Mini trip report & video of LA/Hollywood/Santa Monica Pier

Amw1064

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jan 29, 2012
Here is a mini trip report and video my daughter made from our trip:

We flew Tampa to LA on a Friday morning flight. We arrived, got luggage, rental car and headed to an early lunch at In & Out Burger. From there we went straight to Santa Monica Pier. Let the girls do a few rides and we walked on the beach and touched the ice cold water. From there we went to the Loews Hollywood hotel to check in. Of course got stuck in LA traffic but we were prepared and knew it was coming. We checked in and headed down to find some dinner and walked around for a bit with an early to bed that night as we were use to Florida time.

Day 2 we got up early and walked down the Walk of Fame before the crowds (and glad we did that as it gets mobbed later in the day) Took pics at the favorites and went in a few of the shops. Took a tour of the Dolby Theater (30 minutes for $18). We enjoyed it and then had lunch at Johnny Rockets in the HOllywood & Highland "mall". (I thought it was a mall but it is more of an outside place with shops surrounded by the hotel) We walked about a 15 minute walk down to Sunset Blvd and did the Ultimate Hollywood tour. We all loved it. It was so much fun and exciting anticipating who may walk out of their house. We did drive by Sylvestor Stallone and Oprah in their cars. We walked back to hotel and went to The Grove. We had a quick dinner and walked around for a bit.

Day 3 we went to Griffith Observatory. My Lala Land obsessed daughter was so excited. Great place for pictures of the Hollywood sign (even though you could see it from the hotel it is slightly closer view). We spent an hour or so there and headed to find Walt's Carousel that he took his daughters to. Girls rode that and then we went to a place called The Chocolate Chair for Dragon's breath dessert. Something they wanted to do but probably wouldn't waste the time on that again. Were back to the hotel by 2ish and we spent a few hours up at the pool. It is on the 5th floor and it was really nice. You can see the Hollywood sign and Griffith Observatory in the distance. We had tickets to a movie at El Capitan so after a quick dinner we headed over there. Stopped in Ghiradelli's after the movie as it is right next door.

Day 4 we went to breakfast and a final walk down Hollywood Blvd. My daughter was sad to leave. She loved everything about Hollywood and I have to admit that I did as well. They had closed Hollywood Blvd over night and were putting up the red carpet for an event the next evening. We checked out and headed to Burbank to the Warner Brothers Studio tour. That was a lot of fun and the guide mentioned the restaurant that they filmed part of Lala Land was right around the corner so guess where we had lunch? It was really good and we took pictures. "where Mia stood when she first saw Sebastian" and where he played the piano. Our friends with us who had not seen Lala Land weren't quite as impressed but did enjoy their lunch. From there we had to say good bye to Hollywood and head towards Disneyland. We sat in bad bad traffic, but again were expecting it so no worries. We dropped our friends at their hotel and on to the Grand Californian for us. We had 5 great days split between Disneyland and CA Adventure. We can't wait to go back some day.
 
Nice review and video! I am going with my daughter next week and she is similar in age to your daughters. This gave me some great ideas on what to hit. Ours is a short trip with a Kpop concert one eve but hoping we can hit some highlights.
 
Here is a mini trip report and video my daughter made from our trip:

We flew Tampa to LA on a Friday morning flight. We arrived, got luggage, rental car and headed to an early lunch at In & Out Burger. From there we went straight to Santa Monica Pier. Let the girls do a few rides and we walked on the beach and touched the ice cold water. From there we went to the Loews Hollywood hotel to check in. Of course got stuck in LA traffic but we were prepared and knew it was coming. We checked in and headed down to find some dinner and walked around for a bit with an early to bed that night as we were use to Florida time.

Day 2 we got up early and walked down the Walk of Fame before the crowds (and glad we did that as it gets mobbed later in the day) Took pics at the favorites and went in a few of the shops. Took a tour of the Dolby Theater (30 minutes for $18). We enjoyed it and then had lunch at Johnny Rockets in the HOllywood & Highland "mall". (I thought it was a mall but it is more of an outside place with shops surrounded by the hotel) We walked about a 15 minute walk down to Sunset Blvd and did the Ultimate Hollywood tour. We all loved it. It was so much fun and exciting anticipating who may walk out of their house. We did drive by Sylvestor Stallone and Oprah in their cars. We walked back to hotel and went to The Grove. We had a quick dinner and walked around for a bit.

Day 3 we went to Griffith Observatory. My Lala Land obsessed daughter was so excited. Great place for pictures of the Hollywood sign (even though you could see it from the hotel it is slightly closer view). We spent an hour or so there and headed to find Walt's Carousel that he took his daughters to. Girls rode that and then we went to a place called The Chocolate Chair for Dragon's breath dessert. Something they wanted to do but probably wouldn't waste the time on that again. Were back to the hotel by 2ish and we spent a few hours up at the pool. It is on the 5th floor and it was really nice. You can see the Hollywood sign and Griffith Observatory in the distance. We had tickets to a movie at El Capitan so after a quick dinner we headed over there. Stopped in Ghiradelli's after the movie as it is right next door.

Day 4 we went to breakfast and a final walk down Hollywood Blvd. My daughter was sad to leave. She loved everything about Hollywood and I have to admit that I did as well. They had closed Hollywood Blvd over night and were putting up the red carpet for an event the next evening. We checked out and headed to Burbank to the Warner Brothers Studio tour. That was a lot of fun and the guide mentioned the restaurant that they filmed part of Lala Land was right around the corner so guess where we had lunch? It was really good and we took pictures. "where Mia stood when she first saw Sebastian" and where he played the piano. Our friends with us who had not seen Lala Land weren't quite as impressed but did enjoy their lunch. From there we had to say good bye to Hollywood and head towards Disneyland. We sat in bad bad traffic, but again were expecting it so no worries. We dropped our friends at their hotel and on to the Grand Californian for us. We had 5 great days split between Disneyland and CA Adventure. We can't wait to go back some day.
I loved this report and video! So many helpful ideas and a timely report for me to come across for our pretrip in LA! How did you make the video - well done!
 
I loved this report and video! So many helpful ideas and a timely report for me to come across for our pretrip in LA! How did you make the video - well done!
My daughter made the video and I think she used movie maker program on her computer.
 



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