Fitting in a day in LA

[Aust]

We are doing a 1 week trip to DL in September. My original plan was to just go straight to DLR from LAX and then straight back to the airport at the end of the trip, with no day trips etc.

However one of the kids is really keen to see the American Girl store at The Grove and we'd like to do a bit of shopping there and go to the Farmers Market. Have been driving myself batty trying to work out a sensible way to get there and back from Anaheim, but I'm now thinking it would work better to do it on our last day.

Our flight leaves LAX at 10pm so we'd have the whole day. Was thinking we could leave Anaheim early in the morning, and book a hotel near the airport so we can leave our bags, then go from there to The Grove etc, then back to the hotel in the afternoon for a rest, dinner, shower before the flight home.

So my questions are:

*Can anyone recommend an LAX airport?

*Does anyone know if there are hotels where I could book in just for the day, as we won't actually be sleeping there? If checkin is around 3pm then we'd only have access to the room for a few hours as it is.

*ANy suggestions for getting from the LAX area to The Grove? I'm thinking taxi but have to check how much it will be.

*Or any other ways we could do this I haven't thought of?

Sorry for the rambling, this really shouldn't be so complicated!

 

[bswift]

The Travelodge at LAX has day rates - it's $65 plus tax and you can have a room from 9am to 8pm. With a 10pm flight you'd probably want to be out of the hotel and checking in for your flight around 6 or 7pm (personally I'd go for 6, but I'm always early to airports).

I haven't used a LAX day hotel before but where I usually stay in LA lets us keep our room until 4 or 5pm on check out day. It's really nice to be able to explore during the day without worrying about suitcases, and I love being able to take a shower before the flight too.

 

[Aust]

That looks ideal, if I can work out a reasonable way to get to and from the markets then that will be great!

 

[Caroline NZ]

We have used the Travelodge once before for a few hours before checking in. Its not a very nice hotel, but we wanted to change clothes and have a shower before departure.

 

[Caroline NZ]

Oh, and the American Girl store at The Grove is awesome!

 

[LivingforDisney]

We stayed at the travelodge overnight, found it ok.
But I think it would be a hassle to get to the Grove from there by public transport.
Ask on the tripadvisor forum, they can probably tell you what bus you can catch, or maybe try and call the travelodge, they might be helpful.
We went to the Grove but we were staying at the Orchid Suites in Hollywood and it was just a one bus trip.
Have fun at AG, we are hoping to get to the Orlando store this trip.

 

[McNs]

We've used the day rooms at Travelodge on our two trips and it has worked well. Rates are good, $60ish plus tax, and room hours are longer than most other places. It is dated but clean.

Using Taxifatefinder.com it looks to be around $45-$50 each way for a cab (assuming traffic is OK). Public transport looks tricky, checked google and the LA Metro website and both were showing trips requiring 3 buses and a good 90 minutes each way. It is cheap though!

Another option if you don't mind driving is to look at a rental car for one day. You might even be able to pick up in Anaheim and drop off at LAX. This would be cheaper and quicker, but of course does mean you need to drive.

We've been checking out American Girl (well specifically our 6yo), we had managed to avoid until now but somehow she has switched on to it. Grace is in her sights. She's going to have to start saving her pocket money though as that place is seriously expensive!!! The Farmers Market is great for lunch. Make sure you grab an apple fritter at Bobs Doughnuts, my benchmark for donuts.

 

[Franrose]

Just extend your mortgage for American Girl and you'll be right. (Ask me how I know this, lol!)

 

[LivingforDisney]

Ha, ha Franrose, I know what u mean, but the dolls are beautiful. We have way too much AG

 

[Aust]

I found directions by bus but it's all too complicated! And I'm not brave enough to drive in LA, so might have to pay for a taxi.

We went to the American Girl store briefly on our 2007 trip but my daughter was only 3 and doesn't remember. Didn't go to the store in 2012 but we had a doll delivered to the hotel. She's forever making clothes and accessories for the doll and has seen the store online, I think she's more excited to go there than Disneyland. I've told her to start saving her pocket money!

 

[jettgrrlaust]

Hi, use uber to get around LA. Taxis are annoying and can be unreliable. Anytime I needed to get around I used uber and they were awesome and you can track them to see where they are and how far off they are, you also pay by credit card so there Is no hassle with money. you could always hire a car from the airport, they have free buses for hire car companies that take you direct from lax to the depot and back again, you can get gps in the cars. The grove isn't all the interesting but there's a theatre there if you want to catch a movie after spending up big in American girl, also try Cheesecake Factory, huge meals!

 

[welley]

We "stayed" at the Travelodge once when we arrived early from Orlando into LAX. Not the best of hotels, but it had a hot shower to have before we boarded our flight back to Australia.

We hired a driver (via the hotel) to take us to The Grove. Think it was only about $40USD. This was a couple of years ago...

Love The Grove. Keep your eye out for celebrities. Though they don't go there often, they do go there. We saw the housekeeper from 2 and a half men and the bass player from Metallica.