A Californian's Guide to Southern California

[Jeremiah]

Roscoe's was amazing - El Pollo Loco was the worst food i've ever had. Glad our hotel had 2 bathrooms

[cet]

I leave on Sunday for a week in LA (3 days in Disney and 4 around Santa Monica).

Thanks for the tip about the Garmin. I have one so I will update it and take it down.

[Zephyr]

Originally posted by cet
I leave on Sunday for a week in LA (3 days in Disney and 4 around Santa Monica).

Thanks for the tip about the Garmin. I have one so I will update it and take it down.

FYI Santa Monica has one of the highest sales tax rate in the state. 10.25%, just started April 1st.

[taemo]

out of curiosity but why are there lots of cars that gets to drive without license plates?

Also, please add the radio station KDAY93.5 on the list, old school hip-hop radio station.

[Thaco]

Originally posted by taemo
[B]out of curiosity but why are there lots of cars that gets to drive without license plates?

Also, please add the radio station KDAY93.5 on the list, old school hip-hop radio station. [B]

Down there the plate belongs to the car (not the driver like it does here), so for the first few months they don't have a plate because the car is new and the plate has not arrived yet.

[Jlude]

Originally posted by Thaco


Down there the plate belongs to the car (not the driver like it does here), so for the first few months they don't have a plate because the car is new and the plate has not arrived yet.

I drove for three months without a plate - even a few road trips to Calgary and one beyond summer cruise without a plate.

[Zephyr]

Originally posted by Thaco


Down there the plate belongs to the car (not the driver like it does here), so for the first few months they don't have a plate because the car is new and the plate has not arrived yet.

Yup, and some new car owners dont even put their plate on for months or years after they buy the car. Mainly because cops seem to be lazier when they see a car with paper plates. But if you do get pulled over, usually that piece of paper on the window that the dealer sticks on will show an expiration date and when the driver should of gotten new plates. Also the police system will show as well, and it's a nice fat ticket.

[lint]

Any tips on where to stay around Disneyland that's not one of the Disney hotels? Family trip with my kids (2 and 4) so we'd like to be close enough to walk ideally.

[cet]

I was down there at the end of May and we stayed at the Ramada Maingate. It wasn't bad, just your typical lower budget motel. Most of the rooms have supposedly been renovated in the last year. Ours wasn't but even then, it was clean, just a bit old and dated.

They offer a continental breakfast every morning which consisted of cereal, pastries, toast, and hard boiled eggs which had the consistency of vulcanized rubber, weirdest eggs I've ever had. The one huge issue with the breakfast is where they serve it. It's basically a hall way with counters on either side. If you get there and there are more than about 3 or 4 people you end up all being in each other's way. The breakfast room opens on to the pool deck where there are a few tables. However, if it is raining like it was when we were there you'll likely end up getting your stuff and heading back to your room. You can use the tray that the ise bucket is on to help you carry stuff.

It was really close to the park, about a 5-10 min walk from the hotel to the gates. and was one of the higher reviewed places on tripadvisor when I was looking to book somewhere. I would stay there again if I wasn't staying at one of the Disney hotels.

[flipstah]

Where's the best spot/website to rent a house in SoCal? I need to find a week's accomodation for 6.

[Zephyr]

Originally posted by flipstah
Where's the best spot/website to rent a house in SoCal? I need to find a week's accomodation for 6.

Budget?

[flipstah]

Originally posted by Zephyr


Budget?

2-2.5k for a week? Reasonable?

[Zephyr]

Originally posted by flipstah


2-2.5k for a week? Reasonable?

Check craigslist for Chino Hills, Brea, Fullerton, Costa Mesa, Walnut. These are good areas.

[PD77]

Originally posted by lint
Any tips on where to stay around Disneyland that's not one of the Disney hotels? Family trip with my kids (2 and 4) so we'd like to be close enough to walk ideally.

We stayed at the Red Lion, it was under 10 minutes to the Disneyland gates and it was a pretty decent hotel. There wasn't a continental breakfast but you could purchase one for $8 which had all kinds of hot food, or there was an IHOP right next door.

[Modelexis]

You didn't mention carpool lanes OP.

[flipstah]

My trip in SoCal/Vegas was so much fun! If you're going in a big group, definitely rent a house; cheaper and a shitstorm is more likely than 2/3 hotel rooms (i.e. downing 100 McNuggets for $20(!) with $2 white wine at 3AM)

Some restaurants we loved in LA:

- Hodori
1001 S Vermont Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90006

24 hour Korean food! DELICIOUS!

- Katsuya Hollywood
6300 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028

Fair priced, great servings, and celebrities frequent the place! We saw Turk from Scrubs and got a pic with him!

- Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles
All over LA

Two great things combined for an epic meal.

I can write detailed reviews if anyone fancies but right now, those are my top 3 for affordable and tasteworthy eats!

[Stunt66]

Just got back from LA last week and this thread helped me out a ton so thanks for all the info Zephyr.

One thing to add is the airport shuttle services. We booked one and decided to google it afterwards and sure enough it was the worst reviewed shuttle service of them all. We tried pretty much every other shuttle service and they were all poorly reviewed, a lot of people had shuttles that didnt show up and ended up missing their flights. We ended up taking a cab which cost the same as the shuttle(only because there was no traffic). We still got charged for the shuttle even though we cancelled and had to call my credit card company because the shuttle company doesnt accept calls from canada and they don't reply to emails. The shuttle company is 24-7 Ride.

[hurrdurr]

How does Rally's compare to In-N-Out?

[Gorilla]

Going down in January, Where would you recommend staying


New port Beach, Balboa Is, Santa Monica? Going to disney for 2 days, rest just hanging out around the costal areas

[Jlude]

Headed to LA for a week - mostly business, but hoping to catch the Lakers/Clippers preseason game and also trying to see a hockey game.