I work in hotels in Anaheim, where we have business guests going to work conferences. and leisure guests going to Disneyland, sports, and fan conventions. Anaheim would act as a base area for their trip by staying at our hotel. Guests would go out to additional destinations as well, such as Universal Studios Hollywood, which is forty miles away in Hollywood/Studio City, which easily can be over $100 fare + tax + tip + platform fees for a rideshare or taxi. What if you can get there cheaper and faster than driving? No car, no worry about traffic, driving, burning gas in traffic, and parking fees. Universal Studios Hollywood is the most transit-accessible theme park in Southern California, and with proper planning, you can get there by transit from Anaheim. Let’s see how to get there by Metrolink & LA Metro Rail, and LA Metro Bus from Universal Studios to Burbank & then Amtrak Pacific Surfliner to Anaheim. Let’s hit the ARTIC! Full video is posted below.
From Anaheim To Universal via Metrolink & LA Metro Rail B Line.
If you are staying in the Anaheim Resort area, you can directly get to the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center (ARTIC) with the OC Bus 50 west bus from the Harbor/Katella bus stop to ARTIC for $2 per way or $4.50 day pass on the OC Bus app. You can also take the Anaheim Resort Transportation (ART) for $6 for a day pass, or transfers are included if you bought your Metrolink or Amtrak Pacific Surfliner. You can do an on-demand ART bus with their A Way We Go app.
At the ARTIC, you go through the steel & plastic fluorine arched waiting area, double-check your ticket for the train, and go up the escalator to go to the platform. Feeling a bit peckish, you can grab an Auntie Anne’s pretzel or Pinkberry Frozen Yogurt in the waiting area. The waiting area also has ticket machines for Metrolink and ticket offices for Amtrak & Greyhound. Getting to the platform is recommended about ten minutes before the train’s arrival.
At the platform, announcements are chimed in when the train arrives five minutes before the arrival time and is scheduled to arrive. However, like any mode of transportation: accidents, mechanical issues, traffic congestion, and police activity happen, causing delays throughout the SoCal passenger & freight train system. When taking any transit systems like Metrolink or Amtrak Pacific Surfliner, make sure to follow the transit systems on their X, formerly Twitter, page for live updates since Metrolink only shows general issues and Amtrak only posts there, and then occasionally decides to text you updates and on the Amtrak app, more on that later.
On Metrolink from Anaheim to Los Angeles
To Universal Studios, I am taking the Metrolink Orange County line 685, departing Anaheim at 8:40 A.M., arriving at Los Angeles Union Station at 9:30 A.M., and then taking the LA Metro Rail B Line to Universal Studios/Studio City stop.
Metrolink is a commuter train line started in 1993 by the transportation commissions of the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, and Ventura to provide SoCal commuters, primarily downtown Los Angeles commuters, a cleaner & stress-less commute via commuter train instead of highly congested highways by car. Since this is a commuter train service, trains are primarily scheduled to take the train to LA in the morning and out to the surrounding suburbs in the evening, so outbound morning trains to Oceanside are limited. If I want to do so, I would take the OC 600 to Oceanside, which we passed by after departing Anaheim.
Metrolink is a commuter train service that gets the job done of getting commuters from the suburbs to LA and back. Train sets are consistent with five to eight-passenger cars that are either pulled or pushed by a diesel locomotive with a cab car on the opposite end so the operator can control the train there. All passenger cars are bi-level, have restrooms, tap water, dedicated lower-level bike racks on some cars, and some seats have outlets depending on the configurations or refurbishment level of the car. Thanks to the basics of the train car set, Anaheim to Los Angeles Union Station is $8.75 per person per way with an included transit transfer to most transit agencies, including LA Metro bus & rail, OC Bus, ART, and more.
Metrolink has a few stops along the way from Anaheim to Los Angeles, including Fullerton, Buena Park, Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs, and some trains stop at Commerce since it is primarily an industrial area. On Metrolink, the conductor just scans your pass. My original Anaheim to LA pass was never scanned by the conductor and is still active at the end of the day, which occasionally happens if they are too busy maintaining things in the passenger cars. About 50 minutes later, we arrived at L.A. Union Station.
At Los Angeles Union Station, there are two methods to get to Universal Studios, just take the Metro B subway line there, or add in some light rail by taking the A line and transfer to the B line at 7th/Metro Center.
When you deboard the LA Union Station, you will see signage for the LA Metro Rail, fares are $1.75 each way or are included with Metrolink, just make sure to scan your ticket at the validators or gates. If you are making more than one connection, I recommend buying the Tap Card, the contactless fare payment for all of Los Angeles County transit agencies for $2 so you don’t need to carry cash or worry about using battery life on your phone for the Tap payment on the app.
The subway line is on the lower level for the B & D line at Los Angeles Union Station. Both lines share the tracks and then split after Wilshire/Vermont station past downtown Los Angeles, so make sure you are on the B train to North Hollywood. Then you take the B line to Universal City/Studio City Station.
When you get to Universal City/Studio City Station, follow the signage to take to Universal Studios, go up to the street level, and then a set of stairs to a walkway that crosses over Lankershim Blvd & Universal Studios Drive. When you get to Universal Studios Drive, there is a tram that will take you up the hill to Universal Studios & City Walk at no charge. The LA Metro Rail route I went to was slightly different.
Wanting to see the new regional connector stations, I took the light rail A line and transferred at 7th/Metro to the B line. Before this, if you wanted to go downtown by the light rail to Long Beach A line or Santa Monica E line, you had to take the B or D subways to 7th/Metro no matter what. The L line originally did not touch downtown as it went from Azusa & Pasadena to LA Union Station, and to East LA. Now with the regional connector, it connects East-west with the E line from Santa Monica to East LA that does not stop at LA Union Station, and north-south with A line from Azusa to Long Beach.
LA Metro Bus 222 & Amtrak Pacific Surfliner 790 to Anaheim
To mix things up with different transit methodologies to get back to Anaheim, I went north instead of south this time by taking the LA Metro Bus 222 to Bob Hope Burbank Airport Station and the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner 790 to Anaheim.
After a fun day at Universal Studios, it was time to head back to Anaheim, and there I decided to go to Burbank Airport station, the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner origin point, to spend more time on the train and see more of the San Fernando Valley, the valley north of Hollywood.
One method would be taking the LA Metro B subway line to North Hollywood and taking the Burbank Bus Orange Route to Burbank Airport car rental. Then cross the street to Bob Hope Airport station.
You can either take the most direct bus route which I did was the LA Metro Bus 222 towards Sun Valley, and deboard the bus at Hollywood Way & Pacific Avenue, which was about thirty minutes. However, I accidentally missed my stop, and I had to sprint to the station from Hollywood & Thornton, to make sure I got to the station in time, which I did, and I did not need to do.
When I got to the Burbank Airport Station, Amtrak finally decided to send an automated text that the Pacific Surfliner 790 train was running 45 minutes late due to train traffic congestion. The tracks fluctuated between one to two tracks along the route and the outbound Metrolink Ventura line to Ventura train got priority over the inbound Pacific Surfliner to Los Angeles.
I & about ten other passengers waited at 55°F California Cold evening at Burbank Airport station. Thankfully, I wore a fleece jacket & an outer shell jacket, so I was sufficiently warm. The station was barebones as it only consisted of two platforms and shelters, that’s it. It primally acts as a transfer point for Burbank Airport passengers to get to downtown Los Angeles by train. This was an unstaffed station without any electronic train arrival signage or vending machines. The only other thing on the platform was the Metrolink ticket machine and overhang over benches.
The platforms were separate side platforms and cross over the tracks at the wooden track crossings, no under or over pass since the station area was too narrow otherwise for an under or overpass. While I was waiting, an Amtrak passenger yelled at me across the tracks asking if platform 2 was where the southbound train was on the right platform. I replied no, it is platform 1 where I was since there was signage pointing that way toward San Diego. I was right and the passenger crossed over the wooden crossing. We struck up some occasional conversation until the train arrived. After waiting 45 minutes in 55°F chill, the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner 790 finally arrived!
On board, I cozied up on an open seat in the unreserved coach with an outlet for my nearly dying phone since I forgot the correct charging cable for my battery bank, while the other passenger went to business class. What are the differences between the two classes?
The unreserved coach class gets four to five cars of open seating, as long seats are open, no luggage is above, and the destination pass is not above the seat, it is open to sit. You get an outlet per row, a fold-out tray table, feet rest, two seats, no middle seats, restrooms on each floor, overhead luggage storage, and access to the cafe car for snacks & beverages for sale. There is bike storage for six bikes in the cab car, however, reservations are needed due to the limited capacity.
Business class is reserved seating where you get snack packs, alcoholic drinks in the evening, and extra legroom compared to the coach seats. From Burbank to Anaheim is $18 per person and business class is $28 per person. If the extra legroom and snacks are worth it to you, I recommend business class. However, I don’t need legroom or snacks, so I save $10 with coach seats, and occasionally I reserve my bike, depending on what my adventures take me if a bike is necessary.
Departing Burbank, everything went smoothly. At Los Angeles Union Station, the train staff swapped out as they are based in LA, and the staff boarding the train is based in San Diego, so the staff can head home from their base area. On board, the boarded passenger reclined his seat back and, thankfully, was in front of the other seat.
Departing Los Angeles, the Amtrak conductor scans your ticket, then prints a destination pass so they know your stop will be, and places it above your seat. When your station is next, the conductor will collect your pass, and give you a nudge to get ready to disembark the train at the next stop. Anaheim’s shorthand is ANA, Los Angeles Union Station is LAX like the airport, and Burbank is BUR like the adjacent airport.
Arriving in Anaheim, I waited for the doors to open upon arrival. Then I wanted to take a video of the train departing, however, the train had to wait a few minutes to get the green light as the tracks merged with the Metrolink Inland Empire line before arriving in Orange. I wanted to wait, however, the conductor gave me the stink eye for hanging around, so I headed back to the apartment.
That’s my story on how to get from Anaheim to Universal Studios by transit! No car, no worry about traffic, driving, burning gas in traffic, and parking fees. Taking transit, just take the Metrolink or Amtrak pass from Anaheim to Los Angeles, take the LA Metro B line to Universal/Studio City, and take the tram up to City Walk. If timed with Metrolink it is only $17.50 for a round trip or Amtrak round trip is $32 round trip if you want more amenities or times work better. You can also do the Burbank Airport method if you want more time in transit. I bought a Universal Studios annual pass so you know that in the words of Universal’s Terminator “I’ll be back!” and get there again by transit!
Thank you for reading!
AntSol Travel 
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