I'm going to DisneyLand! (so much for Vandenberg)

[StrandedonEarth]

My family is going to DisneyLand in the first week of June. Can't wait, we've never been there, never been on a "real" touristy vacation, never been that far south. I've flown many times, but my kids haven't, so it'll be fun to see their reaction to that.

I've got my shirt for Disney:

And of course, being a space geek, I have to drag my family on a pilgrimage to see OV-105 Endeavor at the California Science Center, and I have a shirt for that trip too:

Hopefully when I'm driving the rental car to/from CSC I'll find a way to drive past SpaceX HQ in Hawthorne. I know there's no point in stopping there, unless I just want to breathe the air in the foyer, but I could at least see the first recovered booster standing outside.

Now, Vandenberg appears a little too far away for me to be able to visit, not that I really want to just see the facilties. However, I notice that SpaceX has an Iridium launch from Vandy penciled in for June with no actual date set yet. I realize the chance of it actually launching while I'm there is remote, but if it does, then of course I'd really want to go watch, but that just probably won't be in the cards, given the distance.

So my question, for those familiar with the Anaheim/L.A. area, would a launch from Vandenberg (on the slim chance there'll be one) be visible from DisneyLand, or at least from the rooftop lounge of my hotel (Grand Legacy at the Park)? Any other suggestions for my 6-night stay at Disney? I've got Disney, Universal Studios, and CSC on the itinerary.

Edited May 27, 2017 by StrandedonEarth

[rkarmark]

Where did you get those shirts? I want those! 

Also take into account the driving time in la a trip from calefornia science center to downtown (10 km) took me like 45 minutes when i where there 

Else the trip looks awsome i would recommend buying a fast pass at universal studios line is 30-60 min per ride 

Calefornia science center is way more than endeavour. They have 1:1 copies of cassini, viking, and many more plus real apolo, gemeni and mercury capsules plus they have many military planes including the blackbird so spend as much time there as possible 

[StrandedonEarth]

43 minutes ago, rkarmark said:

They have 1:1 copies of cassini, viking, and many more plus real apolo, gemeni and mercury capsules plus they have many military planes including the blackbird so spend as much time there as possible 

I plan to, as long as the wife lets me! The day allotted for CSC is supposed to be our 'rest' day.

[tater]

Our family has been to Disneyland a few times, as it's not that far a flight from New Mexico. Do you have kids?

Driving in LA is a complete nightmare, IMO.

Don't write off maybe seeing a launch... if there is a chance, it would be a shame to miss it. The train from Fullerton station (a few minutes from Disney) to Santa Barbara is only like 1.5 hours.

Nevermind, saw the kids thing now. How old?

[StrandedonEarth]

8 minutes ago, tater said:

Don't write off maybe seeing a launch... if there is a chance, it would be a shame to miss it. The train from Fullerton station (a few minutes from Disney) to Santa Barbara is only like 1.5 hours.

How old?

Hmmm, still 3+ hours out of the day. Time is limited... Decisions, decisions. If I could see it from DisneyLand, I wouldn't completely miss it.

Sons 10 and 13, daughter 20. We parents are 45-46.

 

Edited April 22, 2017 by StrandedonEarth

[tater]

My kids are almost 11, and 13. We actually went last spring. Universal will be good, we have talked about going there---this June, lol. My kids are Harry Potter fanatics, and that opened literally the weekend AFTER we left LA last year.

Keep an eye on the launch schedule---remember it could very well be at NIGHT, which would make the drive far, far better. You could always take a subset of the family that has some interest  .

I really like Disneyland at night, and assuming the kids ar more into rides than fireworks, the lines disappear during the fireworks. Get the disneyland app for your phone. It shows waiting times. Getting to the park before the gates open is also a good idea. You can nail a desired ride first thing with almost no wait, sometimes 2. 

Fullerton station is not far from the park, and there is actually a train in LA. During some crazy traffic, it's actually a time saver, though you are then sans car on the other end---but that's what Uber is for, right? Dunno if it has in-town utility. What we did was go to Disney via an airport shuttle (Grand Californian Hotel), then we rented a car after we were there a couple days. There is a Disney outside shopping mall (loads of food there, too, and a monorail station that you can use to enter the park), and a rental car place is there someplace.

Restaurants in the California Adventure side of the park serve alcohol, BTW, unlike Disneyland proper (if you're going to spend a bunch on dinner, it's nice to at least have a glass of wine or a beer). The rapids ride is good, and the Cars ride was actually really awesome.

Edited April 22, 2017 by tater

[StrandedonEarth]

29 minutes ago, tater said:

Driving in LA is a complete nightmare, IMO.

Yeah, that's one thing I'm not looking forward to, after just looking at maps and directions again.

Does the train go near CSC? I've heard we can rent a car right in our hotel. 

And we've been giving the app a pretty good looking over, gathering recommended supplies, luggage, etc.

You could always take a subset of the family that has some interest  .

Despite my best efforts, I'm not sure just how much space interest I've generated in them. Might help if I tell them that the Falcon 9 is named after the Millennium Falcon...

Edited April 22, 2017 by StrandedonEarth

[tater]

https://disneyland.disney.go.com/guest-services/download-disneyland-mobile-app/

We drove down to legoland one trip, and I remember in returning traffic being thrilled because we were moving at school zone speeds, finally (on the highway, not even in LA quite). My buddy was gonna take us to his shop (special effects) and the 1+ hour drive (from Hawthorne (he lives like one street from where it becomes Manhattan Beach) to Northridge) was just too much for the kids at that point, so we'll do it the next time we are there.

Note that the online map says 32 minutes without traffic for that trip, and an hour 10 minutes with moderate traffic. He said that "moderate" traffic is pretty much all the time, and it can be much worse than the 1 hour trip going to work.

I have to say, the major benefit of going towards VAFB at some point would be to see part of the coast that is actually pretty. We (my wife and I) surprisingly enjoyed Disney---we expected it to be fun to see the kids enjoy it, but ended up just having fun ourselves, full stop.

Edited April 22, 2017 by tater

[rkarmark]

15 hours ago, tater said:

Note that the online map says 32 minutes without traffic 

Yeah i am not from the us so we used offline maps

says 15 minutes takes an hour

So i am a kid and just saying the Harry Potter part in universal studios was sooo cool they build a 1:1 hogsmeade with shops and all (remember extra money) 

 

[tater]

Yeah, my kids really want to go to that. My wife went to the one in Florida when her medical meeting rented it out for a party and said it was pretty cool.

[TheSaint]

Hi, ex-Angeleno here. I will reiterate what others have said here: Do not underestimate Los Angeles traffic. It was bad when I last lived there six years ago, and it has only gotten worse. Rush hour extends well outside of the hours you would normally associate with rush hour. In the morning it starts at about 6:00 and runs until 9:30-10:00. In the afternoon it starts sometime between 2:30-3:00 and runs until about 7:00. You will find that there is rush hour traffic on the weekends as well. For example: Disneyland to Universal Studios, 35 miles up the 5 freeway, you're looking at at least an hour and a half during traffic. That's if there are no accidents. Pack your patience.

I don't know what your normal trip looks like, but if you're looking for ideas for outside-the-park dining or stuff like that, just ask. My wife grew up in North Orange County about 15 minutes away from the park. (Her sister actually worked at the burger joint in Tomorrowland when she was in high school, that's where she met her future husband.) We're back there visiting family at least once a year, so we know the area pretty well. We used to be Disneyland Annual Pass holders, until we had kids and it just got too expensive, haven't been in the park now for about eight years. 

 

[StrandedonEarth]

On 4/22/2017 at 9:29 AM, rkarmark said:

Where did you get those shirts? I want those!

Whoops, didn't notice the question at first.

https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ksp

A little pricey, but lots to choose from.

Edited April 25, 2017 by StrandedonEarth
spellig

[tater]

Post periodically here, if I think of anything else I'll chime in, lol. Heck, I might be in LA in June, myself. If we do, we'd likely do the Universal thing (Harry Potter) one weekend, then head north and spend the rest of the week in San Francisco.

[Galileo]

I'll be at Disney World from May 3th - 10th. I have been a few times but I'm taking my 4yo daughter. It's a pretty surreal feeling when you are taking your kids somewhere you went as a kid. 

[StrandedonEarth]

On 4/24/2017 at 4:01 PM, TheSaint said:

Rush hour extends well outside of the hours you would normally associate with rush hour

I'm from the Greater Vancouver (BC) area, where rush hour starts at 6am and ends at 7pm. I do believe they once said we had the worst traffic on the continent.

For Universal Studios we'll take the shuttle bus, not really "out'n'about" then. The CSC trip (planned for mid-day) is when we'll rent a car, so I welcome suggestions for other stops (or drive-bys), food or otherwise, during that jaunt.

[TheSaint]

41 minutes ago, Galileo said:

I'll be at Disney World from May 3th - 10th. I have been a few times but I'm taking my 4yo daughter. It's a pretty surreal feeling when you are taking your kids somewhere you went as a kid. 

My wife and I have been saying that we were going to hold off on taking the kids to Disney World until they were all tall enough to ride all the rides. And then when Thing #3 went in for her annual checkup this January she was 47-1/2". My wife and I looked at each other and said, "Well, that snuck up on us." I guess we better start saving money for a trip to Florida.

Surreal was this: I went to boot camp, A school, and nuclear power school at the Naval Training Center Orlando back in 1987-88. When my wife and I went back to visit Disneyworld in 2006, the whole base was gone. Just gone. It's all housing developments now. 

37 minutes ago, StrandedonEarth said:

I'm from the Greater Vancouver (BC) area, where rush hour starts at 6am and ends at 7pm. I do believe they once said we had the worst traffic on the continent.

I would be shocked. Because frankly I wouldn't even say that Los Angeles has the worst traffic I've ever seen. I reserve that title for Boston.

37 minutes ago, StrandedonEarth said:

For Universal Studios we'll take the shuttle bus, not really "out'n'about" then. The CSC trip (planned for mid-day) is when we'll rent a car, so I welcome suggestions for other stops (or drive-bys), food or otherwise, during that jaunt.

CSC is more downtown, my days hanging around in downtown were more than thirty years ago in high school when I had buddies going to USC. A lot has changed since then, a lot of the places I went to eat around there are long gone. The Pantry is still there, right up Figueroa, but you might have a hard time getting in there during any normal meal time, we used to go there at like 2:00 in the morning. But it might be worth a shot, it's outstanding diner food. If you want to drive up to the north side of downtown, Philippe is excellent, and historic. The original Tommy's hamburger stand is up at Beverly and Rampart, but that may be an acquired taste. If you want decent Mexican food (and, let's be honest, if you leave Los Angeles without eating decent Mexican food, that's a crime) there's an El Cholo up on Flower St in downtown. Great margaritas. 

At Universal you'll have City Walk right next door, shouldn't have too much trouble finding something decent to eat there, although I doubt it will be much cheaper than eating in the park. Oooh, just saw that they have a Karl Strauss brewery there. I know where I would be. Just sayin'.

It doesn't sound like you're going to have a car while you're in Anaheim, but if you have any opportunity at all, there is a Zankou Chicken right down Ball Road from the park. It's amazing. Those people turn roasted chicken into a controlled substance. From looking at their website, I guess they've teamed up with one of these online delivery sites now. So if you're sitting around in your hotel room and you're sick of soggy park food, that's my best recommendation for you.

[StrandedonEarth]

11 minutes ago, TheSaint said:

I would be shocked. Because frankly I wouldn't even say that Los Angeles has the worst traffic I've ever seen. I reserve that title for Boston

I stand corrected, I saw that ranking calling Vancouver the worst many years ago, but Vancouver currently ranks fourth on the continent, behind Mexico City, LA, and SF. But we've opened a couple of new bridges and a highway in the last five-ten years, which has helped those areas a lot; it was much worse. It used to be pretty bad (hour+ lineup at crawling speed) trying to cross the Fraser River on the #1 (Trans-Canada) Highway until they replaced the old Port Mann bridge with a ten-lane bridge along with a few new spaghetti-bowls of interchanges. Boston ranks 15th, the Big Dig project probably helped that.

Nonetheless, driving in LA will be.... interesting. Four lane roads (per direction) or wider are a rarity up here. I'm not really interested in driving in LA more than I have to. CSC will be worth it tho.

We don't really plan on eating much actual park food, just hitting the restaurants around it. I'll certainly keep your recommendations in mind.

[TheSaint]

8 minutes ago, StrandedonEarth said:

Boston ranks 15th, the Big Dig project probably helped that.

I will believe that when I see it. Trying to get somewhere in Boston was one of the most traumatic driving events in my life.

8 minutes ago, StrandedonEarth said:

Nonetheless, driving in LA will be.... interesting. Four lane roads (per direction) or wider are a rarity up here. I'm not really interested in driving in LA more than I have to. CSC will be worth it tho.

We don't really plan on eating much actual park food, just hitting the restaurants around it. I'll certainly keep your recommendations in mind.

My wife and I were putting our heads together, and we really can't come up with any really good recommendations for dining right in the area around the park there. It's serious Chain Restaurant Hell. McCormick & Schmick's is good, but it's kinda high-end pricey. There's a Mimi's Cafe up on Harbor, that's beating the average. I can think of all sorts of places that are nice and pricey: Catal, Napa Rose, Morton's, Ruth's Chris. Lunch with kids is tough.

[tater]

Regarding food, I have to say I love me a Monte Christo sandwich in the park.  (and I grow my own kale, lol)

[Benjamin Kerman]

Make sure you hit the following rides in Disneyland: 

• Hyperspace Mountain
• the Matterhorn
• Indiana jones
• its a small world
• the tiki room
• pirates of the Caribbean
• Haunted mansion
• star tours
• Big thunder mountain railroad

Learn how to use fast passes!!! When you get into the park, go straight to hyperspace mountain and get a fast pass for it. It will give you the time that you can get another, and go do some other things. Keep getting fast passes for the different rides as soon as it says to can. Small world, tiki, pirates, and haunted are fun things who's lines aren't too long. In a good day, you should be able to get through this list.

if you have any more questions, just ask. I live ~30 minutes from Disneyland, so I can give you the pro tips  

Dont bother getting the popcorn, wait for meals. I highly suggest getting soup in a bread bowl for dinner one day, from the small place near Pirates (it is as you are walking towards it from the main park). Get either the Clam Chowder or the Steak Gumbo. Getting a reservation a couple of days in advance for the Blue Bayou is also recommended. High end restaurant, but amazing food. 

When you go to the tiki room, make sure to get some Dole pineapple whip. There is a secret line in the back, go around into the tiki waiting area and look to the right. There is a line that you can go into, and it is usually a lot shorter then the outside one. 

Edited May 1, 2017 by Benjamin Kerman

[NSEP]

I have been there once in Paris! Great fun! The place is beatifull.

[Benjamin Kerman]

@StrandedonEarth remember to get some in-n-out when ur here!

[munlander1]

3 hours ago, Benjamin Kerman said:

@StrandedonEarth remember to get some in-n-out when ur here!

If I am ever over there, that is the first thing I will get. 

[TheSaint]

3 hours ago, Benjamin Kerman said:

@StrandedonEarth remember to get some in-n-out when ur here!

Don't get me wrong: I really like In-N-Out. I was raised on it. There was one within walking distance of my house growing up. The fact that the town we moved to in Arizona had an In-N-Out is really nice, I eat lunch there probably every other week. But, for destination eateries for tourists visiting Southern California, I actually put it pretty far down the list. It's a really good burger, but there isn't anything particularly unique about it. Most people can get a really good burger in their home towns, either at a regional chain or a local joint. The individual In-N-Out restaurants aren't particularly historic or noteworthy. Even the original Baldwin Park location is just another restaurant next to the corporate headquarters now. I don't think a trip there would be disappointing, the food is great. But I think that if someone is asking for a classic Southern California dining experience, especially if they have limited opportunities, there are lots of places I would send them before In-N-Out.

If someone were to ask me for a unique Southern California fast-food burger experience I would send them to Tommy's, especially the original shack down at Beverly and Rampart. That's a burger that you can't get anywhere else, in a historic location that has been preserved. But that would be with lots of caveats, because I know that even in SoCal Tommy's can be polarizing. Everyone either loves it or hates it.

[StrandedonEarth]

Thanks for the options guys. I certainly have a good list of eateries to choose from now. I know we have dinner reservations at at least two places, pretty sure the Rainforest Cafe is one of them. My wife is looking forward to Goofy's Kitchen for some reason. 

I see that the Iridium launch from Vandy has been slotted in for late June, so that's off the table now. But I am still wondering if it would have been visible from a decent vantage point near MickeyMouseLand. I assume it would just be a streak on the horizon, not even audible (especially over the noise of Disney)

29 days until we lock the doors and head for the airport hotel, then stay the night followed by a short shuttle to the airport in the morning!

Edited May 4, 2017 by StrandedonEarth