Guide to SoCal

Below is the definitive Disney Character list by name.  This list includes named disney characters that appeared at Disneyland.  Non-named characters (random pirates, snowflakes, leopards, etc.) are not included on this list.  If you know of any named Disney characters that I left off, please leave a comment and I’ll update the list.

There are many shopping malls near Disneyland.  Which one I’d recommend to you depends on your reasons for looking for one.

If you want the absolute closest shopping mall near Disneyland, you’ll want to go to Anaheim Plaza.  This is small outdoor shopping mall with a few major stores.  There are a few fast food restaurants (Rubios Fish Tacos, Chinese Food).  You’ll also find a few major retailers (Petsmart, a Computer Store, Radio Shack).  Then, a few small clothing retailers.  To get to Anaheim Plaza shopping mall, take the 5 frwy North from Harbor Blvd. and exit Euclid (1 or 2 exits away from Harbor).  At the exit ramp, turn right and the shopping mall is immediately on your right.  From Disneyland, Anaheim Plaza is about a 5 minute trip.

If you are looking for a shopping mall that is large and has a fun atmosphere, you’ll want to go ot The Block in Orange.  This is a large outdoor shopping mall with just about any retailer you could imagine.  It also has a Van’s Skatepark (with a spectating area), movie theater, Dave & Busters arcade (with go karts).  There are a wide array of eating establishments, as well.  If the weather is nice I highly recommend visiting the Block - even if you don’t need to buy anything.  It’s a fun place to go and I often take the kids there just to walk around and take in the sights.  To get to the Block shopping mall from Disneyland, take the 5 Frwy South from Harbor Blvd for about 3 exits to The City Drive and head South on The City Drive.  The Block will be one block on your right.  From Disneyland, the Block is about of 10 minute trip.

If you want an indoor shopping mall near Disneyland, travel a few more exits past The Block to Main Street.  Main Place shopping mall is located just North of the 5 Frwy and Main Street.  This is a large indoor shopping mall.  It is a little bit older, but well maintained and offers lots of options.

Disneyland restaurant food is notoriously expensive.  While the experience of Disneyland dining is nice, it is certainly not worth $20 per person.  Even worse, the Disneyland food quality (except in a few locations) is poor.The experts don’t eat at Disneyland restaurants because they know it is a waste of money.I don’t recommend avoiding Disneyland restaurants for your entire trip.  Some of the nicer Disneyland restaurants are definitely worth visiting (more on these in later posts).  However, if you just want to grab a quick lunch or dinner, you will pay too much and get poor quality if you eat Disneyland food.What Disney won’t tell you (but all the locals know) is that there is a strip Mall just across the street from Disneyland.  You’ll pay half the price of Disneyland food and the food quality is much better.  It’s the secret alternative to Disneyland dining.
In this strip mall is a Subway, Pizza (including by the slice), Mexican, Chinese.  Everyone knows what Subway is like.  I’ve eaten at the Pizza place many times and the quality is much better than what you’ll find in Pizza Port.  A lunch special is about $5 compared to $10 for the equivalient Disneyland food.To get there, exit the Disneyland main gate (don’t forget your hand stamp) and go left (away from Downtown Disney).  As you get to the end of the property, go right at Harbor blvd.  The strip mall is half a block down on the opposite side of the street at the corner of Harbor and Katella.  It’s a nice 5-10 minute walk along the palm-tree lined Harbor blvd.A family of 4 can expect to save about $30 and you’ll be able to avoid the crowds and enjoy some good quality food.

Even if you are unfamiliar with the layout of Disneyland, you can easily find your way around, by understanding the theory behind the layout.

It’s not always obvious to people when looking at a Disneyland map, but Disneyland was layed out using a hub and spoke concept.

In the center of the park is “the hub”.  This is where the “Partners” statue of Walt and Mickey is located.  From this point, you can enter any of the 5 main “lands” of the park.  Main Street is to the South.  Fantasyland is to the North.  Tomorrowland is to the East.  Adventureland and Frontierland are to the West.  Each land is also connected to adjacent lands so you can go from land to land without going back to the hub.

Once you are aware of this basic layout, it becomes much easier to figure out how to get from place to place.  You may be tempted to start in one of the lands adjacent to Main Street and work your way around the park (like a clock) to make sure you don’t miss anything.

While this isn’t a bad idea, it is the most common guest pattern.  If you arrive in the morning, your best bet is to go straight to the back of the park and work your way forward from there.

California Adventure also has a hub and spoke layout.  Although the hub is not as centrally located as it is in Disneyland.  California Adventure is much more oblong (even though their map is not drawn that way) with Hollywood Pictures Backlot being at one end and Paradise Pier being at the other end.

The hub design of Disneyland is one of the best things that Walt personally designed into his park.

To get a free stroller rental at Disneyland show your Chase Disney Visa card.  This entitles you to unlimited free stroller rentals and some other nice Disney related benefits.  There is no annual fee.  The Disney Visa is currently offerred through Chase bank.

I really hate to give out this Disneyland tip because it has helped me so much - especially on those really crowded days.

This tip works whether you’re waiting for the Disneyland tram at the parking lot or at the park. 

Each tram car has one wide row at the front for guests with strollers and narrow rows behind that for guests without strollers. 

The loading area has a wide line at the front of each car (to line up with the wide row) and an undivided area for guests without strollers behind that.

In the stroller line, there are usually families of 4-5 with a stroller or two.  Each Disneyland tram car can accommodate about 2 strollers and 8 people.  So, you almost always end up with room for 2-3 more people in the stroller row.  Since most of the groups in the stroller line are more than 3 people and they have a stroller that they also have to fit, the openings are filled from the line immediately behind the stroller row.

This is the key to this Disneyland tip - wait in the line immediately behind the stroller line.  This line moves almost twice as fast as the other lines.  I estimate that I usually save about 15 minutes (2 trams) by waiting in this line.

At the end of the day, when you are tired and you just want to get to your car, you’ll be thanking me for this tip.

You may have heard of CompanyD.  It’s a store in Anaheim that Disney uses as a discount souvenir clearinghouse when it needs to make room on the shelves at stores inside the Disneyland Resort for new merchandise.  Unfortunately, CompanyD is only open to Disneyland Resort Cast Members and their guests.  But don’t worry, we’ve got an insider tip for you…

The “other” outlet that Disney uses is called the Disney Character Warehouse and is located just 10 minutes north of Disneyland in Fullerton, CA.

The Disney Character Warehouse is open to the public.  This location receives many of the same items that the Cast Member exclusive store receives and is discounted just as heavily.

The discounts are deep and the merchandise is often straight from the Disneyland Resort.  If you’re in town to visit the Resort, I highly recommend you stop by and see what they have before you buy an overpriced souvenir from Disneyland. 

If nothing else, you can usually find items for a couple of dollars that will make the kids happy.  Try finding something inside Disneyland that cheap.

Disney Character Warehouse 

243 Orangefair Mall
Fullerton, CA 92832

(714) 870-9363

Need a break on a hot crowded day at Disneyland?  Check out Innoventions.

This is an interactive exhibit inside the building that used to be used for America Sings.  There are various computer and video game kiosks setup for kids to play along with some fun interactive exhibits to enjoy.

The building is kept extra cool (for the equipment) and is pretty roomy (2-story).  What’s more, there’s never a line.

With all the activities to keep the kids engaged, it’s a great place to spend 30 minutes or so in the un-crowded air conditioning to re-charge.

When you’re there, make sure you check out the floor projection games upstairs.  It’s a video game projected on the floor that reacts to your movement.  There’s a whack-a-mole game, soccer game, and other games of the sort.  It’s something that you won’t find anywhere else.