Our Trip to California – 2024

We have recently returned from a trip to California which took us to Disneyland in Anaheim, Universal Studios Hollywood, Los Angeles, Beverley Hills and several other locations in California.

To start off, we flew from London Heathrow and landed in Los Angeles Airport (LAX) for our 7 night holiday. Our hotel was located in Anaheim, California – which is usual 45 minute drive (LA traffic is always a huge problem though and took us 2 hours to get to the hotel). We rented a car, which cost £246 for week and I honestly believe is the best thing to do in California. It helped us see a lot of other locations, which we definitely would not have done otherwise and do different activities without having to worry about getting a taxi and paying out a lot of money for the privilege.

Citadel Outlets – Commerce, California

This shopping outlet is located around 45 minutes away from Anaheim and we made the visit as we wanted to check out the Disney Store Outlet and also the several other stores that are located there.

Outlets like this are often very hit and miss and to be honest a lot of the products being sold were in the Disney Parks at the same time and the prices were not any cheaper. We did manage to pick up a lovely Kids Spirit Jersey for around $30 which was a good discount and will be coming with on our next Disney adventure.

We visited a lot of other shops and my lovely husband treated me to a Kate Spade Heart bag that I have wanted for a very long time. So myself and my daughter were very happy with our visit to the Outlets.

Hello Kitty Café – Irvine, California

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Andrea Garcia – Disney | Travel | Days Out (@andrea.ita.garcia)

When we found out there was an official Hello Kitty Café in California and was only 30 minutes away from our hotel in Anaheim, we realised we had to make a visit. The café is located in an area called Spectrum Shopping Centre in Irvine, and was one of most beautiful places to go shopping that we have ever been to.

The Hello Kitty Café offers a pre-booked sit down afternoon tea service which looked really nice (we did not book this) and also offers a take-away service of biscuits, cakes, coffees, bubble teas, etc. We got a cup of tiny doughnuts (which were amazing), macarons (which Ita finished off very quickly) and a couple bubble teas (which were cute and very refreshing). There is no where to be seated in the cafe (unless you are taking afternoon tea), but if the weather is nice, you can order your food and drinks and take a seat outside in the lovely grounds of the Spectrum Shopping Centre.

American Girl Store – Westfield, Universal City Los Angeles, California

Located very close to Beverley Hills is a very big Westfield shopping centre which had been hit listed by my daughter as a must visit due to the location of a big American Girl Store. My daughter has been obsessed since her visit to the New York City store and had been saving up her money to get another one!

Once the big decision had been made (it took all of 2 minutes), she decided on the accessories and then to get her other dolls hair done at the on-site hair salon (yes, there is a hair salon for the American Girl Dolls).

She was a very happy girl after this trip and would suggest checking your bank balance before taking a trip to this store! LOL.

Polar Playground – Huntington Beach, California

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Andrea Garcia – Disney | Travel | Days Out (@andrea.ita.garcia)

Our daughter found this desert shop on YouTube and when she found out it was 20 minutes from our hotel, we knew we needed to plan a visit.

This shop makes cartoon characters out of cotton candy, amongst other sweet treats (such as ice cream, milkshakes and cakes) and they are genuinely amazing! The choice of characters change on a day by day basis, but we asked if they could make a character that wasn’t on the list for that day and they made it for us which was really nice of them!

Our daughter went for the Sanrio character Cinnamoroll and it came out brilliantly! The cotton candy cost around $20 (which is obviously a lot for cotton candy but the experience was great and product tasted really good too).

Our tip would be to get there around 30-40 minutes before the store opens, as the queue goes around the complex and it can take a while for all the customers to be served. There is onsite parking for free which is always handy!

Stores (Walmart, Target, Dollar Tree, etc) – Anaheim, California

With a rented car, the best thing to do on the non-Disney park days – is to visit some of America’s big convenience stores and we visited all of them!

Our hotel had a fridge which was great and we decided to get some snacks and drinks from the local stores to have in our room. We made our way to Target and picked up bottles of water, fruit and other snacks for all of us and it is definitely something I would suggest – as on holiday you can forget to drink enough water and eat enough fruit (especially in the US).

We are very big on seasonal decorations and these stores (especially compared to the UK) were amazing! They sold so much St Patricks Day and Easter decorations that I really had to hold myself back from spending a lot of money of things!

Walk of Fame – Los Angeles, California

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Andrea Garcia – Disney | Travel | Days Out (@andrea.ita.garcia)

When travelling to LA, there are a couple things you have to do – one of which is checking out the Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard. The historic landmark consists of more than 2,765 stars embedded along 15 blocks Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street. The stars are monuments to achievements in the entertainment industry, showing names of actors, directors, producers, musicians, theatrical / musical groups and fictional characters (as you can see from our Instagram reel).

Further along Hollywood Boulevard you can find the TCL Chinese Theatre which is where most of the movie premieres in Hollywood happen! The concrete outside the theatre is also home to several famous handprint which include the cast of Marvel Avengers, Harry Potter, Star Wars, and lots and lots of stars from the 1920’s right up to the 2020’s. It was actually really fun going around and finding some of your favourite actors!

A quick note though, if you are expecting this area to be sparkling and magical – the reality is something quite the opposite. The area is fairly run down, full of faux tourist companies and it smelt pretty bad especially the more you walk away from the Chinese Theatre! We would recommend heading their early and do the tour yourself – there is actually a star locator online if there is someone’s star you wanted to see specifically.

Beverley Hills – Los Angeles, California

While visited Los Angeles, it is a must to check out the most exclusive and luxurious areas in California! A short drive from the Walk of Fame – is Beverley Hills, where you can find Rodeo Drive and all the most expensive shops in the world – all on one street.

The area is definitely where you are most likely to spot a celebrity and has the most amount of lovely places to get great photos and enjoy your surroundings.

The area is a must see and (I am going to sound like a broken record) with a car this trip is made much easier and there is ample parking around the area!

Crypto.com Arena – Los Angeles, California

If you are (or anyone in your party) a sports fan, a visit to the Crypo.com Arena in Downtown LA is a must. We were unfortunate to be visiting California at a time when the NBA season was taking a break so were unable to see the world famous LA Lakers (or the lesser LA Clippers) in a basketball game. My husband made a point of still wanting to visit the arena, because a week before our arrival the LA Lakers had unveiled a tribute statue to the late, great Kobe Bryant (who happens to be one of my husbands favourite ever players). The statue is an amazing tribute and it goes alongside other Lakers and sporting legends, such as Shaquille O’Neal (in his famous slam dunking pose), Kareem Abdul-Jabber, Jerry West, Magic Johnson, Oscar De La Hoya, Wayne Gretzsky, Dustin Brown, etc. The vibes around the new statue were great and everyone there wanted to enjoy the experience and wish Kobe well.

As you can see from the first photo, Kobe Bryant is a cultural icon in LA and there are murals all over the area with some of the most amazing street art you will ever see.

California Review:

We had such an amazing time and enjoyed seeing every aspect of California that we could. We enjoyed it so much, that we are planning on returning and visiting several other areas and going to a few that we have done already LOL.

It is safe to say, we had a brilliant time!