As part of our commitment to ensuring that you, the Travel Agent, are equipped with all the facts, we here at KarryOn like to do a little digging every now and then into what’s real and what’s not when it comes to certain destinations.
In a year, we’ve unearthed the truth about Los Angeles’ public transport system, discovered the best location for celebrity spotting, learned Los Cabos’ weather is a lot less stickier than you’d expect and we trashed the theory that southern states are all about their fried chicken.
Now, we turn our attention to a city just outside of Los Angeles, Anaheim, which people assume is only worth visiting for one thing, Disneyland.
Don’t get us wrong, we’re big fans of the happiest place on earth. You’d have to be crazy not to want to spend a day running wild with the big-eared mouse and all his Princess, Marvel and Lucas Film friends.
But, MYTHBUSTER, it’s not the only reason to add this destination to your west coast itinerary.
Speaking to media in Sydney last month, Visit Anaheim’s Senior Vice President of Marketing, Charles Harris, said that not only is there a lot in Anaheim worth seeing and experiencing, but there’s more coming.
“There’s lots of new things happening in our destination.”
Charles Harris, Visit Anaheim Senior Vice President of Marketing
So beyond Disneyland, what is attracting nearly 500,000 people to the city every year?
Well, first Anaheim is home to the Citadel Outlet – you may not know the name, but you’ve more than likely seen the shopping centre’s Assyrian-inspired exterior and Assyrian Winged Bulls while driving from L.A. to Disneyland.
Home to some of the best bargains in California, the Citadel is located around 20 minutes from Disneyland and has all the big brand names from Adidas, Coach, Gap, Levi’s Swarovski and more.
If shopping isn’t really your thing, the city is a fast-growing sporting destination thanks to its Angel Stadium baseball field and indoor arena, The Honda Center, aka the home of the hockey team based off of the movie The Might Ducks, the Anaheim Ducks.
Parents looking for a night out, might like to leave their children with Disney daycare (assuming Disney has daycare) for a while to try out some of Anaheim’s craft beer at one of the many local breweries.
And, during the warmer months, the city hosts KCRW’s Summer Nights, a family-friendly evening with music, hand-craft select retailers, food vendors and a beer garden.
“There’s lots of great things in and coming to Anaheim like Star Wars Land at Disney, we’ve got new hotel product and attraction, sports and food,” Harris said.
“There’s lots of good things happening.”
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