Advice needed - Going from Disneyland to Hollywood / LA

[tommygunn]

Hi fellow nerds. The wife and I are heading to Cali in October and plan to stay 6 nights splitting between the Disney and Beverly Hills/Hollywood area.

my question is how difficult is it to go to attractions in the Hollywood area while staying at Disney. I’ve heard traffic is horrendous. But are there trains I can take? Or should I just plan on staying in Disney when I plan on going to the parks and in Hollywood when I plan on doing studio tours etc.

 

[katyringo]

On Memorial Day- so it was a holiday- I took an Uber from hotel on harbor to Universal early in the morning to get there for early entry. I had the Uber pick me up at 545am and I was at universal by 630. I was way earlier than needed. Uber was around $80.

On the way back I don't remember what time I actually left universal, but it took about 2 hours to get back with traffic in the afternoon.

I looked into the train but it just didn't leave early enough for me.

Total Uber was about $160

I think if you are doing multiple things in Hollywood it would be worth staying there and maybe renting a car or something.

I'm planning to bring the whole family soon and so Disneyland and universal and I think we will fly in closer to Hollywood- do that area, and then switch to Disneyland and fly home from SNA

 

[Ryan120420]

LA Metro Bus 460 picks up under the monorail beam on Harbor Blvd and will take you into the center of Downtown LA. From there you can take Metro Rail to destinations in Hollywood. The trip from Disneyland to Downtown LA is 90min and $1.75 per person. Buses run every 30mins from 4am-12am.

Metrolink commuter rail from either Fullerton Station or Anaheim Station. This train will take you to LA Union Station from there you can transfer to Metro Rail to destinations in Hollywood. Its about $10 per person and takes about 45min to an hour. Trains are very infrequent so you will need to check the scheduled. Amtrak also serves the same two stations with roughly the same travel times.

https://www.metro.net/riding/schedules-2/

https://metrolinktrains.com/

 

[ahhhshmatthew]

My advice would be stay in the Hollywood/LA area for a few days and knock out the things you want to do then. For me, this makes those days more efficient. If you were traveling from Anaheim, unless you took a train (which as noted above are infrequent and likely still require an Uber or Lyft before/after), your days down to Hollywood would be so inefficient. You'd need to work around traffic, still get caught in it, not be able to do as much, etc. Staying in Hollywood, you can really use up your days and do everything you want without the same hassle (and probably do it quicker).

 

[ktlm]

I would stay near Disneyland a few nights and in the Hollywood area a few nights. It has taken us 1 1/2 to 2 hours each way with traffic in times that are not rush hour times.

 

[LKing]

What do you want to see and do in the Beverly Hills/Hollywood area?

 

[StageTek]

Hi fellow nerds. The wife and I are heading to Cali in October and plan to stay 6 nights splitting between the Disney and Beverly Hills/Hollywood area.

my question is how difficult is it to go to attractions in the Hollywood area while staying at Disney. I’ve heard traffic is horrendous. But are there trains I can take? Or should I just plan on staying in Disney when I plan on going to the parks and in Hollywood when I plan on doing studio tours etc.

It can be quite difficult to go to attractions in the Hollywood area while staying at Disney. You have heard right; traffic can be horrendous. Ryan120420 gave you excellent links - public transportation in the area isn't very convenient.

If you have a car it's easy but time consuming to travel from Anaheim to Hollywood.

 

[Kit Jackson]

Hi fellow nerds. The wife and I are heading to Cali in October and plan to stay 6 nights splitting between the Disney and Beverly Hills/Hollywood area.

my question is how difficult is it to go to attractions in the Hollywood area while staying at Disney. I’ve heard traffic is horrendous. But are there trains I can take? Or should I just plan on staying in Disney when I plan on going to the parks and in Hollywood when I plan on doing studio tours etc.

I would plan on booking two hotels and dividing up your days. X days/nights in Disneyland at a hotel near the park, and X days/nights in the Beverly Hills/Hollywood area staying a nearby hotel.

It will make your life easier. You will be able to spend more time doing what you want in each location instead of spending the time in transit between Disney and the Beverly Hills/Hollywood area.

 

[Geemo]

Hi fellow nerds. The wife and I are heading to Cali in October and plan to stay 6 nights splitting between the Disney and Beverly Hills/Hollywood area.

my question is how difficult is it to go to attractions in the Hollywood area while staying at Disney. I’ve heard traffic is horrendous. But are there trains I can take? Or should I just plan on staying in Disney when I plan on going to the parks and in Hollywood when I plan on doing studio tours etc.

I have done the drive between Hollywood and Disneyland on a few trips back in the 90's. It was a mess then!

I'm too old to mess with drive time back and forth on a vacation....

Now if our trip has time at Universal or anything in the Hollywood area we fly into Burbank, rent a car and stay at the Sheraton right there at USH.

When done in Northern LA we drive down to DLR and begin the Disney portion of the trip. We usually turn in the rental car after we have checked in. And take a taxi to SNA when it's time to fly home.

I like my vacation time to be enjoyable and traffic free.

Have a fun trip!!

 

[tommygunn]

Thanks to all for your resonses. Sounds like we will book 2 hotels. In the Hollywood area we were thinking of doing some studio tours, shopping, Santa Monica etc. we grabbed one of those “Citi passes” which includes a bunch of stuff.

Is there anything else to do in the Anaheim area besides Disney? Anything I should consider?

 

[SFMommy]

Just so you know…Santa Monica is not very close to Hollywood/Universal Studios.

 

[LKing]

If you are looking for a studio tour that isn't an amusement park, look into Warner Brothers. Paramount is okay but not as good as WB.

Walt Disney Studios also offers a tour. It is free to become a D23 member. However, look into the price of Gold Duo ($130) you will save $50/tour which is the close to the price of membership. Right now they are offering tours in July & August. September & October should open in the next month or so. https://d23.com/d23-event/the-official-walt-disney-studios-tour-presented-by-d23-july-august-2024/

What are you interested in doing/seeing in Santa Monica? It is iconic but kind of seedy (as is most of Hollywood). If you want to see a beach, maybe take drive to one of the Orange County beaches (ex. Newport) when you are in Anaheim.

 

[irlandaise]

If you are looking for a studio tour that isn't an amusement park, look into Warner Brothers. Paramount is okay but not as good as WB.

And note that one of the tours available at Warners is especially designed for classic movie fans and was created in partnership with TCM:

https://www.wbstudiotour.com/tour/classics/

 

[irlandaise]

Is there anything else to do in the Anaheim area besides Disney? Anything I should consider?

Well, Knott's Berry Farm is fun and a great piece of American amusement park history. Even if you don't go into the park, you could eat at Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant.

BTW, are you aware of Disney's El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood?

 

[wabbott]

Thanks to all for your resonses. Sounds like we will book 2 hotels. In the Hollywood area we were thinking of doing some studio tours, shopping, Santa Monica etc. we grabbed one of those “Citi passes” which includes a bunch of stuff.

Is there anything else to do in the Anaheim area besides Disney? Anything I should consider?

Huntington Beach is not too far away from Anaheim and is a bit more upscale than the Venice Beach/Santa Monica beach areas.

 

[Pluto468]

Will you be driving? The areas you're visiting aren't all close to each other.

I don't think you'll need to do anything else in Anaheim besides Disneyland

 

[IronBoss]

I'll tell you... Our favorite thing we did in West Hollywood was a tour of The Sunset Strip. I can send you the link you you'd like. I wouldn't suggest it fir kids under 15/16 though. Lots of great rock n roll stories.

 

[Kit Jackson]

The last time I went, I loved the Warner Brothers tour. It has been drastically changed since my visit, but I've heard good things. The TCL Chinese Theater has all of the handprints/footprints/paw prints/other prints. The tour of the theater is a waste of money, but it's free to walk around outside in the courtyard, and that's the best part as far as I'm concerned.

Griffith Park/Griffith Observatory is enjoyable. There are some great views of the Hollywood sign.

If you are interested in Greek or Roman history, the Getty Villa is fantastic.

I'll tell you... Our favorite thing we did in West Hollywood was a tour of The Sunset Strip. I can send you the link you you'd like. I wouldn't suggest it fir kids under 15/16 though. Lots of great rock n roll stories.

I don't know about the OP, but I want the link please! This sound amazing!