Geeky solo activities in Anaheim?

October 8, 2023 11:14 PM

My wife is attending a convention this week in Anaheim. She loves Disneyland. I want to make her happy. So I'm going along for the whole trip so we can spend one day in Disneyland. But I need to figure out what to do with the rest of my time there (by myself while wife is at her convention). The hotel is right next to Disneyland. I need geeky or nature-loving activities that can reasonably be reached via Lyft.

I'm a 45-year-old, geeky, non-athletic male. I love technology and video games. I also love parks and nature. I hate kids but will tolerate their presence as long as it's not a kid-centric activity. I do not need restaurant or bar recommendations unless it's REALLY unique. I will not hesitate to spend $100 on a good attraction, $200 on a great one. I don't want to go places where people will judge me for being out by myself. I'd generally like to be back at the hotel in time for dinner with my wife.

I've visited TripAdvisor, here are my reactions: Little Tokyo seems too far to reach via Lyft at a reasonable price/time investment. Yorba Regional Park looks beautiful, will spend an afternoon there. Camelot Golfland actually looks like a lot of fun, hope it's OK to do solo.

Otherwise, Anaheim looks like a boring suburban strip mall wasteland. I really hope you can prove me wrong!

posted by commander_fancypants to Travel & Transportation around Anaheim, CA (18 answers total)

Just making sure you’re aware there’s metrolink commuter rail connecting Anaheim to DTLA.
posted by kickingtheground at 11:37 PM on October 8, 2023 [8 favorites]

the huell howser display is nearby and accessible by public transport.
posted by brujita at 3:46 AM on October 9, 2023 [2 favorites]

Depending on how soon you're going, you might be able to book a JPL tour. The individual tours vanish pretty quickly when a new block of them become available, but there may be group bus tours available through a third-party tour company. Universal Studios is nearby if that's of interest - might be too kid-focused for you though.
Accessible by ~1 hour Lyft or 2.5 hour MetroLink train/bus.
For hiking, have you looked at AllTrails? The Weir Canyon Trail looks nice - no personal experience though.
posted by dttocs at 5:15 AM on October 9, 2023 [2 favorites]

Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve and Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve are un-strenuous hikes with nice views and not much elevation change. Peters Canyon and Aliso Wood Canyon are a little steeper and farther out but imo worth it. Check out ocparks.com and see what attracts you. There's also nature centers and such.

I haven't been in ages, but Camelot is a good call. Probably not very busy on a school day, either.
posted by Bigfoot Mandala at 5:31 AM on October 9, 2023 [1 favorite]

What about an activity that you can also do back home or any vacation destination? Geocaching takes you into nature as well as manmade areas.
posted by dlwr300 at 7:40 AM on October 9, 2023

Long Beach's beach front & downtown is a nice place to wander and people watch. There's the Museum of Latin American Art. The Aquarium of the Pacific. A quick look at traffic right now says it's a 40 minute drive currently. On the east side of Long Beach, aka closer to Disneyland, is El Dorado Park and the Nature Center.

Also I encourage you to appreciate the immigrant-ness of all the suburbia. While the built form is blech, the fact that there are six different languages for the signage in one tiny strip mall makes me so happy. Asian Garden Mall is Westminster is a mall, with all the attendant mall-ness, but has been a hub of Vietnamese culture since it was built. I mean Bolsa Avenue is strip mall after strip mall but the banh xeo at Quan Mii is so delish.
posted by spamandkimchi at 8:06 AM on October 9, 2023 [7 favorites]

I would advise renting a car for a day or two if you are at all possibly able. It will open up so many options of fun things to explore that fit your interests better.
posted by bluesky78987 at 8:07 AM on October 9, 2023 [3 favorites]

If you are a transit geek and/or don't mind bus rides, you might have fun riding OC Transit. It's a straight shot south down Harbor Blvd from the Anaheim Convention Center to get to Newport Beach Pier, just hop on the 47. I find that riding transit is the quickest way for me to feel like I can get the lay of the land.
posted by spamandkimchi at 8:19 AM on October 9, 2023 [2 favorites]

Er the 43 is the line that goes down Harbor Blvd. 47 goes down Fairview but gets you all the way to the pier.
posted by spamandkimchi at 8:21 AM on October 9, 2023

Interactive Flight Simulation at Flightdeck.
“EXPERIENCE the thrill of aerial maneuvers at 600 knots and air-to-air combat in an authentic military flight simulator.”
Same place— Immersive Professional Racing Simulators, Boeing737 simulator.
Also, The Packing District—old factory turned into food hall.
posted by Ideefixe at 8:31 AM on October 9, 2023 [2 favorites]

Does your geekiness encompass space exploration? If so, getting to the Space Shuttle Endeavour at the California Science Center south of downtown LA would be a bit of a long haul by Lyft, but maybe doable. You could also reach it with less cost and maybe a little more time investment by taking the LA Metro 460 express bus, getting off at the 37th St/USC stop, and walking about 10 minutes. (You could also take the Metrolink already mentioned and then transfer to the E Line light rail to get you to Exposition Park, but it might take longer than the bus, which I have actually used and found totally reasonable.)

If that's still too far, you could Lyft for about half the time and distance and get to the Columbia Memorial Space Center in Downey. I have not been there and it does seem a bit youth education focused but I have actually heard good things about it.
posted by sigmagalator at 9:36 AM on October 9, 2023 [3 favorites]

Ohhhh man, definitely try to get to the science center to see the Endeavour, it's AMAZING!
And strongly seconding spamandkimchi's thoughts about exploring cultural things and food in the area.
posted by exceptinsects at 10:36 AM on October 9, 2023

If you like out of this world Vietnamese vegetarian eat here. Just… unique and delicious. Yes it’s in a strip mall !
posted by St. Peepsburg at 11:08 AM on October 9, 2023 [1 favorite]

Oh and if you’re a Star Wars nerd, I’d get a second Disney day just to hang around in the Star Wars area. Just get a book, a cloak, some blue milk and sit there. I’m not a Disney person either but that area is something else. (And yes I did the lightsaber build !)
posted by St. Peepsburg at 11:11 AM on October 9, 2023 [1 favorite]

I was just visiting even further South and made a pilgrimage to Apex Surplus. They have a ton of old film equipment and also rent props out to movies productions. It is unfortunately at least an hour's trip from Anaheim but if you're that type of geek it's totally worth it.

In general I travel out of Atlas Obscura. I think you'll find it's definitely worth your time to browse.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 7:44 AM on October 10, 2023

Oh, and a word on downtown LA. I also made a brief pilgrimage to the Bradbury Building, but you can't really get in to look around and the dodginess of downtown LA pretty much negated the value of going.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 7:49 AM on October 10, 2023

We just visited the Lyon Air Museum attached to John Wayne Airport. It’s about an hour depending on how many of the little displays scattered among the big airplanes you decide to investigate. Longer if you watch the movie about its founder (we didn’t).

The OC art museum is small, but also worth a visit, if the current exhibit interests you.

A few years back the county got hold of the old El Toro Naval Air Station and there was a lot of talk of creating an immense park (a Great Park, if you will). But then real estate developers got involved and those big dreams have shrunk and shrunk into shopping centers and dense suburban housing. A biggish park is there now, and it’s not great (unless you’re a soccer or baseball player), but there is a ginormous helium ballon you can take a (tethered) ride in.

You could spend several hours ambling around Laguna Beach, though that’s kind of a long haul from Anaheim via Lyft.

Seconding the Atlas Obscura suggestion, too.
posted by notyou at 4:53 PM on October 10, 2023

The Jurrasic museum is supposed to be great too.
posted by nickggully at 8:36 PM on October 10, 2023