Disneyland vs Universal Studios Hollywood: Which One First?

Two parks, two counties, two different trips

The first time I tried to plan “theme parks” as a single line item on a Los Angeles itinerary, I nearly made a mess of it. Disneyland Resort sits in Anaheim, in Orange County, roughly an hour south of central Los Angeles in light traffic and considerably longer at rush hour. Universal Studios Hollywood is in Universal City, inside the Los Angeles basin itself, close to Hollywood and Burbank. They are not two gates of the same park, they are not a short hop apart, and I would not recommend trying to see both on the same day. I have watched people attempt it, arrive at the second park by mid-afternoon, and spend more of their visit tired and rushed than actually enjoying it.

This piece is not a description of either park on its own — I cover those separately in my Disneyland Anaheim and Universal Studios Hollywood destination guides. What I want to help with here is the harder question: given limited days in Los Angeles, which one do you pick, and in what order, if you’re doing both.

What each park actually is

Disneyland Resort is really two parks side by side — Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure — built around characters, parades, fantasy lands and rides designed for a very wide age range, from toddlers to grandparents. It rewards a full day, and honestly a single day only scratches one of the two parks properly.

Universal Studios Hollywood is one park built around film and television: working studio history, a tram tour through real backlots and sets, and rides pitched more toward thrill and spectacle — Harry Potter’s Wizarding World, Jurassic World, Super Nintendo World, and stunt shows drawn from actual productions. It skews slightly older and slightly more thrill-oriented than Disneyland, though it’s far from adults-only.

I’d put it this way: Disneyland is the immersive, multi-day, all-ages universe; Universal is the tighter, cinema-flavored day out with a stronger thrill-ride core. They solve different problems, and neither is a substitute for the other.

By age of your kids

If you’re traveling with children under about seven, I lean toward Disneyland first, if not exclusively. The character meet-and-greets, the parades and the gentler rides are built for that age, and Universal’s line-up leans more intense in places, including some attractions with real height requirements and intensity that can disappoint a small child who gets turned away at the gate.

For kids roughly eight and up, especially anyone excited about Harry Potter, Jurassic World or big-screen thrill rides, Universal earns its place and can genuinely be the highlight of the trip. Teenagers, in my experience, often prefer Universal outright — it feels less like a kids’ park to them.

Mixed-age families are the trickiest case, and there I don’t think there’s a universally correct answer. I’ve seen families do Disneyland for the younger kids and let a parent take the teenager to Universal separately on another day; I’ve also seen families do both together and simply accept that not every ride suits every family member on either day. If you’re travelling with a wide age range, my theme parks with young children piece and my broader Los Angeles for families guide go into more detail on splitting the group without anyone feeling shortchanged.

By time available

A half day is not enough for either park, and I’d actively discourage trying. Disneyland’s two parks reward at least a full day each if you want to see them properly, or a solid single day if you’re picking only one of the two. Universal Studios Hollywood is a single park but still comfortably fills a full day once you count the studio tour, the headline rides and the shows.

If you only have one day for theme parks on this trip, that’s a real constraint, and it’s worth deciding in advance which park matters more to your family rather than trying to squeeze a partial visit to each — a partial day at either park usually means missing its best rides or its signature experience.

My how many days in Los Angeles piece walks through how theme park days fit into a wider trip, and if you land on a single park day I’ve built a dedicated one-day Disneyland itinerary for exactly that case. Families with the full three-plus days can lean on my five-day theme parks itinerary for families instead of improvising it.

Days available for parks	What I’d suggest
1 day	Pick one park fully — don’t split the day
2 days	One full day at each, on separate days
3+ days	Both parks fully, plus a rest or beach day between them

Why I won’t tell you to do both in one day

I want to be direct about this: Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood cannot be comfortably combined into a single day, and I’m not going to pretend otherwise for the sake of a tidy itinerary. The drive between Anaheim and Universal City runs through some of the most congested freeway corridors in the region, and a “quick” transfer can easily eat ninety minutes or more if you’re moving during the morning or evening commute. Even setting the drive aside, each park is designed to absorb a full day of walking, queuing and shows — arriving at either one with only half a day left means you’ll miss its best attractions.

Plan on separate days for the two parks, whether back to back or split across your trip. If you’re staying centrally, a stay near Downtown LA or Hollywood works reasonably well for a Universal day, while Anaheim itself or somewhere in Orange County makes more sense the night before a Disneyland day, simply to avoid the drive at either end. My Downtown LA vs Hollywood comparison covers that choice for the Universal side of the trip in more depth.

On the transport side, whether you need your own car for this comparison at all is worth settling early — I go through the tradeoffs in do you need to rent a car in Los Angeles and, more narrowly, rental car vs rideshare for the Anaheim–Universal City stretch specifically.

Crowds and timing matter as much as the park itself

Neither park feels the same in July as it does in a quieter shoulder-season week, and the gap between a light day and a packed one can be bigger than the gap between the two parks. If your trip lands around the holidays, my Christmas crowds at the LA theme parks piece is worth reading before you commit to dates, and my theme park tickets and avoiding lines guide covers the practical add-ons that shorten waits at both parks.

There isn’t a single “better” park

I get asked which park is objectively better, and I don’t think that’s a question with one honest answer. Disneyland wins for younger kids, first-time visitors chasing the classic “Disney” experience, and anyone who wants the option of two parks and a resort built for lingering. Universal wins for older kids, teenagers, film fans, and anyone who wants a tighter, more thrill-forward day without the parade-and-character layer. Both are excellent at what they set out to do; they’re just not aiming at the same thing.

If pushed, my honest advice is to match the park to the traveler in front of you rather than to a ranking — a mixed-age family with a toddler is going to have a very different “best park” answer than three teenagers on a week in LA.

Beyond the parks themselves

Both areas offer more than just their headline park. Anaheim and Orange County have Knott’s Berry Farm and Huntington Beach, plus Newport and Laguna beaches within reach if you extend your stay there — see my Orange County destination guide. Around Universal City, Hollywood Boulevard, the Walk of Fame and Griffith Observatory are close enough to pair with a Universal day without much extra driving — I cover that combination in my Hollywood Sign and Griffith Park guide, and my Hollywood destination page has the wider neighborhood context.

If you’d rather anchor a Disneyland day with a short trip to Anaheim’s other attraction, a tour that pairs Anaheim with the wider city can be a useful way to fill the day around the park — I mention some of those combined tours below. For pacing a trip that mixes theme park days with everything else Los Angeles offers, my pacing a family trip between theme parks and rest piece and my best time to visit Los Angeles by zone guide are both worth reading before you lock in dates.

If you’d rather see the wider city before committing a full day to either park, a guided overview can help you get your bearings first. I found the guided city highlights tour useful for exactly that on my first trip, and the open-air Hollywood and Beverly Hills bus tour is an easy half-day if you’re staying near Universal and want to fill an evening.

For a Universal day specifically, the Universal Studios entry combined with a Hollywood bus tour saves you from arranging transport separately. And if theme parks are just one piece of a longer Southern California trip, it’s worth glancing at a multi-day tour covering the wider region to see how the parks might fit into a longer loop.

For ticket logistics, dated entry and how the queue-skipping add-ons work at each park, my theme park tickets guide covers the practical side in more depth than I can here.

Disneyland vs Universal Studios Hollywood FAQ

Can I visit Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood on the same day?

I don’t recommend it. They’re roughly an hour apart in light traffic and considerably longer during peak commute hours, and each park is built to fill a full day on its own — splitting a single day between them means missing the best of both.

Which park is better for young children?

Disneyland generally suits younger children better, thanks to its character meet-and-greets, parades and gentler rides. Universal Studios Hollywood leans more toward thrill rides, some with real height and intensity restrictions.

Which park do teenagers usually prefer?

In my experience, teenagers and film fans often lean toward Universal Studios Hollywood for its bigger thrill rides and cinema-based attractions, though plenty still enjoy Disneyland’s scale and variety.

How many days should I set aside for the two parks together?

I’d plan on two separate full days at minimum, one per park. If you want to see both parks at Disneyland Resort properly, or add a rest day between the two visits, three or more days works better.

Is Universal Studios Hollywood the same as Universal Orlando or Walt Disney World?

No. Universal Studios Hollywood is a single park in Universal City, distinct from Universal Orlando’s multi-park resort in Florida. Likewise, Disneyland Anaheim is a separate resort from Walt Disney World in Florida, with different parks and different attractions.

Do I need a car to get between the two parks?

Yes, realistically. There’s no direct rail link between Anaheim and Universal City, so a rental car or rideshare is the practical option, and either way it’s a real drive, not a quick transfer.

Which park should a first-time visitor with no kids choose?

That depends on taste rather than any universal answer: Disneyland for immersive theming, parades and a classic multi-park resort experience; Universal for a tighter, more thrill- and film-focused single day.