Couple of days to kill in LA around the cruise

[johno1234]

Hi everybody,

 

Booked the family on a Carnival Miracle cruise out of Long Beach in mid April. We're arriving on a long haul flight from NZ to LAX on a Thu about midday. We then have that afternoon and all Friday free. Sat morning is free then Sat afternoon is boarding for the cruise.

 

At the other end, we arrive back from the cruise on Sat morning and then have Sat, Sun and Mon free then a long haul home from LAX on Mon night.

 

We have myself, wife, 16 yo boy, 12 yo girl and 10 yo boy.

 

So... have no local knowledge and am looking for some tips on where to stay and what to do for those days pre and post cruise.

 

All I know is the kids will want to go to Disneyland which I am dreading and my wife will want to hit the outlet malls which I am dreading. Personally I would like to play golf somewhere but am not travelling with any golfers this time.

 

Thanks in advance for any tips and recommendations and warnings,

JohnO

[Flatbush Flyer]

Hi everybody,

 

 

 

Booked the family on a Carnival Miracle cruise out of Long Beach in mid April. We're arriving on a long haul flight from NZ to LAX on a Thu about midday. We then have that afternoon and all Friday free. Sat morning is free then Sat afternoon is boarding for the cruise.

 

 

 

At the other end, we arrive back from the cruise on Sat morning and then have Sat, Sun and Mon free then a long haul home from LAX on Mon night.

 

 

 

We have myself, wife, 16 yo boy, 12 yo girl and 10 yo boy.

 

 

 

So... have no local knowledge and am looking for some tips on where to stay and what to do for those days pre and post cruise.

 

 

 

All I know is the kids will want to go to Disneyland which I am dreading and my wife will want to hit the outlet malls which I am dreading. Personally I would like to play golf somewhere but am not travelling with any golfers this time.

 

 

 

Thanks in advance for any tips and recommendations and warnings,

 

JohnO

 

 

This is the REAL Disneyland, which has California Adventure (where wine and spirits are served). Many great area restaurants as well.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[johno1234]

Thanks! So California Adventure different to and better than main Disneyland park? Or part of it?

[Flatbush Flyer]

Thanks! So California Adventure different to and better than main Disneyland park? Or part of it?

 

 

California Adventure is a separate park next to Disneyland and adjacent to Downtown Disney. In addition to a bona fide amusement pier with roller coaster, ferries wheel, etc, there are various other rides/shows/food. There's also "car land" there with some very unique attractions.

Note as well that Frontierland in Disneyland proper is being made over into a whole Star Wars themed area (not sure when construction will be completed -it is a mega-project.

Bottom line is that it's not DisneyWorld in Swamplandia.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[johno1234]

bottom line is that it's not disneyworld in swamplandia.

 

lol!

:)

[johno1234]

Wow, theme parks are almost exactly as expensive per day as our extended balcony cabins on the cruise!

[Cruisin' Chick]

Disneyland was the original theme park for the Disney company. California adventure is pretty recent. downtown disney is the shopping/restaurant area that's part of that complex. Yes, pretty expensive. Just like the Disney cruises, etc., anything with the disney name is $$$$$.

 

right near DL is Knotts Berry farm, which has been around even longer (I think...in its original state). In the far northern part of Los Angeles county is Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia.

 

And that's one thing to be aware of: the county of LA is very widespread and contains many cities (DL is actually in Anaheim in Orange co.), one the biggest city is Los Angeles, which in itself is huge, area wide (for example, my hubby used to work in downtown LA, which is some 30 miles from where we live in the north west part of LA...and we're 50 miles from the Port of LA in San Pedro, which is part of the City of LA).

 

DL can take a whole day. Disney fanatics wouldn't hesitate to buy a park hopper ticket and go to both DL and CA, but if you're not, you probably wouldn't want to spend more than one day there anyway.

 

Some people who are here for the first time, might book a tour (sunseekers or another company) to pick you up from your hotel and show you the more popular sites (usually most people want to see Hollywood, Farmers Market --yes, that is one of the most popular tourism sites here, Santa Monica, Venice Park.

 

What I do before going to a new place is go to my local library and borrow some guide books. Also, I would google the cities and find tourism websites. I make a list of places I feel my family would be interested in and then show them the list.

 

If you plan to rent a car, you will save on taxis (which are pretty expensive). don't use public transit -- unless you're familiar with the city and the places to avoid and have plenty of time. Seriously, take it from someone who lived most of her life here

 

as for places to stay, you may want to figure out what you want to do while here as you'll need to organize (so you can put your destinations near each other on the same day). Avoid airport hotels (they'll say on their websites they're near every thing -- but they're not, and LAX isn't a good place to stay unless you have an early flight out the next day).

 

don't stay in downtown LA --again, not a good place to stay and only a few attractions near by (Olviera street if you want to see the oldest street in LA or see the outside of Staples arena or the Disney Hall -- I think these are all skippable).

 

I would suggest posting here if there's a hotel you want advice on (include the address so we can google the area) and we can say it's ok or stay away. You can google on BruinSteve's hotel posts here -- he has recommendations for hotels in Long Beach and Santa Monica.

[johno1234]

Thanks for that. Am thinking of getting a vrbo in Long Beach. Looks like uber from there to either DL or the cruise terminal is peanuts.

[Bruin Steve]

Hi everybody,

 

Booked the family on a Carnival Miracle cruise out of Long Beach in mid April. We're arriving on a long haul flight from NZ to LAX on a Thu about midday. We then have that afternoon and all Friday free. Sat morning is free then Sat afternoon is boarding for the cruise.

 

At the other end, we arrive back from the cruise on Sat morning and then have Sat, Sun and Mon free then a long haul home from LAX on Mon night.

 

We have myself, wife, 16 yo boy, 12 yo girl and 10 yo boy.

 

So... have no local knowledge and am looking for some tips on where to stay and what to do for those days pre and post cruise.

 

All I know is the kids will want to go to Disneyland which I am dreading and my wife will want to hit the outlet malls which I am dreading. Personally I would like to play golf somewhere but am not travelling with any golfers this time.

 

Thanks in advance for any tips and recommendations and warnings,

JohnO

Thanks for that. Am thinking of getting a vrbo in Long Beach. Looks like uber from there to either DL or the cruise terminal is peanuts.

 

John, what you have here is close to a logistics nightmare...

 

Long Beach is not really all that close to many of LA's tourist sites--save the ones in Long Beach itself--the Aquarium of the Pacific and the Queen Mary...

 

Disneyland is about 25 miles East of Downtown Long Beach (depending on route)...

 

Outlet Malls, for the most part, are well outside the city, the most popular ones being in Camarillo, Cabazon, Barstow, Lake Elsinore, Carlsbad and Fort Tejon. Problem is that the companies in these malls have agreements with the department stores and owners of traditional malls to NOT undercut those malls...So the outlet malls are all in remote locations...at least a couple of hours' drive in each direction.

 

Golf courses are many...but they range form the spectacular to the extremely ordinary, from public courses to snooty private clubs where you may not get in without knowing someone. Check them out carefully before deciding to play golf...But, these are all over the area.

 

The more typical tourist sites in LA--The Chinese Theater and Walk of Fame, the Santa Monica Pier and Third Street Promenade, the Venice Boardwalk, museums (including the Getty and the Getty Villa), the movie studios--are all quite a distance from Long Beach--around 25-35 miles to the north and northwest...

 

The biggest question may be how you are planning to get around? Staying in Long Beach, no doubt you would need to rent a car...and be prepared to spend many hours each day in traffic...

 

You might want to consider staying near Disney pre-cruise and visiting Disneyland that Friday you have open. Crowds at Disneyland are usually lesser (though not by much) on weekdays...though you may be hitting our "Spring Break" time, when schools are out and Disney is crowded every day. And yes, it has gotten EXTREMELY expensive. Then, after the cruise, when you have a couple of open days, you may wish to locate yourself on the West Side (Santa Monica, Marina Del Rey, Venice)...closer to most tourist sites and closer to LAX. It is easier to get around this area without a rental car. You can use the HOHO bus from Santa Monica to tour Hollywood, etc. or pick up a tour from there from a variety of tour operators.

 

Good luck...

[misterjohnny]

I'll chime in on the golf. If you are looking for inexpensive golf, I would suggest Los Verdes Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes. A little northwest of Long Beach, it has spectacular views and is a challenging course due to the ocean breeze and sloped fairways. But it is a LA County course so it is crowded. As a single, you can get added on easily during the week, but don't bother on a weekend. 6 hour rounds are the norm.

 

For more pricey choices near Long Beach, Trump National is on cliffs right over the water in Palos Verdes.

 

As for other things to do, you might want to go on a whale watching boat out of Long Beach. The Aquarium of the Pacific works with some boats to add a guide on some trips. Depending on the time of year you can see gray or blue whales, and occasionally other species.

[misterjohnny]

Another thing to do that will empty your wallet is Universal Studios. They opened a Harry Potter Land (or whatever they call it) at the one in Hollywood. If your family is into Harry Potter, that might be a good choice. And believe it or not, you could take public transportation there! I've taken the Metro trains to Universal City Walk, and from long beach it is only one transfer. Take the Blue line to the Red line and get off at Universal City stop. Blue line goes through downtown Long Beach.

[euro cruiser]

You can get to Disneyland by bus from Long Beach. You might need to take an Uber to the starting point of the bus, but then it's just one bus from there all the way to Disney.

 

Bus schedule here: http://www.octa.net/ebusbook/RoutePDFNew/route050.pdf

[SadieN]

Another thing to do that will empty your wallet is Universal Studios. They opened a Harry Potter Land (or whatever they call it) at the one in Hollywood. If your family is into Harry Potter, that might be a good choice. And believe it or not, you could take public transportation there! I've taken the Metro trains to Universal City Walk, and from long beach it is only one transfer. Take the Blue line to the Red line and get off at Universal City stop. Blue line goes through downtown Long Beach.

 

Many Long Beach hotels are connected are along the free Long Beach Passport Bus route.

 

Avoid taking the Blue Line after dark. It goes thru some of the roughest areas of LA. Watts, Compton etc, almost all of our citywide riots have started along the Blue Line's route. Knowing this, we've never had an issue traveling the lines during daylight hours. Metro.net. If you do decide to do this, there is a shuttle cady-corner from the train stop up to go up the hill to Universal City Walk.

 

Disneyland and California Adventure are literally across a large plaza, their ticket booths are facing each other. Look for the Disney boards online for ideas. The annual passport blackout dates will give you a good idea about the most crowded times in April.

Edited January 19, 2017 by SadieN