Must Do ?

Were travelling to LA as part of a multi centre America Holiday for my 21st Birthday (Going to NYC and Orlando after) Just want the absolute must dos while were there as we have been to New York and Orlando but LA is new to us.

So far we have decided on Six Flags Magic Mountain, San Diego Zoo, 2 days in Universal Hollywood 2 days in Disney and maybe Knotts Berry farm? We like theme parks but also want sight seeing to. We will have a car and are staying at the Sheraton Hollywood. and staying for 14 nights.

Must Do ?

Please take a look at our FAQs at the top of the LA Forums - within you%26#39;ll find What to Do and you%26#39;ll find sample itineraries.

Must Do ?

What time of year will you be visiting?

You only need one day at Universal - you can do and see everything especially if you get there early. Universal Hollywood and Universal Orlando are very different. Hollywood has the back lot tour but only a handful of rides, whereas Florida has a lot of rides and no back lot tour. You may want to consider doing the WB Tour if you are interested in Hollywood and t.v. shows.

I would take a day and visit the beach - maybe Santa Monica and Venice Beach.

Also realize that San Diego Zoo will be a good 2 1/2 hour drive without traffic.

Have a wonderful trip.

I%26#39;m assuming you mean the Sheraton Universal in Universal City.

If it%26#39;s possible to stay in San Diego for one night, that would be helpful since the drive will take a minimum of 2-1/2 hours each way (longer if you drive between 6:00 and 9:00 or between 15:00 and 19:00. Besides, if you are going to San Diego, you should visit Seaworld and that%26#39;s hard to do on the same day as the Zoo unless you start very early with your drive and drive back very late. The other option is to stay in Anaheim (for Disneyland for a couple of nights. This way, when you drive back from your long day in San Diego, you%26#39;ll only need to drive part of the way (to Anaheim) rather than all of the way back to Universal.

As you%26#39;ll see in our FAQs section under ITINERARY IDEAS, we have some great beaches in L.A. (as well as in Orange County between DL and San Diego like Laguna Beach, for example.

If you like coasters then you will enjoy Six Flags and Knotts Berry. Allocate one day for Disney and Universal.

Also try the beaches such as Laguna or Newport beach.

hi,

i totally agree to not just staying in hollywood for the 2 weeks.

you can stay in la for 1 week, and drive down to orange county/anaheim for disneyland and stay for 3 days (i would suggest the 2 or 3 day park-hopper at disneyland to tour both disneyland and california adventure, if you want) , then drive down to san diego and stay for another 3 days (to see seaworld, san diego zoo and the city, etc.). you can go to knott berrry farm too while in orange county but i think after going to magic mountain, you will find this park too tame. it%26#39;s very cute though and younger, less thrill-seeking kids will like it better than magic mountain.

whatever you do, avoid the theme parks as much as possible on the weekends - you can do your shopping/sight -seeing then.

never ever buy those park tickets at full price in the parks itself. there are discounts everywhere! example, magic mountain discounts for 10$off even on cans of coke, etc. the hotel lobbies usually have brochures with coupons in them. also, you are better off buying the southern california city pass - i know aaa has them, - right now, they can be had for 236$ adult - and it includes 3 day disneyland park hopper, 1 day universal, 1 day seaworld, and 1 day san diego zoo OR san diego wild animal park admissions-- all to be done in 14 days of the first day of use, which i think is perfect for you...ask your hotel concierge for those, is you don%26#39;t have aaa.

have fun!!

Six Flags Magic Mountain is $59.99 at the gate, but they even sell tickets on there own website for $39.99, so always worth checking that one out aswell ( www.sixflags.com/magicmountain )

Universal you can do in a couple of hours, even on a busy summerday. Deffinatly plan an entire day for Magic Mountain, the park is HUGE and has a hilly terrain, so there will be a lot of walking involved(you will still have a blast there, i am sure) Not to miss rides: X, Tatsu, Riddlers Revenge, Goliath, Deja Vu(you can use the single riders line for Deja Vu and not wait in line for an hour+)

Thanks for the info great help,, were going in beggining of August so asumed the parks will be very busy thats why we allocated more days to them. How busy will they be that time, obviously with having gone to orlando we know how bad they can be in summer ! is there one park particulary busier than other?

Yes its the Sheraton right by universal. We realise the San Diego trip will be long so we were thinking of just getting a motel for the night, Holiday Inn or something and driving back the next day, Would it be a problem to do that?

Disneyland will be crowded any day of the week in August. For Six Flags, Universal Studios and Knott%26#39;s Berry Farm, it%26#39;s best if you can go on a weekday. Actually, if you are going to Orlando, you might want to skip a couple of the theme parks.

cali, you%26#39;re right - i missed that - if xivicx, you%26#39;re going to orlando anyway, you can do the much bigger disneyland there. they also have a universal, and i think another six flags park there. also the seaworld. orlando does not have the disneyland california adventure and the knotts berry farm and the san diego zoo /or wild animal park . you%26#39;re lucky to be have the time and the money to go to all these places in one trip!

going to sd for one night is exhausting, but doable. once you%26#39;re in san diego though you will realize that it%26#39;s a beautiful place with much to see (the balboa park museums and coronado are great!), you would definitely want to stay longer. the area called hotel circle have cheaper chain hotels. also, once you realize the traffic and the distances involved, if you are doing disneyland and knotts berry you will be wanting to stay in orange county/anaheim for that leg of the trip..

Weve been to Orlando before so know about the parks there, just doing the same ones in LA to have a look! Theres no six flags in Orlando and Iv had a look at there site and the rides look amazing! We were going to skip sea world in san diego and spend minimal time in disney as theres only 2 parks.

Thanks to whoever mentioned the warner brothers tour that looks really good.