Los Angeles - Need some itinerary help LA/Anaheim

My wife and I will be flying in for the rescheduled U2 concert in mid-June. We'll arrive on Thursday, leave Sunday morning.

Travel options:
- Award tickets available to/from SNA and/or LAX. Doesn't matter which one we fly into, but flights on Sunday are better from LAX. Will rent a car.
- Hotel points for Starwood or Hyatt

Activities:
- On Friday, we'd like to do the Paramount tour in Hollywood, then the concert in Anaheim @ Angels Stadium that night.
- Nothing else really planned, maybe spending Saturday at the Getty Center

We've been to LA before, staying at the W in Westwood, and did the Hollywood/Santa Monica/Venice standard sights. We've also stayed in Dana Point and seen Orange County, and don't feel the need to repeat those experiences.

Question: Any recommendations for where we should stay based on these activities? It's 45 miles from Anaheim back to Westwood, not sure I want to be doing that, but also don't want to spend all 3 nights in Anaheim. I'm also unfamiliar with traffic patterns in LA. My wife will kill me if we're in 3 hotels in 3 nights, as well.

Thanks!

Never stayed in any of the properties, but consider Long Beach? The downtown Long Beach area has become trendy with a lot of restaurants and entertainment options. Long Beach is also arguably convenient to both LAX and SNA.

I presume you're considering the Paramount VIP tour. My suggestion would be to try to get reservations for one of the middle tours either 11am or 1pm. You will fight traffic to get to the 10am tour and you will fight traffic all the way to Orange County if you get the 2pm tour and it wraps up at 4pm.

The Getty Center is a great idea, it is easily an all day visit. Another option might be to visit the Getty Villa in Malibu, the original Getty Center!

Thanks, I'll look into Long Beach, and the tip on tour times is great.

My wife has informed me that she'd like to be able to walk to dinner on Saturday night, and I'm also wondering about a show at the Hollywood Bowl. How far in advance do they announce shows/times for the Bowl? I don't see much on the calendar for summer right now.

Well now that you're considering a Hollywood Bowl show also, is there any chance/possibility that you've looked into arriving via BUR? If that's possible, you may explore that option. I'm just thinking about your itinerary and the only thing that you have to attend in Orange County is the U2 show, while everything else you'd like to do is in LA County and in the valley at that. To minimize battling LA traffic, if possible consider flying into BUR and then finding a property in the Burbank, Glendale, or Pasadena area?

Well now that you're considering a Hollywood Bowl show also, is there any chance/possibility that you've looked into arriving via BUR?

I like that idea, but unfortunately getting to BUR from a Midwest non-hub city looks like it involves 2 stops, and that's another thing that won't fly with my wife :)

One thing to keep in mind too re: Hollywood Bowl is that you don't actually need to be near the Bowl to have great transport options...Metro runs several dedicated bus routes, actually very popular, from points around the LA area on Bowl event nights. There's a route that runs from Lakewood (just north of Long Beach), also routes from the South Bay, East LA (close to downtown) and Santa Monica.

We generally take the bus shuttle from Lakewood and have always been pleased with the service. Tickets are something like $5 roundtrip, but the shuttle is on time, makes no intermediate stops, and you miss the nightmare that is parking at the Hollywood Bowl. Plus, it's fun to see everyone on the bus with their wine and picnic baskets ready to enjoy their pre-concert dinners. Definitely something to check out which will leave various options open to you regarding hotel location.

As far as the 2011 summer calendar, it looks like season tickets go on sale January 26. I sure hope they have a better lineup compared to last year, 2010 was a dud (IMHO)!

Edited to add...looks like the Bowl's opening night this year is Friday, June 17th.

If you like Ws, try the new W in Hollywood.

Still a ways from Anaheim, but much closer than Westwood using the 5 and the 101.

I, also, would not want to stay in Anaheim for 3 nights.

If you like Ws, try the new W in Hollywood.

Still a ways from Anaheim, but much closer than Westwood using the 5 and the 101.

I, also, would not want to stay in Anaheim for 3 nights.

Thanks for the advice. I enjoy W's, but have read that the club in the W Hollywood can be pretty loud. Much of this vacation is about being lazy/sleeping in, so don't want to risk a bad nights sleep.

Right now the question is do I want to drive 45 miles back to LA after the U2 concert, or hotel hop for 3 nights in a row (not my first choice by any means).