~ Advice On Planning Trip ~

[tinkcollector]

My Daughter-in-law's Brother wants to take his girlfriend and her son to Universal, mainly for Harry Potter. They live in Texas and they need recommendations and options. Since they are coming in from so far away it would be nice to find out if you all have made a trip like this and did a day at Disneyland or Knott's as well. In and all suggestions please, like transportation, discounts, hotels etc. Thank you!

 

[oakleycat]

We really need more specifics to make suggestions as there is just so much to do in the area depending on where they want to focus their time. How many days do they want to spend at Universal? It's definitely possible to do Universal, Disneyland and Knotts in one trip if their main focus is theme parks.

 

[tinkcollector]

They are open to all suggestions, as they have never been in Southern California. They will be there for 5 days and 4 nights. oakleycat, thank you for your question.

 

[StageTek]

Will they be taking public transportation the entire stay or will they be driving?

Day One: stay in Hollywood at http://hollywoodbandb.com/
Day Two: Universal. Stay that night in Hollywood
Day Three: Knotts - stay in Anaheim at the Clairion
Day Four: Disneyland
Day Five: Disneyland

 

[cruisehopeful]

I'd rent a car. If they don't want to do that, they can catch Uber/Lyft to get around.

For Universal, I'd stay right there at the Hilton or the Sheraton. They can walk to the park, but there are shuttles, too. Often, buying Universal tickets online ahead of time saves some money.

Disneyland has lots of places to stay close by. They can stay across the street on Harbor to walk to the parks, or stay about a mile away in Garden Grove at places like Hampton Inn or Homewood Suites. Those types of places usually don't cost a lot and they include a full hot breakfast in the nightly fee. They can take a paid shuttle from those to the parks. If they choose to stay across the street on Harbor or at the Candy Cane Inn, they will be walking distance to lots of places to eat and to the park entrances.

Knotts is a big let down after Disneyland. I'd suggest they visit Knotts before going to Disneyland. Knotts is another park that often has less expensive tickets if purchased online before they go to the park. There's a chicken restaurant there that has a very long reputation of being a good fried chicken meal. I wouldn't stay in a hotel there. It's close enough to Disneyland to drive or to take an Uber/Lyft.

 

[oakleycat]

I agree with StageTek, two nights in Hollywood and 3 in Anaheim and the parks in that order is perfect if they want a parks-intensive trip.

 

[tinkcollector]

Thank you everyone, I have passed on all your information. Nicole says thank you, she is having so much fun planning this trip.