Best Things to Do in Los Angeles with Kids 2026

Los Angeles is one of the world's great family travel destinations, with a concentration of world-class theme parks, beaches, film industry experiences, and natural science museums that can occupy families for weeks. The city's car-centric layout requires planning, but the range of experiences available makes it worth the effort. Australian families on US west coast trips typically treat Los Angeles as either the start or end of a broader California itinerary, or as a multi-day destination in its own right.

Disneyland Resort

The original Disneyland in Anaheim, about 45 minutes south of central Los Angeles, remains the benchmark family theme park experience against which all others are measured. The park's extraordinary attention to detail, character interactions, and classic attractions like Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion create an experience that is genuinely magical for children who grew up with Disney films. The adjacent California Adventure park adds a second full day of rides including the exceptional Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout. Book at least two days and use Lightning Lane to manage queue times for the most popular attractions.

Universal Studios Hollywood

Universal Studios Hollywood on the hills north of Hollywood offers both a working film studio backlot tour and a full theme park with rides based on major film franchises. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter with its Hogsmeade village setting, Butterbeer, and interactive wand experiences is the park's centrepiece. The studio tour on a genuine working backlot, travelling past sets used in current film and television productions, provides an educational perspective on the film industry that older children find fascinating. Combine with a walk along the Hollywood Walk of Fame nearby.

La Brea Tar Pits

The La Brea Tar Pits in the Miracle Mile neighbourhood are one of the world's most extraordinary palaeontological sites, where natural asphalt seeps have preserved the bones of Ice Age megafauna for over 50,000 years. The outdoor pits still bubble with tar and contain replica sculptures of trapped mammoths that children find viscerally affecting. The adjacent Page Museum displays thousands of real fossils excavated from the pits, including near-complete skeletons of sabre-tooth cats, dire wolves, mastodons, and ground sloths. Active excavation continues in Pit 91, which is open for public viewing in summer.

Santa Monica and Venice Beach

Santa Monica and Venice Beach provide the quintessential Southern California beach experience, with the famous Santa Monica Pier housing a Ferris wheel, roller coaster, and arcade that children find immediately engaging. The wide sandy beach stretches for miles and is safe for swimming and surfing lessons. The Venice Boardwalk to the south is more colourful and eccentric, with street performers, muscle beach bodybuilders, and artists creating an atmosphere unlike any other beach in the world. Rent bikes from Santa Monica and ride the beach path south to Venice and back for a morning activity the whole family can enjoy.

California Science Center

The California Science Center in Exposition Park, free to enter, houses the Space Shuttle Endeavour, one of only four remaining space-worthy shuttle orbiters, displayed vertically in a purpose-built pavilion in its launch configuration with external tank and solid rocket boosters attached. The scale of the shuttle is extraordinary in person and the exhibit represents one of the finest space exploration experiences available outside of NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The adjacent Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is also free and houses excellent dinosaur galleries.

Practical Tips for Australian Families

Los Angeles weather is pleasant year-round, with warm, dry summers (June to September) and mild winters. June gloom brings overcast mornings to coastal areas in May and June that typically clear by afternoon. Traffic in Los Angeles is legendary and families should plan itineraries geographically to avoid excessive driving. Use rideshare apps rather than trying to navigate the freeway system independently. Book theme parks well in advance during Australian school holidays as American theme parks fill quickly in summer. Most Los Angeles attractions offer combined tickets or Los Angeles CityPass options that provide significant savings for families visiting multiple paid attractions.

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