need info please- Hollywood Sign, Mann Chinese Theater, Kodak theater, Beverly Hills,

[kc10family]

I have never done anything outside of DL when in the LA area but a friend from out of state is visiting the LA are in late June.
What should they see, need good info, what to stay way from, what is a waste of time and money?
All info and ideas welcome.
Thankyou

update-
Hollywood Sign, Mann Chinese Theater, Kodak theater, Beverly Hills, Tar pits (main LA sites- not homes)

 

[sasywtch]

Depends on what one likes to do. Our family is definitely divided on what they'd like to do. Since I've been to LA 100+ times, there's not the need to see Hollywood but having lived across the country for awhile, when they think of CA, they think Hollywood.
I do like the more realistic tour of Warner Bros instead of Universal. We still do the stars on the sidewalk, Graumans, Kodak. We still drive down Sunset (I can see Doheny going up the right up the hill). We go into Beverly Hills, take a right and start driving, going up dead end roads, checking out the houses. We ran into Barbara Streisand once doing this. Her limo almost hit our car. Ran into Bill Cosby having a party and saw all the valets parking the cars. Would bore the heck out of my XH, my brother in law and I loved it so each his own.

We have gone to the studios and gotten show tickets to watch tapings which was fun. Saw 10 episodes of Family Feud. We go to Rodeo Drive, get out and walk, grabbed a burger at Johnny Rockets.

We've done the La Brea Tar Pits which I think we are doing again this year as we haven't done it in 20 years. We've gone to Marina del Rey and walked their boardwalk, thinking of doing Santa Monica Pier as I've never done that. We've driven around Malibu to see those houses sit on the cliffs and saw Eric Estrada filming CHiPS. (episode where the boulder was going down).

Universal, I really enjoyed having the VIP passes. It was great having a place to sit while waiting for a show instead of waiting in line.

What's the name of the new shopping street? I want to try the hot dog place this time also. Pinks?

We are not a museum family, so someone else could help with that.
San Diego with the zoo, marineworld. Legoland if I still had little kids. Enjoy planning, tons to show them depending on what they like.

 

[eduk8r26]

By shopping street, are you thinking of Citywalk at Universal?

 

[kc10family]

good info so far

info on these places, good and bad welcome.
Hollywood Sign, Mann Chinese Theater, Kodak theater, Beverly Hills, Tar pits (main LA sites- not homes)

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

How many non-Disneyland days are you talking?

I've given a few tours (even to fellow DISers, ha ha) and usually hit the following - makes for a long day:

On one day you can visit:

Mulholland Drive - drive partially on road overlook with nice view of Hollywood sign, Capital Records, & Hollywood Bowl, with LA in the distance

Kodak Theater (park underground & visit the Kodak Theater area, walking up the steps to the "casting couch" - neat area for photos, etc), and then walk to Graumann's Chinese Theater, check out stars' footprints/handprints, walk across the street to check out the Disney shop, see Walt's star. Also across the street is El Capitan Theater & the Jimmy Kimmel studio. Read the stars along Hollywood Blvd. You can also take a tour in an open shuttle of the Hollywood area. I did this with a friend & enjoyed it. (It wasn't a tour of the stars homes)

La Brea Tarpits

The Grove/Farmers Market - have lunch

Go back to Wilshire Blvd & go west (right) to Rodeo Drive, and drive up Rodeo Drive to Sunset Blvd, see the Beverly Hills Hotel. Turn left on Sunset Blvd & drive to ocean. You'll pass Whiskey a Go-Go, House of Blues, Comedy Store, and other sites you can look up on Google & mark down before going there. House on left with a lot of statues belonged to Bill Cosby, or he still might own it - he doesn't live there, though, to my understanding.

Sunset Blvd to the Ocean - PCH There is a Gladstones restaurant there that is pretty famous. Go south/left on PCH to Santa Monica & visit the pier.

The 10 freeway ends at the pier, so you can take the 10 freeway to the 405 or 110 and make your way back to Anaheim.

Other things to visit: Griffith Park Observatory, LA Zoo, Ghetty Center ...

 

[triplefigs]

Thanks for all the tips! My friend Paula was posting for me (appreciate the post). If we have a car and have NEVER been to CA, is it doable driving ourselves or should we take a guided tour to hear the "extras"? It's me, DH, and our BBG triplets (turn 10 on the trip).

We have 1 full day for LA, and are going to Legoland the next day. Staying in Ananaheim at the HoJo. Not really worried about traffic as we live in a major metro city with horrendous traffic.

 

[Mellby]

Griffith Observatory is a must see - you also get great views including the Hollywood sign.

I loved driving through the hills and LA(Beverly, Hollywood) and I'm used to driving on the left hand side! However I didn't drive in peak hour traffic though.

 

[snickerboo]

Did all of those things in NOvember. Only one I wasn't crazy about was La Brea Tar Pits. It's neat to see the real fossils and wooly mammoth bones but, even for my family who are geology buffs, it was only okay.

We loved the other things, camp or not. We parked in the underground parking for the Kodak Theatre and it only cost us $6! We came up the escalator and there was The Kodak. We walked out right where the red carpet always is. Graumann's is right there and tons of stars on the Walk of Fame. Up any of the side streets in that area you can see the Hollywood sign pretty clearly. Really, in a one-hour stop in that area, you can see it all. From there we drove out Sunset to Santa Monica. Along that drive, you pass many famous places, including The Comdey Store, Chateau Marmont, and UCLA, not to mention many Bev Hills Mansions. We went to the Santa Monica Pier at the end of it. We were disappointed that a lot of the rides were closed as it was off-peak (check their website to see what's open & when). The carousel was open, though, and that was neat.

The other LA things I would have liked to have seen are: The Grove, and Griffith Park/observatory.

 

[Bruins]

At the Kodak theater complex, you can actually get a good photo op for the Hollywood sign. On the east side of the complex, there is a California Pizza Kitchen. If you stand right in front of the restaurant the sign is directly uphill.

You can always drive closer if you want as well.