Downtown Disney (California)

: "There is also an area called Downtown Disney at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida; see Downtown Disney (Florida)."

Downtown Disney District is an outdoor shopping, dining, and entertainment area, themed after a garden walk, located at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was constructed during the Disneyland Resort expansion which also included the construction of Disney's California Adventure, and opened in 2001.

Location and history

Downtown Disney District lies between the Disneyland Resort's two theme parks and its hotels. The district was built on space previously occupied by the original Disneyland parking lot and Disneyland Hotel, and includes a bridge over Disneyland Drive (formerly West Street, which was regraded to accommodate the bridge). It is smaller than its Florida namesake. Currently, no admission ticket is required for Downtown Disney District and parking is free for the first three hours.

California's Downtown Disney District was designed more to attract "locals" and to encourage extended stays in the resort district.

One side of Disney's Grand Californian Hotel as well as a side of the Disneyland Hotel's Dreams Tower, face Downtown Disney, providing a view of the area.

Venues

Downtown Disney District in Anaheim includes the following venues:

Restaurants

*Catal
*Compass Books and Café
*ESPN Zone (a sports-themed restaurant)
*Häagen-Dazs
*House of Blues (restaurant and night club)
*Jamba Juice
*La Brea Bakery Cafe
*Naples Ristorante e Pizzeria
*Napolini
*Rainforest Cafe
*Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen
*Tortilla Jo's
*Uva Bar
*Wetzel's Pretzels

Retail

*Anne Geddes
*Basin
*Build-A-Bear Workshop
*Compass Books
*Club Libby Lu
*Department 56
*Disney's Pin Traders
*Disney Vault 28
*Fossil
*Illuminations
*Island Charters
*Marceline's Confectionery
*Quiksilver Boardriders Club Store
*Rainforest Retail Shopping Village
*Sephora
*Something Silver
*Starabilias
*Sunglass Icon
*The LEGO Imagination Center
*Travelex
*World of Disney (a store featuring Disney themed merchandise)

Other attractions

* AMC Theatres
* A Walt Disney Travel Company Information Center
* Live musicians usually selling their CDs

Disneyland Monorail System

The Disneyland Monorail System has a station in Downtown Disney, one of two stations along the line. Built as part of the Monorail's 1961 extension, the station was known as the Disneyland Hotel Monorail Station from 1961-2000. It underwent a major renovation and re-theming as part of the 1998-2001 Disneyland Resort expansion, and was re-designated the Downtown Disney Monorail Station in 2001. Admission to Disneyland Park is required to ride the Monorail.

When Downtown Disney first opened, theme park guests could purchase admission from a ticket booth adjacent to the Monorail station. However, the ticket booth was closed a few years later, leaving the Downtown Disney Monorail station turnstiles open only to guests who had already purchased admission elsewhere.

External links

* [http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneyland/en_US/moreMagic/landing?name=DowntownDisneyLandingPage Downtown Disney District official site]