Going to the Beach...

Disney_Alli

DIS Veteran
Joined
Nov 4, 2010
On our upcoming Disneyland trip in September my husband and I are travelling with a friend who has never been to California before and really wants to go to a beach and see the Pacific Ocean - which I can totally understand and support! We have set aside the morning of our Halloween Party day to head to the beach. The entire goal of the day is basically see the water and maybe touch it we're not big beach people - and possibly grab In'n'Out on the way back to Disneyland... (unfortunately it's also a Monday) We will have a rental car - and I'll be driving joy of joys.

So now the question: which beach? She kinda wants to see Venice Beach (something about Grand Theft Auto I think :confused3) but has said any beach will do. Is the drive to Venice bad? We're willing to leave reasonably early as our Sunday is also an off day but since it's also a party night we want to be back by 2pm at the latest (12 or 1 preferred) Is Venice doable? How's the parking? Should we go somewhere else since it's only for the morning? I'd really like to make her wish come true since her husband had to cancel his trip but she's said any beach will do if it'll make us too late to take advantage of the party offerings.

THANKS!
 
Since that's your MHP day, I would stick to a more local beach in order to save more energy for the party, especially since I assume you'll want to stay all the way until closing. And that way, you won't run any risk of getting stuck in bad traffic and missing the early entry party hours. How about Huntington Beach? That's in OC, about half an hour from DLR. If you want burgers for lunch, there is a Ruby's Diner (fun, sock hop kind of theme) on the end of the pier for burgers, fries, shakes, etc. Laguna is really nice, too. For Venice, I would try to make that a whole day trip, preferably the first Friday of the month. That way you could see the beach, maybe see Santa Monica, too, since it's so close, have a nice lunch (there are wonderful restaurants in that area!), shop and sightsee, then finish the evening with a food truck crawl on Abbott Kinney in Venice (the first Friday of every month).
 
Since that's your MHP day, I would stick to a more local beach in order to save more energy for the party, especially since I assume you'll want to stay all the way until closing. And that way, you won't run any risk of getting stuck in bad traffic and missing the early entry party hours. How about Huntington Beach? That's in OC, about half an hour from DLR. If you want burgers for lunch, there is a Ruby's Diner (fun, sock hop kind of theme) on the end of the pier for burgers, fries, shakes, etc. Laguna is really nice, too. For Venice, I would try to make that a whole day trip, preferably the first Friday of the month. That way you could see the beach, maybe see Santa Monica, too, since it's so close, have a nice lunch (there are wonderful restaurants in that area!), shop and sightsee, then finish the evening with a food truck crawl on Abbott Kinney in Venice (the first Friday of every month).

We do have 5 day park hoppers so the early hours wouldn't be the end of the world... Huntington sounds great too! I'll run them passed my friend thanks!

Here's where I prove I'm directionally challenged... is Venice Beach closer to Universal Studios Hollywood? We'll be up there Tuesday and expect to be done the park by 3 or 4 pm so could at least swing by on the way back towards DLR... w also plan on stopping at the Observatory on the way home but kinda want to see that area in the evening...
 
... is Venice Beach closer to Universal Studios Hollywood? We'll be up there Tuesday and expect to be done the park by 3 or 4 pm so could at least swing by on the way back towards DLR... w also plan on stopping at the Observatory on the way home but kinda want to see that area in the evening...

Technically, yes. Venice Beach isn't close to USH, but it certainly is closer (at least being in the same county) than it is to DLR. You would hit traffic heading west at 3 or 4 in the afternoon, but you could stop in Venice (maybe hit Beverly Hills on your way west?), see the beach, grab dinner somewhere really fun (like I said before, there's great food out that way!), then head back to DLR after the traffic dies down.
 


We went to Huntington Beach on Saturday (for an event I had planned) and the drive was not bad. I'd been there before, and agree its a nice beach to hang out on and near enough that you're not wasting too much park time. There's a local area there with restaurants where you can grab lunch. Certain days there's a farmers market kind of thing too, all easily walkable.
 
I was going to say Huntington too. I wouldn't want to go all the way to Venice on the morning of the party as it will be too rushed and too much driving. Huntington is closer and has lots of parking and places to eat (and plenty of In-n-Outs on the way to/from).
 


Venice is a nasty drive and even in September you will pay an arm and a leg for parking. I suggest Seal Beach or Newport as well. And you can’t throw a rock without hitting an In N Out around here ;)
 
Venice is a nasty drive and even in September you will pay an arm and a leg for parking. I suggest Seal Beach or Newport as well. And you can’t throw a rock without hitting an In N Out around here ;)

We've decided that final beach decisions will probably be made laying by the Grand Californian pool on Sunday morning but that more than likely we'll hit up Huntington Beach on Monday morning and probably hit Griffith Park and the Observatory area on Tuesday on the way back from Universal - Venice will wait for another time unless we're done incredibly early on Tuesday.
 
We've decided that final beach decisions will probably be made laying by the Grand Californian pool on Sunday morning but that more than likely we'll hit up Huntington Beach on Monday morning and probably hit Griffith Park and the Observatory area on Tuesday on the way back from Universal - Venice will wait for another time unless we're done incredibly early on Tuesday.

Excellent choices! Universal is a blast (though I personally avoid it during the summer...way too hot and sticky), and Griffith Park is fun. I have been told the Observatory parking can be a bit of a challenge, it's been almost 20 years since I was there last so I can't confirm that.
 
Excellent choices! Universal is a blast (though I personally avoid it during the summer...way too hot and sticky), and Griffith Park is fun. I have been told the Observatory parking can be a bit of a challenge, it's been almost 20 years since I was there last so I can't confirm that.

I'm really excited, we did Universal for a day in August 2016 and about died - and Griffith Park/Observatory in December 2013 and struggled with parking but we figure if we see anything on the hill on the way up we'll just park and hike it like last time.
 
Don't forget to visit the carousel in Griffith Park so that you can see where Walt used to take his girls and where he dreamed up the idea for DL. :) If you have time, grab lunch at the Tam O'Shanter restaurant in Los Feliz (not far away from Griffith Park -- maybe 10 minutes?) -- ask to see Walt's table!
 
I'm really excited, we did Universal for a day in August 2016 and about died - and Griffith Park/Observatory in December 2013 and struggled with parking but we figure if we see anything on the hill on the way up we'll just park and hike it like last time.
We just did Griffith Observatory a few weeks ago on a Sunday morning. There was a lot at the bottom of the hill. We were with friends and she didn't think she could make the hike to the top so we got an uber for the 6 of us and he dropped us at the top. Waited maybe 5 minutes and it was $8 for the SUV. Once we were got up there we saw there was a lot with paid parking that had spaces available. We took a public bus back down the hill for 50 cents each.
 
We visited Newport Beach on our DL trip. It was an easy drive with not much traffic. I think we headed out of the GC about 9:30 am or so. Beautiful beach! We went in Oct so it wasn’t hot or crowded at all. We practically had the beach to ourselves.
 
On our upcoming Disneyland trip in September my husband and I are travelling with a friend who has never been to California before and really wants to go to a beach and see the Pacific Ocean - which I can totally understand and support! We have set aside the morning of our Halloween Party day to head to the beach. The entire goal of the day is basically see the water and maybe touch it we're not big beach people - and possibly grab In'n'Out on the way back to Disneyland... (unfortunately it's also a Monday) We will have a rental car - and I'll be driving joy of joys.

So now the question: which beach? She kinda wants to see Venice Beach (something about Grand Theft Auto I think :confused3) but has said any beach will do. Is the drive to Venice bad? We're willing to leave reasonably early as our Sunday is also an off day but since it's also a party night we want to be back by 2pm at the latest (12 or 1 preferred) Is Venice doable? How's the parking? Should we go somewhere else since it's only for the morning? I'd really like to make her wish come true since her husband had to cancel his trip but she's said any beach will do if it'll make us too late to take advantage of the party offerings.

THANKS!

At first I was like, did I write this??? lol

We're also taking a first-timer in Sept, only we're planning on staying on the beach overnight then doing the party that next evening. The plan is Laguna, we've been once before and just loved it! Out of the 3 we visited, we liked Huntington the least. Though it might have been because it was really windy when we went and was pretty chilly. I think I prefer more rocks/mountainy beaches than flat ones, too. If that doesn't matter to you, Huntington should be good!

Hope you have fun! We're getting super excited!
 
At first I was like, did I write this??? lol

We're also taking a first-timer in Sept, only we're planning on staying on the beach overnight then doing the party that next evening. The plan is Laguna, we've been once before and just loved it!

Isn't it funny when that happens? Haha
 

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