From sporting spectacles and exclusive members clubs, to the nostalgia of celebrating Disneyland’s 70th year, Oliver Hall checks out what Anaheim offers for adults.
Arriving in Anaheim, we message our Karmel Shuttle driver at LAX to let her know we’ve landed, and she shoots back a text that instantly lowers the blood pressure: “Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.” It proves an excellent first impression of a company that has built its name on Southern California airport transfers and is now expanding beyond its traditional LA base through its newer Karmel Connect model (@karmelshuttle).
That reliability matters after a long-haul flight. LAX’s customs and security are quicker than they used to be, but baggage claim can still be slow. Our driver, Minnie, is unfazed. She has clearly seen it all before. As we head south, she points out notable areas on our journey, like Compton and Inglewood, and gives us a running commentary that turns a simple transfer into a soft launch for the trip. By the time we pull up at the JW Marriott Anaheim Resort, the city has already begun to make sense.
Where you stay can shape your reading of a place, and the JW Marriott casts Anaheim in a very flattering light. Attached to Anaheim GardenWalk and just minutes from Disneyland Resort, it manages that difficult trick of feeling close to the action without being swallowed by it. The palette is all brown, bronze and beige, with a genuinely calming, autumnal warmth. Rooms are luxurious, and ours has the kind of deep plunge bath that makes you want to cancel all further plans and become submerged for life. Marriott’s own materials make a point of the rooftop bar’s views over Disneyland and the fireworks, and for once the marketing doesn’t oversell it. Parkestry really is the highest rooftop bar in Anaheim, and it really does make those nightly firework bursts of Disney magic feel deliciously grown-up when watched with a drink in hand (@jwmarriottanaheim).
Visiting Disneyland as child-free adults means the city opens up a little differently. Still the happiest place on Earth, but we exchange tantrums for cocktails, retail therapy, live sports spectacles and the kind of travel pleasures that don’t require mouse ears.
Downtown Disney is the first hint of that balance. Fairy lights line the streets, families drift between restaurants and large stores solely dedicated to Star Wars, and the whole precinct has that easy, festive energy. We head to Jazz Kitchen Coastal Grill & Patio, where the New Orleans influence is worn proudly. Disney bills it as a place for Creole and Cajun flavours paired with live music, and that checks out: downstairs we are serenaded by a gravel-voiced piano player doing terrific Beatles covers, while upstairs the balcony offers prime people-watching over the heart of Downtown Disney (@jazzkitchencoastalgrill).
Better still, the restaurant has personality. The menu is hearty, the desserts are absurdly good, and the service comes with the sort of colourful characters you can’t manufacture. Our waiter is one of those unforgettable hospitality professionals who somehow turns dinner into theatre. By the end of the night, we are heading back to the JW with takeaway boxes and that smug holiday feeling that comes from ordering too much and regretting nothing.
Of course, Anaheim’s headline act is Disneyland, and visiting during the resort’s 70th birthday gives the whole place an extra shimmer, with anniversary entertainment and special tributes layered across the land, bringing an extra special sense of occasion that will wrap up on Sunday 9 August (@disneyland).
Maybe it is the choreography of it all. Maybe it is nostalgia. Maybe it is simply the pleasure of being somewhere that commits so fully to escapism. But without dependants, we were free to enjoy the details as much as the rides: the immaculate theming, the parade energy, Avengers immersion, the adrenaline of Space Mountain still delivering, and Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission Breakout (formerly the Tower of Terror) still being one of the most thrilling attractions anywhere in the world. Disneyland at 70 is a wildly polished fantasy world that adults can appreciate on a whole other level.
That is even more true when you manage to slip behind one of its most famous velvet ropes. Club 33, the private membership club tucked away in New Orleans Square, has held an almost mythic status since it opened in 1967. Disney’s original private membership club is one of the resort’s most exclusive experiences. You need to know a member to get in, and that member is paying a seriously hefty annual fee.
Lunch at Club 33 is not just a meal; it is a change of atmosphere. Suddenly, the park’s bustle drops away, and everything becomes hushed, elegant and secretive. For a few blissful hours, Disneyland stops being a theme park and becomes a sanctuary. With beautiful balcony dining and elevated French cooking, it feels miles away from Mickey.
Anaheim also rewards stepping outside the Disney bubble. One of our favourite watering holes is Golden Road Brewing’s Anaheim brewpub, right by Angel Stadium and handy to the Honda Centre precinct. With more than 30 extraordinary craft taps, an expansive patio, moreish giant pretzels and a welcoming atmosphere, it’s a place that reminds you California does day-drinking extremely well (@goldenroadbrew).
From there, we head to the renowned Honda Centre (a buzz after seeing it on TV so many times) for an Anaheim Ducks game, and although we arrive knowing little about ice hockey, the American sports spectacle is impossible not to enjoy (@hondacenter). The Honda Centre is the Ducks’ home turf, with all the scale, noise and fan ritual you hope for from American sporting pageantry. The arena experience is slick, with tech to keep the crowd energy infectious, with kiss cams that compare you to celebrity look-alikes (@anaheimducks). An energising end to an enlightening stay.
For child-free adults, especially, Anaheim is not about pretending to be kids again. It is about enjoying fantasy, comfort and spectacle on your own terms. And honestly? That might be the most magical way to do it.
For more information on attractions, deals and events, check out visitanaheim.org, and for flight options, head to united.com.
