Want to do Disneyland, Universal and Warner Bros Tour. What to do and where to stay?

[GabetrixDisney]

This community has always helped me in the past plan some of the best Disney World trips. Well I’m getting married and heading to the west coast for a potential honeymoon and have no idea where to stay or what to do.

I would like to visit Disneyland. Universal Hollywood and do the Warner Bros tour. Has anyone done those 3 in 1 trip? Any areas in Southern California people recommend staying? Perks to staying close to one area vs another?
Looking for a Safe, Clean, Vacation feel. Don’t have a problem commuting obviously but would like to keep it reasonable if possible.

Any suggestions or previous experiences would be very helpful. Thanks!

 

[twincruisers]

How many days are you thinking for each of the 3 and the overall trip? what timeframe or time of the year are you thinking?

Any other requests? other theme parks? Beaches? Food? Shopping? Star home tours?

 

[dieumeye]

You should book 2 hotels. One for your Anaheim/Disney days and a second for your Universal/WB days.

The drive between the two areas isn’t necessarily terrible. It’s a straight shot on I-5 about 35 minutes with no traffic. Although that drive could also be 2 hours in the worst traffic times. So it’s probably not something you’ll want to deal with more than once.

For the Universal/WB days, the Universal Hilton is nice and you are right at Universal CityWalk.

 

[sjmac42]

How many days are you thinking for each of the 3 and the overall trip? what timeframe or time of the year are you thinking?

As above, info on when, how many nights, interests etc would be useful to help you put together a great trip. Also, congrats on your upcoming nuptials

In general, 3 days is good for Disneyland, preferably with Parkhoppers, as the 2 parks are about 1 min walk from each other. Remember there are actually more attractions at DL than there are at WDW. For Disneyland stay 3-4 nights in Anaheim within walking distance of the parks. There are 3 “onsite” Disney hotels and dozens of hotels and motels within a 5 to 20 min walk of the park turnstiles. Many of these are actually closer than the “onsite” hotels.

For Warner Bros and Universal, you can add nights to Anaheim and do day trips from there either by renting a car or doing an organised tour. Traffic can be a real challenge though so if you’re going to spend more than a couple of days visiting places in LA, I would move hotels to LA.

There are also several nice beachside communities close to Anaheim so you could spend a day or 2 visiting Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach etc. and/or do some shopping in Orange County (that’s where Anaheim is located). As for LA there is so much to do which is where knowing your interests comes in. Museums, Parks, Hollywood, Markets, shopping, clubs, beachside communities, dining etc.

For me a good split is at least 3-4 nights each in Anaheim and LA but you can spend all your time in Anaheim if you just want to do Universal and Warner Bros in LA. I wouldn’t stay in LA to visit Disneyland. Just be prepared for that 30-35 mile trip to LA to be an hour or 2 depending on the time/day.

 

[DonnerB]

I often joke that I live in my least favorite city in California (LA). One of the things I love best about it is that I can be so many wonderful places by hopping in the car for a few hours (or less). There will be lots of great dining, shopping, museums, etc near both DL and Universal. But if you want some relaxation to end your trip, you’d be within driving of Palm Springs, Joshua Tree, Montecito/Santa Barbara, Temecula, Death Valley…all beautiful and give you a different California flavor than being in the city!

 

[vacay77]

You should book 2 hotels. One for your Anaheim/Disney days and a second for your Universal/WB days.

The drive between the two areas isn’t necessarily terrible. It’s a straight shot on I-5 about 35 minutes with no traffic. Although that drive could also be 2 hours in the worst traffic times. So it’s probably not something you’ll want to deal with more than once.

For the Universal/WB days, the Universal Hilton is nice and you are right at Universal CityWalk.

Agree with this. I'll also add the Paramount Studio Tour to the list (assuming it's reopen by then). I did that before the pandemic and I was really impressed.