DownTown Disney - The Best Kept Secret

Downtown Disney is the best kept secret at Disneyland. If you've never been there you're missing an incredible experience. It's like an entire Disney Park with free admission. You get incredible shopping, tasty dining and free entertainment, all within walking distance to the Disneyland and California Adventure Parks.

The Rain forest Cafe is one of my favorite restaurants here. It has a jungle theme complete with animatronic animals that come to life beside your table. I ask not to be seated next to the gorillas because their chest pounding scares my two year old son. But the elephants are really cute. Oh, by the way, their food is good too. Disneyland used to have the reputation of not having good food. Well, since they opened Downtown Disney they have excellent food.

Another of my favorite restaurants is The House of Blues. If you like ribs, they have some of the best around. Try them with their blue cheese mashed potatoes. Wow!

They have great live music but I like to sit outside on the patio and just enjoy the wonderful atmosphere that is Disney. You can feel it in the air. It's lighter there. You can see it on people's faces. It's like taking a deep breath. It's a wriggly puppy dog and a first date all wrapped into a present on Christmas morning.

One thing you must do at Downtown Disney is Build-A-Bear. It's not just for kids. My mother and I did it and it was one of the most memorable aspects of our entire Disney visit. Build-A-Bear lets you create your very own personalized teddy bear (or dog, or giraffe, etc.). You choose the animal, fill it with stuffing, put in its heart, choose its outfit and give it a name. What starts out as an It becomes a He or She. By the end of the process you have a one-of-a-kind toy.

You see people clutching their build-a-bears as they walk down the sidewalk. They have such appreciation on their faces. We took ours to dinner and sat them on the table. It didn't seem right that they should be on the floor after all we'd been through together.

Of course there are great shops like this World of Disney. When you're there look up and notice the incredible decorations hanging from the ceiling. I am continually amazed at the level of detail Disney uses. You'll see Goofy riding an intricate 12 foot long flying machine. What might have been merely a shop for t-shirts and toys has become an experience. That's what makes it Disney.