LA Sound Design Trip — Aug 22–27, 2026
6 days · 4 studio tours · museums · live music
Phillip — local/driver Trey — arrives Sat, departs Thu 2 PM Angie — arrives Sat, departs Thu 11:40 AM Andrea — arrives Sat, departs Thu 11:40 AM Ryan — arrives Sun 9:58 AM, departs Wed 11 PM Ty — arrives Sat 10:55 AM, departs Thu 11:22 AM
Studio contact tracker (password protected)
Still pending
PV beach party (Tue) — nail down headcount with local friends
Studio tour
Food
Culture/museum
Live music
Transit/parking
Nature/outdoors
Explore/free roam
Logistics
Day 1 · Sat
Aug 22 — Arrival · DTLA + Bunker Hill
Metro
~12:30 PM
LAX pickup — Ty, Trey, Angie & Andrea Maps ↗
Ty lands 10:55 AM, Angie/Andrea 11:39 AM, Trey 11:55 AM — all clear LAX close together. One run.
12:45 PM
In-N-Out Burger (Sepulveda) Maps ↗ Website ↗
Sits under the flight path — planes overhead while you eat. First meal in LA.
1:40 PM
Park at Union Station (~$16 flat) Maps ↗
B or D Line to Grand Av Arts/Bunker Hill — 3 min ride. TAP cards: $1.75/person each way.
2:00 PM
Walt Disney Concert Hall Maps ↗ Audio Tour Info ↗
Last self-guided audio tour at 2 PM (narrated by John Lithgow). Exterior and Blue Ribbon Garden rooftop always free and open even without a tour.
Free
3:00 PM
Free roam — Bunker Hill + DTLA (3–5 PM)
Choose from
MOCA Grand Avenue — 2 min walk. Open Sat until 5 PM. Maps ↗ Website ↗
The Last Bookstore — 10 min walk. Book tunnels, vinyl, open until 11 PM. Maps ↗ Website ↗
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels — 5 min walk. Open until 6 PM. Maps ↗ Website ↗
Gloria Molina Grand Park — free, open until 10 PM, city views. Maps ↗ Website ↗
Pershing Square — 10 min walk south. Historic central plaza. Maps ↗ Website ↗
5:00 PM
Angel's Flight Railway Maps ↗ Fares & Hours ↗
$1.50 each way down Bunker Hill to Hill St. $3 round-trip souvenir ticket. Open until 10 PM.
5:15 PM
Grand Central Market — dinner Maps ↗ Website ↗
LA's oldest food hall (1917). Split up, everyone picks something different. Aim to leave by 7–7:30 PM.
7:30 PM
Olvera Street / El Pueblo Maps ↗ Website ↗
On the walk back to Union Station — 10 min from Grand Central Market. Stalls wind down by 8 PM but atmospheric at night.
Day 2 · Sun
Aug 23 — Ryan's arrival · Rodeo Drive + Hollywood Bowl
Drive
~10:30 AM
LAX pickup — Ryan (lands 9:58 AM) Maps ↗
Drop her things at home, then full group heads out together.
11:00 AM
Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills Maps ↗ Website ↗
Park on Dayton Way — Beverly Hills structure free for first 2 hours. ~2 hours here.
1:00 PM
Nua — lunch Maps ↗ Website ↗
Mediterranean, cascading flower patio, right near Rodeo. Open Sundays.
Reserve ahead
2:30 PM
Hollywood Walk of Fame Maps ↗ Website ↗
Walk Vine to La Brea. Look for film composers and sound people alongside the actors.
3:00 PM
Free roam — Hollywood (3–4:30 PM)
Choose from
Amoeba Music — 5 min walk. Soundtracks, experimental, electronic. Open until 9 PM. Maps ↗ Website ↗
TCL Chinese Theatre — free handprints forecourt on the Blvd. Maps ↗ Website ↗
Ovation Hollywood — bridge level, direct Hollywood Sign view. Free. Maps ↗ Website ↗
Hollywood Forever Cemetery — Cecil B. DeMille, Judy Garland, Johnny Ramone. Open until 4:30 PM. Maps ↗ Website ↗
4:30 PM
Trader Joe's (Vine St) — picnic supplies Maps ↗ Website ↗
No glass containers allowed in the Bowl. Charcuterie, snacks, canned drinks. Open until 9 PM.
4:45 PM
Park at Ovation Hollywood — Park & Ride to the Bowl Maps ↗ Parking Info ↗ Park & Ride Info ↗
Leave the car in the Ovation Hollywood garage and catch the Hollywood Bowl Park & Ride shuttle over — skips Bowl lot traffic and the walk up from Highland.
5:00 PM
Hollywood Bowl — A Concert for Venezuela Maps ↗ Event Page ↗
Dudamel's final concert as Music & Artistic Director of the LA Phil. A genuinely historic event. Picnic lawn opens ~5 PM. Concert at 7 PM. Everyone has tickets — Angie & Andrea just bought theirs plus Park & Ride shuttle passes.
Day 3 · Mon
Aug 24 — Sugar Studios + Paramount + Academy Museum + The Grove
Drive
Paramount access: Ron Bartlett (intro) · Rodrigo Ortiz (Paramount)
Sugar Studios Paramount Academy Museum The Grove Koreatown → Melrose → Miracle Mile
Home
Breakfast — at home or on the road
Sit-down options: Bites & Bashes Cafe (Lomita, 10 min from Carson) Maps ↗ · Clutch and Coffee (Torrance) Maps ↗
10:15 AM
Depart for Koreatown
On the road for the 11 AM Sugar Studios tour. Street parking near the Wiltern.
11:00 AM
Sugar Studios (at the Wiltern, Koreatown) Maps ↗ Website ↗
Post-production, mixing, ADR. Confirmed for 11 AM Monday. Arrival instructions coming soon.
12:15 PM
Lunch — Larchmont Village Maps ↗
~10 min from Paramount — whatever's convenient before the tour. Café/casual strip along Larchmont Blvd.
2:00 PM
Paramount Pictures Tour (via Ron Bartlett) Maps ↗ Website ↗ Gate Passes 🔒
Locked in — Ron connected us with Rodrigo Ortiz at Paramount. Passes valid after 1:30 PM, tour approx 2–4 PM. Enter through the Melrose Gate — bring a photo ID, cars get searched at the gate. Formosa Group also has its own location on the Paramount backlot.
4:30 PM
Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Maps ↗ Tickets ↗
Sound design, cinematography, filmmaking history. Dolby Family Terrace has the Hollywood Sign view. Budget ~1.5 hrs — tighter with Paramount in the day. Open Mon 10 AM–6 PM.
Buying tickets once everyone's here — probably day-of
6:00 PM
The Grove + Original Farmers Market — dinner Maps ↗ Website ↗ Farmers Market ↗
Farmers Market closes 7 PM Mon — arrive by 6 PM. Brazilian, Cajun, pizza, seafood, Mexican. Walking distance from Academy Museum.
Day 4 · Tue
Aug 25 — Sony Pictures + Pacific Standard + PV Beach Party
Drive
Sony contact: Raquel
Pacific Standard: Glen Glenn Sound Center, Seward St, Hollywood
Sony Pictures Glen Glenn / Pacific Standard Venice Beach PV Beach Party Culver City → Hollywood → Venice → home → Palos Verdes
9:15 AM
Depart for Culver City
On the road by 9:15 AM to make the 10 AM call at Sony.
10:00 AM
Sony Pictures Studios Maps ↗ Website ↗
Confirmed with Raquel. Tour 10–11:30 AM. Originally MGM — Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind. Focus on post-production facilities. Fully locked in — Raquel's sending everyone's individual gate passes later this week.
11:45 AM
Merka Saltao — lunch Maps ↗ Website ↗
Peruvian bowls, 5 min from Sony. Fast casual — in and out to make the 1 PM call. Lomo saltado bowl is the move. Open Tue 11 AM.
1:00 PM
Pacific Standard at Glen Glenn Sound Center Maps ↗ Website ↗
Seward St, Hollywood — ~25 min from Sony on the 10 to the 101. Tour approx 1–3 PM.
3:30 PM
Venice Beach Boardwalk Maps ↗
Venice Art Walls, boardwalk, Abbot Kinney. Quick look around before heading back to Carson to regroup.
5:00 PM
Home — relax before the party
Breather in Carson before heading down to PV. Grab swimsuits/beach stuff here.
6:30 PM
Beach Party — Lunada Bay Maps ↗
Phillip's hosting the group + local friends for a sunset party on the beach. Right by the golf course — park up top and take the short trail down to the cove. ~25–30 min drive from Carson.
Confirm headcount with local friends
Day 5 · Wed
Aug 26 — Ryan's departure · Smart Post Sound + Warner Bros + Griffith Park
Drive
Warner Bros access: Ron Bartlett (intro) · Marissa Boquet (WB)
Smart Post: 919 N Hollywood Way, Burbank · (818) 845-8050
9:00 AM
Smart Post Sound Maps ↗ Website ↗
ADR, Foley, Dolby Atmos mixing. Credits: Reacher, Tulsa King, Netflix originals. Tour approx 9:00–11:00 AM. Open Wed 9 AM–7 PM.
11:15 AM
Granville — lunch (downtown Burbank) Maps ↗ Website ↗
California comfort food, 10 min from Smart Post. Pasta alla vodka is the move. Open Wed from 11:30 AM.
1:00 PM
Warner Bros Studio Tour (via Marissa Boquet) Maps ↗ Tickets ↗
Industry access — more authentic than the public tour. Deep sound legacy. Marissa reached out to confirm 1 PM. Tour approx 1–4 PM. Sent Marissa everyone's names — waiting on her to send gate passes and arrival/check-in info.
4:15 PM
Griffith Park hike Maps ↗ Website ↗
20 min from Warner Bros down the 5 to Los Feliz. Hike up to the Observatory for sunset. Last full-group view of the city before the airport day. Bring water. Trails open until 9 PM.
6:00 PM
Griffith Observatory Maps ↗ Plan Your Visit ↗
Free entry. Sunset over the city. Appeared in Rebel Without a Cause, La La Land, and dozens more. Closed Mon — today is Wed, all good.
Free
7:30 PM
Messhall Kitchen — dinner Maps ↗ Website ↗
American gastropub at the base of Griffith Park on Los Feliz Blvd. Great patio. Open Wed until 9 PM.
9:00 PM
LAX drop-off — Ryan (11 PM flight) Maps ↗
Rescheduled to 11 PM so she can make the full Wednesday lineup. Head straight from dinner — about 30 min from Los Feliz.
Day 6 · Thu
Aug 27 — Airport day
All depart
LAX LAX drop-off runs
Morning — airport runs
9:00 AM
LAX drop-off run 1 — Ty, Angie & Andrea Maps ↗
Ty's 11:22 AM flight and Angie/Andrea's 11:40 AM flight are close enough for one run — need at LAX by ~9:22 AM. Leave by 9:00 AM. Trey stays home, waits for his own run.
11:30 AM
LAX drop-off run 2 — Trey Maps ↗
2 PM flight. You free from ~12:30 PM.