California Calling, 20 miles to go! Oct 2011

[Guest]

What will we see?

I have a very long list of places that look interesting, and I'm going to have to cut the list down by an awful lot!
So before I lose my pieces of paper, here's my list, in no particular order...

Disneyland
California Adventure
Downtown Disney
Knott's berry Farm
Discovery Science Centre
Mulholland Scenic Drive
Griffith Park - museums and observatory
La Brea Tar Pits
Santa Monica Pier
Universal Studios
Grauman's Chinese Theatre
Walk of Fame
Rodeo Drive
Sunset Blvd
Television Hall of Fame
Museum of TV and Radio
Pioneertown
Rte 66 near Barstow / National Trails Highway
Gardenwalk, the Block at Orange, Garden Grove, The Grove and lots of other shopping centres
Hollywood History Museum
Antelope Valley Indian Museum
Orange county beaches
Rim of the World Drive
Calico Ghost Town
Bottle Tree Ranch
Mother Road Route 66 Museum
Rainbow Basin
Mojave National Preserve
Joshua Tree NP
Crystal Cove State park
Warner Bros Studio
Virgin Megastore (please don't tell me it closed like Orlando's DTD's did! I haven't yet checked)

The there's a whole other load of places that I've come across on maps or in my reading that I need to Google and make sure I'm not going to miss something fab:
Lake Elsionre
Dripping Springs
San Bernadino
Afton Canyon
Mojave River Valley Museum, Barstow
Randsburg
Fort Tejon
Bakersfield
San Diego Wild ANimal Park
Irvine Regional Park
Orange County Zoo
Santiago and Yorba Linda Reservoirs
Oak Canyon Nat. Centre
Bryant Ranch Museum
Runyon Canyon
Daggett
Newberry Springs
Amboy Crater
Silverwood Lake
Rocka Hoola
Cleveland National Forest
Corona
Chino Hills
Lake Perris
Tustin Ranch
Peters Canyon
Sand Canyon Reservoir
Limestone Canyon
Santiago Oaks


phew!

I've more or less decided on a rough itinerary, based around the least busy days in DL and DCA:


Tues 25th Oct. Land at around 3pm. Nothing planned other than dinner and Target for snacks and drinks for the hotel, as I suspect we will hit rush hour traffic on the way from LAX to Anaheim


Weds 26th Oct. Hollywood, Mulholland Drive and Griffith Park then head for Orange County coastline to explore places like Balboa Island and Huntington Beach before heading north and inland to our hotel

Thurs 27th Oct. Disneyland and Downtown Disney

Fri 28th Oct. Universal Studios

Sat 29th Oct. Head off to Pioneertown to see the shoot out, take in some scenic stuff, like Joshua Tree NP then thinking of heading up the 247 to Barstow. Spend the night in Barstow.

Sun 30th Oct. Barstow museums and Calico. Take a little drive along the National Trails Highway and sightsee in the Mohave National Preserve. Head back to Barstow for the night.

Mon 31st Oct. Bottle Tree Ranch and th Factory Outlets outside of Barstow. Drive back on I15 to our Hyatt room on South Harbor Blvd. Rest Up then Discovery Science Centre.

Tue 1st Nov. California Adventure

Wed 2nd Nov. Knott's Berry Farm

Thu 3rd Nov. Santa Monica and Venice Beach then a 21:30 flight home

Of course, being an obsessive planner, this may all be subject to numerous changes

A pretty exhausting schedule, but if we can do 10+ days in Orlando theme parks in the heat and humidity of August this should be a doddle

Any constructive criticism is fine, anything you'd alter...skip...add from my big lists?

[Guest]

I just know you will have the most fantastic experience. We've just come back from California where we had just the best of times. DL is so much more manageable than WDW.

[Guest]

Originally Posted by geoffa

I just know you will have the most fantastic experience. We've just come back from California where we had just the best of times. DL is so much more manageable than WDW.

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Thanks Geoffa, I've been working my way through your trip report and that's what has put me back into planning mode

[Guest]

A tip for Disney's California Adventure. If you plan to watch "World of Color" (the water /lights show) in the evening you really need to get hold of Fastpasses which are available when the Park opens at the Grizzly River Run FASTPASS Service machines. As with other FASTPASS attractions, a limited number of tickets are available. (If you were staying on property CMs hand them out near the Napa Rose restaurant at breakfast). At your designated return time, bring your FASTPASS ticket with you to Paradise Park where Cast Members will direct you to the color-coded viewing area indicated on your ticket. The other way to get priority viewing is to order a picnic - you can book them here;

tickets.disney.go/buy/Ti...x3IWWxP2YrM%3D
They come in a World of color tote bag and will also have vouchers giving you priority viewing. NOTE: The viewing area has NO seats and people start to gather up to an hour and a half before the show. You can get viewing on the sidelines like on the pier but you will only be able to visibly see half of the show.

[Guest]

Originally Posted by geoffa

A tip for Disney's California Adventure. If you plan to watch "World of Color" (the water /lights show) in the evening you really need to get hold of Fastpasses which are available when the Park opens at the Grizzly River Run FASTPASS Service machines. As with other FASTPASS attractions, a limited number of tickets are available. (If you were staying on property CMs hand them out near the Napa Rose restaurant at breakfast). At your designated return time, bring your FASTPASS ticket with you to Paradise Park where Cast Members will direct you to the color-coded viewing area indicated on your ticket. The other way to get priority viewing is to order a picnic - you can book them here;

tickets.disney.go/buy/Ti...x3IWWxP2YrM%3D
They come in a World of color tote bag and will also have vouchers giving you priority viewing. NOTE: The viewing area has NO seats and people start to gather up to an hour and a half before the show. You can get viewing on the sidelines like on the pier but you will only be able to visibly see half of the show.

See more...

thanks for that tip Geoffa. I haven't yet looked into fireworks and shows.

[Aims]

Hi Tina! Wow, what a list! Given the distance between most places and the heavy traffic in and around LA, I have a few suggestions in the interest of saving yourself some time.

The following places you can definitely not bother with, as they really don't have anything worth making a drive to see:

Lake Elsinore
Dripping Springs
San Bernadino and the Rim of the World drive. It is a pretty drive but it takes a few hours to do and not much to do in San Bernadino unless you are going skiing or camping.
Afton Canyon
Bakersfield. UGH! lol
Fort Tejon
Corona
Chino Hills
Lake Perris
Tustin Ranch

Some of the others on your list to Google I am not familiar enough with to make suggestions- but those above I would definitely skip.

Some "maybe" places would be:

Griffith Park. The Observatory is nice but overall I wouldn't go unless you had some free time you couldn't fill with something else.

La Brea Tar Pits. I really enjoyed this, but once again not worth planning a trip just for this unless you had a couple of free hours and could combine it with something else in the area.

Pioneertown. This is basically a collection of movie sets and if you are familiar with any of the Western films shot here then you would probably find it an interesting, quick stop. If you are pressed for time though, I would skip it. Calico Ghost Town is much more interesting and fun and you can see staged gunfights there too. Knott's Berry Farm also does the same in the Western Town section of their theme park.

Yorba Linda. To be honest, even though Yorba Linda is a close drive from Anaheim, there isn't much to see here. I put it on the "maybe" list because it is the birthplace of former President Richard Nixon and there is a Presidential Library you can visit there if you are interested in US political history: nixonlibrary.gov/

These places I would put on a "must see" list (in addition to the Disney parks):

Knott's Berry Farm
Universal Studios
Grauman's Chinese Theater
Santa Monica Pier
Calico Ghost Town
San Diego Safari Park (used to be called the Wild Animal Park, but the name has recently been changed)
Warner Bros. Studio
Bottle Tree Ranch (it's a quick stop and worth seeing if you are in the area- real quirky Route 66 attraction and guy who owns it is a character, lol)

These are all just my suggestions as a life-long resident of southern California- whatever you decide to do, I know you will have a great time! If I can help with anything, please feel free to ask.

[Guest]

Originally Posted by Aims

Hi Tina! Wow, what a list! Given the distance between most places and the heavy traffic in and around LA, I have a few suggestions in the interest of saving yourself some time.

The following places you can definitely not bother with, as they really don't have anything worth making a drive to see:

Lake Elsinore
Dripping Springs
San Bernadino and the Rim of the World drive. It is a pretty drive but it takes a few hours to do and not much to do in San Bernadino unless you are going skiing or camping.
Afton Canyon
Bakersfield. UGH! lol
Fort Tejon
Corona
Chino Hills
Lake Perris
Tustin Ranch

Some of the others on your list to Google I am not familiar enough with to make suggestions- but those above I would definitely skip.

Some "maybe" places would be:

Griffith Park. The Observatory is nice but overall I wouldn't go unless you had some free time you couldn't fill with something else.

La Brea Tar Pits. I really enjoyed this, but once again not worth planning a trip just for this unless you had a couple of free hours and could combine it with something else in the area.

Pioneertown. This is basically a collection of movie sets and if you are familiar with any of the Western films shot here then you would probably find it an interesting, quick stop. If you are pressed for time though, I would skip it. Calico Ghost Town is much more interesting and fun and you can see staged gunfights there too. Knott's Berry Farm also does the same in the Western Town section of their theme park.

Yorba Linda. To be honest, even though Yorba Linda is a close drive from Anaheim, there isn't much to see here. I put it on the "maybe" list because it is the birthplace of former President Richard Nixon and there is a Presidential Library you can visit there if you are interested in US political history: nixonlibrary.gov/

These places I would put on a "must see" list (in addition to the Disney parks):

Knott's Berry Farm
Universal Studios
Grauman's Chinese Theater
Santa Monica Pier
Calico Ghost Town
San Diego Safari Park (used to be called the Wild Animal Park, but the name has recently been changed)
Warner Bros. Studio
Bottle Tree Ranch (it's a quick stop and worth seeing if you are in the area- real quirky Route 66 attraction and guy who owns it is a character, lol)

These are all just my suggestions as a life-long resident of southern California- whatever you decide to do, I know you will have a great time! If I can help with anything, please feel free to ask.

See more...

oh Amy, you really should be in the Ca. Tourism business, thanks so much for coming back and giving me more info

Thanks for striking a few places of my list. It's a shame Chino Hills isn't worth a visit as it's not far from where we are staying. I think I'll strike Yorba Linda off, don't fancy any political history on holiday and I know the kids wouldn't appreciate it

I get your point about Pioneertown. If there's enough 'cowboy' stuff at Calico then maybe we could save some time and just to Calico. Maybe I'll skip the Joshua Tree NP if we aren't heading that way for Pioneertown. I'm sure I can get my scenic fix in the Mohave Desert. I hear that Big Bear Lake is nice, but not sure whether it's worth a trip since we aren't very athletic (biking along the beach will be our limit!)

Not sure about coming to San Diego, as lovely as I've heard it is. Hub isn't keen on driving for hours and I think dragging him off to Barstow and beyond will be enough for him. I did suggest Vegas but it didn't go down well for this trip

[Rockette]

Sounds awesome Tina. I'm reading with interest as we plan to go West in 2013! I have friends that live in Big Bear Lake, so will be interested to hear if you go.

[Guest]

Originally Posted by Rockette

Sounds awesome Tina. I'm reading with interest as we plan to go West in 2013! I have friends that live in Big Bear Lake, so will be interested to hear if you go.

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*like*

[Aims]

Originally Posted by choccieaddict

oh Amy, you really should be in the Ca. Tourism business

See more...

I know my husband wouldn't mind me getting paid, with as much time as I have spent on the computer giving out travel advice in the last year. I do enjoy sharing my knowledge and love of CA with others.

Big Bear Lake is very beautiful, and although it is mainly a destination for outdoor activities like skiing, hiking and fishing, there are a couple of things you could do in that area that don't involve working up a sweat, lol. There is a small animal zoo/sanctuary called Moonridge Zoo that you could easily do in an hour. The animals here are all indigenous to the area...bears, mountain lions, wolves, coyotes, owls, eagles and so on. Here's a link to their website: moonridgezoo/map/index.html There is also a narrated, 90 minute boat tour on Big Bear Lake that is a really nice day out: bigbearmarina/big_bear_queen.html

Don't feel too bad about Chino Hills- you really aren't missing anything. Just like Yorba Linda, Chino Hills is mostly a residential suburban area.

It's a shame you can't get your hubby to make the drive to San Diego. So much to do and see here, and it is a lovely city (I admit to being a bit biased, lol). The drive from Anaheim would be about 2 hours...about the same as the drive to Big Bear from Anaheim.