Once Meant to Boom: The Mall Beside the Magic
In June 2008, Anaheim GardenWalk opened its doors a block east of Disneyland, right as the economy tilted into recession.
A brand-new lifestyle center—open-air, multi-level, ambitious. There were murals, fountains, concert plans, and foot traffic expected from the nearby resorts.
Then it stalled. If you remember it, you remember the gaps. But lately, things have shifted. And if you’re looking for things to do in Anaheim, California, it’s worth another look.
Launch Under Pressure – Anaheim GardenWalk’s Delayed Retail Momentum
Anaheim GardenWalk launched on June 14, 2008, with expectations pegged to its location.
At 400 West Disney Way, inside the Anaheim Resort District, it was built to catch overflow from the Disneyland Resort and nearby hotels.
But timing mattered. The U.S. was entering the Great Recession.
Retail foot traffic declined across the country, and discretionary spending fell sharply during that same quarter.
The project cost $280 million and included over 460,000 square feet of retail space.
Developers aimed for national brands and dining chains to anchor the complex.
Early tenants included Tommy Bahama, Ann Taylor LOFT, and Hollister Co. However, vacancy rates hovered around 45% by 2011, according to leasing data published by The McGarey Group.
Some storefronts opened and closed within a single year.
Hollister left before 2014. UltraLuxe Cinemas shuttered entirely by August 17, 2015.
Anaheim officials had originally hoped for an economic uplift.
Instead, by the mid-2010s, GardenWalk was known for its quiet walkways and empty second-floor corridors.
Retail events were scaled back, and leasing brochures changed their tone.
Instead of offering premium shopping, GardenWalk began marketing itself to entertainment tenants and restaurant chains.
The pivot had started, but the scars from its opening years were still fresh.
The mall had been built for crowds. What it got was time.
Pivot to Foot Traffic – Leasing Around Entertainment Anchors
By 2016, the strategy had changed. Fashion retail had faded out of Anaheim GardenWalk.
The vacancy problem hadn’t gone away, but property managers stopped chasing mall-standard anchors.
Instead, they started leasing to operators in nightlife, fitness, and dining.
Bowlmor opened with arcade lanes and a bar. UFCFit followed, and then came Heat Ultra Lounge.
These weren’t foot traffic from tourists heading back to the hotel—they were event-driven, destination-specific tenants.
The most visible move came in 2017.
House of Blues Anaheim relocated from Downtown Disney and opened its new venue at GardenWalk in March of that year.
The move wasn’t voluntary. Disney didn’t renew its lease. But GardenWalk gave House of Blues a bigger footprint—44,000 square feet.
That location now includes four performance spaces, a restaurant, and private event rooms.
The entire project was rebranded internally as an “Eatertainment” zone, using concert programming and weekend traffic to stabilize the lower level.
With that shift, the leasing brochures changed again.
GardenWalk went after immersive tenants. Retail offerings shrank further. The entire second floor was effectively repositioned for entertainment use.
Most storefronts that once held clothing or accessories were gone by 2018.
Restaurants filled in the gaps: California Pizza Kitchen, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Roy’s, and McCormick & Schmick’s.
Fire + Ice opened its grill concept. The Cheesecake Factory stayed.
Some of these tenants dated back to earlier leases, but by 2019, they were the draw.
This version of GardenWalk wasn’t chasing fashion—it was aiming at Friday nights.
Hospitality and Adjacent Build-Out – Hotel Investment Plays
The most direct investment came from above street level.
In August 2020, the JW Marriott Anaheim Resort opened adjacent to GardenWalk.
The hotel rises 12 stories and holds 466 rooms, with a direct pedestrian connection to the center.
It was planned before the 2020 crisis, but opened during it.
Prospera Hotels, which owns the property, had held the site since 2014 and broke ground in late 2017.
The project cost was reported in the range of $150 million.
This hotel wasn’t an isolated build. It had always been tied into GardenWalk’s long-term land use agreements.
Anaheim’s planning documents from 2013 onward anticipated hotel use near the Katella Avenue side of the site.
The goal was to bundle tourism-oriented hospitality with entertainment access and dining clusters already in place.
By the time the JW Marriott opened, the district had shifted far from retail.
By 2024, new tenant announcements referenced the hotel directly.
Meet Fresh, Paris Baguette, and RAKKAN Ramen have joined the restaurant lineup.
Starbucks added a location as well.
Developers pitched the area not as a shopping center, but as a walkable mixed-use zone framed by dining, entertainment, and short-stay lodging.
Active Leases and Footfall Drivers – Tenant Mix in Transition
By early 2025, the operating roster at Anaheim GardenWalk leaned almost entirely on entertainment, food service, and niche retailers.
AMC Anaheim GardenWalk 6 remained the center’s primary cinema tenant, filling the space left by UltraLuxe.
Flightdeck Flight Simulation Center and Mission Escape Games operated as booking-driven attractions.
Billy Beez brought in families. Bowlero ran its hybrid arcade-bowling model on the lower floor.
Dining tenants, meanwhile, formed the actual perimeter experience.
The Cheesecake Factory still drew nightly traffic.
Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Casa de Pancho, McCormick & Schmick’s, and Roy’s kept evening covers steady.
Huckleberry Breakfast and Lunch opened in early 2024, starting service daily at 7 am on the upper deck, with walk-up visibility from the main parking structure.
The retail category narrowed. Dara Beauty added Pandora-branded goods as a dedicated jewelry shelf-in-shop in 2024.
Meeples Family Board Game Café operated with a hybrid service: retail and sit-down.
Factory Xtreme carried fandom apparel. S. Preston Art + Designs rotated limited edition MLB-themed art prints out of a compact showroom.
These were not destination retailers. They relied on existing foot traffic, mostly spillover from the food and event spaces nearby.
GardenWalk’s actual retail square footage had been shrinking since 2018.
Most new tenant announcements focused on experience-first businesses.
But the anchor square footage belongs to diners and theaters.
Retail remains, but the lease math clearly favors tables and stages over racks and racks of product.
Access, Timing, and Practical Info – Location Terms That Matter
Anaheim GardenWalk occupies a tight parcel at 400 West Disney Way, bordered by Katella Avenue to the south and Disney Way to the north.
That address gives it logistical pull—visitors from Disneyland cross Harbor Boulevard in under three minutes.
Drop-offs from Uber or Lyft ride services tend to occur near the Disney Way entrance, directly across from the main parking ramp.
The parking structure is owned and operated by STC Management.
It spans six levels, with designated drop zones and clear signage.
As of May 2025, the first hour of parking is free.
Each additional hour costs $4, with a maximum daily rate of $30.
EV charging stations are live on levels P1, P2, and P4.
Disneyland parking lots cost more, which gives GardenWalk a practical edge for some park visitors who are willing to walk.
GardenWalk doesn’t operate as a traditional mall with fixed public hours.
Each tenant keeps its clock. Bowlmor runs late, often until 1 or 2 a.m.
Huckleberry starts service at 7 a.m. Most restaurants open between 11 a.m. and noon.
The AMC cinema posts showtimes online, and late screenings are common.
Public transit options exist, but are limited. ART (Anaheim Resort Transportation) routes pass nearby, but few visitors arrive by bus.
Most come on foot, by car, or via hotel shuttle. Walkability is high—once you’re parked.
Crossing Katella on foot isn’t hard, but it’s not scenic either.
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