Entertainment Attractions
Attractions and Entertainment
Things to do in Newport Beach & Orange County
As you can imagine, Southern California is filled with many attractions and entertainment for your enjoyment during your stay. While the primary focus of your trip is to have surgery by Joseph T Cruise, MD, we want to make sure you and your family take advantage of all that Orange County, Newport Beach, and the surrounding areas have to offer while you are here. For this reason, we have highlighted some of the more popular sights to see and things to do.
We have organized the list in 3 main categories depending on where you are in the recovery process.
Sedentary to Low Activity: Immediately following surgery
Depending on the procedure you had, you may be limited to rest and very limited activity for the first few days following surgery. This is discussed in detail with Joseph T Cruise, MD and your patient coordinator prior to surgery, so you have a clearer understanding of what you can and cannot do.
Following your plastic surgery procedure you will be resting, sleeping, and moving around briefly to stimulate blood circulation. During this time you will want to just relax in bed, read a book or magazine, watch movies, and maybe order room service to satisfy any food or beverage cravings.
FOOD DELIVERY SERVICE: If you are staying in a hotel or vacation rental, and would like food delivered to you, contact one of the following food delivery services.
Postmates
- On-demand food delivery. Choose from a wide variety of restaurants, cafes, juice or smoothie bars, and even some grocery stores. Delivery service available in Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Huntington Beach, Tustin, Irvine, Costa Mesa, and Irvine.
If you are a first time user of Postmates, use the following promotion code to receive $10 your purchase:
Promo Code: dr9w (www.postmates.com)
Door Dash 
- On-demand food delivery service. Very similar to Postmates. Offers a variety of restaurants, cafes, juice/smoothie bars, etc. to choose from. Delivery available in Orange County to Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Costa Mesa, Aliso Viejo, Foothill Ranch, Lake Forest, and Laguna Woods.
Door Dash usually offers free delivery service with your first order. No code needed. (www.doordash.com)
Limited Activity - A few days after surgery (3-4 days post-op)
During this stage, you are up and moving around a bit more, but not quite ready for much extended walking or physical activity. At this time, we suggest taking a drive around the area or visiting Fashion Island for a brief stroll.
Fashion Island - Located next to our office, Fashion Island, is a resort-like shopping and dining destination, which is perched in the distance above the Pacific Ocean with some of the most beautiful views of Catalina Island and stunning sunsets. Stroll through the quaint alleys lined with unique boutiques, popular trendy shops, or visit the big name department stores like Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales, and Neiman Marcus. Stop for a bite to eat at Sushi Roku, R&D, True Food Kitchen, Yard House, PF Changs, Cheesecake Factory, Great Maple. Red O, Fig & Olive, or Cucina Enotica. Or, visit Whole Foods and grab a healthy fresh made juice drink or smoothie.
See a Movie - Feel like going to the movies? Inside Fashion Island is an up-scale movie theatre called Island Cinema, which has reserved seating only theaters. You can order from a fairly extensive menu of lunch or dinner items, alcoholic or non-alcholic beverages, gelato, and of course, they have all the traditional movie snacks. Your order will be hand delivered to your seat. There is also another theatre located just outside of Fashion Island called Edwards Big Newport 6. They recently renovated their theaters with top of line sound system and luxury seating with full reclining seats and table trays.
Balboa Island - If you want to get out, but don't think you are up for being out too long, we recommend a visit to Balboa Island and the Newport Peninsula. Balboa Island is a quaint charming little Island with a main street filled with shops, restaurants, and cafes, and beach homes ranging in architecture from cottage, Cape Cod, modern, and Tuscan. Once on the Island, you can take the Balboa ferry (by car, bike or as a pedestrian) to the other side of the bay, which is the Newport Beach Peninsula. The short 5 minute ride drops you off at the Balboa Village. You can walk around and even take a short stroll to the Pacific Ocean.
Pacific Coast Highway (a.k.a. PCH) Scenic Drive -
Heading South on PCH - You can take PCH from Newport Beach heading South passing through the seaside towns of Newport Coast, Laguna Beach, Dana Point to San Juan Capistrano or a little further to the sleepy surf town of San Clemente.
If you don't want to drive too far, Laguna Beach is great stopping point. It's located only 15 minutes from Newport Beach and feels like you've entered into a completely different world. Laguna Beach is known for it's artsy, eclectic vibe. There are many wonderful independently owned shops and restaurants lining the streets. www.visitlagunabeach.com
If you drive down the coast to Dana Point, head inland just a couple of miles to San Juan Capistrano, a historic town that feels like you stepped back in time a bit. You can stop and take a look at the beautiful historic Mission San Juan. www.missionsjc.com
If you prefer to head North on PCH, in just a short 15 minutes or so, you will reach the famous surfing town - Huntington Beach (a.k.a. Surf City U.S.A.) Many people associate Southern California with Huntington Beach with it's true surf culture and eclectic group of SoCal hipsters. You will see beach cruisers galore! Park at the main pier and take a walk to the beach and see if you can catch some of the great surfers catching the famous HB waves. There are a lot of restaurants, cafes, and shops on Main Street, if you are up for it. www.surfcityusa.com . There is also a new outdoor entertainment area called Pacific City with great restaurants and shops.
To satisfy your hunger on the drive back, take a trip to Southern California's most popular burger join; In-N-Out.
In-n-Out Burger is a California landmark and most say the best burger EVER!
www.in-n-out.com
Light to Moderate Walking & Activity - Approximately 5 days after surgery
At this point in your recovery, you should be getting up and around a bit easier. Now you will be to spend a little more time when you are out exploring and taking in the sights.
There are endless number of things to see and do in Southern California. Water activities are certainly on many people's to-do lists, however most of our surgery patients are restricted from the water during their recovery. For specific guidelines, please talk to your patient coordinator.
Duffy Boat Rental - Cruise around Newport Harbor
One of the more popular things to do in Newport Beach, which does include water, but not getting into it, are Duffy Boat Rentals. You can rent a Duffy boat for 1 hour, 2 hours or more and cruise around the Newport Harbor. Some people bring a picnic lunch or dinner for the boat ride. Enjoy cruising the canals looking at the beautiful water-side homes and you might get lucky and see some sea lions along the way. *Suggestion: book your boat rental during sunset hours and bring along a picnic dinner*
Look on Yelp to find your Duffy Boat Rental in Newport Beach.
Walk and/or Relax at the Beach -
Crystal Cove Beach - With over 3 miles of beach and thousands of acres of undeveloped woodland, the park is popular for hiking, walking, swimming, body-boarding, and there is even an underwater park for scuba divers. While you may not be able to do some of these water activities, if you brought your family along, they can enjoy the water while you relax or take a stroll on the beautiful pristine beach. Crystal Cove also has an old historic "village" of vacation rental cottages, a small store, and a very popular restaurant located right on the sand and just steps from the water - The Beachcomber - open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Above Crystal Cove beach, located on the ocean side of PCH, is the historic Ruby's Shake Shack. While most visitors come for the shakes, they serve diner food as well. Come at sunset and see the sun go down over Catalina Island.
www.crystalcovestatepark.com
Enjoy Lunch or Dinner Out - Some of the local hot spots
Javier's - Located along PCH at Crystal Cove . An upscale, trendy nouveau Mexican restaurant serving some of the best food and drinks in town. If going for dinner, you may want to make a reservation. Javier's can be busy almost any night of the week.
Las Brisas - Spectacular views of the Coastline, sit outside on the patio and enjoy an afternoon overlooking beautiful Laguna Beach at Las Brisas.We recommend the chicken quesadillas and Pasta de Mariscos.
Rooftop Laguna Beach - Some people will tell you the Rooftop Lounge is the best spot in the OC for catching our beautiful sunsets. Located on the roof of the La Casa Del Camino Boutique hotel.The Rooftop is more of a lounge than a true sit down restaurant. Known for their tapas, appetizers and drinks. Weekends get VERY busy, so try arrive ahead of time if you want to have food and drinks while they sunsets.
Other Things to Do & Places to See
Take a look at the Top 10 Best List (things to do, places to eat) in Orange County: www.10best.com.
The happiest place on earth - Disneyland & California Adventure - Even though you may not be able to go on the rides, both theme parks, along with Downtown Disney, offer shows, firework displays, parades, and other activities and sights that you can enjoy. www.disney.go.com
(949) 446-1421