Wow, my local bank just got me a sweet deal: Two international airline tickets from my country to Los Angeles for 271 dollars. I should arrive May 1 at around 3:00 p.m. and return may 5th at about 11:20 p.m.
It will be our first visit to california parks. We are interested in Disneyland, Universal, and magic mountain (maybe sea world too but not sure if we can squeeze it in). Where should we stay? I read on this website about the Southern California CityPass but I can't find it; if it still exists a link would be much appreciated.
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I agree with Russell...a CityPass would not be economical given your trip duration. Since this is your first time visiting and you'll be here over a weekend, I highly advise you to spend three full days at Disneyland. This would only leave one additional park day. Honestly, I would probably pick Six Flags Magic Mountain over Universal Studios Hollywood unless 1. You aren't a big roller coaster fan, in which case SFMM shouldn't be considered, and 2. You've never visited Universal Orlando. USH is not a full day park and pretty much everything other than the Studio Tour exists in Florida. If you really want to visit both SFMM and USH, you can do Disneyland in two days, do a partial day on the day your arrive, or do a morning and afternoon at USH and an evening at Disneyland, but you may end up missing a few things at Disneyland. Don't even consider SeaWorld for your trip...it's definitely the lowest priority of the parks you listed.
For location, I'd stay in Anaheim and day trip out to any other parks you're going to. It is about a 45 minute drive from Disneyland to USH and about 30 minutes further to SFMM, but due to LA traffic these times can vary by 30-45 minutes if traveling on weekdays. If you are only doing Disneyland and one other park, do the other park on your last day so you can go directly from the park to the airport and not need to change hotels.
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http://www.citypass.com/southern-california
4 days is not enough for all the parks on the City Pass. You would be throwing money away ($334 per adult) on the City Pass if you don't visit Sea World, which is a minimum 2-hour drive from downtown LA. You're much better off buying a 3-Day Disneyland hopper pass and a 1-day Universal pass straight from the parks, which would be just a bit cheaper than the City Pass. Trying to do any other parks in that timeframe would be overkill.
As for where to stay, we've stayed in Anaheim, Studio City, and Pasadena on our past trips to LA, and it all depends on how much you want to spend, how much you want to drive, and what you want in a hotel. LA is a HUGE city, and if the parks are your only agenda, I would recommend staying near the parks you're visiting and changing hotels when you change parks, assuming you're renting a car.