Going To Disneyland - What Else To Do In Area

[sunking]

My wife and I will be making a trip to Disneyland in the spring of 2008. What else is there to do. We would like to do 4 days at the parks followed by 2 to 3 days doing other area things. Not interested in visiting another theme park. Thinking we will just use the Grand Calfornian as our home base during our entire stay. Will probably rent a car.

We are both fans of Television and Movies and I know that we are somewhat "close" to Hollywood. How close is the Walk Of Fame? How about Manns Chinese Theater.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!
Sunking

 

[yngsj]

I can't help with the Walk of Fame or Manns Theather because I have not visited either since I was a little girl but if you want to have a great romantic dinner, try the Orange County Minning Company. It's about 25mins from Anaheim and has a great view of Orange County. We also enjoy Olvera Street which is a mexican market where you can shop,eat, and enjoy entertainment.

 

[CruisinEars]

If you like the movies, try Universal Studios. We had annual passes when we lived there and really enjoyed it.

You also don't say if you have kids, but if you have a daughter there is an American Girl Place store near Beverly Hills which would be about 40 miles from DL. The beaches are an hour due west and are great. Try Hermosa, Redondo or Manhattan Beach. Very easy to get to. We lived in Redondo for a few months and loved it.

Olivera street is kind of a letdown. I went when I was a preteen. Not the best part of town either. Don't know much about Mann's but I hear it is not too impressive either.

If you don't mind a drive, try the Getty Museum. My parents went last summer and said it was incredible.

Hope I gave you some ideas to think about.

 

[fairycat]

Mann's and the walk of Fame are pretty much one and the same in the sense of location. My suggestion is to go to Hollywood and Highland and from there you can check out the shopping, Mann's and El Capitan. El Capitan was purchased by disney and they show first run movies with extras, they also have a tiny shop and malt shop next door that is fun.

Hollywood is about 1-2 hours away depending on traffic.

I have heard great things about the Warner Brothers tour, but Universal can be fun, since they have actual sets in the park and you can often see them filming there.

If you like film and TV go see a TV taping. They are free and you can see sitcoms, late night or game shows. They can be a whole lot of fun (but go see older more established shows they always are better).

 

[DestinationGuideTV]

I went to the DL california this summer, and when we werent in the park, we were in LA, it was our first time to LA so we did all the touristy things such as visit the Hollywood sign, Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills etc, and I would do that if it was your first time in the area. Other than that there are plenty of television studios in and around LA, such as Universal etc. I'm not sure if the television writers strike is affecting these? or even if they will still be on when you visit.

The drive from DL to LA is around 45-60 mins.

 

[skbaker]

We were at Disneyland earlier this year and took a day out to go see "Wicked". Its playing at the Pantages Theater on Hollywood Boulevard. It took as less than an hour to get there from Disneyland. The theater is an old 1930's art-deco theater that has been restored to its original magnificance. Its just a few blocks down the road from the new Kodak Theater. We got there several hours early and the kids had a great time walking up and down Hollywood Boulevard seeing all the stars in the sidewalk.

"Wicked" was amazing! One of the best musicals I've ever seen. The kids even said that it was the highlight of our whole trip.

 

[Hojoanaheim]

If you're going to go up to LA for the day [which I definitely agree with other posters that it would be a fun thing to do], you might also want to look into making reservations to go to the Griffith Observatory. It's incredible!

There are also hiking trails when you get up there that are fun to walk around on if you like that sort of thing. [There is a lot of really good information about that whole surrounding area here: http://www.lacity.org/rap/dos/parks/griffithPK/attractions.htm And! There are tons of really great places to eat nearby as well.

Hope this helps!
Lorealle

 

[sunking]

Thank you all for the wonderful suggestions. My wife and I are going to go over them and see what looks interesting.

If anyone has any more to contribute, send them our way!

 

[fairycat]

I also thought I would add for you our anyone else interested, Pantages is also down the street from Hollywood and Highland on Hollywood blvd. Currently they are showing WICKED which was just AMAZING!

The shows there and the building it self is really something people shoulg go see. Like El Capitan it is old Hollywood, but even as pretty as El Capitan, Pantages can just take your breath away.

Outside is also the bus meet up for many of the tours as well, which while I have heard are fun I have never done.

 

[Judy from Boise]

Please also feel free to visit out So Cal board for more ideas up or down the coast.