Your Ultimate Guide to Universal Studios Beijing

Intro

After exploring Beijing’s fast trains, delicious cuisine, and iconic sights, one goal stood above the rest: visiting Universal Studios Beijing. This visit wasn’t just another stop—it marked the completion of my quest to visit every Universal park in the world, at least until new parks like Epic Universe in Orlando open.

Getting there was an adventure in itself, navigating with the MetroMan app, taking a Didi ride via Alipay, and then a 40-minute train journey to the impressive Universal Studios Resort station. As I stepped into CityWalk Beijing, its unique charm set it apart from other Universal destinations.

This park promised a thrilling mix of blockbuster attractions and local culture. Join me as I share highlights from this final stop in my Universal journey!

On the way to Universal Studios Beijing

I had just started my adventures in Beijing:

Beijing Adventures: Fast Train, Great Food, and Iconic Sights

But my main goal in this city was to visit the Universal Studios Beijing, my last Universal Park in the world, yes, even counting water parks, at least until they open the ones in construction like Epic Universe in Orlando and Universal Kids Resort in Frisco, Texas.

With the MetroMan app I calculated the journey to this very far park. I had to take a Didi, using the Alipay app, to the closest station, and then ride this train for more than 40 min.

The Universal Studios Resort station was amazing, looked like an airport. It really shows how cooperative the Government of these cities is with these big developments like these parks.

Entering Universal Studios Beijing

I had no idea there was a version of the CityWalk here, but I was glad there was more signaling that back in Disney Shanghai.

It was 8:30 am. The park would open at 9:00 am and a lot of people were coming in from the station.

After passing security, here I was in CityWalk, a lot different than the other ones, the similarity tho is the…

…Universal globe, which I really was not expecting. The day was a bit cloudy, foggy, which for me is the best weather for visiting a theme park.

The entrance to the park was through the Universal Studios Grand Hotel, so everybody was walking towards there.

I finally made it where I could not possibly move more. The park would open in minutes, but it seemed they were not anyone in. The crowd management was horrible. I was instructed to go to different lines, plus people kept cutting in line.

It moved slowly and after almost 50 horrible minutes in line, I was in the park. Only a few workers scanning the tickets of thousands of visitors. I finally made it inside mad that I was not able to enjoy the first hour of the park, and now I was checking the app.

Universal Beijing Resort App/Mini Program on Alipay

Yes, Universal Beijing does not have an app on the Apple or Android store. They have what they call a Mini Program in the Alipay app. Just like Didi and other mini apps inside the Alipay app, you could do basically almost everything using the mini program. Weird but it actually worked, after I learned how to use it a bit.

The App was in Chinese, but it included a Translate option. Also, in Android it is super easy to translate using the AI help. And well, it is kind of easy to deduce what the numbers meant with the pictures, either wait times or next show times.

For this day at the park, I had bought the Universal Express pass on Klook, that included the following attractions:

ALL of the Universal parks

And just like Thanos collected the Infinity Stones, I was able to visit all of the Universal parks in the world:

1. Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles, California
2. Universal Studios Florida in Orlando, Florida
3. Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida
4. Volcano Bay in Orlando, Florida
5. Universal Studios Singapore
6. Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, Japan
7. Universal Beijing Resort in Beijing, China

And with tickets for Epic Universe opening in May 2025, I was on track to complete 8 Universal parks. The goal is complete!

First views of the park

As you enter, the similarities with the one in Singapore come to play, the roof on top of the main avenue, which is called Hollywood in this park, is what takes your eye view first. Some meet and greets were happening in this land, like Fiona and Shrek.

But as soon you step out of the roofed area, you realize that this park is different. Wow, so beautiful too.

Transformers Metrobase

A huge difference too was that Transformers as an IP has a whole land, which was the first one I rushed to complete one of the included Universal Express rides.

The Decepticoaster was basically very similar to Hulk in Orlando but with the Transformers overlay. In order to get there you need to leave everything in free lockers.

The roller coaster was amazing. I actually enjoyed it more than The Incredible Hulk in Orlando, so yes, definitely put it in the To-Do list for this park. Next up, I was going to continue in this land getting into the Bumblebee Boogie.

The rotating cars to the music provided by DJ Bumblebee was fun and cute, but I would not recommend a long line for this. It is essentially Storm or The Teacups back in Orlando.

There were Meet and Greets too, with different characters coming to the stage at different times.

Wait Times

Let’s take a look at the Mini App to see the Wait Times at around 10:30 am on a Friday. With 10 attractions with a wait time of over 40 min, I think this park is too busy. It definitely needs more crowd management, adding shows or attractions or parades, or stuff that sparse the guests more evenly.

At least there were some meet and greets and little shows all over that could keep guests busy and away from the attractions but still more were missing.

Lights Camera Action!

I think it was in Singapore, but I had seen a version of this show, and it was quite interesting. Here, they had the legend Steven Spielberg explaining all these visual effects, super cool!

Another feature of the app, was to show you how to get from point A to point B. Since it was my first time here, and Google Maps does not work in China, I was happy about this feature.

Untrainable

The most amazing show of this park, and that is coming to Epic Universe in 2025, is Untrainable:

Immerse yourself in the land of Berk, and come face to face with the wonderful world of dragons and characters from How To Train Your Dragon for the first time. Watch Hiccup and Toothless attempt to train a new dragon in the village, with the help of Astrid and her dragon, Stormfly. Find out if the gang can train the untrainable.

The dragon flying over the audience caught me by surprise, I was not expecting that, so epic! Do not miss this show.

Camp Jurassic

Jurassic World Isla Nublar was the next land to explore, and Camp Jurassic was the first spot to check out.

More like a playground for kids, but built for adults, this area is not a must-see but definitely worth to be checked out, even if fast.

It also has these screens where you can learn more about dinosaurs.

Jurassic World Adventure

The main attraction of Jurassic World Isla Nublar, and perhaps the park, is Jurassic World Adventure.

The queue was nice, but since I had the Express Pass I was able to skip some of the line.

Climb aboard our revolutionary All-Terrain Luxury Autonomous System (A.T.L.A.S.) and journey into the heart of Jurassic World Isla Nublar for close encounters with all of your favorite dinosaurs on an unforgettable Jurassic World Adventure. 

The ride system looked like the one from Spider-Man or Transformers in Orlando, but the technology was out of this world. They filmed scenes with Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard for this ride. The chasing part with the animatronic was out of this world.

The screens and visuals were also really nice. I would say it is one of my favorite Universal rides ever, and having been to 7 of the parks is saying a lot.

Hammond’s

After the delays in the morning and all that I had been able to do until now 1:00 pm, I was happy so far with the park, and hungry too. So I decided to go to one of the most iconic restaurants of the park and it is located in Jurassic World Isla Nublar: Hammond’s.

They had a wait list for like 15 min, and decided to wait for it. After not too long, they called me and I was seated. The service was great, and was able to order from the summer menu, where I got this mocktail that I needed a lot giving the heat outside.

I was not sure what to order, because many dishes looked so good, but I ended up getting the Hammond’s Burger. It was cooked to perfection, and literally one of the best burger in a theme park ever.

Raptor Encounter

After my meal, I walked around the land, and I noticed the Raptor Encounter was happening. It was cute with what seemed like a baby Blue meet and greet.

Let’s check the map of the park real quick on the Mini Program on Alipay, and I think I was ready to explore another land.

I was walking towards the Kung Fu Panda land and had to go through the Transformers Metrobase, where another meet and greet, this time with Windblade was happening.

Kung Fu Panda Land of Awesomeness

The only land fully inside, Kung Fu Panda Land of Awesomeness, was definitely another surprise in this park.

The AC is obviously welcomed, but the immersion in the Kung Fu Panda universe was really great.

Everything was very well thought out. Loved the architecture, being in China myself, representing in these sets and buildings.

There were some meet and greets like this one with Mei Mei, which I did not know was popular.

Kung Fu Panda Journey of the Dragon Warrior

A cute boat ride was Kung Fu Panda Journey of the Dragon Warrior, where you can see a little bit of the story of Po.

Make your way to the Jade Palace to meet Master Shifu and train to be among the next generation of Kung Fu warriors. But wait!  Po has accidentally let Kai escape from the Urn of Eternal Imprisonment.  (He thought it was a cookie jar, but that’s beside the point.) Now Kai is going to destroy The Valley of Peace! Are you brave enough to join Po and the Furious Five and help defeat the most dangerous villain in the history of Kung Fu?

The Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom is in the middle of the land and it is definitely imposing.

The waterfalls are also worth seeing for yourself.

Po’s Kung Fu Training Camp

Similar to the one in the new Dreamworks Land in Universal Studios Florida, Po’s Kung Fu Training Camp uses movement tracking technology to make Po move around while telling some physical jokes.

There’s more to Universal Studios Beijing, see the next post to find out.