By Kevin Yee

ONE | TWO

Rounding a corner, I was reminded again of DCA when I came across the Heritage Park section, where California’s history is celebrated. Here there’s a miniature mining town, a small Indian village, and then the coup de grace: a large restroom structure in the form of a California Mission. A fair that is open only for 16 days a year can out-theme Disney’s restrooms? (To Disney’s credit, nobody beats their bathrooms interiors. The Fair’s were small, cramped, not nearly as clean, and featured those hated trough-style urinals).

Lost in these thoughts, we bought more blueberry lemonade from Hot Dog on a Stick (addictive, I tell you) and wandered into the shopping halls. These indoor areas are large and much as you’d expect. I almost got suckered into buying something called a "Super Shammy (Chamois?)" – the demonstration was that good. Cheap, too. Crowds were heavy all throughout this area.

Then we decided to investigate the Castle of Magical Discoveries. Wise move. If you go, make sure you see this wonderful presentation. A very brief line awaits you outside, but once in, you are greeted by several displays of animatronic dragons – done quite well and with a great deal of care.

These displays were of Disney quality, actually; the dragon beneath the castle at Disneyland Paris is no better than what we saw here – only the ambiance of a fully- themed cave was missing. Wander further into the "castle" and you’ll see the Chamber of Puzzles, the Chamber of Music, the Illusion Theater, and other fun interactive stuff that’s great for kids and just as fun for adults. Look carefully and you can find a Disney ripoff even: the walking, working broom carrying pails of water.

Disney is in the background of many of the ideas here. There’s a "Toontown Theater" funhouse in the carnival section...

...and the ski lift skyride fulfills much the same function as the defunct Skyway did.

It even travels over a simply enormous outdoor model train set that works on many levels as a kind of Storybook Land.

We rounded out our day by wandering through zoos (who knew petting zoos – with green chickens! – could be so much fun), exhibits (the garden areas are every bit as themed as any Disney "land")...

...eating plenty of bad- for- me- foods, and a whole lot of outdoor shopping in the bazaar area.

While structured much like the average swap meet, the high quality of the merchandise and presentations goes a long way to keeping you charmed. Who knew spas could be so interesting and tempting?

There are concerts on the weekends – admission is included with the Fair admission. We didn’t go to the Mariachi festival. Next weekend is the Beach Boys on Friday, Sept. 21, and Tower of Power on Saturday, Sept. 22.

And you’d better hurry. You have one week left to see everything! The Fair’s last day is Sunday, September 23. The hours for this week are:

Monday -Thursday 11:00a.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Friday 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.

Saturday 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.

Sunday 10:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.

And finally, here are the driving directions:

From Los Angeles: East on San Bernardino Freeway 10 to the city of Pomona and exit at Fairplex Drive. Turn left on Fairplex Drive and proceed to the Fairplex grounds. Or, exit at White Avenue and turn left and proceed to grounds.

From Orange County: North on Golden State Freeway 5 to Orange Freeway 57. Proceed north to San Bernardino Freeway 10 and go east. Exit at Fairplex Drive. Turn left on Fairplex Drive and proceed to the Fairplex grounds.

If you’ve never been before, I urge you to go! You’ll get your money’s worth, if our experience was any indication. Be sure to wear comfortable shoes, as you’ll do a ton of walking (the one big drawback).

And watch out for those wagons! They don’t rent strollers here, they rent wagons that you pull behind you. I was quite confused for several hours after first encountering them, thinking perhaps wagons had made some sort of comeback as a must-have item, until I figured it out. I suppose I could have just looked at them – they do say "Rental" across the back – but on the other hand, maybe I was just taken with the "county fair" atmosphere brought on by the old-tech wagons.

And that, probably, was the whole point.

---

BACK

An elaborate collection of movie and TV memorabilia, including authentic costumes and sets and more than 200 lifelike replicas of famous stars. Open Sat.-Sun. 9 a.m. - 7 p.m., Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Admission $6.95-$12.95. (949) 522-1154 or visit Movieland Wax Museum online.

"The odd, the unusual and bizarre from nature and man." Open Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Admission $5.25-$8.95. (714) 522-7045 or visit Ripley's online.

Intrigued by this abbreviated list? Click here to visit Douglas's more complete list of significant locations in Anaheim, including including HISTORICAL SITES, MUSEUMS, SEASIDE ATTRACTIONS, GARDENS, SHOPPING, JUST FOR KIDS, and MISCELLANEOUS FUN categories.