Hi guys,
Bought the LA return ticket with Fiji Air (from my own post here https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/303441)
I will only be in LA for 4-5 days with a friend and will be going to Mexico after. First time in both countries.
Current very rough plans:
27/10 Arriving LA 1.25pm: Not sure what to do.
28/10-29/10 Disneyland and maybe Universal studio. Enough?
30/10 - Disneyland, flight to Cancun leaving at 11PM, wise to bring luggages and leave them in theme park's lockers??
Is 1 day Disneyland enough? I saw there's a jumpthequeue ticket or some sort, what is it for and is it worth it?
27/10 and 28/10 are weekend so I expect the theme parks to be very crowded especially given it's Halloween.
No accomodations booked yet and very open for any suggestions, the cheaper the better (preferrably not too far from the places to go).
Anywhere to buy cheaper theme parks tickets?
I know I need to do a lot more research.
30/11 11 pm leaving to Mexico.
Flying back to LA 21/11, arriving 12pm and only flying out 9.40pm (anything worth to do or better wait at the airport?
Any tips appreciated.
We just got back from L.A last week and I lived there for 3 years- you really will need a car to get around as the city is so vast.
By the time you get out of LAX it will be afternoon, so I'd probably get a room or Airbnb near Hollywood (yes it's touristy, so go once and never return!), hit the sights, have dinner at the Farmer's Market or at the Cheesecake Factory in the Grove and drive the Sunset Strip.
The advantage of staying near Hollywood is that you can then get to Universal Studios easily the next day. We used www.reservelosangeles.com to buy Universal tickets- all above board but we did have to call them in person as we were using an overseas credit card to pay. I hate queues so walking past everyone is worth the extra to me- it was $178USD for Front-of-line passes with early entry for Easter Sunday, but they were charging $249USD at the gate! They will also have some Halloween 'Fright Night' events that will be great fun, but will bring in the crowds for your dates. Hit up the Citywalk in the evening and grab a maple bacon bar from Voodoo Donut!
I would skip Disneyland on such a short trip TBH- it's a fair hike down to Anaheim and you do need 2 full days to see both parks. But if you do go, get a room on a Disney property so you get early admission, then use the single rider lines and Fastpasses to your advantage. They will also store your bags for you. But leave plenty of time to get back to LAX for your flight as traffic can be BAD.
Instead you could spend the next two days in L.A visiting Santa Monica, Venice Beach, Beverly Hills, Downtown etc, seeing a band, watching a baseball/basketball game, shopping, eating tacos etc. We had a great time just driving PCH to Malibu and stopping at Duke's and Paradise Cove for lunch/swims.
L.A is full of hidden gems and can be any kind of holiday you want, really- we had me and hubby, my 70 year old mother, a 9 year old and a 4 year old and we all had a ball!