Need some pre-Disneyland (LA area) activities planning help

[fozziepitysthefool]

We (me and DS will be 17 then) are looking to spend a few days around the LA area doing touristy things prior to the Disneyland half-marathon next year.

We will likely be flying into LAX, so say we'll arrive on August 28th (ish) and would like to be in Anaheim on September 1st.

I think we would like to take two days or so to tackle some of the following (in no particular order of preference or logically mapped out):

Hollywood Walk of Fame
Sit in on a taping for shows: Ellen? Big Bang Theory?
La Brea Tar Pits
Santa Monica Pier
Sunset Blvd to the Griffith Park Observatory
Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Disney Soda Fountain and Studio
Some kitschy tour (like TMZ or Malibu?)
Outlet shopping somewhere... or you could send me to Rodeo Drive

Anything we're missing bearing in mind we are not sit on the beach or swim in the ocean kinda peeps.

And I would love advice on accommodation... Say a budget of $200/night if necessary.

Presumably we'll need to rent a car to get around and about for our various LA activities? I'd prefer to return the car while in LA... unless it makes financial sense to drop it in Anaheim? Then we would only need a one-way shuttle to the airport on September 8th.

Any advice and guidance you could provide would be fab-u-lous!!

Cheers!

 

[SMD]

I can answer some of those.

The Disney soda fountain closed, it's a Ghirardelli now. It's still next to the El Capitan. For the studio, they don't offer tours, but you can wait until next year when D23 announces their tour dates and then join as a Silver or Gold member if there happens to be one during your trip.

Ellen won't be taping in August, she premieres in Sept and tapes 1-2 days in advance. The minimum age for Big Bang is 18, they are strict. Plus tickets are hard to get. Check out the main ticketing companies and see which shows take kids under 18. I'd avoid the Disney shows, but the Nick ones aren't usually as crowded.

Hollywood Forever has cemetery screenings where they show movies, so if one of those happens during your trip, consider doing that.

For shopping, if you're already going to SM Pier, I'd look at 3rd St Promenade, and also The Grove, which is closer to La Brea Tar Pits (although I can't imagine what a 17 year old would enjoy there for more than a few minutes, tops.) For an outlet, unless you want to go north or east, the closest one to LA is the Citadel, which you will definitely need a car to go to. IMO, not worth the detour when you have a pretty long list that is already spread out.

For a hotel, look at Beverly Garland and Sportsmens Lodge. Both have shuttles to Universal and CityWalk. If you wanted to fly into Burbank, it's closer to everything on your list (except SM) than LAX.

 

[fozziepitysthefool]

I can answer some of those.

The Disney soda fountain closed, it's a Ghirardelli now. It's still next to the El Capitan. For the studio, they don't offer tours, but you can wait until next year when D23 announces their tour dates and then join as a Silver or Gold member if there happens to be one during your trip.

Ellen won't be taping in August, she premieres in Sept and tapes 1-2 days in advance. The minimum age for Big Bang is 18, they are strict. Plus tickets are hard to get. Check out the main ticketing companies and see which shows take kids under 18. I'd avoid the Disney shows, but the Nick ones aren't usually as crowded.

Hollywood Forever has cemetery screenings where they show movies, so if one of those happens during your trip, consider doing that.

For shopping, if you're already going to SM Pier, I'd look at 3rd St Promenade, and also The Grove, which is closer to La Brea Tar Pits (although I can't imagine what a 17 year old would enjoy there for more than a few minutes, tops.) For an outlet, unless you want to go north or east, the closest one to LA is the Citadel, which you will definitely need a car to go to. IMO, not worth the detour when you have a pretty long list that is already spread out.

For a hotel, look at Beverly Garland and Sportsmens Lodge. Both have shuttles to Universal and CityWalk. If you wanted to fly into Burbank, it's closer to everything on your list (except SM) than LAX.

This is great, thanks so much!

 

[Luckymommatoo]

Another local chiming in. Keep in mind that show tapings can take a REALLY long time, particularly if you don't have VIP tickets. There is a LOT of waiting, sometimes hours and hours, so if it's not something you really want to see and your time is short, it may not be the best choice.

While Disney Studios doesn't offer tours, Warner Bros. in Burbank does offer VIP Studio Tours, so check them out on Trip Advisor or something to see if it looks like you guys would be interested.

I would not do the Tar Pits museum with a 17-year-old, but you can certainly walk around the outside. It is pretty interesting to see the random tar pits everywhere. Then wander over to LACMA to see the ginormous boulder. I would definitely go to Hollywood and Highland to see the Hollywood sign, Chinese Theater (where the stars' handprints are) and the Walk of Fame sidewalks. Plus the El Capitan and Disney/Ghiradelli soda fountain are right across the street.

The wax museum (Madame Tussaud's) and Ripley's are right there as well -- a teen might get a kick out of those.

You will definitely need a car. I don't have info about returning in Anaheim vs. L.A., though. Sounds like it will be a great adventure! Have fun!

 

[fozziepitysthefool]

Another local chiming in. Keep in mind that show tapings can take a REALLY long time, particularly if you don't have VIP tickets. There is a LOT of waiting, sometimes hours and hours, so if it's not something you really want to see and your time is short, it may not be the best choice.

While Disney Studios doesn't offer tours, Warner Bros. in Burbank does offer VIP Studio Tours, so check them out on Trip Advisor or something to see if it looks like you guys would be interested.

I would not do the Tar Pits museum with a 17-year-old, but you can certainly walk around the outside. It is pretty interesting to see the random tar pits everywhere. Then wander over to LACMA to see the ginormous boulder. I would definitely go to Hollywood and Highland to see the Hollywood sign, Chinese Theater (where the stars' handprints are) and the Walk of Fame sidewalks. Plus the El Capitan and Disney/Ghiradelli soda fountain are right across the street.

The wax museum (Madame Tussaud's) and Ripley's are right there as well -- a teen might get a kick out of those.

You will definitely need a car. I don't have info about returning in Anaheim vs. L.A., though. Sounds like it will be a great adventure! Have fun!

Super advice! Erm, is driving around LA doable? Or is it impossible like NYC?

 

[sheetz]

Some comments:

-If you plan to do a studios tour like WB you might try calling and asking if they can get VIP TV show tickets for you.

-The La Brea Tar Pits is geared more towards younger kids, but the nearby Petersen Automotive Museum is fantastic and probably something a 17 year old boy would like.

-I love to bring out of town guests to The Grove/Farmers Market for lunch.

-A fun thing to do in Santa Monica is to rent a couple of beach cruisers and bike down to Venice Beach.

-Try to see a movie at the El Capitan Theatre. You won't regret it.

I don't know which cities you've driven in, but if you've driven in a large city during rush hour it isn't THAT much worse in LA. Just avoid rush hour and make sure you have a GPS and you'll be ok.

 

[Luckymommatoo]

I don't know which cities you've driven in, but if you've driven in a large city during rush hour it isn't THAT much worse in LA. Just avoid rush hour and make sure you have a GPS and you'll be ok.

Yes! And, rush hour here tends to be later than in a lot of other cities. Like from 8:30 - 10 a.m., and then 5 - 7:30 p.m.

 

[green country]

We did a day trip from Anaheim to the Hollywood area and SM Pier. We were done with the Hollywood sights in about 40 minutes. We did not take a "See the Stars" tour. Our surprise favorite stop was the Bronson Caves (Batman cave). We got great pics of the Hollywood sign from there. We also loved Griffith Observatory. We wished we could have stayed longer.
Santa Monica pier was nice too, but we were done with it in about an hour.

 

[fozziepitysthefool]

Some comments:

-If you plan to do a studios tour like WB you might try calling and asking if they can get VIP TV show tickets for you.

-The La Brea Tar Pits is geared more towards younger kids, but the nearby Petersen Automotive Museum is fantastic and probably something a 17 year old boy would like.

-I love to bring out of town guests to The Grove/Farmers Market for lunch.

-A fun thing to do in Santa Monica is to rent a couple of beach cruisers and bike down to Venice Beach.

-Try to see a movie at the El Capitan Theatre. You won't regret it.

I don't know which cities you've driven in, but if you've driven in a large city during rush hour it isn't THAT much worse in LA. Just avoid rush hour and make sure you have a GPS and you'll be ok.

Ok I have added The Grove and El Capitan to the list. Sounds like I should be okay driving in and around LA then.

 

[fozziepitysthefool]

We were done with the Hollywood sights in about 40 minutes.

Holy!! What all did you manage to see in 40 minutes?

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Moving to our Southern California board.

 

[green country]

We walked up and down both sides of street to take pics of stars on walk of fame. The Chinese Theater handprints were roped off because they were preparing for the Hercules Premier later that afternoon. We were bummed about that. We did Hollywood and Highlands and took pics of the Hollywood Sign.
We were not interested in the wax museum or theater tours.
We found the area kind of sketchy, but we experienced it and now we can mark it off our list.

 

[MYD714]

We did the Warner Bros Studio tour this summer and it was the highlight of our trip. We got to see the Big Bang Theory set from the studio audience and walk through the Pretty Little Liars set, as well as many other amazing things such as the Harry Potter & Batman prop/costume museum and getting a photo of us sitting on the orange couch in Central Perk.

I would do this tour every time I go to L.A. It was well worth the money and is said to be different each time you take it.