Thinking of visiting California & DL for a week

[MdCaterer]

Want to do DL for 3 -4 days and Universal Studios for a day and hit the beach for at least 1 day. Anyone have any good suggestions for this trip. I have only been to WDW and we would be flying in 3 adults 4 kids ages 14-16

[gpp2001]

What suggestions are you looking for ? I live in in the Los Angeles area - used to have annual passes to Disneyland and I've been to Universal Studios once.

I can probably answer any questions you have. :sunshine:

[MdCaterer]

Thank you so much. We are thinking of flying into Long Beach and shuttling to Disneyland. I was wondering if we should go to Universal first and spend one night there or just use the DL area as our base. Can we do Universal in one day? Hoping not to rent a car as I hear traffic is horrible.

We would love to go to the beach or the sailboat to Catalina. Do you have any suggestions as to which would be better or should we do both?

Are the hotels like the Fairfield across from DL nice? I always stay on property at WDW but I have read that there isn't nearly the advantage to staying on property at DL. It also seems like they do not have many room discounts there. I am guessing they don't have offer many since there are only 3 DL hotels.

We are trying to squeeze as much as possible into 7 days so I am looking for tips and any advice. Thank you in advance for answering my post :)

[gpp2001]

Flying into Long Beach and shuttling to Disneyland is a great idea. Long Beach is a small airport and easy to get around.

I have not stayed at the Fairfield but have stayed at the Sheraton and they had a shuttle to the park. Is the Fairfield close enough to walk? Do they have their own shuttle? Or would you be relying on the Anaheim buses?

I have stayed at the Disneyland Hotel and enjoyed it very much but not anymore so then the time we stayed at the Sheraton.

You can do Universal in a day. It is a small park and can easily be covered in a day. Make sure you do the Studio Tour - it is an actual, working studio with many sets that you will recognize - such as Wisperia Lane from Desperate Housewives. The Studio Tour was the highlight of our day there.

I don't know about shuttling between Disney and Universal - I've never stayed up by Universal, so I can't really help you an that.

Los Angeles is not an early rising town - there are many times we would to to Disneyland and be there when it opened (usually on Sundays) and it wouldn't get crowded until 11am or so. We went to Universal during Winter Break and again, the crowds weren't bad until later in the day.

I have never been to Catalina - we have lived here for 5 years and it's something we want to do but just haven't gotten around to it yet. If you're not going to make it back this area again - I would definitely take the ferry over to Catalina.

Beaches - the Pacific Ocean is much colder than the Atlantic! The beaches are nice - we live south of the LA airport and go to the beaches in LA County. I've heard that the beaches south of us in Orange county are nice but haven't been to them.

Let me know if you have any other questions. :sunshine:

[MdCaterer]

Thanks Karn! You hit all the parts I was stressing about!!!

I am glad to hear we can do Universal in one day and we will definitely sign up for the studio tour that sounds fascinating!!

I had heard that the Pacific is colder than the Atlantic. We are looking at the 3rd week in June and I am wondering if we should just do the trip to Catalina and forget the beach.

I am also glad to hear that the crowds aren't bad in the mornings. I wish we could do DL in the off season but our DS is entering high school so that lets that option out! It was so much easier when he was little.

I am so excited to see California and Disneyland!!!!! Thanks again for the information, I really appreciate your input.

[wendyburger]

Looks like you already got a lot of good information! Just wanted to add a quick note that if you would like assistance booking your trip, please contact me (travel agent - no additional cost to you!). We used to go to Disneyland and Universal a couple times a year before "switching" to WDW. We are visiting Disneyland in mid-September after the Disney cruise from Vancouver, BC to LA. Can't Wait!

If you book the Disneyland package, you can book the Universal tickets, airport shuttles, and Catalina Island (all with transportation from Disneyland) all in the same package. Would make it nice and easy!