fitting 1 day in at universal - drive or switch hotels

[bccanadamom]

Hi! Thanks so much for all the awesome advice on this forum.
Looking for some expert opinions - we fly into LAX on the 19th of May and have 5 nights, with a 3 day park hopper pass.
Wondering if it makes more sense to drive to Universal on Thursday for overnight and do the park friday then switch to a disney hotel for Fri-Tues? We want to be at universal for early admission and from what I've read the drive from Anaheim to hollywood can be bad in the am??? Our 6 yr old son is a harry potter fan so we want to do universal first, then can relax (???) for the rest of the holiday at disney.
Also - we have a room booked at the courtyard theme park entrance for just over $300/nt but am waffling on the disneyland hotel for about $100 more per night - would appreciate advice? (we've stayed at the grand californian before and it was awesome but is even more than the disneyland hotel).
Thanks in advance for your help!!!

 

[sheetz]

Yeah, I would consider staying near USH the first night to reduce the amount of backtracking.

 

[courtneybeth]

Any time you're traveling from/to Los Angeles and Anaheim is rough - our traffic here is bumper-to-bumper it seems at all hours. You would do best to secure another room next to Universal and then drive down to Disney.

As for the on property vs off property - you're staying so close anyway. I would stick with your current room. $300 could be an extra nice meal or some souvenirs!

 

[ParkHopper1]

Personally I would start and stay the first night near Universal then transfer down to DL Friday night since you are arriving at LAX...that way you are not dealing with traffic down and back. You would have to leave Anaheim stupid early to be at Universal at park opening.

There are a few hotels near by that you can walk to the park. If you get in earlier Thursday there is Universal City Walk that is a similar concept to DTD (but better in my opinion) to go do dinner and explore before your park day.

For on site vs off...all depends on what that extra $100/night would mean to your budget. Staying inside the Disney Bubble only adds to the experience of your trip...of it does not mean you would need to skimp in other places I would stay on site hands down.

 

[Mommy to Kayla]

We are adding in two days at Universal at the end of our DL trip this summer. We decided to just stay at one of the hotels near there. We even got the VIP passes which I am so excited about and are much less than at Disney. Traffic is just too crazy and unpredictable.

 

[DahliaRW]

We're doing similar (staying near Universal the first night and hitting that park and then moving to our hotel near DLR for that night). We figure we'll be late enough out of universal to not hit nasty traffic on the way to Anaheim. We're staying near Hollywood the first night, and traffic in the AM for when we need to be there (we have an 8am VIP tour, so trying to get to Universal by 7:30am) looks like a non-issue since we're heading out of the LA area and not in. There is more traffic en route to universal if you stay out in Burbank.

 

[PixieT78]

DH and I have gone back and forth on this as well. We arrive before noon on a Sunday and based the flight choice on hitting a park that day. To me it is too late to do a full Universal day but I'll miss doing a park that day if we stay near Universal to go there on the Monday! Universal Hollywood doesn't really have 2 day tickets right?

 

[kristabelle13]

We just stayed up in Burbank last night and did Universal today. We were there at 8am and left at 1:30 after riding every ride (Forbidden Journey 3x) and having lunch. Oh and so much shopping. lol

 

[sheetz]

DH and I have gone back and forth on this as well. We arrive before noon on a Sunday and based the flight choice on hitting a park that day. To me it is too late to do a full Universal day but I'll miss doing a park that day if we stay near Universal to go there on the Monday! Universal Hollywood doesn't really have 2 day tickets right?

They have some cheaper APs (season pass, Costco) that could work for you depending on your dates. The first day is never blocked out and some Mondays are unblocked.

 

[bccanadamom]

We just stayed up in Burbank last night and did Universal today. We were there at 8am and left at 1:30 after riding every ride (Forbidden Journey 3x) and having lunch. Oh and so much shopping. lol

wow - I was thinking of buying the front of the line passes but wonder if we should bother? We will be on a Friday which might be busier than a Tuesday but based on your feedback sounds like we could get through everything without spending the extra $$$? Did you find a good place to stay? I am booked at the hilton right at the park but there are a few places in burbank that also looked nice and less expensive (Hilton is over $300 for the night)

 

[ParkHopper1]

There is a Holiday Inn Express right by Universal that is decent.

 

[sheetz]

Crowds have been way below expectations. Even on the most crowded days the lines have died down in the afternoon.

Here are the current wait times:
http://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/ushwaittimes/

 

[mad hatter fan]

How long would it take to drive to Universal from Anaheim on a Sun morning? Is traffic still a big deal on a weekend? Our plans are already made and we will be staying at the new Homewood suites for the whole trip.

 

[PixieT78]

They have some cheaper APs (season pass, Costco) that could work for you depending on your dates. The first day is never blocked out and some Mondays are unblocked.

Well am I ever glad I posted! Thanks so much for this! Even the cheapest one should work for us and it is less than $20 more than the weekday ticket! And dare I say an excuse to use it before it expires in 2017...

 

[sheetz]

Well am I ever glad I posted! Thanks so much for this! Even the cheapest one should work for us and it is less than $20 more than the weekday ticket! And dare I say an excuse to use it before it expires in 2017...

If you can get the Costco pass that would be even better than the season pass. I think it's only $110 and the blackout calendar is essentially the same. Plus it's good for an entire year.

Here's the Costco pass blackout calendar.
http://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/passmember/2016N

 

[PixieT78]

If you can get the Costco pass that would be even better than the season pass. I think it's only $110 and the blackout calendar is essentially the same. Plus it's good for an entire year.

Here's the Costco pass blackout calendar.
http://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/passmember/2016N

Yeah the Costco one was the one that I looked at. The only thing is there seems to be a bit of a discrepancy on the first use date? The Costco site said by Jan 2017 but the Universal site said June 2016. Since we're going in October, that's the only thing giving me a bit of a pause.

 

[sheetz]

Yeah the Costco one was the one that I looked at. The only thing is there seems to be a bit of a discrepancy on the first use date? The Costco site said by Jan 2017 but the Universal site said June 2016. Since we're going in October, that's the only thing giving me a bit of a pause.

I think the June 2016 first use date is only for the season pass. In the past the season pass prices have changed during the 2nd half of the year.

 

[kristabelle13]

wow - I was thinking of buying the front of the line passes but wonder if we should bother? We will be on a Friday which might be busier than a Tuesday but based on your feedback sounds like we could get through everything without spending the extra $$$? Did you find a good place to stay? I am booked at the hilton right at the park but there are a few places in burbank that also looked nice and less expensive (Hilton is over $300 for the night)

It might be busier, but what I did was look at ushwaittimes.com throughout the day for a couple weeks leading up to our trip to see the patterns of flow.

We stayed at the Springhill Burbank/Downtown (or maybe reverse) - easy 15 min drive to park (and passes a couple of Starbucks). We paid $128 + tax. Which hit the CC at close to $200cdn but the hote was BRAND NEW. spacious rooms and included breakfast. And it appeared to be a safe neighbourhood. And we arrived late at night. (It's also 1 mi from an In n Out).

 

[bccanadamom]

It might be busier, but what I did was look at ushwaittimes.com throughout the day for a couple weeks leading up to our trip to see the patterns of flow.

We stayed at the Springhill Burbank/Downtown (or maybe reverse) - easy 15 min drive to park (and passes a couple of Starbucks). We paid $128 + tax. Which hit the CC at close to $200cdn but the hote was BRAND NEW. spacious rooms and included breakfast. And it appeared to be a safe neighbourhood. And we arrived late at night. (It's also 1 mi from an In n Out).

awesome thanks - I'll check it out since we have a car anyways, yes - I keep trying to just forget about the exchange rate for this holiday, but it's painful!

 

[DahliaRW]

It'll be interesting to see what happens come Summer. I suspect a lot of people will go then. It is still the off season right now (school in session). Hotel prices for July are crazy. For example, that Springhill in Burbank for my dates in July (Monday night) is $279/night (more than double what the pp paid).