Cali trip planning advice | Inside Universal Forums

Cali trip planning advice

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Sep 23, 2012
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UK
Hey guys,

My daughter is a avid traveller and theme parks fan, just like her Dad :)

She always hits me up for help planning trips but having not been to Cali myself I need to hit up you guys for help.

So she is going 27 March through 7 April and will be doing 8 days Beverly Hills and 5 Days in Anaheim.

staying at the

Hilton LA universal city 27 March - 2 April
Hyatt regency orange county 2 April - 7 April

She wants to do both Uni and Disney (DCA & DL)

How many days would you guys suggest for each park?
What are the best options for tickets?

Is the WB tour worth a trip out? I thought maybe Knots Berry might be a better option.

she also planning on visiting the Hollywood sign

How long would she need to set aside for this?

Any other tips or suggestions of must does for her trip would be greatly appreciated.
 
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Is she going to be driving?

You could do Disney in 2 days depending on how busy it is but I spent 3 days and felt like I got to experience pretty much everything that I wanted to.

We went to the Griffith Observatory where you can get a good view of the Hollywood sign and a good overview of LA.

We went to Magic Mountain and if she's really into her coasters, it could be a good shout for her. It's not too far away (About an hours drive)

I'm at work just now but any questions, fire away.
 
She can do Uni in 1 day. Uni Hollywood is fairly small, though I haven't been since potter so I can't comment on how that changes the dynamic of things. That aside, the plan would be to do all the rides first, Make the studio tour 2nd to last and hit Waterworld on the way out.

2-3 days for Disneyland. 4 if she has to experience *everything*.

I do recommend Knotts and Magic Mountain though. 1 day for each will suffice.
 
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I'd say 3 days is sufficient for Disneyland at DCA. One day for Disneyland, One for DCA, and on the final day she can park hop and cherry pick which attractions she wants to visit or do experience downtown Disney.

I feel like 2 days is what I would recommend for Universal. Mainly because when I go I end up spending much more time in Harry Potter than I ever expected (almost full days in that one little area alone), and Springfield can be such a fun place to hang out, that kills more time than you'd expect despite the park being so small.

The WB tour is great if she's into movies and movie making.

Knott's is also great for its own reasons, the food at Knott's (in my opinion) is some of the highest quality you'll find at any of the SoCal theme parks and it sounds like she'll be visiting around the time that the Boysenberry Festival takes place. If she is a foodie, I'd make that a priority.
 
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How many days would you guys suggest for each park?
What are the best options for tickets?

Any other tips or suggestions of must does for her trip would be greatly appreciated.

3 days for Disney.

For tickets, the cheapest I found was at lmtclub.com. You have to be a member, but you can google a free membership code.

The thing that I wasn't prepared for in LA was drive time. You always hear about LA traffic, but you don't really understand it till you are there. 15 miles can take 2 hours. Plan days by area of town.
 
I'll second Scott on the Griffith. It's actually one of my favorite places in LA. Make sure she watches La La Land before she goes if she's hasn't seen it, they make it look gorgeous.

If she is at all into movies, the WB Tour is absolutely worth it. You can also look into tickets to a taping if she's into TV. Last time I did the tour I got tickets to a Conan taping for the same day.

I've also done the Queen Mary and Long Beach Aquarium. Both are good if you're into that kinda thing, but not must sees otherwise.
 
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