Getting to Universal Studios Hollywood from DLR... a free shuttle?

[Rainforest_Elf]

In my 2008 version of the "Unofficial Guide to Disneyland" the section on USH mentions that if you buy your tickets online, there is a free shuttle to USH, to and from your hotel, you just need to select your arrival/departure time when you buy the tickets. I'd imagine there are some restrictions to this. Has anyone used it, if it exists? Would you recommend it? Or would you do round-trip pay shuttle? A bus trip? Taxi? None of the people in our party is 25 or older, so as far as I know, renting a car is NOT an option for us. Plus, driving in a strange area would be bothersome anyway and we'd be more accident prone, so we'd like to stay away from this.

We plan on eating dinner rather late (7ish or so) in the Citywalk, so we're pretty much gonna go commando and stay the whole day there, so we need a bit of freedom.

This seems to good to be true, and I can't find anything on the official site about it. Any insight/tips would be so very much appreciated!

 

[Jake's Mom]

We were just there on Tuesday. We went by Greyline tours and $60 per person included park tickets and transportation. You leave Anaheim at 9am and arrive at about 10am when the park opens. Our bus left Universal at 6:30pm. We had plenty of time to do everything in the park and spend some time in Citywalk for shopping and dinner.

 

[Rainforest_Elf]

Well that's good news! 9am! We'll practically get to sleep in that day! I've heard that one day is pleanty to see the important bits in the park, would you say that's about accurate?

Also, how was it so soon after the fire?

 

[Jake's Mom]

Well that's good news! 9am! We'll practically get to sleep in that day! I've heard that one day is pleanty to see the important bits in the park, would you say that's about accurate?

Also, how was it so soon after the fire?

I would absolutely say that one day was plenty. We had enough time to do every ride at least once. (Jurasic Park 3 times and Simpsons twice)
I think the park was a little quieter than usual due to the fire, but the only ride we had a wait for was Simpsons.

We were scheduled to go to Universal last Sunday but had re-booked to go the next day...what a shock to see the news. Anyway, we re-booked again for Monday once we knew the park was open and had a great time.
Yes, there is a lot of damage. All of the New York area and King Kong are gone. It's really quite sad to see first hand. The tram tour however was still good. Instead of going through that area, the tram stopped so everyone could see the damage. There were still some hot areas when we were there so firefighters and security were on hand.
We were told that King Kong will not be rebuilt but replaced with something else.
Other than that, it was business as usual and we had a great day.

 

[sbakersub]

I've been trying to figure out how to get from Anaheim to Universal Hollywood for our trip, too. I'm pretty sure the free shuttle has been discontinued since I can't see any mention of it on Universal Hollywood's web site now(although I would be happy to be wrong). The web site does have info and links on other options:

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

There have also been posts on here and/or on the Disneyland board that talk more specifically about how to take the subway from Anaheim to Universal. I'm not that adventurous, so we'll probably just take a rental car.

 

[Rainforest_Elf]

I've been trying to figure out how to get from Anaheim to Universal Hollywood for our trip, too. I'm pretty sure the free shuttle has been discontinued since I can't see any mention of it on Universal Hollywood's web site now(although I would be happy to be wrong). The web site does have info and links on other options:

Yeah, I can't find anything about it either, which is why i prompted to write this post. This may change our trip a bit with the transportation. Like I said, I don't think any of us can rent a car yet

Is the greyline shuttle that was mentioned previously a seperate service? Or was this the "free" service that USH had offered?

 

[bennyb98]

I too would like to know. I have a habit of getting lost when I have to transfer buses and trains a bunch of times to get to one place so I was hoping to use that bus service.

 

[Rainforest_Elf]

Well, I emailed universal to ask them. The short answer is no, the free shuttle is no longer offered. Below is the e-mail reply I got. Dissapointing, but not very surprising.

Thank you for contacting Universal Studios Hollywood.

We apologize as it seems you have come across information through a third party which is no longer current. This transportation service is no longer offered through our park directly.

Guests may contact Southern California Gray Line, a shuttle company in the Anaheim area which operates transportation services to our park. Their number is (800) 828-6699. Please note a separate fee for this service is charged directly by Southern California Gray Line that is not part of or include admission to Universal Studios Hollywood. Complete information on this service and their route schedules is available by calling directly.

Sincerely,

Dustin Wissmiller
Guest Relations
Universal Studios Hollywood
www.universalstudioshollywood.com

 

[sbakersub]

Well, I guess it's good to know for sure, even if the answer isn't good.

Jake's Mom:

We were just there on Tuesday. We went by Greyline tours and $60 per person included park tickets and transportation.

I priced the Grayline 1-day tour from Anaheim, including ticket, at $80 plus a $2 fuel surcharge. There is a 10% discount with AAA, but I'd love to know how you got it down to $60!!!! At this point, we'll probably take a rental car because it's more cost effective for 3 of us. I'm a little antsy because of the traffic, but we'll do a weekend day in hopes it won't be too bad.

 

[keishashadow]

Well, I guess it's good to know for sure, even if the answer isn't good.

Jake's Mom:
I priced the Grayline 1-day tour from Anaheim, including ticket, at $80 plus a $2 fuel surcharge. There is a 10% discount with AAA, but I'd love to know how you got it down to $60!!!! At this point, we'll probably take a rental car because it's more cost effective for 3 of us. I'm a little antsy because of the traffic, but we'll do a weekend day in hopes it won't be too bad.

i called them (evidently Coach America is now affiliated with Grayline?); the operator said there was NO AAA discount

we were quoted the same price ($80 plus fuel surcharge)

 

[sbakersub]

originally posted by keishashadow: i called them (evidently Coach America is now affiliated with Grayline?); the operator said there was NO AAA discount

Maybe they've discontinued the 10% discount or the phone operator isn't aware of it, but there's still a link on our local AAA website that links to a page on the Grayline website

http://www.grayline.com/grayline/aa...7&association=aaa&ets=BD1F28C7840A8&zip=97383

As it turns out, I ended up getting a rental car for our stay and just used that on the Saturday we did Universal. It was cheaper overall (although parking at Universal was $12 ), and we didn't have to hang around just waiting on a tour bus schedule once we were ready to leave Universal...

 

[blue donkey]

Rainforest Elf- Are any of you 21 or over? I'm pretty sure there are rental companies that will rent cars to people 21-24 with an extra surcharge per day. I know I did in college. Try Enterprise, National, or Thrifty. Maybe they'll rent to you if you want to drive.

Good luck.

 

[jonsmom57]

Can someone tell me what the Simpsons Ride is? I am a roller coaster chicken..

Also, what the Back to the Future Ride is. Also...chicken.

Thanks

 

[Jozymouse]

Hi!

The Simpsons ride replaced the Back to the Future ride, so the Back to the Future ride is no longer opened.

Even though I have not been on the ride, I read that the Simpsons ride is a simulator ride that uses the same technology as Star Tours. So, it is not a roller coaster.....

Not good for me since I LOVE coasters but simulator rides make me

 

[sbakersub]

originally posted by Jozymouse:
I read that the Simpsons ride is a simulator ride that uses the same technology as Star Tours. So, it is not a roller coaster.....

Yes, it's a simulator ride. Here's the description from the park map:

"Join Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie as you pay a visit to Krustyland, the low-budget themepark created by famed TV personality and shameless product huckster Krusty the Clown. You'll swoop and soar through all of Krusty's crazy attractions and see many of your favorite characters from the TV series in this all-new animated adventure."

We're fans of the Simpsons show, but were not overly impressed with this ride. Maybe because we had two really big people in front of us and couldn't see half of what we were supposed to be seeing on the "trip". We didn't think it was worth a second wait in line to see again.

 

[jonsmom57]

THanks everyone for your replies. I got a book from our local library that details rides in DL and Universal and I guess the book may have been published in 2006 so it is out of date.

Even though I hate roller coaster rides, simulators are not for me, but my son who will be 11 and is a big Simpsons fan will enjoy the ride.

I am on the wait list for Disneyland with Kids 2008, which I am sure is also outdated but a good read regardless. We arent going til August 2009 so I should have plenty of time to read the newer one.

Back to the original topic, it does seem like $60 (or more) per person is lot for transportation with Greyline to Universal, and a rental car would be much less, but not having ever visited California, it may be less stressful to go by bus, but it is something I have plenty of time to think about.

Jonsmom

 

[sbakersub]

jonsmom57, most of the prices discussed above include park admission, I think. The Greyline bus transportation from DLR area without tickets is about $30 per person, with tickets about $90 (before any discounts you might be able to find).

 

[jonsmom57]

jonsmom57, most of the prices discussed above include park admission, I think. The Greyline bus transportation from DLR area without tickets is about $30 per person, with tickets about $90 (before any discounts you might be able to find).

Oh, that sounds a little better, almost not worth the aggravation of traffic.

I am planning on buying So. California Pass so I didnt want to pay more $$ for the bus to Universal than what the tickets will actually cost.

Joanne

 

[Rainforest_Elf]

So, we've now booked out USH trip with greyline, and with the tickets it was about $85 per person... not too bad! I was wondering what peoples experience with this company was? Do they give you your park tickets when they pick you up? or what?

 

[Jake's Mom]

A bus will pick you up at your hotel and take you to Greyline's main station. They then assign you to a bus that is going to Universal.
They don't acutally give you park tickets as you all go in on a pass as a group with the driver.
At the end of the day, you meet back at the bus and the driver takes everyone back to their hotels.