Need help from the California folks..

[snakeyes]

My family (my wife and 13yo daughter)and I are traveling to California in august and trying to put together an itinerary. We are going to be in Hollywood for the first 4days w/no car. We are staying at Renaissance Hollywood. Plans are Grauman's Chinese theater, walk of fame, universal Studios. Is there anything else i should see or do in the Hollywood/LA area honestly dint know much about it.
The next 4 days will be at Disneyland, staying on property we will have a car at this point and usually go to Disney world so expect us to blow through the parks and have plenty of time for exploring other things. So any suggestions for these days are needed as well. Also would San Francisco be a day trip?
The final 4 days are in San Diego we plan on doing Sea World the Zoo and relaxing at the hotel staying at Coronado resort. We will still have the car at this point.
So basically just looking for suggestions on cool stuff to do. Also food suggestions from Taco stands to sit down dinners. So Rather than go on * to late* I'll wait for some responses before saying anymore.
Thanks for any input you can give.
Jake

[persisting1]

I usually recommend Graman's and the walk of fame as a half day thing. You'll see why when you get there. Not having a car in L.A. is very hard to do. To be honest, I wouldn't suggest doing Hollywood without a car. That part of Los Angeles isn't really the nicest part of the city. It really needs to be cleaned up. Also, Hollywood is where dreams come to die :wink:

Some fun things to do:

The Getty Museum. Free world class museums are always a plus.
http://www.getty.edu/museum/

Olvera Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It's like Mexico, but without the drug wars.
http://www.olvera-street.com/html/olvera_street.html

Disney Concert Hall in Downtown Los Angeles. Might be able to see a cheap show.
http://www.laphil.com/philpedia/wdch-overview.cfm

La Brea Tar Pits Museum.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Brea_Tar_Pits

LACMA. It's right next to the Tar Pits so you might as well make a day of it.
http://www.lacma.org/about/AboutLACMA.aspx

Santa Monica Pier.
http://www.santamonicapier.org/

Hollywood Forever Cemetery. You can go hang out with Rudolph Valentino and Cecil B. DeMille.
http://cemeterytour.com/

The Hollywood Bowl. This is a great way to end your day. You can find some really cheap seats at an evening show. You're allowed to take food and wine, so pack a nice picnic and enjoy the show.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_Bowl
http://www.hollywoodbowl.com/

Walking Tours: Never done one, but I've heard they're good.
http://www.laconservancy.org/tours/tours_main.php4

[dvenardos]

LA to San Francisco is around 350 miles. :)

Also would San Francisco be a day trip?

[snakeyes]

Thanks for the responses so far.
persisting1 would you suggest i stay somewhere else in hollywood/LA? I had considered staying in a hotel closer to Universal but im not sure. I guess i will just rent a car for my hollywood days as well.
Still looking for food ideas as well.

[persisting1]

Unfortunately, you really do need a car in LA.

One of the best things about LA is the food. I'm busy today, but I'll give you some places to eat this weekend.

[Sparky14]

OK, I'll try to give some ideas for the southern leg.....

Disneyland is a 1 1/2 day park. In August it will probably be fairly crowded, so you might even need 2 days. Disney California Adventure is a 1 day park.

For the one remaining day in the area, if you are on an amusement park binge, Knott's Berry Farm isn't far away. Otherwise, I'd hit the beach at Huntington Beach.

As far as San Diego goes, the Zoo and Seaworld are a given. The Wild Animal Park is also impressive. Those will all take the full day, the Zoo could even take 2. Balboa Park (which is also where the zoo is) has many museums and a cute international culture area, which makes for a fun day. Downtown has the Gaslamp district, with very trendy restaurants. Not far from downtown is "Old Town", which is the original settlement turned into a tourist area with many good restaurants as well.