What else to do in Anaheim?

[kwonyong]

We are visiting disneyland for 2 weeks in early January from Australia. We spent 3 weeks visiting last year and did disneyland, grand canyon, san diego, las vegas, LA tour etc. We loved disneyland so much we just wanted to come back and hang out. Is there anything else in the area that is worth seeing, (we have 3 kids aged 12, 11 and 9)? We are happy to hire a car if need be.

 

[Lostgirlz]

There is Knotts Berry Farms it's about 5-7 miles from disney. It's a theme park featuring the charlie brown gang, and addmission is not expensive, and you can take a cab shouldnt cost much. Also Universal Studios you might want to rent a car for that since it's up in the LA area.

 

[Lights_Out]

Looks like you did just about everything you can do with kids in-and-around California

I'm gonna assume that you've been to Universal Studios, San Diego Zoo, and Sea World...

The only things I can think of are... Legoland, Discovery Science Center, the beaches, Knott's Berry Farm (although a lot of the rides are rollercoasters), and there are all those small attractions in Buena Park like Medieval Times Dinner Theatre, Pirates Dinner Adventure, and Ripley's Believe It Or Not

-edit- Oh! And if you like burgers definitely check out In-n-Out Burgers

 

[disneyfaninaz]

If you have a car, Long Beach is about 30 minutes away and they have a pretty cool aquarium. Also, you can go to Hollywood and visit Mickey's Ice Cream Shoppe next to the El Capitan Theatre.

 

[LavenderPeach]

What about Pasadena? There are a lot of shops and restaurants along the main street (colorado blvd). If you're going to be there Jan 1-3 you can see the Rose Parade floats on display. There is also the Gamble House that you can get a guided tour of which is interesting. Near that area is the Huntington Library and Gardens which has several museums/art galleries and also a lot of gardens and paths to walk around. The library has some historical books on display like a Guttenberg (sp?) Bible. It's actually a lot more interesting than it sounds. Or there's the LA Arboretum that also has a lot of interesting gardens to wander around. I'm sure if you go to Pasadena's website you will be able to find a list of things to do there. Since you've done all the other major sites around the area, Pasadena might be worth checking out.

Also, if you want to go further away from the area you could drive up the coast and see Ventura and Santa Barbara. Up a little further and you will see San Luis Obispo which has little shops and also one of the California missions. Monterey is further north from that and it has a really good aquarium. IMO, it's better than the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach but of course it's further away too. And of course, if you go up further you will get to San Fransisco which has a ton of interesting things. Just fyi, SF is about a 6-7 hour drive from Orange County if you take the 5 so not sure if you want to go that far away but since you mentioned going to the Grand Canyon and other places that are further away from Anaheim I thought I would mention it. Hope that helps!

 

[Tikiroom1963]

How about a Ducks hockey game. Really close to D.L. and allot of fun. I guess you would have to be a hockey fan. I wasn't until I went to my first, then I was hooked.

 

[perlster]

Medieval Times, Pirate's [sic] Dinner Adventure, Ripley's

 

[Peri]

Gene Autry Western Museum in Burbank - fun for kids, too!

Also another vote for the Huntington Gardens in Pasadena - WOW - and lots of places to run around and have fun - a new children's garden with interactive fountain in the ground. Kids would like it here!

Downtown LA Science Center is nice and La Brea Tarpits with Dinosaur bones - too cool!