It was great except I would rather go when it's not spring break, too crowded. Overall it was good.read more

I love the observatory! I come here almost every day to…read morerelax and enjoy the views! It's an educational exercise;)

We did the private tour of the observatory, and let me tell you it was so worth it. I booked the…read moreprivate tour as an anniversary gift for my husband, he's a physicist and I knew this would be right up his alley. The tour guide was so friendly and knowledgeable about the observatory. The tour takes you through several parts of the observatory with experts at each stopping point. As someone who isn't into physics, I can honestly say I actually had a blast. There's also a small cafe that serves sandwiches and soups that was also really good. The observatory and cafe are open only during part of the year, so definitely check out their site for the hours.

This is a must visit for all Angelenos and tourists and anyone interested in matters earthly and…read moreuniversal. We did the 2+ hour docent tour, worth every penny. Everyone here is a volunteer (docents, scientists, and all) so they rely on donations and purchases of merch and all the really special events they plan. You need to get a $5 daily pass to park in the lot since it's a national forest. Easy to get at the Cosmic Cafe upon arrival. Sign up online for their newsletter so you can be in the know of some very cool happenings at the observatory.

A hidden gem for all us science geeks! I attended the FREE Open House on Sunday, October 13 which…read morewas held between 2-5pm. I believe it's an annual event. This is a great opportunity if you haven't been here before and/or you have kids who are interested in science, especially telescopes. Kids of all ages enjoyed: A planetary photo op Carmela Ice Cream (free mini scoops) Free iced lemonade, water and iced tea Astronomy Passport activities Infrared Camera exhibit Spectroscopy Progress of the Giant Magellan Telescope Solar telescopes to look through Pocket Solar System (make & take) Ask a Scientist station Reggae and Calypso music Various talks & presentations Self guided tour of the facility My favorite part was the Hale Library - EINSTEIN WAS HERE! Yes, he stood right here alongside Hubble and other science luminaries of his generation. I also enjoyed walking the hallways and looking at the decorated office doors of the (many female) scientists and PhD's. I'd certainly come again if given the opportunity! Yelp Challenge 2019: 86/100

Came for another education on the findings with JWST. So much of the universe and we are just…read morestarting to see a portion of it. Looking forward to more in the next few weeks

Took an incredible tour with two very informative and incredible tour guides. We were able to get…read moreclose to the telescope and operate a simulation on how it works. It was very cool and we enjoyed our time here.

Yesterday (March 18th, 2025) we made the drive up to Mt. Palomar Observatory, something my…read more93-year-old father-in-law said he wanted to do. Seeing this wonder had been in the back of my mind as well, so I said, "Let's do it!" Having only recently lost his wife, through tears he explained to our amazing, friendly and knowledgeable guide Christi that he'd hoped to bring her up to the observatory someday, but she passed before he'd had the opportunity to do so. To Christi, he said, "I'd love to look through that 200" telescope and try to find my wife in Heaven." Definitely a tug on the heartstrings moment... and she responded with the sort of compassion one would expect from a family member. As other reviewers have noted, the public is not allowed to look through the scope; that privilege is reserved for nighttime astronomers. News to this 70-year-old reviewer... learn something new every day! That said, Christi explained to us the intricate construction of the telescope, the "re-mirroring" every two years, how the entire dome rotates to accommodate the different astronomers' needs, why the inside of the observatory is kept at a chilly 40°, and so much more. She told us she was "...new here..." but would answer as many questions as she could. Well, I'm a questioner, especially when seeing an incredibly complicated device such as the Hale Telescope (named after astronomer George Ellery Hale). Christi was able to answer most of my inquiries, and I have no doubt she will research the answers to any questions that stumped her. I cannot recommend this young woman highly enough to the powers that be at Mt. Palomar Observatory. Next to the gift shop is a small but very informative room for visitors thirsting for more information. The infinity of the Universe has always fascinated me, along with the mind-boggling intelligence of those who wish to explore its vastness. This tiny room is bursting with their stories. To those who posted "glass-half-empty" reviews here, I'm sorry the wonder of this landmark was lost on you. Perhaps you'll give it another look sometime. Getting a feel for how tiny our little planet Earth is when compared to the infinite puts our very existence into an entirely new perspective.

They have a "folded lens " telescope. Basically, a huge telescope that takes up way less space…read more It's a little difficult to find, the gps failed us on that one. But when we called, they knew exactly how to guide us. We had to find the entrance behind a high school football field if I recall. Great tour, the kids had a blast. Wonderful gift shop as well. They treated us wonderfully.

Great little observatory run by passionate and educated locals! Events are paused for COVID but you…read morecan take a free guided tour of the telescope on Saturdays and visit the gift shop.

My first time here, but definitely not my last!…read more The Observatory is a fabulous venue in Santa Ana. Parking was easy for us as we'd purchased a pass and we arrived pretty early. The entrance process was licketty split - we carried everything in our pockets. Upon entering, there's a photo spot, merch off to the right, as well as a bar and outdoor seating. To the left of the entrance is a smaller room, this time used for vendors,, but I suspect could be a multi-use space as needed. Bathrooms - clean and well stocked throughout the night - are also this way. Up along a poster covered hallway, and into the concert area you go! There's the stage in the front and a bar in the back. It's GA here folks, but there's a balcony with seats above. We chose the first tier behind the dance floor as there's a standing bar/shelf that spans the railing which is great to lean on and space to put drinks down. The location was perfect for us - up high enough to see everything going on onstage, great view of the folks dancing, and again, offered a space for our drinks and a restful lean. The sound system and lighting effects were fantastic! The lighting perfectly fit the dark, moody, goth atmosphere while the music was as clean and powerful as you'd want. No muddy, echoy, indistinct sound here. And extra wonderful? A pumping AC that kept the packed house cool and fresh as everyone danced all night. Such a great concert and really, the perfect venue for it: intimate yet spacious enough for comfort. Really great venue!

I went to The Observatory to hear & to see Gimme Gimme Disco in The Constellation Room. This event…read morewas put on by events producer Burwoodland (aka Ethan Maccoby & Alex Badanes). Mark Cuban recently gave a bunch of money to Burwoodland, so I thought this event would be decent. I was wrong. Gimme Gimme Disco was a hot mess. I did not at all have a good time. A ticket to this event cost $27-$31 depending on time of purchase, & parking cost an additional $15. The price & location led me to believe Gimme Gimme would be a well organized event with a properly prepared DJ who prepared a professional level DJ set. Not so, & not at all. Random disco music played before the DJ started, & then when the DJ started, I cannot say the mixing or transitions from one song to another were much better than simply letting songs play out on Spotify or Pandora or cutting to commercial on the radio. I wanted to give the Gimme Gimme DJ (Julimuah?) the benefit of the doubt, so I stayed for awhile to listen to see if the mixing got any better. The Gimme Gimme DJ did no real mixing. Songs were blended in at random points. A song with a tempo of 100 was played immediately after a song with a tempo of 115. Songs were regularly cut mid vocal etc. The quality of DJing/music was not good enough to expect people to pay money to buy tickets. I'm incredulous that The Obseratory would book such a mediocre event/DJ/etc. Because the Observatory is a venue where professional musicians often play, there was a sound guy or engineer on the sound board. I asked him what was going on with the DJ. I mentioned she was not doing any mixing at all. He agreed, & then he added: "Yeah. DJ culture has changed so much though." I do not know whether this was an apologetic statement. It is hard not to read/construe the statement like a subpar excuse. After speaking with the sound guy, I opted to request a refund, & to leave immediately. I asked a security/door staff to connect me with a manager. The security personnel referred me to management. Here is the gist of my dialog with the manager: Self: The DJ for Gimme Gimme Disco is not mixing at all. Songs are simply being played end to end with little mixing, beatmatching, etc. The dancefloor stops between tracks. It is just really bad. Sorry. Management: I hear you. Unfortunately, the Observatory cannot refund your ticket. Gimme Gimme Disco rented The Constellation Room so it is their event; not ours. They rented the room for the night. Self: Okay. I understand. Could you please put me in touch with the people from Gimme Disco who booked The Constellation Room & planned the event? Management: They (Gimme Disco) have a website, etc. [The manager then proceeded to show me the contact us page of the Gimme Disco site]. I realize the manager might not have legitimately known who from Gimme Disco coordinated the event. However, the Observatory staff did not make much of an effort to connect me with anyone who might actually issue a refund. A contact us form on a website is usually a dead end. So the rental format of some events, such as the Gimme Disco event I briefly attended, allows The Observatory to make money without much, if any, responsibility/accountability, & getting in touch with anyone representing an event results in being forwarded to a FAQ or Contact Us page. Seems like a pretty ideal business structure for The Observatory & any themed event planners booking events. The Observatory makes money renting space; the event makes money too. Anyone who feels or was cheated out of their money is left with no one to direct their complaint to--unless a website Contact Us page counts as a person. I obviously did not risk eating any food or drinking anything at The Observatory. I feared the drinks might be as bad as the music, so I walked back to my car sober, & happy to no longer be inside such an indifferent, disappointing, unprofessional, & impersonal venue. I am legitimately stunned that an event put on by Burwoodland & all the deep pockets behind it could be so utterly lamentable. I want a full refund. An apology from The Observatory &/or The Gimme Disco people would not hurt either. People should not have to pay concert level prices for crappy DJing, & a dismal ambience. I reached out to Alex Badanes for a refund. He initially suggested that I would be issued or given a refund. I never ended up receiving a refund. Neither Alex nor anyone representing Burwoodland followed through after the first hollow mention of a refund. Fake talent, mediocre event, & false gestures are the norm for Burwoodland & its reps.

This review is regarding The Alchemist & DJ Premier World Tour. First time at this venue. FIVE…read morethings I look for and hope for at my age (44) when going to see live shows: 1) Seat view. Here, VIP balcony or Lower Balcony is the only way to go. 2) Sound. Here, especially on the balcony, bass and clarity for a hip hop show of this caliber was on point. 3) Cleanliness and Space. Restrooms were very clean, well tended to and sufficient with enough stalls so no lines stealing from your time to enjoy the show. Whole venue has simple, real class to it. 4) In & Out with ease. Security smooth, plenty of exit options, including an elevator with an attendant. I don't like feeling crowded or like I'm gettin' caught in a cow herd. The Hollywood Bowl is the only venue I'd compromise this preference for simply because it's the only venue worth that sacrifice. 5) Parking. Lots of parking but get there early enough and check for other events the same day as your show. We made the mistake of not coming early enough to account for the Laker game that day. I had a great time, especially for it being my first time there.

I came here twice for two concerts, the most recent one being Machine Girl's tour with Bonnie…read moreBaxter/Kill Alters and Lightning Bolt (this is a late review). I enjoyed this show WAY more than the previous show with Dayseeker, but this is mainly because I am more familiar with the artist, so this would be the second time that I got to see Matt and their crew perform twice. The venue itself is really nice and modernized, and is located in an entertainment hub, so you will see a good amount of bars and other entertainment venues nearby. I do know that it is not a ground-floor venue, so you have to climb stairs or take an escalator/elevator. I personally do not buy concessions here due to me being cheap, but they offer free water at the bars, which I personally like, as most venues force you to purchase bottled water or use a drinking fountain. The cheap tickets are all part of the upstairs seated area, while the lower floor area costs more. From what I know, there aren't really any assigned seats, so it's first come first serve, but you will have people standing up during the main act, of course, because concertgoers will be concertgoers. The seats are very comfortable, bathrooms are accessible, and people who need ADA seating get their own separate section. The location, given that it's in DTLA, is so accessible by public transit that I can't even name all of the buses that run nearby off the top of my head. You can also take the 2 nearby trains, the A and the E, and get off at Pico station the same way you would for a Lakers, Sparks, or Kings game, Crypto.com Arena concert, or LA Convention Center event. I am somewhat familiar with the DTLA area, and I recommend concertgoers, if they feel comfortable doing so, to explore cheaper eating options away from the area if they plan to save money-- I do this all the time. I know that there is a Denny's, Wendy's, and Fatburger down the street. You have Chick Fil-A, Chipotle, 7-Eleven, and Jollibee along 7th Street by the BLOC area. You can also ride the train or bus to go further out-- there is a Dave's Hot Chicken by Little Tokyo Japanese Plaza that I love going to all the time. Dutch Bros by USC just opened up, by the California ScienCenter.

The staff are nice and fast with check in. The room is well decorated but it can get very stuffy…read moreeasily. If you like more air, highly recommended to stand near the door. The drinks are reasonable. You can request less ice in cocktails. Do not buy parking in advance online. The GA parking is very far from the entrance. They sell parking right in front of the entrance for $30. The music and the lights are ok. They are not night clubs so we can't expect too much. Will definitely come back for their next events :)

Nice small standing room only. Went here for disco night...and it was fun. Well managed from…read moreoutside security & to inside. Plenty of outdoor seating area (benches) and bars throughout the venue. VIP parking right infront or their regular parking lot is across the street about 5-7mins walk. Staff are nice and friendly overall. Really enjoy this place & felt safe.

Came here on 11/25/2023 to find out that they are closed...it seems like they are currently kept…read moreclosed and they are not doing public tours for now according to their website

"Daddy. It looks like a ghost. Or Eva from the movie Wall-E."…read more I love those goofy kids!!

I honestly had no idea this place was here (I guess I'm not cultured lol)…read more This place did not disappoint. It's in a really nice area of Costa Mesa close to a bunch of hotels, south coast plaza and some of the best restaurants. (So many options for you to pick from and have dinner before your show) The architecture of the building itself is really beautiful. I would say it's a little tucked in, because I am always in this area and have never seen it before. The ambiance inside is nice as well. It's extremely clean This place has a parking garage and valet. Unfortunately, we had no idea they had valet. So we just automatically parked in the parking garage. But they do have a little walk way that is extremely easy to get to the building from the garage The lines went extremely fast for getting into the building. There was no restrictions on handbag size. ( or at least they didn't say anything to me about it / could differ from show to show and who is performing) All I had to do was open my purse and walk through a metal detector. Everyone was so friendly Once we entered the building, there are tons of staff directing you where to go if you need help finding your section They do have stairs when you walk in, but they have elevators. I chose to walk up a few stairs and then take the elevator to get to our seats We had second floor box circle level seating. It was extremely easy to get to the seats and the lady who took us to our seats was extremely kind and helpful She also gave us the rules - No placing your handbag on the railing, no video or flash photography I can't stress enough, the importance of elevators and it being accessible. So 5 stars for that The bathrooms were very clean and had a great amount of bathroom stalls. So there was no line I only saw one very tiny stand where you could get refreshments. I did not get anything, so I don't know what they had to offer (such as alcohol or if they had any food) The write up online for the show we went to for Tchaikovsky's Fifth & Avi Avital Pacific Symphony -Experience Tchaikovsky's Triumphant Fifth & Mandolin Virtuoso Avi Avital! Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductorAvi Avital, mandolin-MOZART: Overture to The Abduction from the Seraglio -FAZIL SAY: Mandolin Concerto (U.S. Premiere)TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 5

Volunteer Usher experience at Segerstrom…read more Rating: 2/10 Pro: maybe see a desired show Con: 1. Standing 3 hrs without leaning on the wall . Commit to blocking off 5 hrs to volunteer for show since we need to report 1.5 hrs before showtime. 2. Alex's mistake in scheduling me for 3 shows and then those were taken away 2 weeks later. I wanted to see Riverdance in which Alex told me I was scheduled to work. 3. Manager Norm Majors 's lack of honoring his word. Norm said he wanted to make it up to me for Alex's mistake. However when I asked for the original schedule, Norm said he can't honor it. Instead he can make it up to me by showing me how to use the Vlogistics system. I know how to do it since I already volunteered for 3 shows. I also have a graduate degree from an Ivy League. I know how to use the software but Norm is not listening. He wants to show me the manual for volunteers even which tells what to say and courtesy respond techniques to patron's concerns. Norm doesn't follow his own words or instructions in the manual. 5. Spend extra money to buy my own uniform. We don't get paid anything to cover it. 6. No time to eat dinner unless before showtime or after the show ends late at night. 7. See email for poor resolution from Norm. 8. No compensation, no water or food. I had to ask the bar to help. Unless you enjoy standing and spending 4.5 + hours of time and see an undesired outcome, I wouldn't recommend volunteering. There's a lot of volunteer retirees