The weather forecast in New Jersey was between 9 and 13 inches of snow. It snowed 23 inches. Fortunately, I was able to change my flight for a day and a half early for my Indian Wells tennis tournament trip (travel tip: watch the weather forecast, especially in the winter. Sometimes airlines will let you change your flight due to weather). My husband was already in Anaheim, California on business, so I had a day to myself. As tempting as it was to do Disneyland, I decided to explore my tennis opportunity in the Anaheim, California area.
We stayed at the recently renovated, Anaheim Marriott, which was in a great location. It was within walking distance from Disneyland, in the convention center area. The hotel also has a complimentary shuttle to Disneyland. The great thing about having Marriott gold or better status was the concierge lounge access. The concierge lounge was a stress free way to start the day. Usually the lounge provided a complimentary hot breakfast buffet with plenty of coffee without the crowds! After my husband began his work day, I wondered, can you play tennis while staying near Disneyland?
When researching tennis facilities, the easiest way to play tennis is to stay at a hotel or resort that has a tennis facility. More often, than not, the hotel or resort will not have a tennis court on property. I researched the area based on, proximity to resort, desirability of location and accessibility (if the tennis facility will allow non-members to play) and location. A bonus would be if the tennis facility had drop-in type clinics to participate in, or Teaching tennis pros that would be willing to provide a private or semi-private tennis lesson. As I enjoyed my morning coffee in the Concierge Lounge, I planned my bonus day in Anaheim (travel tip: I will often use google search for researching tennis opportunities. On this occasion, I went on groupon and selected location with tennis in search criteria: Anaheim Tennis Center came up in the results. I then researched the tennis center through google search, to see if it met my criteria). I found the close by Anaheim Tennis Center (less than 2 miles away) and was able to book evening court time at the non-member rate. The receptionist was also kind enough to inquire with the available teaching Pros if they had time, last minute to hit with me. After playing tennis indoors in the cold weather, I was looking forward to playing tennis under the lights, in California, outdoors!
At the Anaheim Tennis Center, we purchased tennis balls at the reception area when we checked in for our evening, under the lights, tennis court time. The tennis facility was busy as their local high school team had just finished their tennis matches. The facility was warm and inviting. We played our singles game and decided that we would definitely come back to this tennis facility on another visit.
Often times when traveling to vacation spots, such as Disneyland, you will have time for shopping or a pool day. It was encouraging to be able to use an unexpected down day to play tennis. The truly great thing about our sport is that we can play anywhere! So bring your tennis racquet on your next Disney trip and enjoy the lovely southern California weather at the Anaheim Tennis Center!
Places of Interest:
Anaheim Marriott, Anaheim, California. Great place to stay while in Disney area, walking distance (or shuttle ride) to Disneyland.
Anaheim Tennis Center, Anaheim, California. Tennis facility , with 12 lighted courts, welcomes non-members, call 714-991-9090.