I've looked at Magic Castle and the rates don't seem exorbitantly higher than anywhere else (inc Orchid Suites). I love the idea of the washing being done and all the free snacks! And i'm intrigued by the brunch at the Magic Castle - has anyone been?
At the moment my rough plans are:
28 March - 4th April: Stay somewhere central (hotel not decided yet). Visit La Brea tar pits, Manns Chinese Theater, visit Santa Monica beach etc
4th April - 13th April: Anaheim (again not sure of hotel). Visit DL, outlet shopping.
Does that sound like a good break down to everyone? What else is there to see in LA? I have seen a group that do horseback rides in the Hollywood hills which looks good. I'm not interested in Hollywood homes and I think we will do the majority of our shopping on a day trip from Anaheim (Citadel outlets). Any advice there would be great too
If you're happy with the price for Magic Castle, don't hesitate to book it ASAP, it really is great!
We spent 5 nights there, and another 2 nights in Venice Beach, so we did Santa Monica/Venice Beach area then. We walked from Venice Beach (including up to the sign that hangs over the road) to Santa Monica Pier, shopping at Third Street Promenade, dinner on the pier, etc. Venice Beach is a little rough and be avoided at night.
While in Hollywood, we did do the Hollywood Homes tour where we also did drive through a of Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive, Sunset Blvd, Chateau Marmont, The Viper Room, Whisky-a-Go-Go, all things we wanted to see. I also myself drove to the house from Nightmare on Elm St, since it was a favourite as a kid!
Other highlights for us:
Griffith Observatory at dusk, including a Planetarium Show. Watch the lights come up over Los Angeles, amazing views.
Warner Bros Studio tour (HUGE highlight, we loved this!) (and then we had lunch afterwards at Big Boy diner in Burbank)
Photos at the lanterns at LACMA
Lunch by the pool at Beverly Hills Hotel (the classic Sunset Club sandwich!)
TV Show tapings - we saw a "mini concert" at Jimmy Kimmel Live (Elton John), and a sitcom taping (The Carmichael Show)
Walking tours with Downtown LA walking tours, a guy called Neel runs these and he is lovely. We did two, one was Haunted Tales at night, so much fun, we got to the see the super creepy Cecil Hotel, and Pico House was all set up for filming something from the early twenties, and the other was Old and New Downtown LA, during the day. Both excellent.
The Natural History Museum, and The California Science Center - Endevour Space Shuttle, loved seeing this.
I'm sure there was more, but that's what comes to mind. Clearly we love all things Hollywood and went for the full experience. And of course, we had to eat at In N Out, classic California chain.