Located in the heart of Southern California, Buena Park is a vibrant city with fun attractions and activities. It’s known as SoCal’s Fun City! We just returned from a quick 3-day trip to Buena Park for a couple’s getaway and discovered some unique Buena Park attractions that are perfect for couples of all ages.
At the center of the attractions is Knott’s Berry Farm, a world-renowned theme park that promises exhilarating rides and delicious treats – especially if you visit during the Boysenberry Festival. Beyond the theme park, the city also has some unique restaurants including one where you can watch jousting! And, there’s an eclectic outdoor mall that features tons of Korean restaurants and fun activities.
Buena Park is also next door to Anaheim and Disneyland, and can offer more budget accommodations for couples and families who want to save money and enjoy attractions beyond Disneyland. Thank you to Visit Buena Park for partnering with me on my trip.
Best Things to Do for Couples
We’ve visited Buena Park a few times when our girls were younger, but this time we were visiting as a couple. We wanted activities that blend having fun with relaxation and good food. Here’s a look at all the fun things we did as a couple in Buena Park!
I’ll note that one thing we loved is that these attractions and restaurants in Buena Park are all very walkable. They’re all located along the same main street, Beach Blvd (except for Ralph B Clark Park). We did take an uber a couple of times but otherwise we walked around to these spots.
Knott’s Berry Farm
We’ll kick off with Knott’s Berry Farm which typically is known for appealing to families. However, during our visit it was also the Boysenberry Festival. We enjoyed walking around the park while we grabbed a few boysenberry treats, my favorite was the boysenberry prosecco and boysenberry ice cream funnel cake. While I enjoyed some snacking and people watching, Paul rode a couple of roller coasters, which are truly epic at Knott’s!
EKO Karaoke Lounge
EKO Karaoke Lounge was a surprise find for us! You rent a private karaoke room and can sing your hearts out. Plus, they serve food and drinks, so it’s the perfect date night spot for couples. They have a massive song library catalog but you can also sync your YouTube app from your phone to their tvs and easily search for karaoke videos of your favorite songs on YouTube.
Life4Cuts
One of the hits for us while we were in Buena Park was taking photos together at Life4Cuts at The Source OC. You can walk into the store and choose from a variety of props like headbands, hats, and stuffed animals, then go into one of the photo booths that each have a different backdrop color.
Once inside you’ll use the machine to choose how many photos you want and then the machine will snap away. You’ll pay at the machine and then walk away with an old-school strip of photos to remember your getaway. It’s a perfect couple’s activity and made me remember the few times we took photos like that when we were dating. The pics now live on our fridge.
Medieval Times
Medieval Times is a dinner theater show that has knights competing in jousting, sword-fighting, and competitions. You’ll be assigned a color-coded section and have a specific knight act as your group’s champion. Dinner is three courses, with a tomato soup to start, half a chicken and sides of potato and corn, with a small eclair dessert. They also have a vegetarian option, which was great for Paul.
Ralph B Clark Regional Park
We enjoy simple hikes and working off some of the great food we eat while on vacation so we found a great hiking trail near Ralph B Clark Regional Park. We hiked the Westridge Chevron Hills Trail which has an entrance a bit down the road from the main park entrance. If you’re not up for a hike, you can also pack a picnic and enjoy wandering around the park before enjoying a blanket picnic meal.
Our hike did take us up to some overlooks over the town of Fullerton as well as a distant view of the LA skyline. We really enjoyed this hike as there was some elevation gains but the trails are very well kept and in residential areas.
CGV Cinemas
If you want to relax and watch a new movie, CGV Cinemas is located at The Source OC and is the perfect place to get out of the sun for a bit and catch a new film.
They also offer more than the traditional popcorn option, when we visited, they were also serving spicy chicken flavored popcorn! And if you’re a fan of claw machines, they have over a dozen of them for you to try and win a prize for your honey. 🙂
Olympic Golf Zone
If you like active activities, check out Olympic Golf Zone at The Source OC. You’ll get assigned a booth and can play virtual golf together on simulators. You can practice your swing or play an actual golf course from around the world. They also have pool tables for rent and you can get some food and drinks including some unique international treats.
Where to Eat
In Buena Park, we we’re spoiled with a variety of dining options for any time of the day, from freshly baked pastries to hearty breakfasts, eclectic rock-themed brewery, mystical cocktails, and modern Korean cuisine.
Porto’s Bakery & Cafe
Porto’s is a California classic and has been around since 1960. It’s famous for their potato and cheese balls. We had to try one of their potato balls and it was delicious! We visited for breakfast and both enjoyed a breakfast croissant sandwich, latte, and fresh pressed juice. Porto’s is popular so be ready for a bit of a line to order. But trust me, the baked goods are worth the wait!
Broken Yolk
If you’re looking for a more hearty breakfast, check out Broken Yolk. We both really loved this restaurant for brunch after our hike. I enjoyed the chilaquiles bowl and Paul had the salmon eggs benedict, both were delicious! Broken Yolk had a bright interior and fresh decor, plus they have some pretty yummy drink options as well.
Rock & Brews
Paul is really into breweries and rock music so this spot was an obvious must visit for our trip to Buena Park. They have over 60 beers on tap as well as a large menu of traditional pub fare style food. Beyond the drinks and food, we loved checking out all the rock band banner flags while watching music videos on one of their many big screens.
A fun date night game to play while visiting is to choose your three favorite bands or albums from the flags that you’d want to have in your music collection.
The Cauldron Spirits & Bar
We were really excited to visit The Cauldron Bar but found out they’re closed on Mondays, so had to skip it on this trip. However, I’m adding it to my list because it still seems like a great date night spot.
You can order fun cocktails that you get to mix up yourself, and they even have a hidden room you can see. It would be the perfect spot to visit before or after dinner – or after a day at Knott’s since they’re across the street from each other.
The Source OC
You’ll find a variety of food options at this Korean mall. This is also the spot for a few of the fun attractions I listed above like Life4Cuts, Olympic Golf Zone, and CGV Cinemas. The upstairs food hall had Mochinut, which is a cute and yummy donut style treat that I know of from Seattle. And downstairs you’ll find Myungrang Hot Dog which has some truly crazy styles of corn dogs!
Tips for Planning Your Trip to Buena Park
As I mentioned above, almost all of these Buena Park attractions and restaurants are located very close to each other. You’ll also find that staying in Buena Park can be less expensive than many nearby towns, so consider staying here to save some money and drive to other area attractions.
Do you need a car? You definitely don’t need a car to visit Buena Park. We visited and relied on walking and Uber for our 2 night stay. However, if you plan to visit other local SoCal attractions like Universal Studios or Disneyland, you’ll likely want to have a car to get around. Just be sure you’re comfortable with freeway driving and try to avoid rush hour.
Where to Stay
If I was telling friends where to stay in Buena Park, I’d probably recommend:
- The Courtyard Marriott Buena Park: This hotel is centrally located to most of the items on my list of things to do. They also have a courtyard pool which is a nice place to relax. We were supposed to stay here but they were booked for our stay.
- Doubletree Buena Park: We stayed here and it was a convenient location right off the highway. It’s closest to The Source OC, so if you’re planning a lot of activities there, this hotel is convenient. They also offer a complimentary shuttle service to Knott’s and Disneyland.
- Knotts Hotel: if you plan to spend a lot of time at Knott’s Berry Farm, this hotel next door and has recently been renovated. It’s the highest star level hotel in Buena Park.
Buena Park was a great couple’s getaway for our winter escape. With the dreary Seattle days, a quick hop down to Southern California was a nice treat and Buena Park is a more economical Southern California destination that some of the other areas.
