Only 4 LA sights I really want to see... need advice

[PRINCESS VIJA]

I am thinking that on our day off from the parks, I would like to go to Huntington Beach and there are 3 other stops...

mulholland Drive to see the Hollywood sign
Grauman's Chinese Theater for the the handprints
Rodeo Drive


Looking at the tours, it seems like we would be doing so many other things that I don't really want to see, could we do these on our own without a tour?

How is the parking for these different places?
How difficult is the drive?

thanks!

 

[StageTek]

You can’t see the Hollywood sign from Mulholland Drive.

You want to take Los Feliz Blvd. to the entrance of Griffith Park
(Fern Dell Dr.) and drive up to the Observatory to get a closer
look.

The Chinese theater is right next to the Hollywood/Highland
complex. There is a parking structure there. You can also see the
Hollywood sign from the mall and from several places along
Hollywood Blvd. So you could skip the short drive to the
Observatory if seeing it from a distance is okay.

Rodeo Drive is only a few miles from the Chinese Theater and there
are several city parking lots in the area.

The area with all three places is about 45 miles from Huntingtin Beach.
The drive isn't difficult, but it can take a long time due to local traffic.

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

OK, not knowing the distances/ local traffic, can you give estimates on time?

Leaving the DLR around 8am

Go to the Hollywood area and see the theater, rodeo drive

Then to drive to Huntington Beach

Spend just a few hours there (probably 3)

Drive back to DLR

ANY guesses on times for me?

 

[StageTek]

Leaving DLR at around 8AM should get you into Hollywood no later
than 9 - give or take 15 minutes. It’s about 10 minutes up to the
Observatory.

The drive to Rodeo from Hollywood/Highland is about 10/15 minutes.

If you leave anything after 3PM the drive to Huntington will be
about 90 minutes - closer to two hours if you leave between 5PM
and 7PM.

Back to DLR is about half an hour.

All times are (of course) approximate.

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

Leaving DLR at around 8AM should get you into Hollywood no later
than 9 - give or take 15 minutes. It’s about 10 minutes up to the
Observatory.

The drive to Rodeo from Hollywood/Highland is about 10/15 minutes.

If you leave anything after 3PM the drive to Huntington will be
about 90 minutes - closer to two hours if you leave between 5PM
and 7PM.

Back to DLR is about half an hour.

All times are (of course) approximate.

I am thinking of changing our itinerary a bit, to save on driving times. When we come back from Sequioa on Sunday I am thinking of doing the stop in by Rodea drive/ Grauman's Theater and then to Huntington Beach. I am not looking for an immersive experience in either area, more or less to stop in and see it. Do you think it would be better to do this on Sunday? (I do not need to go into the stores, I know they are closed)

So it would be Sequioa, Hollywood, Huntington, and then check into our hotel.

That also gives us another full day at Disney during the week, instead of a 1/2 day on Sunday.

 

[StageTek]

There will be less traffic on a Sunday.

From Sequoia to Hollywood is between 8 and 9 hours. Are you
considering leaving Sequoia on Sunday and seeing your four LA
sights before checking into your hotel in Anaheim?

You could start at the Chinese theater then head over to Rodeo Drive - about a 10/15min trip.

From Rodeo Dr. to Huntington Beach is about 45min to an hour.

Then about 30/40min to the DLR.

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

THanks for the times. I think we are going to do that on Sunday. I like the idea of less traffic, and it makes sense to see the sights as we are going past the area anyhow on that day.

 

[lcasa]

This is CA - a lot of the stores may be open at least before 5 ( we're hedonists here ). You can easily see the Chinese at night - and the Hollywood sign is very visibile from all over. The Hollywood & Highland stores & restaurants ( attached to the Chinese and the Kodak theatre ) will most likely be open.
Don't forget across from the Chinese is the El Capitan - Disney's signature Movie Theater - with an Ice Cream Parlor attached. The theater is a bit pricey but there is a live organist and usually a stage show with Mickey and co before the movie - and it's a classic movie palace as in the 30s - all gilded and with a balcony.

I live in Hunt Bch and drive to the El Cap often- it can be anywhere between 45 min and 90 min depending on traffic. A Sunday evening should be an easy time - avoid rush hour during the week for sure!

Griffith Observatory is worth a stop - esp in the evening if it's clear - to see the Hollywood Sign as well as the city at night. It caan be beautiful. You'll see the Capital records building from up there as well ( may even see it driving to the Chinese depending on your path)

Personally I don't find Rodeo drive that compelling, but I buy most of my clothes from the Disney on-line store.

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

This is CA - a lot of the stores may be open at least before 5 ( we're hedonists here ). You can easily see the Chinese at night - and the Hollywood sign is very visibile from all over. The Hollywood & Highland stores & restaurants ( attached to the Chinese and the Kodak theatre ) will most likely be open.
Don't forget across from the Chinese is the El Capitan - Disney's signature Movie Theater - with an Ice Cream Parlor attached. The theater is a bit pricey but there is a live organist and usually a stage show with Mickey and co before the movie - and it's a classic movie palace as in the 30s - all gilded and with a balcony.

I live in Hunt Bch and drive to the El Cap often- it can be anywhere between 45 min and 90 min depending on traffic. A Sunday evening should be an easy time - avoid rush hour during the week for sure!

Griffith Observatory is worth a stop - esp in the evening if it's clear - to see the Hollywood Sign as well as the city at night. It caan be beautiful. You'll see the Capital records building from up there as well ( may even see it driving to the Chinese depending on your path)

Personally I don't find Rodeo drive that compelling, but I buy most of my clothes from the Disney on-line store.

Thanks for the info. WHere is the Griffith observatory compared to the other stops? I doubt that we would be out late, so would it be worth going to the Griffith observatory during the day? In what order would you do them? (and do you have any guesses as to time frames for travel?)

Graumans
Rodeo Drive
Griffith Observatory
Huntington Beach

Huntington Beach questions, I looked on mapquest and saw quite a bit of parking right off the beach, is that the general parking? Is there anywhere to change after we go swimming? (next maybe a stupid question, but coming from the midwest not sure about this...) Is the sand hot? Meaning do you need to wear water shoes, etc? And do people wear water shoes or will we look like dorks?

Thanks so much!

 

[StageTek]

Thanks for the info. WHere is the Griffith observatory compared to the other stops? I doubt that we would be out late, so would it be worth going to the Griffith observatory during the day? In what order would you do them? (and do you have any guesses as to time frames for travel?)

Graumans
Rodeo Drive
Griffith Observatory
Huntington Beach

Huntington Beach questions, I looked on mapquest and saw quite a bit of parking right off the beach, is that the general parking? Is there anywhere to change after we go swimming? (next maybe a stupid question, but coming from the midwest not sure about this...) Is the sand hot? Meaning do you need to wear water shoes, etc? And do people wear water shoes or will we look like dorks?

Thanks so much!

The Observatory is about 10 minutes from the Chinese - going north
east.

Rodeo Drive is about 15 minutes from the Chinese going the other
direction - south west.

You could start at the Observatory then go to the Chinese theater
(about 10min) then head over to Rodeo Drive - about a 15/20min
trip.

From Rodeo Dr. to Huntington Beach is about 45min to an hour.

When the sun is out and it’s a hot day, the sand gets very hot. If
it’s overcast the sand will be quite cool. Most locals wear shoes
on the beach. Huntington is really laid back - no one will even
notice what is on your feet.

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

Thanks!

 

[lcasa]

You'll get the daytime view, and no telescope viewing - but that's not that great anyway with the smog and all the city lights. There is an astronomy museum there to go thru - with relatively sized/distances planets. Pretty cool. It can be tricky to get parking, but there is a bus ( park & ride basically ) -
http://www.griffithobs.org/vshuttle.html#howto

 

[nzdisneymom]

Huntington Beach is really nice area.

Thanks for the location of the El Cap -- we have that on our list of places we want to see. We're looking at doing a private customized tour so I'm building our short list now.

 

[woody73]

When we went to the Griffith Observatory, they had a film in the Leonard Nimoy theatre that showed some scenes of movies filmed at the observatory, such as Rebel Without A Cause. Quite interesting.

Woody