The Official "Explore Southern California!" Thread

[Californian Elitist]

Okay, I have finally found time to post some more info.

What?: Various movie studio tours/television tapings

Where?: Depends. Paramount is in Los Angeles, Warner Bros. is in Burbank and Sony is in Culver City.

How far away from Disneyland?: Paramount Studios is about 31 miles and at least 40 minutes away, Warner Bros. Studios is roughly 37 miles and at least 50 minutes away and Sony Studios is 35 miles and at least 45 minutes away.

How much?: The two hour Paramount tour will cost $48. The VIP tour is four and a half hours, includes other things like lunch, discount on merch, free parking, etc. will cost $165. The Warner Bros. VIP tour is slightly over two hours and includes breakfast or lunch. The price for this tour is $52. The Deluxe Tour is five hours, includes food and costs $250. A Sony Studios tour costs $38.

California is the home film and television, and a tour around some of these famous and legendary movie studios is fun for pretty much everyone. These tours offer sneak peeks into all sorts of neat things, like prop rooms, soundstages and backlots. Studio tours (REAL studio tours) are really cool and are a treat, especially for film fanatics.

Paramount Studios:

Warner Bros. Studios:

Sony Studios:

Tapings are also fun things to do in Los Angeles. Some of them, like Ellen, you have to sign up for, but others are completely free. You can sign up on websites or, usually if you're in Hollywood, you can get passes through people on the street (it's not a scam, trust me).

Some examples of free tapings you can catch:

Ellen (can be pretty hard to catch)
Disney Channel shows
Jimmy Kimmel
Chelsea Lately
The Talk
The Big Bang Theory (also really hard to catch)
The Voice
Plenty of others

What?: Farmers Market

Where?: Los Angeles, CA

How far from Disneyland?: About 35 miles and at least 45 minutes away

How much?: It depends on what what want to eat

Farmers Market is an outdoor eating area located in Los Angeles, California. It has been in its same location since 1934. There, you can find all kinds of different food and cuisine from different ethnic cultures, from American, to Chinese, to Italian. Farmers Market also serves as a grocery and includes gift shops as well. Farmers Market is considered a classic in Los Angeles culture.

What?: Whimsic Alley

Where?: Los Angeles, CA

How far from Disneyland?: At least 30 miles and 45 minutes away

How much?: It depends on what you're buying

Whimsic Alley is a Diagon Alley-based "shop" in Los Angeles, California. You can buy all kinds of Harry Potter things at these shops... Very cool!

 

[teacherlady19]

Wow...I didn't know about Whimsic Alley, so thanks for posting that! Hubby would love that (big Harry Potter book and movie fan)! It's located at 5464 Wilshire Blvd., LA.

BTW, we took the 3-hour tour of Warner Bros back in 2008 and no food was included. That must be a new addition! They did have a nice museum with the props etc from the HP movies back then; I don't know if they still do. One day we'd like to do the Sony Pictures Tour.


Donna

 

[popsicletrees]

Here are some photos of the Pacific Coast Highway that I took during my trip this summer. It was so beautiful to drive!

The Lone Cypress at Pebble Beach:

 

[Cosmic Commando]

What is it? Dolphin and whale watching (Captain Dave's Dolphin Safari)
Where is it? Dana Point, in Orange County
How far from Disneyland? About 40 minutes
How much? ~$50 per person for a 2-3 hour sailing

There are probably literally dozens of dolphin/whale watching companies all up and down the coast, but I've only used one, so that's the one you're going to hear about! We used Captain Dave's, which is in Orange County not terribly far from Disneyland. It was amazing! There were literally hundreds of dolphins in the waters around us! Plus, there were two features on this boat that made the trip extra special. One, there was an area where the floor was nylon netting and you could actually lay down with just the net between you and the dolphins a couple of feet away swimming next to the hulls.

Then, the bottoms of the two hulls had glass panels in the walls so you could be under the water with the dolphins swimming right next to you.

You also get what I bet is pretty reliable viewing of California sea lions. They like to hang out on the buoys:

We didn't see any whales, but it wasn't supposed to be a particularly good time for that and we were satisfied seeing the dolphins. This company has a little chart that tells you when is a good time to see what and they keep a log of sightings on their trips. Some of the counts are absurdly specific: one I just saw said 1,876 common dolphins (did they really count to 1,876?), but the count for my trip seems spot-on. I don't think they're padding their stats.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Tell me where is best to do some tide pooling. I want to see some tide pools. Never seen rocky beaches so that's high on the ol' bucket list.

Also, are there any tours available for Jim Henson Studios?

 

[englanddg]

Tell me where is best to do some tide pooling. I want to see some tide pools. Never seen rocky beaches so that's high on the ol' bucket list.

Also, are there any tours available for Jim Henson Studios?

Do Monterey. That's all I will say right now...We can Pm about Cali if you all are planning a trip...

 

[Cosmic Commando]

Tell me where is best to do some tide pooling. I want to see some tide pools. Never seen rocky beaches so that's high on the ol' bucket list.

Also, are there any tours available for Jim Henson Studios?

Crystal Cove State Park

This is where I was going to go on my trip, but the family needed a down day and we never made it. Make sure you google the tide forecast, so you can go on the right day and time. It's about 45 minutes south of Disneyland. It might be a good half-day to combine with some dolphin/whale watching, as it's pretty close to the (cheap plug for a few posts above) company I used, as well as many other water activity type companies down there in Orange County.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Tell me wherEe is best to do some tide pooling. I want to see some tide pools. Never seen rocky beaches so that's high on the ol' bucket list.

Also, are there any tours available for Jim Henson Studios?

NorCal is good for tide pools. I went to this one beach, twice, with great tide pools and rocky landscapes that you're looking for here in SoCal, but I can't for the life of me remember the name. It was years ago when I went.

You can tour the Jim Henson Studios through Adventures by Disney. The SoCal tour includes Hollywood, Walt Disney Imagineering, Disneyland, California Adventure, the Walt Disney Studios, Him Henson Studios, Walt's apartment and more. Just a warning, it's HELLA EXPENSIVE.

http://www.adventuresbydisney.com/north-america/southern-california-vacations/

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Crystal Cove State Park

This is where I was going to go on my trip, but the family needed a down day and we never made it. Make sure you google the tide forecast, so you can go on the right day and time. It's about 45 minutes south of Disneyland. It might be a good half-day to combine with some dolphin/whale watching, as it's pretty close to the (cheap plug for a few posts above) company I used, as well as many other water activity type companies down there in Orange County.

I was actually looking at Crystal Cove just a little bit ago. Been Googling and looking. Also was looking at Leo Carrillo State Beach. That one's a bit far but could lend to a little bit of a nice drive, too. Just don't want to stumble into a not-so-hot area. Thanks for the recommend!

NorCal is good for tide pools. I went to this one beach, twice, with great tide pools and rocky landscapes that you're looking for here in SoCal, but I can't for the life of me remember the name. It was years ago when I went.

You can tour the Jim Henson Studios through Adventures by Disney. The SoCal tour includes Hollywood, Walt Disney Imagineering, Disneyland, California Adventure, the Walt Disney Studios, Him Henson Studios, Walt's apartment and more. Just a warning, it's HELLA EXPENSIVE.

http://www.adventuresbydisney.com/north-america/southern-california-vacations/

Um, yeeeaah no. Not spending the ABD bucks. For that price x4 I could do a hellanice DL trip + another vaca. I'd love to see those places but not for that price. I saw you mentioned other studios tours. My youngest (nearly 16) loves movies. These tours may make the radar. Thanks!

 

[Californian Elitist]

I was actually looking at Crystal Cove just a little bit ago. Been Googling and looking. Also was looking at Leo Carrillo State Beach. That one's a bit far but could lend to a little bit of a nice drive, too. Just don't want to stumble into a not-so-hot area. Thanks for the recommend!




Um, yeeeaah no. Not spending the ABD bucks. For that price x4 I could do a hellanice DL trip + another vaca. I'd love to see those places but not for that price. I saw you mentioned other studios tours. My youngest (nearly 16) loves movies. These tours may make the radar. Thanks!

Let us know if you need more help/advice.

 

[trs518]

Thank you for this thread. My wife and I'll be taking my son (8) on our first So. Cal trip in February, so we've been diligently reading this.

 

[cr3346]

Great thread. Heading out to California from Nov 12-19. Flying into San Diego and going to make our way up to San Fran, with a stop at DLR. My sister, mom, and aunt are heading to the Ellen show on the 13th so me and my brother will have some time to kill. Got some good ideas from this thread. Thanks

 

[jmb2676]

Some great recommendations on here. Just got back from Southern California this weekend. Spent 3 days in LA. Did Universal, toured Oscars theater, tour of the stars homes (cheesy fun), Griffith Observatory, Walk of Fame (great at 7am). Moved on to 3 days at Disneyland. Rode just about everything in 2 days at Disneyland and 1 at Cal Adventure. Haunted Mansion Holiday and Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy were great, Matterhorn was bone rattling. Spent 2 fun evenings at Trader Sam's. After that spent the last 3 days in San Diego. Visited Coronado Island, hung out in GasLamp and toured Petco Park before spending the last day and a half sick. Still a great trip overall thanks in part to this thread. Used Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner to get between cities, was easy and surprisingly cheap.

 

[Californian Elitist]

What?: Six Flags Magic Mountain

Where?: Valencia, CA

How Far From Disneyland?: At least 60 miles away, with at least an hour drive.

How Much?: General admission for adults is $67.99 and admission for kids is $42.99

Six Flags Magic Mountain, or simply Magic Mountain opened on Many 30th, 1971, and it is considered to be the flagship Six Flags park. It is themed to the Looney Tunes and DC Comics. Magic Mountain is considered to be a classic, and it is well-known for breaking world records with their coasters, most recently with Full Throttle, the tallest looping coaster in the world. Magic Mountain also holds the world record of most coasters in a single park. Some of their headline attractions include Goliath, Tatsu (world's tallest, fastest and longest flying coaster), Viper, Scream, X2 and most recently, Full Throttle.

A couple of ride-throughs:

Magic Mountain tends to get seriously pretty at sunset:

Magic Mountain has also been in the media. It is probably most famous for being the fictional "Wally World" in Vacation, starring Chevy Chase. It was also the theme park in the opening credits of Step by Step.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Some great recommendations on here. Just got back from Southern California this weekend. Spent 3 days in LA. Did Universal, toured Oscars theater, tour of the stars homes (cheesy fun), Griffith Observatory, Walk of Fame (great at 7am). Moved on to 3 days at Disneyland. Rode just about everything in 2 days at Disneyland and 1 at Cal Adventure. Haunted Mansion Holiday and Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy were great, Matterhorn was bone rattling. Spent 2 fun evenings at Trader Sam's. After that spent the last 3 days in San Diego. Visited Coronado Island, hung out in GasLamp and toured Petco Park before spending the last day and a half sick. Still a great trip overall thanks in part to this thread. Used Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner to get between cities, was easy and surprisingly cheap.

Hope you're feeling better now.

 

[jmb2676]

Hope you're feeling better now.

All good now. Thanks!

 

[Cosmic Commando]

Some great recommendations on here. Just got back from Southern California this weekend. Spent 3 days in LA. Did Universal, toured Oscars theater, tour of the stars homes (cheesy fun), Griffith Observatory, Walk of Fame (great at 7am). Moved on to 3 days at Disneyland. Rode just about everything in 2 days at Disneyland and 1 at Cal Adventure. Haunted Mansion Holiday and Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy were great, Matterhorn was bone rattling. Spent 2 fun evenings at Trader Sam's. After that spent the last 3 days in San Diego. Visited Coronado Island, hung out in GasLamp and toured Petco Park before spending the last day and a half sick. Still a great trip overall thanks in part to this thread. Used Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner to get between cities, was easy and surprisingly cheap.

Sounds awesome! If you have any pictures or more details you can share, feel free to post them here!

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

X2 is the most terrifying thing I have ever done in my life and I loved it...I'm just not sure I'm ever going to do it again.

 

[Californian Elitist]

X2 is the most terrifying thing I have ever done in my life and I loved it...I'm just not sure I'm ever going to do it again.

That is one ride I'm very positive I won't be trying. I applaud you for experiencing it.

 

[DznyGrlSD]

We went to the Farmers Market back in May - it was so much fun!