Los Angels, California
LaQuinta Hotel
We spent a week at the LaQuinta Hotel by LAX. It was under construction so there was no restaurant available in the hotel. They did provide a bagged breakfast. I believe it was only from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. We chose not to utilize that. The hotel was very nice. You needed to ask if you wanted it cleaned or needed anything. I chose not to take any shampoos, or soap/bodywash so we needed to request more twice during our stay. Everyone was very friendly and helpful.
Day 1 – Travel Day. We left home around 5:30 a.m. to travel to Philadelphia Airport. We parked at Smart Park, and they took us to our departure gate. We traveled with a carry-on and personal item only so we could skip right to security. We had a layover in Denver. I loved that airport. Everyone was friendly, and the next gate was easy to find. We arrived at LAX and then LaQuinta around 3:30 p.m. California time (Note: this is 3 hours behind Pennsylvania). We checked into the hotel and unpacked. We then took an Uber to the Hard Rock Café’ (located on Hollywood Boulevard). It was only a matter of seconds to realize that Hollywood Blvd. is just like Times Square in New York City. What I mean by that is you have people coming up to you trying to give you stuff (for a donation of course) and of course people dressed up as different characters. We ate at Hard Rock Café’ and got an Uber back to the hotel. We were tired after traveling for so many hours.
Day 2 – We got up early and grabbed an Uber to take us to Hollywood Blvd. We had 3-day tickets for the double decker bus. The bus only started running at 10:00 a.m. so we had lots of time to walk down the Blvd. and look at the Walk of Fame Hollywood Stars. Early morning is a good time to do that as there are not a lot of people which allow you to take pictures of any stars you may want. The double decker bus has 3 routes. We chose the red route first; our plan was to ride it the entire time first and then decide where we wanted to get off and sight see. We sat on the top level so we could check out the city. Which was really a fantastic way to see everything. It was a bit chilly as it was very windy outside. We got off the bus when it returned to the starting point. We were able to go to a few shops before we returned to the hotel by way of Uber.
Day 3 – Left a bit later to get the double decker bus at Hollywood Blvd. This time we did the purple route. Once again, we stayed on the entire route, as we really didn’t see anything that we wished to get off and explore. When we returned to Hollywood Blvd., we were able to get an Uber to Universal City Walk. We walked around there for a bit, went into a bunch of shops and ate at Margaritaville. We then returned to our hotel via Uber.
Day 4 – After getting an Uber to Hollywood Blvd. we went to Mel’s Drive Inn (this was featured in the move American Graffiti). This had to be the most expensive breakfast ever. My son had a burrito, orange juice and fruit. I had an English muffin and hot chocolate. With the tip my bill was $50.00. Once again, we got on the double-decker bus. We tried to get off at Chinatown however the bus driver didn’t wait long enough for us to make our way to the exit door, so we ended up getting off the bus at the next stop and walking to Chinatown. Chinatown was a bit disappointing in that there were a few cute things to purchase but nothing I could transport home easily. There was a pastry shop where I was able to get an éclair that was good, there was also a pizza place where we had pizza and fries. We then boarded the double decker bus and proceeded to Laker’s Stadium for a car show that was currently going on. If you are into cars this is a must do if the event is taking place while you are visiting Los Angeles. Admission was only $25.00 a person and we spent quite a few hours there. There was a guy from West Coast Customs there and you would be able to get your photo taken with him and autographs free of charge. Of course there was merchandise to purchase. After that we took an Uber back to our hotel and got Panda Express using Uber Eats. I got 2 orders of Beef and Broccoli and Fried Rice. There was barely enough of my order to feed one person. I was very disappointed with the portions provided. I am not sure if it was because it was delivered or if that is what the sizes provide you in their facility.
Day 5 – We went to Universal Studios City Walk via Uber. We walked around and did some shopping. We had big milkshakes. And ate at Bubba Gump’s. We had a lot of free time, so we went to see Red One in the movie theater. After the movie we went to do IFly. I had pre purchased tickets for my son to take part in this. He had a blast. After that we took an Uber back to the hotel.
Day 6 – We had tickets to do Warner Bros Studio Tour. We had to go there by way of Uber. This was a lot of fun. The Tickets I purchased included food. Once we entered the studio, they took us into a room where they had snacks and drinks. They told us we could take as much as you wanted. Then we watched a short video before the bus tour. They allowed us to take photos but no videos. If they were filming something you were not permitted to take any photos. We were then dropped you off at the Museum where the Central Perk restaurant is (this is the little café from Friends). We then walked through the Museum and took lots of photos. We also took advantage of the photos that their staff took of us. Which we purchased. From there we had lunch which consisted of pizza and chips. caprese sandwich, cupcake and sodas. From there we got another bus to take us to return to the main building which is where we started. Before leaving we checked out the store and the studio. Because we wanted to see Rodeo Drive, we took an Uber there. We were able to walk around just to say we were there. We then proceeded to IN and OUT Burger via Uber. The food was very good, I recommend checking it out if you are ever in Los Angeles. Once again back to the hotel via Uber.
Day 7 – We got an Uber to Pink’s Hotdogs. They had to be the biggest and best hotdogs I have ever seen or had. I couldn’t even figure out how to pick it up to eat it! Afterwards we walked back to Hollywood Blvd. as we had a lot of free time. We had tickets for the TMZ Tour. The bus was having technical difficulties, so they gave us an option of refunding our money or going on the next tour. We opted for the next tour. They gave us a free tee shirt for the inconvenience. We thoroughly enjoyed this tour. We didn’t see any celebrities and honestly, I wasn’t expecting to, but it was a really good time. We also had tickets for the night tour. It ended up being cold that evening, but we still had lots of fun. The tour bus takes you up to Griffith Observatory where you can see the city at night. We took photos then went inside to warm up. It’s a big museum/planetarium. Some portions are free, some do cost money. We saw only the free parts. You are left there for 45 minutes before they come back to pick you up. After returning to Hollywood Blvd., we got an Uber back to the hotel. Once again, we did Uber Eats and got Jack in the Box. Which was was very good.
Day 8 – This was our last full day in Los Angeles. I had pre purchased tickets for Universal Studios. We arrived there early so I paid for Early Access. I had Purchased the Express Pass (one time for each ride). We were there on Thanksgiving Day and figured it might be very busy. The Early Access only gets you into Mario World. You can pay extra to get a wristband and do a lot more in Mario World than we did. This would be perfect for a Mario fan. The ride was fun. It was like you are in the Mario Kart video game. Mario and a few other rides, mainly adult or older kid rides are on the lower level. There are 3 or 4 escalators to get to the lower level. We rode the Transformer ride and Mummy ride. We loved them both. From there we went to the upper level and had drinks and soft pretzels before the studio tour. That is about an hour and is a must do. If you purchase VIP tickets, you will be able to do than we were able to do. Even though we did not have VIP tickets it was one of the best tours we took on this trip. We did the upper level these rides which were basically for younger children. Even though these rides were for the young ones we still rode them all. They were cute. From there we went back to the Jurassic Park water ride on the lower level which was very cool. We then proceeded to the Jurassic Park restaurant, for my son to get something to eat. The price wasn’t that bad considering the amount of food he received. We also went to the Water World Show. Which was awesome. You do not just get wet you get soaked if you are green seats, which is where we sat. I ate at Wicked, again not too badly priced for food I received. The Harry Potter rides were ok, not really what I expected. One was for younger kids, and one was for older kids. Unfortunately, it was so crowded in that section that you couldn’t move so we were not able to get into any of the shops or get to try the butterbeer drink. Overall, I was extremely disappointed with Universal Studios as we were through seeing everything by 5:30 p.m. and that was us taking our time and not rushing through it. We then returned to the hotel via Uber as we needed to pack to come home the next day.
Day 9 – Traveling day home. LaQuinta Hotel offers a free shuttle service to the airport. Thank goodness we were ready earlier then I intended as we waited almost 45 mines for the shuttle to get us and take us to the LAX Airport. LAX Airport wasn’t bad at all. We had landed early in Chicago (thank goodness). We had an hour and forty-five min. layover. I asked a staff member how to get to the next gate. We ended up getting lost as the signs were very small and confusing. Because of this we had to go back through security. The security staff were very rude. I ended up having to sign up for Clear so that we could skip to the front of the line and not miss our plane. This cost me an additional $199.00 which I hadn’t planned on. Once we finally got through all this mess, we made it to our departure gate with 30 min. to spare. We arrived in Philadelphia Airport around 9:30 p.m. I called and got the Smart Park bus to come get us to take us directly to our car and from there we headed for home.
Overall thoughts. No matter where you stay, if it says it’s a 20-minute drive it will take at least an hour to get anywhere. Unlike New York City you really can’t walk anywhere. I wasn’t prepared to spend as much money on Ubers as we did. Depending on the time-of-day Uber rides ranged from $21. to $78. to go to/from the same spots. The food was not as expensive as I expected, which was a nice surprise. Pre-purchasing tickets for our activities before we went was extremely helpful. I purchased the LA Car Show tickets and Night Tour tickets while we were there as it was suggested to us by one of our Uber drivers. Universal Studios was somewhat of a disappointment as there were not as many rides as I expected. The Studio Tour was very cool but in my opinion the park was overpriced for what it offered.
I would go to Los Angeles again but would go during a different season. Because it was cold we didn’t get to do any of the beaches.
As far as flying goes, we loved United Airlines. All but one of our flights had movies we could watch with headphones they gave you on the flight. I will, however, never fly into Chicago again if it is a connecting flight. That airport is a hot mess, and everyone was very rude!