My daughter and I will be in LA for four full days in late July and would like some advice on hotel and tours. We would like to spend a day at Disneyland and maybe Universal but would also like to get the feel of LA/Hollywood. It has been suggested we stay in Santa Monica and take shuttle bus to theme parks. Would this be a good idea? What other tours or places of interest do you suggest? Can anyone recommend a mid price hotel, dont need pool but would like clean, safe and convenient to sight seeing.
four days in July in LA
Please see our FAQs at the top of the LA Forums. Especially Where to Stay.
Santa Monica is far from the sights, and the most expensive area in LA. You%26#39;ll probably want to find a hotel in Hollywood - Orchid Suites, if there%26#39;s availability, is popular here at TA.
four days in July in LA
I haven%26#39;t heard of a shuttle that goes from Santa Monica to Disneyland. If there is one it would take a long time. Disneyland Resort is in Anaheim and that is in Orange County. Santa Monica is along the coast in neighboring Los Angeles County. It would be better for you to stay in Anaheim at an inexpensive hotel such as the Candy Cane Inn or Howard Johnson%26#39;s, both across the street from Disneyland Resort, and arrange tours into LA from there via Grayline tours. Grayline also has a tour bus that goes directly from Disneyland to Universal.
For sight seeing in LA what is normally recommended is the Grahman%26#39;s (aka Mann%26#39;s) Chinese Theater which has the old movie stars foot and hand prints outside, the Farmer%26#39;s Market, and (if your daughter is old enough) see a taping of a tv show. I%26#39;m sure others will have more ideas. You can look at Grayline Tours website for information on tours that are available.
If you want to stay in Santa Monica, that is great, but to visit Disneyland you should also stay in Anaheim.
Also, if you decide you want to stay in Anaheim and arrange tours from there, remember that there is a bus that goes from LAX to Disneyland Resort area called the Disneyland Express.
And I want to warn you that in late July Disneyland will be VERY busy. You my not be able to see it all in one day, but it will be open from 8am to 12 midnight. Staying across the street, walking over there, and beginning your day very early would be advisable.
Since Los Angeles is so spread out and you will not be hiring a car, I suggest that you stay someplace that is central to everything you want to visit. Here is a ';cartoon map'; of southern California to give you an idea where the major attractions and neighborhoods are. Note: there is an error on this map. HOLLYWOOD is not positioned correctly. It should be just below the orange dot denoting Universal Studios:
visitlongbeach.com/maps/southerncalifornia.h鈥?/a>
If you imagine a clock face on top of this map, the following is noteworthy:
1. LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) is at 9 o%26#39;clock (represented by the upturned airplane.
2. Santa Monica is at 9:30
3. Disneyland is at 4:30
4. Universal (and Hollywood in its correct position) is at around 11:15
5. Downtown (City Centre) is represented by the triangle of blue lines in the center of the map above the words ';Los Angeles';
6. Beverly Hills is at 10:30.
Here is a list of travel times, by public transit, between Santa Monica and...
a. Hollywood: 1 hour
b. Universal Studios: 1 hour 20 minutes
c. Downtown: 1 hour
d. Disneyland: 2 hours (or more, depending on traffic)
e. Farmers Market: 45 minutes
f. Beverly Hills: 30 minutes
If I were you, I%26#39;d stay in downtown. This area is largely a ';business district'; so it gets pretty quiet in the evenings (except for the restaurants and bars in and around the hotels). But, it is very central to what you are interested in seeing.
Here are the travel times from downtown:
a. Hollywood: 15-20 minutes
b. Universal: 30 minutes
c. Disneyland: 1 hour
d. Farmers Market 30 minutes
e. Beverly Hills: 40 minutes
f. Santa Monica: 1 hour
Another possibility for ';where to stay'; is Hollywood. It%26#39;s quite lively in the evening. You%26#39;ll get a chance to see the superhero impersonators (like Spiderman) in front of the Hollywood %26amp; Highland Shopping Center and see a movie at the Chinese Theatre (few visitors get to see the inside of this wonderful movie palace. Don%26#39;t miss it).
Hollywood is about 15 or 20 minutes northwest of downtown so it%26#39;s still pretty central and it has access to both the metro rail system and the metro bus system (as downtown does).
You can take ';coach tours'; to the theme parks which will include the transfer and park admission in one go. The transfer portion costs about $30 per person. (You can do it a lot cheaper if you take public transit).
These same ';coach tour'; companies offer ';grand tours'; of the city which will give you an exposure to most of the areas of interest to tourists. Several companies offer these tours:
Starline (starlinetours.com)
All Los Angeles Tours (alllosangelestours.com)
Grayline:
grayline.com/Grayline/鈥osangeles.go
For Hollywood, look into the Magic Castle Hotel (magiccastlehotel.com). If you stay there, you will have access to the Magic Castle Club -- a private supper club with magic shows -- very unique.
If you stay in downtown, look into the Omni -- a very beautiful place to stay and within walking distance to the Disney Concert Hall and a number of other attractions in the area.
If you%26#39;re looking to be a little more thrifty in downtown, consider the Miyako in the Little Tokyo area of downtown.
(http://www.miyakoinn.com/)
Good luck!
You might want to consider 2 nights in the Disneyland area and 2 nights in Hollywood. There is the scheduled Disneyland Express Bus from LAX to Disneyland hotels, then you can take a shuttle/train/subway to Hollywood and finally a reasonable taxi or van shuttle from Hollywood back to LAX.
These are all great ideas and i think i need to consider two days Anaheim and 2 days closer to Hollywood. I also love the idea of show tapings. Are these still an option in July or does everything stop for the summer? How do we get tickets and can anyone recommend something? My daughter is 19 and we would love to see a show. Thanks
Here are some websites regarding CBS Television City, which is right next to The Grove and the Farmer%26#39;s Market. I think this will give you good info on tickets there.
www.seeing-stars.com/Tapings/CBStapings.shtml
seeing-stars.com/ShowBiz/PriceIsRight.shtml
http://www.cbs.com/daytime/price/tickets/
The main show that everyone wants to see there is The Price is Right. Bob Barker will be retired by July, but if you want to see the taping you can check out the new host! A lot of people want to get into this show, so there are lots of rules about when to arrive,etc.
If you are going to The Price is Right, some people recommend staying at The Farmer%26#39;s Daughter hotel, which is in no way at all luxury hotel but very close to Television City and The Grove and nice restaurants. If you decide to rent a car, parking at The Grove is quite expensive, I think we paid over $20 for the day when my family and friends went to see The Price is Right last November. Depending on where you stay, you might be able to get a taxi there for the same amount of money. Also, maybe your hotel might have a shuttle that goes there.
For other shows at CBS it is easier to get in. When we went to see The Price is Right there were pages outside the door at the end trying to get audience members for another show. Perhaps you should arrange tickets ahead of time though.
If you want to see a taping at NBC, such as The Tonight Show you will need to go to Burbank , which is northeast of Los Angeles, because the NBC Studio is there. NBC also offers studio tours, I believe. There are problem trips you can arrange through Starline Tours (aka Grayline).
Hope this helps. And if you do get to The Grove, I highly recommend the Wood Ranch Grill and BBQ restaurant.
Correction------%26gt;';There are problem trips you can arrange through Starline Tours (aka Grayline).'; Should read ';probably trips';! Opps!
More studio information, regarding NBC.
homeandabroad.com/c/17/Site/28009_NBC_Studio鈥?/a>
http://www.tonightshowinfo.com/
http://ellen.warnerbros.com/tickets/
I think if you have a chance to see the Ellen show you will really enjoy yourselves. Both Ellen and The Tonight show will have famous guests being interviewed, but Ellen has the audience get involved in dancing before the show and in the beginning of the show she goes into the audience and dances with them. Seating is limited for her show, though. She may be taking the summer off.
Acrtually, Starline Tours
(www.starlinetours.com/los-angeles-tours.asp)
and
Grayline Tours
(grayline.com/Grayline/鈥osangeles.go)
are separate companies (unrelated to one another).
In Los Angeles, Grayline is affiliated with CoachUSA -- which provides, among other things, transfer service from LAX to downtown%26#39;s Union (rail) Station.
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