Disneyland Resort and Beyond: The Top Things to Do in Anaheim

Located 42 kilometres south-east of Los Angeles, Anaheim may be best known for being home to the original Disneyland Resort, but it’s not all mouse ears, rollercoasters and Main Street. The city itself brims with multicultural communities, a thriving craft beer scene and buzzing food precincts that require several visits (and large appetites) to explore. It’s also within easy reach of some of southern California’s best beaches and attractions, making it the ideal place to base yourself for a week or more. Here’s our pick of the best things to do while you’re there.

Eat your heart out

Three landmark buildings and an urban park comprise the Anaheim Packing District – a downtown hub dedicated to eating and drinking. The two-storey Packing House, a 1919 former Sunkist orange packing facility, is an airy space filled with eateries and bars. Make your first port of call The Kroft, where poutine forms the base for fried chicken, bacon and cheese curds, then head to Popbar for gelato ice-blocks with choose-your-own toppings – think hazelnut gelato dipped in dark chocolate and waffle cone pieces. To enter the 30-seat speakeasy The Blind Rabbit, you’ll want to look for a wall of sake barrels. The venue’s long list of rules – no public displays of affection, no phone calls, no name-dropping – make it a unique hangout spot that’s made even better with a Never Trust the Living cocktail (vodka, Veso Earl Grey, pear liqueur and sage) in hand.

Just down the road from Disneyland on Katella Avenue, Anaheim GardenWalk is an open-air precinct of shops, restaurants and bars. As night falls, fire pits and tiki torches are lit and the atmosphere turns celebratory, especially at House of Blues Anaheim. The restaurant, bar and live music venue has several stages and an eclectic schedule of artists performing hair metal, hip-hop and everything in between.

Explore thriving cultural hubs

Occupying the area of Westminster and Garden Grove to the west of Anaheim, Little Saigon is home to the largest Vietnamese population outside Vietnam as well as some of the best Vietnamese fare you’ll find. Bánh Mi Chè Cali’s signature dish is a crusty baguette stuffed with crackling pork, paté, mayonnaise, pickled carrots, coriander, chilli and cucumber; Phở 79's fragrant noodle soup has earned it a James Beard award; and Quan Mii’s famous bánh xèo – crisp crepes folded around fillings such as prawns, pork and bean sprouts – are just some of the hotspots to stop by.

In nearby Little Arabia District, halal butchers, Syrian patisseries and Yemeni restaurants line Brookhurst Street. After indulging in Al-Baraka Restaurant’s (413 S Brookhurst Street) generous servings of Palestinian classics such as falafel stuffed with sumac and onion, meander to Al Tannour (2947 West Ball Road) for its masgouf zbeidi, an Iraqi dish of tamarind-basted carp cooked over flames and served with house-baked flatbreads. For a sweet treat, bouza, or Syrian ice-cream, has a stretchy, chewy texture imparted by mastic and sahlab (orchid flour) – Le Mirage Pastry’s version is sliced into pretty pistachio-rimmed petals. Stretch your legs afterwards with a stroll through Altayebat Market in the heart of Little Arabia. Established in the 1980s, it’s a local institution where the community gathers to shop and socialise.

Hop the bar scene

As independent breweries multiplied in Anaheim, they banded together to create the Anaheim Brew Pass. Start at Noble Ale Works near Angel Stadium for hop-forward brews such as Naughty Sauce (stout made with oats, lactose and coffee instead of roasted grain) in a warehouse taproom. Duck-fat pretzel bites complement the fresh, bright lagers at Karl Strauss Brewing Company, and Golden Road Brewing has 30-plus taps and a sunny garden to lounge in as you sip mango-infused wheat ale. The walkable La Palma Beer Trail spans 10 breweries in East Anaheim and further afield, including Brewery X, which won silver at the World Beer Cup in 2022 for its West Coast IPA.

Sipping cocktails while overlooking the city more your scene? From Anaheim’s vertically blessed rooftop bars, vistas stretch all the way to LA. Better still, Disneyland's iconic fireworks over Sleeping Beauty Castle are in full view. Take in the pyrotechnic extravaganza at Parkestry atop the JW Marriott, Anaheim Resort. The city’s highest rooftop bar glows at golden hour with crackling fire pits and live music. Small plates and cocktails skew Mexican – order a First Timer: tequila, Aperol, triple sec and lime. For a more laidback vibe, The Fifth crowns Grand Legacy At The Park and offers front-row seats to the fireworks. Toast the show with a vivid pink gin, St-Germain, lychee and strawberry Lowkey Lychee.

Barrack for the home team

While it seldom snows in Orange County, you can watch pucks fly at an Anaheim Ducks ice-hockey match at the Honda Center in the city’s southeast. Snap a photo with team mascot Wild Wing and master the chant: “Quack, quack, quack”. 

Head a little further south – just over the Orange Freeway – to Angel Stadium for a classic American baseball experience complete with hotdogs, giant foam fingers and fan-cam capturing the best reactions. The Los Angeles Angels' home ground is known for its Helmet Nachos: nachos served in a helmet.

Head to the surf capital of the USA

Orange County sprawls over 67 kilometres of coastline and includes Huntington Beach, just a 20-minute drive from Anaheim. In this Southern California city, you’ll find the 564-metre Huntington Beach pier jutting out into the Pacific, idyllic swimming spots and surfboard-rental kiosks as well as public fire pits – and s’mores kits for sale nearby – that are ideal for making the classic American treat as the sun goes down. 

Newport, a further 20 minutes south along the coast, has a broad, family-friendly beach for swimming, surfing and soaking up SoCal seaside vibes. Laguna Beach, another 20 minutes south, offers rugged cliffs and secluded coves to explore. North from there, Crystal Cove State Park stretches along the Pacific coastline with an underwater park for snorkelling and scuba diving and a Historic District lined with vintage cottages.

Do a daytrip

The great American road trip has inspired everyone from Kerouac to Steinbeck, and with a rental car, SoCal is your oyster. Highway 1 hugs the Pacific Coast from San Diego to San Francisco, passing majestic redwoods, endless ocean vistas and wildlife along the way. From Anaheim, make a beeline straight for Long Beach, then meander the 61 kilometre strip to Dana Point, stopping for shopping and dining along the way.

The buzz of LA is just 45 minutes northwest of Anaheim. Start with the icons such as the Griffith Observatory for skyline views or hike to the Hollywood Sign, then head over to Third Street Promenade, a walkable area of excellent shops and restaurants. You can also spend a day among the museums, beaches, parks and historic sites of San Diego, just an hour-and-a-half drive south from Anaheim, all whilst knowing your unpacked, spacious hotel room is ready and waiting for your return.

Go wild

This part of Southern California has plenty for nature lovers. Oak Canyon Nature Center is a reserve of three adjoining canyons in the Anaheim Hills. It’s ribboned with walking tracks where you can spot local flora and fauna, including monarch butterflies, eastern fox squirrels, bobcats and the large Chilean rose hair tarantula. The trails of Yorba Regional Park in Anaheim Hills meander among four lakes where fishing is allowed with a permit and bikes and paddle boats are available to rent. These connect to the Santa Ana River Trail, which follows the river to the Pacific Ocean.

The swaying palms and white-sand beaches of Catalina Island, the southernmost of California’s Channel Islands, are also close by. Jump aboard the Catalina Express ferry at Long Beach (a half-hour drive from Anaheim) and swim, dive, hike, bike or hire a kayak or paddleboard at Descanso Beach. Paddle out to see dolphins, seals, sea lions and the odd surprise flying fish.

Stay in kid-heaven

Great Wolf Lodge houses a wave pool, slides and a lazy river along with dry-land entertainments including mini golf, an arcade, bowling, laser tag and a ropes course. It’s essentially a theme park with beds. There are airy, spacious rooms, several onsite restaurants and bars as well as a day spa. The Howard Johnson Anaheim, The Anaheim Hotel, Cambria Hotel & Suites and Hyatt Regency Orange County also offer an abundance of family-friendly activities.

Delve into Anaheim’s history and culture

The Muzeo Museum and Cultural Center celebrates the city’s heritage, culture and arts. The stage at live music venue City National Grove of Anaheim has been graced by artists including BB King, Prince and Ween. Anaheim’s Founders’ Park has two historical houses open to the public on the first Saturday of each month and a Moreton Bay fig imported from Australia in 1876 – the city’s first Landmark Tree. The nearby Knott’s Berry Farm is also steeped in history. As the first theme park in California and the location where the boysenberry was first engineered, this classic US attraction has been a must-visit for more than 100 years.

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