Los Angeles is extending its arms to small stargazers this summer, offering free admission to a slew of local attractions -- in fact, to most of the area's major draws except Disneyland. Combine this package with some of the many cheap airfare deals to LA or with Amtrak's perpetual kids-ride-free promotion (www.amtrak.com), and you'll have a great, inexpensive West Coast vacation.
The "Kids Free LA" package delivers at least one free child's ticket with the purchase of each adult ticket at 19 LA-area destinations (the official announcement says 25, but it includes some places that are always free to kids.) The exact details -- and the definition of "kid" -- varies from place to place. At most attractions, it means a child under the age of 12, but some places may include 12-year-olds or exclude 11-year-olds -- check the individual attractions' Web sites for details.
There's a catch, of course. You have to book your hotel through Expedia (www.expedia.com). Fortunately, Expedia usually has pretty good rates, although you can often beat their prices by using opaque-hotel sites such as Hotwire and Priceline.
The list of attractions includes some that are sure to be winners with the Generation Z crowd and a few that won't appeal to many tykes, like the Pasadena Museum of California Art. Frommer's especially recommends the Natural History Museum, the California Science Center, the zoo, and Six Flags Magic Mountain. Li'l cowpokes might like the Autry Museum of Western Heritage, and aquariums are always big with the littles. Although you only save $2-4 on tickets to most of the attractions, free tickets to Universal Studios are a $35 value, tickets to Six Flags Magic Mountain are a $27 value, and Kodak Theatre tours for kids are usually $10.
For independent reviews of many of these attractions, see our independent reviews in our online coverage of the LA area by clicking here.
"Kids Free LA" promotion includes all of the following attractions:
- Aquarium of the Pacific
- Autry Museum of Western Heritage
- California Science Center Titanic exhibit and IMAX
- Hollywood Entertainment Museum
- Japanese American National Museum
- Kodak Theatre
- LA County Museum of Art
- LA Maritime Museum
- LA Philharmonic/Hollywood Bowl
- LA Zoo
- Museum of Latin American Art
- Museum of Tolerance
- Natural History Museum of LA County
- George C. Page Museum (La Brea Tar Pits)
- Pasadena Museum of California Art
- Petersen Automotive Museum
- Queen Mary
- Six Flags Magic Mountain
- Universal Studios Hollywood