Grayline tours

[pigby]

I wondered if anyone had any fairly recent experiences of day trips with Grayline.

I am interested in a tour that goes to Universal and then later in the day gives you a tour of LA at night. Has anybody been on this one and how long do you get in the park

There are a few others they do which also look good and not bad value on the face of it.

 

[teatime]

I wondered if anyone had any fairly recent experiences of day trips with Grayline.

I am interested in a tour that goes to Universal and then later in the day gives you a tour of LA at night. Has anybody been on this one and how long do you get in the park

There are a few others they do which also look good and not bad value on the face of it.

I contacted them for a trip to universal, and to knotts, both of them are not at the park during park openings ( a few hours later then park opening) and you do not get to stay until park closes. I was not impressed with the times so decided not to do it.

 

[Minuet888]

used them for transportation to and from medival times. they were late picking us up, sent another bus, then went to the travel center which had NO air conditioning and then they used a huge bus to transport all 4 of us to medival times. Ya...no thanks

 

[hfehr1s]

We booked them for the LA/Hollywood Tour -- I've read mixed reviews on here and on TripAdvisor, but there weren't a whole lot of options so I went ahead and booked. I will be glad to give a report when we return in a few weeks!

 

[Kauinohea]

We booked them for Sea World and Leggo Land too (thru GAT).

Will post our experience too - trip - July 23-Aug 1

 

[pigby]

Thanks for your replies - I was a little concerned about how much time you would actually get in Universal Hollywood so I e-mailed Grayline - this is the response received today

Sue: Pick up from the hotel is between 8 and 8:30am, depending on what hotel. We bring you around the corner to our Tour Center. This is where you either pay, or turn in your prepaid voucher. The tours depart from the Tour Center between 9 and 9:15am. Universal is appx, 45 minutes to an hour drive, Knott's is appx. a 15 to 20 minute drive, and Seaworld is about an hour and 45 minute drive, or so, all depending on the traffic. for the Universal Combo Deluxe, you departure time from Universal for the night tour, is either between 6 and 6:30pm, or 7 and 7:30pm, depending on the time of year you go (peak or non-peak season), and what time the park closes. For the LA and Hollywood Experience, all departure times are the same as above. Have a nice day!

Thank you, Terri

I suppose they leave the Anaheim area after 9am to beat all the rush hour traffic in the city - but this still sounds OK to me.

To the guys who are trying them out soon - I would love to hear about your experiences when you get back. Kauinohea - is GAT a travel agent? Do you think it would be essential to prebook the trips - I was thinking of booking a couple of days before once in Anaheim - if it was a good experience the first time, then using them again to go somewhere else (like Knotts Berry) - if not we may consider car hire for a couple of days or so.

 

[teatime]

if your going to knotts get a taxi we did. who wants to get to a park after park opening and way to early to leave ? I want a full day and evening where I go and do not want to go after park opening !

 

[pigby]

if your going to knotts get a taxi we did. who wants to get to a park after park opening and way to early to leave ? I want a full day and evening where I go and do not want to go after park opening !

How much did you pay in a taxi? I assume you stayed close to DLR?

Thanks

 

[teatime]

How much did you pay in a taxi? I assume you stayed close to DLR?

Thanks

we paid 25.00 each way, got to stay as long as we wanted and it was well worth the ride. no loading and unloading people, it was nice to go and come back with out hassles. we may go again this year, just not sure yet.

 

[Kauinohea]

GAT is Get Away Today (Getaway.com) The price for the grayline tours for sea world and Legoland was cheaper than booking directly thru grayline.

 

[mystic_path]

I have been on this tour twice... well worth the money. The bus picks you up at your hotel and brings you to this bus loop where you redeem your voucher and are assigned a tour guide for the day. This process takes about 20 minutes, but our tour guide tries to get you to Universal Studios for park opening. You spend the ENTIRE day at Universal studios which also includes the City Walk. The bus then picks you up after park closing and before taking back to your hotel in anaheim, it takes you all around LA/Hollywood taking you to like the Chinese theatre to see the hand and foot prints of the stars, walk the walk of fame etc. You also get to go to the building where the academy awards are held each year, and then you get to go to this farmers market where all the stars shop. Along the way you get to see where stars live, where they usually are seen eating out, where events took place like celebrity arrests, or where movies were filmed. Its a great day out. I would say its about a 13 hour day.

Honestly I have been on this tour, and I have also been on just the Universal Studio's one. But for the extra $$$ Its well worth the experience.

 

[disneyfan4ever54]

GAT is Get Away Today (Getaway.com) The price for the grayline tours for sea world and Legoland was cheaper than booking directly thru grayline.

Good to know. We want to do the Sea World one and if I can save some $, that would be great!
Just clarifying the web address for anyone that might need it. It's getawaytoday.com

 

[mystic_path]

Flightcenter carries most of these tickets as well and they are much cheaper. You can print your vouchers out online and they send you a confirmation voucher in the post mail as well.

 

[pigby]

I have been on this tour twice... well worth the money. The bus picks you up at your hotel and brings you to this bus loop where you redeem your voucher and are assigned a tour guide for the day. This process takes about 20 minutes, but our tour guide tries to get you to Universal Studios for park opening. You spend the ENTIRE day at Universal studios which also includes the City Walk. The bus then picks you up after park closing and before taking back to your hotel in anaheim, it takes you all around LA/Hollywood taking you to like the Chinese theatre to see the hand and foot prints of the stars, walk the walk of fame etc. You also get to go to the building where the academy awards are held each year, and then you get to go to this farmers market where all the stars shop. Along the way you get to see where stars live, where they usually are seen eating out, where events took place like celebrity arrests, or where movies were filmed. Its a great day out. I would say its about a 13 hour day.

Honestly I have been on this tour, and I have also been on just the Universal Studio's one. But for the extra $$$ Its well worth the experience.

Wow that's exactly what I hoped to hear - my DD will be so excited.

 

[mystic_path]

Wow that's exactly what I hoped to hear - my DD will be so excited.

Oh well thats fantastic then. I really hope you get to go on this tour. You wont be sorry. Its just fantastic. May I also suggest going to the Universal City walk for lunch? Its just outside the Universal Studios park, and they have a large variety of places to eat there and its usually cheaper and better food then in the park. If you like sea food I am going to suggest going to "Bubba Gumps". Its a restaurant done to the theme of the Forest Gump movie as everything has to do with Shrimp. But if you dont like seafood then there are loads of other places to eat, including the Hard Rock Cafe.

 

[pigby]

Oh well thats fantastic then. I really hope you get to go on this tour. You wont be sorry. Its just fantastic. May I also suggest going to the Universal City walk for lunch? Its just outside the Universal Studios park, and they have a large variety of places to eat there and its usually cheaper and better food then in the park. If you like sea food I am going to suggest going to "Bubba Gumps". Its a restaurant done to the theme of the Forest Gump movie as everything has to do with Shrimp. But if you dont like seafood then there are loads of other places to eat, including the Hard Rock Cafe.

We must like VERY similar things - our two most favorite-est places when we go to Orlando are Bubba's and Hard Rock We are going to the Hard Rock in London (again) next month.