300 club (I think that's what it is called) at the Garden Walk. It's a bowling alley, but it's set up like a night club (complete with bouncer at the door). It's very cool inside and it might be fun for one evening.

And let me get this straight - BF won't do rides or go to Disneyland but he will go to a mall all day?

 

[Nancyvv]

I think I need to explain myself further... it's not that the BF won't go to DL - my daughter doesn't think it would be worth the money since he doesn't do well with rides. I am sure he would go if she really wanted to.

To explain our situation a little further: we have been to Florida 4 times and have been to Disney World and Universal all four times for multiple days each time. Plus we went to Sea World Twice and Gatorland once. So my kids have seen a lot of theme parks and only one of them gets really excited for Disney and that would be my DS who is 18 and has autism. This trip is mainly about him. He LOVES disney and probably always will. He is excited enough for all of us! My other DS who will soon be 13 is not so excited about Disney as he is about Knotts Berry Farm because he is more into Roller coasters and thrill rides and really doesn't care about the whole character experience of Disney. My DD is 20 and she has enjoyed Disney over the years but I guess she feels like there are other things she would like to do since we have been so many times and the thing she liked most last year was Epcot- and didn't even go the day we went to Magic Kingdom.

We are from Iowa so trust me no one will be bored no matter what they do on the trip. Just to be in a place with warmer temps and no snow in February will be amazing. DD and her BF are flying into LAX because tickets were much cheaper that way, and they are very excited to see LAX and are looking forward to the Hollywood tour. As far the mall- I am sure that BF won't thrilled about a day at the mall but he will go if that's what DD wants to do and I am sure it will be nicer than what we have in central Iowa. In fact when we were in Florida last May we had a wonderful time at the Florida mall because they had many stores that we don't have any where near where we live and we ate at California Pizza Kitchen which was a first for us since there are none in Iowa.

So you see- even though we are taking our boys to California to see Disneyland - it won't be our only focus. DD and her BF might decided to come with us the Disneyland for a day but if they don't I just wanted to find out what else they could do while they were there. They both work full time and go to college so just being able to stay in a hotel and not have to work for a week will be a treat for them. I think they will take a tour to the beaches and probably the shuttle to the mall that someone pointed out. I'm not sure about the zoo because we do have a pretty nice one in the city where they live.

I really appreciate all your responses it has helped a lot. I will tell them about the 300 club in Garden Walk- it sounds like something they would like and the Citadel also sounds like it has a lot they could see. I don't think they will rent a car because the thought of driving in rush hour is scary to me. But I guess that is up to them.

I promise I will see what I can do to get some Mickey Mouse Ears on them

 

[kitalyn414]

Long Beach can be fun - Queen Mary, Aquarium of the Pacific, harbor boat tour, etc. Plus lots of restaurants in the area where you can have lunch by the water. If they were especially ambitious they could even ride out to Catalina Island for the day.

They could rent bikes and go up and down the boardwalk at Newport Beach. Lots of shops and restaurants and definitely a young crowd.

 

[momjkm]

There's the 300 club (I think that's what it is called) at the Garden Walk. It's a bowling alley, but it's set up like a night club (complete with bouncer at the door). It's very cool inside and it might be fun for one evening.

And let me get this straight - BF won't do rides or go to Disneyland but he will go to a mall all day?

I was thinking the same exact thing!!! Maybe he thinks the "rides" are six flag like rides? My ds doesn't do ride but is a WDW junkie (minus EE,Tot & RnRc).
At least one day????
My own dd has a great BF--- but now I need to know how he feels about disney--this could be a problem....have a project for today
Jill

 

[PinkBudgie]

One more thought, they could go look around DTD for a little while. There is the House of Blues where they could see a concert if there is someone of interest to them. I also recall there was a movie theater either at DTD or Garden Walk that has a special theater for 21 and over that serves drinks during the movie and has nice chairs. At least, I remember seeing that when I was looking up movie theaters there a few years ago for a day our APs were blocked out of DLR.

 

[LavenderPeach]

I think this might have already been mentioned but Universal City Walk would probably be fun for them if they had a way to get there. Maybe there's a shuttle that goes there.

 

[Nancyvv]

Just had to let you know that DD and her BF has decided to go to Disneyland afterall So I guess we can let her keep him

 

[PinkBudgie]

Just had to let you know that DD and her BF has decided to go to Disneyland afterall So I guess we can let her keep him

That's good! I can't imagine coming within feet of the parks and not going in. Glad he's a keeper.