want2go

Traveling with mother/teen daughter group to Los Angeles and have 1 free day to explore area. We will be staying at Disneyland. Only 1 Thursday to explore area! We will have a car & driver for our convenience.

I am sure I"m WAY optimistic…
What would you leave out?… add?

Please help with this rough itinerary… in this order???:
1. Fashion District brief shopping (any thoughts on specifics?)
2. Flower Market walk thru
3. Jewelry District brief shopping (any thoughts on specifics?)
4. Drive by Disney Concert Hall
5. Farmer's Market & lunch
6. Grauman's Chinese Theatre & Hollywood Fame Walk quick stop
7. Hollywood Bowl Overlook quick stop
8. Warner Bros. Studio Tour
8. Santa Monica Pier (dinner somewhere?)
9. Venice Beach drive by

Thank for any and all of your ideas!

Tabernash2

You're kidding, right? You want to spend that much time in a vehicle with teens?

I'd take them to the closest beach, like Huntington, and spend the day in that area. And go to Newport Beach, Balboa Island (fun shops for teens).

Tabernash2

Huntington Beach

Past Sunset Beach is Huntington Beach, which dominates 8 1/2 miles of coastline and along its shores lies the bustling seaside city of the same name. Surfing reigns at Huntington Beach and surfers and surfer-enthusiasts will enjoy visiting the Surfing Hall of Fame and the International Surf Museum. Be sure to bring the dog, as Huntington Beach is one of just a handful of Southern California beaches that allow dogs to be unleashed.

Newport Beach

Farthest south before getting to Costa Mesa are the picturesque shores of Newport Beach. Subsidiary beaches in the area include Corona del Mar Beach and Crystal Cove Beach. For hiking and a chance to discover the regional flora and fauna and scenic vistas, explore the coastal trails of the Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve and Crystal Cove State Park. Also while in Newport Beach, check out Balboa Pavilion, the historic recreational complex on the Balboa Peninsula.

garyt22

Its much more fun on the hop on/hop off busses that allow you to see almost everything on your list... being the tourist and having the guide give you the backround and history is way better than driving/parking on your own...

www.grayline.com los angeles

Tabernash2

If I was a teen, and I went to LA, I'd be really upset if I didn't go to the beach and chill one day. Especially to see surfers @ Huntington (public restrooms there, too).

Herding teens on and off buses all day? Sitting on a bus and listening to an overhead speaker? Kids will not do that, I'm just sayin'. They will be tuned into their electronics and ignoring everything else. Sounds like something everyone can be miserable doing.

rjw_lgb_ca

Nope-- patently impossible to get all of that in. Especially if you factor in the world-famous traffic in the LA metro area (the I-5/US-101 morning commute is not fun). Thursday is a work day, so downtown LA's streets will be a bit busier than on the weekends (when I have typically gone to downtown LA). Basically, if you want to do the downtown things IMHO you'll want to leave Anaheim no later than 7 AM, get up to downtown LA and spend the entire morning on that monumental schlepp.

Geographically you're literally all over the map, and there's a bit of doubling back here and there that makes it more challenging. Again, traffic makes it more difficult. You want to get to the Farmer's Market over by CBS Television City, then double back to Hollywood (not so far, but the drive isn't fast), then go over the hill to check out the Bowl, then over to Burbank for the WB Studios tours (which by itself takes over 2 hours), then ALL the way over to Santa Monica for dinner, then Venice Beach (by that point you're looking at Venice in the early evening-- not the best time). And we haven't even factored in parking.

Tabernash's suggestions are fine, but it sounds like these teenagers HAVE to experience some of the tinselly glitz of "Hollywood". I warn you: The glitter rubs right off, and you're nowhere....

Oh, wait; that's Broadway.

I've taken many a relative or out-of-town friend around LA's sites, and they've all been surprised and a bit disappointed in how down-at-the-heels Hollywood (still) is. It's getting cleaned up, but it's still frayed at the edges.

The amount of time in the car will be pretty overwhelming and not enjoyable, frankly. I'm sure someone can give you advice on fulfilling your wholesale shopping jones in those downtown LA places, but I can't (I'm a guy with little interest in those things).

Maybe what you could do is:

-- Drive up from Anaheim to Hollywood, leaving around 8:30. Park and walk around Hollywood Blvd and check out the Walk of Fame and the TCL Chinese (FKA Grauman's). Do not feed or pay the celebrity "impersonators" (they're usually pretty awful). The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel is historic and haunted (names that usually crop up: Marilyn Monroe and Montgomery Clift); I think it's worth a visit, but that's me. Hollywood and Highland is a little shopping and entertainment complex that houses the Dolby Theatre (I saw Kathy Griffin there).

-- Drive down Sunset Strip, which has changed quite a bit since its heyday, but still gives a sense of the history it has seen. The big Guitar Center has its famous "Rock Walk" in front, commemorating big rock acts.

-- Continue to the Farmer's Market. Have lunch. Check out the shopping at the Grove next door, if you must (it's no different than other malls in the world, although you might see "stars" there-- hey, even Mario Lopez needs to buy underwear at the Gap some time!).

-- If you want some flashy retail therapy, head to Beverly Hills and take a walk around Rodeo Drive and Via Rodeo. Drive into the residential part of BH for a look at rich people's houses (look for 1015 Roxbury if you want to see a house Diane Keaton sold to Madonna-- who "turned and burned", it turns out).

-- I personally love to then drive down Sunset to UCLA for a spin through that school's lovely campus. It helps that it's actually a pretty good university too.

-- If you want to have a special experience, continue on Sunset all the way to the end, then follow PCH north for a way for some unbeatable ocean views.

-- THEN head back to Venice. There is a large lot at Pacific and Venice; you could park there and walk to the Boardwalk. Stroll up and down for a bit.

-- Now you can double back to Santa Monica. Park by the Pier. There are hundreds (well, it seems that way) of dining options in that part of SM (I know, I work four blocks up Ocean). If you want a place with famous celebrity chefs, the Border Grill is on 4th Street (between Santa Monica and Broadway), and it still serves great, elevated but authentic Mexican dishes in a lively (meaning LOUD) space. I had a shockingly good dinner at the Lobster, right at the beginning of the Pier (I had been warned that it was a tourist trap, but in December it was locals-only and just wonderful). There's a good tapas joint on Santa Monica Blvd just off of Ocean called Bar Pintxo, and a couple of sushi joints right on Ocean. I guess what I'm saying is: If you have dinner in Santa Monica, you won't starve.

-- Don't head back to Anaheim before 7:30 PM. By that time, the drive time should be about an hour. If you leave before that time, it could be two or three.

You're covering a huge geographic area, so be prepared. And this could be an optimistic itinerary; I honestly haven't tried such a trip in a few years. Does anyone have some refinement to this plan?

Tabernash2

I suggest you ask the teens. Because the tour above sounds great, unless you're a teen.

Tabernash2

"the Border Grill is on 4th Street (between Santa Monica and Broadway), and it still serves great, elevated but authentic Mexican dishes in a lively (meaning LOUD) space. I had a shockingly good dinner at the Lobster, right at the beginning of the Pier (I had been warned that it was a tourist trap, but in December it was locals-only and just wonderful). There's a good tapas joint on Santa Monica Blvd just off of Ocean called Bar Pintxo, and a couple of sushi joints right on Ocean."

For TEENS? Sorry, I'll butt out now.

garyt22

I'm guessing Tabernash is FAR from a teen... sometimes its better to stay in your own agegroup....

PS...its not the bus ride thats fun... its the stops...

rjw_lgb_ca

garyt22's idea is good too. Save yourself the heartache; get on a tour bus!

You want something a bit offbeat to do that evening once you're back from the tour? Head to the Queen Mary in my neck of the woods (Long Beach) and have dinner at Chelsea's, right on the ship. Not too expensive, good food, and the QM is still a lovely old gal. Reserve an evening tour of the ship. Then again, that might be the Ghosts tour (yes, the QM is haunted too), so it could be a bit spooky. Then again, what the hey, it's history!

rjw_lgb_ca

My dear Tabernash, if one left one's vacations up to teenagers, the daily itinerary would consist of:

-- Wake up at the crack of 11 AM
-- Bathe (maybe)
-- Sun by any available cool water in the ground (pool, beach, whatever)
-- Hit the mall
-- Graze on any and all processed salty food sources
-- Text friends at all times

This is a chance to force a bit of history on them. I also believe in giving them a taste of cuisine that's different from the processed salty food they shovel into their mouths at home. Good Mexican? Sure. Spanish tapas? Why not? Sushi? Absolutely. Hey, this is southern California. They can dine on just about ANY world cuisine they can think of (Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Mexican, Peruvian, Argentinian, Caribbean, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Austrian, Russian, etc., etc., ad nauseum). Broaden their horizons!

My niece from South Carolina came here at 15 and was thrilled to have good seafood and green beans that didn't come out of a can (Walt's Wharf, Seal Beach). The next time, she was 17 and was playing in the Rose Bowl; I met her here in Santa Monica and she was over the moon to go to a restaurant where we could happily wait in a busy, cool bar and then dine on authentically-prepared but unique Mexican food (Border Grill, coincidentally). Her bandmates? Dinner at the food court at Santa Monica Place. They were fine with that, but each and every one of them was green with envy that we had done something special and kind of "LA". You'd be surprised what kids will be game for.

jamie99

rjw has some good ideas and knows the area well.
Personally I'd drop the Fashion District, there are some good outlets near Disneyland like Outlets at Orange, etc.
The Hollywood and Highland area does not take long to see, a former manager and I took a couple of visiting guests from China to see it, they were unimpressed, two hours max.
Might want to read up a bit on Venice, it is changed a bit and now has a lot of medical marijuana drs and paraphernia shops. Santa Monica is much nicer.

Tabernash2

Please ask the TEENS. Unless you want to drive around and bore them to tears.

rjw_lgb_ca

jamie, don't get me started on all the medical marijuana distributors! You can't swing a bong around without hitting one, it seems (all marked by a big green cross). I DO believe that pot has uses for seriously-ill patients (it stimulates appetite in cancer and AIDS patients, it slows down the progression of glaucoma, and it MAY have some anti-cancer compounds that could be useful-- if it weren't still a Schedule 1 Drug). But I also know for a fact that people are going in their with scripts from their chiropractors ("Your back hurts? Pot can help that!") just to get access to the high-quality herb (make no mistake-- it's top-shelf weed, and it gets you happily and thoroughly HIGH).

Whoops-- I got started. Silly me. I'm just mad because I can't smoke anything any more. Not even tobacco. Darn it.

I know Hollywood and Highland isn't a big deal. But teenagers and malls.... *sigh*

I haven't hit the Outlets at Orange myself. I usually head to the outlet mall in Carlsbad. Or Cabazon (if I'm going to the desert). My mother-in-law loves the Citadel, and it looks like it's gone seriously upscale in the last couple of years. The Outlets at Orange would be the best option by far for these folks.

rjw_lgb_ca

Tabernash is right, however: Ask the kids themselves.

Hitting the beach would be great, if the weather is good (I assume this is in the next month or two, when the weather will still be holding up). Huntington Beach is great for that age group. Seal Beach is kind of fun too, if you don't want to deal with the drunk frat-boy types that were harassing my goddaughter the last time we hit Huntington. Newport is, of course, classy and beautiful, and you can hit Fascist Island-- er, FASHION Island-- for shopping. Or the shops in Corona del Mar.

Laguna's a bit too sleepy for kids.... Or is it? It's a more classic beach town than the others, and when I go down there and walk around Main Beach, all I see are happy people. Even the teenagers. Sometimes a beautiful beach is all you need.

DebitNM

I think you might not be reading the OP's correctly. I take it that this one day thing is just for HER and HER DAUGHTER, not the entire group. While that makes it a bit better, she is trying to get way too much in such a short time. Maybe ask her daughter to pick a few must do's out of the mom's list. Sometimes it's the mom that has the big list and not the teen.

rjw_lgb_ca

DebitNM: "Sometimes it's the mom that has the big list and not the teen."

You think...?

Absolutely agree. Still, between the two of them they can whittle down that original list to a manageable few things to see. Or, like Tabernash suggests, just hit the beach. Which might satisfy them both. A bit of rest from Disney might be welcome relief. And they'll probably come back to the area at some point. Or head north to fantabulous San Francisco and the surrounding loveliness up there. Or both!

jlaughs

One point in your favor is that you will have a driver, so you don't have to factor in time finding parking. That said, there is pretty much no way that you can do everything on your list.
Regarding the order of your list, if you keep Venice last, you might as well eliminate it. There will be little to see at night and it won't be as safe either. Also, if you're coming between now and 9/12, you'll hit the Twilight Concerts, which will make the SM Pier area much more crowded.

To try to get to as many places on your list as possible (it will be a LONG day), I would suggest the following --

You can start your day very early at the FLOWER MARKET (8a), but all the fashion and jewelry district shops/stores won't open until 10a (although some may open as early as 9-9:30a). You could spend less than an hour in the JEWELRY DISTRICT (unless you're really shopping for jewelry), but your *teenage* daughter might want to spend more time shopping in the FASHION DISTRICT. (Tips - Maybe focus on Santee Alley and wear things that you can easily try clothes on over. Some places don't have dressing rooms and this will save time anyway). Btw, imho, I think you should do flower, jewelry, fashion in that order.
From downtown, go to VENICE BOARDWALK and SM PIER. Plan on lunch somewhere in this area.
Leaving the westside, you're going to hit rush hour, but I would still suggest going to the HOLLYWOOD BOWL OVERLOOK next just so that you can still have the view in daylight. Next would be GRAUMAN'S CHINESE THEATRE/HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME, then FARMER'S MARKET where you can have dinner (closes at 9p). You can take a quick detour to drive past DISNEY CONCERT HALL on your way back to Anaheim.
Whew!

Tabernash2

"Traveling with mother/teen daughter group". Deb brings up a good point, though I am assuming the OP is with a group.

Has the OP been back? We've all given our help, but no reply.

I am wondering if it's appealing to be someplace bright and early at 8 a.m. with one or more teens. Could be absolute torture getting them up, dressed and fed by 7:30. Does not sound like fun to me.

But the OP needs to weigh in.

jlaughs

Starting 8a at the flower market wouldn't normally be considered fun, especially when you consider how early they'd have to get up, get ready and leave Anaheim. But, I was just trying to tell her HOW she could fit in as many of the things on her list as possible. And, when you're excited to see/do things that you want to see/do, it's amazing how those "not fun" things become fun and exciting. I just went to Thailand at the beginning of August. I didn't get to my hotel until past 1a my first night, but I still set my alarm for 5a the next day to go to the flower market in Bangkok (it was just down the street from my hotel, so I walked) and I am NOT a morning person. It was fun and amazing.