Is Orange, CA a good base of operations??

[TwingleMum]

I will be staying onsite for 9 nights at Dl. I have 3-4 days before that to do a little sightseeing. I would like to go to a beach one day, go to LA and do the Star Wars exhibit at Calif Science Ctr and the La Brea Tar pits and maybe do Legoland another day. I looked in Anaheim and couldn't find anyrooms @$100. But I got a suite w/kitchen at Hawhtorne Siutes in Orange. OK???

 

[consultant]

I will be staying onsite for 9 nights at Dl. I have 3-4 days before that to do a little sightseeing. I would like to go to a beach one day, go to LA and do the Star Wars exhibit at Calif Science Ctr and the La Brea Tar pits and maybe do Legoland another day. I looked in Anaheim and couldn't find anyrooms @$100. But I got a suite w/kitchen at Hawhtorne Siutes in Orange. OK???

I'm not a resident, but have traveled to the LA/San Diego area about 10 times over the past 20 years. I'd say no place is a good base because the traffic is THE WORST. Don't even think about driving on the freeways between 6A-9A and 4P-7P on weekedays and the weekends seem to be a constant rush hour although not as bad as rush hour times during the weekdays.

With that said, I think it is more ideal to maybe move bases once or twice depending on where you are going and how long you have to stay. If you plan your driving times during non-peak hours, it will be bearable as I've done it many times. We just planned a trip to Disneyland this April. We are staying as close to the park as possible without being in a Disney Hotel which is a rip-off for what you get. We are then relocating to Hollywood for the second half of the trip to explore attractions in that area. Last time we went I made the mistake of driving from Anaheim to Universal Studios and back and it wasn't even peak rush hour times. Never again.

On a general note, Orange County, I'm primarily speaking about the greater Anaheim/Garden Grove/Buena Park area is in my opinion a pit. Disneyland itself is like an oasis in the center of endless cheesy strip malls and dumpy neighborhoods - no interesting geographical features, etc. You stay there only for Disneyland in my opinion and then get the heck out and go stay at one of the many beach communities or somewhere else more interesting.

The Science Center and Tar Pits and Page Museum are all way up north (probably an hour drive) and Legoland is about an hour or more south if I recall. So I guess if you don't want to move, your accomodations are in the middle, you'll just be spending a lot of time in your car. I'd recommend picking one area and staying there. Stay in northern San Diego and go to Legoland, Wild Animal Park, Sea World, Zoo. Or stay in LA County in the Hollywood Area or at one of the northen beach communities like Santa Monica and do all the north/central LA stuff like the Tar Pits, Science Center, Hollywood, Universal Studios, etc.

 

[TwingleMum]

Thanks for the suggestions I'll look into them!!

 

[woody73]

I suggest staying at a hotel in L.A. for sightseeing before moving on to DL.

Woody

 

[LisaL]

I live in Old Town Orange - a really cute, fun area. Neither DH nor I can figure out the area of this hotel (besides being close to The Block). If you want to be do stuff in the LA area, stay in LA. Not worth the drive back and forth. I've only stayed at downtown hotels (Bonaventure: I always pay about $115 to $120) and the Ritz in Pasadena. I've heard the Westin "W" is nice. Shutters in SM is part of Interval International for DVC members (points instead of $). Gaslamp in SD is nice, as is the marina.

 

[woody73]

LisaL offers good suggestions.

Woody

 

[Magix]

I'm not a resident, but have traveled to the LA/San Diego area about 10 times over the past 20 years. I'd say no place is a good base because the traffic is THE WORST. Don't even think about driving on the freeways between 6A-9A and 4P-7P on weekedays and the weekends seem to be a constant rush hour although not as bad as rush hour times during the weekdays.

On a general note, Orange County, I'm primarily speaking about the greater Anaheim/Garden Grove/Buena Park area is in my opinion a pit. Disneyland itself is like an oasis in the center of endless cheesy strip malls and dumpy neighborhoods - no interesting geographical features, etc. You stay there only for Disneyland in my opinion and then get the heck out and go stay at one of the many beach communities or somewhere else more interesting.

Well, I think consultant is mistaken about the weekends. Having lived here all my life, I can assure you that weekends are pretty wide-open on the freeways (with the caveat that an accident can mess things up at any time). You will hit some rush hour on Saturdays in the afternoon (because some people work on Saturdays), but other than that, you should move along at a fine pace.

And, hey, thanks for calling my hometown area a "pit". Very friendly.