Downtown Disney - Better than Downtown Abbey?

I enjoy Disney movies. I own a fair few. I am not sure how I have got to the age of 37 and not been to Disneyland Paris, Disneyland or Disneyworld. But I have! I never got to go as a child (sniff) - something about me having my own pony was enough of a treat (apparently). I also never got a Playdoh Mop Top Hair shop, or a Mr Frosty for the same reason...but I digress...

For the uninitiated (which included me) there is an area outside Disneyland in Anaheim called Downtown Disney. It is free to walk around and is full of bars, restaurants, Disney stores, other retail stores, musicians etc and is also the gateway to their 3 hotels.

We went down there for some swing dancing and I explored the stores.

Three stores really stood out for me:

The Lego store - for obvious reasons. How is it that an 80 year old toy company is still so COOL!!! All the statues in the images below are made from Lego:

The beast

Lumiere and Cogsworth

Buzz Lightyear and Woody

The Genie from Aladdin

Maleficent

Disney + Lego = wicked

We then went to the candy store. I didn't buy anything this time, but will be going back here to pick up a candy apple for sure. They had all sorts, and the rainbow Mickey Mouse heads were amazing. Look at these Jack Skellington caramel apples:

It was then a trip to a massive Disney store, where they have everything Disney you could ever think of, and then some!

It was a lovely little taster, and has made me even more excited about visiting the park in November! 

To infinity and beyond!!! 

Dumbo

Mickey and Minnie Star Wars

The Genie from Aladdin

Grumpy shot glasses

Ursula the Sea Witch

Jack Skellington goodies

One of my fave characters: Lumiere

My reaction will hopefully not be as extreme as Lilys was: