Best First Date Venues in Anaheim, California

Anaheim, California offers many great venues when going on a first date. Many readers would probably think Disneyland would be my number one choice for a first date, and that would be a good guess. However, my number one choice is the shopping and dining area just outside Disneyland known as Downtown Disney. I like this option because you and your date have many options of activities at Downtown Disney.

You can walk around and window shop at the stores while talking and getting to know each other better. As you explore the shops and each other there's usually several street type of performers scattered through the venue offering free live entertainment. Perhaps you want to learn more about each other over dinner? You will find options ranging from fast food to casual dining to fine dining. After dinner you might want to see a movie. Downtown Disney offers a theater with all the latest releases. If you're feeling more like live entertainment and cocktails you might want to head over to the House of Blues.

If you really want the Disneyland feeling without the Disneyland admission fees, take a round-trip ride on the monorail. This ride lets you experience some of the Disneyland magic without the costly admission fees. Another fun (and free) activity is taking a ride on one of the parking lot shuttles. Take the shuttle from Downtown Disney to the Disneyland parking lot, then take the escalators to the top floor of the parking lot around 9:30pm and you'll have a great view of the nightly fireworks show (in the summer or on the weekends during the year). Once the show is over you can take a shuttle back to Downtown Disney. This venue offers all these fun things to do while having ample opportunities to talk to your date and learn more about him or her. Downtown Disney definitely offers something for everyone and is a fun way to spend a first date.

My next favorite first date venue would be Garden Walk in Anaheim, California. This is similar to Downtown Disney, but it's not as big and it's packed full of many popular chain restaurants like The Cheesecake Factory, PF Changs, California Pizza Kitchen and many others. One of my favorite venues and activities at Garden Walk is 300 Anaheim. This is the most upscale bowling center I've ever been to in my life. Believe me, once you visit 300 Anaheim you may never want to bowl at a "bowling alley" ever again.

300 Anaheim has 41 lanes. The lanes have sofas for people to sit on rather than cheap chairs. There's a full bar where you can mingle with each other before or after bowling. 300 Anaheim also offers a full menu of items from appetizers to full meals. Oh and if you and your date are more the billiards type rather than the bowling type, no fear. 300 Anaheim offers billiard tables, as well.

My final favorite first date activity in Anaheim is actually a combination of things. I would tell my date to dress comfortably, but to bring some dressy clothes to change into for later. For this first date I would arrange for us to go out on a Tuesday and start early in the day. I would take my date on a behind -the-scenes tour of Angel's Stadium. Granted this tour needs to be reserved, but hopefully your date was made in advance to allow you a little time to prepare. The tour lasts about 1 hour and 15 minutes and it's only $3.00 per person. After the tour of Angel's Stadium I would head over to the Muzeo. This is Anaheim's newest museum. In addition to year round exhibits the museum also offers three traveling exhibits, so there's always something interesting to see.

I would end the above day by bringing my date back to my place so we could both get changed into nicer clothes for dinner. I would then take my date to the Anaheim White House Restaurant. This is a boutique style restaurant and its specialty is Northern Italian cuisine. As its name implies it is painted all in white and is lit up in clear lights year-round, so it always has a bit of a holiday feel to it. The restaurant is known worldwide and many of its dining rooms pay homage to past presidents like John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Richard Nixon and many others. This is a perfect way to wrap up a day of getting to know someone new and learning a bit more about the local area.

First dates tend to be stressful, but I think the above first date venues in Anaheim will help ease the stress. You can both focus on getting to know each other better in fun environments that aren't stuffy or constricted. Plus, the above options give you plenty of time to actually talk to each other rather than sit next to each other and stare at a movie screen. The point of a first date is to find out if you both have common interests and talking to each is the best way to learn about one another.