LAX driving time -- Help needed

[one cruiseaholic]

Help!

We are arriving at LAX at 10:30am and have tickets to the Leno Show at 3:30 on a Friday, then staying at the Westin in Downtown LAX. Can anyone tell me how much travel time it will take to get from LAX to the NBC studios to the Westin Downtown?

 

Thanks for any help.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Help!

We are arriving at LAX at 10:30am and have tickets to the Leno Show at 3:30 on a Friday, then staying at the Westin in Downtown LAX. Can anyone tell me how much travel time it will take to get from LAX to the NBC studios to the Westin Downtown?

 

Thanks for any help.

 

Boy, you're going to be doing a lot of travelling. Jay Leno tapes his show in Burbank, which is up in the Valley. So you'll be going up the 405 to the 101 East, which turns into the 134 (stay on the left hand side if you're driving). 3:30pm is actually the time they want you to be in the line at NBC. They'll let people in at some point (and just because you have a ticket, doesn't guarantee you a seat as they give away more tickets to ensure a full house). You can possibly be there til 5:30 or 6:30 easily (haven't been to a Tonight show taping since Johnny was hosting, but have been to other shows). Then you'll be heading downtown :eek: . During rush hour traffic, no less, hopefully it'll all be going the opposite way.

[one cruiseaholic]

Thanks for the Info. Cruisin Chick.

 

I also have tickets to the Deal No Deal Show in Culver City. Would that be better than the Leno Show as far as travel time goes? I knew there would be traffic, but I did map quest and it was only 29 miles from LAX to Burbank which did not seem bad.

Sounds like I might be kidding myself. I was thinking of heading to Hollywood before the show and have some lunch some where fun close to the Hollywood walk of fame and then going over for the show, then probably some dinner, and then back to the hotel. But from what it sounds like, I will be spending most of my time driving.

Would you have any other suggestions for 1/2 day venture still landing up downtown at the Westin?

Thanks for any suggestions.

One Cruiseaholic

[Bruin Steve]

Help!

We are arriving at LAX at 10:30am and have tickets to the Leno Show at 3:30 on a Friday, then staying at the Westin in Downtown LAX. Can anyone tell me how much travel time it will take to get from LAX to the NBC studios to the Westin Downtown?

 

Thanks for any help.

 

I take it you are then cruising out of San Pedro the following day?

My first question, as it would be with everyone is WHY are you staying in Downtown LA? It's about the worst place to stay in the LA area unless you have business in Downtown LA or are attending a convention at the Convention Center or an event at Staples or Dodger Stadium...

 

I also take it you will have a rental car? This makes a big difference as well...

 

29 miles in most places is not a long distance...and we locals are all well accustomed to driving this far and farther...but to a tourist in LA, you must realize that 29 miles on our freeways can seem masochistic...

 

Arriving at 10:30 am, you do avoid the most severe traffic heading to Burbank...But, it will still take you about an hour, if you don't get lost...So, by the time you retrieve your luggage and pick up your rental car and actually drive to Burbank and find your way to the studio and park, you are likely not going to be there until at least 1:00 pm...

 

And people are crazy...I believe they tend to overbook these tapings and people start lining up REALLY EARLY (perhaps someone who has been to a Leno taping can help here). You may be cutting it real close if you want to stop in Hollywood and eat lunch...

 

Culver City is a whole lot closer to LAX (like 15 minutes away on surface streets--north on Sepulveda, bear right on Jefferson, left on Overland to studio)...But, Leno may be a "better ticket" than my neighbor Howie...

 

NBC Studios to Downtown--during rush hour (which in LA is several hours) will be a mess--no matter which direction you're driving. I'd consider staying in the Burbank area--possibly a visit to Universal Citywalk, then Dinner at Citywalk or at nearby Micelli's on Cahuenga...maybe then continue down Cahuenga/Highland to Hollywood and Highland and visit Grauman's Chinese and the Walk of Fame and then head to your hotel a little later at night...

 

Of course, if it were me, I'd just drive straight down to Pedro, check into a hotel there late at night, sleep in the next morning and make the easy drive to the ship...

 

Good luck...

[one cruiseaholic]

Thanks Bruin Steve for the info.

We are cruising out of San Pedro the following day. Got a suite at the Westin Downtown for $49.00. That is the only reason we are staying downtown. Price for a suite was too good to pass up. Also, yes, I do have a rental car that I will drop off in San Pedro on Saturday.

 

I like your idea about staying in Burbank, but the hotel is non-refundable and I have already paid, and when you have 3 suites at $49, it is much better than paying $375 for 3 regular rooms elsewhere.

 

Maybe what we can do is just head over to Burbank for the entire day, do the Leno thing, then dinner at Micelli's or Citywalk, then head back to Downtown later in the evening to avoid some of the traffic.

 

Would you have any advise on what driving time to allow from downtown LAX to San Pedro on Saturday mid-morning time?

 

Thanks again for your help.

 

one cruiseaholic

[Daniel1313]

I sent in for tickets for a Leno show before our cruise also. I did not know that they gave out more tickets than they have seats for. I don't know if i will go if I do get tickets now. I would hate to stand in line for a few hours and then find out we can't get in. What is the sense in mailing people tickets????

[one cruiseaholic]

Hi Daniel1313,

 

I did not know that either, but it says it right on the ticket. I called today to ask them how many people they usually turn down and they told me that if I get there before 3:30, I should be ok. I hate to stand in line an hour before just to find out I cannot get in.

 

Maybe someone else will post their experience and we can see what we are in for.

 

What day do you have tickets?

 

One Cruiseaholic

[Cruisin' Chick]

It depends on the guests. If there's some teen heart throb booked, the girls (many lying about their age, I'm sure) will be camped out before the dawn. A few times, the local NBC station will show video when this happens. With regular guests you may be all right. The idea is that they often show the audience and they don't want empty seats seen on camera. (that's why there's seat fillers for award shows.) Sometimes people will send away for tickets and then either can't make it or find something better to do. That's the priniciple behind issuing more tickets than seats.

 

For the Ellen show, everyone who shows up will get a seat, either inside the studio or in the "Tom Hanks room", which is the overflow room. Not sure about "Deal or No Deal" but I imagine it's like Leno.

 

Of course, I've seen the opposite. The last time we went to a Politically Incorrect taping (of course, when still on the air), there were staff members offering tickets for that day's taping.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I really wish that TPTB here will take the locals' recommendations about what areas to ask for on Priceline, etc., and which areas to avoid booking in, and make that a sticky. As Steve said here (and many of us keep saying whenever someone talks about getting a downtown hotel), it's because they don't realize downtown LA is far away (in terms of travel time, taxi costs, etc.) from tourist attractions and the ports of LA and Long Beach. The reason you can find a deal is that it's not a preferred area unless you're doing business in downtown and want to be that close.

 

My hubby works downtown, but he wouldn't recommend getting a hotel room there.

[one cruiseaholic]

Ughhh,

 

Thanks Cruisin Chick for the info. I am now thinking that it was a huge mistake staying downtown. Would you recommend just blowing off the Westin downtown and forfeit the money I paid already for my rooms, and just suck it up and get a hotel either in Burbank, close to LAX or San Pedro?

 

Or is their anything fun to do in the downtown area for 1/2 a day on a Friday? Shopping? Beach?

 

Thanks for your postings.

 

One Cruiseaholic

[pzerba]

Back in 2005 we were on the Mercury Celebrity that had a 11 am - 5am stop at Los Angeles, so we also got tickets to Leno.

 

We did a mad tour of Hollywood, Walk of Fame, Rodeo Dr, etc... and showed up for Leno at just before 3pm. Didn't realize the over allotment of tickets, etc - not to mention the "preferred" group who waltzed right in ahead of us, but didn't have to wait in line. Long story short, we made it by 12 people, but there were at least 100 behind us who didn't

 

BTW, It's extremely chilly in the Studio...

[Desert Cruizers]

Those who live in the Los Angelas area/Co are able to provide far better driving instructions then I could, as I am 2 1/2 E of Los A. However, here in So Ca it is not so much the miles but the Traffic. Last place you want to be on a freeway at 3 PM is near one. Our area is so vast, very deceiving by looking at a map. As one said, Los A proper is not the place to stay, but Long Beach is pretty and near the Terminal. You can drive along the coast which is a beautiful drive.

[Bruin Steve]

Ughhh,

 

Thanks Cruisin Chick for the info. I am now thinking that it was a huge mistake staying downtown. Would you recommend just blowing off the Westin downtown and forfeit the money I paid already for my rooms, and just suck it up and get a hotel either in Burbank, close to LAX or San Pedro?

 

Or is their anything fun to do in the downtown area for 1/2 a day on a Friday? Shopping? Beach?

 

Thanks for your postings.

 

One Cruiseaholic

 

As long as it's already paid for...and it is a great deal at a nice hotel (except for the location), I'd just keep it...

 

But just use it as a base to sleep at...don't figure on walking around the neighborhood at night...

 

The problem with downtown is not just that it's far from most tourist areas, it's that it can also be a fairly "scuzzy" area...it's changing a little bit...there's been a lot of recent development of high rise luxury condo buildings and a bit of "gentrification", but, for the most part, there's two sides to Downtown LA...Between 8-6 on Mondays through Fridays, it's all business--the large office buildings fill up with bankers, lawyers, stockbrokers, corporate executives et al...At lunch, the eateries are filled with the same...But, come the nightfall and on the weekends, all the business types are gone...and what's left is the "urban poor"--homeless people, winos, minimum wage workers who live in the old fleabag residential hotels, recent immigrants and the undocumented...Think the opening scene to Blade Runner...

 

That's another reason I suggest staying up in the Burbank/Universal City area or even Hollywood (which isn't exactly squeaky clean) until you are ready to turn in, then drive to the hotel, into their parking garage and straight inside and don't leave until you're checking out...

 

As to whether there's ANYTHING to do in the Downtown area for half a day? Sure...but it's NOT shopping or the Beach...Closest Beach to Downtown is Santa Monica...and that is SIXTEEN MILES away...

 

Tourist attractions in the Downtown area include:

Olvera Street

http://www.olvera-street.com/

 

This is the "original" Los Angeles...of course, updated two and a half centuries and remade into a tourist attraction...

 

Chinatown...

http://www.chinatownla.com/

 

Yup, this is the Chinatown that Jack Nicholson's "Jake Gittes" spoke of in the movie Chinatown...only 75 years later...and now primarily inhabited by Vietnamese immigrants (The Chinese have moved out to Monterrey Park/Alhambra)...But you can still find some good Dim Sum in places (Try Ocean Seafood) for a great and different brunch experience...

 

The Bradbury Building

http://www.laconservancy.org/tours/downtown/bradbury.php4

Simply fascinating for architecture nuts...This building has been featured in movies...among others, the aforementioned Blade Runner...

 

There is shopping in the Downtown area...but it's very specific (ie. the "Garment District") and you really have to know where you are going and what you are doing...

 

Good luck...