Hot Time in New ‘Town

Disneyland devotees, many sporting Mickey Mouse sweatshirts and T-shirts, and curious local residents lined up early Friday to be the first visitors to Downtown Disney, Anaheim’s new entertainment-retail complex.

A light rain during much of the day did not deter visitors from strolling the esplanade of the 300,000-square-foot complex between Disneyland and the soon-to-open California Adventure theme park. Said Joe Walker, 72, of Irvine: “My wife and I have watched everything Disney does. We went to Disneyland the first week it opened in 1955, and we wanted to come here the first day. . . . This is just a wonderful thing to add on.”

The project is part of a $1.4-billion Disney expansion that aims to give tourists and Southern Californians a new destination for dinner and a movie, or shopping at one of 28 stores that include a bookstore, cosmetics shop, travel agency and toy stores. It features a House of Blues, high-end restaurants and an ESPN Zone--the first West Coast location for the chain of super-sized sports bars.

Unlike Disneyland, Downtown Disney does not charge admission.

Hundreds of people arrived before the 8 a.m. opening to be among the first visitors.

John McClintock, a Disney spokesman, said, “There’s nothing to compare it to, but we’re extremely gratified with the crowd,” given the stormy weather.

Disneyland annual passholders Terry Coleman and Gloria Johnson said they were there to buy some commemorative pins, take photos and have lunch. Both live nearby and say Disney is their shared hobby--they visit the theme park once or twice a month.

They are thrilled that they now have a Disney destination even when the theme park is packed with visitors.

“It’s cool because usually if the park is too crowded we go to the movies. Now we can just walk over here,” said Coleman, 46, of Orange, noting that a cinema near the entrance to Downtown Disney could be a logical first stop.

But food dictated their itinerary Friday. Johnson, 55, of Santa Ana, bought a sugar bun at an outdoor cafe, which meant she had to eat her treat in the drizzle. She and others didn’t seem to mind. By 9 a.m., 20 people were in line to buy croissants, Danish pastries and $5 bowls of granola. By noon, the line was twice as long.

Many said the storefronts seem designed to feel homey and warm, a place to relax away from the cacophony of the nearby amusement park.

Leslie Hill, 40, of San Diego said, “This all completes the circle for us. It changes your whole perspective on the place.”

When she and her husband visit Disneyland, she said, there always is a place to play and a place to sleep, but “never a convenient place to shop or eat.”

“This is not just Disneyland anymore,” said Art Hill, 45, her husband. “Downtown Disney makes it much, much more than that.”

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The after-hours crowd was less sedate and more in the mode of an MTV video. Women in leather and boots began arriving at the House of Blues, as did men hoping to hook up with them.

“I came mostly to meet women,” said 21-year-old Jerry Crawford of Orange, jokingly. But he found that the place has its charms: “The bars, the restaurants--it’s like the year 2000. It’s all brand-new stuff.”

For Sean and Janelle Reynolds of Orange, Downtown Disney was the perfect spot for a Friday night date. The couple went to three restaurants, only to be turned away at each because lines were too long. They wound up at ESPN Zone, drinking beer and eating dinner at the end of the bar.

Despite the crowds, they pronounced the evening a success.

“It’s diverse and lively. There’s a mix of young and old people,” Sean Reynolds, 26, said.

“Now it’s an entertainment event,” Janelle Reynolds, 24, said. “It’s more than rides. It brings night life to the area. Before you had the Block at Orange, and that’s it.”

Disney officials have said they hope that Southern Californians will be a sizable portion of Downtown’s clientele. Across the nation, entertainment-and-retail districts have had mixed success because some people do not find them conveniently located.

Some visitors Friday said they found the prices too high and that they would prefer to do their shopping at regular malls. Others said they like the Downtown Disney ambience and might choose it over the Irvine Spectrum or the Block in Orange for an evening out.

“This is our date day without the kids,” said Nancy Egbert, 46, of Buena Park, “and I am so impressed. You can have it all here. Shops. A movie. Food. No kids. And you don’t have to buy a ticket.”

The new complex offers something nobody else does, she said: the Disney magic. “And who wouldn’t enjoy that?” Ebert asked as she strolled past a celebrity memorabilia store featuring a framed pair of Mike Tyson’s boxing shorts.

Times staff writer Jessica Garrison contributed to this report.