Southern California and Disneyland Adventure

Candycane83

DIS Veteran
Joined
Feb 11, 2012
Hi again everyone! I have officially moved my reservation from the Holiday Danube cruise to Southern California Adventure July 2022. I’m really excited about this now and have started looking into things to do for pre-days. I’m thinking of arriving 2-3 days prior. What would you suggest to do and where to eat? It will be me DH and DS8! (He was only 5 when I first thought to do ABD, from waiting and the pandemic, he will be 8 already for our trip :( ) I’m thinking about Santa Monica Pier, La Brea Tar Pits Museum, the Grove and Farmers Market. I was also looking at Republique for brunch… not sure if anyone has reviews/ thoughts on this? Any other suggestions for food? Must eats? :) My son is not picky with food at all, loves seafood too. :)
 
Have you considered San Diego versus LA for your pre-trip stay? Have a DD at San Diego State and it’s such a beautiful and easy to navigate place! If you don’t want to drive, you can hop the Surfliner from LA to SD- gorgeous coastal high-speed train. The drive is only about 2 hours straight down the 5. You can stop at Laguna Beach on the way- maybe one of the most beautiful coastal town I’ve ever experienced!

San Diego has Gorgeous beaches, the best zoo in America, Safari Park at the zoo, Old Town for a little history, sight seeing and dining, Coronado Island for a change of pace, Balboa Park, the list goes on! Amazing Tacos on every corner, lovely seafood places downtown near the bay or a quick drive to La Jolla for nice dining and shopping. So easy to get around! We’ve really never experienced bad traffic (she played volleyball and we have done many visits to attend matches). Good luck and enjoy!!
 
Consider the Studio Tours (the 3 main ones are Warner Brothers, Sony and Paramount). Warner Bros is probably the best of the 3. Obviously, as well, Universal Studios.

Consider other beaches like Huntington, Malibu, Laguna, etc.

Consider going to San Diego and checking out the San Diego Zoo or other sights. It is a couple hour drive though. You could also do Legoland in Carlsbad (north of San Diego).

You could also consider things like Knotts Berry Farm, Medieval Times, Pirates Dinner Adventure (similar to Medieval Times, but pirates).


For food, it's hard to suggest since there are so many different types of food :)
 
San Diego is a great idea. We stayed at the Del Coronado and had a blast. I did a trip report. The link is below. It was pre-days before our cruise.

For our pre-days before Backstage Magic, we stayed in the Beverly Hilton and did a pool day. We also went to the Dodgers game (highly recommend) and ate at Musso and Frank's. We caught an Improv Show at the Upright Citizens Brigade (they allow kids) and saw Once Upon a Time in Hollywood at Quentin Tarantino's Movie Theater. It was so much fun. This ranks as my son's favorite adventure. He was 11 at the time.
 


We also stayed at the Beverly Hilton last time in LA. Great location and stay but my DDs are college-aged. I’ve not done this with younger ones myself. Lovely area- great dining, sight seeing, and shopping!
 
Thanks for the suggestions! I was looking for just a couple of days in the same hotel to avoid the stress of moving from one hotel to another since ABD will have jam packed days. But I will look at Beverly Hilton now 😂 I was thinking of San Diego but feel a couple of days is not enough to see a good amount of the city, which is why I decided just to stick with LA. Super tempting though.

Oh thanks @Steven G for the suggestion on the studios tour! I am thinking of the Warner Studios one! Love the pirate dinner adventure too! I’ll definitely look into it! (But there goes my plans of eating fancy food hahaha)
 
San Diego is a great idea. We stayed at the Del Coronado and had a blast. I did a trip report. The link is below. It was pre-days before our cruise.

For our pre-days before Backstage Magic, we stayed in the Beverly Hilton and did a pool day. We also went to the Dodgers game (highly recommend) and ate at Musso and Frank's. We caught an Improv Show at the Upright Citizens Brigade (they allow kids) and saw Once Upon a Time in Hollywood at Quentin Tarantino's Movie Theater. It was so much fun. This ranks as my son's favorite adventure. He was 11 at the time.
Thanks for the recommendations! I can’t see your report for some reason. Could you tell me what’s the name of the thread? I’d really love to read it :)
 


Consider the Studio Tours (the 3 main ones are Warner Brothers, Sony and Paramount). Warner Bros is probably the best of the 3. Obviously, as well, Universal Studios.

Consider other beaches like Huntington, Malibu, Laguna, etc.

Consider going to San Diego and checking out the San Diego Zoo or other sights. It is a couple hour drive though. You could also do Legoland in Carlsbad (north of San Diego).

You could also consider things like Knotts Berry Farm, Medieval Times, Pirates Dinner Adventure (similar to Medieval Times, but pirates).


For food, it's hard to suggest since there are so many different types of food :)
I concur on the studio tour. Did Warner Brothers the Sunday morning before Backstage Magic began that night. I saw a report that they have added more Friends sets to the tour. The is already a place where you can knock on Penny’s door from Big Bang Theory. No 2 tours there are alike. There is more downtime on a Sunday morning so the tour guides can take you thru more of the lot.
 
I concur on the studio tour. Did Warner Brothers the Sunday morning before Backstage Magic began that night. I saw a report that they have added more Friends sets to the tour. The is already a place where you can knock on Penny’s door from Big Bang Theory. No 2 tours there are alike. There is more downtime on a Sunday morning so the tour guides can take you thru more of the lot.
Thanks a lot for the great review! I’ll plan it for Sunday morning before backstage magic tour then!! ☺️ My husband just rewatched most of the Friends episodes and even my son now knows it 😂
 
Depending on what you are interested in, the Getty Villa is wonderful as is the Griffith Planetarium. If you like the outdoors, Griffith Park has some great hiking. I am not an expert outdoors person/serious hiker by any stretch of the imagination, but I found a hike that was listed as good for beginners/families with young kids (I don’t have kids, but I figured it would be an easy hike with a low degree of difficulty) and had a great time. The view was fantastic. It was amazing to see LA sprawl stretching out in front of me, and there were some good views of the Hollywood sign too.
 
Have you considered San Diego versus LA for your pre-trip stay? Have a DD at San Diego State and it’s such a beautiful and easy to navigate place! If you don’t want to drive, you can hop the Surfliner from LA to SD- gorgeous coastal high-speed train. The drive is only about 2 hours straight down the 5. You can stop at Laguna Beach on the way- maybe one of the most beautiful coastal town I’ve ever experienced!

San Diego has Gorgeous beaches, the best zoo in America, Safari Park at the zoo, Old Town for a little history, sight seeing and dining, Coronado Island for a change of pace, Balboa Park, the list goes on! Amazing Tacos on every corner, lovely seafood places downtown near the bay or a quick drive to La Jolla for nice dining and shopping. So easy to get around! We’ve really never experienced bad traffic (she played volleyball and we have done many visits to attend matches). Good luck and enjoy!!
Agree-- and the Old Town Trolley tour will get you to the major spots, and some fun facts, without worrying about parking.
 
Depending on what you are interested in, the Getty Villa is wonderful as is the Griffith Planetarium. If you like the outdoors, Griffith Park has some great hiking. I am not an expert outdoors person/serious hiker by any stretch of the imagination, but I found a hike that was listed as good for beginners/families with young kids (I don’t have kids, but I figured it would be an easy hike with a low degree of difficulty) and had a great time. The view was fantastic. It was amazing to see LA sprawl stretching out in front of me, and there were some good views of the Hollywood sign too.

thanks!! I was thinking of adding Griffith observatory and planetarium but saw ABd does take us there, which is why I removed it from of places to visit. Sounds like a lovely hike though so I’ll see if I can squeeze it in. I did add UniversalStudios Hollywood and the WB tour so it takes a day and a half!


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It's in my signature under Mexican Riviera Cruise in the Cruise section.
Thanks! I’ll check it out!
 
thanks!! I was thinking of adding Griffith observatory and planetarium but saw ABd does take us there, which is why I removed it from of places to visit.

The trip used to visit the carousel in Griffith park, but I am not sure if that is still the case. The observatory/planetarium are not part of the official tour, and I doubt that a hike in the park is part of the official tour as well. Consider adding them back on the list if you want to do them.
 
The trip used to visit the carousel in Griffith park, but I am not sure if that is still the case. The observatory/planetarium are not part of the official tour, and I doubt that a hike in the park is part of the official tour as well. Consider adding them back on the list if you want to do them.
Sorry yes meant Griffith park. I thought it was close enough lol! Thanks for clarifying and would consider this option!

Oh I wanted to ask anyone who knows… is watching a movie at the El Capitan theatre worth it?
 
Sorry yes meant Griffith park. I thought it was close enough lol! Thanks for clarifying and would consider this option!

Griffith park is a vast property with (to make this simple) three main things to do. There is the carousel, the observatory/planetarium, and hiking. The tour used to take you on the carousel, but I am not sure if that is still the case. That still leaves two things for you to do on your own, if you want to. If your kid asks "why are we here again," you can explain you are going to do something different.
 
Is the 6 days tour worth the extra money or should I do the 4 days

I did the 4 day short escape, which probably is more “bang for your buck” than the 6 day trip. It depends if you want the additional things the 6 day trip covers (Hollywood, Henson, another nightly activity in the parks and more meals)
 
Griffith park is a vast property with (to make this simple) three main things to do. There is the carousel, the observatory/planetarium, and hiking. The tour used to take you on the carousel, but I am not sure if that is still the case. That still leaves two things for you to do on your own, if you want to. If your kid asks "why are we here again," you can explain you are going to do something different.
The Los Angeles Zoo (phenomenal zoo!) is technically part of Griffith Park.

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