I used to live in LA (Hollywood proper, literally 2 blocks of Hollywood Blvd. - not recommended). First of all, Disneyland isn't in LA. It's in Anaheim, Orange County which is about 45 minute drive (if you get good traffic) south of LA. It's roughly half way between LA and San Diego.
Since you're going with teenagers and above, you might like
Universal Studios better than Disneyland as it's based more on PG /PG-13 movies than Disney is (such as ET, Back to the Future, and Jurassic Park) and also includes the hokey Universal Studios Backlot tour (Psycho House and Jaws tank - also where, I believe, they shot that scene from Vatman with the dueling Supermen). We used to eat at the Universal Studios City Walk a lot. It's the shopping area outside of the amusement park. We used to take the red-line subway there from Hollywood and go to the bars and restaurants. Very touristy and crowded, but still fun. (I, personally, liked the dueling piano bar... but I'm cheesy in that sort of way).
Disneyland is still fun without little ones, but keep in mind that food is very expensive. Don't think about leaving the park to eat as it's just a waste of time. We went the summer before last with two young kids and enjoyed both the main
Disneyland Park and some aspects of
Disney\'s California Adventure . We ended up spending 2.5 hours in line at the new Cars ride (but it had just opened 10 days before we got there). If you can get FastPasses to any of the rides, get 'em. It lets you speed to the front of the line.
Other DisneyLand Tips . Disney's California Adventure is geared more toward the older kids set. I still love Disney movies (maybe even more so than my kids), so we enjoyed the Main park more. I like the International section, but the Tomorrowland is a bit out of date. I definitely recommend Splash Mountain and the Bear County Mountain (both water rides) if it's hot. Might want to skip them if it's not, because 9 times out of ten, you'll get wet. Parking is expensive ($15, if I'm recalling correctly) at both Disney and Universal Studios (actually, it's expensive everywhere), so if you're staying at one of the Disney hotels, take their shuttle over.
If you're hitting Disneyland during that last week of November, you'll be there during Thanksgiving Holidays (you'd have to check with MouseRocks who'd know better than I, whether the park will even be open on Thanksgiving Day). The school holidays runs from Nov. 27-Dec 1. ALL kids are out of school, so it will mean long lines at the amusement parks. If you end up going that first full week in Dec.
because everyone will be back in school and the lines will be perfect!
Airports, train stations, and stores are going to be major packed on Wednesday and, especially, on Friday of that last week of Nov. as it's the beginning of the holiday shopping season.
If you like art, my husband used to spend many of his days off at
Getty Museum .
If you ever wandering around Southern CA and need a fast quick lunch, my hubby LOVED the fish tacos at
Rubios .
California Pizza Kitchen is a popular sit-down chain restaurant, this time pizza instead of Mexican. I wouldn't say the pizza is the best, as they are known for their off the beaten path toppings, but I have been known to lick clean the plate after one of their Chocolate Lava Cakes.
/much to my husband's embarrassment/
The
Walt Disney Concert Hall is LA's equivalent to the Sydney Opera House.
If you want to catch a classic film shown on the big screen (and are in Hollywood), I recommend the
Egyptian Theatre We saw 'Singing in the Rain' there (among other class films) and it's lots of fun. Also, in the neighborhood are
Mann\'s Chinese Theatre (with the Marilyn Monroe and others' hand prints) is across the street and
Disney\'s El Capitan Theatre , which does both live action and films. We saw 'Pirates of the Caribbean' there and they had an extra exhibit of props from the film. The mall next door to the Chinese Theatre houses the Kodak theatre, which is where they host the Oscars.
Unless you want to spend all day in line waiting and waiting and waiting (or unless someone is absolutely obsessed with a certain sitcom), I wouldn't recommend trying to get in to go see a live taping of a television show. We lived in LA for 3 years and only were able to get in to see a live taping of a live variety comedy TV show we didn't really watch. (Sadly, the line to go see 'That 70's Show' cut us off TWICE within 10-20 people ahead of us.
)
MouseRocks is the best person to ask about LA, because she's lived there more recently than me, and she's closer in age to the "kids" in your group. Plus, I'm guessing here, the "Mouse" in her name is from that 85 y.o. Mouse made famous by Disney.
Have a terrific trip. If I can think of anything else, I'll add it in later. My mind is blanking on me at the moment.
