Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
8
The Disneyland
Resort & Knott's
Berry Farm
There are newer and sometimes
larger D isney par ks in F lorida, Tokyo,
France, and H ong Kong, but the original
and the inspiration for all of them still
opens its gates in Anaheim ev ery day ,
proudly proclaiming itself “ The Happiest
Place on Earth.” Smaller than Walt Disney
World, D isneyland—which opened in
1955 on a 107-acr e tract surr ounded
almost ex clusively b y orange gr oves—has
always capitaliz ed on being the world 's
first family-oriented mega-theme par k.
Nostalgia is a big part of the original park's
appeal, and despite many adv ancements,
changes, and expansions o ver the y ears,
Disneyland r emains tr ue to the vision of
founder Walt Disney.
In 2001, Disney unveiled a new theme
park (D isney's California A dventure), a
shopping/dining/entertainment district
(Downtown D isney), and a thir d on-site
hotel (Disney's Grand Californian Hotel).
I'll giv e y ou the lo wdown on the best of
what's ne w, as w ell as on the classic D is-
neyland experience.
While the D isneyland R esort is the
undisputed front-runner in family-friendly
vacation destinations in Southern Califor-
nia, I' ve included another appealing
amusement park that's a shor t drive away
from D isneyland: Knott 's B erry F arm.
Hosting a far better selection of high-
speed r oller coasters, it 's hugely popular
with teens who crave thrill rides.
1
THE DISNEYLAND RESORT
33 miles S of Los Angeles
ESSENTIALS
GETTING THERE
To reach the Disneyland Resort by car fr om LAX, take I-105 east
to I-605 nor th, then I-5 south. F rom downtown Los Angeles, take I-5 south until y ou
see signs for Disneyland. Dedicated offramps from I-5 lead to the attraction's parking lots
and surr ounding str eets (follo w signs leading to theme p ar ks). The driv e fr om both
downtown L.A. and LAX takes approximately 40 minutes with no traffic. (Right!)
If Anaheim is your first—or only—destination and you want to avoid L.A. altogether,
consider flying dir ectly into
John Wayne Airport
in S anta Ana (
&
949/252-5200;
www.ocair.com), Orange County's largest airport. It's about 15 miles from Disneyland at
the intersection of I-405 and California 55. Check to see if y our hotel has a free shuttle
to and from either airport (some will pick y ou up at L AX), or call one of the follo wing
commercial shuttle ser vices:
Disneyland Resort Express
(
&
714/978-8855;
www.coach
america.com);
Xpress
(
&
800/427-7483;
www .graylineanaheim.com);
Prime T ime
(
&
800/733-8267;
www.primetimeshuttle.com); or
SuperShuttle
(
&
800/258-3826;
