Lollipop's Mom
<font color=teal>Special trip with your little one
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2004
Cast.. Me (mom), 32 yrs & Meg (mature 8.5 yrs). Both LOVE Disney and Hollywood.This was our dream trip!
Day 8 Jan 14
We woke up to a nice sunny and warm day for our much anticipated trip to Hollywood. We packed everything up and met the towncar at 10am. It was a good deal, he charged $70 to drive us there, and was really worth it to me. I didnt want to take the train. This driver was awesome. He is the same guy that took us to Disney that day we missed the last shuttle. He looked like an old weathered Santa Claus. I have his card and will post his number when I find it. He is a one man operation and very talkative and a very safe driver. I highly recommend him. I believe his name was Bill Hayes. I tipped him $10 because he was so wonderful. He wouldnt let me touch a bag and opened the doors for us. I have to dig the card out of my unpacked luggage! Hahaha.
We got to the Hollywood Renaissance Hotel around 11am. WOW WOW WOW! Now THIS is a hotel!!!! I was absolutely just dying to stay here once I saw it on the net. You have a choice of views of either the Hollywood sign or the city view. Of course, we chose the Hollywood sign. We couldnt check in early, so we stored our luggage and went out to the Hollywood & Highland complex.
It was soooo cool! Shops and eateries on 3 outdoor levels. The Kodak Theatre (where they hold the Oscars) is attached, and you walk right out to the famous footprints of the Manns Chinese Theatre on one exit. Meg saw Shirley Temples handprints and flipped out! She adores her.
We took a few token photos and then decided to use one of our citypass coupons (I had gotten the Hollywood city pass books from airmiles for free. They included tickets to Universal Studios, tickets to the Starline Stars Homes Tour, Hollywood Entertainment museum, Hollywood Museum and the Kodak Theater Tour. We went on the starline tour and it was really great. We saw Brad and Jenns house (and all the paparazzi hanging around), Courtney & David Arquettes house, Leo DiCaprios house, Keanu Reeves,etc etc .etc . There are a few homes I would like to have seen, but we didnt get to. We also had a very short and quick trip down rodeo drive. It was fun and interesting. We then went back and ate at Johnny Rockets in the H&H complex. Lunch was only $12 for the 2 of us. We then managed to check into the hotel. Room 1715. Amazing and incredible view! The Hollywood sign was right there. We looked down on the pretty church they filmed Sister Act 1 & 2 at. It was an amazing view and the smog level was very very low. I paid a govt rate of $125 a night. Regular rates I saw were about 199/nt and up. It was well worth 200/nt. It was safe and secure and in the middle of all the action. I was not asked for my govt id btw.
We had to get cleaned up and ready Megs big night was about to happen! I have a friend of a friend at the WB and he got us into a taping of What I Like About You with Amanda Bynes/Jennie Garth. Meg is a huge Amanda fan and was super excited. I have also wanted to see a taping of a sitcom, so was quite excited also. I had originally snagged tickets to All That, but when I was able to get her into the Amanda Bynes taping we switched to that. Meg was also told she could meet her and see the set,etc
The concierge said it would be about a $10 cab ride to the studio. I had looked up a bus route too, just in case, and it was one easy bus ride with no transferes, but I decided to cab it there, and bus home. Well the cab ride ended up being $22!!! I didnt care just happy to be there! We were on the VIP list and had to show photo id to get in. When we got to the 2nd metal detector they take all cameras away and put them in a bag with your photo id, so you can claim it at the end. We were brought to front row seats. The taping was great. They had a warm up guy (who is a stand up/actor, and his daughter is the little black girl in Daddy Day Care). He was quite funny and kept everyones energy up. They brought out the cast and Meg was 2 feet from Amanda. She was so excited. We watched the taping and they also gave us bottles of water and snacks. The guest star that night was Luke Perry!!! They did this old take off on 90210 (the show) with Jennie Garth and him. It was hilarious. I found the whole process very quick and interesting. Much much quicker than filming a movie or a non-sitcom series. It is all pre-blocked, rehearsed and lit, and they literally just tape it. After they taped Meg met Amanda Bynes. She was very sweet. Meg had brought her a friendship bracelet and she truly showed appreciation for it. Where is the bracelet now? Who knows but she did show interest in it and Meg is convinced Amanda is wearing it every day. Hehehe. Amanda gave her her green copy of the script and signed it for her. What a special moment. We could not get photos, as they do not allow any photos down in the studio. I was upset we couldnt get one. We briefly met Luke Perry/Jennie Garth and some other cast members. We went back, I got my camera and license back, and we walked out to the bus stop. We werent supposed to take any photos on the studio lot, as Joey was also filming and a few others too .but I took a couple of very quick photos and played the oh gee I am sooo sorry! I didnt know. There was no way I was leaving without at least one photo! Hahaha.
The bus came quite quickly and it was only about 12 mins back to the hotel. We walked back to the hotel and decided to order pizza. We stayed up for a bit Meg was wound up pretty good! We were going to go to Universal on Saturday, but just didnt feel like doing a theme park and decided to skip it. I also had an image in my mind of how busy it would be on a Saturday, beautiful weather, and a long weekend. I also had enough walking for a while and needed to relax! I decided to see how much money I had left in travellers checks and realized .my drivers license is missing! My only form of photo id with me on this trip is missing. I went through my purse twice gone! I called the WB and they were about as helpful as the cheese on my pizza. EEK I was flying in 2 days and had no photo id!
Day 8 Jan 14
We woke up to a nice sunny and warm day for our much anticipated trip to Hollywood. We packed everything up and met the towncar at 10am. It was a good deal, he charged $70 to drive us there, and was really worth it to me. I didnt want to take the train. This driver was awesome. He is the same guy that took us to Disney that day we missed the last shuttle. He looked like an old weathered Santa Claus. I have his card and will post his number when I find it. He is a one man operation and very talkative and a very safe driver. I highly recommend him. I believe his name was Bill Hayes. I tipped him $10 because he was so wonderful. He wouldnt let me touch a bag and opened the doors for us. I have to dig the card out of my unpacked luggage! Hahaha.
We got to the Hollywood Renaissance Hotel around 11am. WOW WOW WOW! Now THIS is a hotel!!!! I was absolutely just dying to stay here once I saw it on the net. You have a choice of views of either the Hollywood sign or the city view. Of course, we chose the Hollywood sign. We couldnt check in early, so we stored our luggage and went out to the Hollywood & Highland complex.
It was soooo cool! Shops and eateries on 3 outdoor levels. The Kodak Theatre (where they hold the Oscars) is attached, and you walk right out to the famous footprints of the Manns Chinese Theatre on one exit. Meg saw Shirley Temples handprints and flipped out! She adores her.
We took a few token photos and then decided to use one of our citypass coupons (I had gotten the Hollywood city pass books from airmiles for free. They included tickets to Universal Studios, tickets to the Starline Stars Homes Tour, Hollywood Entertainment museum, Hollywood Museum and the Kodak Theater Tour. We went on the starline tour and it was really great. We saw Brad and Jenns house (and all the paparazzi hanging around), Courtney & David Arquettes house, Leo DiCaprios house, Keanu Reeves,etc etc .etc . There are a few homes I would like to have seen, but we didnt get to. We also had a very short and quick trip down rodeo drive. It was fun and interesting. We then went back and ate at Johnny Rockets in the H&H complex. Lunch was only $12 for the 2 of us. We then managed to check into the hotel. Room 1715. Amazing and incredible view! The Hollywood sign was right there. We looked down on the pretty church they filmed Sister Act 1 & 2 at. It was an amazing view and the smog level was very very low. I paid a govt rate of $125 a night. Regular rates I saw were about 199/nt and up. It was well worth 200/nt. It was safe and secure and in the middle of all the action. I was not asked for my govt id btw.
We had to get cleaned up and ready Megs big night was about to happen! I have a friend of a friend at the WB and he got us into a taping of What I Like About You with Amanda Bynes/Jennie Garth. Meg is a huge Amanda fan and was super excited. I have also wanted to see a taping of a sitcom, so was quite excited also. I had originally snagged tickets to All That, but when I was able to get her into the Amanda Bynes taping we switched to that. Meg was also told she could meet her and see the set,etc
The concierge said it would be about a $10 cab ride to the studio. I had looked up a bus route too, just in case, and it was one easy bus ride with no transferes, but I decided to cab it there, and bus home. Well the cab ride ended up being $22!!! I didnt care just happy to be there! We were on the VIP list and had to show photo id to get in. When we got to the 2nd metal detector they take all cameras away and put them in a bag with your photo id, so you can claim it at the end. We were brought to front row seats. The taping was great. They had a warm up guy (who is a stand up/actor, and his daughter is the little black girl in Daddy Day Care). He was quite funny and kept everyones energy up. They brought out the cast and Meg was 2 feet from Amanda. She was so excited. We watched the taping and they also gave us bottles of water and snacks. The guest star that night was Luke Perry!!! They did this old take off on 90210 (the show) with Jennie Garth and him. It was hilarious. I found the whole process very quick and interesting. Much much quicker than filming a movie or a non-sitcom series. It is all pre-blocked, rehearsed and lit, and they literally just tape it. After they taped Meg met Amanda Bynes. She was very sweet. Meg had brought her a friendship bracelet and she truly showed appreciation for it. Where is the bracelet now? Who knows but she did show interest in it and Meg is convinced Amanda is wearing it every day. Hehehe. Amanda gave her her green copy of the script and signed it for her. What a special moment. We could not get photos, as they do not allow any photos down in the studio. I was upset we couldnt get one. We briefly met Luke Perry/Jennie Garth and some other cast members. We went back, I got my camera and license back, and we walked out to the bus stop. We werent supposed to take any photos on the studio lot, as Joey was also filming and a few others too .but I took a couple of very quick photos and played the oh gee I am sooo sorry! I didnt know. There was no way I was leaving without at least one photo! Hahaha.
The bus came quite quickly and it was only about 12 mins back to the hotel. We walked back to the hotel and decided to order pizza. We stayed up for a bit Meg was wound up pretty good! We were going to go to Universal on Saturday, but just didnt feel like doing a theme park and decided to skip it. I also had an image in my mind of how busy it would be on a Saturday, beautiful weather, and a long weekend. I also had enough walking for a while and needed to relax! I decided to see how much money I had left in travellers checks and realized .my drivers license is missing! My only form of photo id with me on this trip is missing. I went through my purse twice gone! I called the WB and they were about as helpful as the cheese on my pizza. EEK I was flying in 2 days and had no photo id!
