By Expedia Team, on August 19, 2013

There’s more to Anaheim than the Mouse

Where once tourists would bypass Anaheim town centre in their mad dash to Disneyland, now they’re pulling over to take in more of what the city has to offer outside of the Happiest Place on Earth.

Historic downtown Anaheim is undergoing a makeover and The Packing District will soon become the hottest place in town. You heard it here first!

I combined mouse and town (after all, 99% of visitors still come here to see the mighty mouse). Expedia’s Kiwi Travellers stay around 3-4 days in the area and that’s plenty of time to do Disneyland and Anaheim. Many savvy travellers are staying at hotels outside of Disneyland – DoubleTree by Hilton Anaheim and Ayres Hotel Anaheim are two of the most popular.

I was really wowed at this new heart that’s beating to life. Here’s a few tips on what to see in Anaheim.

Packing House

This original citrus packing house was built in 1919, back in the agricultural days for which Orange County is named. Left derelict for a number of years, Packing House been bought up and given a makeover. As we speak it’s becoming a home to a fabulous food hall. The collection of eateries offering all sorts of cuisine with outdoor areas and fresh produce is set to open this year. Next door is Farmers Park, where live music will entertain strollers and picnickers.

Packard Building

In the same block as the Packing House, the old Packard Car Showroom now houses the very trendy Umami Burger and boutique Anaheim Brewery. And how cool is this? When excavating the building site they discovered hundreds of 1929 old rusty license plates destined for Model T’s and the like. Thanks to some very creative interior designer, they’ve been modelled into wall art and chandeliers.

Even cooler, Umami Burger has had the big Thumbs Up (ok actually a Tweet) from Ashton Kutcher and that has seen it hurtle into best burger in town spot. I agree with Mr Kutcher!