Pre Day in So Cal Before BSM

kkbutterfly

Mouseketeer
Joined
May 18, 2012
I will be on the Nov 10 BSM as a solo traveller. Since I’m coming from the Midwest I plan on flying out Saturday (morning or afternoon is TBD as southwest has not released their schedule and I’m hoping to take the daily direct flight to LAX).

I will have part of Saturday and Sunday morning to myself and am looking for suggestions for a solo traveller.

My only plan is go to go The Grove / Farmers Market for either dinner Saturday or lunch Sunday depending on timing. I have been to LA before, but not in a few years and also never alone. Does anyone else have any suggestions? I don’t want to just lay on the beach but was thinking of going to Venice / Santa Monica.

I’m also a bit worried about the night in Hollywood on Monday. Do they have suggestions? Should I save The Grove for then?

Any generic advice for solo travelers?

Thanks for any advice or suggestions!
 
Monday evening would be a good time to check out the Grove and the Farmer's Market. You may be able to see a TV show taping at some point, too. Those are time-consuming, but fun. That's what I did on the Monday evening. I went to Universal Studios on Sunday morning. Buy your tickets online, and you can get in 1 hour early, which helps you knock out the Harry Potter rides. it's not nearly as big as the one in Florida. You should be able to do everything and get back to the hotel in plenty of time for the welcome dinner. Take a Lyft or Uber. It's quicker, and not terribly expensive. Saturday might be a good time to do a little shopping and check out some restaurants. If you take a super early flight, you can do a lot. My favorite studio tour is Warner Brothers. Don't waste time seeing things around the hotel on your free time, unless you want to do the inside tour of the Dolby Theatre. You'll see enough of Hollywood on your Disney tour.
 
Monday evening would be a good time to check out the Grove and the Farmer's Market. You may be able to see a TV show taping at some point, too. Those are time-consuming, but fun. That's what I did on the Monday evening. I went to Universal Studios on Sunday morning. Buy your tickets online, and you can get in 1 hour early, which helps you knock out the Harry Potter rides. it's not nearly as big as the one in Florida. You should be able to do everything and get back to the hotel in plenty of time for the welcome dinner. Take a Lyft or Uber. It's quicker, and not terribly expensive. Saturday might be a good time to do a little shopping and check out some restaurants. If you take a super early flight, you can do a lot. My favorite studio tour is Warner Brothers. Don't waste time seeing things around the hotel on your free time, unless you want to do the inside tour of the Dolby Theatre. You'll see enough of Hollywood on your Disney tour.

Thank you!

I did Universal in 2016 and I’m undecided if I want to go back this year but it’s definitely on my short list. I’m waiting to see if something new opens since I have an AP to Orlando.

I’ve also done the WB Tour and I agree it’s great.

Thanks for the confirmation the Grove on Monday night. Not that LA isn’t always crowded and busy but I’m thinking it will be slightly less than a Saturday night.

I’m looking forward to the experience!
 
We also have a couple pre-days for our Backstage Magic trip in July! Between those two days we're checking out Griffith Park Observatory, the WB Studio Tour, the Farmer's Market, and La Brea Tar Pits. Food-wise we're for sure eating at Pink's hot dogs and doing a self-led dessert crawl through Beverly Hills (plus the Farmer's Market).

I've spent solo time at Santa Monica, too. The shopping area there about a block from the beach is a fun place to walk around. Manhattan Beach is also really cute and not too far away. It's got some boutique shops and restaurants and really yummy frozen bananas from Manhattan Beach Creamery.
 


We also have a couple pre-days for our Backstage Magic trip in July! Between those two days we're checking out Griffith Park Observatory, the WB Studio Tour, the Farmer's Market, and La Brea Tar Pits. Food-wise we're for sure eating at Pink's hot dogs and doing a self-led dessert crawl through Beverly Hills (plus the Farmer's Market).

I've spent solo time at Santa Monica, too. The shopping area there about a block from the beach is a fun place to walk around. Manhattan Beach is also really cute and not too far away. It's got some boutique shops and restaurants and really yummy frozen bananas from Manhattan Beach Creamery.

Thank you for the ideas!

I’m now thinking if I don’t go to Universal that on Sunday morning I’ll uber to Venice Beach, do the boardwalk and that stuff the walk to Santa Monica and spend some time there (I like the idea of a 2 mile walk as I walk often).

I didn’t think to visit the Observatory but that’s a great idea. Have you hiked there in the past? I’d love to go for a walk in that area!
 
Thank you for the ideas!

I’m now thinking if I don’t go to Universal that on Sunday morning I’ll uber to Venice Beach, do the boardwalk and that stuff the walk to Santa Monica and spend some time there (I like the idea of a 2 mile walk as I walk often).

I didn’t think to visit the Observatory but that’s a great idea. Have you hiked there in the past? I’d love to go for a walk in that area!
I haven’t hiked persay but I did have to park at the bottom of the hill and I walked up! There are lots of trails around though and if we have time this trip I would like to explore some of them. I think especially in november it should be really nice for a walk. Plus there’s such great views of the city and the Hollywood sign!
 
I'll warn you that the LaBrea Tar Pits are underwhelming (and this comes from a lifelong science nerd). It's probably a 30 minute stop at the most.

Griffith Observatory is neat, but not on my top things to do. Nice views, and it's been in a ton of films.

If you have time, I can't recommend The Getty Museum more highly. They have an incredible collection of art, and it's FREE! The panoramic views of the ocean and LA are stunning.
 


We went in 2 days early for our BSM trip and spent the first day at Universal with a VIP private tour (which was amazing) the 2nd day we moved to Hollywood and just sort of bummed around being tourists. When we do our next BSM, which we will do another one, I think we'll rent a car for a day and look at driving around to some of the outlying areas. I like the list of suggestion from this thread and am taking notes.
 
You can always go down to U.S.C. and watch the "perp" walk all those fraudulent students off campus.....LOL.....only a joke,
 
I'll warn you that the LaBrea Tar Pits are underwhelming (and this comes from a lifelong science nerd). It's probably a 30 minute stop at the most.

Griffith Observatory is neat, but not on my top things to do. Nice views, and it's been in a ton of films.

If you have time, I can't recommend The Getty Museum more highly. They have an incredible collection of art, and it's FREE! The panoramic views of the ocean and LA are stunning.
I think I need to stop at the Getty!
 

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