Member Webhead has put together a great list of information for those of you planning on visiting California. Please feel free to add to the list:
www.sandiego.org 1-800-4sandiego Get a Fun Book here. Coupons.etc.
www.legoland.com
Can Always head to Venice Beach and just people watch, eat, rent bikes or skates and enjoy the unusual people. Bike or walk over to the Santa Monica Pier and enjoy the arcades, etc.
Griffith Park, close to Burbank and Universal Studios:
Gene Autry Museum of Western Heritage
http://www.southwestmuseum.org/
Griffith Park Pony Rides
Los Feliz Boulevard and Riverside Drive, Los Angeles
323-664-3266
Docile, slightly less docile or even less docile, but bigger
Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round
Los Feliz Boulevard and Riverside Drive, Los Angeles
323-665-3051
An old-fashioned art deco carousel.

At Universal Studios there is a section adjacent called Universal City Walk. You can spend the rest of the time there and eat lunch/dinner, shop.
1000 Universal Center Drive, Universal City
818-622-4455
Pick your choice of entertainment from this elevated, safe, neon-lit strip of restaurants, shops and movie theaters
You can play in their arcade area....lots of the latest video games, MultiPlex movie theater, etc.

This is very close to Universal Studios and Burbank:
http://www.hollywoodandhighland.com
You can always go to Hollywood Blvd and See Mann's Chinese Theater and the Walk of Fame. Souvenirs are cheapest there. T-Shirts 2 and 3 dollars.

The Disney Store is across the street next door to the El Capitan Theater; Lilo and Stich should be playing by the time you arrive.
www.elcapitantickets.com

Kodak Theater...They have Blues Clues (not sure what age your kids are)

Can get tickets at a booth out front for live tv show tapings.

http://www.calendarlive.com/top/1,1...LATimes-Guide-X!ArticleDetail-6651,00.html

If it is in your budget (tickets from $10.00-$100.00) for the Lion King Live StageShow on Hollywood Blvd. Pantages Theater.
www.lionkingla.com

Can walk down Melrose Avenue between La Brea Avenue and Fairfax Avenues...Trendy area to people watch and see STUFF

Long Beach, Aquarium of the Pacific, has a new Shark Exhibit
http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/
100 Aquarium Way, Long Beach
562-590-3100
This is home to 550 species in 17 habitats
That area has a section near the beach to walk and sit and eat.
The Queen Mary is near there.

Long Beach has Murder Mystery Riverboat Cruise.
1-888-833-4893
www.killerentertainment.com

Cabrillo Marine Aquarium
http://www.calendarlive.com/top/1,1...LATimes-Guide-X!PlaceDetail-5944,00.html
3720 Stephen White Drive, San Pedro
310-548-7562
Cabrillo Marine Aquarium offers great indoor entertainment and education for kids on Christmas vacation.
At Exposition Park, Near USC, south of Downtown L.A.

Natural History Museum
http://www.nhm.org/index.html
Afro-American Museum
http://www.caam.ca.gov/
Rose Gardens
Imax Theater (right now it has Tom Cruise narrating the space station) 1-213-744-7400
California Science Center
http://www.casciencectr.org/

Food: Sizzler Restaurants-all you can eat salad bar--$6 or 7$ per person. McDonald's. Kentucky Fried Chicken.

at www.calendarlive.com you can click on an interactive calendar for the date you will be in the L.A. area and it will give you a listing of interesting things to do.l

Can be in the audience of live tv show taping:
www.tvtix.com
www.tvtickets.com
Can go to one or more of the museums in town:
Wilshire Blvd/Fairfax Area
Petersen Automotive Museum
http://www.petersen.org/
Page Museum of the La Brea Tar Pits
http://www.tarpits.org/
LA County Museum of Art
http://www.lacma.org/
Carole & Barry Kaye Museum Of Miniatures

Can Eat at Farmer's Market which is a few blocks up the street at 3rd and Fairfax.

CBS Television City
7800 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles
323-575-2345
Located on land that was formerly Gilmore Ranch, CBS is right next door to the legendary Farmer's Market.
Cost of food, minimal...your choice.

Can Attend a professional baseball game:
LA Dodgers
Dodger Family Pack
4 tickets, 4 Farmer John Hot Dogs,
4 Cokes, and a Parking Pass for
$39.00
323-224-1-HIT
www.dodgers.com
California(Anaheim) Angels
http://www.angelsbaseball.com/
San Diego Padres
http://padres.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/sd...sd_homepage.jsp

Wringling Brothers Circus is coming to town, you can check if it is during your trip:
http://www.ringling.com/schedule/index.asp
Orange County:
Medieval Times
Buena Park
$27-$40
Medieval Times
7662 Beach Blvd, Buena Park
(800) 899-6600
The Skinny
Located within the touristy area around Knott's Berry Farm, Medieval Times transports you back to a middle- age tournament and feast. Cheer for your knight as he battles opponents, as you chow down on your medieval chicken dinner without a fork or knife.
Hours
Shows nightly, usually between 5 p.m.-8 p.m.; 2 p.m.-8 p.m. weekends.
Call for exact show times. Reservations recommended
Bowers Kidseum
http://www.calendarlive.com/top/1,1...LATimes-Guide-X!PlaceDetail-7020,00.html
1802 N. Main St., Santa Ana
714-480-1520
The Kidseum is a hands-on cultural center.
Adventure City
10120 S. Beach Blvd., Anaheim
714-236-9300
This clean little, 2-acre theme park, located in the Hobby City Complex, is perfect for children ages 1 to 9. The colorful city scene facades throughout resemble storybook illustrations
June 28-September 1: Sawdust Art Festival, 935 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach. Artist exhibitions, art education, food and entertainment. 10 a.m.-10 p.m. daily. One day tickets: $2 children, $6.50 adults. Season pass: $12. (949) 494-3030.
http://www.myoc.com/entertainment/amusements/
Venue
City
Price range
Balboa Fun Zone
Balboa
(Newport Beach)
Free
The Block of Orange
Orange
Free
Crystal Cathedral
Garden Grove
Free
Discovery Science Center
Santa Ana
$8.50-$11
Disneyland
Anaheim
$33-$43
Disney's California Adventure
Anaheim
$33-$43
Downtown Disney
Anaheim
Free
Fullerton Arboretum
Fullerton
Donation
Irvine Spectrum Center
Irvine
Free
Knott's Berry Farm
Buena Park
$30-$40
Knott's Soak City USA
Buena Park
Call
The Lab Anti-Mall
Costa Mesa
Free
Legoland
Carlsbad
$33-$39
Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific
Long Beach
$10-$17
Medieval Times
Buena Park
$27-$40
Mission San Juan Capistrano
San Juan Capistrano
$4-$6
Movieland Wax Museum
Buena Park
$7-$13
Queen Mary
Long Beach
$17-$19
Palace Park
Irvine
Varies
Santa Ana Zoo
Santa Ana
$2-$4
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor
Valencia
$15-$22
Six Flags Magic Mountain
Valencia
$22-$43
Universal Studios
Universal City
$33-$43
Wild Rivers
Irvine
$13-$25
http://www.myoc.com/entertainment/a...mmer/index.html
http://www.calendarlive.com/top/1,1...LATimes-Guide-X!Front,00.html
http://www.california.worldweb.com/ http://www.at-la.com/@la-tour.htm http://www.ca.gov/state/portal/myca_homepage.jsp http://www.hm-usa.com/states/ca.html
http://ads.myoc.com/coupons/
http://www.myochomeconnection.com/ (get online coupons to print)
Visiting South California? Wondering what to do? Visit http://www.calendarlive.com/

Thanks again to Member Webhead for this excellent post!!!

Hi mcleaderjulie

I noticed that you have Lion King down for the Pantages. The Producers are playing there now through the fall.
http://www.producersonbroadway.com/flash.html

The show is Fantastic ! I never knew Martin Short could sing, he has a great voice I highly recommend it

Chicago the Musical starts tomorrow 1/07/04
http://www.razorgator.com/shopsearch...-1-0-0-0-2-212

Here a coupon for $5 off Queen Mary Tour. One coupon per person.

http://www.queenmary.com/html/discount.php4

For families looking for more things to do with little one Knott's Berry Farm has a lot to offer. Here is an article in my newspaper today.

Saturday, July 19, 2003
Kids' best friend
Knott's Camp Snoopy, a park-within-a-park for youngsters, turns 20.

By JUDY CHIA HUI HSU
The Orange County Register


BUENA PARK – Kids love meeting Snoopy - even after 20 years.

"It's nice, 'cause we haven't seen Snoopy on TV for a while," Arianna Rios, a 12-year-old from Liberty Lake, Wash., said after she had her photo taken with Charlie Brown's mischievous beagle.

Arianna and her family visited Knott's Berry Farm this week and became part of Camp Snoopy's 20th anniversary party.

Back in July 1983, Knott's was among the first to build an area within an existing amusement park exclusively for young children. Based on Charles Schulz's beloved "Peanuts" characters, the 6-acre Camp Snoopy, with more than 20 rides and attractions, became a successful model followed not only by Ohio-based Cedar Fair, the theme-park operator that years later would buy Knott's, but also by competitors, including Walt Disney Co.

Disney created Mickey's Toon Town, a child-size play area within Disneyland, about 10 years after Camp Snoopy was built. In October, Disney opened A Bug's Land, based on the hit movie "A Bug's Life," at its California Adventure park.

Like Camp Snoopy, A Bug's Land was created as a response to guests who wanted more for parents and their children to do together. "I think it probably broadened the appeal of the park," Disney spokesman John McClintock said.

Over the years, Camp Snoopy has evolved. This year, Knott's opened the Camp Snoopy Theater, a child-size amphitheater that seats 200.

"Camp Snoopy is one of the nicest things that Knott's does for our guests," said Charles Bradshaw, the park's entertainment director.

THE Concept spreads

Camp Snoopy and the Peanuts gang helped Knott's attract about 3.6 million visitors last year, which makes it the 14th-most popular theme park in the nation, according to Amusement Business.

A PROFILE OF CAMP SNOOPY
• When the 6-acre area opened in 1983, it became the park’s fourth themed area

• Design: The Knott’s Berry Farm Design and Planning team modeled the area on the High Sierras of California.
• Based on: Charles Schulz’s “Peanuts” gang

•Original rides: Flying Ace Balloon Race, Grand Sierra Scenic Railroad, High Sierra Ferris Wheel, Huff ’n’ Puff, Red Baron Timberline Twister and Walter K. Steamboat.

• Two other original rides – Tubs of Fun and Beagle Ballroom – have been removed


Richard Harris, an amusement-park consultant from Yorba Linda, was working at Knott's before Camp Snoopy opened. "At that point Knott's really didn't have a lot to offer for kids," Harris said, adding that the few rides and attractions tailored to youngsters were scattered throughout the 160-acre property.

Cedar Fair, which bought Knott's six years ago, continues to invest in the Camp Snoopy concept, perhaps because the Buena Park landmark is the most popular of the company's six properties. For the past three years, Knott's has surpassed the other Cedar Fair parks in attendance, Amusement Business reported. Cedar Fair, which recently reported first-quarter revenue of $21 million, operates five Camp Snoopys around the country.

"Cedar Point is synonymous with Snoopy," said Jack Falfas, general manager of the company's West Coast operations.

But the value of Camp Snoopy clearly extends beyond the park's signature wooden roller coaster.

"You notice that, not just out in Knott's Berry Farm, that Snoopy's on the logos and on the name tags of our other parks," Falfas said.

Still popular

Snoopy turns 53 this year, but, like the rest of the late Charles Schulz's characters at Camp Snoopy, he remains youthful in the eyes of visiting children and adults.

"It springs eternal because the market is always renewing itself, because there's always a new generation of 3-year-olds coming in," said Carolyn Kehler, a senior vice president of marketing for Cedar Fair.

Knott's has licensed the "Peanuts" characters since 1983, contributing to the Schulz estate's annual income of $28 million from the characters, Forbes magazine said.

Schulz's daughter, Jill Schulz, who has worked at Knott's in various managerial capacities for almost 20 years, said that she has the unspoken responsibility of overseeing the overalluse of the Peanuts property at Knott's.

"Now that I have kids, I actually enjoy Camp Snoopy for the rides, because it's hard to find rides that you can actually take your young kids on," she said.

For Renée Rios, Arianna's aunt, Camp Snoopy is just good fun.

"It's for the kids," she said. "They enjoy Snoopy, and I grew up on Snoopy."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www2.ocregister.com/ocrweb/oc...month=7&day=19

You can book and print tickets online for live TV show tapings in Southern California.

www.tvtickets.com

Knott's cuts Kid's fares to $12.95

Tuesday, January 6, 2004
Theme park makes bold discount move
Knott's Berry Farm pares price for kids to $12.95, lowest gate charge since 1992.

By MICHELE HIMMELBERG
The Orange County Register


Tis the season for price adjustments at theme parks, and this year local families, like the Chavezes in Santa Ana, can benefit from a bold price reduction at Knott's Berry Farm and a two-for-one deal at Disneyland.

After years of regular price increases in the industry, Knott's permanently reduced a child's ticket to $12.95 on Monday. That's the lowest posted gate price for children since 1992, and a huge drop from the 2003 price of $33.

Knott's offers the lowest children's price of any Southern California theme park. The regular adult price remains $43.

The Disneyland Resort will introduce a new version of its Resident's Salute today, offering residents of Southern California and Baja California a $47 pass good for one day at Disneyland and one day at Disney's California Adventure. Normally, adults pay $47 for one park.

Restrictions apply, but Patricia and Mike Chavez are eager to explore the deals. They bought three annual passes to use at Knott's in 2003, and were planning to renew them this year. But their budget got squeezed when Patricia, a student, had to spend several hundred dollars for entrance exams and materials.

"Money got a little tight this year," she said. "But we want to look at it again because my 12-year-old really likes Knott's, and we have a 5-year-old who loves Camp Snoopy."

Theme-park fans can expect another year of aggressive discounting in 2004 as the industry continues to recover from a tourism slump, experts said. The economy is finally creating jobs again, but it's growing slowly and tourists still have some fears about traveling and being in large crowds.

"Discounts give people an incentive to get out there," said James Zoltak, senior editor at Amusement Business, an industry trade magazine. "People sitting at home aren't going to buy any corn dogs."

Zoltak called the Knott's price reduction a "calculated move" to compete with the Disney parks.

"They have to be real nimble and respond to the competitive situation that they are in constantly," he said.

The pricing strategy allows Knott's to hold onto its image as a family destination, attracting young children as well as teens who have been coming for the newer thrill rides. Knott's upgraded Camp Snoopy last year and will open a Lucy's Tugboat attraction there this spring.

"This tells our guests that it's a park for families of all ages, and they don't need coupons to get the child discount," said Susan Tierney, a Knott's spokeswoman.

Disney typically raises its admission prices at this time of year, but officials declined to talk about any proposed price increases.

Spokesman Bob Tucker said the Resident's Salute is geared to loyal visitors in the area. The 2-for-1 offer requires guests to attend the first park on the day of purchase, and the second park in the next 30 days, until April 30. For details, call (714) 781-4565 or see www.disneyland.com.

Admission generates roughly 50 percent of revenues for theme parks, supplemented by parking fees, concessions and merchandise.

"The buzz in the industry right now is that front-gate prices are at or near their peak," said Dave Schmitt, a principal at Management Resources Inc., a Tustin theme- park consulting company. "Every single park, large or small, has to be looking at alternative strategies."

Steady price increases in the past decade have stirred more discussion about alternative pricing, such as a twilight ticket that would cut admission prices later in the day. Another option is pay-as-you-go, a system allowing visitors to pay only for attractions they select.

Theme parks are also turning to some pricing strategies that airlines and hotels use to generate maximum revenues, said Jim Burke, dean of the Collins School of Hospitality Management at Cal Poly Pomona.

"If you're half-full on a Tuesday, you never get to sell that space again," Burke said. "So if you look at discounting as a way to sell space that is going vacant, and if you get even half the revenue you would normally get, you're ahead."

Theme parks adjust by season, rather than by day of the week. Attendance typically falls off after New Year's Day and doesn't pick up again until the spring when children get school vacations. The goal for theme parks is to attract local residents during this slow period with promotions, and maintain - or increase - the regular price.

"The problem is, if you discount too much, people will never be willing to pay full price," Burke said. "They'll always see it as on sale."

I'll post this here so it doesn't get lost. This is a good deal for those in California or visiting.

I'm in NYC so I haven't used this program, but I do use a similar one. Get tickets to events for half-price or less. Some even free.

http://www.goldstarevents.com

Santa Ana Zoo??

Wow, when I was a kid, it was called Prentiss Park!!

Amber
CO

Thanks a bunch My kids are going to LA to stay with my mom and brother (new to area) while my husband & I go to Hawaii!! I already saved all the info for the trip!! Thanks again!!

__________________
Carolyn
At the Jersey Shore

LA: La Brea Tar Pits
Farmer's Market downtown
Hollywood Wax Museum
Graumans (wow, forgot HOW it's spelled!!!) Chinese theater (where all the stars' footprint/handprints are) Mailibu, Santa Monica Pier and their outdoor walking Mall, Museum of Intolerance

OC: Beaches - Laguna off Emerald Drive, my fav!!! Huntington or Newport Dunes (enclosed beach for the kddies with a huge whale in the middle!!! Safe!) ... San Clemente, lots of walk around and see, and Mexico is a mere hour away for a fun day of shopping and LOTS of walking! Dland, Knott's, tons of great places and chain restaurants to eat at. Wax Museum in Buena Park, Medievel Times Dinner and Playhouse.. kids will LOVE the sounds and sights and eating with your fingers is a REQUIREMENT!!!!

No CAL: Redwoods - Sequia and Kings National Parks.. AWESOME place, the smells, sights and quiet! Sacramento, the capital .. quieter up North.. tons of farmlands up near Yuba Coutny: KIWI trees, peaches, plums, etc.. lots of rich old history, the original pioneer graves you can see u there.. old fashioned stores and streets. Monterey Bay Aquarium, Fisherman's Whaf (GREAT FOOD!!!!!)

amber
born and raised Anaheim, CA 1961-1999