DLR/Socal March Itinerary

[TexDisney]

We've (My wife and I) changed around our interary for our March 10-17 2007 trip and are looking for critiques/tips.

Here is what we originally planned:

4 Nights @ GCH with 5-day ticket.
Rent a car the 5th day from DTD and spend next 3 nights @ Universal Hilton.

Day 1: HOU --> LAX/SNA. DL in evening.

Day 2: DL
Day 3: DL/DCA
Day 4: DCA/DL
Day 5: DL in morning, checkout/rent car, head to Universal Hilton
Day 6: Universal Studios VIP Tour
Day 7: Hollywood/Santa Monica Pier/misc California
Day 8: Drop car off at LAX/SNA, fly to HOU.

But recently we discovered the wonder that is the Warner Brothers studio tour, thus making the VIP tour at Universal irrelevant. This morning, I had a revelation: Why stay at the Universal Hilton at all? For the same price, we could stay on-property at DLR AND upgrade our tickets to 8 days. Also, the roller coaster lover in me was a bit frustrated about being so close to Knott's but not being able to attend. We discussed this matter and without further ado, here is our revised itinerary:


DAY ONE: SATURDAY MARCH 10
-Flight in redeye/morning HOU-LAX/SNA
-Check in @ GCH, DL rest of day

DAY TWO: SUNDAY MARCH 11 (Wife's Birthday)
-Character Breakfast: Goofy's Kitchen, DLH @ 0700 *
-DL entire day
-Fatasmic Desert Buffet, Balcony Seating @ 2030 *

DAY THREE: MONDAY MARCH 12
-Day mostly at DL, some at DCA
-Dinner: Granville Steakhouse, DLH @ 1700 *

DAY FOUR: TUESDAY MARCH 13
-Character Breakfast: Chip n' Dale's, GCH @ 0700 *
-Day mostly at DCA, some at DL
-Character Dinner: Princess Meal, DCA @ 1700

DAY FIVE: WEDNESDAY MARCH 14
-Morning at either park
-Check out of GCH
-Car Rental @ 1300, DownTown Disney Alamo
-Check into DLH
-Warner Brothers Studio Tour, start at 1500-1600.
-Evening: Hollywood, etc.

DAY SIX: THURSDAY MARCH 15
-Universal Studios with Front-of-Line passes
-Dinner: Bucca Di Beppos, Citywalk *
-Evening: DL

DAY SEVEN: FRIDAY MARCH 16
-Knott's Berry Farm in Morning
-Lunch: Mrs. Knott's
-Evening: Santa Monica Pier, Hollywood, misc.

DAY EIGHT: SATURDAY MARCH 17
-DL/DCA in morning
-Return car to LAX/SNA
-Fly home to HOU


Items with * I plan to reserve as soon as possible.
-------------


What do you think? Time wise, does it work out? We're upgrading to 8-day passes because we figure we'd be able to hit a little bit either park at both the beginning and the end of our non-Disney days.

My major concern is day 5. How's the best way to handle checking out of one DLR hotel and into another? We'd stay the entire week at GCH but it'd cost an extra thousand dollars or so. We're only staying four nights on the assumption that one night is free in 2007 like it currently is. If this isn't the case, Our stay at GCH will be shortened and the one at DLH will be lengthened.

Matt

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

Great idea to post your itinerary for review
I may do the same thing.

I have a question though. Have you ever done the Warner Bros studio tour? I may try to squeeze it in for myself one day, DH and DD's are not interested in going, but I am really fascinated by movie making. I'd love to hear a review if you've been!

 

[TexDisney]

I haven't done it, but from the reviews I've read of it (here, other Disney sites, tripadvisor), it is much more about movies than Universal's VIP tour. They have two levels of tours: a 2.5 hour tour that leaves every 30 minutes or so and a "Deluxe" tour that lasts 6 hours including lunch and is only offered at 9:30 each morning.

The regular tour is around $45 a ticket, the deluxe is $150.

Some of the real sets you might get to visit include Gilmore Girls, Friends (they still have the Friends set in storage), ER, warehouses full of Harry Potter stuff, etc.

If you're really into moviemaking the 6-hour tour takes you into all sorts of actual production locations and includes a detailed description of how movies are made.

Matt

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

Thanks for the info. I may look into doing the 2.5 hour tour, as I don't want to spend 6 hours away from the family on vacation. It sounds really, really interesting. I'm off to check out the trip advisor reviews!

 

[Another Voice]

Have you ever done the Warner Bros studio tour?

The Warner Bros tour is, in my opinion, the best in town if you really want to see a working movie studio. When friends and relatives from “out of town” stop by, this is the one I guide them to for a look at “the industry”. The tour is limited to about a dozen or so people – you’re driven around in electric carts. The tour changes each day depending on what’s going on. Some days you’ll stop to watch them shoot a scene for ‘E.R.’ or ‘The Gilmore Girls’, some days you can tour sets under construction. Other times have included stops to watch a Foley stage (the people who add in the sound effects and background conversations) and a full orchestra scoring a movie. The tour also includes a stop at the museum on the lot (not open to the general public). A nephew still is in shock because he was able to wear the sorting cap from Harry Potter.

The Universal V.I.P. tour is largely the same tour as “the big trams”, but side stops are made at a prop warehouse and an editing stage. The second part is a guided tour through the theme park’s major attractions. It’s nice to get front-of-the-line access, but you lose the ability to see what you want, when you want it.

Warner Brothers and Universal are located about a ten minute drive from each other. Warner is also about five minutes away from NBC. They offer a tour of their television studios (it’s the home of ‘The Tonight Show’ among others). A couple blocks further down the road is The Walt Disney Studios. While they don’t offer any tours at all, if you make a circle around the studio you can see the new Animation Building and the Michael Eisner Temple – er – the Team Disney building with the dwarves holding up the roof.

About the only way the lot is to get tickets for the taping of a show. Most ticket services now allow you to get tickets over the Internet and offer a variety of dates and times. If you have a favorite show or really want to know how Hollywood works, this can make for a fun evening. Be warned however – you are a working audience. That means you will have to laugh at the same joke time after time until the director gets a cut he or she likes. And you can’t leave early either – you and the cast finish at the same time.

Three other secret tips. There’s a restaurant directly across from Warner’s main enterance called ‘The Smoke House’. It’s about the last bit of old Hollywood that’s still around; it’s a place Walt would frequently dine. Being close to the studio and having a very hostile attitude to photographers, it tends to collect a good Hollywood type crowd. Unless you’re chasing Paris Hilton, it makes a good place to mingle. During late nights at work we used to send people over there to bring back a shipment of their cheese bread.

Up in “Beautiful Downtown Burbank” (anyone old enough to remember that one) is a large shopping mall with several AMC theaters. It’s not advertised, but a lot of the studios use this place to recruit audiences for test screenings. It’s very hit or miss, but the people standing out front with the clip board my offer you a ticket to see an unreleased (and unfinished) movie. Most people in the audience fill out a questionnaire about what they liked or didn’t like about the movie; a few are formed into a “focus group”. You sit in a room and talk about the film, while the marketing people take notes and the director (watching on closed circuit TV), quietly cries.

Lastly, if you really want to see one of Walt’s favorite places – go to the Tam O’Shanter Restaurant (http://www.lawrysonline.com/tamoshanter_gen_info.asp). It’s about a twenty minute drive from Universal and on the other end of the hill. It opened in the 1920’s and was a big hangout during Hollywood’s Golden Era. It still is a first class restaurant. And just walking into the place you immediately see how it was the inspiration for Disneyland.

 

[mikayla73]

We always fly into SNA and rent a car there. It is usually cheaper than renting it in one place and dropping it off in another, even if you don't need it for everyday use until the 4th or 5th day. I would definately check on that, it would save the cost of getting from the airport to DL too. From SNA it is an easy drive to DL. It would also help with the time factor on the 5th day since you wouldn't have to pick up the car.

Switching your trip to more time at DL was a good idea. On one of our previous trips, we went for the "day" to Universal. While we had a good time, we made it back to DL with plenty of time to spend some time in DL that evening. We rode all the rides, went on the tour, and saw the Water World show. I may go again, but only if I am going with people that really want to go. I am not sure I would make a special trip to go to Universal again unless I was going to Hollywood for other things too.

Have a great trip! I can't wait til our trip in May '07!!

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

The Warner Bros tour is, in my opinion, the best in town if you really want to see a working movie studio. When friends and relatives from “out of town” stop by, this is the one I guide them to for a look at “the industry”. The tour is limited to about a dozen or so people – you’re driven around in electric carts. The tour changes each day depending on what’s going on. Some days you’ll stop to watch them shoot a scene for ‘E.R.’ or ‘The Gilmore Girls’, some days you can tour sets under construction. Other times have included stops to watch a Foley stage (the people who add in the sound effects and background conversations) and a full orchestra scoring a movie. The tour also includes a stop at the museum on the lot (not open to the general public). A nephew still is in shock because he was able to wear the sorting cap from Harry Potter.

Thank you for all the info. I think I have decided this is something I really, really want to do. We are staying at the Rennaisance Hotel, maybe I can just leave everyone at the hotel pool while I do the Warner Bros tour!

 

[TexDisney]

Renting a car for the entire week is not an option. While the normal rates are about the same as picking up from one location/dropping off at another, I'm under 25 so I have to tack on $25/day extra. Picking up at DTD and dropping off at SNA/LAX three days later is $260, renting the entire week from LAX/SNA is $422.

Matt

 

[Another Voice]

Thank you for all the info. … We are staying at the Renaissance Hotel,

I’m glad I could help. The Hollywood Renaissance Hotel is part of the large Hollywood and Highland complex – which is just about the only “tourist” thing in Hollywood. The complex itself is a large retail and entertainment mall (some okay restaurants). Gruman’s Chinese Theaters are right next door. It’s a multiplex, so check to see what’s playing in the original main theater. It and Disney’s El Captain (right across the street) are some of the few movie palaces left. The El Captain is a great place to see a Disney movie – if it’s not a special premiere they still have a theater organist play before the show. To me it’s interesting because this is how my grandparents always saw their movies. Today, I have to sit with my knees buried into the plastic seat in front of me while I watch fifty commercials and eat my $10.95 small popcorn.

An often overlooked attraction is the Kodak Theater that’s also in the Hollywood and Highland complex. It’s the home to the Oscars. They offer tours several times a day. It includes to reception areas (where the elite gather before the show) and the “winner’s” passage from the theater to the press room. If there isn’t a show using the stage at the moment they also let you run up the stairs. For a brief moment you can stand there and thank your spouse, your parents and all the little people that brought you to this cherished moment.

There is one very special thing to remember about Hollywood – it’s not set up for the tourist trade. Unlike most other cities that have a lot of visitors, Hollywood and West L.A. is neither welcoming nor convenient for “out of towners”. This is especially true when it comes to the nightlife. There are a lot of clubs down Sunset Blvd., but most pride themselves on the number of people they keep out rather than who they let in. And West Hollywood is an entirely different place.

As a visitor, Universal’s CityWalk is a pretty good place. It has plenty of restaurants and a completely different atmosphere than the one in Orlando. The one here has a lot more energy and is a lot more “out there” than its counterpart. If you’re looking for something real, Westwood (a neighborhood adjacent to UCLA) and Santa Monica are your best bets.

Another warning – the commute from Anaheim to Hollywood/Universal can be a nightmare. I’ve gone to taken the train as much as I can rather than drive. Rush hours around here are usually from 5:30am to 9:30am and 3:00pm to 6:00pm. Before you go anywhere be sure to check traffic, no matter what the time. You never know when a freeway will be closed.

Now that I’ve scared everyone, I hope you all have a great time.

 

[TexDisney]

Thanks for the insider tips, AV.

I'm not too worried about the traffic as I live in Houston, which can go toe-to-toe with L.A. for worst traffic on most days.

Matt