Is the Go City Los Angeles Pass worth it? Go City Los Angeles Pass review 2023

By Roger Wade

05 Apr, 2023 Comments (174) Add a comment

The Go Los Angeles Pass is an interesting and exciting way to save money while visiting the biggest attractions in the city, but it’s not ideal for everyone. It covers 38 different attractions that are spread over a great distance within Southern California, and the first thing you might notice is that it does NOT cover Disneyland. However, it does cover almost everything else (including Universal Studios Hollywood), and visiting Disneyland on your own on another day is easy enough.

It’s easy to get confused when looking at the list of attractions on the Go Los Angeles Pass website, especially if you’ve spent little or no time in the area before. So as someone who grew up in Los Angeles and knows all of these places (plus the distances between), I’m going to help you decide whether this pass is good value for you or not. The Los Angeles attractions are very spread out so planning ahead is critical. Starting with an attraction pass can be great if you have your itinerary figured out in advance, so that’s what we will try to help you with here. Attraction discounts are pretty rare on their own, so doing this bundle can definitely save money for those who do the research.

One of the most unusual and best features of the Go City Los Angeles Pass is that you DON’T have to use it on consecutive days. So if you are visiting Los Angeles for a week, you can buy a 3-Day Pass and go to the beach or go to Disneyland in between the days you use the pass.

2023 prices for the all-inclusive Go City Los Angeles Pass

1-day

Adult (13+): $99
Child (3-12): $79

2-day

Adult (13+): $149
Child (3-12): $114

3-day

Adult (13+): $254 (includes Universal Studios)
Child (3-12): $234

4-day

Adult (13+): $304
Child (3-12): $269

5-day

Adult (13+): $329
Child (3-12): $299

7-day

Adult (13+): $384
Child (3-12): $344

Where to buy the Go Los Angeles Pass with our EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT

Look for “Have a promo code?” on the Review Your Order page and use the code ‘GOPOT10′ for the exclusive Price Of Travel 10% discount. The 10% discount is valid on sale prices, so you save even more.

>>>Buy the Go Los Angeles Pass at an ADDITIONAL 10% off using this link and the promo code GOPOT10

Important: You don't have to use the All-Inclusive Pass on consecutive days

With nearly all other attraction passes, the clock starts ticking on the first day you use the pass and it keeps going until the end of the period you paid for, so a “3-day pass” is only valid for 72 consecutive hours. But with the Go City Los Angeles Pass you get a full TWO WEEKS to use the days you paid for. This is a HUGE benefit since so many of the best attractions are theme parks and not only do you want to spend all day at each of those, but you probably don’t want to do them on back-to-back days either.

So if you are visiting Los Angeles and San Diego for 7 days or longer, which is obviously very common, you can buy a 3-Day Pass and go to Universal Studios on Monday, and Knotts Berry Farm on Wednesday and then LEGO Land on California Friday or Saturday. Those would cost $367 if you paid for each of them, while the Go City Los Angeles Pass for 3 days is only $254, and really $229 if you use our discount. It’s basically like paying for two theme parks and getting an extra one free, and you don’t have to rush.

Top sights and attractions included in the Go Los Angeles Pass

Universal Studios Hollywood – $149.00

A premium attraction available for those who purchase a 3, 4, 5, or 7-day Go Los Angeles Pass, the Universal Studios Hollywood attraction is a fantastic choice for those who would like to go behind the scenes. This attraction offers guests the chance to go on different tours exploring real life film sets. If you love Harry Potter, you’ll love visiting The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Madame Tussauds Hollywood Tickets – $32.99

An unusual attraction that features your favorite celebrities in wax form, Madame Tussauds Hollywood is a great visit for those who like something a little bit different. Located inside, this wax museum features 100 different singers and actors in several different rooms. This attraction is great for both adults and children and can easily take up a few hours of your day.

Warner Brothers Studio Tour Hollywood– $69.00

While it’s much smaller and a bit less famous than Universal Studios, the Warner Brothers Studio Tour is also very worthwhile and it’s included even in 1-day and 2-day Go City Los Angeles Passes. This one doesn’t have thrill rides either, but it does have a really good guided tour of the backlot along with the chance to visit the sets of Friends and the Big Bang Theory, among others. If you only have time for one studio tour, Universal has more to offer, but this is great if you only have the shorter passes.

Aquarium of the Pacific – $36.95

Located on Long Beach, the Aquarium of the Pacific lets you explore exhibits that showcase the wildlife of Southern California and Baja as well as the Northern Pacific and the Tropical Pacific. Great for both adults and children, this highly rated attraction lets you get face to face with birds, ocean predators and much more.

Hop-on, Hop-off Big Bus 1-Day Classic Tour– $54.00

Including BOTH the Hollywood route and the Beach route, this hop-on, hop-off bus tour is the best way to see the main sights in the Los Angeles area for those who don’t want to drive everywhere and fight for parking. It’s a great tour although it’s usually best to start in the late morning and finish by mid afternoon to avoid the worst of the traffic.

Knott’s Berry Farm Ticket – $99.00

Known as America’s first theme park, Knott’s Berry Farm is fun for the whole family with rides, dining options, shopping options and none other than the famed boysenberry. The Knott’s Berry Farm Marketplace is also on-site and a great way to discover new boysenberry treats, great for both for you and gifts for others. As far as the rides are concerned, you’ll find plenty to choose from, including those suitable for little kids, those geared toward the whole family and some fun water rides that are perfect for those hot Southern California days.

Whale Watch By Newport Landing Tickets – $56.50

If you love sea life, you’ll love the Whale Watch By Newport Landing attraction. While enjoying the comfort of a 65 foot double deck ship you’ll get the exciting chance to view, up close and personal, both whales and dolphins, in an experience like no other. Want the chance to view a 90 foot blue whale or a pod of beautiful and playful dolphins? With over 30 years of experience, your chances of seeing one or the other are pretty high. This one isn’t very close to Hollywood or Downtown Los Angeles as it’s well down into Orange County, but on the other hand, Newport Beach is a lovely attraction unto itself.

LEGOLAND California – $119.00

With more than 60 rides, attractions and shows throughout the park, LEGOLAND is a dream for many, both kids and adults alike. Currently, guests can also see a show of THE LEGO MOVIE in 4D. If you choose to, there is also the LEGOLAND Hotel that you can stay in and you don’t want to miss the LEGOLAND water park! Make sure to take note that LEGOLAND is only open daily during Spring Break, summer and certain holidays. The rest of the year, you’ll find the park closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. LEGOLAND is in Carlsbad, which is most of the way to San Diego. This is an amazing place for young ones, but getting there and back will take a full day including many hours in the park.

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There are over 35 different attractions to choose from with each offering something unique and fun. However, those listed above are some of most popular and highly rated attractions with pass holders and those who live in the area.

Is the Go City Los Angeles Pass a good deal? Here's the short answer

If you are visiting Los Angeles and intend to visit at least two theme parks as well as a studio tour and perhaps another big attraction or two, then you almost certainly will save money with a Go City Los Angeles Pass. If you can get a pass at a discount, it’s obviously an even better deal. But, trying to see too many of these things on a short trip would probably be a mistake.

A day that you visit a major theme park is a full sightseeing day, so you shouldn’t assume that you’ll be able to see something else that day. The good news is that (unlike other passes and passes) you get a full two weeks to use the 1 to 7 days you purchase on the pass. In other words, if you visit Universal Studios on a 3-day Pass, you can spend all day Monday there, then relax at the beach on Tuesday, and start using the pass again on Wednesday. This feature makes it far more useful than if it were only usable on consecutive days like most other passes insist.

The Go City Los Angeles Pass covers 38 attractions, but only these big ones matter

The way the Go Los Angeles Pass is priced, you really need to plan to visit one major attraction such as a theme park, or two secondary attractions such as a studio tour, each day in order for it to be good value. A full 16 of the 38 included attractions cost less than $30 each for adults, so it’s really only on the 7-Day Pass that it would make sense to visit those cheaper ones.

Los Angeles is so huge and spread-out that even visiting 3 things in one day is a challenge. So you can literally just forget about all the cheaper attractions that are included, because racing between them to try to get your money’s worth out of a pass would ruin your trip.

Full-day attractions

Theme parks

Universal Studios Hollywood (Only on 3, 5, and 7-Day passes): $149.00
LEGOLAND® California: $108.28
Knott’s Berry Farm: $99.00
San Diego Zoo: $71.00
Hop-on, Hop-off bus tour: $54.00 (Hollywood, Beach, or Celebrity homes)

Each of the above theme parks should be a full day, except the bus tours, which can easily be combined with other included attractions. It’s worth noting that the celebrity homes tours are sometimes disappointing, especially the Malibu celebrity homes because they almost all look extremely modest from the street.

Also note that LEGOLAND is about 100 miles (160 km) south of Los Angeles, and it takes about 2 hours to get there by car, or longer if traffic is heavy.

Half-day attractions

Specific tours

Hollywood Sign Tour: $55.00
Celebrity Bike Tour: $55.00

Other tours

Guided Pier Fishing in Santa Monica or Venice: $90.00
Whale watching: $56.00

Other major attractions

Aquarium of the Pacific: $36.95
Madame Tussaud’s Hollywood: $32.99

The La Brea Tarpits are now included with the Go City Los Angeles Card, and they only cost $15 for adults and $7 for kids, so they probably wouldn’t be a good use of time anyway. And just between you and me, they are kind of boring unless you are a major dinosaur enthusiast.

So will a Go City Los Angeles Pass save you money?

Again, the best way to look at it is to forget the cheaper attractions the pass covers, and evaluate it just based on the attractions listed above. Also, keep in mind that you can use these passes on non-consecutive days, so you could skip days in between to just relax or see other sights, or even go to Disneyland.

It’s easy to do the math this way. The most popular version of the Go Los Angeles Pass is the 3-day version, which is also the shortest one that includes Universal Studios. So you could go to Universal Studios on one day, and to Knotts Berry Farm on another day, and do a Hollywood tour and a movie studio tour on a third day. On an itinerary like this, you will definitely save money with the pass, and even more money if you buy it with one of the frequent discounts that are offered.

How NOT to try to use a Go Los Angeles Pass

Until you’ve actually visited Los Angeles, it’s impossible to imagine just how spread out it is. There is no other city like it on the planet. For this reason, it’s important to pace yourself properly. In New York City or London or Paris, it’s possible to visit 3 or even 4 attractions in one day because so many of them are only a few minutes apart on foot. But in Los Angeles, nothing is close.

So if you are a cheapskate like myself you might think you’ll get the most use out of a pass by buying one for a limited number of days and trying to jam as many sights into those days as possible. But if you tried it, you’d almost certainly regret it.

Also keep in mind that all the theme parks offer unlimited rides and shows once you are inside, so if you leave after half a day, you are missing out on some fun. All of them are large enough that it would take several days in order to ride all the rides and see all the shows.

Build your own custom Go Los Angeles Pass

An interesting feature with this pass is that they allow you to actually choose your own group of the 38 attractions and pay only for those. You can even choose just a single attraction (except Universal Studios) and pay only for that. They guarantee that you’ll save money off the normal admission price, although they don’t publish their own prices for the custom passes.

Most people will probably get the best value out of the normal pass, but it could be worth looking into the custom pricing plan to see if it’s an even better deal. It’s also important to consider that you might not want to rush from one attraction to another for your whole stay. You can tour the Hollywood Hills or Griffith Park for free, and even do a Hollywood Hills hike while you are at it.

Where do you purchase your Go Los Angeles Pass

If you think the Go Los Angeles Pass is a good choice for you and your group, you can buy one from the link below. You can also choose instant delivery of a pass that you can print out, or store on a smart phone in their app, so delivery is instant and free.