July 30th in LA: 5yo, no car, where to stay and what to do?

[hodad]

We're flying in to LAX on July 30th around noon. The next evening I have a gig in Little Tokyo before joining family in Orange County for a week. My partner and our 5yo daughter will be with me. What should we do in between the flight and the concert, and where should we stay?

I'm leaning toward the following: take a Lyft from LAX to the Holiday Inn on Highland and hang out on Hollywood Blvd, then take the Metro to Little Tokyo the next day. Are there better options?

 

[betterbutter]

Hollywood Blvd isn't really any place to "hang out," particularly with a five year old.

I would rethink your choice of hotels and consider the Hotel Wilshire. It's a few blocks from the La Brea Tar Pits (dinosaurs!). Right next door is LACMA, there are often a lot of interactive activities for kids (free) on weekends. On the opposite side it's a block from the Zimmer children's museum. It also has a great rooftop pool, is closer to LAX, is in a much nicer neighborhood with plenty of restaurants.

 

[hodad]

Those are great ideas! We went to LACMA and the tar pits the last time we had a day in LA. We also spent a day at Hollywood Blvd, where we saw Frozen at El Capitan and had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. Both of those would be fun a 2nd time.

I'm leaning toward getting a 2br AirBnB near the Higashi Honganji temple, since I realized that the obon festival is July 30-31. We might just spend two days there.

We might also stay with friends.

This must be the most frustrating thread on disboards. "What should I do? P.S. I've already done that and I probably don't want help after all!"

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Little Tokyo is pretty cool, but I don't know that I would term it "5 yo friendly." At least at night, there are lots of homeless people sleeping on the sidewalks around the temple and roaming around 2nd street. We visit LT often at night, and nothing bad has happened, but we are always careful. The Obon Festival is fun, but I wouldn't want to spend the night in the area.