Realistic Drive Times

[Syndrome]

Not sure if this is the right spot to post this, but I need input from Anaheim natives!! We're doing the Backstage Magic ABD in April and want to squeeze in a VIP tour at Universal. I've heard horror stories about traffic, and it looks like we'd be cutting it too close to use the shuttles (we'd have to be at Universal by 10 a.m. and our flight is at 10 p.m. so I have to clue what time we'd have to be on the road from Universal to the airport). We're hoping to rent a car at DL, drive to Universal, then drive to the airport from Universal after the tour. What are some realistic drive times on a Sunday morning in April? Any advice from locals appreciated!!

[SRT_GB]

Without knowing which airport you're referring to, you're looking at over an hour drive unless you're going to Burbank, which is just over the hill from Universal.

Traffic in and around LAX always sucks, plus there's no direct route there from Universal. Probably should budget at least 1-1/2 hours because rental car return is offsite and you have to be shuttled to the terminal.
Orange County/John Wayne and Ontario are much farther and getting to either from Universal would require you to drive through downtown LA. I'd say if either is your airport you should budget at least 2 hours in driving time alone. I've never flown out of either airport, so you might want to budget more if your rental car return is offsite.

Another option you may want to consider if LAX is your airport is the FlyAway bus from Union Station. If you don't have too much luggage to carry with you, you may be able to return your rental car in the Universal area and take the Metro Red Line subway (yes, Los Angeles has a subway!) to Union Station and take the FlyAway shuttle from Union Station to LAX. The subway ride is about 35 minutes from the Universal station and the bus ride, well, the drivers would know the best routes through the traffic. This option would beat trying to navigate unfamiliar streets while driving.

[Syndrome]

Thanks! I think we are going to do LAX....interesting about the subway and bus! Maybe that will be an option if we can keep the luggage reasonable. It's only a five day trip so we won't have to pack a lot.

[SRT_GB]

More information about the Metro Red Line is at http://www.metro.net.

More info about the FlyAway is at http://www.lawa.org/lax/LAXflyAway.cfm.

The nice thing about the FlyAway is it drops you off right at your respective airline's terminal. Only problem is, if you're flying on American, Delta, Continental, or United, you have to wait until all the folks on Southwest, US Airways, Northwest, and Alaska get off. At least they don't let anybody on while those people are getting off.

[mechurchlady]

Sunday mornings are not bad and you can get to Universal Studios in about an hour. Use Google as the interchanges can be very confusing downtown.

Sunday is a low time until afternoon, You can go to DLR in the morning and wait half an hour for the herd to thin then have the park to yourself. The main problem is that the interchange has two lanes for each directon and if there is a tie up then you do not have the luxury of 5 lanes. Burbank has an airport. If not you could go across to the 405 and head south on the 405.

[leftcoaster]

While google is popular, and has a "street view" option, I personally like: local.live.com There you can use "birds eye view," and get a view from 1000 feet of intersections, etc.