Planning for Universal with DLR in June?

[sbakersub]

Advice, please. We're doing DLR etc, flying in June 12th and out June 18th. We're staying at CCI, so I wasn't planning on a rental car and was thinking we'd just take a GrayLine bus to get to Universal one day. However, Hertz has 50% off weekend rentals, so if I change our hotel plans for the 17th, I can get a rental car for 5 days for less than the cost of the 1-day GrayLine bus to Universal, not even counting shuttles or taxis to/from SNA to CCI.

So, all that said, would you do Universal on Saturday the 14th or Sunday the 15th (driving to/from the DLR area) or on Tuesday the 17th (driving from the DLR area but then directly to SNA that evening)? I'm trying to balance out LA-area traffic, park crowd expectations, budget, and time to optimize our time, money, and enjoyment -- and minimize my stress -- so would appreciate any input.

 

[Cadillac_Dreamgirl]

Universal will be more easier to attend on a Tuesday. Just consider its 40 min north of DL with no traffic

there is also a train metrolink but i have never been on it.

http://www.metrolinktrains.com/stations/detail.php?id=81
for te metrolink you probobly have to transfer to another line and that takes u to universal..

http://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/vi_transport.html

You may want to pose this question on the Disneyland board..

 

[sunshinemummy]

To be honest if you can avoid any park on the weekend it will be better. We did Universal last Thursday, short lines and less crowded. The drive to Universal seems long with the traffic but I'd go on the Tuesday.

 

[mmmears]

I think the traffic would be better on the weekend, but it seems that there is always heavy traffic when we are therethere for us. One thing to consider is that you can buy a VIP Front of the Line Pass for Universal, which might make going on the weekend more bearable. DL on the weekend is packed, also, but you cant bypass the lines there. We were able to get the US pass at AAA for a decent discount and it definitely made our waits there shorter.

 

[MTCruiser]

If driving from disneyland what time would you leave?
We're doing the same thing from the CCI in June.

 

[sbakersub]

Thanks for the responses. I'm seriously re-thinking the rental car 'cause I'm kind of a scaredy cat when it comes to LA-area driving --it might be worth it to pay a little more to have someone else cart us around, and then just stay the extra day since we're down there anyway. So now I'm thinking our itinerary will be something like:

Thurs 6/12 arrive SNA, take taxi to CCI
Fri 6/13 Disneyland
Sat 6/14 Disneyland/California Adventures
Sun 6/15 Grayline bus to Universal Studios/maybe combo for LA landmarks
Mon 6/16 Sleep in a little/ California Adventures
Tues 6/17 Disneyland/California Adventures/Downtown Disney
Wed 6/18 Taxi from CCI to SNA for flight home

I think doing Universal on Sunday, although it might be crowded, should be at least marginally better than Disney on that Sunday -- is that right? Since we've got only about 5 days to see the sights I hate to give up the 2 weekend days entirely to avoid the crowds.

 

[keishashadow]

i've priced out grayline for $80 pp including transportation from DL-GCH; 11 hour tour leaves @ either 9:15 or 11:30 am. Believe they do pickups elsewhere in the area too, you need to schedule?

was going to post to see if anybody had done this tour or the Deluxe Combo that incorporates an LA tour & extends it to 13 hours, costs $88

if you book thru AAA there's a 10% discount

im still on the fence

 

[VegasMike21]

I think the traffic would be better on the weekend, but it seems that there is always heavy traffic when we are therethere for us. One thing to consider is that you can buy a VIP Front of the Line Pass for Universal, which might make going on the weekend more bearable. DL on the weekend is packed, also, but you cant bypass the lines there. We were able to get the US pass at AAA for a decent discount and it definitely made our waits there shorter.

last year we did universal on a saturday and getting there was a breeze, got there in about 35 minutes from the hotel. going back though took more like 75 minutes and the traffic was bad! the longest line we waited on was like 20 minutes for the mummy. we walked onto jurassic park with no lines twice!