Can you go without reservations if you show up on foot?

One of our friends was going to do a planaterium show there - I hope it still comes through.

No

We just got back from the observatory….

We had reservations on the 4:00 bus from the LA Zoo. When we got there we saw that there was not one, but three 4:00 busses. This should have been our first clue to the trouble that lay ahead.

When we got to the top of the hill we found that they weren’t letting anyone in the old main entrance. We were directed to enter via the stairs or elevator to the new underground section. This was the first disappointment – instead of a grand entrance through those fabulous art deco portals, we had to slink in to the side and underground, like hired help.

Once inside, we hit crowds. Crowds that make Disneyland on New Years look like DCA. It was miserable. We couldn’t get close to half the exhibits due to the mass of people. Everywhere we went we were being bumped, pushed, and jostled. There were far, far too many people in there. Bill figured that they were way over FD occupancy limits. It was insane!

The next disappointment came when we tried to get tickets to the planetarium show. The next available show was at 6:45; tickets for which went on sale at 6:00. There were 3 places to buy the tickets; at the main ticket counter in the rotunda and two self service machines – one downstairs by the new bookstore, and one upstairs in the West Gallery. By 5:15 lines of people waiting to buy tickets were snaking through the exhibit halls – adding to the gridlock.

We decided to pass on the planetarium and try to see the rest of the exhibits. Several – including the Tesla coil – where out of order. Some were incomplete. We ended up just walking around the terraces, taking pictures of the lights of LA below.

When we left around 7:00 the busses were still disgorging hordes of fresh bodies.

Don’t get me wrong… they did a beautiful job on the rebuilding. The galleries and exhibit halls were well planned and executed. The original structure looks brand new. But their operations and crowd control suck! They have dangerously oversold their reservations. Nobody from the staff was in the building doing crowd control. They only had people at the entrances.

My recommendation? Wait a couple months. Hopefully, by then, the situation will be more under control.

I echo everything JW said. It's lovely-- and I can't wait to see it all. But we couldn't see much of it tonight. What we did see took us a long time spent waiting in lines just to read a placard or two.

That said, our best times tonight were out looking at the lights of Los Angeles. We found areas that weren't too swamped with people, and it was lovely gazing out at our city.

There are guided tours for eventual swanking, and I really want to go to a planetarium show. Though--bummer-- they're REALLY missing out on a great opportunity... we went to The Cafe at the End of the Universe to grab a beverage. While the view from the veranda is gorgeous, their offerings are typical museum fare despite its Wolfgang Puck name. They should've taken a hint from the Getty restaurants-- people in this city love fine dining.

We didn't go in the cafe. (Love the name, though! Douglas Adams fans are everywhere!!) There was a huge line - what a surprise. :rolleyes:

Thanks for the warning. I'm glad to see that my decision to wait a while was a wise one!

What I really regret about the new Observatory is not being able to do just that. It used to be a place where you could drive right up, and enjoy the terraces with their beautiful view of the City and the stars, and take a gander through the rooftop telescope at the moon or Mars or whatever celestrial happening was most interesting that week.

I hope those days are not gone for good.


Guess I'll wait about a year before I attempt a visit.



(and frankly, considering the astoundingly magnificent architectural and exhibition improvements done to New York's Hayden Planetarium, I find the revamp of the Griffith Observatory rather underwhelming and provincial.)

Why didn't they create a new parking structure while they were at it?

No room. They didn't want to make any changes to the look of the place because it's such an icon there on the hill.

I think all will be better in a few months or a year or so. Their advertising campaign was a little too successful. I miss just driving up to look at the view, too.