Los Angeles - SFO-LAX-SFO day trip, suggestions?

I'm in SF visiting friends next month and will fly to LAX on UA for the day of March 5 (Sat) to see a relative in a song competition at the Orpheum Theater. The competition should be around 4PM on the 5th.

I've looked through a slew of threads here and have some questions.

I plan to take the FlyAway to Union Station and walk around the downtown area before the 4PM performance. Any idea how much time is needed/useful etc? Are things open/buzzing on the weekends or is it dead (as one thread suggested)?

Since UA gets into either terminal 6 or 7, is it worth it to head over to Terminal 1 to make sure I get a seat on the FlyAway or is that moot on the weekend?

I'll probably have lunch somewhere in the area. Any suggestions? One thread suggested Phillipes north of Union Station, but others said 7th St has become interesting of late.

Is there traffic I should worry about on a Saturday for the return FlyAway trip? I'll be heading back to SF for dinner so probably takiing the 6:55 or 7:51 UA flight.

Any other suggestions or booby traps you might think of appreciated.

-I've not had trouble getting a seat on FlyAway busses, but I've only taken those to Van Nuys and Westwood, not Union Station. On a Saturday morning I wouldn't expect any problem (no guarantee).
-Philippe's was my first thought, with The Original Pantry second, and either Olvera Street or Grand Cental Market third. But a lot of new restaurants have opened in the downtown area.
-Saturday is a big shopping day in some places downtown, such as the fashion district, central market, etc. Sunday would be much quieter. How long? Depends where you go. There should be Web sites, and guide books, with walking tours. You can supplement any walking with busses (not sure if the Dash shuttle bus runs on weekends) and even subway. Angels Flight, Bradbury Building and the Biltmore Hotel (where the Academy Awards ceremony took place in early 1930s) might be worth checking out. The Grammy Awards museum sounds like it could be interesting.
-Traffic can be a bit of a crap shoot, and going to a 4 pm show and then to LAX in time for a 6:55 flight seems rushed to me, but if you're willing to take the risk, you usually shouldn't have to worry about heavy traffic, barring delays due to construction, accidents, etc.

This is an awfully ambitious itin. Make sure that if you attempt this that you definitely schedule the latest flight possible back to SFO.

I'm now booked on the 8:30pm LAX-SFO with an arrival into LAX at 11:52am. That gives me about 8+ hours on the ground.

I plan to walk from Union Station to the Orpheum, sightseeing on the way and grabbing a bite of lunch somewhere in the vicinity. I expect the competition I'm going to at the Orpheum will last an hour or so.

I may take an earlier return to SFO if possible but the 8:30 departure should be very doable don't you think?

Still interested in any new/good restos on 7th st., as mentioned somewhere else in the forum.

New schedule leaves plenty of time for your excursions.

FlyAway bus will have plenty of seats at T6 so I wouldn't worry. Make sure you get on the right bus... The headsign is really small and I have witnessed many times people getting on the bus and then getting off at the next terminal (after they already paid the driver) when they realized they are on the wrong bus.

Check out Bottega Louis (http://www.yelp.com/biz/bottega-louie-los-angeles) or Sugarfish (http://www.yelp.com/biz/sugarfish-by-sushi-nozawa-los-angeles-2) on 7th Street near Metro Center subway station - you can take the subway from Union Station to Metro Center and eat there... and then walk to Orpheum Theater, which is only 3 or 4 blocks away on Broadway.

Traffic returning to LAX on Saturday evening is unpredictable... there is a good chance that your bus will get stuck in traffic on I-10 or I-405. I would suggest taking the train back to make sure you arrive at LAX at a specific time. But lately, there has been construction work on weekends at the Blue line near Downtown so you would have to take a shuttle bus first. It's a bit inconvenient.

Traffic returning to LAX on Saturday evening is unpredictable... there is a good chance that your bus will get stuck in traffic on I-10 or I-405. I would suggest taking the train back to make sure you arrive at LAX at a specific time. But lately, there has been construction work on weekends at the Blue line near Downtown so you would have to take a shuttle bus first. It's a bit inconvenient.I thought the FlyAway Union Station exclusively uses the 110/105 carpool lanes (which are generally pretty consistent, especially least on the weekends).

On the weekends if the Blue Line is being serviced, Silver Line (bus) to Green Line would probably be more consistent than Blue Line to Green Line (to G LAX bus).

I thought the FlyAway Union Station exclusively uses the 110/105 carpool lanes (which are generally pretty consistent, especially least on the weekends).

On the weekends if the Blue Line is being serviced, Silver Line (bus) to Green Line would probably be more consistent than Blue Line to Green Line (to G LAX bus).

Yes, of course... you are correct. For some reason I thought they use the 405 like the Van Nuys and Westwood FlyAway.

I retract my previous posts... looks like FlyAway should be relatively traffic free back to LAX.

Thanks for the feedback. Sugarfish and Bottega Louis both look good, I'll have to see if I'm craving Italian or sushi. Ran across this NYT article on downtown LA but it seems a bit scattered. Any thoughts?

I may try to WL on the 6:55 or 7:51 flights, depends on the performance time and how long it would take to get to LAX on the FlyAway from Union Station.

I imagine any late afternoon bus ride would have the same traffic, so what is a good departure time from Union Station to make any of those 3 flights?

Does LAX have a 1K line for screening? Might help a bit.