Tar pits!
http://www.timeout.com/los-angeles/things-to-do/free-attractions-in-la-best-places-to-visit-for-free
I think that a minor thing that has an enduring pay off, is to study your map well so that you can point out to the kids when you are on a street that they will hear the name of, during their life, and probably already have.
Streets like MULHOLLAND DRIVE, RODEO DRIVE, HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD, freeway names and so on, it will put them into famous places while you are driving in between activities.
People get a kick out of that, as they watch TV and movies.
The nearest Berlitz for a crash course in Espanol. You will need it.
With kids that age I recommend Santa Monica Pier. Get to see the beach and the ocean plus a few cheesy rides that the kids will kind of enjoy.
Run for your lives! Go north. LA overall is the largest, most congested place I’ve ever been. It took hours to drive across town.
I visited the Queen Mary, the La Brea tar pits, some movie studios, the Hollywood area, Grauman’s Chinese Theater and the beaches. I’m sure the kids would enjoy the movie studio tours best.
Kids always love the attractions and rides at the Santa Monica pier, parking is easy, and it’s just a short hop from downtown LA. All sorts of silly things to do that the kids might like, yes, touristy, but you can also hop off the pier, see the beach, go swimming if you like, etc. It is not a “carney” atmosphere.
Here are some links for various surf camps that operate in August. The Freedom surf camp is the one I enrolled my son in. It is $90 for the day per person. I think you can do a half day for less but call them to find out. The other camp is a little pricier - $90 for 90 minutes.
http://freeedom.org/surf/
http://www.campsurf.com/los-angeles-surf-lessons/private/#7ee67fe49807ecb69
Leave. LA beaches are a mass of boom boxes and cigarette butts on the weekends and not much better on the weekdays. If you must visit LA got to Santa Barbara.
Go here, there is an air space museum, an interactive science museum, space shuttle display. All fun http://www.nhm.org/site/
Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach.
The USS Iowa is awesome to visit. It’s located in San Pedro where Spanish is the native language and EBT the preferred currency.
Suggest Disneyland, Huntington Beach, and/or Aquarium of the Pacific.
If I were going, I would probably visit the Peterson Automotive Museum. Wish I could also tour Jay Leno’s garage.
There’s so much to see, you really won’t have enough time. Stick to stuff that’s reasonably close to where you’ll be. The Iowa is in LA Harbor so you’ll have nice beaches both north and south of you. You could hope on a ferry and spend the day out at Catalina Island. If you’re lucky you’ll see a dolphin pod or whales.
Wow...
So much negativity. There is actually a lot to do, and it is perfectly safe.
I like to take out of owners up the coast to Malibu - at Ventura County Line, there is a great spot called “Neptune’s Net” - Popular with bikers, and non-biker’s alike. beautiful beaches up that way.. Whale watching, from the shore, hiking, etc.
There are a bunch of Catalina Island boats - really nice day trip to really see the Pacific, etc.
I would say that Hollywood is a bit of a bore, but then again, I work at Paramount Studios. (We have a ‘real studio’ tour - not like Universal, but I am not sure that it’s worth the money)
Also, drive Sunset Blvd. from about the 101 (or Downtown LA - to the beach)
Keep your doors locked and your guns cleaned, oiled, and loaded.
Eh, never mind. I see the museum is closed for renovations.
Manhattan Beach Blvd goes right to the beach. They have a nice pier with a little aquarium at the end. They even have a tank where kids can touch starfish. They have great restaurants there, bike rentals, etc. They might also be having a beach volleyball tournament at one of the beaches while you're there which can be fun to watch.
Los Angeles is really big and rather than spending most of your time trying to get from one place to another, it might be best to find one area and stick to it. If you're going to see the Iowa in San Pedro, there is Cabrillo beach right near there. I have not been to that beach so I can't say what the crowd is like but you can probably get some info from Yelp.
If you're going to be in San Pedro then there is also the USS Victory Lane to see but if you're going to see the Iowa then that might just be too much of the same thing. You might want to look up the Victory Lane though as an alternative to the Iowa. The Iowa is just a self-guided tour with some volunteers positioned along the route to answer questions. The Victory Lane tour includes an air show, a buffet, and you can take a trip down into the bowels of the ship to see the engines. They haven't set up the Iowa to allow you to see the engine room yet.
Ports O' Call village is near the Iowa. It's a bit junky, but lots of places to eat and some shopping. They have a harbor cruise run by Fiesta Harbor Cruises. It's a little over $10/person for a 1-1/2 cruise through San Pedro Harbor. It goes past the Iowa, Pt. Fermin and other places of interest. We go on that boat ride every year in remembrance of my father whose ashes we dispersed at sea.
If you go see the Iowa the best places for lunch are at the west end or west of Ports O' Call village. Ports O' Call Restaurant and 22nd Street Landing are both great places but a little pricey. Acupulco Mexican Restaurant is good and more reasonable. The Grinder on Harbor Blvd is basically a diner that's a step or two up from a Denny's and might have a better selection for kids.
San Pedro is at the end of the 110 freeway. You can go up the 110 to downtown LA. There you can go to Exposition Park where they have the California Science Center, the Natural History Museum, one of the Space Shuttles, rose garden, etc. all conveniently located in one spot. They have plenty of parking too, so you just have to park once and can spend an entire day seeing lots of stuff including an IMAX film or two if you want.
Another possibility is the set of museums on Wishire Blvd. near Fairfax Blvd. Park once and see the LA County Art museum which has Metropolis II (huge set of tracks with miniature cars running through a maze of erector set buildings. Very cool.), the La Brea Tar Pits, and the Petersen Automotive Museum. There are plenty of restaurants nearby including a Johnny Rocket's hamburger place inside the Petersen Museum. But you can also head up Fairfax and go to the world famous Grove or have a really good brisket or pastrami sandwich at Canter's Deli.
I hope I've provided some good ideas.
DODGER STADIUM
Well, having the choice to fly in to LAX or Orange County (John Wayne) airports, I would pick Orange County as it’s South and closer to Oceanside, still close to the Amusement parks in LA and in a bit easier area.
If your Dad lives in LA, ask him which airport to fly into. Orange county or LAX.
If you’re renting a car, pay extra for a premium SUV. You’ll want the comfort.
Travel modestly. The traffic can be very unforgiving at times.
P.S.: I would recommend NOT going to expensive mob scenes like Disneyland, Universal Studios, etc. They are overpriced, so once you go in you’ll want to stay all day in order to “get your money’s worth”. But your-moneys-worth will be spent mostly waiting in lines or eating so-so food.