I am flying out to LA for work in May. The work related events are Friday evening and all day Saturday. Current plan is to arrive Thursday night and take a red eye home Sunday to maximize my time. I’m having a hard time narrowing down some options so I’m throwing it out to the DL/LA experts! One additional thing to know is I did live in LA for three months for an internship, subletted from a UCLA student in Westwood, and spent most of my time in between there, Cedars-Sinai and went out to Santa Monica quite a bit on weekends.
Options:
Drive to Anaheim Thursday night to be there for rope-drop until 3pm to drive back/check in/change for 6pm dinner.
Stay in LA Thursday night and do LA touristy things Friday
Possible options include (and would appreciate feedback here):
WB studio tour
Disney Studio tour
Academy movie museum
La Brea Tar Pits
Farmers Market
If I don’t do DLR Friday then I’ll do that Sunday, and vise versa with the LA options.
I’m also thinking about the Main St DL tour. Either way I’ll get a park hopper ticket and do mostly the highlights that are different or not available at WDW, I have been to Disneyland before.
I know DL tends to be busier on weekends, but I’d have more time to work with Sunday, and probably less traffic back and forth to LA, right? Anything else I should consider?
My vote is stay in LA for the touristy things Friday & do DLR Sunday.
Because the traffic to/from LA on a Friday is going to be crazy. I see you’ve budgeted 3 hours from 3-6pm to get from DLR back to LA, get changed for and get to dinner. I obviously don’t know all the logistics for how much time you’ll need to get between your hotel & dinner or much time you want to give yourself to change, but the drive at that time might already be 2-2.5 hrs so it might be tight. Given that, I’d choose the Sunday.
Plus, Sunday mornings are a slower start (and less traffic) so if you’re there for rope drop you’ll get a great advantage. And while Sundays can and do get busy midday, if it’s not a weekend where Monday is a holiday, by later afternoon/early evening, they may lighten up. So if you have a red-eye then you might be able to take advantage of some of that, depending on which airport you’re headed out of and if you need to return a rental car and/or have checked bags.
I’m pretty low maintenance so this would likely be just a quick clean up and change and dinner is very close but I was only accounting for a 1.5-2 hour drive.
Ok, that does really seem like the way to go here. I will have more time on Sunday, even if I miss the rope drop advantage (we have an event ending at midnight the night before and I’m not sure I bounce back as fast as I used to!) I’ll still have more time to spend there Sunday than Friday. My flight is out of LAX at 10:30pm.
Anyone have experience with the LA things I listed? I’m torn between the WB studio tour which seems really fun vs the Disney studio which I can’t find a ton about.
I have done the WB studio tour, though it’s been quite a few years. I really enjoyed it, and we even saw Scott Bakula walking by. You never know who will show up on the lot that day.
I don’t think I even knew there were Disney Studio tours offered!
I loved the Tar Pits when I was a kid, and took my kids probably 10 years ago. Still fun, but I would likely choose WB Studio tour over them.
It looks like it’s limited and maybe seasonal? Right now you have to be a D23 member, can only book 2 tickets for one tour annually and they’re offering 3-4 time slots three days a week. I think that’s why I can’t find much about it
Ok, now to read up on LL for this coast- they left it like original genie+ right? Only I have to be tapped into a park to start booking? I also need to look into how realistic the return times are that touring plans is giving me, like 15-30 minutes out from the time I book for Tiana, BTMRR, IJ and SM?!
Update- currently riding to Anaheim from LAX with Executive Car Service LAX (https://www.executivecarservicelax.com/) they have been awesome. My flight landed 40 minutes early and I immediately had a text from my driver saying he knew I’d landed and to let him know when I was at baggage claim. Pulled up within 3 minutes of me telling him where I was outside. Clean, nice car with water, candy and very professional driver. And well priced compared to others I ran quotes with. Highly recommend!
I hadn’t been on in awhile and saw that when I logged in last night! I’m squeezing in park time around work obligations so I’m only here for the morning today and back Sunday for awhile but I’ll keep my eyes out!
No worries, ultimately I decided that while I might enjoy some of those options, time at Disneyland was my biggest priority. I went this morning from rope drop until noon and did all the rides I wanted- BTMRR, Pirates, HM, IJ, Tiana, Rise, Matterhorn, Space and MMRR. I might’ve enjoyed the studio tour but I’m glad I spent time in the park. Then I’ll head to DCA Sunday after my work event is over.