One of my favorite topics about Disney is what to do outside of Disney! Because there is so much more to do in Orlando or Anaheim that just come to the parks and leave! This time, our Disney adventure took us into the areas around Los Angeles!
Our first side trip was the Orange County Beach Bus Tour! The OC Beach Bus Tour is a tour is provided by Anaheim Tour Company and is an excursion that you can add on to your Disneyland Package. Your Travel With The Magic Specialist can do this for you!
We loved it! We had less than 12 people on our bus, but it could be as many as 25: Still a small tour.
You have the opportunity to visit 3 distinct beaches: Laguna, Newport and Huntington. Laguna is scenic tour with a photo op stop only, and Newport and Huntington are 3 hour stops each. Newport is a beautiful city with great places for stopping, taking a guided boat tour or whale watching. Huntington Beach is the premier site for surfers. We loved watching the surfers and waves pounding the beach. We had plenty of time to eat on the pier, play in the water, lay in the sand and just people watch.
The bus driver is always with the bus, and you can leave anything you don’t want to drag around with you with him. Be sure and bring your towel, wear your beach clothes and prepare to relax!
The tour is $42 for adults and $29 for children. It leaves at 8:30am, and you return by 6pm. Pickup is at your Disney resort or Good Neighbor Resort! Very easy and convenient.
Our second side trip was to explore Los Angeles and the surrounding area. This journey required a rental car – which is super easy at Disneyland! Alamo rental is located in Downtown Disney and was very easy to get in and out of. The cars are actually located in the self-parking lot at the Grand Californian Hotel.
Once we had our car, we were off to explore! Our first stop was Griffith Park. Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains, in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park covers 4,310 acres of land, making it one of the largest urban parks in North America. The best starting point is to park at the Observatory.
The Observatory makes a great place to start with access to rest rooms, water fountains and a café. There are several trails to hit from the Observatory, even one that will take you to a photo op with the Hollywood sign! Don’t forget to tour the Observatory, too! It has lots of information and lookout points to enjoy.
After a morning of hiking, we set off to find the nearest In-N-Out Burger! We ended up eating at one on Sunset Boulevard!
And since we were so close, we stopped at the La Brea Tar Pits to tour the pits and exhibits before heading back to the Resort.
It was well worth our time and money to explore Los Angeles! If you would love to try these experiences or more, let me know, I’d be glad to help! sylvia@travelwiththemagic.com
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