Downtown Disney, California

Yesterday was my Birthday and Tim took me to Downtown Disney in Anaheim, CA.  It was about an hour's drive from Menifee and I have always wanted to check out  Disney here in California.  Disneyland open in 1955 and became landlocked once all the property surrounding Disneyland was purchased but not by Disney.  Disneyworld was different; all the property around where Disneyworld was going to be built was purchased by Disney but the sellers of the land did not know it was Disney so Disneyworld has a lot of land.  Not so in Anaheim so how did Disney build the California Adventure Theme Park along with Downtown Disney.  Very easy, a large parking garage was built for Disneyland  and the land formally used for parking at Disneyland was turned into the California Theme Park and Downtown Disney.  Downtown Disney, in California, was opened in January 2001.  It is a lot smaller (about a quarter of what Downtown Disney is in Florida) but it still has some flagship stores and some great restaurants.  We got to Downtown Disney around 11:30, walked the whole area plus the Disneyland Hotel, did a little shopping then had lunch at La Brea Bakery.  The food is delicious and the breads were amazing at the Bakery. After lunch, we then did a little more shopping then headed to Carlsbad to celebrate my Birthday with my Mom, Sister and Brother in law.  We had a great time at Downtown Disney and we will return to actually go to Disneyland and The California Adventure.