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UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOLLYWOOD

HEY STRANGERS!

Heading to Los Angeles and hoping to experience some movie magic and theme park thrills? Look no further than Universal Studios Hollywood!

We recommend reading the guide below and checking out our videos from Universal Studios Hollywood – here.

Introduction

Universal Studios has been making some of the world’s greatest films since 1912 in the very spot that the theme park sits in today. In fact, many of Universal’s movies are still made on the lot in Hollywood.

Although some backlot tours were introduced earlier, The World Famous Universal Studio Tram Tour which still operates to this day, opened in 1964, laying the foundations for the theme park and its eventual growth.

Theme Park

Universal Studios Hollywood is uniquely situated on the side of a mountain between Los Angeles and Burbank in Universal City, aptly tagged as the Entertainment Capital of LA. The park has smaller themed lands to its Orlando sister park, such as The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Springfield (The Simpsons), but for the most part, due to its size, the theming rarely stretches much further than the ride itself. This is something that Orlando regulars see as a stark contrast between the sprawling resorts of Universal Orlando and Walt Disney World, with the tightly packed in parks of Anaheim and LA.

In Hollywood the park is split into two sections – Upper Lot and Lower Lot – these being situated at the top and bottom of the mountain and connected by a set of escalators which feel like a ride in of themselves.

The theme park has building constraints due to the mountain it is situated on and the lack of expansion land surrounding the Universal facilities, but also suffers from having to encroach on the land of the studio itself. Many of the park’s expansions have come in the form of repurposing soundstages from the studios for rollercoasters and simulators.

Due to the proximity to the studios and regular filming, Universal’s rides and attractions are mostly indoor experiences to reduce the amount of noise created and keep the filmmaking disruptions to a minimum.

Rides & Attractions

Universal Studios is truly starting to elevate its attraction offerings. After many shared projects with the Orlando resort, Hollywood is set to get some exciting additions in the future and has already got a good line up of rides.

UPPER LOT:

The Upper Lot is where you start your Universal Hollywood adventure. Here you will find the following attractions:

• The Simpsons Ride – A 3D simulator ride through Krustyland, a theme park in the cartoon world of the popular TV show.
• Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem – A 3D simulator where you and your family are transformed into minions and sent through minion tests and trials with Gru, his daughters and of course, the minions!
• Super Silly Fun Land – A mini land inspired by the carnival from the original Despicable Me movie. Play in a large water structure or swirl and spin on the Super Swirly ride. This area is located at the exit/next to the Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem ride.
• Dreamworks Theatre Featuring Kung-Fu Panda – A classic 3D cinema attraction with some fun enhancements including wrap around screens and wacky fun with Po from Kung-Fu Panda.
• The Secret Life Of Pets: Off The Leash – a slow moving dark ride with animatronics, huge set pieces and digital technology combine to create a fantastic ride. Joining the pets in a zany adventure through their world in a hope to get yourself (you’re a puppy) adopted!
• WaterWorld Stunt Show – Despite not having the biggest box office returns when in cinemas, WaterWorld Stunt Show is an entertaining, exciting, and energetic thrill from start to finish. Massive special effects, pyrotechnics, water vehicles, fireballs, and real stunt people from TV & film are just part of this – Rated #1 Theme Park Show.
  • TOP TIP: Don’t want to get wet? Stay wellllll away from the front row and as far away from the marked splash zones as possible, you’re not safe from water during this show!
• Studio Tour – This attraction is approximately 40 – 60 minutes long, as you board one of the classic Studio Tour Trams and explore the 400+ acre studio lot. As you wind your way amongst the soundstages where movies such as Jurassic Park were filmed, as well as the production offices of Alfred Hitchcock, Dwayne ‘The Rock‘ Johnson, and more, you may be lucky enough to witness the filming of an upcoming movie or your favourite TV show! Who knows, you may even bump into a celebrity! The Tram Tour is ever-changing due to the nature of the film industry and has received several exciting enhancements such as two 3D motion-based experiences themed to King Kong and Fast and the Furious franchise.
  • TOP TIP: For the best seat on the tram, sit at the back of one of the middle cars. The window seats have the best views but also get the wettest (yep, you’re going to get splashed).

• The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogwarts Castle and the village of Hogsmeade are now featured at every Universal resort worldwide. Hollywood’s version features the extremely popular shops, dining, and shows of Hogsmeade including Oliveander’s Wand Shop experience, Honeydukes confectionary store, and Three Broomsticks ‘British pub style’ restaurant.
• Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey – a multi-sensory ride experience taking you on a flying tour around Hogwarts Castle, the Forbidden Forrest, the Quiddich pitch, and many more iconic locations from the film franchise. Utilising a combination of large-scale set pieces and projection domes, this ride is nothing like anything else currently available within the park.
• Flight Of The Hippogriff – A family-friendly rollercoaster built to offer young muggles the experience of flying on the back of a Hippogriff around the woods surrounding Hogwarts.

LOWER LOT:

Once you descend the escelators the Lower Lot is home to some more thrilling and world class attractions, including:

• Revenge Of The Mummy: The Ride – Embark on a fast paced, high energy rollercoaster in the dark. Travelling through several scenes with high-tech special effects followed by a 45 mph heart-racing rollercoaster finale!
• Jurassic World: The Ride – formerly Jurassic Park: The Ride, the famous water attraction was reimagined to feature scenes, characters and dinosaurs from the newest additions to the Jurassic franchise. Board your Jurassic World river boats and begin sailing by the tank of the mosasaurus, and lagoons of the stegosaurus before climing to the top of the show building for an epic prehistoric battle and splashdown.
• Transformers: The Ride 3D – Join the Autobots as they battle the Decepticons for the all spark on a high-energy race through the city as you face the robotic heroes and villains from the movies. (They love to call rides, “The Ride”, don’t they!)

SUPER NINTENDO WORLD

• NEW! SUPER NINTENDO WORLD – (NOW OPEN) The incredible theming, stores, restaurants, characters, and attractions have made their USA debut. The Hollywood version of Super Nintendo World may be the smallest but still packs a punch in terms of incredible theming and world-building. You can treat yourself to ‘in-world’ food and drink items, immerse yourself with the land’s interactive games using a Power Up Band, and cover yourself from head to toe in Nintendo merch.
• Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge – “Put on the special goggles and battle Team Bowser alongside Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach on Mario Kart™: Bowser’s Challenge. You’ll steer through underwater courses and courses in the clouds, collecting coins and throwing shells to win the Golden Cup. Everywhere you look you’re in the game on this groundbreaking ride with cutting-edge technology. Compete as an individual and as part of a team while you play along with your favorite Super Mario™ characters. Multiple outcomes and the chance to raise your score mean Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge is more fun each time you ride!” – Universal Studios Hollywood
• The highly themed land is expected to utilise a timed entry-system, similar to Disney’s approch with Star Wars; Rise of the Resistance and Guardian’s of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. (This blog was writted January 20th 2023)
• Want to immerse yourself in Super Nintendo World ahead of your visit? Listen to the full land soundtrack on Wanderful Radio.

CityWalk Hollywood

In a similar fashion to the Orlando Resort, Hollywood is home to their own version of CityWalk – a shopping and dining area hosting well known brands and Universal created experiences. CityWalk is located next to the entrance to the theme park and connects most of the parking structures to the park, allowing guests to pick up a Starbucks on their way to the park in the morning and stop for a meal and shopping when their day has ended.

Hollywood’s version of CityWalk has evolved a lot in the past and has seen staple establishments such as Hard Rock Cafe close down and receive a Universal created replacement, in this case the Toothsome Chocolate Emporium, similar to the location in Orlando. From my past visits it also appears many of the stores have closed and received Universal stores as replacements.

Unlike Downtown Disney at Disneyland, I have personally felt like there isn’t enough to do to keep people around for very long. Our visit in September 2022 saw CityWalk close just an hour after the theme park, very different to the common 1am closing time of CityWalk in Orlando.

That’s not to say there isn’t anything to entertain yourself at CityWalk. They have options such as the IMAX movie theatre and indoor skydiving to encourage you to maximise your visit and due to the location, if you wanted to step out of the theme park for lunch, you can certainly do that with CityWalk. Restaurants such as Bubba Gump and Antihitos offer some fun and exciting dining experiences that you don’t typically find within the park.

Halloween Horror Nights

Universal is well known for their Halloween offerings at their theme parks around the world. Halloween Horror Nights is Southern California’s Scariest Halloween Event. Much like it’s Orlando counterpart, the event in Hollywood features several haunted houses themed to popular horror movies and franchises, scare zones, shows and themed food, drinks and merchandise.

• HAUNTED HOUSES – Universal has mastered horror with its haunted houses. Each year, several houses are created with high quality, gruesome and horrifying props and sets. The houses are a long walk through experience with live actors hiding around every corner. Halloween Horror Nights usually features an overarching theme each year which typically follows the lead of their biggest intellectual property. In 2019, an 80s theme was showcased thanks to the use of the Ghostbusters franchise.
• SCARE ZONES – Dragging the scares out into the streets, scare zones are placed throughout the park and feature live roaming actors in elaborate costumes and large themed set pieces. These areas are usually unavoidable so you will find yourself having to walk through these (usually smoke filled) areas. Scare actors will lurk around, hiding behind props, looking for their next victim.
• TERROR TRAM – Universal Studios Hollywood is home to a unique Halloween Horror Nights experience that can’t be found at any other Universal theme park! Boarding the World Famous Studio Tram Tour you will make your way down into the studio lot where you’ll venture through additional scare zones, haunted houses and more!
• RIDES – During the event, select rides will be open with little to no wait times! If you’re needing to take a break from the scares, head over to one of their beloved attractions!

As mentioned, each year’s event has its own themes and unique offerings. One thing that is for certain, the park will have many exciting food and drinks offerings, including alcohol (if you’re over 21, I suggest trying a couple, I needed them!)

Halloween Horror Nights is extremely popular and as a result, many nights will sell out ahead of the event. We recommend booking your tickets online in advance to avoid disappointment. If you’re within the park on the event day, you can stay inside the park during the change over from daytime to nighttime in a Stay And Scream Area, this allows you to head straight to one of the houses before the main crowds enter the park, and typically, the houses will gain large wait times!

Hotels/Travel

Universal City is located between Los Angeles and Burbank making it slightly difficult to get to without a car.

• RIDESHARE – During our 2 visits together we opted to get an Uber or Lyft. They drop you off/pick-up currently in the Frankenstein parking lot which is the closest to the theme park’s main entrance. From LAX in the morning this took approximately 1 hour and cost around $80 USD. Times and prices vary.
• CAR – Universal has several large parking structures available (my favourite is Jurassic Park-ing simply for its name). As there are many local areas to be travelling from, here is a link to Universal’s directions guide.
• PUBLIC TRANSPORT – Some public transport options are available with Universal recommending the metro service. As there are many locations you can travel from, here is a link to SoCal’s bus and metro route planner.
• HOTELS – Although Universal Studios Hollywood doesn’t have their own themed resort hotels like the ones available in Orlando, Hollywood has partner hotels that can be booked directly with Universal’s travel company – here. The three featured properties offer a free theme park shuttle from the hotel to the theme park and CityWalk. The Hilton Hotel is extremely close to the front gates and is easily a short trip from your hotel room to your first attraction of the day!
  • REMEMBER – Universal Studios Hollywood and CityWalk can easily be a one day (or 1/2 day experience). We haven’t personally stayed near the park because, besides Universal itself, there isn’t a lot to do nearby. This would mean travelling to Hollywood, Santa Monica, or down to Disneyland, making a stay near Universal less convenient. We would only likely consider it if we attended a Halloween Horror Nights event or the New Year’s Eve party.

Universal Studios Hollywood holds a special place in my heart. For most of my life I wanted to work in LA as a filmmaker, even studying Film Production at University. This theme park may be small and lack the theming scale of the Orlando parks but the unique layout and proximity to actual working film sets and soundstages is really awesome. You get gorgeous views over Burbank from different view points and unique attractions like the WaterWorld stunt show and the Studio Tram Tour.

If you’re thinking about spending a day, or just a few hours at this park, you definitely should! Need some more convincing? Check out our past vlogs and photo galleries from Universal Studios Hollywood, LA, Disneyland and beyond!

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