Universal Studios
 

My husband and I (we are in our mid-30's) are planning a trip to LA. We are staying in Anaheim and Santa Monica. Plan to do the LA beaches (Santa Monica, Venice and Malibu) and Disneyland. We do not know if Universal would be worth a trip. We have visited the Universal Parks in Orlando. Please let me know your thoughts.

If you are a big movie or TV fan it's worth a visit.Universal is the location of many old movies and shows, as they point out on the tram tour.

You might consider the Warner Brothers tour which is a bit more "behind the scenes" than the amusement-parky Universal tour. You could try to get tickets to Jay Leno if it's a weeknight, he's right around the corner from WB.

The Universal in LA is the original for movies and tv shows.I'd like to recommend a day trip to Santa Barbara, if you can fit it in. It's about a 2hr drive north of LA.

Have to say that I didn't think Universal Studios was worth the price of admission when we visited several weeks ago. It's got a half dozen theme park like rides, including the back lot tram tour, and a half dozen shows; Blues Brothers Review is decent. But the rest of the park is mostly retail food and souvenir shops. Even City Walk isn't as entertaining as it was 5 - 6 years ago.

I'd skip Universal Studios and instead spend the time doing the Warner Bros. tour (a real movie lot is much more interesting than an amusement park movie lot, IMO). If you've already been to Universal in Orlando, you don't really need to do it again in L.A. You could also take this time to see more of L.A. than just the beaches!

Have you been to Disney in Orlando? If yes, I would skip Disneyland instead as the other one is same but bigger and better. I would also do the Warner Bros studio tour instead if you are more interested in the studio part than the rides.

Are you going to have a car? What time of the year are you going? Are you planning to see other parts of LA? I would strongly recommend making time for the Getty.