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Magic Trip: Ken Kesey's Search for a Kool Place

A freewheeling portrait of Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters' fabled road trip across America. A freewheeling portrait of Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters' fabled road trip across America. A freewheeling portrait of Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters' fabled road trip across America.

• Alison Ellwood
• Alex Gibney
• Stanley Tucci
• Timothy Leary
• 8 User reviews
• 50 Critic reviews
• 59 Metascore
• 1 nomination

• (archive footage)

• Jane Burton

• (as The Warlocks)

• Gretchen Fetchen

• Self - Interviewer
• Stark Naked
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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• Trivia Martin Scorsese 's film foundation helped fund the repair of the damaged Kesey footage by technicians from UCLA, who labored for over a year. Synching up the film to its separate snippets of audio track proved so daunting that director Alison Ellwood resorted to hiring a lip reader to determine what words people were mouthing.

Ken Kesey : What it meant, was that everybody had to consider a new way for things to be. Don't you know that we're all one? The deeper I got into it, the more I realized it was a different force working. The only big mistake we made, as a force, was thinking for a while that we were going to win. We developed vested interests in the victory to come. We begin to parcel off into little groups, whether it's feminism or politics. For money, religion, whatever it is; everybody is jumping up and down in front of it. Until nobody can see it clear anymore. There's something about what we're doing; is that we're meant to lose, every time. You make these forays, you write these books and you perform this music; but the big juggernaut of civilization continues, and you get kind of brushed to the side. But, I think all through history there's been these kind of divine losers that just take a deep breath and go ahead, knowing that society's not going to understand it. Not even caring, 'cause they're having a good time.

• Connections Featured in The Roth Show: The New York City Way (2014)
• Soundtracks Let's Go Trippin' Written by Dick Dale (as D. Dale) Published by Surf Beat Music Performed by Dick Dale & His Del-Tones (as Dick Dale and the Del-tones) Courtesy of Dick Dale Records

User reviews 8

• Oct 17, 2011
• How long is Magic Trip: Ken Kesey's Search for a Kool Place? Powered by Alexa
• August 5, 2011 (United States)
• United States
• Official Facebook
• Official site
• Magnolia Pictures
• History Films
• Optimum Releasing
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• Aug 7, 2011

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 47 minutes
• Black and White
• Dolby Digital

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Currently you are able to watch "Magic Trip" streaming on Amazon Prime Video or for free with ads on The Roku Channel, Tubi TV, Freevee, Amazon Prime Video with Ads. It is also possible to rent "Magic Trip" on Amazon Video, Vudu, FlixFling, Apple TV, Microsoft Store online and to download it on Apple TV, Amazon Video, Vudu, Microsoft Store, FlixFling, Google Play Movies, YouTube.

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Magic Trip is 2798 on the JustWatch Daily Streaming Charts today. The movie has moved up the charts by 1007 places since yesterday. In the United States, it is currently more popular than The Stepfather but less popular than Leaves of Grass.

A freewheeling portrait of Ken Kesey and the Merry Prankster’s fabled road trip across America in the legendary Magic Bus. In 1964, Ken Kesey, the famed author of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” set off on a legendary, LSD-fuelled cross-country road trip to the New York World’s Fair. He was joined by “The Merry Band of Pranksters,” a renegade group of counterculture truth-seekers, including Neal Cassady, the American icon immortalized in Kerouac’s “On the Road,” and the driver and painter of the psychedelic Magic Bus.

Streaming Charts The JustWatch Daily Streaming Charts are calculated by user activity within the last 24 hours. This includes clicking on a streaming offer, adding a title to a watchlist, and marking a title as 'seen'. This includes data from ~1.3 million movie & TV show fans per day.

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Magic Trip: Ken Kesey's Search for a Kool Place

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Magic Trip is overall unenlightening, though there's an inherent novelty and joy in seeing the unearthed footage of Ken Kesey and his band of Merry Pranksters.

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Alex Gibney

Alison Ellwood

Stanley Tucci

Will Clarke

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STORY In 1964, Ken Kesey, the famed author of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” set off on a legendary cross-country road trip to the New York World’s Fair. He was joined by “The Merry Band of Pranksters,” including Neal Cassady, the American icon immortalized in Kerouac’s “On the Road.” Kesey and the Pranksters intended to make a documentary about their trip, but the film was never finished and the footage has remained virtually unseen. With MAGIC TRIP, Oscar®-winning director Alex Gibney and Alison Ellwood were given unprecedented access to this raw footage to create a documentary of this extraordinary piece of American history.

STARRING Ken Kesey Neal Cassady The Merry Band of Pranksters The Grateful Dead

DIRECTED BY Alison Ellwood Alex Gibney

PRODUCED BY Will Clarke Alex Gibney Alexandra Johnes

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'Magic Trip': High Times With The Merry Pranksters

Mark Jenkins

Road Warriors: Timothy Leary (left) and Neal Cassady, the inspiration for Dean Moriarty in Jack Kerouac's On the Road , were two of the Merry Pranksters onboard the psychedelic "Further" bus in 1964. Magic Trip tries to immortalize their journey to a larger extent than the film is able to support. Allen Ginsberg/Corbis hide caption

• Directors: Alex Gibney, Alison Ellwood
• Genre: Documentary
• Running Time: 107 minutes

Rated R for drug content, language and some nudity

With: Stanley Tucci, Ken Kesey, Neal Cassady, The Merry Pranksters, The Grateful Dead

Watch Clips

Credit: Magnolia Pictures

'John Babbs'

'Once I Hit The Pond'

In the beginning was the word: Tom Wolfe's Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test , published in 1968, evocatively reconstructed Ken Kesey and the Merry Band of Pranksters' cross-country bus trip of four years earlier. The book remains one of the seminal accounts of the decade's social, artistic and hallucinogenic experiments.

Now come the images: Alex Gibney and Alison Ellwood have built a documentary, Magic Trip , from the 16mm color film the Pranksters shot along the way. The rarely seen (and carefully restored) footage looks good, although the lack of synchronized sound gives it a home-movie feel. The travelers did record sound, but it rarely matched the film. So the directors rely on audio interviews with the participants, recorded a decade after the excursion.

For those already somewhat familiar with the subject, the directors' distillation of these 40 hours of film will expand their knowledge — if not their consciousness. But other viewers may spend the whole movie wondering exactly when the merry magic is going to kick in.

The sparse narration, voiced by Stanley Tucci, oversells the significance of what's on-screen. The movie's prologue claims that the Pranksters' journey "changed everything." But surely the tie-dyed escapade was a symptom, not a cause, of the era's burgeoning youth culture.

As Wolfe detailed, Kesey moved through multiple worlds. He was an all-American, small-town boy who became an acclaimed novelist at 27 with One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest . He was an early advocate of LSD and other psychedelics, and a patron of the Grateful Dead. And though he considered himself "too young to be a beat," he knew Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and most of the rest. Indeed, the Pranksters' bus driver was Neal Cassady, the Kerouac pal lightly fictionalized as Dean Moriarty in On the Road .

The Pranksters' own on-the-road venture was roundabout, wandering through Southern climes that within a few years would be considered inhospitable to hippies. Yet the local cops were bemused rather than threatened by the strangers, whose bus was decorated in psychedelic swirls but whose hair and dress wasn't that unusual. At the time, some of the travelers' favorite drugs weren't even illegal; LSD wouldn't be prohibited nationwide until 1968. (Cassady preferred speed, which fueled both his long hours at the wheel and his manic raps.)

Ken Kesey's bus, "Further," was an emblem of '60s counterculture. Painted by hand (and foot), the vehicle served as a temporary home for Kesey and his fellow hippies. Ted Streshinsky/Corbis hide caption

Ken Kesey's bus, "Further," was an emblem of '60s counterculture. Painted by hand (and foot), the vehicle served as a temporary home for Kesey and his fellow hippies.

Many of the Pranksters acquired nicknames that pretty much tell their whole story: Stark Naked, for example, got really stoned and stood nude on the moving bus' back platform, to the delight of truck drivers. Other members of the troupe are similarly one-dimensional. To judge from this account, Kesey wasn't first among equals: He was basically the whole show.

Gibney (whose best documentary is the Oscar-winning Taxi to the Dark Side ) and Ellwood (his longtime editor) attempt to get inside the heads' heads with acid-simulating animations. They also interject clips from an LSD-peril episode of Dragnet and Hollywood's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest , and illustrate the period's pop-culture shift with music that moves from silly ("Love Potion No. 9") to trippy ("Timothy's Leary's Dead").

It takes more such allusions, however, to conjure a fresh vision of the much-pondered 1960s. In the Pranksters' footage, Magic Trip does have something new. But the movie fails to make the cross-country jaunt function as a metaphor for the country's mid-century passage. Minus that, the Pranksters' everything-changing adventure looks a lot like just another road trip.

• History Films

Summary In 1964, Ken Kesey, the famed author of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” set off on a legendary, LSD-fuelled cross-country road trip to the New York World’s Fair. He was joined by “The Merry Band of Pranksters,” a renegade group of counterculture truth-seekers, including Neal Cassady, the American icon immortalized in Kerouac’s “On the ... Read More

• Documentary

Directed By : Alison Ellwood, Alex Gibney

Written By : Alex Gibney, Alison Ellwood, Ken Kesey

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Timothy leary, jim meskimen, veronica taylor, jane burton, larry mcmurtry, jerry garcia, allen ginsberg, grateful dead, jack kerouac, andrea cirie, gretchen fetchen, terry gross, self - interviewer, neal cassady, stark naked, karen gilliam, bill kreutzmann, critic reviews.

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Movie Review | 'Magic Trip'

Stoned Archive: Wild Ride Of the Merry Pranksters

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By Stephen Holden

• Aug. 4, 2011

If you have ever agreed to baby-sit for a friend who needed a sympathetic watchdog while experimenting with psychedelics, you know how boring it can be to observe someone else in the throes of an acid trip. Unless, heaven forbid, the friend freaks out and has to be carted off to a psych ward, there is nothing interesting about it, not even the addled oh-wow remarks of the person under the influence. Meaningful communication is possible only if you’ve also ingested hallucinogens and are flying side by side. Then you might share the clammy fantasy of crawling around inside each other’s heads.

That unbridgeable distance between the stoned and the sober is the problem with Alex Gibney and Alison Ellwood’s documentary “Magic Trip: Ken Kesey’s Search for a Kool Place.” This distillation of home movies shot by the author Ken Kesey and his friends, known as the Merry Pranksters, chronicles their acid-fueled cross-country bus trip in 1964 from California to New York to visit the World’s Fair. Thanks partly to Tom Wolfe’s raised-eyebrow account, “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test,” that bohemian lark has been retrospectively hailed as the flash point of the emerging hippie counterculture.

Compiled from more than 40 hours of 16-millimeter footage shot during the journey and stored in a barn near Eugene, Ore., “Magic Trip” is the cinematic equivalent of a yellowed scrapbook whose pictures are accompanied by sketchy captions created after the fact.

Because the Pranksters were too careless to synch the images with the sound, many of the movie’s voice-over reminiscences come from audiotapes recorded 10 years later, with the speakers haphazardly identified. Their accounts are supplemented with sparse narration by Stanley Tucci. None of the storytellers could be described as transfixing yarn spinners. Any philosophical afterthoughts are resoundingly banal.

With nicknames like Stark Naked, Intrepid Traveler, Mal Function, Gretchen Fetchin, Generally Famished and Zonker, the Pranksters suggest nothing so much as a group of attractive, preppy-looking partygoers, outfitted in red, white and blue, whose traveling bacchanal zigzags across the country, with each stop identified by a postcard.

In those more relaxed times, the Pranksters encountered only sporadic harassment. Their psychedelically painted vehicle, a 1939 International Harvester school bus that they christened Further, was an object more of curiosity than of hostility. In downtown Phoenix they mocked the presidential aspirations of Senator Barry Goldwater by driving the bus backward. Outside New Orleans they accidentally visited a beach for black people and fled in fear and embarrassment.

There is a minor uproar in Houston, where they visited the author Larry McMurtry in his staid, middle-class neighborhood, and the mentally unstable Stark Naked went missing. The Pranksters are also shown dancing around in a circle and playing instruments (badly) while imagining that they sound like John Coltrane, as well as splashing around in an Arizona pond while spontaneously inventing tie-dye (or so the movie suggests).

The World’s Fair proves to be a disappointment, as does a visit to the Millbrook, N.Y., estate where Timothy Leary reigned as the East Coast acid guru. This was not the euphoric, proto-hippie summit meeting they had anticipated, and Leary’s West Coast counterparts found themselves looked down on as frivolous.

The film begins with a biography of Kesey, a glamorous, blondish roughneck writer known for his novels “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and “Sometimes a Great Notion.” His college dreams of being an Olympic wrestler ended with a serious shoulder injury. The documentary includes a history of LSD and a re-creation of Kesey’s participation in a 1959 government study in which his moment-by-moment remarks after taking LSD were tape-recorded. (We hear his voice over a faked re-enactment.) The cheesy visual effects accompanying the sequence are meager compared with the full-blown psychedelia in Julie Taymor’s movie “Across the Universe.”

Ken Kesey’s Search for a Kool Place

Opens on Friday in New York and San Francisco.

Written and directed by Alex Gibney and Alison Ellwood, based on the words and recordings of Ken Kesey; voice of the interviewer, Stanley Tucci; edited by Ms. Ellwood; music by David Kahne; design and animated sequences by Imaginary Forces; produced by Will Clarke, Mr. Gibney and Alexandra Johnes; released by Magnolia Pictures. Running time: 1 hour 47 minutes.

Besides Kesey, the most famous Prankster was Neal Cassady, the speed-fueled motormouth who was the model for Dean Moriarty in Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road” and the principal driver for the journey’s West-to-East-Coast lap. Then in his late 30s, he was already a visibly ravaged shadow of Kerouac’s heroically defiant rebel and well on his way to becoming the kind of babbling burnout you don’t want to sit next to on any bus trip, magical or not.

“Magic Trip: Ken Kesey’s Search for a Kool Place” is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). It has nudity and drug taking.

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How Ken Kesey's LSD-fuelled bus trip created the psychedelic 60s

F lush with funds from the success of his debut novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest , Ken Kesey, then 29, drew up plans in 1963 to drive a bus across the US to the World's Fair in New York. In June 1964, an exotically painted 1939 Harvester school bus rolled out of his ranch in La Honda, California. This was to be no ordinary journey. Kesey's Beat Generation associate Neal Cassady – the inspiration for Dean Moriarty in Jack Kerouac's On the Road – was driving the bus they called Further. On board were half a dozen travellers who called themselves the Merry Pranksters and a jar of orange juice laced with LSD. The trip, immortalised in Tom Wolfe's book The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test , would become the mythologised starting point of the psychedelic 60s.

"The trip had a dual purpose," said Wolfe. "One was to turn America on to this particular form of enlightenment, the other was to publicise [Kesey's] new book, Sometimes A Great Notion . Kesey was a great writer. It was too bad he abandoned writing but I think he meant it when he said, 'I'm tired of waiting for an echo, I want to be a lightning rod'."

The footage shot on the cross-country odyssey was considered unusable and duly forgotten. But in a new documentary, Magic Trip: Ken Kesey's Search for a Kool Place , released in America last Friday, film-makers Alison Ellwood and Alex Gibney have constructed a coherent film from it. "It's like watching a fuse being lit," says Gibney, who won an Oscar for Taxi to the Dark Side , a 2007 documentary about America's use of torture during interrogation. "The be-ins hadn't happened yet, but you can see they're filled with idealism, playfulness and curiosity. You can see them making it up – or at least Ken Kesey is making it up. He's already myth-making."

The durability of that myth, of course, is rooted in American ideals of freedom. Carolyn Garcia, aka Mountain Girl, the prankster who would later marry Jerry Garcia of the rock band the Grateful Dead, says Kesey felt that a film of the bus trip would spread the gospel of freedom through LSD. "They didn't know they were starting the 60s, obviously, but they knew they had a big secret and they were going to exploit it to the full."

While the bus trip became the stuff of legend, the film record of it languished at Kesey's ranch, rotting and disordered, until Ellwood and Gibney discovered it existed from a New Yorker article by former prankster Robert Stone in 2004. The film-makers contacted Kesey's widow and son Zane and struck a deal.

After restoration at the University of California , funded in part by Martin Scorsese's Film Foundation, Ellwood and Gibney set to work. "Considering none of those guys knew how to use cameras, it was pretty amazing when it started to come together," Ellwood says. Unlike most historical documentaries, Magic Trip does not cut away to the reminiscences of ageing participants. Instead, it uses interviews Kesey made a decade after the trip. "It was a way to get on the bus and stay on the bus," says Ellwood.

At the centre of the action is Kesey, a former wrestler and amateur puppeteer who had signed up for research into the effects of LSD. Whereas the LSD-advocating psychologist Timothy Leary (whom the pranksters visited, tripping) gave them a cool reception, believing that it should be restricted to an elite, Kesey wanted the drug – then still legal – to be widely available. Under the effects of LSD, he had discovered the world was a hole filled with jewellery. It was a vision he wished everyone might share.

"Kesey was all about fun and freedom that comes out of the great American tradition," Gibney says. "That's why they were all dressed up in red, white and blue shirts." From a creative standpoint, Kesey later explained, his use of film was in part to find out if people talk in life as they do in novels. "They don't," he concluded.

Nearly half a century later, the Merry Pranksters' exploits look endearingly innocent. In one scene, Cassady, high on amphetamines and speaking in the stream-of-consciousness hipster jive that so impressed his fellow Beats, drives the bus through Phoenix backwards while the pranksters blow their trumpets and horns in mock support of the Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater. "It was more haphazard than planned," says Ellwood. "Kesey knew something had to shift." He set about equipping the pranksters, none of whom had any experience with cinematography, with 16mm cameras and tape recorders that ran off the bus's unpredictable voltage.

"He had firm ideas about what he wanted his group of helpers to be doing and he knew he wanted to make films," Garcia says. "I think he hoped to re-create visions he'd had while he was in the psychedelic research project at the hospital. He wanted to re-create those experiences with film without having to resort to words. This was not a short-term thing for him. But making films in those days was expensive and difficult to pull off if you didn't have actors or a script to follow. So things didn't always work out the way he wanted them to."

Kesey's son, Zane, was four at the time and recalls the terror of travelling atop the bus on the mountainous coast road from Oregon to California as Cassady steered it wildly. "They had ambitions as performing artists," he says. "Dad knew he and the pranksters were doing something fun and something the world could enjoy if they could document it well enough. But they were absolute amateurs and they were high. At best, the footage is hard to wade through."

The task of assembling the footage into a film eluded Kesey, who died in 2001. But even incomplete, the "miles of bouncing, ricocheting, blazing film" that Wolfe recalled in The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test was still significant in establishing the counterculture, although Wolfe disputes the idea that the 60s started with the bus trip. "It actually started with the arrival of the Beatles in New York. When they arrived at Kennedy [airport] I could see all the boys running down the halls combing their hair forward. That's when the 60s really began," he says.

"When they came home they showed the movie and that became a party," explains Zane. "They did it again and it became an Acid Test. Then too many people started coming so they rented a place and bands [the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane] started to come and play. So it was very much a part of how the 60s were born ."

After Cassady drove the bus off the road in Arizona, Kesey dosed the party with LSD. They tipped model paint into a stream, then dipped a T-shirt in it to create the tie-dyed effect that would become associated with San Francisco's incipient Haight-Ashbury hippy scene. Throughout, Kesey guides the action like a ringmaster, participating but also directing. "Dad would say acid is not for everybody but if you can handle it there are things to be learnt," says Zane.

Garcia, who joined the pranksters after being picked up by Cassady in Palo Alto in California, and later had a daughter with Kesey, says that the Magic Trip also marked the start of a remarkable period of creativity. "Music just poured out of the different scenes," Garcia recalls. "We couldn't see what was going on in London but we knew fashion was going wild and people were having these things they called 'happenings'."

For Kesey, though, the role of prophet began to take its toll. "It was not what he planned," says Garcia. "He was thinking of one summer and suddenly it turned into a lifestyle. People didn't want to leave. He had to deal with the aftermath of the bus trip for a long time."

When the authorities woke up to the counterculture movement, Kesey became a target of police harassment. In 1966, he fled to Mexico to avoid trial on marijuana charges.

Though he may have distanced himself, Kesey never rejected the psychedelic 60s outright. He would say he would accept all the negative aspects of the 60s if he could also take the positive.

Carolyn Garcia echoes that sentiment. "For all the harsh realities – we didn't have any money, the bus was always breaking down, there was a lot of foolishness, and sometimes people would triple-dose and have a really hard time – I'd like people to recognise the unbridled, goofy joy of the times. We had a heck of a lot of fun."

• Documentary films
• The Observer
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

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• 1.0 hour, 30 minutes

In 1964, Ken Kesey, the famed author of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," set off on a legendary, LSD-fuelled cross-country road trip to the New York World's Fair. He was joined by "The Merry Band of Pranksters," a renegade group of counterculture truth-seekers, including Neal Cassady, the American icon immortalized in Kerouac's "On the Road," and the driver and painter of the psychedelic Magic Bus. Kesey and the Pranksters intended to make a documentary about their trip, shooting footage on 16MM, but the film was never finished and the footage has remained virtually unseen.

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Orange County Adventure: 5 Days of Magic and Movies

April 16, 2024 · 3 min read

Embark on a 5-day Orange County escapade with Trip.com, starting with the magical realms of Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park, where a full day at each theme park promises enchantment for all ages. Day two invites you to soak up the sun and vibrant atmosphere at Venice Beach, followed by the nostalgic charm of Santa Monica Pier and the serene sands of Santa Monica State Beach. Your third day is all about Hollywood glamour, beginning with the star-studded Hollywood Walk of Fame and an entire day of movie magic at Universal Studios Hollywood. Day four offers an exclusive peek into the cinematic universe at Warner Bros. Studio Store, a glimpse of the iconic Hollywood Sign, and celestial wonders at Griffith Observatory. Cap off your adventure with a thrilling day at Six Flags Magic Mountain, where roller coasters and attractions await to elevate your adrenaline levels. This itinerary is designed to ensure you experience the very best of Orange County's diverse attractions, creating memories that will last a lifetime.

• Day 1: Magical Beginnings in the Heart of Orange County

Disneyland Park

Kicking off our Orange County adventure, Disneyland Park awaits as our first enchanting stop. A place where fairy tales come to life, this iconic theme park offers a full day's journey through realms of fantasy, adventure, and futuristic exploration. Located at 1313 Disneyland Drive, Anaheim, Disneyland Park is the original dreamland created by Walt Disney himself. From the moment you walk down Main Street, U.S.A., the magic envelops you, with classic attractions like 'It's a Small World,' pulse-racing adventures such as 'Space Mountain,' and the beloved 'Pirates of the Caribbean.' Don't miss the chance to meet your favorite Disney characters and watch the mesmerizing fireworks display that lights up the night sky.

Attraction Info

• 1313 Disneyland Drive, Anaheim, CA 92802
• Suggested tour duration: 0.5-1 day
• Open from 02/01-02/03,8:00am-0:00am;Open from 02/09-02/11,8:00am-0:00am;Open from 02/16-02/25,8:00am-0:00am;Open from 03/01-03/02,8:00am-0:00am;Open from 03/07-04/11,8:00am-0:00am;Open from 04/19-04/21,8:00am-0:00am;Open from 04/26-04/28,8:00am-0:00am;Open from 05/03-05/05,8:00am-0:00am;Open from 05/10-05/13,8:00am-0:00am;Open from 05/17-05/18,8:00am-0:00am;Open from 05/20-05/21,8:00am-0:00am;Open from 05/24-05/26,8:00am-0:00am;Open 8:00am-11:00pm on 02/04;Open from 02/26-02/29,8:00am-11:00pm;Open 8:00am-11:00pm on 03/03;Open from 05/14-05/16,8:00am-11:00pm;Open 8:00am-11:00pm on 05/19;Open from 05/22-05/23,8:00am-11:00pm;Open 8:00am-11:00pm on 05/27;Open 8:00am-10:00pm on 02/05;Open 8:00am-10:00pm on 02/07;Open 8:00am-10:00pm on 02/13;Open 8:00am-10:00pm on 02/15;Open 8:00am-10:00pm on 03/04;Open 8:00am-10:00pm on 03/06;Open 8:00am-10:00pm on 04/15;Open 8:00am-10:00pm on 04/17;Open 8:00am-10:00pm on 04/22;Open 8:00am-10:00pm on 04/24;Open 8:00am-10:00pm on 04/29;Open 8:00am-10:00pm on 05/01;Open 8:00am-10:00pm on 05/06;Open 8:00am-10:00pm on 05/08;Open 8:00am-8:00pm on 02/06;Open 8:00am-8:00pm on 02/08;Open 8:00am-8:00pm on 02/12;Open 8:00am-8:00pm on 02/14;Open 8:00am-8:00pm on 03/05;Open 8:00am-8:00pm on 04/16;Open 8:00am-8:00pm on 04/18;Open 8:00am-8:00pm on 04/23;Open 8:00am-8:00pm on 04/25;Open 8:00am-8:00pm on 04/30;Open 8:00am-8:00pm on 05/02;Open 8:00am-8:00pm on 05/07;Open 8:00am-8:00pm on 05/09，The daily business hours are different, and the hours of each park are different. Please refer to the official website for specific times; https://disneyland.disney.go.com/calendars/day/# /disneyland/

Recommended Nearby Restaurants

Disney California Adventure Park

Continuing the whimsy, Disney California Adventure Park is our next destination, just steps away from Disneyland Park. This immersive playground is a celebration of California's vibrant spirit and rich storytelling. With its distinct areas like Cars Land, Pixar Pier, and Avengers Campus, there's a new adventure around every corner. Engage in the thrills of 'Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!' or take a serene spin on 'The Little Mermaid – Ariel's Undersea Adventure.' Located at the same address as its sister park, Disney California Adventure Park ensures that our day is filled with endless excitement and unforgettable memories.

• 1313 Disneyland Dr, Anaheim, CA 92802, USA
• Open from 02/02-02/04,8:00am-10:00pm;Open from 02/09-02/11,8:00am-10:00pm;Open from 02/16-02/25,8:00am-10:00pm;Open from 03/01-03/03,8:00am-10:00pm;Open from 03/08-04/11,8:00am-10:00pm;Open from 04/19-04/28,8:00am-10:00pm;Open 8:00am-10:00pm on 04/30;Open from 05/02-05/05,8:00am-10:00pm;Open 8:00am-10:00pm on 05/07;Open 8:00am-10:00pm on 05/09;Open from 05/11-05/13,8:00am-10:00pm;Open 8:00am-10:00pm on 05/16;Open 8:00am-10:00pm on 05/18;Open from 05/20-05/21,8:00am-10:00pm;Open from 05/24-05/27,8:00am-10:00pm;Open 8:00am-9:00pm on 02/01;Open from 02/05-02/08,8:00am-9:00pm;Open from 02/12-02/15,8:00am-9:00pm;Open from 02/26-02/29,8:00am-9:00pm;Open from 03/04-03/07,8:00am-9:00pm;Open from 04/15-04/18,8:00am-9:00pm;Open 8:00am-9:00pm on 04/29;Open 8:00am-9:00pm on 05/01;Open 8:00am-9:00pm on 05/06;Open 8:00am-9:00pm on 05/08;Open 8:00am-9:00pm on 05/10;Open from 05/14-05/15,8:00am-9:00pm;Open 8:00am-9:00pm on 05/17;Open 8:00am-9:00pm on 05/19;Open from 05/22-05/23,8:00am-9:00pm

Where to Stay Tonight

Disney's grand californian hotel & spa, pixar place hotel.

• Day 2: Sun, Surf, and Iconic Sights in Orange County

Venice Beach

Begin your day with the quintessential Californian experience at Venice Beach, the vibrant epicenter of street performers, muscle beach gym-goers, and sun-kissed surfers. As the first stop on today's adventure, immerse yourself in the eclectic atmosphere for a couple of hours, where the ocean breeze carries the rhythm of drum circles and the boardwalk buzzes with the energy of local artisans and skateboarders. It's a cultural mosaic where every step is a scene from a postcard.

• Los Angeles, CA, United States
• Suggested tour duration: 2-4 hour
• Open 24 hours

Santa Monica Pier

Next, let the ocean air guide you to the iconic Santa Monica Pier. A mere stroll away from Venice Beach, this historic landmark offers a picturesque backdrop with its famous Ferris wheel and carnival games. Spend an hour indulging in the playful spirit of the pier, where the Pacific Park amusement rides and aquarium provide entertainment for all ages. The pier's endearing charm and panoramic ocean views make it a perfect spot to capture memories.

• 200 Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica, CA 90401, United States
• Suggested tour duration: 1-2 hour
• Open from 6:00am-10:00pm

Santa Monica State Beach

Conclude your day's journey with a relaxing visit to Santa Monica State Beach. After the lively atmosphere of the pier, unwind on the expansive sandy shores that stretch for miles. Allot two hours to bask in the sun, play in the waves, or simply stroll along the coast, letting the serene ambiance wash over you. This iconic beach is the epitome of Southern California's laid-back lifestyle and a fitting finale to a day spent exploring Orange County's coastal treasures.

• California, United States
• Suggested tour duration: 2-3 hour

Sonder the Beacon

The georgian hotel.

• Day 3: Starstruck Adventures in the Heart of Hollywood

Hollywood Walk Of Fame HQ

Begin your third day in Orange County with a stroll down the iconic Hollywood Walk of Fame HQ. As the first stop of the day, immerse yourself in this characteristic neighborhood, where the stars align under your feet. Spend an hour marveling at over 2,600 brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard. Each star celebrates the achievements of actors, musicians, directors, producers, and other influential figures in the entertainment industry. Located at 6255 Sunset Blvd #150, this legendary landmark offers a quintessential Hollywood experience that sets the stage for a day of glitz and glamour.

• 6255 Sunset Blvd #150, Hollywood, CA 90028, United States

Universal Studios Hollywood

After basking in the history of Hollywood's finest, elevate your day to blockbuster heights at Universal Studios Hollywood. This theme park is not just an attraction but a realm of excitement that requires a full day to explore. From thrilling rides and shows to behind-the-scenes studio tours, Universal Studios offers an unparalleled adventure that brings your favorite movies and TV shows to life. Situated at 100 Universal City Plaza, the park's immersive experiences and attractions will captivate you from the World-Famous Studio Tour to the magical Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Get ready for action-packed entertainment that promises to be the highlight of your Orange County itinerary.

• 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, CA 91608
• Suggested tour duration: 1-2 days
• Open from 03/27-03/29,9:00am-9:00pm;Open 9:00am-9:00pm on 03/31;Open from 04/07-04/08,9:00am-9:00pm;Open 9:00am-9:00pm on 04/14;Open 9:00am-9:00pm on 04/21;Open 9:00am-10:00pm on 03/30;Open from 04/02-04/04,9:00am-10:00pm;Open 9:00am-10:00pm on 04/06;Open 9:00am-10:00pm on 04/13;Open from 04/27-04/28,9:00am-10:00pm;Open 8:00am-10:00pm on 04/01;Open 8:00am-10:00pm on 04/05;Open 8:00am-10:00pm on 04/20;Open from 04/09-04/12,9:00am-8:00pm;Open 9:00am-8:00pm on 04/29;Open 9:00am-7:00pm on 04/15;Open 9:00am-7:00pm on 04/19;Open 9:00am-7:00pm on 04/22;Open 9:00am-7:00pm on 04/26;Open from 04/16-04/18,10:00am-7:00pm;Open from 04/23-04/25,10:00am-7:00pm;Open 10:00am-6:00pm on 04/30

Hilton Los Angeles-Universal City

Sheraton universal.

• Day 4: Behind the Scenes and Stars Above in LA

Warner Bros. Studio Store

Kicking off day four with a cinematic adventure, the Warner Bros. Studio Store in Burbank is your gateway to the magic of movie-making. Spend your day immersed in the world of film, exploring authentic sets and sound stages where iconic movies and TV shows have been brought to life. This is a must-visit for film buffs, offering a unique glimpse behind the scenes of a working studio and the chance to snag exclusive merchandise from your favorite blockbusters.

• 3400 Warner Blvd, Burbank, CA 91505, United States
• Open from 8:00am-7:00pm，Warner Bros. Studio Tour: 8:30 AM – 3:30 PM；

Hollywood Sign

Next on the Hollywood agenda is the legendary Hollywood Sign. A quick drive from the studio lands you at this historic site, where you'll spend about an hour capturing the essence of Los Angeles' entertainment heritage. The sign's towering letters are a beacon for dreamers and a symbol of the city's glamorous film industry. It's the perfect photo op to commemorate your LA journey, with panoramic views that are just as star-studded as the sign itself.

• Los Angeles, CA 90068, United States
• Suggested tour duration: 1 hour

Griffith Observatory

As the sun begins to set, conclude your star-studded day at the Griffith Observatory. Perched high above the city, you'll have two hours to gaze through telescopes, explore exhibits, and unravel the mysteries of the cosmos. The observatory offers breathtaking views of Los Angeles and the heavens, making it an ideal spot for both astronomy enthusiasts and romantics alike. It's a serene escape from the city's bustle, where the stars are always within reach.

• 2800 E Observatory Rd, Los Angeles, CA 90027, United States
• Open on Tue-Fri,12:00pm-10:00pm;Open on Sat-Sun,10:00am-10:00pm

The Dixie Hollywood

• Day 5: Thrilling Adventures at Six Flags Magic Mountain

Six Flags Magic Mountain

As the grand finale of your Orange County escapade, prepare for an adrenaline rush at Six Flags Magic Mountain. Nestled in Valencia, this iconic amusement park is the perfect destination to unleash your inner thrill-seeker. With a full day dedicated to exploring, you'll have ample time to experience the heart-pounding roller coasters and delightful attractions. Six Flags Magic Mountain boasts a vast playground of entertainment, from gravity-defying loops to family-friendly rides, ensuring that every moment is packed with excitement. Located at 26101 Magic Mountain Pkwy, it's a must-visit for those looking to cap off their Los Angeles journey with unforgettable memories.

• 26101 Magic Mountain Pkwy, Valencia, CA 91355, United States
• Suggested tour duration: 1 day
• Closed from 4/9-4/11,Tue-Thu;Open from 4/12-4/14,Fri-Sun,10:30am-8:00pm;Open 10:30am-6:00pm on 4/15,Mon;Closed from 4/16-4/18,Tue-Thu;Open 10:30am-6:00pm on 4/19,Fri;Open from 4/20-4/21,Sat-Sun,10:30am-8:00pm;Open 10:30am-6:00pm on 4/22,Mon;Closed all day on 4/23,Tue;Open 10:30am-6:00pm on 4/24,Wed;Closed all day on 4/25,Thu;Open 10:30am-6:00pm on 4/26,Sat;Open from 4/27-4/28,Sat-Sun,10:30am-8:00pm;Open 10:30am-6:00pm on 4/29,Mon;Closed all day on 4/30,Tue

Hilton Garden Inn Valencia Six Flags

Best western valencia/six flags inn & suites.

* All user reviews in this article have been translated by machine.

* The information above is subject to change at any time. For the latest information, please check the websites of hotels and attractions.

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