[speckythecky]

On our outward leg we are planning 3 or 4 nights in LA to break up the journey and gives the boys a bit of a treat.
Can anyone recommend an area?
We would like to do disney and the universal studios. Is it better to go out towards anaheim or stay nearer the airport and travel from there.
How easy is it to use public transport or is that a definite no no. Whats is like driving?

Any advice would be great.

[Ana&Steve]

Hey there, just going to offer up my opinion, no offense to any Angelenos out there!
I would stay away from the public transport if I were doing the trip.
Also, not fond of the offerings near LAX for hotels. I think If you are thinking about accommodation and Disneyland/CA Adventure, (budget permitting) you could stay at D.land hotel, and see if you can get a shuttle from LAX to Disneyland.
I think Universal Studios is Lame.
Driving in LA is a bit nerve racking IMO, not so much because of crazy drivers, but because of the traffic jams. They also are always doing road construction somewhere. Just try not to be in a hurry and it will be cake. Watch on ramps and and connecting roads, I can't tell you how many times I've missed my turn-off and had to back track to find my way again.
Not to be a fear-monger, but it is IMHO true what is said about driving in bad neighborhoods, please avoid Compton and Watts, and South Central in general.
I have always dug Venice Beach, it's strange and quirky, and gang activity waxes and wanes in the area, but to me it's just so LA! I really enjoyed going to the LaBrea tar pits when I was young, my Gram often took us there and to several other LA museums. I can't remember the names of the others, but if they impressed on me this long, they had to be good!. One museum housed the Spruce Goose, and one had awesome dinosaur displays. Maybe someone knows the names.
Anyway, hope some of this helps while you're formulating plans, have a great trip!
Ana
PS a few links you might find helpful!:nice1
Disneyland Hotel Reservations (http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneyland/en_US/hotels/overview?name=HotelsOverviewPage&CMP=KNC-GoogleHotels&HBX_PK=disneyland+hotels&HBX_OU=50&bhcp=1)
LaBrea Tar Pits (http://www.tarpits.org)
Disneyland Tourist Info (http://gocalifornia.about.com/od/cadisneyland/a/mistakes.htm)
Fairfield Inn (http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/laxoc-fairfield-inn-anaheim-disneyland-resort/)
Anaheim Tours (http://www.allanaheimtours.com/)
Venice Beach (http://www.venicebeach.com/)

[speckythecky]

Cheers Ana, great info thanks

[SarahEDH]

Hi speckythecky, just in case you want to be near the airport the night before you leave LA, if you have an early morning departure -- I've had good luck with the Los Angeles Airport Marriott at 5855 West Century Boulevard. Clean, modern rooms, reasonable rates, good service, and a restaurant with impressive breakfast buffet (additional charge -- not included with room rate). Their front desk staff has been very helpful in making transportation arrangements both times I've stayed there.

I agree with Ana that Disney-area hotels are a good option too. And if you want to do the beach scene (Venice / Santa Monica) and stay near there, there's an excellent B&B within short driving distance called "The Inn at Playa del Rey". Venice Beach has all kinds of play areas for kids to romp around in, and a paved bike/skate path (you can rent bikes and skates), plus lovely sandy beaches (groomed and cleaned, no less, by city workers). Also cafes adjacent to the beach, where parents can sit with a drink and keep an eye on the littlies while they play ...

Hope you have fun in LA --

Sarah

[martinp]

We stayed over in LA on our move to NZ. We flew from the UK by Air New Zealand and at the time the flight to Auckland left LA at around 9:00pm. On our last day in LA we intended to leave our luggage at the airport then travel back into town for more sightseeing. However it turned out there was nowhere to leave anything at the airport, the only option is to check it in. Wish we'd known that before carting it all the way there.

[uk_munros]

Hi there, the hotels around Disney are good, no need to spend the extra bucks staying in the Disney complex unless you really like Mickey a lot. Most of the hotels in Anaheim have shuttle bus to Disney.

If you have limited time at Disney, get yourself a copy of the unofficial guide to Disneyland - has great plans for doing disney without the queues and it works!

As for LA - we stay at the Doubletree Suites at Santa Monica. - book it on expedia. Its cheapish and you get a one or two brm apartment which when you are traveling with families makes much more sense than a hotel. it has a pool (smallish) and is easy walking distance to most of Santa Monica's attractions (incl Macy's!). I think it was about 45 min cab ride from LAX. We found it was no hassle to get from there to LAX if you are catching the LA-AKL flight on Air NZ.

Hope that helps

[swissmissdesigner]

I live 25 minute from Santa Monica and L.A.
If you need any info please free to contact me..

cheers

anna

[markmurphy]

I echo what Ana&Steve say, don't go too far off the beaten track. There are some REALLY dodgy areas in LA. I have never really liked the place myself (no offence to the locals) but we are travelling through in August as my wife has never ben there and was interested. The good thing is we fly into LA then drive up the cosat, across to Yosemite up to Tahoe (assuming it hasn't burnt down by then!) and back to SF for out flights out. I love SF, one of the nicest city's in the US.

[Andy-Dee]

Ana
Is Moonshadows still there in Santa Monica?

- if so Specky take the missus and kids it looks nothing from the outside but inside it resembles the inside of a galleon.

[swissmissdesigner]

Moonshadows is in Malibu, I live 15 minutes away from that.

[StuckInLA]

I'd just like to ad that public transportation isn't entirely hopeless. There is bus called the "Fly Away" that will pick you up at LAX for $3 per person and take you to Union Station, which is the hub for the light rail network. A map of the rail network is here:
http://www.mta.net/riding_metro/riders_guide/planning_trip-02.htm
It takes more planning in advance if you want to use the trains, and with a family it may be more hassle than it is worth, but it is still an option.

By the way, no offense taken by the LA bashing. I agree whole-heartedly.:laugh

[EngiNurse]

I would stay near Disneyland, just for ease of access.

The thing about LA is that, instead of planning around the weather, you plan around the traffic. Disneyland is near an area called "The Orange Crush" where the 5, 57, and 22 feeways all converge. Try to avoid this area (and freeways in general) between 7AM to 10AM and 4PM to 7PM. You'll save yourself some time and some stress.

Public transport from LAX to the Disneyland area is almost nonexistent. LA is a car town, definitely.

If you're in Anaheim, Newport Beach is just a ways away, and is (IMO) one of the nicest beaches north of San Diego County.

If you want to stay near the airport, Santa Monica is hard to beat. The pier is a fun stop, and the 3rd Street Promenade is nice on a weekend night. Good food choices in the area as well, if you're looking for a good meal.

[phatsharpie]

It is possible to get to Disneyland from LAX via train. Take the Fly Away bus from LAX to Union Station (http://www.lawa.org/vny/flyAwayInfo.cfm), from Union Station, take the Amtrak Surfliner (south bound) train or the Metrolink Orange Line (south bound) commuter train to the Anaheim train station. Disneyland is only 2.5 miles from the station, so you can either take a taxi or ride the Anaheim Resort Transportation (ART) bus. See: http://www.mousesavers.com/train.html#dl for more info.

LA traffic is really horrible, so if you can get off the freeway, I'd highly suggest it.

Brian

[vixxann]

Specky... how you going on in LA??

would be interested (when you've time and you're settled in NZ!) to hear what transport/hotel/sightseeing you did and how you rate it - we are considering the Air NZ via LA route when we go but only if its worthwhile (and not too difficult) staying there for a few days otherwise we'll go singapore.

hope all well :)

[speckythecky]

Hi Vicki

Flew via LA, customs and immigration was a pain, but only because we were last off the plane (because Jamie was sick). If you are booking your seats try and go for the nearest to the front.
When you get off there are 2 queues, one for carrying on to NZ and one for staying in US.
This takes you through immigration, passports checks, forms checked, fingerprints done and photo taken.
by the time you are through immigration your bags are waiting, customs is very quick and then to your lift.

we used express shuttle who I wouldn't recommend, having been at th airport and seen others Yellow cab and supershuttle looked good.

We stayed at the holiday inn at anahiem, close to disney, about $100 (us) per room with 2 double beds. the boys shared but were so tired they didn't mess about too much.

will let you know about the return to airport later.

enjoyed disney and sea world

[speckythecky]

Used supershuttle for the return, $64 dollars in a shared van, picked us up early than went to one other hotel for another family, dropped us off right outside the check in point for Air NZ.

used anaheim transport buses to get around; $3 per journey pay as you enter, or $3 per day book in advance ($8 for 3 days) - (can buy from hotels)

used gray line to get to sea world at san diego, again booked through hotel.

Holiday Inn had a check out time of 12:00 but allowed us to extend to 14:00 without charge, then let us store bags in a room and use the pool all afternoon.

We also walked from hotel to Block at Orange - shopping mall, about 30 mins walk, although it was very hot

[EngiNurse]

Hope you had fun! With the exchange rate as it stands, it must have been fairly cheap too!

[vixxann]

Thanks for info John :) few more questions as we are seriously considering this route now (due to extra luggage allowance mainly)

Who did you book with (were flights and hotel booked together)?
I presume all baggage comes out with you at LA but otherwise is checked right through connecting flights (eg. Manchester to London)
How did you find Air NZ (cannot remember who you flew with last time - but can you compare?) Do they have the on demand in-flight entertainment like singapore?

In general did you enjoy your stay in LA/Disney etc?

sorry for bombarding you ... hope you are all enjoying your first weeks in NZ :D

[speckythecky]

Hi Vicki,

booked flights through air new zealand, with flight from Manchester to London operated by BMI, luggage was passed through Heathrow without us seeing it and it arrived in LA with no problems either.

The BMI flight does not provide food but it is only an hour so thats not really a problem. The most annoying thing is that you need to check in at Manchester 3 hours before the flight, then have over 5 hours in London, which means that 10 hours after arriving in Manchester, you fly over the top of Manchester, plus the wait at Heathrow seemed very long.

Food on the ANZ flights was OK nothing special but as you expect for airline food. The on board entertainment system was excellent - on demand system with lots of movies, tv shows, sports and games and also childrens channels and info on NZ.

Luggage allowance was useful, although we struggled with the bags.

Enjoyed Disney and SeaWorld but both were expensive for a family of 4 although I haven't had the visa bill yet.

Found the immigration at LA a pain but it was only a couple of hours, - take something for the children to do!!

Transfer to hotel didn't go too smooth, but transfer back with supershuttle was excellent.

Last time we flew with Japanese Airlines, it was a long time ago and the entertainment system has improved since then and we only had an hour in Tokyo, I couldn't have coped with that with 2 boys.

Any other questions just ask.

John