Day Trip to Universal from Disneyland?

[ASmerud]

We are planning a Disneyland trip this fall. I thought about flying into Burbank, doing Universal for a day and then taking the train to Anaheim and staying at Disney the rest of the week. But I am wondering if it would be beneficial to just stay at Disneyland the entire time and take a day trip up to Universal. Has anyone done this? Transportation recommendations?

 

[BobaFettFan]

I'm planning a day trip. So far it's looking like ubering from and to our Disney hotel.

Pricey but saves having to move to a new hotel and what not.

Leave early in the AM as you're fighting traffic.

 

[ASmerud]

Thanks. I was thinking that too, surely Uber's will be readily available in that area. The hassel of moving hotels for one day seems worth the added expense.

 

[BobaFettFan]

My hotel works with a company that lets you schedule a pick up and drop off.


More expensive but I put a premium on certainty

 

[ASmerud]

My hotel works with a company that lets you schedule a pick up and drop off.


More expensive but I put a premium on certainty

I'll check and see if my hotel does this. That would definately make me more comfortable with it. Thanks!

 

[Pluto468]

When we did Universal we flew into BUR and stayed in LA for a night before moving to Anaheim. We had a rental car, though. I'm not sure what taking the train would be like. You could also consider a car service if you don't want to deal with Uber.

 

[LKing]

For more on Universal, you might browse through the California & The West forum.

 

[BigOHawk]

Back pre-COVID, we shuttled from Anaheim to Universal via Starline service and all worked pretty well.

 

[RoseColored97]

We just did this last week. The transportation cost was way more expensive than we were anticipating, $88.50+ $20 tip from the Queen Mary to Universal Studios then $94.93+$20 tip on the return. That was the absolute cheapest I could get it for. I kept waiting for prices to drop but they hovered there or went to $120-$140 at times. Those were both on Lyft, which ended up being a lot cheaper than Uber when we checked.

We needed an XL because we had 5 people, so that added into the cost but we were not anticipating it to be so expensive.

We had so much fun, but yeah - transportation costs are no joke. If you need a regular UberX, I would budget for $80-$100/one way not including tip since you'll be going from Disneyland. Check both Lyft and Uber for best price.

We went down to Disneyland from the Queen Mary and it was $84.50+tip. So crazy!

 

[Rex1993]

The transportation costs are high but not as high as parking and certainly not as high as renting a car and parking.

 

[chezcurrie]

I’m gonna be the naysayer here and say I would much prefer your initial plan of doing universal first, then either taking an Uber or rental car to the Anaheim area (you can return the car close to Disneyland so you don’t have to rent it the entire time. Making the trip to LA and back in one day would be a major pita and downer for me on vacation. And you have to account for time of day/traffic which my vacation mental load doesn’t want to have to stress about. Doing a one way is not as bad, and if you have a rental you could stop along the way to do something else (tar pits, Griffith observatory), assuming that’s not a park day for you.

Even if you are leaving after your universal day to head to Disneyland the next morning I would prefer that from a there and back in one day.

 

[DonMacGregor]

I’m gonna be the naysayer here and say I would much prefer your initial plan of doing universal first, then either taking an Uber or rental car to the Anaheim area (you can return the car close to Disneyland so you don’t have to rent it the entire time. Making the trip to LA and back in one day would be a major pita and downer for me on vacation. And you have to account for time of day/traffic which my vacation mental load doesn’t want to have to stress about. Doing a one way is not as bad, and if you have a rental you could stop along the way to do something else (tar pits, Griffith observatory), assuming that’s not a park day for you.

Even if you are leaving after your universal day to head to Disneyland the next morning I would prefer that from a there and back in one day.

The only downside is having to spend the night in the Valley...

 

[chezcurrie]

The only downside is having to spend the night in the Valley...

LOL. I’d recommend The Garland hotel in this scenario. Great vibe and also have a trolley to universal.

 

[ASmerud]

We just did this last week. The transportation cost was way more expensive than we were anticipating, $88.50+ $20 tip from the Queen Mary to Universal Studios then $94.93+$20 tip on the return. That was the absolute cheapest I could get it for. I kept waiting for prices to drop but they hovered there or went to $120-$140 at times. Those were both on Lyft, which ended up being a lot cheaper than Uber when we checked.

We needed an XL because we had 5 people, so that added into the cost but we were not anticipating it to be so expensive.

We had so much fun, but yeah - transportation costs are no joke. If you need a regular UberX, I would budget for $80-$100/one way not including tip since you'll be going from Disneyland. Check both Lyft and Uber for best price.

We went down to Disneyland from the Queen Mary and it was $84.50+tip. So crazy!

Wow, those prices are crazy! Thanks for the detail…makes me rethink, maybe my first idea is a better one.