Question, Can someone please offer some suggestions?

[LOVEDISNEYLAND]

My husband and I are here right now and want to take one day off from the Disney parks and would like some suggestions on some places that aren't to pricey and relativly close to visit. Since we have 7 day hopper and we are here for 8 days, we want to save the last day of our vacation in the park for Saturday because that's the day when the Haunted Mansion re-opens. We were thinking tomorrow would be the day we take off from the parks and go and do something else. We have a rental car and so getting around is no problem. Any suggestions would be appreciated greatly Thank you!

 

[Sherwin]

You could always check out the Gardenwalk. It's not too far and a pleasant visit.

 

[LOVEDISNEYLAND]

You could always check out the Gardenwalk. It's not too far and a pleasant visit.

What is this? I've never heard of it before. Thanks!

 

[Corpsebride]

Come on up to Hollywood. We have great museums, fantastic restaurants and there's always the Hollywood Walk of Fame. I would suggest checking out the Southern California board. You can find lots of options. Do you have any interest in checking out the Universal Studios? It is fun.
There is so much to do . What do you want to see?
Oh , make sure to check the www.weather.com
It is going to rain this weekend. So bear that in mind for your travels and your last days at DL.
But what ever you do, you are going to have a great time! Southern California is filled with lots of fun things to do.

 

[DizNee Luver]

In 2005 we planned non-disney days into our trip. We went down to the Hollywood Walk of Fame...... It was the most filthy, disgusting place....I was shocked, I was really excited at seeing these famed stars & was absolutely mortified at what we saw. The streets are filthy, the shops that line these streets were mostly porn & head shops. There were bums laying on the sidewalks & asking for money. Some of the stars were in bad shape (tree roots pushing up & breaking them, dirty, etc). The area in front of the Mann's Theater is full of people dressed up in characters (Spiderman, Batman, etc) that will gladly pose for a picture for a price. How can you tell your 4 yr old you can't get a picture of Spiderman because I don't want to pay him $5.00 for it (mind you, this was taking a pic with our own camera).

We drove around & saw La Brea Tar Pits, Disney Symphony Hall & the Staples Center. We also drove down to the Rodeo Drive area & walked around to window shop. We really enjoyed doing this. Seeing some of the landmarks & just relaxing.

Hope that helps a little.....don't want to totally scare you off from the Walk of Fame, but figured you should have a heads up if you decide to go there!!

Enjoy the rest of your trip!!!

 

[goofycathy]

In 2005 we planned non-disney days into our trip. We went down to the Hollywood Walk of Fame...... It was the most filthy, disgusting place....I was shocked, I was really excited at seeing these famed stars & was absolutely mortified at what we saw. The streets are filthy, the shops that line these streets were mostly porn & head shops. There were bums laying on the sidewalks & asking for money. Some of the stars were in bad shape (tree roots pushing up & breaking them, dirty, etc). The area in front of the Mann's Theater is full of people dressed up in characters (Spiderman, Batman, etc) that will gladly pose for a picture for a price. How can you tell your 4 yr old you can't get a picture of Spiderman because I don't want to pay him $5.00 for it (mind you, this was taking a pic with our own camera).

We drove around & saw La Brea Tar Pits, Disney Symphony Hall & the Staples Center. We also drove down to the Rodeo Drive area & walked around to window shop. We really enjoyed doing this. Seeing some of the landmarks & just relaxing.

Hope that helps a little.....don't want to totally scare you off from the Walk of Fame, but figured you should have a heads up if you decide to go there!!

Enjoy the rest of your trip!!!

Funny...our trip to the hollywood walk of fame was EXACTLY like your trip was....I was mortified! I didnt want to touch a thing and was constantly afraid of being mugged, lol I was probably over-reacting but thats the feeling I got in Hollywood!

 

[LOVEDISNEYLAND]

Thanks for the tip because we actually thought about going to Hollywood, but I'm not going anymore. I think we'll actually go and see some of the beaches today.

 

[Corpsebride]

Oh I agree. A few years ago, I would never suggest going to Hollywood. The area of Hollywood Bl. was Terrible. It has gotten soooo much better and prettier. I dont know what porn shops you are talking about, I have lived in Hollywood for almost 20 years, but there are a lot of tattoo shops the further east you go. Unfortunately most tourists are uninformed that there are so many other amazing places to go in Hollywood that are beautiful and fun!
Sunset Blvd West between La Cienaga and the beach lots of miles of great things to see and do.
Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills
Melrose Ave. shopping
Beachwood Canyon a great little community in east hollywood above Hollywood blvd on Franklin Blvd.
Sunset Ranch for horseback riding
Rodeo Drive
Yamashiro great sushi in the Hollywood Hills. Japanese Fine dining.
Kodak Theater Hollywood blvd
Runyon Canyon -Great Hiking. Yes hiking right in the heart of Hollywood.
And of course the Disney Store.
So, if you decide to come up my way, dont let the bad reputation Hollywood blvd used to have stop you. It is one street of many.
If you decide to come up do some internet searches for the city of Beverly Hills and the city of Hollywood.
But, hey, either way Southern California is a fun place to visit, I am sure you will have a magical time what ever you do!

 

[fairycat]

In 2005 we planned non-disney days into our trip. We went down to the Hollywood Walk of Fame...... It was the most filthy, disgusting place....I was shocked, I was really excited at seeing these famed stars & was absolutely mortified at what we saw. The streets are filthy, the shops that line these streets were mostly porn & head shops. There were bums laying on the sidewalks & asking for money. Some of the stars were in bad shape (tree roots pushing up & breaking them, dirty, etc). The area in front of the Mann's Theater is full of people dressed up in characters (Spiderman, Batman, etc) that will gladly pose for a picture for a price. How can you tell your 4 yr old you can't get a picture of Spiderman because I don't want to pay him $5.00 for it (mind you, this was taking a pic with our own camera).

Just so you know some of this has changed. With the openning of the Hollywood and Highland complex, the porn shops are mostly gone in the immediate area and more and more are disappearing. The sidewalks with the stars have also been getting more and more attention over the years. They are not all fixed but many are getting better. It's not perfect and with the economy I expect a lot more empty shops, and less street work, but Hollywood has been trying to clean up the area. It will take a while though just like Time Square did.

As to the characters that is an issue I addressed in my thread on Hollywood. My suggestion is to tell your kids before hand that you aren't taking any pictures with the characters, but they can say "Hi", or move past them FAST! They can be a huge PITA but it's what these people do for a living.

My personal favorite thing to do is any of the museums. La Brea Tar Pits, LACMA, and the Petterson Musuem are all right near each other off Wilshire.

Or if you can get a reservation (it's free but you need a reservation for parking), is the Getty Villa http://www.getty.edu/visit/ You can drive down the coast see Santa Monica (the pier and 3rd street have lots to see), then go see the Villa which house's ancient Greek and Roman Art, in the most amazing Roman Style Villa, they have a small cafe where you can sit overlooking the garden's and over to the sea. Then if you have time you can do dinner at Gladstone's in Malibu, if you like seafood. I love this area its so pretty and there is lots to see!

For more you can check out this thread
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1741375

 

[bumbershoot]

Now don't forget...just in case...if you're loving it very much and think there's even a *chance* you could convince yourself to go back for a trip finishing inside of a year from your first day in the parks this time...don't forget you could upgrade to APs.

From one Tacoma resident to another.

 

[LOVEDISNEYLAND]

Hey guys just wanted to say thank you for all your suggestions. We decided to go over to Garden grove walk and it was just really neat. There was nobody there. We maybe saw 20 people. It was so mellow and quiet and all I can say is that it was just really nice. I just wish we had something cool like that where we live. We might even go back just to bum around after Disneyland closes. Well see! Thanks!