5 MUST SEE, DO
» Disneyland Resort Walt Disney would hardly recognize his “happiest place on Earth” today. At California Adventure, Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy—mission Breakout” replaced the Tower of Terror, and the new Pixar Pier overtook the former Paradise Pier with an “Incredicoaster” and Pixarthemed neighborhoods; a new Inside Out neighborhood is due this summer. In the original park, part of Frontierland gives way to the hotly anticipated Star Wars Land this year, bringing such adventures as a secret mission on the Millennium Falcon and an allout intergalactic battle.
› disneyland.disney.go.com
» Orange County Great Park The 1,300-acre park slowly evolving from the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station is already a popular family destination. In addition to 2017’s opening of the first phase of a 194acre sports park (stadium, soccer fields, tennis and volleyball courts; baseball and softball fields to come), 200 acres already were occupied by the now-iconic orange Great Park Balloon rising 400 feet into the air, a hand-painted carousel, a Kids Rock play area, a hands-on Farm + Food Lab, Palm Court Arts Complex gallery and studios, a shaded performance plaza, and a weekly farmers market. One of the nation’s largest public ice facilities was scheduled to open in December 2018.
› cityofirvine.org/orange-county-great-park
» Lot 579, Huntington Beach Just south of “Surf City’s” downtown, steps from Huntington Beach Pier and the city’s famous sands, the sidewalk cafés and markets of this waterfront food hall offer a delicious variety of towering gourmet sandwiches, fresh fish, authentic Aussie meat pies, gelato on a stick and other treats. Lot 579 is an anchor of Pacific City, the two-yearold shopping, dining and entertainment complex whose Craftsman-style bungalows pay homage to the early oceanfront village that became Huntington Beach. The communal space upstairs offers plenty of seating and a killer ocean view.
› gopacificcity.com/lot-579
» Laguna Beach and Pageant of the Masters Art literally comes to life in the unique Pageant of the Masters, in which living actors take up positions against painted backdrops to re-create world masterpieces in eerie 3-D fidelity. It’s the pièce de résistance among the festivals, workshops, galleries and proliferation of public art in the picturesque beach town that began life in the early 1900s as a small artists’ colony.
› visitlagunabeach.com
› foapom.com
» Old Towne Orange Not to be missed in this square mile of Early California homes, sporting handsome Victorian, Craftsman, Bungalow and Spanish architecture, is the Old Towne Orange Walking Food Tour. The county’s oldest operating bank and soda fountain can also be found among the locally owned shops, galleries, fountains and pretty sidewalk cafés. › iheartoldtowneorange.com