A Day at Universal Studios Hollywood: Attractions and Experiences

Intro

Welcome to a new series of blogs coming from my latest trip to Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Chicago (just last weekend). During these posts you will see my very planned spooky experiences at Halloween Horror Nights in Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Horror Unleashed in Las Vegas. As well as, just regular things to do and recommendations on both Las Vegas and Chicago.

But for now, I will focus in this first blog on a regular visit to Universal Studios Hollywood, as part of my Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) “After 2 p.m. Day & Night Ticket,” which grants general admission to the park starting at 2 p.m. I arrived a little bit earlier on an Uber from my hotel, just to explore CityWalk before I was allowed in the park.

CityWalk

Made it to CityWalk and one of the first things I see it’s the The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen. One day I am going to venture into one of these. I do not think I have been to the one in Orlando either.

I walked around a lot, but after getting coffee at the Starbucks, my first meal of the day deserved to be one of the donuts from Voodoo Doughnut, which is also in the Orlando park. Curiously, I used to get these donuts to bring back to New York City, but since a few years back I prefer to bring the cookies from Disney Spring’s Gideon’s Bakehouse.

I still managed to get a ODB donut, chocolate icing, crushed Oreo cookies, and a drizzle of peanut butter.

I took a few bites from that donut but it was super stale. I ended up throwing the rest in the garbage, which I usually do not do (usually save them in a Ziploc bag). Maybe I remembered why I stopped going to Voodoo Doughnuts, I think the quality has gone bad.

On my way to the front of the park, I also got to see the Hello Kitty® and Friends Cafe which I do not think I had seen before. To be honest, after that bad donut, I did not want to waste my stomach space on something I am not too sure, so I decided to skip. I had some things I wanted to try at the park and then during Halloween Horror Nights.

Got into the Universal Studios Store also at CityWalk, and there was a Wicked section, kind of a preamble of my experience later in this trip at The Sphere in Las Vegas, with The Wizard of Oz.

Getting into Universal Studios Hollywood

I finally reached the famous Universal Globe, and it means it was time to pass security and go into the park. It was almost 2 PM, but they still let me in.

Since the park closed for regular guests at around 5 PM, and the Studio Tour would closed even earlier to transform it into the Horror Tram for Halloween Horror Nights, I rushed to the back of the Upper Lot to get into this ride, not before getting a wristband indicating I was able to stay in the park through HHN.

On the way there, I passed by the gigantic Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift building, of this ride that opens tin 2026. I am so excited to finally ride it.

Universal Studio Tour

A predicament of what this park can offer, the Universal Studio Tour is one of those attractions you cannot miss. It is what makes this park so different, since it includes live studios from movies and tv shows, including classics and productions still on air. Once on the tram, we went immediately down to the Lower Lot where most action happens, and from here I was also able to see the tracks for the Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift roller coaster.

The backlot is full of stages, including this section where any city can be recreated.

Continuing with the tour, we passed by The Jaws Experience. I recently saw Jaws in IMAX for the first time. I actually liked most of the movie, but find it a little bit problematic. I do not understand the craze over it so many decades later, but oh well. I still enjoyed seeing the shark attacking my actual line on the tram lol.

The closed the Fast and Furious ride on the tram, but were still able to do the King Kong one, which is kind of fun. We passed by many iconic places like Wisteria Lane, and now this Flash Flood scene.

Another sneak peak of what we will see later tonight, we passed by this bloody Hollywood Sign for Halloween Horror Nights. Couldn’t wait.

And finally, before getting back to the Upper Lot, we passed by The Psycho House where Norman Bates was waiting for us.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Now, from a very singular attraction, to a land that is located in every Universal Park in the world (which I have visited all), I was in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Hogsmeade. It is so funny that this park does not care at all about immersion. Imagine you are in Hogwarts, and suddenly there is a big Fast and Furious sign and roller coaster right in front of you lol.

Time to walk to the Hogwarts Castle, and do Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. I usually get a little sick during this ride, but today it was ok, probably because I had not eaten that much. They really need to update those screens tho. Another complaint I have, and it includes every ride in this park where you have to use a locker, like The Mummy, is that the locker space is super tiny, so if you have a regular backpack that will not fit, and you would have to pay $5 to rent the bigger ones.

The queue is still amazing, the most Harry Potter ride there is, probably with Ministry of Magic a close second, at Epic Universe.

Time for a show in this sunny afternoon, and I got to see the Triwizard Spirit Rally, before I did Flight of the Hippogriff. It had been probably years since I did that attraction, but they way was kind of short this time around.

And after hitting the 2 rides in this land, and seeing a show, I got to get a frozen butterbeer from Hog’s Head Pub. Love this great view of the castle on the back of the pub. I was very tempted to get the fish and chips (which I love), but again, I was saving space for the upcoming many meals during Halloween Horror Nights.

With a view of the Hogwarts Express I say bye to this land. I would come back later for the event, but for now, it was just weird not seeing Hagrid’s next to the train lol.

On the way to the Lower Lot

Not much time was left for the park to officially close, so I wanted to hit some rides on the Lower Lot. To get there, please allow a lot of time since you have to go down through a lot of escalators and staircases. From Harry Potter, you have to pass by Springfield. I was also tempted to go for the first time in years to The Simpsons Ride, but really did not want to get nauseous right now.

The journey to the Lower Lot begins lol. It is going to be amazing seeing the cars passing by on the roller coaster once it opens.

The view from this path is amazing.

I always stop and enjoy the views. You can also actually see the Warner Bros studios from here.

And here I was coming, to the Super Nintendo World in view (a very tiny one compared to Japan or Epic Universe).

Super Nintendo World

The park was closing soon for regular guests, so I had to hurry up. But first, I had to give another try to the Mario’s Strawberry Soda. It is very sweet but the ice cream makes it taste amazing.

Quick walk into Super Nintendo World. No more lines or weird timing, just walk inside. I wish they did not just have a big painted wall up front.

And got inside. The line to the only attraction in this land: Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge, was too crazy, so I left it for later. It was 4:48 PM, and the park was officially closing. I checked the app and 2 houses from the HHN event already had waiting times, meaning they were going open soon. Did I mess up my timing in this park? Will I be able to go through all the houses? Do not miss the next post for all the HHN details. For now, let me quickly share with you how my trip to West Coast went.

From NYC to California

I booked my flight from JFK to Burbank, because that’s the closest airport to Hollywood, and Universal. I got a nice deal on Jetblue, and here I was coming.

Took a nice nap on the plane, and once in Burbank took an Uber to the hotel. It was just like 10 min away from the park, and I had been here before it was perfect for the time I was going to spend in it.

From Los Angeles to Las Vegas

After Halloween Horror Nights that night, I went straight to LAX for an early morning flight to Las Vegas. I had a couple of stops on the way like my hotel to pick up my suitcase, or a bar in West Hollywood.

I had a United flight, so I made it to the United Club, which we had talked before here on this blog.

Grabbed some food, and then took a quick nap before passing out for like an hour, just in time to go to the gate, where they would be boarding soon.

And my flight to Las Vegas was coming. Although, do not miss my conclusion of Los Angeles with the full report of Halloween Horror Nights next.