Anyone from LA area?

[Soupermom]

I've posted on the California section of the DIS, but haven't had many responses. I am confident that someone from the Budget board will be able to help.

I am considering planning a trip to the LA area during our Spring break, the 4th week of March. Cast would include me, DH, DD 18, DS 14 my Sis and her DH. We would be flying from Illinois; they'd be joining us from Tampa. We have never been to CA; BIL has been, but only on business trips.

We have interests in both northern (SF, Alcatraz) and Southern CA, but I think we could do more near LA...DL, Hollywood. I have many questions I hope someone can help me with.
1. What else is there to do near LA? We like activities and adventures, on a budget!
2. How far is Joshua Tree? What about Sequoia National Park?
3. We've been to DW many times, but I'd still like to go to DL. Can you visit both parks in 1 day, or would 2 be better.
4. Kids are really interested in Alcatraz...anything "cool" like that near LA?
5. Any suggestions on where to stay? I don't mind switching hotels once if that helps.
6. I know Sequoia NP is rather far; could we drive there for the end of the trip and then fly out of somewhere else. We'll be flying SouthWest so this should be easy if they serve the airport.
7. How hard is it to get into the taping of "show" like Ellen?

Any thoughts or suggestions would be helpful! Thanks so much!

 

[Junebugwv]

It has been a long time since I lived in CA and it has been 5 years since my last visit. But, our 2 youngest are 18 and 14 and DS18 will be headed there for college.

I think DL takes 2 days. Universal Studios would probably interest your kids, too. This site has good ideas: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g32655-Activities-Los_Angeles_California.html

My oldest son is working in Central CA for the summer and he and his wife went to Sequoia NP last weekend. The pictures were beautiful, but it would be quite a drive from LA.

It is always hard for me to decide where to go when we visit CA. I love the SF area (lived there for 3 years) and Carmel/ Monterrey. So much to see in the state, but I have to be realistic when it comes to the distances and traffic.

 

[eduk8r26]

Joshua Tree is going to be at least 2-3 hours. It's out near Palm Springs. The Ellen Show is pretty difficult to get tickets for, especially last minute. You could try requesting tickets now and see what happens. Nothing like Alcatraz in the LA area. You can hop back and forth between DL and DCA in one day. They are just across the plaza from each other. You probably can't see everything in both parks in one day, but could hit the highlights. Lots of places to stay up and down Harbor Blvd. in Anaheim.

 

[jessicaerv]

I've posted on the California section of the DIS, but haven't had many responses. I am confident that someone from the Budget board will be able to help.

I am considering planning a trip to the LA area during our Spring break, the 4th week of March. Cast would include me, DH, DD 18, DS 14 my Sis and her DH. We would be flying from Illinois; they'd be joining us from Tampa. We have never been to CA; BIL has been, but only on business trips.

We have interests in both northern (SF, Alcatraz) and Southern CA, but I think we could do more near LA...DL, Hollywood. I have many questions I hope someone can help me with.
1. What else is there to do near LA? We like activities and adventures, on a budget!
2. How far is Joshua Tree? What about Sequoia National Park?
3. We've been to DW many times, but I'd still like to go to DL. Can you visit both parks in 1 day, or would 2 be better.
4. Kids are really interested in Alcatraz...anything "cool" like that near LA?
5. Any suggestions on where to stay? I don't mind switching hotels once if that helps.
6. I know Sequoia NP is rather far; could we drive there for the end of the trip and then fly out of somewhere else. We'll be flying SouthWest so this should be easy if they serve the airport.
7. How hard is it to get into the taping of "show" like Ellen?

Any thoughts or suggestions would be helpful! Thanks so much!

I grew up in Southern California, so I'll take a stab at answering these questions for you.

1. What else is there to do near LA? We like activities and adventures, on a budget! It depends on how far you are willing to drive. San Diego is a couple hours away by car; the San Diego area is home to the world-renowned San Diego Zoo, there is also the zoo's offshoot the Wild Animal Park, there is Legoland (but I think your kids are too old for that), there is the original SeaWorld, there are gorgeous beaches. There are beaches in the Orange County and LA coast areas that provide ample opportunity to catch some rays, do some boogie-boarding or surfing if the waves are good. Long Beach has a wonderful aquarium (The Aquarium of the Pacific). Of course, if you want to see the typical movie version of Hollywood you would want to take a driving tour through Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive, head over to Grauman's Chinese Theater to see the star's footprints and handprints in the concrete. SoCal has it all!

2. How far is Joshua Tree? What about Sequoia National Park? Joshua Tree National Park is 170 miles (3 hours driving) from LA. Sequoia National Park is 250ish miles (4.5 hours driving) from LA.

3. We've been to DW many times, but I'd still like to go to DL. Can you visit both parks in 1 day, or would 2 be better. Again, this depends on how in-depth a visit to Walt's Park you want to take. The Disneyland Resort (which includes both Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure) is smaller in total area than WDW. The two parks are considerably closer together than WDW, too (think in terms of a couple of football field lengths separate the front gates of the two parks). It is very easy to park-hop and hit only those rides and attractions that you consider must-dos, but in order to fully enjoy the visit you may want to devote 2 days to do it right, especially if you may not head out west again for a great length of time.

4. Kids are really interested in Alcatraz...anything "cool" like that near LA? I can't think of any off the top of my head. Maybe someone else will come up with something?

5. Any suggestions on where to stay? I don't mind switching hotels once if that helps. This is a really open question. It depends on where you want to base your activities out of - LA or OC. SoCal is pretty vast...

6. I know Sequoia NP is rather far; could we drive there for the end of the trip and then fly out of somewhere else. We'll be flying SouthWest so this should be easy if they serve the airport. Again, you'd be driving about 4.5 hours to get to Sequoia NP. The closest airport is Fresno (about 1.5 hour drive away) but SW does not fly out of there. The nearest SW airports are Burbank (back in LA) or San Jose (on the coast south of San Francisco).

7. How hard is it to get into the taping of "show" like Ellen? Unfortunately, I can not help here. Maybe someone else can chime in?

Enjoy your trip!!

 

[DawnM]

I will answer a couple of the questions. We moved from LA five years ago.

To get into a taping of a show, just know that most of them do not allow children under the age of 14 in. Some don't allow anyone under the age of 18 in. So you will have to figure something out there.

You could most likely google the specific information and set up a reservation online.

I used to take groups of high schoolers to tapings and they were very strict about the age requirements. I have also been to some tapings of things like Last Comic Standing where noone under 18 was allowed.

Just know that you will have to be there about an hour to two hours BEFORE the show and will have a lot of standing/waiting time before going in and being seated and once seated you will have a lot of wait time before the show begins.

As far as other things to do around LA, some of my favorites are:

La Brea Tar Pits
Transportation Museum at Griffith Park
Griffith Park observatory
Griffith Park Zoo
Holocaust Museum
Venice Beach
Manhattan Beach
The Queen Mary
Balboa Park
Legoland
San Diego Wild Animal Park (better than the zoo IMHO)


You could also look into a SoCal CityPass options:

http://www.citypass.com/southern-ca...d=6162635429&gclid=COW1nu6ygaoCFcdM4Aod6WcXyw

I would most definitely plan two full days at the Disney Parks as a min., particularly during Spring Break season.

Now, you asked about something like Alcatraz but in SoCal.....what about Alcatraz did you want to see? A day trip to get to Catalina would provide the boating out to the Island (you can sometimes see dolphins too!) and a day adventure to the Island, is that what you mean? As far as abandoned prisons, no....although you could take a day tour to the LA County lock up if you really want an adventure! hahahaha!

Dawn

 

[Soupermom]

Thanks everyone! Your information is very helpful!

 

[Cruise]

I started this last night and then my internet went out, so I'll probably be repeating some of what's already said... but this is what I started typing up last night.....

The funny thing about living in LA is that you really don't know of any of the "tourist" things. We lived in the SF Bay area before moving to LA and it was way, way easier to do tourist stuff with people that came to town than it is in LA.

First, I'll say that I was in Sequoia last week. It was nice, but I still prefer Muir Woods just north of San Francisco. This might also be jaded by the fact that we spent nearly an hour stopped on the road leading out of Sequoia due to road construction. Due to the elevation and snow, they can only do construction during the summer... unfortunately, that's also when the most people are there. The road was closed down to 1 lane, so each direction had to take turns. There were two different places this happened which resulted in the extra hour sitting at a dead stop in the car.

Back to LA.... when people come to town, there are a few things I suggest, but everyone has a different idea of what "LA" is to them. We took my nephews to DL and to a Dodgers baseball game. My Mom wanted to see the La Brea Tar Pits, and Dad just wanted to eat at Jerry's Deli. Third Street Promenade is an outdoor shopping area in Santa Monica that is adjacent to the Santa Monica Pier. There's a small fair-like amusement park on the pier, but again - I think some people think it's just more about going to "The Santa Monica Pier."

There's the area around Hollywood and Highland where you can walk along to Chinese Theater and see the handprints in the cement and the stars along the sidewalk.

Venturing a bit outside LA, you can see the Queen Mary (www.queenmary.com). It might be a bit like seeing Alcatraz, but I've never done it, so I can't say that for sure.

As far as DL itself goes, we were glad we did the one day we went, but we probably wouldn't have done more than one day. DH prefers Universal Studios which is north of LA up in the Valley.

HTH

 

[disneylove69]

I started this last night and then my internet went out, so I'll probably be repeating some of what's already said... but this is what I started typing up last night.....

The funny thing about living in LA is that you really don't know of any of the "tourist" things. We lived in the SF Bay area before moving to LA and it was way, way easier to do tourist stuff with people that came to town than it is in LA.

First, I'll say that I was in Sequoia last week. It was nice, but I still prefer Muir Woods just north of San Francisco. This might also be jaded by the fact that we spent nearly an hour stopped on the road leading out of Sequoia due to road construction. Due to the elevation and snow, they can only do construction during the summer... unfortunately, that's also when the most people are there. The road was closed down to 1 lane, so each direction had to take turns. There were two different places this happened which resulted in the extra hour sitting at a dead stop in the car.

Back to LA.... when people come to town, there are a few things I suggest, but everyone has a different idea of what "LA" is to them. We took my nephews to DL and to a Dodgers baseball game. My Mom wanted to see the La Brea Tar Pits, and Dad just wanted to eat at Jerry's Deli. Third Street Promenade is an outdoor shopping area in Santa Monica that is adjacent to the Santa Monica Pier. There's a small fair-like amusement park on the pier, but again - I think some people think it's just more about going to "The Santa Monica Pier."

There's the area around Hollywood and Highland where you can walk along to Chinese Theater and see the handprints in the cement and the stars along the sidewalk.

Venturing a bit outside LA, you can see the Queen Mary (www.queenmary.com). It might be a bit like seeing Alcatraz, but I've never done it, so I can't say that for sure.

As far as DL itself goes, we were glad we did the one day we went, but we probably wouldn't have done more than one day. DH prefers Universal Studios which is north of LA up in the Valley.

HTH

You could visit some of the local movie companies. NBC and Warner Bros offers tours. NBC I think is $10 or and Warner about$40. I think Warner is much better and you get closer to the action. Graumen Chinese theatre is free and Disney Soda Shop across the street. Walk around looking at the stars on the sidewalk. MaxFactor museum walking distance. Driving around Beverly Hills and looking at all the cool houses. You have many beaches such as Venice, Huntington, Laguna, etc... Hotels in North LA are a little expensive. I find better deals in the south part or Orange County but the commute is terrible. I would divide my hotel stay from Orange Cty and LA.

As far as TV show tapings there is a company that you can order tickets from for free to get into them but beaware a 30 minute show could take hours and you can not get up or leave. Many times you can get tickets in front of the GC theatre.