Fun Things In The Disneyland Area
Good Morning!
Yesterday my husband and I celebrated our one year anniversary, which means a year ago tomorrow we took off for our (you guessed it) DISNEYLAND Honeymoon! Which brings me to this post. While we spent a week in California, we only did three days in Disneyland (which is the perfect length if you are only traveling with two people). We spent the other two days doing fun things around SoCal! Growing up, we usually did 5 or 6 days since there were 5 of us, and you just can't get as much done in three days with a larger group, but we usually took an evening or an extra day to go do something fun around the SoCal area. If you are looking for something to do near Disneyland for a day or two outside the parks, here are some great recommendations!
1 - Universal Studios
We did a day in Universal Studios two years ago. It was a ton of fun! I did think the food and merchandise was overpriced (even by Disney's standards), but the Harry Potter area was worth it! We also really liked the Jurassic Park ride. While I do like the quality of Disneyland's rides more, Universal Studios was still a really cool place to check out.
2 - SeaWorld
It has been a VERY long time since I have been to SeaWorld (I was five, and the only "ride" they had at the time was a river raft ride similar to the Grizzly River Run at California Adventure). However, even way back then it was SO much fun! Now that they have added more rides to all of their aquariums and shows, it is definitely been added back on to my SoCal bucket list!
3 - San Diego Zoo
I love zoos. I actually worked at Utah's Hogle Zoo for a summer, and it was probably my favorite job ever. We went to the San Diego Zoo for the first time on our honeymoon and I was definitely not disappointed! We spent a good portion of our day riding the buses around the park, hanging out in the Panda enclosure, and enjoying the views from the "SkyFari" (sky tram). I would recommend this in a heartbeat to anyone looking for something fun to do outside of Disneyland.
4 - Beach Towns & Side Streets!
Brycen and I finished walking around the San Diego Zoo about halfway through the day and decided to finish the day off by walking around the grounds of the nearby San Diego Temple (which is gorgeous by the way) and then pulling out the map and driving up all of the beach towns on the way back to Newport for dinner. It was a great road trip! Fun Fact: in areas with beach homes along the road, they like to put up little fences and signs saying "Private Property", and I always thought that included the house and all of the area behind it on the beach. However, beaches are not private property, and you can walk right down to the little beaches behind the homes. Not everyone knows this, so the beaches back there are actually really empty! We loved spending time walking along the rocks and beaches (and collecting sea shells!) We also spent a lot of time shopping in the beach towns. We ended the day up at Newport Beach and found a little hole-in-the-wall deli called "Dory Deli" and it was absolutely delicious! There are tons of little restaurants along beach towns like Dory Deli at Newport and Woody's Diner at Seal Beach that are definitely worth trying.
6 - Medieval Times
Medieval Times is this neat dinner show about 5 minutes away from Disneyland that is worth a visit at least once. Be aware: there are a few innuendos during the show (more so during the pre-show), but nothing super vulgar. It is advertised as a kid-friendly establishment. You start out walking through castle courtyards, and if you buy a ticket you can walk through the "torture chamber" and see old replicas of ancient torture devices. That was pretty interesting! Then you can walk through the market-place and buy flower crown veils, wooden swords and shields, dragon necklaces, etc. You are given a certain color when you walk in that coordinates with your "Knight" during the show. You are seated in sections by color, and your menu includes chicken, tomato soup, bread, a dessert and a drink. The show is an extremely entertaining jousting and sword fighting competition! It is a really fun way to spend an evening!
7 - Hollywood!
Hollywood isn't really my thing, but it was cool to drive down the Walk of Fame and see all the stars. There are also a lot of interesting characters walking around all dressed up that are fun to watch too! There are a lot of famous buildings right in the area that are neat to see in person, and lots of places close by to get a bite to eat. It is a good way to spend an afternoon, even if you just drive through like we did!
8 - Museums
Even less my thing: museums. This isn't really on my list of "fun things", but I know it can be fun for some people which is why I am including it! I have heard that Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in Hollywood is really neat to see. We went to the Ronald Reagan museum when I was about 11-12 years old, and at the time I thought it was super boring, but my parents loved it. I did think it was cool to walk through Air Force 1 and check out the gift shop at the end though! Now that I am older, I would probably enjoy it more, but as a kid I hated it. Something to keep in mind if you are traveling with little ones!
What are fun things you like to do around the Disneyland Area? Leave us a comment below!
If you are interested in buying a copy of my Disneyland Guide, feel free to contact me at any time at enchantedpumpkinblog@gmail.com. I sell my guide for $10, or you can request a personalized one for $15 that I will customize entirely to your family’s needs!
As always, if you have any tips, tricks or questions you would like to submit to our blog feel free to send us an email at enchantedpumpkinblog@gmail.com! And don't forget to hit that blue follow button at the top of the page!
-Lindsay Prout
Yesterday my husband and I celebrated our one year anniversary, which means a year ago tomorrow we took off for our (you guessed it) DISNEYLAND Honeymoon! Which brings me to this post. While we spent a week in California, we only did three days in Disneyland (which is the perfect length if you are only traveling with two people). We spent the other two days doing fun things around SoCal! Growing up, we usually did 5 or 6 days since there were 5 of us, and you just can't get as much done in three days with a larger group, but we usually took an evening or an extra day to go do something fun around the SoCal area. If you are looking for something to do near Disneyland for a day or two outside the parks, here are some great recommendations!
1 - Universal Studios
We did a day in Universal Studios two years ago. It was a ton of fun! I did think the food and merchandise was overpriced (even by Disney's standards), but the Harry Potter area was worth it! We also really liked the Jurassic Park ride. While I do like the quality of Disneyland's rides more, Universal Studios was still a really cool place to check out.
 |
| Universal Studios - 2016 |
2 - SeaWorld
It has been a VERY long time since I have been to SeaWorld (I was five, and the only "ride" they had at the time was a river raft ride similar to the Grizzly River Run at California Adventure). However, even way back then it was SO much fun! Now that they have added more rides to all of their aquariums and shows, it is definitely been added back on to my SoCal bucket list!
3 - San Diego Zoo
I love zoos. I actually worked at Utah's Hogle Zoo for a summer, and it was probably my favorite job ever. We went to the San Diego Zoo for the first time on our honeymoon and I was definitely not disappointed! We spent a good portion of our day riding the buses around the park, hanging out in the Panda enclosure, and enjoying the views from the "SkyFari" (sky tram). I would recommend this in a heartbeat to anyone looking for something fun to do outside of Disneyland.
 |
| I love over-sized stuffed animals! |
4 - Beach Towns & Side Streets!
Brycen and I finished walking around the San Diego Zoo about halfway through the day and decided to finish the day off by walking around the grounds of the nearby San Diego Temple (which is gorgeous by the way) and then pulling out the map and driving up all of the beach towns on the way back to Newport for dinner. It was a great road trip! Fun Fact: in areas with beach homes along the road, they like to put up little fences and signs saying "Private Property", and I always thought that included the house and all of the area behind it on the beach. However, beaches are not private property, and you can walk right down to the little beaches behind the homes. Not everyone knows this, so the beaches back there are actually really empty! We loved spending time walking along the rocks and beaches (and collecting sea shells!) We also spent a lot of time shopping in the beach towns. We ended the day up at Newport Beach and found a little hole-in-the-wall deli called "Dory Deli" and it was absolutely delicious! There are tons of little restaurants along beach towns like Dory Deli at Newport and Woody's Diner at Seal Beach that are definitely worth trying.
 |
| One of the little side street beaches. There were only four or five other people down there with us! |
6 - Medieval Times
Medieval Times is this neat dinner show about 5 minutes away from Disneyland that is worth a visit at least once. Be aware: there are a few innuendos during the show (more so during the pre-show), but nothing super vulgar. It is advertised as a kid-friendly establishment. You start out walking through castle courtyards, and if you buy a ticket you can walk through the "torture chamber" and see old replicas of ancient torture devices. That was pretty interesting! Then you can walk through the market-place and buy flower crown veils, wooden swords and shields, dragon necklaces, etc. You are given a certain color when you walk in that coordinates with your "Knight" during the show. You are seated in sections by color, and your menu includes chicken, tomato soup, bread, a dessert and a drink. The show is an extremely entertaining jousting and sword fighting competition! It is a really fun way to spend an evening!
 |
| Cheering on the Red Knight! |
7 - Hollywood!
Hollywood isn't really my thing, but it was cool to drive down the Walk of Fame and see all the stars. There are also a lot of interesting characters walking around all dressed up that are fun to watch too! There are a lot of famous buildings right in the area that are neat to see in person, and lots of places close by to get a bite to eat. It is a good way to spend an afternoon, even if you just drive through like we did!
 |
| This picture was totally taken in Universal Studios, but I didn't get a good picture of the actual Hollywood sign. Close enough right?! :D |
8 - Museums
Even less my thing: museums. This isn't really on my list of "fun things", but I know it can be fun for some people which is why I am including it! I have heard that Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in Hollywood is really neat to see. We went to the Ronald Reagan museum when I was about 11-12 years old, and at the time I thought it was super boring, but my parents loved it. I did think it was cool to walk through Air Force 1 and check out the gift shop at the end though! Now that I am older, I would probably enjoy it more, but as a kid I hated it. Something to keep in mind if you are traveling with little ones!
What are fun things you like to do around the Disneyland Area? Leave us a comment below!
If you are interested in buying a copy of my Disneyland Guide, feel free to contact me at any time at enchantedpumpkinblog@gmail.com. I sell my guide for $10, or you can request a personalized one for $15 that I will customize entirely to your family’s needs!
As always, if you have any tips, tricks or questions you would like to submit to our blog feel free to send us an email at enchantedpumpkinblog@gmail.com! And don't forget to hit that blue follow button at the top of the page!
-Lindsay Prout
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