Hotel at a Glance: Red Lion Hotels Anaheim Resort

Many nights throughout the year in Anaheim, the sky lights up with fireworks set off by Disneyland—a close neighbor of Red Lion Hotels Anaheim Resort. Guests can snuggle up around the outdoor fire pit to watch the brilliant display. As an official Disneyland Good Neighbor Hotel, the property sells discounted park passes through the front desk. You can walk to the theme park’s main gate—less than one block away—or take advantage of the Anaheim Resort Transit bus system, which stops in front of the hotel.

• In-room amenities: refrigerator, microwave, iPod docking station, flat-screen TV, Keurig coffeemaker, and free WiFi
• Onsite dining: The hotel’s newly-remodeled restaurant serves all-American favorites and showcases their pool bar and smoothies. On Fridays and Saturdays, enjoy complimentary poolside s’mores.
• Request a premium guest room for views of Disneyland.
• Head to Long Beach to play volleyball, tour the Queen Mary, or make a sandcastle—it’s just 15 miles away.
• Make a splash in the heated outdoor pool.

Anaheim, California: Magical Play Land About a Half Hour from Huntington Beach

Less than an hour from Hollywood and Universal Studios, Anaheim is perfectly situated for making the most of a Southern California getaway. But most visitors never make it that far, as Disneyland Park has long dominated the city’s tourism scene. As Walt Disney’s original park, it has a handful of classic attractions that, though upgraded over the years, have been around since the park opened in 1955. You can ride the Mad Tea Party spinning teacups, hop on the King Arthur Carrousel, or sail in the Storybook Land Canal Boats (Walt Disney personally planted the small pine near Geppetto’s home).

Disneyland Park has plenty of modern rides too, including Cars Land, one of the newer additions to Disney California Adventure Park and a life-size re-creation of the town from Disney Pixar’s Cars. The highlight here is the slot-car attraction, which puts you in an automated vehicle that swerves around animatronic characters before engaging another car in a high-speed race.

If you’re in the mood for thrills, ascend the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror before dropping in a heart-pounding free fall, or climb aboard the roller coasters thundering around Paradise Pier with sweeping views of the park. Alternatively, trade fairy dust for white sand in Huntington Beach, where you’ll find 3.5 miles of free-to-the-public beaches filled with surfing, pickup volleyball games, and countless stalls hawking flip-flops and seashell-themed wares.

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