What else do you do while there on a Disney vacation?

[cmlnkb]

First timers to California and of course Disneyland is first on the list. But if there for a whole week what else has anyone done to take in California? Hollywood? Beverly Hills? Anyone fit in any of those attractions while visiting? Where is a good place to base camp after our Disney park visit? Is there a good beach destination? Traveling a family of Mom, Dad and 2 college kids. Thanks

 

[BrianL]

First timers to California and of course Disneyland is first on the list. But if there for a whole week what else has anyone done to take in California? Hollywood? Beverly Hills? Anyone fit in any of those attractions while visiting? Where is a good place to base camp after our Disney park visit? Is there a good beach destination? Traveling a family of Mom, Dad and 2 college kids. Thanks

I like Hollywood if you are into movies and all. Universal Hollywood is much smaller with a great backlot tour. Also, the Warner Bros. studio tour is pretty great - small groups and can be different every time depending on what is filming where. Lots of classic movies were filmed there and they have working tv show sets too. You could be in a studio audience, but it is time consuming as I understand it. Maybe go see a taping of The Price is Right - which now is in Glendale I think (used to be right in the heart of Hollywood). The Walk of Fame area can be hit and miss - it can get sketchy. You will see some characters, that's for sure - and I don't mean the ones in costumes in front of the Chinese Theater! I'd say it's generally safe during the day though, but it's interesting.

I am not much for the beach, but there are plenty. They can be busy though! You also might see some "characters" on some of them too - could be good people-watching.

Definitely get you some In-N-Out and well-done fries and enjoy LA. I also recommend Ike's Love & Sandwiches - great bread (Dutch Crunch) and lots of options! Enjoy.

 

[mdmost]

Definitely. On our first visit with our kids back in 2016, we spent 2 days in the parks and then took a whole day to explore Hollywood, Griffith Park and Observatory, drive over to the beach in Santa Monica and play in the sand, drive up to Malibu, get some In-N-Out. Then we came back and did 1.5 more days with an afternoon excursion over to Huntington Beach to check out those beaches. That was back when we rented a car. I feel everyone needs to go down to Venice Beach at least once. It's so weird and so very awesome. That's LA to me.

If I were to do it again, I would either tack it on at the beginning or end of the trip. I like San Clemente if you want to go south for beaches. Just a cool town. You can go up to Laguna Beach or Huntington Beach from there.

If you're going north for beaches like Malibu or Point Dume, I would stay up in that area or Santa Monica.

 

[irlandaise]

How long will you be in California? I'd hate to see you spend the whole time in Southern California if you have time to visit Yosemite, drive part of Highway 1, visit the Bay Area, etc.

 

[cmlnkb]

Definitely. On our first visit with our kids back in 2016, we spent 2 days in the parks and then took a whole day to explore Hollywood, Griffith Park and Observatory, drive over to the beach in Santa Monica and play in the sand, drive up to Malibu, get some In-N-Out. Then we came back and did 1.5 more days with an afternoon excursion over to Huntington Beach to check out those beaches. That was back when we rented a car. I feel everyone needs to go down to Venice Beach at least once. It's so weird and so very awesome. That's LA to me.

If I were to do it again, I would either tack it on at the beginning or end of the trip. I like San Clemente if you want to go south for beaches. Just a cool town. You can go up to Laguna Beach or Huntington Beach from there.

If you're going north for beaches like Malibu or Point Dume, I would stay up in that area or Santa Monica.

you do all of this while staying in Anaheim? Thanks

 

[cmlnkb]

How long will you be in California? I'd hate to see you spend the whole time in Southern California if you have time to visit Yosemite, drive part of Highway 1, visit the Bay Area, etc.

one week Sunday to Sunday booked 3 nights at Disneyland and not sure where to stay the rest of the week?

 

[mdmost]

you do all of this while staying in Anaheim? Thanks

We did once. I don't recommend it unless you're an early riser, which we all are. We had a rental car that time which is something we no longer do unless we're tacking on another destination at the beginning or end. We devoted a whole day to it and packed some beach clothes and another change of clothes. We prefer now to do things before or after our park time and never during. One time, we flew into San Diego and stayed at La Jolla for 3 days and then drove up to Anaheim for 4 days at Disneyland before returning to San Diego to fly out. We stopped at San Clemente and a few of the missions on our way up.

We try to do something new each time we go on a Disneyland trip unless it can't be helped like our parks only trip this August. We had planned to fly into Santa Barbara and go to the Channel Islands before heading down to Disneyland but commitments caused it to be a short trip to just Disneyland. I would tack it on at the beginning if you're flying into LAX. You can explore the area up north of Anaheim for a few days and then head south for your Disneyland stay. Or just flip it. I wouldn't recommend trying to go up for a day unless you were staying in the Anaheim for the bulk of your trip on purpose, like resort time or pool time, staying in the Disney bubble.

What do you all like to do? There's great museums in LA like the Getty. I always try to drive the Pacific Coast Highway up to Malibu and Pepperdine University at a minimum. Like Brian said, if you like movies, the studio tours are great. You could tack on a day at Universal Hollywood. That's easily doable in a day. We stayed across the street at the Hilton and walked to the park. The Warner Bros tour was great. If it's baseball season and you're MLB fans, a trip to Dodger Stadium is a must. Like I said before, Venice Beach and Santa Monica have a lot to do and are fun to visit.

 

[calilou]

There is so much to do in So Cal with college-aged kids. I think you have to do a night or two in Hollywood... walk around the Walk of Fame and Graumen's Chinese Theater, take a celebrity home tour (some are better than others; read reviews), consider a day at Universal Studios and catch the backlot tour or tour Warner Bros or Paramount lots (very authentic). If you like theater, the Pantages has touring Broadway shows and the Getty museum is amazing. Santa Monica and Venice Beach are close enough if you're staying somewhere near Hollywood or downtown LA to spend a few hours at. A very LA outdoor mall is The Grove and there's the farmer's market next door which is where locals go. A good place to stay in proximity to all this is one of the hotels at or near LA Live.

Other beaches to consider are Laguna Beach which is beautiful and has great smaller shops and art studios. There's also Newport Beach which has a great outdoor mall (Fashion Island) and you can take the car ferry to Balboa Island. Huntington Beach is the quintessential surfer's beach; very classic. All of these are close Anaheim and you could stay one night at one and get a lot in.

Other overnight trips to consider are Catalina Island and Santa Barbara. Both are truly incredible California gems that even those of us born and raised here never get tired of. If you do Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez and Solvang are closeby too and very charming. Santa Ynez is a great wine region.

 

[LAS2AMS]

How long will you be in California? I'd hate to see you spend the whole time in Southern California if you have time to visit Yosemite, drive part of Highway 1, visit the Bay Area, etc.

South Beach is closer to WDW than Yosemite and the Bay Area are to DLR. Unless you’re on an extended vacation, that’s a whole different trip.

 

[irlandaise]

South Beach is closer to WDW than Yosemite and the Bay Area are to DLR. Unless you’re on an extended vacation, that’s a whole different trip.

I don't know what South Beach is, but as I mentioned, the whole point of my question was to determine what their timeline was and hence what was realistic. Had it been more in the 10-day range, adding a more northerly segment would have been entirely feasible. I couldn't know whether they were planning an "extended vacation" unless I asked.