Southern California SoCal trip guidence

[hanadog1]

What a great wealth of information this site is. I'm a Marriott timeshare owner but love everything Disney. I'd appreciate any insight anyone can provide on our upcoming SoCal trip.

So we'll be in Newport Beach July 1st - 13th staying between the Marriott Newport Beach Resort and then at the Marriott Newport Coast Villas and want to hit as many must-sees as possible.

I've grouped what we have so far into day trips below of which I have some general and then specific questions about.

First general. I figured there are 2 approaches, either leave early before the traffic or leave after rush hour around 10ish. To clarify I'm not talking about the weekend because I assume the advise is to avoid all of these on the weekend if possible.

I'd prefer the latter so we can sleep in and its not such a long day away from the home base if we leave later.

I know for Disney we need to leave early, early but what about the other day trips, better to leave early or can i wait for traffic to slow down?

Also, I don't want to be crammed with activity either.

Is the farmer's Market day trip feasible in one day? My thinking was again leave resort at 10am check out the market and have early lunch there. Then off to Hollywood and Rodeo mid day, early dinner somewhere then Griffith Park at dusk and at night to see the observatory at night.

How is parking for these locations? I expect costly fees but just don't want to be driving around looking for parking.


Disneyland

Farmer's Market
Hollywood of Fame
Rodeo Drive
Griffith Park and observatory at night


Santa Monica Pier
Venice BeachWalk

Huntington Beach
Laguana Beach

Balboa Island

Best regards
Joe

 

[theluckyrabbit]

I can't help with all your questions, but I'll do my best to answer the ones I can. First off, good for you for planning ahead regarding traffic. Just be prepared that L.A. traffic can happen ANY time (accidents, road closures and detours, etc.), so bookmark a good traffic update site (google for this) and keep checking before you leave to keep yourself informed.
As for parking, Disneyland has plenty of resort parking ($16/day, the Mickey & Friends structure and the Toy Story lot are the main parking areas).
The Farmer's Market has a paid lot surrounding the market. You can get a validation from whichever stand you choose for lunch. There is also a parking structure for The Grove shopping center next door. Just know that the validations don't cross over -- The Grove structure will require validation from a shop at The Grove.
Rodeo Drive has public lots at various locations (look for the signs indicating a public lot). They do give the first 2 or 3 hours for free (double check this, just to be safe).
The easiest parking for the Hollywood Walk of Fame is at the Hollywood & Highland shopping center (located at the corner of Hollywood Blvd. and Highland). Parking is free for 2 hours (???, again, double check) with a validation (available at any shop or restaurant or at the customer service counter). The Walk of Fame is right outside, Disney's El Capitan Theatre and the Disney Soda Fountain are across the street, the Chinese Theater with the famous footprints is next door. There is a photo op for the Hollywood Sign on the upper level.
Griffith Observatory has a parking lot, but parking can be very tight during peak hours. Check the Observatory's website to see if they list the parking fee (if any).
The beaches all have public lots -- you might want to look up the Visitor's Bureau for each location to find out the cost for each beach. We don't take our car to Balboa Island, just park by the ferry and take the ferry over. Parking is tight in Newport and you should allow extra time to look for parking.
Hope this is helpful. Have a great trip!