I'm planning a trip to Pasadena for the Tournament of Roses parade and the Rose Bowl football game (January 2006). The parade is on Monday, Jan. 2 (in keeping with their "Never on Sunday" motto), and the game isn't until Wednesday, Jan. 4. We will probably arrive on Dec 30 or 31, so we will have a few days prior to the start of the festivities and one in between.

Even though it is six months in advance, most of the hotels in Pasadena are sold out, except if you book all nights of the entire six night stay (even then, we will still be 3 to 5 miles from the Bowl). I don't think staying in Pasadena is the best idea, because we would like to visit Catalina, Long Beach, and possibly Disneyland.

I'm considering staying in Long Beach and taking the light rail/metro to the parade and the game. Is this a bad idea? We will have a car, but it sounds like parking will be difficult. How long would it take to travel (by rail) from Long Beach to Pasadena (Memorial Park, Lake, or Del Mar stations)?
Thanks!

You can use mta.net's trip planner to gauge actual travel times, but assuming perfect connections, I would say upwards of 90 minutes from, say, the First Street station in LB to Pasadena. You'll be doing a Blue Line/Red Line/Gold Line combination, I believe.

If you do this, you'll have to stay in downtown LB. The better hotels are all two blocks or less from the Metro Blue Line (Hyatt, Renaissance, Westin), so no problem there.

If you're planning to base yourself in LB, I recommend a car, obviously. You'll definitely need it for Disneyland. Have you been to Long Beach? I live there, I love it, but it's not as attractive for tourists as, say, Santa Monica (where I work). If you need ideas for fun things in the area, give a shout.

Since you're planning on going to Catalina, staying in Long Beach sounds like a great idea. If you stay in downtown Long Beach you'll only be minutes from where the Catalina boat departs. You'll also be close to the LB Aquarium (definitely worth a visit!), The Pike (newly opened shopping/entertainment area on the site of an amusement park that existed years ago) and some fine downtown eating.

Sorry I can't comment on taking one of the lines to Pasadena; however, I have never done it.

Good Luck!

AL

There may also be park and ride shuttles on game day from various locations. I would think any form of public transit would work better than trying to get to the Rose Bowl by private car.
Heres another trip-planning link:

http://socaltransport.org/tm_pub_start.php

Thanks for the advice! The public transportation idea doesn't really seem feasible. I have decided to book the following:

Dec 30-31: Long Beach Hilton

Jan 1: Glendale Days Inn (near Pasadena)(This hotel doesn't look great, but it was the closest I could get to Pasadena the night before the parade.)

Jan 2-5: Anaheim Howard Johnson Plaza Resort (I don't normally stay at HoJos, but this property looks like one of the nicest and closest to the parks without paying the prices for a Disney hotel.)

We'll do the Aquarium, Queen Mary, and Catalina on Dec 31/Jan 1. The parade is on the 2nd, then we will move to Anaheim. One day spent at California Adventure and the other at Disneyland.

Any ideas for New Year's Eve dinner in Long Beach? I am looking for something around $50 per person, including appetizer, entree, dessert, and nonalcoholic beverage. I like eclectic food, great presentation, unique ingredients. I will post this question separately, too.

The location of that Hilton isn't very good-- on the western edge of downtown Long Beach and right off of an onramp to the extremely busy I-710 freeway. The Hyatt Regency or the Westin are better locations, honestly.

New Year's Eve dinner? You find few "eclectic" joints in Long Beach. Having said that, you can find some great eats in downtown:

-- L'Opera: Haute Italian.
-- 555 East: Classic steakhouse. Outstanding.
-- King's Pine Avenue Fish House: Not fancy, just good. They also run the Water Grill in downtown LA, considered the finest seafood restaurant in that town, and Ocean Ave Seafood in Santa Monica. For that matter, they also run 555 East.
-- Alegria: Pan-Spanish cuisine, some tapas, very tasty.
-- Mum's: Ahh, this one is pretty eclectic. New American, with a sushi chef and okomase meal. Has a cigar bar (that's SO five years ago!!) and a dance club. Might be up your alley.

If you're willing to venture east to Belmont Heights or Belmont Shore, Christy's, Bono's or Nico are all fine choices. Frenchy's Bistro, on Anaheim, is southern California's highest-rated French bistro, according to Zagat.

Thanks, RJW. I think I will switch from the Hilton to the Westin. I couldn't decide between the two, and they looked to be equally located (from the Queen Mary, etc.) on the map that I used. The Hilton was the cheapest, so that made my decision for me. The Hyatt looked to be the nicest, but it was $120 more per night than the Hilton, and I wasn't sure that it was worth that. Hilton $110, Westin $170, and Hyatt $230)

Both Mum's (www.mumsrestaurant.com) and L'Opera (www.lopera.com) have great websites with pictures, menus, and prices. I think Mum's will suit us particularly well. Thanks for your advice!

Good lord, there is nothing about the
Westin's location that makes it worth $60 more a night. They're both downtown with similar issues. There is no noise inside the Hilton despite being near the freeway. It's a perfectly fine hotel for two nights. Enjoy dinner with the extra money.

If you stayed at three hotels over five days, you would spend much of your valuable time (packing, checking-out, driving to the next hotel, checking-in, unpacking) that you could otherwise spend enjoying the sights. I recommend using one hotel as your base, and driving early on the days you go to Pasadena and Disneyland.

We have annual passports to Disneyland, and recommend arriving before the park opens. You can see and do much more in the early hours than after the crowds arrive.

rjw has some very good restaurant recommendaions. The last time we were at L'Opera, John Travolta was dining a few tables over. I would also add The Madison (also on Pine Ave., across the street from L'Opera) to the list. You might check to see if the Queen Mary is offering a New Years Eve dinner dance.

For a change in scenery, you might want to spend an afteroon visiting one of the other local beaches, like Santa Monica, Venice, Manhattan, Hermosa, or Redondo. On weekends, we walk along The Strand (a pedestrian/ rollerblading/ bike path) in Manhattan and Hermosa. We walk along beachfront homes ($$$), and watch surfers and occasionally dolphins.

Woody