The world knows Anaheim as the home of Disneyland, a magical place where dreams come true. However, this Californian metropolis has much more to it than castles and cartoons, and the storybook endings we were promised as children often elude us as adults.
With a city population of over 346,000 people, it may not be easy for local singles to find a fairy-tale happily-ever-after romance in Anaheim. It’s not like you can just carry around a glass slipper or kiss a frog to make love materialize. In real life, you have to take more practical steps to meet people.
We want to help Anaheim residents find the Mickey to their Minnie or the Daisy to their Donald, so we’ve put together a comprehensive list of resources to get you out of your dating dry spell and feel the love tonight.
Anaheim Dating Sites
At the top of our list is online dating. Heard of it? Of course, you have! It may not have the pizzazz of a fairy godmother, but it can still do wonders for your love life. Dating sites allow singles to search for date prospects by age, distance, appearance, interests, and other criteria. All you have to do is choose a dating site that fits your needs and goals. We recommend checking out the following top-rated dating sites if you’re hoping to meet a compatible date in Anaheim.
Best Singles Site
Match is the overall best dating site for singles of all ages and backgrounds. Its simple matching process and search tools put you in contact with singles who meet your standards. Since 1995, this reputable site has connected more relationships and marriages than any other dating platform.
- Relationships: Friends, Dates, and Relationships
- Match System: Browse by zip, age, appearance, more
- Our Experts Say: Match has facilitated the most dates and relationships of any dating site, and its large audience and high success rate make it our top review. Our Review »
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Over 50 & Senior Sites
Some 10% of Anaheim’s population includes retirees, and not all these individuals have someone special to share in their golden years. Divorcees and widowers of a certain age struggle to enter the fast-paced online dating scene, which is dominated by 20-somethings and 30-somethings. That’s where OurTime comes in. This senior dating site weeds out the youngins and ensures mature daters can meet one another using easy-to-understand tools.
- Relationships: Dates and Relationships
- Match System: Search by profiles by zip and more
- Our Experts Say: OurTime is well-known in the over-50 dating crowd, particularly because it has a ton of helpful search features and an easy layout. Our Review »
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For Black Men & Women Only
Less than 3% of Anaheim’s population identifies as black, so daters in the African-American community may find it challenging to meet singles who share similar backgrounds and life perspectives. BlackPeopleMeet makes it easier for black and biracial singles to connect on a platform made to suit their needs. This niche dating site boasts having the world’s largest online community of African-American singles.
- Relationships: Deep Relationships or Just Casual Dates
- Match System: Search by location, age, more
- Our Experts Say: BlackPeopleMeet.com is the one of the largest and most popular dating sites for black and biracial singles, and the site is used by more than 5 million people a month. Our Review »
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Hookup & Sex Site
Look, it may not be very PC to talk about, but adults have adult needs and not all of them are interested in finding Prince Charming. Some just want to get laid. Adult Friend Finder is there for those times when you just want a straight-up, no-strings-attached, love-em-and-leave-em hookup. This sex site won’t judge you for your desires and can connect you with millions of singles who feel the same way.
- Relationships: Hookups Only
- Match System: Search by location, interest, more
- Our Experts Say: Make no mistake: this site isn't about making friends, it's about finding hookups and casual encounters. No adult site has a larger or more active user base of those seeking discreet fun. Our Review »
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Popular Dating Apps
Dating has changed a lot since the city of Anaheim was founded in 1857. Singles once had to travel on foot or on horse to meet people (which honestly sounds exhausting), but nowadays you can stay at home and send messages to date prospects across town. Dating apps ensure you stay connected with the local dating scene and can always find someone willing to chat. We recommend using the following dating apps to make some magic happen.
Match.com
- Relationships: Fun Dates, Serious Relationships
- Match System: Browse by location, age, interest, and more
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About the App:
Available via the App Store and Google Play, Match is a fantastic app for dates and relationships. With a user base of 30 million singles, Match is where you’ll have a high chance of success. It’s free to download, create a profile, search for date prospects, and receive compatible matches based on personalized preferences. Free members can also chat with select members and send unlimited likes.
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eharmony
- Relationships: Long-Term Relationships, Marriages
- Match System: Get daily match suggestions
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About the App:
Responsible for 4% of marriages in the U.S., eharmony is among our top picks for relationship-minded heterosexual singles. To become a member, add the app to your phone (iOS or Android) and then take its 29 Dimensions® of Compatibility Matching Quiz. It’s absolutely free to do both these things — as well as receive matches and communicate during other special events.
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OurTime.com
- Relationships: Dating and Relationships
- Match System: Search by age as well as zip, gender, more
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About the App:
Made just for single seniors, OurTime is one of the most well-known niche dating apps. It’s a fun and straightforward app with simple swiping features. Once two people swipe right on each other, they can communicate. For more match options, visit the ConnectMe and I’m Interested pages.
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Anaheim Singles Bars
Online dating can be a fast-moving roller coaster, and sometimes all those ups and downs and twists and turns can make you eager to get off and take things slowly for a while. If you’re sick of dating sites and apps, you can use more personal and traditional ways to land a date. Like hanging out at a bar. Whether you’re mingling with people in Downtown Disney or rooting on the Ducks at a sports bar, you can up your social game by pulling up a stool at a popular watering hole like the ones we’ve listed below.
The Blind Rabbit
It can be hard to find a place not packed with tourists in Anaheim, so a dark, cozy speakeasy called the Blind Rabbit is understandably one of the most popular places for locals to grab a drink. The small bar restricts party sizes to groups of six or less, which creates a sense of intimacy. You have to make a reservation online to gain entrance to this upscale hangout. The system stops accepting reservations at 2 p.m. sharp. Also, the Blind Rabbit IDs anyone under 99 years old, so be sure to bring your driver's license with you. The gastropub serves high-quality drinks and dishes, including a flaming cocktail and waffle fries, so come in hungry, and you'll leave satisfied.
The Cave Sports Bar
The Cave Sports Bar is a real diamond in the rough. Located on Orangewood Avenue, this low-key spot is well enough way from Disney central that not too many tourists frequent it. The bar hosts Monday karaoke nights and twice daily happy hours to fill its seats. Anyone over 21 can sit at the bar and order a cold one while watching multiple games on the row of flat-screen TVs overhead. This dive bar is great for mingling with sports fans and locals while taking a load off your shoulders after a long day at work.
Bottom's Up Tavern
Bottom's Up Tavern proves that old Disney mantra that you can find something special even in unexpected places. This no-frills watering hole is located in a strip mall on Lincoln Avenue, but don't let its humble origins fool you. The jukebox, pool tables, and cheap drinks keep patrons coming back for more. You'll often see friends clinking glasses and joking around with the bartender as they while away a carefree evening at the bar. Bottom's Up Tavern serves quality drinks in a mellow atmosphere seven days a week.
Anaheim Speed Dating
If you’re running short on time like the rabbit in “Alice in Wonderland,” speed dating may be the best solution for you. These fun events put you on the clock and challenge you to assess chemistry and compatibility during a five-minute mini-date. This means you don’t have to suffer through lengthy and tedious conversations with dates you don’t like. You have dozens of opportunities to find a spark, and you can tell the event organizers at the end who you’d like to get to know better.
Anaheim Singles Events
I’d love it if a prophecy, a genie, or a magic compass would point me to the right guy for me, but, so far, that hasn’t happened. So I’ve had to figure out more realistic and practical ways to narrow down the search for a date. Singles events and meetups help tremendously. These gatherings offer a fun, flirtatious atmosphere where everyone is eager to meet someone new and, hopefully, form a relationship. Attending a singles event in Anaheim is a great way to explore the dating scene.
Anaheim Singles Clubs
Wanna be where the people are? Want to see them dancing? Then you’ve got to head to a nightclub in Anaheim. The dance floor gives singles the opportunity to loosen up and show off their moves among a crowd of carefree singles and couples. You won’t find any ballroom dancing or slow ballads at the modern nightclub. These places are all about getting the energy up and making your heart go bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!
Anaheim Chat Rooms
You don’t have to be quick as the coursing river or have all the strength of a great typhoon to impress a date in a chat room. You just have to know how to put together a coherent sentence. Easy enough, right? When you join a singles chat room, you have to rely on your typing skills instead of your looks to make a good first impression. Many singles like that chat rooms offer a free, safe, and low-pressure way to mix things up and make new friends at any time of day.
Anaheim Personals
The sun has largely set on newspaper dating personals, but it has risen with online personals to take its place. Singles today don’t have to pay to advertise their dating ambitions in the local paper — they just post a blurb on a popular website. Online personals make it easy for singles to find local dates who share similar goals and interests. Instead of putting together a lengthy psychological profile, most online personals sites simply ask you to fill in your age, gender, and what you’re looking for in your next date.
Become Someone's Hero by Volunteering
When Disney heroes have a problem, they don’t sit down and fret about it — they take action and punch that problem in the jaw! You can’t punch loneliness or frustration, but you can combat it by getting more involved in your community.
Singles can meet fellow dog lovers and cat people at Orange County Humane Society volunteer events.
By becoming a regular volunteer in Anaheim, you can go from zero to hero just like that. You don’t have to rescue damsels to make a good impression — you could start by cleaning up a local park or taking care of dogs and cats at the shelter. The Orange County Humane Society is always in need of an extra pair of hands to clean, walk, and cuddle with their animals.
VolunteerMatch can connect you with a local volunteer opportunity that’s right up your alley.
As long as you follow your heart, you can’t go wrong. Volunteering with a nonprofit organization you care about is a fantastic way to build friendships while doing something good for the community. And, who knows, maybe one day you’ll find there’s something there that wasn’t there before.
Wish Upon a Star & Find a Date in Anaheim
No doubt about it — dating is incredibly difficult, especially nowadays when singles have so many options (maybe too many options) at their disposal. But a wise man once said that the flower that blooms in adversity is the most beautiful of all. You just have to look in the mirror, arm yourself, and attack the dating scene as if the fate of China depended on it.
Anaheim’s bars, clubs, dating sites, and events can offer you a whole new world of romantic possibilities. It may not be a magic carpet ride, but you can always find the fun if you go into it with a good attitude.
I know it’s cheesy, but I’m going to leave you with a quote from “Cinderella” that always makes me smile: “No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish will come true.”
