LA, Disneyland and Santa Barbara - liveish August 2022

[liz-paul]

Well, we're here! 3 years after our previous trip to California and we're back. I did a pre trip but our rough plans are a week in Glendale (my brother lives here), 2 days in Disneyland and 3 nights in Santa Barbara.

We are me, my husband and 2 teenage boys.

Travel day: man oh man that is a long old flight! We came direct from dublin which has the advantage of doing immigration before you board. Immigration probably took about an hour and a half, when I flew to Boston 2 weeks ago it was about half that. We took off 45 mins late at 4pm, landed at 7pm, walked what felt like miles through the airport, collected bags, took a shuttle to the car rental (all of the car rentals are off airport and you take a shuttle to them) and got to our hotel about 9:45pm. We were all asleep by 10:15. OH managed to sleep some on the flight but the kids and I didn't.

Are Lingus felt more cramped than I remember virgin being, but don't know if that's accurate. Food was 🤷🏻 for some reason they didn't have a record of my gluten free meal request so when the regular meals came round I asked and the flight attendant got me to show her the confirmation email which seemed a bit extreme. I got the exact same meal as my flight to Boston - a chickpea and spinach curry which was ok, gf bread (didn't eat it as it was terrible before) and a fruit salad (swapped with my oh for his strawberry mousse, and a salad.

Later on other people got a savoury pastry (oh thinks his made him ill and DS13 left most of his and said it gave him a belly ache) and I got a gf scone and another fruit salad. Half way through the flight they brought round tubs of ice cream, that was Def the nicest food of the flight 😁

On my flights to and from Boston recently and this flight to LA I felt that the flight attendants were fairly abrupt and a bit unapproachable. I know they're not just serving staff to tend to my every need but it is a customer facing role...

Say hi if you want to or feel free to ask questions. I'll keep the whole trippie liveish with updates most days - hopefully some of the updates will be more interesting than this one 🤣

[rnewman1]

Hi,

Who did you rent a car with? Was the shuttle bus easy to find?

[liz-paul]

Day 1: iHop, Vons, family brunch, pool time, shopping and cheesecake factory.

All slept until about 5:30am except DS16 who was woken up by DS13 around 7am cos the rest of us were starving! Headed to IHOP which is about a 5 min drive away. This was our first time at an IHOP as I think it's only quite recently that they have offered gluten free items. I had an a GF waffle combo with 2 eggs over easy (luckily I remembered what the meant 🤣 ) and bacon. It was huge and delicious 😋

DS13 had 5 pancake stack and bacon and ate about half, DS16 had cheesecake pancakes and ate about half and OH had french toast. I don't take pictures of their food as I only take pictures of mine to break up the text in the trippie or to show off the gf food I got to my friends! This cost a few cents under $100 🙈 online banking says this cost me approx £71 (I use a Halifax clarity card for majority of spending, although did pick up some $ in cash before we left).

After this we went to Vons (a grocery store) and picked up a few snacks, drinks, 6 beers and a bottle of wine (our hotel has a large fridge in each room) this cost an eye watering $76 (most costs in this report will be rounded up/down a few cents or couple of $). They have a membership card that provides lots of discounts but I couldn't get on the website from my UK SIM, the checkout lady tried to sign me up but my UK phone number was too long! I did get on the website back at the hotel and I think I've joined in case we go back. This is a bit dull but if you're in the US and going to Vons a few times you'd save a fairly substantial amount. Just as I was in Massachusetts the other day, I was horrified at the eye watering prices for groceries! (I go on about money a lot but this is because I am tight rather than because it's ruining our holiday!).

When we came out of Vons I heard from my brother who had finally tested negative for COVID and suggested we meet for brunch at noon! As we were still waddling from our breakfast we weren't sure if we'd manage any food 😁 spent a couple of hours at the hotel chilling out and glued to our phones!

Brunch was at the Chevy Chase Country Club in Glendale which was very nice. The restaurant was open to non members. I had a Cobb salad with no tomato and it was delicious! Best food of the day.

Other meals eaten included steak and fries, pizza, eggs Benedict and I can't remember what else. This brunch was the highlight of the day as I hadn't seen my brother and sister in law for 3 years but more importantly I met my niece who is now 10 months old 🥰 she's gorgeous and sassy and still small enough that she came straight over to me for cuddles and was a delight. It was fab 😊

After this we went back to the hotel and splashed in the pool for a couple of hours, had it almost entirely to ourselves.

Showered and rested and headed to the Glendale Galleria for a bit of shopping. We didn't buy anything but it's a very nice mall with a lot of shops and free parking. Opposite this mall is another, more upmarket mall that we didn't go to last time called the Americana at Brand. Turns out it's and outdoor shopping area, I imagine it's a bit like a scaled down version of the grove but we haven't been there yet. We headed over there and went to the cheesecake factory for dinner. It was a 40-60 min wait, was about 40 mins in the end. I had a GF stuffed cheeseburger. This was ok but I wouldn't get this particular cheeseburger again. The cheese inside was very liquidy and had no flavour, it just sort of made the burger greasy and messy.

DS16 had the same but not gf and he said the same about it - it was fine but wouldn't get it again. GF options included a few burgers, some pasta dishes and I think some salads. OH had a shrimp and chicken dish that he enjoyed and DS13 had spaghetti and meatballs. They both ate about half each and boxed the rest to takeaway (there are microwaves in the hotel lobby). We also bought 2 cheesecakes to take away - at the time of writing I haven't photographed or eaten these, I'll update when we do for those of you who are interested 🤣 came to about $130 (we only got one soft drink as 3 of us wanted water - this wasn't done for cost saving but I did cut costs!) Which was about £91 on my cc.

Struggled home, had a glass of wine and went to bed! Didn't sleep as well but did ok.

Sorry not many exciting pictures...

Here is the fountain in the Americana at brand all light up

And most of you have probably seen this before but my mind was literally blown by the crazy escalators for shopping trolleys in target!

Well that's it for day 1. Hope you're still with me. Will try and get better pics, will give a decent run down of the hotel when we leave and wil continue the mishmash of activities, food, practicalities and costs!

[liz-paul]

Originally Posted by rnewman1

Hi,

Who did you rent a car with? Was the shuttle bus easy to find?

See more...

We rented with Alamo, booked through Andy at discount Florida car hire.

Yes it was pretty easy to find the shuttle - we arrived as domestic arrivals due to pre clearance it Dublin so probably a different terminal to you (we came into terminal B). But there was a sign on the baggage reclaim that said rental car shuttles are at the 'outer curb'. We came out of the building and there is large multi lane road round the airport, sign pointed us left and walked until we saw the spot and crossed over the outer curb which is basically just pavement in the central reservation. Missed the first bus by seconds but another came along in 5 mins. All the buses have signs saying which car rental they go to - our one did 2 or 3 others as well as Alamo.

Similarly when we came before we stayed at an airport hotel and it was the same system of finding the right shuttle to our hotel.

[liz-paul]

Day 2 - Petersen automotive museum, LA farmers market, the Grove, tar pits and more pool time.

Booked tickets for the Petersen automotive museum online last night (I think tickets were $21 for adults and $17 for the kids). Parking is plentiful and costs $21 for the day. You can get a $4 rebate at the desk if you have tickets but I forgot 🤦🏻 I'm right but also lazy!

The museum is very impressive with old cars, supercars, cars from movies and lots more. There is a kids play area with hot wheels and other stuff and some Forza video games. Plenty of toilets and water fountains on every floor. I have no interest in cars but happily filled an hour and a half (we stayed for 2 hours) and if you have any interest in cars then Def go. There was also an Andy Warhol exhibition which was pretty cool!

A kiddie sized truck for $999.99 with a kiddie sized car for $499.99!

On the ground floor where the ticket desk and shop are there are a few cool cars to look at before you go in and a couple in the car park, if you were nearby you could go and look at those without buying a ticket. Once we were done it was midday so we decided to walk the 0.7 miles to the LA farmers market and the Grove to find some lunch. This walk was interesting as the area between these 2 spots (the museum and the market/grove) was very different - much more run down, not all all shiny or touristy. I'm sure it's not news to many that LA is really the home of the haves and the have nots but it's interesting to see. At no point did I feel unsafe and it wasn't what I'd think of as 'rough' but it was a stark contrast to go from shiny museums (the academy museum of motion pictures is directly opposite the Petersen and LACMA and the tar pits are only steps further along) to seeing people queuing for free COVID tests that they were then taking by the side of the road, and then to arrive at the hipsterish farmers market and Grove.

Farmers market was nice but we didn't look at much as everyone was getting testy! Lots of places to eat but I didn't want to schlep round them all asking about gf options. We went into the Grove and stopped at an Italian called La Piazza. Can't remember exactly what it cost but must have been about $100 as I tipped a $20. Hubby and I both had ceasar salads and the kids shared a big pizza. DS13 had a lava cake and oh and I had coffees. Food was pretty food but expensive for what it was. Service was good. Edit It was $108.41/£90. plus the $20 tip.

The grove is nice but we didn't shop.

Feeling fortified we had another look around the farmers market and bought ridiculously priced popcorn and stuff.

We decided to walk the longer way back to the car (basically in a loop, around an enormous gated housing development) so that we could walk through the grounds of the La Brea Tar Pits and see the light installation outside LACMA. This walk was long and hot! Probably not the smartest thing to do at the hottest point of the day! But again, it was interesting to see the different areas and how they change. We passed a park and this whole route felt much more residential.

At this point I should mention that while everyone has had their moments of tiredness and irritability, DS13 was a moaning little whingebag a lot and I wanted to kill him at points! However he perked right up when I let him go in 7/11 on this walk 🙄 🤣 edit I'm not sure what it is about 7/11 but he wanted to go in one in Santa Barbara too!

Once we reached the tar pits it was roasting, we were knackered and sweaty and we had a very quick look as we walked through. You can access all of the outside areas for free and there are information boards, models and other things to see. We didn't look at most of it as we were too hot, tired and thirsty and there wasn't that much shade.

Edit With hindsight it would have been a better plan to arrive early, look round outside the tar pits and then go to the Peteresen.

Leaving the area with the tar parts we walked through the entrance area of LACMA and saw the light installation.

I mean, it was pretty cool but I agree - probably better at night! 🤣

Went back to the Petersen to collect our car and back to the hotel for a lie down (and obligatory WiFi!).

Spent some more time in the pool and generally lazing around. OH had to get someone up to the room because our fridge stopped working but they replaced it for us.

We were all very tired and not sure how hungry we were so we went to Ralph's (a grocery store) and got bits and pieces for a dinner in the room. Kids both got frozen pasta meals (there are a couple of microwaves in the lobby), OH got sushi and blueberries and I got cheese, pepperoni and crackers. Parents had beer and wine from the day before 🍺🍷

Only real disappointment of the day was I really wanted to go to the academy museum of motion pictures but the kids were too knackered. We might go back to that. I realised much later that the best plan would have been for me to go there on my own while everyone else went to the Petersen, but you know, you live and you learn!

Another frustration is that my hairstyling thing (can't remember what you call it but it's like a heated rotating brush ) can't get enough power to work 🙄 a small irritation but still.

[Edie ray]

I am really enjoying your report so far!

We last went in 2017 and all your photos are bringing back great memories

I have still got my discount cards from Vons and Ralph’s somewhere

Hope you continue to have a fabulous time xxx

[liz-paul]

Just to update a little on day 2: my brother and sister in law were both horrified to find that we walked from the Petersen to the LA farmers market and the grove. This was a combination of it being too hot to be out walking and also that the area in between is not very nice. Make of that what you will - I wouldn't like to advise anyone to do anything unsafe but we felt fine 🤷🏻 I wouldn't call us particularly tough but I did grow up in South London and OH grew up in NI during the troubles so maybe we're a bit hardened?

I'm not sure if I said previously or not but the Petersen, academy museum of motion pictures, LACMA and the tar pits are all really close if you want to combine any of them.

[liz-paul]

Day 3 - Griffith Observatory, Funko store, Hollywood, disappointing pool and family dinner.

We left the hotel about 9:15 today, went to Starbucks which is only a 2 min drive and got 2 frappuchinos, a coffee, a black tea lemonade, a cookie, almond croissant and a brownie for $27 (£22 on cc). I didn't notice any gf food but I wasn't hungry as I ate a snack in the room so I wasn't actually looking.

Once fortified with copious amounts of sugar and caffeine we headed to Griffith park. This is only about 15 mins from our hotel. We drove all the way up to the observatory car park and arrive about 10:40 to find plenty of parking. It's free until midday and the observatory doesn't open until midday and is only open thurs-sun currently. We knew it wouldn't be open but I really wanted to go up for the views. The views are amazing, my pics on my phone do not do it justice at all (I forgot to pack my SLR camera).

There were plenty of people about even though the car park wasn't full. I'm sure it gets really busy at times. I would like to come back when the observatory is open and/or at sunset which I think are peak times but I don't know if we will.
There is free parking lower down but I'd say it would be a strenuous enough walk up in the heat - you'd definitely want proper shoes and water with you. Paid parking at the observatory is $10 per hour from midday to 10pm.

We only stayed about 40 mins as the kids weren't really that interested and DS13 was desperate to get to our next stop!

DS13 discovered before we went that you can make your own Funko pop to look like yourself in the Hollywood store. I dutifully checked it in advance and the store opens at midday on weekdays (I think it's 10am weekends) and that they often sell out of build your own slots by 3pm or earlier.

I tried to direct us to the parking garage at Hollywood and Highland (a shopping centre by the Chinese theatre) which is where we parked when we visited last time. Unfortunately instead, I directed us to Hollywood and Vine parking 🤦🏻 on the downside this was about a mile away from the Chinese theatre and basically the tourist centre of the Hollywood walk of fame, on the upside it was super close to the Funko store! We parked in Vine Street parking garage for $2 an hour. We walked along looking at the stars and passed the Funko store.on the other side of the street. There was a line outside already, we joined it about 11:40 and stood in the blazing sun ☀️ 🥵

OH went off for a walk up and down Hollywood boulevard while we queued and went in. We got in to the store about 12:05, joined the queue for build you own and got a return time of 12:30. They usually take a number and text you but that doesn't work for UK numbers so he just gave me a return time. We looked around the store while we waited, it's pretty cool (as long as you like funkos! Shock of the week is my brother has never heard of them and didn't know what we were talking about!), There are giant funkos and plenty of photo ops if you want them. DS13 really wanted a Steve from stranger things but they didn't have any ☹️

We returned to build at 12:30 and all three of us shared a screen where you pick your options for skin tone, hair, clothes etc. Honest opinion is that while it's really cool and all three of us built one we were happy with, we all thought the options were a bit limited, esp clothes and hair colours. I don't know if they sell out of options or if the choices we were offered are always the only ones. Also DS16 went first and when DS13 went he got offered more choices! So DS16 scrapped his first design and went again. When you've finished your design you get a receipt, take it to the desk and they give you a return time to collect your model. We finished designing at 12:50 and returned to collect the finished models at 1:15. They were $25 each (plus tax). While they were being built we chose the other funkos we wanted and we left around 1:30, very tired and onto a very hot and sunny Hollywood boulevard.
We definitely didn't need to queue up before midday, people joining the queue around midday were finished in the store at the same sort of time as us. And at 1:30 there was no queue to enter and it looked like they were still doing reservations for build your own. My sister in law says it's super busy outside at weekends though.

update now that we're home I thought I'd update on the personalised funkos. Still happy we did it but mine doesn't stand up when she's out of the box and both of the boys ones have dropped their items out of their hands. It was worth it for the novelty but I wouldn't base too much of your trip on it!

Here's me: (honestly it doesn't really look like me, they had zero options for grey hair 🤔

Our other funkos: (standard funkos were $12 each plus tax

At this point we were hot, tired, thirsty and hungry. We gave up on the idea of walking down Hollywood boulevard towards the Chinese theatre, went back to the car and drove down Hollywood boulevard instead. The area around the Funko store is pretty scuzzy. My brother was again, appalled that we parked down there, although if you want to go to the Funko store you need to park around there unless you're happy with at least a miles walk each way in the heat. Also, most of that miles walk from the Chinese theatre area to the Funko store is pretty scuzzy. OH did that walk while we were in the store and said as much. Again, at no point did any of us feel unsafe (I warned the kids beforehand to be more aware of their surroundings, pickpockets, etc - much as I do when we're visiting central London) but it's scuzzy and naff.

We headed back to the hotel, making a slight detour to subway for sandwiches. Discovering in the process that not all subway branches here do gf bread 😭 so I had some leftover cheese, crackers and dips back at the room. 3 X 6 inch subs and 2 drinks came to $27.

Headed down to the pool after to find that it's closed for maintenance 😭 so spent the afternoon resting and enjoying the WiFi 🤣🙄

Headed over to my brother's house for dinner about 6pm, took an Uber XL (can't sit in the front cos of COVID, also needed face masks) which cost about $20 for a 15 min ride. We managed to tip the driver twice as i knew OH (who ordered it) had no cash, but I didn't know you can tip in the app which he did 🤣 my brother said not to bother tipping Ubers but we still tipped again on the way back 🤷🏻

Spent a nice evening with them, we had a Mexican takeaway that they picked up so don't know where it came from but it was really good!

[megaflyer]

Great TR - I cant wait to revisit the Griffith Observatory again in Nov - must be maybe 3 years since last there. Love it there so very much

[liz-paul]

Day 4 - California Science center and Sunset at the observatory.

We set off this morning for the science center about 9:30 and got there about 10:45 (there was some traffic). Parking is $15 for the day. In exposition park there is also a natural history museum, California African American museum, a soccer stadium (LAFC), a memorial coliseum and I'm not sure what else. Entry to the science center is free, there are special exhibitions, and IMAX cinema and a few VR type experiences that you can pay for. DS13 and I did the IMAX and saw Angkor, which is unsurprisingly about Angkor in Cambodia! This was very good and cost about $18 for the 2 of us (and $8.70 on skittles, chips and a drink!). The science center is very good - it's accessible, Interactive and varied. We spent about 3.5-4 hours there Inc lunch. It's very good for kids and I'd say interesting for anyone but probably not a full day.

Lunch was ok - I got a gf pizza and there also an option of a gf bun for a burger or a Cobb salad. Kids got pizzas (they could have shared really) and OH had a sandwich. He didn't like his much. It was about $64 (we had 3 drinks as well) and I thought it was fine but you wouldn't go especially for the food.

My favourite exhibit was the photographic exhibition of getting the space shuttle from LAX to the museum. OH liked the actual space shuttle, DS16 liked the ecosystems rooms and DS13 (who didn't want to to the science center) either liked the IMAX or the pizza better!

We had packed beach stuff in the car to go to the beach after but it was very hot when we we were leaving about 2/2:30. It has been mid 30s every day. So we went back to the hotel to use the pool. But ... It's still closed 😭 and they don't know when it will reopen 😭 I don't think the pool is a major draw of this hotel but given how hot it is and how few opportunities we have for swimming outdoors at home, we would use it every day is we could.

Passed by downtown on the way back

So we rested up at the hotel and I spent a while trying to figure out to do for the evening...

In the end I settled on takeaway food - we had Thai from spice season and we got a pad Thai, a chicken, veg and rice dish and a differently flavoured prawn, veg and dish, a tofu starter (all gluten free) and DS13 had chicken wings and plain rice 🙄🤣 the food was excellent and more than we needed. Leftovers for breakfast/lunch I imagine. It was about $82.

After that we hopped in the car and went back to the Griffith Observatory to try and catch the sunset (funny enough, DS13 didn't want to go, anyone seeing a theme?). We set off about 7:10pm, arrived at the top car park about 7:30 and it was closed, we were directed down the road to the right and there is on street parking there. We parked about a 15 min walk (walk not stroll) from the observatory. Paid $10 for an hour's parking and walked up. There were several great views on the way up and if you were tired, have mobility issues, in a rush or whatever you could have seen a great sunset without walking up and many people seemed to be doing that.

These are some of the views as we walked up. Bear in mind I don't have a great phone so my photos are a bit meh - Def don't do it justice.

I was surprised by how many people were running up in order to make the sunset (not people out for a run, people in their relatively cool insta outfits) and plenty of people were very well dressed for their photos!

Well, it's a stunning sunset and an amazing sweeping view from behind the observatory to see all the lights coming on in LA.

I took lots of pics!

It was gorgeous and I'm glad I got to do it. It was busy but no unpleasantly so. The observatory wasn't open so I imagine it's busier when it is and maybe on the weekends anyway. I felt that we timed it perfectly (which was fluke!) For what we wanted to do. We were almost exactly an hour walking up from the car, walking around and walking back. And we went from daylight to pretty dark in that time. Sunset was officially 7:45 and we were there from 7:30-8:30. The road with the on street parking has no lighting and was pretty dark walking back down, will be extremely dark later on. Lots of cars had already left when we were leaving and some people were only just walking up as we left. You could get there much earlier and make an evening of it, but either be prepared for a walk up from the free parking (there was plenty of space) or to pay $10 an hour to park higher up. Some people had obviously hiked up some of the trails and that would be really nice too, if you're fit.

Back to the hotel for a glass of wine and some sleep!