7 Days in LA?!? What to do?? Confused HELP

[iHEARTflorida]

I know there lots of stuff to do in LA.

ok here the thing

family of 5 with older teens
3 weeks trip to CA, with 1 week in LA
renting a car
been to WDW before

Things we want to do in LA

• See the Hollywood Sign
• Go to Disneyland (how many days needed there?)
• Universal Studios
• Shopping (Rodeo Drive, Robertson)

Q1. How long does it take to get from Disney to Rodeo Drive?
Q2. Best means of transport?
Q3. What area of LA to stay in?

any other things im missing, please help so confused

 

[iHEARTflorida]

BUMP anyone???

 

[mtemm]

a fun thing to do would be to take a studio tour. we did the warner brothers tour last summer and I highly recommend it. really interesting, saw lots of sets and how they do this, that and the other. Its a real working studio, so the tour varies a little (they were shooting a scene for ER the day we were there so we had to keep our distance from that set, but if your teens are into the Gilmore Girls, we saw tons from their show (both inside and out). Lots of stuff from other shows, and got to check out a sound stage, etc.

I would say a rental car is the best mode of transportation. that's what we did, so not sure what other options are available. We did a day and a half at disneyland, then drove up to L.A. The morning we drove up, we were able to do the WB studio tour, have lunch at the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel, check out Rodeo for a bit, and still have tons of time to check into our hotel (hollywood renaissance), check out the walk of fame, and have a leisurly afternoon in the rooftop pool (from which we could see the hollywood sign).

It didn't take us long to get from disney to the WB tour, which wasn't all that far from rodeo drive. with L.A., its all about timing. you want to avoid rush hour as much as possible. we were at the WB tour in time for the first tour of the day, but didn't rush out the door from disney, either. don't remember the specifics, sorry, probably not much help here.


good luck planning!

 

[woody73]

Q1. How long does it take to get from Disney to Rodeo Drive?
Q2. Best means of transport?
Q3. What area of LA to stay in?

A1. 1-1/2 hr (more if during rush hour)
A2. Your rental car.
A3. At or near Disneyland if you plan to spend three or more days at Disneyland and DCA.

Woody

 

[P00h]

Since you'll be in the Hollywood area to see the sign, be sure to drop by Pink's for some good hot dogs. I'd plan on spending at least two days visiting Disneyland and Disneyland CA - one day for each. LA has many number of malls to do your shopping. One of the largest is the Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance.

 

[Zoemakes5]

Review through the posts.....there are tons of good ideas listed here re: restaurants, tours, etc.

Will part of your CA time include San Diego?? If not, some of my recommendations below would be different. (like one day at Sea World)
Also, what time of year are you going??

Here's what I'd suggest, generally:

Two-three days at DL, including time at DCA and DtD (ESPN Zone might be fun for the "big ones"). Staying either onsite or on Harbor so everyone can come and go at their leisure.
Three days at a hotel near Universal. Spend 1 day at universal, one day exploring Hollywood, Beverly Hills, etc. and one day going to six flags magic mountain.
One extra day for other stuff. Maybe the California Scienc Museum, maybe the beach, maybe shopping in Orange County. Maybe Knott's. See another one of my posts recently re: Torrance and Redondo Beach.

I'd say the best way to travel around is going to be rental car. Will you be getting one for the length of your trip? Otherwise, you could take a shuttle to Anaheim from the airport and wait and get a car when you're ready to leave Anaheim. Or take the shuttle that people have talked about in re: Universal Studios and then you wouldn't need a vehicle until your touring days or to go to Six flags, since you could take various routes through anaheim and once you're at universal you can take the metro to hollywood from Universal.

 

[tracys2cents]

With seven days I think I would break up the trip into 3 nights nearer Disneyland, and 4 nights up near Beverly Hills or the beaches.

Anaheim is less expensive, but you could stay in Newport Beach or area if you wanted the ocean, you'd have about a 20 min drive to and from Disneyland.

Up near Hollywood it can be hard to find something to accomodate 5 persons, not many "suite" or "2 bedroom" places up there. With teenagers I'd recommend staying in West Hollywood or Bev Hills or Westwood, unless you wanted to stay in Santa Monica near the ocean. Doubletree Suites is often recommended in Santa Monica. Orchid Suites or the Magic Castle in Hollywood....SunsetPlazaHotel or Wyndham Bel Age in West Hollywood, The Angeleno Hotel or the Residence Inn in Bev Hills.......Hilgard House near UCLA in Westwood (great neighborhood to stay but you'd need two rooms and they're smallish with no pool). In Santa Monica, Cal Mar Suites is another one to look at, older kinda beat-up place but with clean spacious rooms and near the ocean.