Disneyland vs. Universal Studios Hollywood – Which Park is Best?

If you've ever wondered what are the differences between Disneyland vs. Universal Studios Hollywood, you've come to the right place.

As a California native, I've been to both theme parks countless times and have enjoyed every attraction they offer. I've seen both theme parks during slow seasons and busy seasons and grew up experiencing each theme park grow.

Both Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood have attractions and experiences that adults and kiddos of all ages can enjoy. But what's the difference between 2 theme parks and which theme park is best for you?

Read on for our ultimate guide comparing Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood.

Where are Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood?

Both Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood are located in 2 different cities, 35 miles away from each other.

Disneyland, located in Anaheim (Orange County) is about 32 miles from Los Angeles International Airport. On the other hand, Universal Studios Hollywood is located in Universal City (Los Angeles County), about 19 miles away from Los Angeles International Airport.

With Universal Studios Hollywood located in the heart of Los Angeles, being here puts you closer to popular tourist attractions like Grauman's Chinese Theater, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and Griffith Observatory. Universal's strategic location also puts it next to their working movie lot, making them able to incorporate real-life productions in their popular Universal Studio Tour – more on that later.

Disneyland on the other hand is much farther out from the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles. Nearby attractions include Knott's Berry Farm, Angel's Stadium, Great Wolf Lodge California, and the Bowers Museum. For the foodies out there, the Anaheim Packing District is a great spot to taste a variety of cuisines from Cajun, Indian, Soul food, and more.

In the end, Universal Studios Hollywood is situated much closer to more popular tourist attractions.

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Disneyland Has 2 Parks vs. Universal Studios Hollywood's 1 Park

This is the most obvious difference between the two popular Southern California theme parks.

Disneyland Resort is home to 2 theme parks: Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park. Each of these theme parks is a short walk away from each other, offering you the chance to experience more rides and attractions in 1 day. Unless you purchase a Park Hopper ticket, each theme park at Disneyland Resort requires its own ticket to access.

On the other hand, Universal Studios Hollywood is a single theme park with a total of 13 attractions, including the popular Universal Studio Tour. This is a dramatic difference from Disneyland Park (52 attractions) and Disney California Adventure (24 attractions).

When looking at the numbers, Disneyland Resort offers much more than Universal Studios Hollywood.

Disneyland has More Variety of Rides, but Universal has More Thrill Rides

While Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure offer more and wider variety of rides, Universal Studios Hollywood excels in thrilling, heart-pounding rides.

From exhilarating rides like TRANSFORMERS: The Ride-3D, Jurassic World – The Ride, and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, guests seeking a dose of adrenaline will feel at home. Universal Studios Hollywood is also known for its behind-the-scenes glimpse into the world of movies. With its unique Universal Studio Tour, you can go behind the scenes and see where some of your favorite films and television shows were – and are – filmed.

On the other hand, Disneyland Resort’s wide range of attractions include Haunted Mansion, it’s a small world, Incredicoaster, and Radiator Springs Racers. Between both theme parks, Disneyland Resort offers experiences perfect for guests of all ages and interests. Finally, Disneyland Resort also offers more timeless fairytale experiences.

Multi-Day Trip Experience vs. 1-day Trip Experience

Naturally, since Disneyland Park has more to offer, it requires more time to fully experience both theme parks.

While it’s certainly possible to have a magical experience at Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure Park in 1 day, it’s much more challenging to do so when you’re aiming to visit both theme parks in 1 day. With a total of 76 attractions, you’d have to choose very wisely if you wanted to visit both theme parks in 1 day.

Universal Studios Hollywood on the other hand is much more doable as a 1-day theme park. With the size equivalent to Disneyland Park (without Disney California Adventure) and only 13 attractions, Universal Studios Hollywood certainly has enough to keep the entire family busy for 1 day – but not more than that.

Bottom line: When you plan to visit Universal Studios Hollywood, 1 day is certainly doable, but Disneyland Resort definitely requires more.

Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood Ticket Prices are Comparable

Both Disneyland Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood use a tier-based ticket system and have slightly different ranges of ticket prices.

Ticket prices for both theme parks depend on what the expected crowd levels are during the time of visit. Expect higher ticket prices around peak times of the year (like the holidays) or on weekends.

Comparing 1-day theme park tickets, Disneyland ticket prices range from $104 to $206. One-day theme park tickets to Universal Studios Hollywood, while slightly lower, range from $109 to $154.

While Disneyland tickets may run higher than Universal Studios Hollywood tickets, remember that a 1-day ticket to Disneyland gives you access to much more rides and attractions, likely increasing its value despite its higher price.

Disneyland's Lightning Lane vs. Universal Studios Hollywood's Express Pass

Disneyland’s Lightning Lane Multi Pass system is comparable to Universal’s Express Pass system as a paid offering to skip the normal standby queue for certain rides.

Using Disney Lightning Lane Multi Pass, you can make reservations to access a shorter line called a Lightning Lane for select attractions. Disneyland also the Lightning Lane Single Pass to access the Lightning Lanes for select attractions not included in the Lightning Lane Multi Pass price. Lightning Lane Multi Pass starts at $32/person while Lightning Lane Single Pass ranges from around $15-25 per person depending on the ride and the season. 

Universal Studios Hollywood also offers 2 types of paid services to skip the standby line. Universal Express gives you one-time access per day to each ride, attraction, and seated show. Universal Express Unlimited includes unlimited per-day express access to each ride, attraction, and seated show. Unlike the cheaper Lightning Lane system, Universal Express starts at $90/person and can go up to $200/person.

Although the prices for each system are very different, it’s important to read through the details surrounding each to fully understand how they work.

Make sure to read our Disney Lightning Lane Multi Pass guide and Universal Express guide to learn more.

Universal Studios Hollywood Annual Passes are Cheaper, but Disneyland Annual Passes Have More Perks

The price range for a Universal Studios Hollywood annual pass is $169 – $579, which is dramatically cheaper than a Magic Key annual pass at Disneyland.

With Disneyland Magic Key passes ranging from $599 – $1,749, its lowest tier annual pass is slightly cheaper than the highest tier annual pass for Universal Studios Hollywood.

Given the perks of having a Magic Key, the price differences are understandable.

Each tier of the Magic Key at Disneyland offers some sort of discount on theme park parking, dining, and in-park merchandise. These benefits are only seen on the higher tiers of Universal Studios annual passes.

Additionally, in contrast to 3 of the 4 Universal Studios annual passes that have a payment plan offering, all tiers of Disneyland Magic Key passes offer a payment plan. And most importantly, each Disneyland Magic Key pass gives access to both Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure. The Universal Studios annual pass only gives access to 1 park.

While the Disneyland Magic Key passes are more expensive, they do offer more perks.

What Type of Intellectual Property do Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood Have?

Before differentiating between the intellectual properties, it’s important to point out that Disneyland features plenty of classic rides that aren’t based on popular Disney characters.

Disneyland has many classic attractions not based on any Disney movies such as Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Haunted Mansion, and Soarin’ Around the World. With that said, Disneyland Resort includes characters from popular and iconic movies like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Finding Nemo, and Incredibles. Disneyland Resort also includes lands based on Star Wars and Marvel.

Universal Studios Hollywood offers a unique movie-centric experience, with attractions based on Super Nintendo, Despicable Me, Jurassic World, and The Mummy. Universal Studios Hollywood also gives you the chance to meet classic and lesser-known characters like Dracula and Betty Boop.

Both Disneyland Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood offer different and unique experiences based off their own intellectual properties.

Disneyland vs. Universal Studios Hollywood: Character Interactions

Both Disneyland and Universal have plenty of fun characters to meet and interact with.

Straight away, Disneyland is known for its classic and modern princess meet-and-greets. At The Royal Hall in Fantasyland, you can meet the likes of Snow White, Cinderella, Ariel, or Jasmine. However, you can also meet many characters roaming around different themed lands. At Star Wars Galaxy's Edge, you can meet Chewbacca, Rey, and even Kylo Ren. At Avenger's Campus, you can meet Captain America, Doctor Strange, and Black Widow, and more.

It's important to remember that the characters you meet between Disneyland and Universal Studios differs depending on the intellectual property each theme park company owns.

So at Universal Studios Hollywood, you can meet classic movie characters like Frankenstein and Dracula, Doc Brown from Back to the Future, and Betty Boop. You can also meet more recent and popular characters like Gru, Edith, Margo, and Agnes from Despicable Me, Bart, Lisa, Marge, and Homer from The Simpsons, and Branch, Poppy, and Guy Diamond from Trolls.

Each theme park has very unique – and fun – characters to meet!

Disneyland has a Wider Variety of Entertainment Options

Disneyland’s entertainment offerings include live stage productions, character meet-and-greets, parades, and nighttime spectaculars.

With classic and popular nighttime spectaculars like World of Color One, Fantasmic!, and Mickey’s Mix Magic, every night at Disneyland Resort is full of guests wanting to catch the magic. And with popular streetmosphere experiences like The Dapper Dans, Five & Dime, and the “Magic Happens” Parade, Disneyland Resort has too many entertainment options to fully enjoy in 1 day.

You can’t discount the entertainment options at Universal Studios Hollywood though.

While Universal Studios Hollywood is best known for its Universal Studio Tour, it also boasts a popular special effects show called WaterWorld. During this show, you’ll experience jumping jet-skiers, perilous plunges, firefights, massive explosions, and even a plane crash. Over in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, you can even go through a special experience where you have a wand choose you. And while it is seasonal, The Nighttime Lights at Hogwarts Castle is a can’t-miss nighttime spectacular.

While both theme parks have unique entertainment offerings, Disneyland Resort has a wider variety of options for you to experience.

Disneyland Features Much More During the Holidays vs. Universal Studios Hollywood

Don't discount Universal Studios though – they do Halloween and the winter holiday season well.

Disneyland has long celebrations for several holidays throughout the year. In late January, Disneyland celebrates Lunar New Year with parades, special character costumes, and even themed foods celebrating Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean traditions. Starting at the end of August, the Halloween festivities kick off, with Main Street, U.S.A. beautifully decorated in Fall colors, Cars Land decorated with ghoulish delight, characters dressed for the season, and a series of night-time Halloween parties. And for the winter holiday season, an incredibly massive tree takes over Main Street, U.S.A., the entire resort is beautifully decorated, and the Festival of Holidays takes over Disney California Adventure.

While Disneyland has year-round celebrations, Universal Studios Hollywood focuses on Halloween and the winter holiday season.

Halloween at Universal is not for the faint of heart. Halloween Horror Nights, a ticketed nighttime event, features 10 terrifying haunted houses, 5 sinister scar zones, and outrageous live entertainment. For the winter holiday season, Hogwarts Castle has a special nighttime spectacular celebration, the Grinch and Max put on a wonderful show for guests, and Universal puts up a massive Christmas tree at Universal CityWalk.

While Disneyland does feature more for the holidays, you don't want to miss what Universal has to offer.

Disneyland vs. Universal Studios Hollywood: Dining Options

Both Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood do well with their themed food, but Disneyland has some classic restaurants and foods that are hard to beat.

Over at Disneyland, you have access to a variety of restaurant options based on your budget. Let's go over the 2 different types of restaurant options you have:

• Quick-Service Restaurant Examples: Bengal Barbecue, Docking Bay 7, Smoke Jumpers Grill
• Table-Service Restaurant Examples: Plaza Inn, Blue Bayou Restaurant, Carthay Circle Restaurant

So, you can get tasty barbecue skewers at Bengal Barbecue or Batuuan Beef from Docking Bay 7. For a more upscale dining experience, you can get rigatoni pasta carbonara from Carthay Circle Restaurant or creole roasted chicken from Blue Bayou. And no discussion on Disneyland food is complete without mentioning Disneyland snacks, such as the churro, pretzel, Mickey premium ice cream bar, and turkey leg.

And to put the cherry on top, nothing compares to Disney California Adventure's Food and Wine Festival.

Although not quite in the same league, Universal Studios Hollywood doesn't shy away from themed food either. The best meals to eat are the English-inspired food at Three Broomsticks and Super Mario-themed food at Toadstool Cafe. Even the Jurassic Cafe features Hispanic-inspired food. All over Springfield U.S.A., you can find pizza, pasta, burgers, and doughnuts the size of your head. You can also find American diner-style food at Mel's Diner.

Each theme park has food options that are well themed to their respective areas.

Both Theme Parks Have Fun Entertainment Districts

Despite the differences in dining options, both Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood have fun entertainment districts, full of great shopping and dining options.

Disneyland Resort has Downtown Disney District, which connects both theme parks to Disneyland's on-site hotels. Downtown Disney features a number of quick-service and table-service restaurants, such as Jazz Kitchen Coastal Grill & Patio, Din Tai Fung, and Earl of Sandwich Tavern. It even has Splitsville Luxury Lanes, a table-service restaurant connected to a bowling alley. For more entertainment, there's the outdoor stage where live bands play popular tunes in the evenings. For shopping, Downtown Disney has shops like the Star Wars Trading Post and The World of Disney, a massive souvenir shop selling just about any Disney merchandise you can imagine.

Universal Studios Hollywood houses Universal CityWalk, a neon-lit dining and entertainment hub connected to the theme park. It features the original NBC Sports grill & Brew as well as popular restaurants like Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., and Buca di Beppo. For shopping, Universal CityWalk has the massive Universal Studio Store to cater to all your Universal souvenir needs. It even has a separate store with Super Nintendo World merchandise.

Both Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood have entertainment districts that keep you enjoying the fun outside the theme parks.

Disneyland Mobile App vs. Universal Studios Hollywood App

Both the mobile apps for Disneyland and Universal are crucial for a smooth experience at each theme park.

The Disneyland Mobile App and the Universal Studios Hollywood Mobile App come in handy when it comes to dining, rides, and shows. Both mobile apps allow you to look at restaurant menus and order food from quick-service restaurants so you can save time when dining. They both allow you to view ride wait times so you can plan spend less time in line and more time enjoying different experiences. When applicable, they also have virtual queues for you to ride select attractions. And finally, they have schedules for shows around each theme park.

However, there are 2 distinct differences between the 2 mobile apps that makes each a unique experience.

First, unlike the Universal Studios Hollywood Mobile App, the Disneyland Mobile App allows you to use Merchandise Mobile Checkout for quicker and easier purchases at the Disneyland Resort. While inside a participating store, all you have to do is scan the item you want to buy on the Disneyland Mobile App. Once you make your purchase on the mobile app, you'll show your mobile receipt to the Cast Member before leaving.

Second, unlike the Disneyland Mobile App, the Universal Studios Hollywood Mobile App allows you to “favorite” your must-do rides and attractions and make a favorites list to experience during your visit. This streamlines your theme park planning you can spend less time thinking about what ride to do next and more time heading to your next ride.

In the end, while both mobile apps have many similarities, there are distinct differences that make each experience smooth.

Disneyland Has Its Own Hotels

Don't be fooled though: while Universal Studios Hollywood doesn't own any on-site hotels, they do have 2 on-site hotels operated by partner companies.

The 2 on-site hotels are Sheraton Universal and Hilton Universal City. Both are located on the Universal Studios resort property and within walking distance of the theme park. And as we mentioned earlier, because of its location in the heart of Los Angeles, staying here puts you close to many popular tourist attractions that make Los Angeles a vacation destination.

On the other hand, Disneyland Resort has 3 on-site hotels: The Disneyland Hotel, Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, and Pixar Place Hotel. Each hotel is located within walking distance to the 2 theme parks, and 1 hotel (Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa) has its own entry into Disney California Adventure Park.

One important thing to note, however, is the price difference between these hotels.

Disneyland Resort’s on-site hotels are equivalent to a Deluxe level hotel at Disney World. On the other hand, Universal’s on-site hotels are much more cost-effective and go for around $200/night. Despite the price difference, it’s important to keep in mind that there are plenty of off-site hotels within walking distance of Disneyland going for $100-$200/night.

In the end, just because Universal Studios Hollywood doesn't own their own hotel doesn't mean there aren't high-quality hotels close by!

How Busy is Disneyland vs. Universal Studios Hollywood?

Straight away, Disneyland tends to be busier than Universal Studios – let's dig deeper as to why.

From experience, getting into the Disneyland parking lot and into the theme parks can get extremely busy. Even though the lines to get in move fairly quickly, expect it to take up to 30 minutes to get from your car to the turnstyles of Disneyland Park. And once you're into the late morning and afternoon hours of the day, wait times for the more popular rides tend to balloon up to 60 minutes (and more for some rides).

On the other hand, getting into the Universal Studios Hollywood parking lot and into the theme parks is quick. You can expect to get from your car to the entrance of Universal within 10 minutes. And much like Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park, wait times for the more popular rides tend to balloon up to 60 minutes (and more for some rides). However, it's important to note that there's less rides to experience at Universal compared to Disneyland, riding most of the rides at Universal Studios is still very doable in 1 day.

To sum it up, both Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood can get very busy, but Universal is still very doable in 1 day due to its lower number of rides.

Between Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood, Which Theme Park is Best For You?

Both Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood offer unique and fun experiences for the whole family, but each theme park is distinct in their offerings.

We don't think it's a fair question to ask if one them park is better than the other. Since both Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood have very different attractions with different theming and design, the better question to ask is, “which theme park is best for you?”

Let's break down why you would want to visit either theme park:

Visit Disneyland Resort if:

• You're looking for a classic fairytale-themed experience
• You love all things Disney and Pixar
• You're a big fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars universe
• You want a completely immersive and seamless vacation experience
• You're not the biggest fan of thrill rides (but you can handle them)
• You're looking for a multi-day experience

Visit Universal Studios Hollywood if:

• You're looking for a behind-the-scenes movie experience
• You're a fan of classic movie characters like Dracula and Frankenstein
• You love the Harry Potter universe, Despicable Me, Super Nintendo, and the DreamWorks franchise
• You're a big fan of thrill rides
• You want to experience as much as possible in 1 day

Of course, if you plan your vacation with Get Away Today, you can plan a multi-day visit to Disneyland Resort and a one-day visit to Universal Studios Hollywood. So, when will you visit?

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