L.A. & Disneyland March 3rd-March13th

I will be going to Disneyland with my son and meeting up with other family members in March of this year. My dilemma is I want to spend one whole morning and afternoon at the Disney Concert Hall (sunrise -sunset) but not sure the best way to get there. I am staying across the street from Disneyland in Anaheim and am not sure what would be feasible. I've tried googling the transit sysetm but it's a tad confusing. If anyone knows of a good way let me know or any ideas?

On another day I also want to go to the Getty Center. The rest of the family wamt to go and see movie star homes and the taping of shows but I'm just not interested in that. The days they want to do that is when I'll go off on my own to see and photograph the Disney Concert Hall.

Kate...

Forget the transit system to get from Anaheim to downtown LA or the Getty...you must rent a car.

LA's transit system is all over the map. literally. The subway, which is the newest element, only goes to and from certain areas, and none of them are near Anaheim, which is in a different county from LA. When people take the subway, if they don't work near a stop, they have to take a bus or walk the rest of the way, ie, in downtown LA there is basically just one subway line going down one street, that's it. It's not like NYC at all...

It takes a long, long time to get to places when using the LA system unless you are near a stop and going to a place with a stop nearby.

Sunrise & sunset on the weekend in downtown LA would be easy to do...but not during the week. You're talking commuter traffic in and out of downtown LA. It's at least 1-1.5 hours to downtown LA from the OC on a good day. During peak rush hour traffic, you'd better plan on 2 hours (we're talking ONE WAY here). The other option is to go into Long Beach and take the Blue Line (metro trolley) directly into downtown LA. OR take a train directly into Union Station and take either bus or DASH (short hop bus) around downtown.

The Getty is another story. It is located above Brentwood (overlooking the I-405 and UCLA) on the Westside of Los Angeles and there is no mass transit to get there unless you take a bus or drive (no trolleys from downtown...yet). Please note that the Getty is closed on Mondays (like most museums). If you decide to drive into downtown LA in the morning then swing over to the Getty in the afternoon, you might as well stay on the Westside for dinner and drive back after about 6-7 PM. The I-405 between Westwood and LAX has THE most traffic in the world (literally) at that time.

I would also suggest that trying to do the Disney Concert Hall as well as the Getty in one day is an awful lot. You might try the Disney Concert Hall and the Museum of Contemporary Art (right next door) instead. Union Station by itself if an exquisite piece of architecture and it is right next to Olvera Street (the original part of town). Dinner at Philippe's for the ORIGINAL french dip sandwich would be great!

S

Thanks Schmoo and PVia for the good advice. I was planning on one place at a time. I figured the Getty Center and the Concert Hall were too much for one day. I don't know if I'm brave enough to drive in L.A. but if it's the only way to see my beloved Frank Gehry building then I will do it.

Kate...

I'm a musician here in LA, play in the concert hall very often with the LA Phil...the building is amazing even after looking at it almost every day for the last 4 years. There are tours available, however unfortunately, the intterior of the hall is not admissible due to the orchestra rehearsing. The exterior, garden (the smallest state park in California!) and outer-shell interior are all open. An amazing place...

If I can help with other details please let me know...

Here's a small site I did many years ago to document the construction of the hall

Dead Link Removed

Thanks so much PVia!
I think I might just bite the bullet and rent a car and go there on the weekend that I will be there. As far as parking for such a long time on a Saturday or Sunday where would I go? Hopefully I can find something close by. I can't wait to see it!!! I really want to be there for all the times of the day and different areas that will be lit by some light. I've heard about the Rose fountain made up of all the broken Delft pottery pieces.

The Getty Center is closed on Monday but the weekend is okay? Probably really busy too.

I live in Socal, about 1/2 hour drive to the L.A county line. To make a trip to the Getty, I will budget all day and stay up there for dinner. Star tours are kinda fun though. There's something fun to cheesy trips like that.

Paul,

Your site is wonderful!! That's going to be one of my favourites! I'm bookmarking that one to show other people. Sounds like meeting him must have been very special. I'm sure you've seen Sydney Pollack's documentary film, "Sketches of Frank Gehry". I have the DVD and it's great.

What instrument do you play?

Eric,
You're right , star tours are fun and I like cheesy but I LOVE this building.

Kate...

You can park under the building itself, not sure of the parking fees, but on weekends it shouldn't be more than $8 for the day...

I play guitar...for the LA Phil, LA Opera, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra as well as the production of Wicked at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood...(you should come down and see the show while you're in town...)

Great! So I can park right there. Well, that will be convenient. I'm not sure if I can get away because I'm with my sister in-law her five kids and my son but I will keep it in mind and tell them about it.
Is Wicked based on the book? Sounds very interesting. The youngest kid with us is 11yrs. and the oldest is 20yrs.

Paul,

You are in the postcard exchange too? I only opted for 30 cards so I didn't get your name on my list but I saw that you are in the exchange. It's alot of fun. I do have an image of a Frank Gehry building and I'll put it in this thread so you can see it. It's from Seattle. The Experience Music Project and I used Kodak Hie Infrared film.

I sprnt a happy couple of hours photographing this building just ten days ago. I can't much help with the transport arrangements because we had a rental car and at the weekend it was really easy to get on the 110 southbound, exit near Wilshire and pull straight into a parking garage on Figueroa which left us free to walk the downtown area. The Disney Building is great though I think for me all day is too long when you have a bunch of other attractive, reflective high rise buildings just south of the building. Access inside the building is limited to the concourse area unless you have event tickets, but wandering round the outside on the stairways and paths was great.

Be sure to check out the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels! It's within a block or so from the concert hall and it's a beautiful place to visit. Might as well, it's that close!

Sounds like there alot of other great buildings close by to I will have to check out.
Thanks Jason and David!

Kate...cool photo! I've been there as well...

There are 2 Gehry buildings in Anaheim. Actually, the Disneyland administrative offices AND the ice rink where the Ducks practice. Definitely worth checking out in the neighborhood...with the rink being easier to access than the Disney building!

FYI, Wicked is loosely based on the book, however...the stage musical is definitely OK for kids. None of the baddie or questionable stuff that happens in the book is in the musical version. Tickets are expensive, but then, that's the price of Broadway these days.

Have fun while in town!

PS...if you PM me your address I'll send you a copy of the postcard from the exchange...

If I can't rent a car for my early morning day trip to the Disney Concert Hall is there any way to either pay a driver to drop me off and pick me up that wouldn't be as astronomically expensive as paying for a cab to get me there at such an early hour?

Gil Garcetti put out two excellent books about the construction of the Disney Concert Hall. He shot a good portion of them with a Hasselblad X-Pan and got some phenomenal panoramic images with it.

BTW, Freestyle is not so far from downtown, and their web site says that they have his books on their shelves--along with several thousand other photo items of course. Definitely worth a visit--they'll treat you great there, believe me.

So Kate, are you going to come back with a set of Mickey (or Minnie) ears, and will we see a self portrait here?

Have lots of fun. I know I did 40 years ago:confused:

Matt

If I make it to the Disney Concert Hall I will definitely take a self portrait. Freestyle would be a must see for me. I'll see how I can swing it. Yes, I have heard of those two books by Gil Garcetti. One about the construction of the building and the other one of just the building including some panoramics. ( all B&W) Isn't it called, "Frozen Music" or something like that?

That's right...Frozen Music is an "art book" with a price to match. Nice images, though...

The other book is titled "Iron", and documents the ironworkers who built the hall.

However, my favorite Disney Hall book is titled "Symphony" and is available at the hall bookstore or via Amazon, and features the large format color work of photographer Grant Mumford.

Paul,

Well, I'm back from my trip to L.A. and I did manage to spend a wonderful morning and afternoon at the Disney Concert Hall. It was kind of surreal because I had the flu and I was quite delirious. I was afraid I was going to pass out and wake up and be robbed, ha ha. No, despite my physical challenges I managed to get up at an ungodly hour of 4:00 a.m. and cab it to Anaheim Station, then take the 4:41 a.m. Metrolink to Union Station and then a very short cab ride to the Concert Hall. I then spent many happy hours with my beloved building. I was also able to tour around inside the building and bought some great stuff at the gift shop when it opened. The girl working in the gift shop was very nice and told me where to dine in the area for cheap. I went to the student cafeteria at the music school across the street. Very cool place! I then checked out Moca and the Cathedral of Angels. After the cathedral I grabbed a Dash for $.25 to Union Station. Wow, what an amazing train station! I had a couple hours wait until my return Metrolink train so I hung around and photographed in the station. I also wandered across the street to Olvera Street and checked out the area which had a festival going on so it was bustling with music, food, and people. Very ,very enjoyable day! I will never forget it, as it was the highlight of my trip.
When I got back to my hotel across the street from Disneyland I was quite sick and I got into bed fully clothed as I was shivering from my flu and slept for a couple hours. I couldn't let it ruin my one day to go to downtown L.A. so I managed to not pass out while I was out. People were also very kind to me. It's not like I was coughing all over people. I took some medication to help me but it only did so much.
It was quite an adventure and I really don't regret it!

I'm glad you had a good time. People sometimes deride LA as "la-la land", but then they miss some of the more wonderful aspects of the city. Union Station is one of my favorite places to shoot...fabulous architecture.

S

Kate...glad to hear you had a great time! That building is amazing and has such a presence on the street...

Sorry you weren't feeling better and hope you're all better now.

Thanks for your amazing postcard! I dropped one in the mail to you as well...it was a little underexposed compared to the others I sent out but it was all I had left of the exchange image and I really wanted to get it out to you ASAP...

Best to you and your family...

Thanks Paul,

Yes, I am feeling better. Thank you so much for your beautiful postcard. It was at my home when I came back. I had a neighbour check my mail and collect it for me. Walking around the building and just sitting in the garden was so amazing even though I was so sick. Union station was such a wonderful surprise too! I have to come back and explore some more.