Universal Studios Transportation Question.

Aimee_Jane83

Mouseketeer
Joined
May 31, 2017
Hi everyone,

I am going to California in May with my parents, my boyfriend and his family. We have a 5 day hopper for Disneyland and will be staying at a close by Disneyland hotel. We do want to spend one day at Universal Studios and are trying to figure out the best cheapest mode of transportation. We originally have had no plans for a rental car as for $40 from SNA you can grab a cab to your Disneyland hotel. We only have 2 day excursions planned and one we plan on using Starline for one of them as it's reasonable.

Can anyone suggest a good option for getting to Universal Studios and back?

I have been looking online at the ticket prices for Universal and Startline offers a ticket package with round trip pick up and drop off for $189pp. If we book separately then the ticket itself is going to be $130. Each of us would be saving about $60 that we could use to chip in and rent a car for one day which may be a cheaper option. We just don't know of a good rental car company that's close to Disneyland that we can cab to. Can you recommend a rental car company to us or can you recommend any other transportation options I may have missed? (No local city bus hopping please)
 
I went to Universal Studios using the Red Line Metro and free shuttle bus but I was staying in Downtown LA, not Anaheim.

The only way would be either rent a car or do the Starline tour, as its about 70 minutes drive between Anaheim and Universal Studios.

The only other way would be get the Amtrak train from Anaheim to Union Station, then the Red Line Metro and then the free shuttle bus, but that would take about 90 minutes each way
 
We just don't know of a good rental car company that's close to Disneyland that we can cab to. Can you recommend a rental car company to us
There is an Enterprise at the Hilton. A National/Alamo on Katella right next to the 7/11.

Check LuxBus. If I remember correctly it's $35 per person round trip.
 
You have a few options.

1. Take LA Metro bus 460 from Disneyland to 7th Street Metro Station. Then Connect to the Metro RedLine (heading towards North Hollywood) to Universal City Station. At Universal City Station take the free shuttle to the theme park.

2. Go to Fullerton Amtrak/Metrolink Station and take Metrolink or Amtrak train to LA Union Station. At Union Station connect to the Metro RedLine (heading towards North Hollywood) to Universal City Station. At Universal City Station take the free shuttle to the theme park.

3. Go to Anaheim Amtrak/Metrolink Station and take Metrolink or Amtrak train to LA Union Station. At Union Station connect to the Metro RedLine (heading towards North Hollywood) to Universal City Station. At Universal City Station take the free shuttle to the theme park.



Option 1 is the cheapest and will get you to Universal in 2-3 hours.

Option 2 and 3 are the most expensive depending on if you take Metrolink or Amtrak train. These options will get you to Universal in 2 hours.



As for return.


The Redline Subway stops running at 12am on weekdays and 2am on weekends.

Taking the 460 or Amtrak train back to the Disneyland area will allow you to stay late.
Metrolink trains stop running late in the afternoon.



Websites:

LA Metro:

https://www.metro.net/riding/maps/


Metrolink

https://metrolinktrains.com/


Amtrak

https://www.amtrak.com/home
 
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I'd look at the Lux Bus tours as StageTek suggested. They do transportation from a bunch of Anaheim hotels for $35 and have ticket included tours for around $150. Anything else is going to be more in $ or wasted time - train/bus will take hours, car rental might be cheaper but will be a pain to execute plus $25 parking at USH, and UberXL/cab will run you around $200 each way.
 
I'd look at the Lux Bus tours as StageTek suggested. They do transportation from a bunch of Anaheim hotels for $35 and have ticket included tours for around $150. Anything else is going to be more in $ or wasted time - train/bus will take hours, car rental might be cheaper but will be a pain to execute plus $25 parking at USH, and UberXL/cab will run you around $200 each way.


There is one big issue with those tour buses, they won't get you to Universal at or before opening. So if your ticket includes early entry your SOL. Also when they do get to Universal, the park is already busy so you lose out on taking advantage of minimal to no waits at the attractions in the morning. And most of the tour buses leave before park closing so another missed opportunity to take advantage of the low waits towards closing.

Take the Tour Bus only if you have Universal Express on your ticket.

Rent a car or take public transit- both options are better than those tour buses.
 
We took the Starline Tours bus last year from Anaheim to Universal and it was awful. First, they pick you up at your hotel then go and pick others up at other hotels. They then take you to a main hub where you have to wait for another bus to take you to Universal. Once you get to Universal the park is already open as others indicated and then they picked us up at 5 PM on the dot so you get hardly any time to do things there. Starline definitely wasn't worth it. This year we are going back to Disneyland in June and going to Universal one day with unlimited express passes. I have already priced out Lyft taking us from Anaheim to Universal and it is 46.61 one way so all and all under 100.00 round trip for my family of 4. That way I'm on my own time with when I want to come back and also we get picked up and taken straight to the park and no other stops along the way.
 


I have been pricing out Uber and Lyft at approximately the times we would travel and I am getting much higher estimates for 3 people. It seems they increase the rate during rush hour which is when I want to travel to arrive at Universal before it opens at 9.
 
We were just going to uber to Universal Studios but decided to get a car through Enterprise near our hotel. And since we'll be dropping off in Vegas that works out good to that it's also near our hotel.
 
I've taken LuxBus twice.
First time I didn't like (but understand) that they pick you up around 4-5 to avoid rush hour traffic, but I didn't get to explore City Walk or see all the shows I wanted to and felt rushed.
Second time I only booked one way to get to Universal from Anaheim---there was a hold up at the main bus station and i almost missed my VIP tour appointment because of it. I booked Lansky to pick my brother and I up at 9pm which gave us plenty of time to eat and shop at City Walk, but it was pricey.

I'm going again this summer and am considering Uber or Lyft to get to Universal and back to Anaheim. I feel like it's more flexible and private.
I understand there's the surge pricing(I'm from Vancouver BC and we don't have ridesharing booo---so I'm not too familar with it). If I go on say, a Sunday, would it be more expensive compared to a weekday in the summer?

Thanks!
 
If I go on say, a Sunday, would it be more expensive compared to a weekday in the summer?
Uber's surge pricing typically goes into effect when there are a lot of people booking rides. Sunday evening might be less than a weekday evening.
 
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The only other way would be get the Amtrak train from Anaheim to Union Station, then the Red Line Metro and then the free shuttle bus, but that would take about 90 minutes each way

I know this is an older post, but Metrolink also serves between Anaheim and LA Union Station. The fares are cheaper although the schedules might not be ideal in the late evening. There’s also a free transfer to LA Metro or OC Transit by flashing a valid Metrolink ticket. Maybe Metrolink one way and Amtrak the other for anyone interested in this trip.
 
Uber's surge pricing typically goes into effect when there are a lot of people booking rides. Sunday evening might be less than a weekday evening.

Thanks @StageTek! Do you happen to know if Lyft does surge pricing as well?
And how much does the price increase to during surge? Three times the usual? (because that will be around the same if I went for, say, Lansky or a private transportation service).
 

Thanks for the response and info, guys!
I think I might consider Uber or Lyft this time and try going to USH on a Sunday instead :)
Or, would traffic be bad on a weekday in August after 8PM? Decisions, decisions!

On a side note, I can't believe Jurassic Park is getting a makeover---going extinct September onwards to Jurassic World!
I'm glad I'll be able to sneak in one more visit :'(
 

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