Disneyland in Feb - Universal worth 1 day? Back to the Future?

[southlake]

Hi!

We are heading to DLR in Feb for Valentine's Day (yay!) after a long hiatus (for us ). We were last at DLR in Nov. 2017 and it's rare we go an entire year -2018- without making it to Disneyland!

Anyway, DH and I haven't been to Universal since we were kids - 30 years ago, probably. My 9 year old DD loves Back to the Future and really wants to see the Courthouse Square there. Do they still have this on the backlot tour? US's website doesn't mention anything about Back to the Future.

In fact, after looking at US's site, I'm not sure there's anything else there we'd really want to see other than the backlot tour. Is this even worth going? Is there somewhere else we could go for 1 day after 2 days at Disney? (Knotts Berry Farm, beach, etc?) And finally, if we do go to US, should we move hotels? We are currently staying at the DLR and I know traffic can make the drive lengthy so I'm thinking we should move hotels, but that seems like a lot of work for one day. Advice welcomed.

 

[pharmama]

I did the backlot tour at USH in April 2018 and they did go past the courthouse square and mention Back to the Future when doing so. That said, all portions of the backlot tour are subject to availability in the event they are filming in that area when you are there and there's no way to know in advance. I've tried but I just don't love USH (or Florida for that matter) other than the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The backlot tour is interesting but I don't know if it alone justifies a trip to USH if you're not at least a little bit interested in one or more of their other featured areas (HP, Simpsons, Minion Mayhem etc.).

 

[BecAus]

I DO like US - Florida and Hollywood, I particularly like doing the Backlot tour.
However, if it's only the Backlot tour that really interests you then I honestly don't think it's worth going just for that. As pharmama mentioned, there would be no guarantee you would see it anyway : (
I would do one of your other suggestions - KBF or beach - depending on what interests you more : )

 

[tweak89]

If you do the VIP Tour you actually get to get off and walk around that square (and several other areas that the standard tour just drives by). As far as the worth, are you simply not interested in the rides? The trip that the pic below was taken was my first time back in that park since the late 70's. And, while we have been to USF many times recently, USH is still worthwhile to visit IMO, there is definitely more to do than there was 30 years ago.


Doing the pose in front of the "clock tower":

 

[Jaina]

We went in January (I hadn't been since 2000, and took my 3 oldest kids this time) and we really enjoyed it. But we are big Harry Potter fans, and the kids enjoyed all the other rides we did, too. I missed the Back to the Future ride though. :-/ We didn't have time to do any of the shows.

 

[Gaugersaurus]

They still have the Courthouse Square scene in the US backlot tour and while it can close for filming I've personally never been when it was closed. If your only interested in doing US for the backlot tour because of the Courthouse Square I would say its not worth it. The other option if you want to do a backlot tour of some kind is at Warner Bros Studios; it's a bit farther from DLR than US but that's another possibility.

If you do go out to US I wouldn't move hotels, even with traffic the longest drive you're looking at is 90 mins (give or take); about double the time it would normally take to get from DLR to US. Regardless of what you choose to do you'll hit traffic on the 101 through Downtown and having to pack everything up and move hotels would honestly take more time than just driving there and back.

 

[kelmac284]

We were just there 2 weeks ago. Yes you can still see the courthouse although it looks a little different from the Back to the Future days as they changed it for the Ghost Whisperer set. It is a shame because for quite awhile they still had the BTTF sets but once they used it for GW they changed it all. But it is still neat to see. As pp stated there is the whole Harry Potter area which even if you aren't into HP it is still pretty cool. I much prefer the one in Orlando but if you can't go there this is still fun. We only go to USH once every 5 or more years because it is a one and done thing for us so we only go every so often to see whatever is new. I think it would be fun for you guys though since you haven't been in several years.

 

[cruisehopeful]

The tram backlot tour and the Harry Potter area are worth seeing. I enjoyed the Water World show. There isn't anything else there that I'd recommend. If you are going, check out the VIP tour.

Personally, I prefer staying the night right there at the Hilton or Sheraton to get an early start of my day. I don't like feeling shook up from the traffic and you never how many accidents you'll end up getting stuck behind.

 

[StormyCA]

My original visit was 30 years ago too!

I've been twice in the last few years, mainly for Harry Potter. For me it's defo a one day park and worth the price for you to go just to see the changes. You'll find it unrecognizable.

One word if this applies to you, there aren't a lot of rides to do if you suffer from motion sickness.

 

[kelmac284]

I agree with crusiehopeful. While you CAN drive up it is nice to be close. We always stay at the Hilton and depending on your tickets sometimes you can get early entry. It was very easy to take the tram over to the parks and very convenient. Unlike Disneyland there aren't a ton of hotels nearby. Mainly Hilton or Sheraton otherwise you have to look around Burbank and they can be farther away.

 

[southlake]

Thanks everyone! I think we've decided against it for now. My girls haven't seen any of the other movies so I don't think they'd be interested in anything else. My DD just wants to see the Back to the Future clocktower / square. We are flying to DLR on Tue 2/12, spending Wed & Thu in the parks, and then flying back home on Fri 2/15. I was thinking of extending our trip by a day to get out to Universal Studios on Fri 2/15 and then flying home on Sat, but I'm thinking it's going to be really expensive to Uber it that far if traffic is bad in the morning. Then we have to Uber it back in the evening. Or, we move hotels but as someone else mentioned, checking out of the DLR and trying to check in early to our new hotel on Fri before heading to the park (or stowing our luggage if our room is not ready, which always makes me nervous) seems like alot of work for one day at US Ugh.

 

[twodogs]

We are here now. We do DLR or WDW every few months (we live in Texas so we can go to either park in the same flight time). We went to USH today (a Saturday) for the first time at the end of our DLR trip. Kids were not interested in the backlot tour since they didn’t know many of the movies so we did not do the VIP (also did not want to have to stay with a group all day). We went for HP world, which they really liked. I can’t ride motion simulators so I only rode the small ride in HP world. Even the rest of the gang was motion sick after doing several of the other rides, and they never get motion sick even on the biggest rides in DLR or WDW or our local Six Flags. It was cold today and overcast, which didn’t help. We did like the Animal Actors show, but nothing is really covered other than restaurants and shops, and it was not fun in the rain. It only took us 40 minutes by Lyft this morning from the GCH and about 70 minutes to return at 3pm. If you use Lyft, there is pick up and drop off right at the main gate, though our morning driver didn’t know how to get there and dropped us at the end of City Walk, which was not ideal.

Costs for Lyft today from GCH were $57 on the way there and $64 on the way back to GCH, including 20% tip for a regular sized car.

I would not do USH again because the rides are all motion simulators for the most part, and everyone was ill by the middle of the day. I thought prices of food were even higher than DLR, if that is possible. I didn’t love the feel of the place. I have been to USH many times before kids, and liked it, but seeing it through the eyes of kids was not great, other than HP world. We don’t let the kids watch Simpsons, Mummy, Walking Dead and some of the other main shows they highlight, so that also took away from the experience. We may visit US Orlando one time for that HP world if my younger DD is still so into it next time we go. But other than that option, we will not go back. It was just not worth the drive, expense and time. I will say the Unlimited Express Pass was well worth it to get to walk on to every ride as many times as you wanted, if you like those types of rides.

 

[southlake]

We are here now. We do DLR or WDW every few months (we live in Texas so we can go to either park in the same flight time). We went to USH today for the first time at the end of our DLR trip. Kids were not interested in the backlot tour since they didn’t know many of the movies so we did not do the VIP (also did not want to have to stay with a group all day). We went for HP world, which they really liked. I can’t ride motion simulators so I only rode the small ride in HP world. Even the rest of the gang was motion sick after doing several of the other rides, and they never get motion sick even on the biggest rides in DLR or WDW or our local Six Flags. It was cold today and overcast, which didn’t help. We did like the Animal Actors show, but nothing is really covered other than restaurants and shops, and it was not fun in the rain. It only took us 40 minutes by Lyft this morning from the GCH and about 70 minutes to return at 3pm. If you use Lyft, there is pick up and drop off right at the main gate, though our morning driver didn’t know how to get there and dropped us at the end of City Walk, which was not ideal.

Costs for Lyft today from GCH were $57 and $64, including 20% tip for a regular sized car.

I would not do USH again because the rides are all motion simulators for the most part, and everyone was ill by the middle of the day. I thought prices of food were even higher than DLR, if that is possible. I didn’t love the feel of the place. I have been to USH many times before kids, and liked it, but seeing it through the eyes of kids was not great, other than HP world. We don’t let the kids watch Simpsons, Mummy, Walking Dead and some of the other main shows they highlight, so that also took away from the experience. We may visit US Orlando one time for that HP world if my younger DD is still so into it next time we go. But other than that option, we will not go back. It was just not worth the drive, expense and time. I will say the Unlimited Express Pass was well worth it to get to walk on to every ride as many times as you wanted, if you like those types of rides.

Thank you for this!!

 

[pharmama]

I agree with @twodogs on the motion simulator rides...I almost mentioned that bit in my first post. I never get sick on rides at DLR, Six Flags, other coasters but the rides at Universal get me (not actual puking but just feel yucky). I do OK on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey (and Escape from Gringotts at IOA in Florida) because they're a mix of coaster and simulator but the ones that are basically all simulator... Closest I've ever come to losing my lunch from a ride was the Simpsons one at IoA in Florida where it simulates a roller coaster.

Star Tours is a simulator ride too but for some reason it doesn't get me. I'm a little worried about the SWGE rides being too much in the Universal Studios simulator vein... I mean, I get that that's way cheaper and more space efficient than putting in an actual coaster but hopefully they've heard guest feedback from other theme parks that the full simulators need to be done carefully.

 

[christieCA]

I know you have already decided against it, but I wanted to say that we went with our kids last summer and had a great time. The only disappointment for us WAS the backlot tour. Both DH and I have fond memories of it as kids and we were both very let down.