Universal Studios Hollywood?

bellarinah

Always a tone of surprise!
Joined
Feb 18, 2015
I'm not sure where I should ask this question about Universal Studios Hollywood. I couldn't find a forum about this park on Disboards. So I figure I'd ask it here since it's the closest things.

We are a family of four with two girls, aged 10 and 9. We visit Orlando a few times a year and love ALL the theme parks. We're thinking about broadening our vacation repertoire and visiting California next year as well. We plan to stay at Disneyland Hotel and spend most of our time at Disneyland and California Adventure. But the question is I'm not sure if we should take a day to visit Universal Studios Hollywood or not. We will be flying into Los Angels and will uber to Anaheim. If we decide to do Universal, we will rent a car for the day and drive there.

Can anyone who has been to both Universal Orlando and Universal Studios Hollywood please chime in if it's worth going through the hassle and expense to visit Universal? Like I mentioned, we've been to Universal Orlando many, many times. Is Hollywood different from Orlando enough to warrant a day there? I don't mind taking one day off of our vacation since we'll be there 10 days. But I'm just wondering if it's worth a visit?
 
I really enjoy USHollywood. Its smaller and kinda strange, but it’s also fun.

Look at the SoCal themeparks board “near” the Disneyland board in the dropdown menu for more info on USH.
 
There is a subforum in the Disneyland section for 'Southern California Parks' and USH is discussed there. But there's not a lot of traffic on that board.

I've been to both Universals, and honestly, I wouldn't bother with USH unless you *really* want to see the Backlot tour. The Backlot Tour is the thing that started Universal Studios in the first place, and it is still a live filming set. It really is the crown jewel of the park, as much as the Wizarding World. But is it worth going to see if you're already very familiar with the Orlando parks? Not IMHO.

The majority of attractions at USH are the same as the ones in Florida, and the park feels much smaller. Outside of the aforementioned Backlot Tour, there is an interesting Walking Dead walkthrough attraction (it was designed to be a permanent 'Horror Nights' exhibit) and the Mummy ride is a bit different (and shorter). Outside of that, you'll see the same rides as in Orlando: Simpsons, Jurassic Park, Transformers, Minions, Forbidden Journey, Hippogriff coaster, Ollivanders, etc. I think there's a Waterworld show (it was so dull that I haven't been on more than 10 years, but they might have the same show going) and there's a reasonable special effects show, but they're C-List type attractions.

If you don't go to Orlando often and don't mind seeing many of the same rides and you're in the area (i.e. already visiting northern LA/Hollywood) then it is fun. But it's not worth dragging yourself up there all the way from Disneyland. Did I mention that the traffic on 101 is a nightmare, no matter when you go? I've been to USH 4 times over the past 3 years, and every time that traffic is a killer. Then again, we live in California, and I only get to Orlando every 2 years, so for me it's a decent Universal fix, plus it's not too far out of our way when we're driving down from NorCal to San Diego. But for a trip where you're staying in Anaheim, I wouldn't bother.

On the advice side: if you do go, get the VIP/Express Pass that allows you FOTL access to each ride once. Buy the tickets through the Universal website to be eligible for early entry. Get to early entry about 45 minutes beforehand, which will put you at the front of the pack when they let you in. Go straight to Forbidden Journey and ride, then do the rest of the HP area. When the park officially opens, go down to the lower lot to do Transformers, JurassicPark and the Mummy. At this point the park will be getting full. You can then pick up your VIP credentials and go through every ride with little to no wait, having done most of the 'good' ones previously. In this way you can easily do the park in one day.

For food, go out to Universal Citywalk, which is right on the doorstep of the entrance to the park. It's easy to hop out for lunch/dinner and then go back into the park afterward.
 


Thanks everybody for the feedback. It's great to hear from the people that have done this before.

@helenb i really appreciate your detailed reply. Thanks for taking the time to write it!! For now, I don't think we will do USHollywood. I personally don't really care about the live film set/studio part of Universal anyway. I mostly go because of the Harry Potter stuff and other themed areas like Seuss Landing. I'm intrigued in the minion play area. We always spend hours each trip in the Curious George play area in Orlando. But I don't think that's a reason enough to go to Hollywood. Again, thank you so much!!
 


Glad to help @bellarinah ! Hopefully you'll be up in that area another time and get to check it out. I forgot about the Minions play area. It's nice, but just a play area, not a real attraction in and of itself.

Now Legoland might be worth a visit, if you get a chance to go down to Carlsbad. I haven't visited the one in Orlando (my kids were too old for it by the time it opened) but I understand that the one in San Diego is different.
 
Personally I would skip it. We are local and I can’t stand it very often. It is small, has minimal rides, and so crowded. The lines are so dang long because there just aren’t that many. We went last in January and we were miserable, I have a 13, 10 and 2 year old. The 2 year old could not ride a thing but the 10 and 13 year old hated how long the lines were, and weren’t all that interested in the rides. The backlot tour is neat if you’ve never seen it I guess, but I wouldn’t torture myself with a day there just for that.
 
Glad to help @bellarinah ! Hopefully you'll be up in that area another time and get to check it out. I forgot about the Minions play area. It's nice, but just a play area, not a real attraction in and of itself.

Now Legoland might be worth a visit, if you get a chance to go down to Carlsbad. I haven't visited the one in Orlando (my kids were too old for it by the time it opened) but I understand that the one in San Diego is different.
By age 9/10 my kids were pretty bored with Legoland already. I have girls, maybe boys would be more excited about it, but they thought most of the rides were babyish by that age.
 
@helenb Now you got my attention with Legoland in Carlsbad!! I haven't done any research about it at all since I just assumed that it was the same as the one in FL. We LOVE Legoland Florida!! We went last summer and plan to go there again this summer. But by the time we will go to CA, the kids will be 10 and 9 so they might be closer to being aged out. Can you please tell me more about the park? I will do some more reading on it myself. But it's so helpful to hear from someone that has actually been. Thanks!!
 
@DizneyMommy I was afraid of that!! We went last year when my girls were 8 and 7 and they had a blast. They asked to go again this year so I thought this will be the last year we'll do Legoland. I also assumed that the one in CA was the same as the one in FL.
 
@DizneyMommy I was afraid of that!! We went last year when my girls were 8 and 7 and they had a blast. They asked to go again this year so I thought this will be the last year we'll do Legoland. I also assumed that the one in CA was the same as the one in FL.
I’ve never been to Orlando, just SoCal. If you wanted a day trip away from Disney, the San Diego Zoo is amazing! Just plan it for a weekend as the SD traffic can be rough.
 
@bellarinah As I said, I haven't been to the Legoland in Orlando, but I gather it has different attractions. We were last at the Legoland in San Diego/Carlsbad a few years ago. My kids were 10 and 12 at the time, but they had just opened the Legoland Hotel and we wanted to check it out. My kids had fun, but it was clear that this was our last visit, that they were aging out of it.

If you can swing it, stay at the Legoland hotel. I have never seen a more themed hotel room in my life, including at Disney. They have a room with a big bed for the adults and a separate bunk bed room for the kids. You get to choose the kind of theming you want (IIRC pirates, jungle or castle). It's just amazing! Plus you get early entry to some rides in the park.

The Carlsbad park has 3 parts: the main park, a waterpark (attached to the main park) and an aquarium (outside of the main park with separate admission or a combo ticket). They're all fun. I'd say if you want to do everything, get a 2 day (3-park) ticket. 1 day for the aquarium and water park and 1 day for the main park. I think they just built a Lego submarine ride (looks to me like the old 20,000 Leagues ride) where you can go through the aquarium and see the fish that way, kind of like a glass-bottom boat ride.

They used to have Lego Robotics seminars for older kids at the main park. Sign up early in the morning for a spot if you want one. It's a good activity for older kids.

You may want to start a new thread asking for the differences between the California and Florida parks, to get some advice on how different they are.
 
We've been to both Universals and both Legolands (multiple trips to USO and have had APs to Universal and Legoland here in CA, one trip to Legoland FL) and I personally would skip both if you're focusing on a CA-exclusive trip. Since you stated above that you're not really interested in the Studio Tour, which is the highlight of USH other than Hogsmeade (which is very similar to USO), I don't think it's worth the traffic and time for you. My boys love USH, but prefer USO. The Mummy and Jurassic park are better there, and there's just so much more to do. Super Silly Funland is very cute, but it's a really small area and really just has the Minion ride (identical to USO), the flying bug ride (dumbo with silly bugs), water play area, restaurant, shop and character meets. We never spend nearly as much time there as in the play areas at USO.

As for Legoland, the CA and FL parks are very similar. There are some different rides but the overall feeling is the same. We went in FL because we have the passes good for both parks so it was free, and enjoyed it, but glad I didn't spend the money. The waterparks are very similar and aimed at small children. At 9 and 11 my boys are aging out too and we didn't renew our passes this past year (though they are now asking to go again as they are Lego crazy).

That said, I think you'll still enjoy both USH and Legoland if you choose to go, but on a CA trip I would try to do things that are uniquely CA. Do Disneyland and California Adventure, but also go to the beach, museums, check out the sights in LA, etc.
 
@helenb Thanks for your reply about Legoland California. We stayed at Legoland Hotel in the Friends-themed room last year. And I might have enjoyed the hotel even more than my kids. We will try the pirate-themed room this summer. I agree with you that the hotel is completely themed. This is actually my personal favorite hotel in all of Orlando. And I've stayed in all WDW and UO hotels.
 
@oakleycat Thanks for taking the time to write such detailed feedback!! As a theme park lover in general, it's hard to look past all the theme parks in CA. But I think I will skip both USH and Legoland. We'll focus on Disney. Our family already plans to do CA again in two years and I promise my husband that it will be a non-theme park trip. We'll see if I'd be able to sneak in a couple days of theme park fun!
 
@DizneyMommy I've only heard good things about San Diego Zoo. My daughters and I love animals. Our favorite WDW park is Animal Kingdom. I really have to see if I can squeeze that into this trip!
 
@DizneyMommy I've only heard good things about San Diego Zoo. My daughters and I love animals. Our favorite WDW park is Animal Kingdom. I really have to see if I can squeeze that into this trip!

It really is amazing. It is huge! In all of our road trips we have yet to find a zoo so huge and beautiful and fun!
 
@oakleycat Thanks for taking the time to write such detailed feedback!! As a theme park lover in general, it's hard to look past all the theme parks in CA. But I think I will skip both USH and Legoland. We'll focus on Disney. Our family already plans to do CA again in two years and I promise my husband that it will be a non-theme park trip. We'll see if I'd be able to sneak in a couple days of theme park fun!

If you really love theme parks and want something different, consider Knott's Berry Farm as well. It's definitely not Disney and you have to go in knowing that, but it has great roller coasters and I love the Ghost Town area and shows and the chicken dinner. There's also a lot more to do for the little one; my boys loved Knotts at that age. It's the original CA theme park, started in the 1930s. Plus you can get tickets a lot cheaper than Universal or Legoland.
 

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