This was my first trip to the Griffith Observatory since the renovation several years ago, and my first guided tour here. I visited with my husband and 8 year-old son. We were impressed with our tour guide Estevan's professionalism and excitement during the tour. He was energetic for the entire tour (1.5 hours scheduled but closer to 2 due to issues with another party's check-in processing), starting with the descriptions of the historical astronomers at the outside statues, while providing a good balance of science, everyday analogies, Hollywood tie-ins, and humor as he took us through the interior and exterior highlights of the site. Since he has also worked at there as an employee, he was well-versed with the site's history and "lesser-known" highlights.
I highly recommend this tour for anyone: adults and school-aged children. There were many topics that my son had learned through books or school but also several that were new to him and us. Near the end of the tour, Estevan took us to an automated ticketing booth where we had the opportunity to purchase planetarium tickets without any lines. We did purchase the tickets, and they were a good value as well.
We were fortunate to visit on a Saturday without a scheduled event at the Greek Theater, found free parking there, and took the Dash Observatory bus 30-45 minutes prior to the 2-PM tour. It was still extremely busy that day, so if we hadn't found theater parking, we would have turned back to park near the Red LIne Vermont/Sunset station (and taken the same bus).
Many thanks to Estevan for the excellent and engaging tour!