Things to do
California’s main destinations are the cities of Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco; each has a range of attractions to experience:
Los Angeles
Hollywood Tours
Tours are available to take visitors through the streets of Hollywood, up to the Hollywood sign, Grumman’s Chinese Theatre and of course, the Hollywood walk of fame. Some tours travel to Beverly Hills and the Sunset Strip, the place where the stars shop.
Warner Bros Studio Tours
Warner Bros are perhaps Hollywood’s best-known filmmakers and the studios offer V.I.P. tours for all the family to enjoy. A tour guide will take visitors behind the scenes of well-known T.V. Shows to see the set, the costumes and the props, which are used. There will also be an opportunity to view scripts in the museum.
Paramount Pictures Studio Tour
Paramount Pictures also offers tours of its studios. The V.I.P. Tour takes visitors behind the scenes of movies and T.V. Shows past and present.
Universal Studios
Universal Studios is one of the world’s most famous theme parks. The Universal Studios Tour takes visitors behind the scenes to see how movies are made and then various rides and attractions provide fun for all the family. Rides include the King Kong 360 3-D experience and Jurassic Park – The Ride.
Whale Watching
Located in Long Beach, whale-watching tours offer the chance to see a range of this amazing creatures close up. Depending on the time of year, different whales can be seen including; Grey and Blue Whales, Fin Whales, Humpback Whales, Minke Whales and Dolphins like Bottlenose, Risso’s, Pacific White Sided and Orcas (Killer Whale).
Six Flags Magic Mountain
The Six Flags Magic Mountain theme park in Los Angeles is the roller coaster capital of the world it is claimed. The Park does undoubtedly have some of the world’s best roller coasters including a new coaster, GREEN LANTERN: First flight – This coaster is unique in that it goes along the track whilst spinning vertically.
SkyThrills World Class Thrill Rides
The Skythrills rides offer the chance to take to the skies and perform a range of aerobatic manoeuvres in specialist stunt planes. Experienced teachers will instruct on the use of parachutes and will also explain how to perform a range of manoeuvres such as loops, rolls, spins and hammerheads.
Queen Mary Seaport / Scorpion Soviet Submarine
The Queen Mary was once considered to be the pinnacle of ocean going comfort and luxury. Today the ship is moored at long beach as a hotel and museum ship alongside the ‘Scorpion’ a former soviet submarine used to protect the larger nuclear weapons subs of the soviet navy. Today the submarine is a museum ship and can be visited.
San Diego
Seaworld/Zoo/Safari Park
San Diego is home to world the famous animal attractions; Seaworld, home of the world renowned Shamu Stadium, where Killer Whale performances excite crowds from around the world. The San Diego Zoo is one of the largest zoos in the world with a huge range of animals; the San Diego Zoo is one of the few zoos that house Giant Pandas.
USS Midway Museum
The USS Midway is an aircraft carrier, which was commissioned after World War 2 but saw action in Vietnam and in Iraq during Desert Storm. Today visitors can tour the massive ship and see the flight deck, the bridge, the hangar deck and the command centre. Several aircraft are on display, which have been faithfully and carefully restored.
Legoland California
Legoland is one of the worlds most well known theme parks; naturally California is home to a Legoland. Legoland California offers a host of interesting activities to enjoy. At Dino Island there is a junior roller coaster, a life sized dinosaur footprint to lie in and a chance to dig for fossils. Other attractions include Pirate Shores and the Legoland Waterpark
San Francisco
Aquarium of the Bay
Aquarium of the Bay is another of California’s wildlife conservation and educational centres. The Aquarium hosts various animals including Sharks and Octopus, which can be seen via underwater walks. The aquarium also provides touch tanks and educational exhibits.
San Francisco Zoo
The San Francisco Zoo is home to over 200 species of animals, many of which are endangered species. See Snow Leopards, Lions, Giraffes, Anacondas, Bald Eagles and even Black Widow spiders. The zoo hosts a range of special and unique exhibits such as Eagle Island, home of “Sureshot” an injured female eagle that was injured in the wild and rescued, as she can no longer fly.
Waterworld California
Waterworld is one of California’s top waterparks and comes filled with thrilling rides and slides. Some of the most exciting slides include the ‘Honolulu Halfpipe’ a four-story drop down a near vertical slide, Cliffhanger, which drops through two seven-story slides in less than three seconds and the Tornado, a tight, twisting 4-person raft ride through over 130ft of tunnels.
USS Hornet Museum
The USS Hornet is one of the most accomplished ships in United States naval history, serving in World War 2, The Korean War, Vietnam and she recovered the astronauts from the Apollo 11 mission when they arrived back from their historic moon landing. Today the ship is a museum ship and can be toured. The ship also has a range of aircraft on display as well as artifacts relating to the Apollo missions including a replica of a Gemini Capsule an Apollo Space Capsule.
Cable Cars
One of San Francisco’s most well known attractions are the cable cars that roll through its streets. Tickets can be purchased upon boarding the cars and day passes are available.
Other Attractions in California include;
Flightdeck Air Combat Centre
The Flightdeck Air Combat Centre is a fighter jet simulation, which authentically simulates flight in the same way as military training simulators do. The centre provides instruction on a number of areas including take-off, landing, aerial manoeuvres, landing on an aircraft carrier and air-to-air combat.
Medieval Times
Medieval Times is a recreation of a medieval Spanish castle. Visitors are invited to come for four-course feast and watch six knights battle in the arena. The knights battle with swords, maces’ and other weapons and then participate in an authentic jousting tournament.
Disneyland
California is one of those special places in the world that has its own Disneyland. Disneyland California opened in 1955 and has been entertaining families ever since. Disneyland is split into a number of different “lands”;
Main Street U.S.A. – A recreation of an early 20th century town from the American Midwest. It is located at the park entrance and is the first thing visitors see when arriving. At the far end of Main Street is the iconic Sleeping Beauty Castle.
Adventureland – Set in the jungle, Adventureland is a chance to get a taste of the wild. Adventureland has various attractions to enjoy including the Indiana Jones Adventure, Tarzans Treehouse and the Jungle Cruise.
New Orleans Square – Based on the streets of New Orleans in the 19th century and contains various shopping opportunities. The square also has various attractions of its own including a Pirates of the Caribbean show building and a haunted mansion.
Frontierland – A land set in the old west during the time of the American Frontier. The land has many themed attractions including Frontier Shootin’ Arcade, the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and the Mark Twain Riverboat.
Critter Country – Critter Country was once called the ‘Indian Village’ and now contains attractions for Winnie the Pooh, Davy Crockett and also contains a Splash Mountain.
Fantasyland – A place ‘dedicated to the young and young at heart’ – Walt Disney. Fantasyland contains rides and attractions based on classical Disney characters like Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland and Pinocchio.
Mickey’s Toon Town – Disneyland’s newest land and is based on the toontown seen in the movie ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’. Children will have the chance to see and meet Mickey and take a ride on the Disneyland Railroad.
Tomorrowland – A look into the future, Tomorrowland is themed on the visions of the future by Jules Verne. Some of the attractions here include the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, the Monorail and 3D movies including the brand new Star Tours: The Adventures Continue.
