Anaheim Travel
Anaheim
In the early 1950s, cartoonist Walt Disney conceived a theme park where his already hugely popular characters Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and the rest could come to life, to enchant children and make their Uncle Walt even richer. ANAHEIM was chosen as the location for Disneyland on the basis that these acres of orange groves, thirty miles southeast of downtown LA, would become Southern California's next major focus of population growth which indeed they did. When Disney opened his next theme park, in Florida, he made sure he owned all the land, hotels and commercial properties, not making the same mistake he made here of only buying a few square miles. If you're not coming to visit Disneyland, or the similar spectacle of carnival rides and historical hokum, Knott's Berry Farm (8039 Beach Blvd; $40), you may as well give the town a miss: it hasn't an ounce of interest in itself.
Yorba Linda: the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace
Mickey Mouse may be its most famous resident, but conservative Orange County's favorite son is former president Richard Milhous Nixon , born in 1913 in what's now the freeway-caged Yorba Linda , about eight miles northeast of Disneyland at 18001 Yorba Linda Blvd (MonSat 10am5pm, Sun 11am5pm; $5.95; www.nixonfoundation.org ). His birthplace and final resting place, as he's buried in the grounds is a shrine to a man who forged a career from lies and secrecy, and finally resigned from the world's most powerful job in total disgrace. In the shadow of a 12ft high, 600lb chunk of the Berlin Wall, oversized gifts from world leaders, amusing campaign memorabilia and a laugh-a-line collection of obsequious letters written by and to Nixon form the core of the exhibition, but the man's distinctive persona is best enjoyed in the constantly running archive radio and TV recordings.
Nixon's face leers down in Big Brother fashion from almost every wall, but only inside the Presidential Auditorium do you get the chance to ask him a question, although the choice is limited to a small pre-programmed selection. Nixon's gaunt features fill the overlarge screen and provide the stock replies as oily as ever.
Disneyland
To make the most of Disneyland the ultimate corporate-escapist fantasy and the blueprint for countless imitations worldwide throw yourself right into it. Don't think twice about anything and go on every ride you can. The admission price ($43, kids $33; disneyland.disney.go.com ) includes them all, although during peak periods each one can entail hours of waiting in line. Remember, too, that the emphasis is on family fun; the authori-ties take a dim view of anything remotely anti-social and eject those they consider guilty.
Over four hundred "Imagineers" worked to create the Indiana Jones Adventure , based on the Steven Spielberg movie franchise. Two hours of waiting are built into the ride, with an interactive archeological dig and 1930s-style newsreel show leading up to the main feature a giddy journey along 2500ft of skull-encrusted corridors in which you face fireballs, falling rubble, venomous snakes and, inevitably, a rolling boulder finale. Disney claims that, thanks to computer engineering, no two Indiana Jones rides are ever alike. Judge for yourself.
Among the best of the older rides are two in Adventureland : the Pirates of the Caribbean , a boat trip through underground caverns, giving you the chance to sing along with animatronic pirates; and the Haunted Mansion , a riotous "doom buggy" tour in the company of the house spooks. Fantasyland consists mainly of low-tech fairy-tale rides that won't scare the kiddies, but is much better than the tedious, dumbed-down Toontown to the north, a real snooze for adults. Tomorrowland is Disney's vision of the future, where the Space Mountain roller coaster zips through the pitch-blackness of outer space, and the Star Tours ride simulates a journey into the world of George Lucas. This section of the park has been updated in the last few years with space probes and "rocket rods," which underscores how Cold War-era this area still remains in its outlook.
The latest adjunct to Disneyland, taking over a large chunk of its former parking lot, is the California Adventure , technically a separate park but quite connected in architecture, style and spirit it does for California's history and culture what Epcot Center does for the world's, namely sanitize most of the fun out of it. Aside from its more exciting roller coasters and slightly better food, the Adventure is really just another "land" to visit on your Disney trek, albeit a much bigger and more expensive one: you cannot get access to both parks with a single-day admission ticket. Instead, you either have to shell out another $43 or spend $111 for a three-day pass that covers both hardly a deal, considering that an annual pass to either park only runs $28 more.
As for accommodation, try to visit just for the day and spend the night somewhere else. Most of the hotels and motels nearby cost well in excess of $75 per night. You're not permitted to bring your own food to either park; you can only consume the fast-food sold on the premises.
Both Disneyland and the California Adventure are at 1313 Harbor Blvd, Anaheim, 45 minutes by car from downtown using the Santa Ana Freeway. In summer, the parks are open daily between 8am and 1am; otherwise opening hours are weekdays 10am to 6pm, Saturday 9am to midnight, and Sunday 9am to 10pm. Arrive early; traffic and ride queues quickly become nightmarish, especially in the summer. For further information , including public transportation details, call 714/781-4565.