Fires are pretty gnarly at the moment…
I think the people on Melrose or in Venice are more interesting than the people on 3rd Street Promenade. The people on Vermont are more interesting than the people on 3rd St.
Exactly, because you spend only one night there, and you are expecting something from a Woody Allen movie. Spend some time to get to know the place, and you’ll find your smile again. Ultimately, L.A. is not an instant breakfast place; you have to spend some time and effort to get to know it. Sorry, but that’s how it is.
Find yourself an escape route. Quickly.
Yeah. I love living in L.A. but it’s not a tourist-friendly city. There are definitely amazing things to see and do but they’re scattered all over town with 90 minute drives in heavy traffic separating them.
L.A. has a weird relationship with culture. In other big cities the rich folks pump money into the arts to prove to the world that they’re not just soulless moneymakers. But in L.A. the rich folks are part of the entertainment business (or pretend to be) – they’re ARTISTS! So they don’t feel the same drive to support the arts. In L.A. art is something you get paid for making, not something you pay other people to make.
Fullerton. Gah. That’s a tough nut to crack, particularly if you don’t even have a full day. All the quintessential L.A. stuff is up by downtown or out on the west side: Griffith Observatory, Sunset Strip, the tar pits, Venice Beach, the Getty Museum.
You could drive up to Hollywood and catch a movie at The Arclight.
Seriously, your best bet is probably Disneyland.
Yes, as is the guy who blows cigarette smoke into bubbles.
I love Santa Monica and the pier, but even I wouldn’t sit through traffic both ways just for one night there. Go somewhere you don’t have to travel long to reach-- that way you have more time to spend there, at a more relaxed pace. If wherever you go isn’t fun, you can always find somewhere else. That won’t be an option if most of your time is on the road.
Personally, I’d play with Google maps and see if there’s any good restaurants or attractions nearby.
Hey, I was that guy in the San Diego College Area a couple of years ago. 
(But with hookah smoke.)
Judging by the lines, it seems that the answer is my ex-girlfriend…
On a somewhat more serious note, you might want to check out Knott’s Scary Farm. They basically scary up the theme park–add a ton of haunted houses (they call them “mazes,” but there’s only one path), have people in monster costumes wandering around scaring people, and so on. A lot of the patrons go in costume too (at least closer to Halloween they do; idk if they would this early in the month), and it’s generally a lot of fun.
Seeing as how you don’t want to go to Disneyland, I don’t know if this would strike your fancy, but one nice thing about it is that you should be right on top of Knott’s. OTOH, the “Scary” incarnation of the park doesn’t open until 7, which may not work well with the hectic schedule you’ll be keeping. That and it will still basically be a theme park, so it’ll be a fair amount of walking, which you may or may not feel like doing.
Otherwise, your best bet probably will be Anaheim (Ducks, Angels, Disneyland). Or who knows, maybe somebody less lurkerly than me would like to throw together a Dopefest. 
It’s funny to me that so many people have suggested the promenade. I grew up with it practically in my backyard so it always seemed much more exciting to go hang out in Hollywood, Citywalk, or at the Grove, etc. I do really love the pier though. The ferris wheel is beautiful, especially at night and nothing beats a sunset from Palisades park (3 blocks west of the promenade) if you make it in time.
I’ve also heard good things about Knott’s Scary Farm and Downtown Disney but I’ve never been to either.
Just for the record, going to Disneyland and going to Downtown Disney are NOT the same thing. Downtown Disney, particularly on weekend nights, is kind of a fancy outdoor mall. Live entertainment, shopping, decent restaurants, an ESPN Zone, a movie theater…I’m not trying to suggest that it’s for everyone, but outside of the Disney Store and a couple of kiosks, Downtown Disney does not even remotely try to beat you over the head with Disney stuff. It’s just a neat place to walk around.
Given that you’ll be in Fullerton, and with all the other driving you will have done to that point, I doubt you’ll want to stray much farther than the Disney complex anyway.