Planning a trip in mid-Dec to LA. Plan to land early in the AM and go directly to Knots Berry Farm or Universal Studios for the day. Then make our way through Angeles National Forest for a hike or two (perhaps skip this), and then head to Joshua Tree NP for a day. On our way back, we'll hit Knots or Universal...whichever we didn't do before. Thinking 3-4 nights overall for the trip.

Any other recommendations? Have two boys, age 10 and 12. We'll have a car and will be flying into LAX. Decided not to do Disneyland, as we've recently hit Disney World pretty thoroughly and figured it would be a lot of the same.

Joshua NP worth it? Is it worth stopping anywhere in between for nature sites? Anything else worthwhile in LA? Warner Bros studio? Are fast passes a must at these parks not to be miserable (will avoid Sat/Sun)? Trying to figure out all the driving logistics and best route plan, I am sure it will be a nightmare and factor in on what we may want to try and visit.

Thanks!

It's a couple of hours from LA, but my kids liked the big Legoland California.

ETA- it's been several years since we went, but friends of ours have younger kids and they went recently and really enjoyed themselves. Combined Legoland with a trip to San Diego Zoo.

I thought it was worth it to do a couple short hikes in JNP and I had low expectations. The northern half of the park is very other worldly with all of the rock formations and Joshua Trees as far as the eye can see. We got in as early as we could to avoid the heat and I think that helped a lot. We did the Hidden Valley trail and the Cholla Cactus Garden (very short but cool).

We juxtaposed JNP with an afternoon trip up the tramway in Palm Springs which was pretty awesome. The tram rotates 360 degrees and at the top you are basically in legit mountain forest which was really cool after having been in the desert just an hour earlier.

We also did the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library which was worthwhile. Amazing location and the Air Force 1 plane was awesome to see.

Six Flag Magic Mountain has a ton of insane coasters if you want more after Knotts.

We just did this trip for 5 days and had one of our best trips ever. Everyone agreed that it was too short though.

Couple thoughts...

Almost all rental cars are EVs. No big deal, but be prepared and you gotta be prepared to charge them. Use fast chargers, the normal ones are horrible.

We stayed in Malibu, which was one of the most incredible places I have ever stayed. The lagoon, Point Zuma, just incredible. Nobu is fantastic, Dukes sucks. Watched seals every morning from the patio, watched sunset every night over the ocean.

For Universal the fast pass is OK, but the VIP tour is the way to go. It is expensive but they literally walk you past every line and every person and put you on the front seat of every ride. The rides aren't that great. Nintendo world is incredible. Harry Potter world is insane. Butter beer is the nastiest thing I have ever tasted. Some rides have 3 hours lines for a 30 second ride. With fast pass you probably wait 15 minutes for the 30 second ride. Flight of the Hippogriff had a 180 minute wait for normal lines and lasted maybe 20 seconds. I couldn't imagine the disappointment had I waited in line A lot of rides use screens combined with motion and they make you crazy sick.

On the VIP they also feed you really good food and take you onto sound stages. With the actors strike you get to go everywhere since no one is shooting. VIP is 500-600 a person but you will do everything in one day. Literally everything.

I would skip Josh Tree. Nothing wrong with it, just so many better closer options.

Traffic was never a problem, we never felt unsafe, no human waste, people were cool as hell. The only negative at all was that the wind hadn't blown in weeks and there was a lot of smog. That and the EV made me range nervous. Ended up being no big deal.

How did you come to find that most rental cars were electric? That does not comport with any experience I have ever had at any airport anywhere.

I searched multiple different weeks and weekends at LAX and generally found around 350 options
available, with about a dozen of them being electric.

Just went there last weekend to take my son to look at schools. I thought the city of LA was an absolute hellhole. Once you get in your car, you are a prisoner. Worst traffic anywhere. Everyone smells like weed, especially in Hollywood. The only thing I enjoyed about the weekend was going to the Griffith Observatory. A truly beautiful Observatory with a stunning, commanding view down at LA and Hollywood.
Rented a car and it was a gas car. No problems finding gas stations. That being said, you will pay through the nose for gas. It's California.
I'm hoping my son doesn't want to go to school there, it would make visiting him hard to stomach.
View of hellhole from Griffith Observatory

Santa Monica Pier at night (Devil's Lettuce smells sold separately)

You forgot to comment about the tents and RVs

avoid Hollywood like the plague. worst tourist attraction in the country.

Griffith Observatory, Santa Monica, any of the studios are all worth visiting IMO

steve00 said:

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How did you come to find that most rental cars were electric? That does not comport with any experience I have ever had at any airport anywhere.

I searched multiple different weeks and weekends at LAX and generally found around 350 options
available, with about a dozen of them being electric.

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Just happened. I rented a BMW 5 series and they didn't have any. Offered me a Tesla 3 which I declined. I said I hadn't ever owned an EV and they said they had almost no gas cars anymore. Offered me a genesis EV and I took it.

Maybe other places have more gas cars, just my experience.

Really hate to be that guy, but why? So many other better options in CA than LA. I'd spend the vast majority out in Joshua Tree & Palm Springs based on your itinerary. Be sure to get in the park at night to see the stars. But honestly go a bit further south to San Diego and the surrounding area.

Love the travel board and that someone will always suggest you just completely scrap your trip

Joshua Tree I think is worth it. Was supposed to go last winter, but a bad storm hit and ruined our plans. AllTrails has a lot of trail for Joshua Tree and you can find something for your family's level.

My kids enjoyed California Science Center. Has space shuttle endeavour in it.
Lots of sports as well, might want to hit up a game your kids might like?

Took my 14 & 15 year olds to LA this summer.
Loved Griffith Observatory, loved Malibu, loved Bel Air, liked the Rose Bowl & Pasadena
The UCLA campus was fantastic. Pepperdine campus is amazing. There is nothing to see in Hollywood that you can't drive through in your car and take a quick gander.
Yes, on the electric cars. We rented at Hertz LAX and I was nervous to take an EV without knowing anything about charging options. I wish I would have tried it as there were charging stations everywhere.

TXCityGirl said:

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Took my 14 & 15 year olds to LA this summer.
Loved Griffith Observatory, loved Malibu, loved Bel Air, liked the Rose Bowl & Pasadena
The UCLA campus was fantastic. Pepperdine campus is amazing. There is nothing to see in Hollywood that you can't drive through in your car and take a quick gander.
Yes, on the electric cars. We rented at Hertz LAX and I was nervous to take an EV without knowing anything about charging options. I wish I would have tried it as there were charging stations everywhere.

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Pepperdine is a nice campus with an amazing view. I used to do a lot of work out there in their IT department and one of the fun things was taking those guys out to lunch at places like Coogie's, Escobar's and Marmalade Cafe. Always loads of celebs to be seen.

I do take issue with your drive through of Hollywood though.
You can't really get the full sights and smells experience without getting out and walking the streets of Hollywood.

If you don't feel unsafe and disgusted, you haven't really done Hollywood properly.

knoxtom said:

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We just did this trip for 5 days and had one of our best trips ever. Everyone agreed that it was too short though.

Couple thoughts...

Almost all rental cars are EVs. No big deal, but be prepared and you gotta be prepared to charge them. Use fast chargers, the normal ones are horrible.

We stayed in Malibu, which was one of the most incredible places I have ever stayed. The lagoon, Point Zuma, just incredible. Nobu is fantastic, Dukes sucks. Watched seals every morning from the patio, watched sunset every night over the ocean.

For Universal the fast pass is OK, but the VIP tour is the way to go. It is expensive but they literally walk you past every line and every person and put you on the front seat of every ride. The rides aren't that great. Nintendo world is incredible. Harry Potter world is insane. Butter beer is the nastiest thing I have ever tasted. Some rides have 3 hours lines for a 30 second ride. With fast pass you probably wait 15 minutes for the 30 second ride. Flight of the Hippogriff had a 180 minute wait for normal lines and lasted maybe 20 seconds. I couldn't imagine the disappointment had I waited in line A lot of rides use screens combined with motion and they make you crazy sick.

On the VIP they also feed you really good food and take you onto sound stages. With the actors strike you get to go everywhere since no one is shooting. VIP is 500-600 a person but you will do everything in one day. Literally everything.

I would skip Josh Tree. Nothing wrong with it, just so many better closer options.

Traffic was never a problem, we never felt unsafe, no human waste, people were cool as hell. The only negative at all was that the wind hadn't blown in weeks and there was a lot of smog. That and the EV made me range nervous. Ended up being no big deal.

---

Where did you stay in Malibu? Youngest kid and I are doing a California coast trip next summer and checking out schools on the way. Pepperdine is on his list of schools to visit, so I'd like to find a good place to stay in Malibu.

murphyag said:

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knoxtom said:

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We just did this trip for 5 days and had one of our best trips ever. Everyone agreed that it was too short though.

Couple thoughts...

Almost all rental cars are EVs. No big deal, but be prepared and you gotta be prepared to charge them. Use fast chargers, the normal ones are horrible.

We stayed in Malibu, which was one of the most incredible places I have ever stayed. The lagoon, Point Zuma, just incredible. Nobu is fantastic, Dukes sucks. Watched seals every morning from the patio, watched sunset every night over the ocean.

For Universal the fast pass is OK, but the VIP tour is the way to go. It is expensive but they literally walk you past every line and every person and put you on the front seat of every ride. The rides aren't that great. Nintendo world is incredible. Harry Potter world is insane. Butter beer is the nastiest thing I have ever tasted. Some rides have 3 hours lines for a 30 second ride. With fast pass you probably wait 15 minutes for the 30 second ride. Flight of the Hippogriff had a 180 minute wait for normal lines and lasted maybe 20 seconds. I couldn't imagine the disappointment had I waited in line A lot of rides use screens combined with motion and they make you crazy sick.

On the VIP they also feed you really good food and take you onto sound stages. With the actors strike you get to go everywhere since no one is shooting. VIP is 500-600 a person but you will do everything in one day. Literally everything.

I would skip Josh Tree. Nothing wrong with it, just so many better closer options.

Traffic was never a problem, we never felt unsafe, no human waste, people were cool as hell. The only negative at all was that the wind hadn't blown in weeks and there was a lot of smog. That and the EV made me range nervous. Ended up being no big deal.

---

Where did you stay in Malibu? Youngest kid and I are doing a California coast trip next summer and checking out schools on the way. Pepperdine is on his list of schools to visit, so I'd like to find a good place to stay in Malibu.

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Vrbo about a mile or two from pepperdine

knoxtom said:

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murphyag said:

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knoxtom said:

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We just did this trip for 5 days and had one of our best trips ever. Everyone agreed that it was too short though.

Couple thoughts...

Almost all rental cars are EVs. No big deal, but be prepared and you gotta be prepared to charge them. Use fast chargers, the normal ones are horrible.

We stayed in Malibu, which was one of the most incredible places I have ever stayed. The lagoon, Point Zuma, just incredible. Nobu is fantastic, Dukes sucks. Watched seals every morning from the patio, watched sunset every night over the ocean.

For Universal the fast pass is OK, but the VIP tour is the way to go. It is expensive but they literally walk you past every line and every person and put you on the front seat of every ride. The rides aren't that great. Nintendo world is incredible. Harry Potter world is insane. Butter beer is the nastiest thing I have ever tasted. Some rides have 3 hours lines for a 30 second ride. With fast pass you probably wait 15 minutes for the 30 second ride. Flight of the Hippogriff had a 180 minute wait for normal lines and lasted maybe 20 seconds. I couldn't imagine the disappointment had I waited in line A lot of rides use screens combined with motion and they make you crazy sick.

On the VIP they also feed you really good food and take you onto sound stages. With the actors strike you get to go everywhere since no one is shooting. VIP is 500-600 a person but you will do everything in one day. Literally everything.

I would skip Josh Tree. Nothing wrong with it, just so many better closer options.

Traffic was never a problem, we never felt unsafe, no human waste, people were cool as hell. The only negative at all was that the wind hadn't blown in weeks and there was a lot of smog. That and the EV made me range nervous. Ended up being no big deal.

---

Where did you stay in Malibu? Youngest kid and I are doing a California coast trip next summer and checking out schools on the way. Pepperdine is on his list of schools to visit, so I'd like to find a good place to stay in Malibu.

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Vrbo about a mile or two from pepperdine

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Thanks! I'll get on there and start looking around.

HollywoodBQ said:

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TXCityGirl said:

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Took my 14 & 15 year olds to LA this summer.
Loved Griffith Observatory, loved Malibu, loved Bel Air, liked the Rose Bowl & Pasadena
The UCLA campus was fantastic. Pepperdine campus is amazing. There is nothing to see in Hollywood that you can't drive through in your car and take a quick gander.
Yes, on the electric cars. We rented at Hertz LAX and I was nervous to take an EV without knowing anything about charging options. I wish I would have tried it as there were charging stations everywhere.

---

Pepperdine is a nice campus with an amazing view. I used to do a lot of work out there in their IT department and one of the fun things was taking those guys out to lunch at places like Coogie's, Escobar's and Marmalade Cafe. Always loads of celebs to be seen.

I do take issue with your drive through of Hollywood though.
You can't really get the full sights and smells experience without getting out and walking the streets of Hollywood.

If you don't feel unsafe and disgusted, you haven't really done Hollywood properly.

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We just looked at USC and UCLA. Two very different areas of town, obviously. USC offers national merit kids a 50% scholarship, so I thought it was worth looking at. UCLA was just nice to see.
We definitely did park and walk along the strip in Hollywood. That was probably where the smells were the worst. My son, who is 17, was approached by a stoned and probably drunk woman soliciting a good time. Really great stuff.

Perfect!

If you decide to head North and look at Stanford or Berkeley, I recommend The Tenderloin, The Castro and of course The Haight.

UCLA in Westwood isn't too bad but USC is in the hood.

Sounds like the only thing you missed out on was a protest.

HollywoodBQ said:

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Perfect!

If you decide to head North and look at Stanford or Berkeley, I recommend The Tenderloin, The Castro and of course The Haight.
UCLA in Westwood isn't too bad but USC is in the hood.

Sounds like the only thing you missed out on was a protest.

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Thanks. I've been to California a bunch of times. My favorite is 17-Mile Drive, Pebble Beach (played the course twice and visited a few others) and Big Sur area. We won't apply to any other CA schools. He still wants to apply to USC, but thankfully he realizes the out of state sticker price for the state schools doesn't really make sense. I'm not kidding about hoping he doesn't end up at University of Spoiled Children, but if it ends up being where he gets accepted and wants to go, it really is a first rate school. I'll hold my nose and stroke the checks.

ETA: at least Haight-Ashbury has some cool history to go along with it. Only place I've been where, at every visit, someone has approached me to either buy or sell drugs.

My youngest looked at 7 schools and SC was one of them. Since we were living in Australia, we were out of state everywhere.

I paid handsomely to send her to VMI. The Ratline at VMI was the best thing for her. From my perspective, expensive but worth it. I'm sure you'll feel the same way about SC if that's what winds up happening.

After our SC campus tour during the day, we went to Whisky a Go Go that evening and saw Michael Schenker. It was a really great trip.

This video was taken from right in front of where we were standing and I'm sad to report, that version of LA doesn't exist anymore.

Is Whiskey A Go Go gone, gone?

Funny

Whisky a Go Go is still in business but honestly, they're struggling, even with $9 beers.

I've been there a few times since California reopened bars last year but it's just not the same. There's a fraction of the people there and only sells out when somebody like Def Leppard is playing.

It's tragic but... basically where LA is at today. Things have been so bad that we were driving out to Montclair in San Bernardino County just to see acts like ABC, Berlin, Dokken, etc.

I'd skip Angeles National Forest hike outright, and book a cabin in Idyllwild for a day or two. Hiking can be done out there and it's a chill experience that I shoot for once a year.

The theme parks are booty. Though the kids may enjoy Knott's, but you won't. It's legit Lord of the Flies, no one over the age of 18.

Best theme park is Magic Mountain, but you may brown your underoos on some of those rides.

Avoid Hollywood, check out the Pasadena (San Gabriel Valley Area), only "part" of this desolate wasteland that I enjoy.

Highly recommend both Getty Museums and the Huntington Gardens. Fwiw