Updated -- Apr 3 , 2004

LA Roadtrip 2004 -- Members of the Star of the North will be in L.A. for the WDCC Convention in mid-May, 2004. Besides all the convention activities, we plan to rent a van on Monday, May 17 to do a day trip to L.A. and see the sites. Here's a list of places and things that we plan on. And a list of other possibles as well, if we have the time. (Yeah, right) Marvin and Carol -- Steve will take care of the vehicle. I'm depending on you two to prepare the maps. We'll need all the help we can get to keep from getting lost in the big city. We could have as many as 10 people going on this trip. So we'll rent a large enough car for that. Maybe even a SUV. It will be more fun to travel together, and then we won't get separated in traffic. Expensive? -- Yes. But split 10 ways it won't cost each of us so much. I figure maybe $15 per person. I'll rent the van for two full days, so we'll be able to leave early and stay late on Monday. I figure 9am to about 10pm Monday. If you have other itinerary suggestions, mail Steve a note. Maybe we'll add it to the list! -------------------------------------------------------- ITINERARY -- This list is tentative -- we'll add and subtract as the trip gets closer Pick up the car the day before. We'll want to get an early Monday morning start, so we don't want to be dealing with car issues on Monday. Try to get on the road by 9am Monday. Crystal Cathedral -- Near Disneyland. A church and grounds that Disney could easily have designed. Robert Schuller's church. The Third Park location -- Where Disney might someday build a third park near Disneyland. To Hollywood. Visit the El Capitan theater. Pick up our tickets for that night's movie. (Home on the Range? The Alamo?) Sightsee some. (I'm told the El Capitan might be closed for refurbishment during our visit. If so, we will still visit the theater and try to get a short tour. Then we'll get tickets for a show at a nearby theater) Visit the Kodak Theater and Grauman's Chinese Theater. (All within 1 block of the El Capitan) See Walt's star on the Hollywood walk of fame. Roy's, too. The Disney Studios. We may not get in for a tour, but we can see a lot just by driving there. We're hoping to be able to at least visit the Studio Store (souvenirs!) and Legends Plaza. But, to do this we need a cast member to escort us. We're trying to make a contact. The Jim Henson Studios and Universal are nearby as well. Tam O'Shanter Inn -- There's a restaurant on the way to Glendale where Walt Disney and many of the Disney engineers and artists sometimes visited over lunch. It looks like the dwarf's cottage. We might even do lunch here. I have it on good authority they have great sandwiches, potato salad and coleslaw. Visit Walt's grave at Forest Lawn in Glendale. The LaBrea Tarpits -- downtown L.A. -- Hey, we're going to see Walt's grave. Why not the tarpits? The Pacific Ocean. We're all the way out in L.A. May as well see the ocean while we're there. Where? We visited an ocean-side amusement park last time. Finish the evening off with the movie back at the El Capitan, or a nearby theater. Probably an 8pm showing. Drive back to our hotels to crash. Could be late. ------------------------------------------- POSSIBLES -- The Gene Autry Museum of Western Heritage -- Rumor has it that Disney Imagineering has had a hand in some of the exhibits over the years. The museum is in Griffith Park, near the Disney studios. Hours : 10 am - 5pm, Tue --> Sun; But closed Mondays (of course!) The miniature steam trains at Griffith Park -- Walt's train barn. But they have very limited visitation times. Open to the public Sundays 11am to 3pm, including train rides! Walt's train barn is manned by volunteers. The location of Disney Imagineering -- A rather non-descript industrial area on Flower Street in Glendale, just a few miles from the Studios. Not much to see (it has a low public profile) But you could say you were there! A visit to the Burbank Historical Society museum at 1015 W. Olive. Just a mile from the Disney Studios, a new Disney history and animation exhibit just opened up this last year. The museum has limited hours though. (The museum is currently CLOSED for construction -- Grand re-opening is set for May 2, 2004) Anaheim Museum at 241 S Anaheim Blvd -- about a mile from Disneyland. Eric Robison's "100 Mickeys" were on display there from June 11, 2003 -- August 10, 2003. I wonder what's showing there now? Let's go to and be the audience for a TV show! Suggestions? . . . If we decided to do the steam trains or the Gene Autry museum, I'm wondering if there'd be any time on Sunday to go? It's unclear what events might be scheduled for the Sunday of the convention. (Though there's rumors of artist signings on Sunday afternoon at 2pm.) Something to think about. -------------------------------------------