One day off Disney property

[RweTHEREyet]

Considering renting a car and doing the touristy thing. We have never done anything in this part of California except DL and visit our son in Rancho Santa Margarita. So, if your best friend was coming in and they had one day to do anything, what would you tell them to be sure and not miss.

At some point, I wish to do the Universal tour, not sure how much time that involves. Have heard about the Disney soda fountain. But other than that, I don't know what I "need" to do.

Actually, now that I think about it, are there any tour services that would include transportation from the DL area where we would not have to rent a car? I am not worried about driving in LA traffic, but I am worried about "driving and gawking" in LA traffic.

So, help me out here. I am open to any and all suggestions, or even just being pointed in the right direction to where all this info has already been posted.

If it makes a difference, we are two young at heart, not quite ready for AARP (they offered, we declined) folks who love to see the sights and are very involved in photography.

 

[Hound 109]

I always thought it would be cool to do the little Woody Cruisers beach bus tour. (6 or 7 stops...you get on & get off at your leisure i think)

I've never done it. Probably wouldn't be cost effective with a big family, but with 1 or 2 people it might be. I think someone posted doing this as part of their review...maybe a search would reveal this.

Here's a link of the tour:

http://www.anaheim411.com/OC_Beach_Tours.htm

 

[skiingfast]

You can take a cab to the Anaheim amtrak station, a train to LA and Subway to Hollywood.

It might get expensive with a large group.


Anyway coming from far away I would see hollywood, or Venice Beach/Santa Monica Pier.

 

[LavenderPeach]

I think I would probably head down to San Diego if you haven't been there before. There's the Hotel del Coronado, Old Town, the USS Midway air craft carrier tour, balboa park (really great restaurant there called the Prado), to name a few things.

What type of thing are you looking to do? There's lots of museums around: The Getty, LACMA, Norton Simon. Or there's lots of beaches to choose from. There's the Huntington Library and Gardens which I think are really interesting (near pasadena). Also near pasadena is the LA Arboretum. Oh and the Gamble House in Pasadena. Further out there's the aerial tramway in palm springs.

I'm personally not a huge fan of the hollywood area but I know a lot of people like to see it for themselves. There's also griffith park in LA.

Hope that helps.

 

[RweTHEREyet]

I think I would probably head down to San Diego if you haven't been there before. There's the Hotel del Coronado, Old Town, the USS Midway air craft carrier tour, balboa park (really great restaurant there called the Prado), to name a few things.

What type of thing are you looking to do? There's lots of museums around: The Getty, LACMA, Norton Simon. Or there's lots of beaches to choose from. There's the Huntington Library and Gardens which I think are really interesting (near pasadena). Also near pasadena is the LA Arboretum. Oh and the Gamble House in Pasadena. Further out there's the aerial tramway in palm springs.

I'm personally not a huge fan of the hollywood area but I know a lot of people like to see it for themselves. There's also griffith park in LA.

Hope that helps.

We are going to San Diego on Saturday, for the day. Driving down just to do the photo safari at the Wild Animal Park. On a future trip, we hop to spend more time in San Diego, but this trip we have just the one day.

We want to see the really touristy things. Well, I do, and I am planning the trip, so there you go.

 

[RweTHEREyet]

You can take a cab to the Anaheim amtrak station, a train to LA and Subway to Hollywood.

It might get expensive with a large group.


Anyway coming from far away I would see hollywood, or Venice Beach/Santa Monica Pier.

Just the two of us, but for folks that are not used to public transportation at all, that sounds like it could make for a very interesting day.

 

[RweTHEREyet]

I always thought it would be cool to do the little Woody Cruisers beach bus tour. (6 or 7 stops...you get on & get off at your leisure i think)

I've never done it. Probably wouldn't be cost effective with a big family, but with 1 or 2 people it might be. I think someone posted doing this as part of their review...maybe a search would reveal this.

Here's a link of the tour:

http://www.anaheim411.com/OC_Beach_Tours.htm

Just read your trip report. What a hoot. I am surprised you had the energy to carry your little Jedi guy at the end of the day.

By the way, curious to know, did they say anything to you about checking out so late?

 

[tlovesdis]

You could rent a car and go to Hollywood for a bit. It's kind of dirty on Hollywood Blvd. but not too bad. There is a nice shopping mall and also the Disney Soda FOuntain where you could have some ice cream!

Also consider a trip to The Grove. It's a nice outdoor mall where you can almost always see celebrities!

 

[Sherry E]

I suggest Farmers Market & The Grove - which are side by side. Farmers Market has tons of great food from small, family-run operations, lots of baked goods and things like authentic New Orleans cuisine at The Gumbo Pot. The Grove is right next door to Farmers Market and is a very lovely outdoor shopping center, and yes, there are often celebrities roaming about both The Grove and Farmers Market. The Farmers Market is a part of L.A. history. Hollywood Boulevard is just a few minutes away, and Universal Studios is about 20 minutes away. LACMA & the Tar Pits are very close as well.

I have tons of Farmers Market and The Grove photos in my TR (be sure to scroll all the way down the pages because there are lots and lots of food porn photos):

Page 61

Page 62

Page 63

Page 65

Page 66

 

[KCmike]

Nice Question for a thread.

I would pick a day at the beach - Corona Del Mar and then a sunset cruise on the Pacific Ocean. I would stay away from Hollywood.

 

[PrincessAndrea'sMom]

We love Griffith Park! There are some really nice trail and you can get really close to the Hollywood sign. Outside the observatory offer stunning view of Souther California. The LA zoo and the Altry Western Museum are also nice and right in Griffith Park. You can drive right down Hollywood Blvd to get there. After that, you can make the short drive to Santa Monica or Venice Beach. We always take a day to drive thru Hollywood, visit The Grove, hike in Griffith Park and then hit Santa Monica in the evening. We also love the Warner Brothers Studio Tour. In our opinion, it is the best studio tour in Souther California. We have always been kinda disappointed in Univeral Studios. We also always take a day to head south, down the PCH. We drive thru Newport Beach, Laguna, have lunch at Dana Point, and swim/walk the long pier at San Clemente. I have family that lives in Orange County, so we have somewhat of an insider view and make frequent trips to California.

Have a great trip!

 

[RweTHEREyet]

We love Griffith Park! There are some really nice trail and you can get really close to the Hollywood sign. Outside the observatory offer stunning view of Souther California. The LA zoo and the Altry Western Museum are also nice and right in Griffith Park. You can drive right down Hollywood Blvd to get there. After that, you can make the short drive to Santa Monica or Venice Beach. We always take a day to drive thru Hollywood, visit The Grove, hike in Griffith Park and then hit Santa Monica in the evening. We also love the Warner Brothers Studio Tour. In our opinion, it is the best studio tour in Souther California. We have always been kinda disappointed in Univeral Studios. We also always take a day to head south, down the PCH. We drive thru Newport Beach, Laguna, have lunch at Dana Point, and swim/walk the long pier at San Clemente. I have family that lives in Orange County, so we have somewhat of an insider view and make frequent trips to California.

Have a great trip!

I have family that lives in Orange County, too, my son, but he has only been there since the first of the year, so he is no help at all.

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys.

I am guessing that if we wanted to rent a car and visit several things that the best thing would be a map from AAA. Or are there maps just for us touristas that help get us to all the sites?

 

[PrincessAndrea'sMom]

I read in your OP that your son is in Santa Margarita. My uncle lives there. We always take our GPS. There are also touristy magizines at gas stations and such, often times with maps. Some of our best days have been when we just went out exploring. We found a great park in Malibu we go to every trip now.

 

[perlster]

We are going to San Diego on Saturday, for the day. Driving down just to do the photo safari at the Wild Animal Park.

F[anybody who cares]I, the Wild Animal Park has rebranded.

 

[blackjackdelta]

I would normally suggest SD and the surroundings but we are old movie freaks so we usually do the VIP at USH. It takes a good 6 hours and then we head up to Griffith Park.
Gives us that hollywood feel(went to school at USC many years ago) and you really are treated like a VIP.

Jack

 

[Hound 109]

Just read your trip report. What a hoot. I am surprised you had the energy to carry your little Jedi guy at the end of the day.

By the way, curious to know, did they say anything to you about checking out so late?

We were in the room (at Paradise Pier) from 11:20am - 12:20pm...it hadn't been cleaned yet. (but the maid was on the floor) Even though we left the room technically 80-90 min. past check in, they never said anything.

Thanks for the comment on the report. My little Padawan warrior is wiry & it's a pleasure to have him as my wingman....& if needed...to carry him the last 1/4 mile.