seeing the Hollywood sign

riostoker

Mouseketeer
Joined
Aug 28, 2012
My plan for our S. Cal. trip was 3 full days in San Diego and 3 full days in Anaheim for DLR/CA, and the travel day between the two could be spent with morning activities in San Diego, or evening in Anaheim, or whatever sounds more fun to us... no set time for the drive.

My tweens are expressing interest in seeing the Hollywood sign... presumably for a selfie on Instagram. :)

I'm trying to figure out how to fit that in. Should we drive straight up to LA from San Diego, take in a few sights there and then back down to Anaheim on that day in between? Or is that too much driving? Should I just take one of our DLR days as morning in the park and then afternoon in LA?

This wasn't part of my initial plan, so I'm having trouble figuring out how to fit it in. While we're doing that, are there a couple other small "must sees" near the Hollywood sign that we should check out at the same time?

And where is the best location for getting a good selfie with the Hollywood sign?

Thanks!!
Ann
 
I don't think that would be too much driving, but that's just me. You can see the Hollywood sign from the Hollywood & Highland Complex where you can also see the Graumans Theater, the Walk of Fame, and the El Capitan.
 
Agree with the above suggestion to stop by the H&H Center. There are many "Hollywoody" things to see there including the Dolby Theater (home of the Oscar ceremony), Walk of Fame out front, Chinese Theater next door, Disney's El Capitan across the street, viewing spot for the Hollywood sign on an upper level, and easily validated parking (any store and customer service will validate for you). All these things can be seen fairly quickly. The Hollywood sign itself is on private property and trespassers can be prosecuted.
 


The hike up to the sign is pretty fun and has some nice views. I'm not sure what a tween selfie is but it sounds dangerous.
 
I took some great photos of the Hollywood sign from the Griffith Observatory. The observatory itself is free and has a great view of LA. I don't know if there's a way to get closer, but the Griffith Observatory is the closest I've ever been to it.
 


There are plenty of areas to get a good shot. But I would definitely plan something in the LA/Hollywood or even Burbank/Universal area to make the trip worthwhile.

But do keep traffic in mind. Weekday rush hour traffic within Hollywood alone is quite hectic. You are better off going on a weekend. If your trip is during the summer, look at the Hollywood Bowl schedule. Avoid the area one-two hours from the start of an event.
 
Thanks for all the advice! I definitely didn't mean going anywhere near it... just going somewhere where they can get a picture with it behind them. The observatory sounds like a great plan... or the H&H center too. Thanks!

We don't have a weekend day we can go, but maybe we could leave San Diego in the morning, hit Hollywood around lunch time and be headed back toward Anaheim before rush hour gets bad on the Tuesday we are going up there.
 
San Diego to LA back to Anaheim is fine..... if you leave SD at 5:30AM, it should only take 2 1/2 hours. BUT it you leave much later it can be a soul grinding 4 hour or more drive. Tell the tweens if they want a Hollywood sign selfie it comes at a cost :)

The Hollywood & Highland Center is the best location for a pic because then you have a bunch of other sights right there.
 

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