In the movie, 'Skeeter' (Adam Sandler) is the son of the owner of a small motel called The Sunny Vista.

When his father sells the motel, and it grows into a large hotel for the rich & famous,
Skeeter is reduced (Cinderella-style) to working as the hotel handyman.

The little cottage-like Sunny Vista Motel is actually The El Royale Motel,
which you can find at 11117 Ventura Blvd, in Studio City, CA.

That's in the San Fernando Valley, on the north side of Ventura Blvd, just west
of Vineland Ave, and about a mile northwest of Universal Studios Hollywood.

(Here's a Google StreetView panorama of the cottages.)

The plot unfolds when Skeeter tells bedtime stories to his nieces & nephew at the home
of his sister, 'Wendy' (Courteney Cox), and is later astounded to find out that the
stories seem to be coming true in the real world.

His sister's house can be found at 800 Adelaine Ave, in South Pasadena, CA.

That's on the east side of the street, midway between Magnolia St. and Mission St,
two blocks south of the Pasadena (110) Freeway.

(Here's a Google StreetView panorama of the house.)

[ Warning: this is a private home.  Do not trespass on their property, knock on their door,
or do anything else that might disturb the residents! ]

The scene seen most often in the commercials for this movie has Skeeter caught in a rain of colorful
gumballs, something straight out of those bedtime stories. What actually happens is that a truck full
of gumballs overturns on an overpass above Skeeter, sending down a shower of gumballs.

This Gumball Scene was shot on Seaside Way, in Long Beach, CA.
The overpass (where the truck spills the gumballs) is the Queensway Branch -
which is the south end of Magnolia Avenue (where it becomes the Queensway Bridge).
The camera is looking east, and the garage you see behind him is for One Oceangate Plaza.

( Fans of the TV show "Dexter" should know that the Oceangate office plaza
is the same plaza where Agent Lundy bumps into the Trinity Killer.

It's also where they shot a 'Shanghai' scene of a "Transformers" attack. )

(Here's a Google StreetView panorama taken from the overpass,
looking west down on Seaside Way.)

In one of his original bedtime stories, we see Skeeter as a medieval squire at a castle.

That castle is actually the Castello di Amorosa Winery, which, unlike the other locations,
is a long way from Los Angeles, at 4045 N. Saint Helena Highway, Calistoga, CA.

It's up in northern California wine country, about 60 miles north of San Francisco and east of
Sacramento, about a quarter mile south of the Highway (at the end of the winery's road).

(Want to visit? The winery has its own website at castellodiamorosa.com,
with directions. But be aware that the winery charges an admission fee.)

(Here's a Google StreetView panorama of the road entrance.)

'Skeeter' begins to believe that his stories are actually coming true.  So, following a Wild West story
about him getting a free Ferrari (horse), he has high hopes of getting a free Ferrari (car) in real life.
 In the screenshot above, we see him looking into the window of a Ferrari dealership.

That Ferrari store is real. It's Ferrari of Beverly Hills, and
you can find it at 9372 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA.

That's on the west side of Wilshire, between Canon & Crescent.

(Here's a Google StreetView panorama of the store.)

That same bedtime story has him rescuing a damsel in distress. And later, that part does come true,
when Skeeter finds the boss's daughter, 'Violet' (Teresa Palmer), in trouble - surrounded by
aggressive paparazzi outside of a restaurant - and he rescues her.

That Paparazzi ambush scene was filmed outside the EuroChow restaurant, at
1099 Westwood Blvd, in Westwood Village, just south of the UCLA campus.

The scene plays out along the west side of that restaurant, on the 1700 block of Broxton Ave.

(Here's a Google StreetView panorama of the Broxton, and the west side of the restaurant.)

Yet another bedtime story has him walking along the beach with the "fairest maiden", and
later ducking into a cave to avoid a sudden rainstorm. And sure enough, he winds up on
the beach (near a red Hot Dog on a Stick stand) with 'Jill' (Keri Russell), the kids' babysitter.

That hot dog stand at the beach is actually the original Hot Dog on a Stick (built in 1946)
in an area known as Muscle Beach, at 1633 Ocean Front Walk, in Santa Monica, CA.

Muscle Beach (and the hot dog stand) is just south of the Santa Monica Pier.
Not surprisingly, the "cave" turns out to be under that very pier.

In the screencap below, we can see a Ferris Wheel behind Skeeter & Jill as they walk along the
beach. That Ferris Wheel is at Pacific Park, atop The Santa Monica Pier,
at the west end of Colorado Ave. The camera is looking northwest.

(Here's a Google StreetView panorama of the pier and the hot dog stand.)

Skeeter attends a tropical-themed birthday party at the mansion of his boss, Mr. Nottingham,
but is worried, because the last bedtime story involved him being set on fire - and he fears
that he will actually be incinerated at the party. So he is distracted dodging tiki torches
& fire eaters, gets stung by a bee, and winds up being fired by his boss instead.

That mansion is perched on a hilltop, on a private road, at 2300 White Stallion Road,
in Thousand Oaks, CA - a few miles west of the Los Angeles/Ventura County line.

[ Warning: this is a private home.  Do not trespass on their property, knock on their door,
or do anything else that might disturb the residents! ]

[ Thanks to Lindsay of iamnotastalker.com for sending me this one. ]

When his sister, Wendy, learns that her school (where she is the principal, and which her kids attend)
is going to be demolished to make way for the new hotel, she stages a protest at the school.

That protest scene was shot outside the Memorial Branch Library, at 4625 W. Olympic Boulevard, in
Los Angeles. That's in Los Angeles High Memorial Park, across the street from Los Angeles High School,
It's a few blocks south of Hancock Park, about two miles southeast of Farmers Market & The Grove.

(Here's a Google StreetView panorama of the location.)

Wendy finally manages to corner Mr. Nottingham, and tries to convince him to build
his new hotel somewhere else, so they can save the school.

The official-looking building where she talks to Mr. Nottingham is the west side of
Pasadena City Hall, at 100 N. Garfield Ave, in Pasadena, CA,
at the east end of Holly Street, where Holly ends at Garfield Ave.

(Here's a Google StreetView panorama of the location.)


         

The photos on this page are stills from the DVD of "Bedtime Stories"
(which you can buy by clicking here) and are copyright Walt Disney Studio.

The rest of the page is Copyright © 2020-Gary Wayne / Seeing-Stars.com