Southern California Help from locals, please

[Lauri]

We'll be in California over spring break (April13-19). While I'd like it to be an all Disneyland trip, DD would like to look at colleges, and she has never before been in LA, so we'd like to do some touristy things for her too. We fly in late on the 13th and out early on the 19th. My plan is to go to DL/CA on Mon, Tues, and Thurs, working in some extra time on Wed around her college visit. We are scheduled to visit USC at 12:30 on Wed. How much time should we plan on it taking for us to get to USC. It would be after rush hour. Our return would probably be at the beginning of rush hour. Any hints on the best way to return?

We will probably use Friday as our day to explore LA. We're thinking of booking the Warner Bros Tour and the Ultimate Hollywood Tour. How early should I consider booking these, as travel would definitely be during rush hour? Would it be unreasonable to make it for a 9:15 tour? (We're east coasters, so our times will definitely make us early people.) According to google maps, it's only about 10 minutes between Warner Bros and Ultimate Hollywood Tours. How long should I really leave to travel this distance?

And DD would like to see a Pacific Beach. What would be the best/closest beach to go to from there? I know it will be too cold to swim, but just to walk around. We will also be going back to a hotel near John Wayne airport that night for our early morning flight the next day. Would it be worth driving back along the Pacific Coast Highway?

Thanks for any insight. I've been studying maps, but I'm not familiar with real LA area traffic, only what we've heard about. Thanks.

Lauri

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Hi Lauri,

Your best route to USC from Disneyland would be: 5N -> 91W -> 110N I live near the 91/110/405 interchange, and that is the way I would go there. You can use the carpool lanes on the 5 and 91, but not the 110. Get off at Exposition Rd, I believe.

Google has you taking 5N -> 10W/60W -> 110S -- that route, though about 5 miles shorter takes you through a pretty heavy interchange near Downtown Los Angeles. You might want to use that route to get to USC, and then continue south on 110 ->91E ->5S to return to DL. You can use the carpool lanes on 91 and 5 all the way to the resort.

If you book a tour at 9:15, plan on leaving at 6am from the resort. You may get there early, but I'd get there early and have a light breakfast than stress about getting there late because of traffic.

I use WAZE to gauge the quickest route, and it has been pretty accurate for me. I went to Universal Studios, and it had me take surface streets from Redondo Beach area (south of LAX). I got there 10 mins after it said I would, and that was because I second-guessed it at the end. lol

The Warner Bros studios are close to Hollywood/Highland complex, which is where I'm thinking the Hollywood tours start at (near Graumann's Chinese Theater). It's fairly close, and in normal traffic will probably take 10-15 minutes. Keep in mind, though, that any accident will cause your trip to be longer.

As for beaches - what day do you want to go to the beach? If you want to go to a beach on one of your Disneyland days, then I recommend an Orange County beach, like Newport or Huntington. If you are going to hit a beach while you are in the LA area (Wednesday or Friday) you might want to try Santa Monica, or any of the west beaches. If you take the 10 all the way to the end you will end up at the Santa Monica Pier, and end of Route 66. Redondo Beach Pier is also nice. You can drive down 105 west to the end (towards LAX), and continue on Imperial Hwy until you hit the ocean. You will be at Dockweiler Beach (fire pits), and if you turn left, you can drive along the coast. There are parking areas along the beach. If it's early enough in the day, continue driving until you hit Torrance Blvd, and you will be at Redondo Beach Pier. Tony's on the Pier is pretty popular, or you can have dinner at El Torito if you like Mexican food.

 

[Lauri]

Thank you so much, Mary Jo. We'll definitely use your suggested route to USC.

I'm thinking we may need to change our plans for Warner Bros and Ultimate Hollywood tours, as I cannot picture DD 17 wanting to leave at 6 AM. We may consider doing the 10:30 AM Hollywood Tour (so hopefully we can leave the hotel at a more reasonable hour,) and then schedule a Warner Bros tour for the afternoon. With that, we may not be able to make it to a beach, which was our original plan.

What are the times of the evening rush hour? Oh, and should it make a difference that that's Good Friday? Will there be less traffic, or more traffic? And I'll check out WAZE.

Thanks!
Lauri

 

[SMD]

The CA Science Center is right across from USC, if you want to go see the space shuttle while you're there. Is she only going to see USC, or are they any other schools? If you want to see some views of Malibu, take a tour of Pepperdine.

I mean, I wouldn't drive PCH back to the hotel at night just to do it, but I think that if you do it early enough and it's something you want to see, go for it. You could take the 10 east all the way to Santa Monica Beach, then drive on PCH a little from there. Or you could find an LA tour that includes Hollywood and a beach stop.

Too bad you're not here this week, mid-70s to low-80s, not too cold to swim.

 

[bcla]

Be careful in the area around USC. USC and Exposition Park are in their own protective cocoon. USC now has a perimeter fence to control access to the campus via designated "access points" (most gated off at night) that can be patrolled better by campus. I've been in the area and didn't feel unsafe when in those two specific areas, but off campus on the way to the freeway was different.

Some say the newer fences and gates were installed to show to the parents of prospective international students (which are a large portion of their student population) that they're making a conscious effort to keep the campus safe. This was after the high profile carjacking and death of a couple of students from China a few blocks from campus.