A traveler's guide to Universal Studios Hollywood
This theme park is a half-day if you only ride, and a full day if you take the tram seriously. Take the tram seriously.
Universal Studios Hollywood is the theme park on a real studio lot in Universal City, California. The Studio Tour is the thing the other Universal parks cannot copy. The Wizarding World and Super Nintendo World are the lands people cross the hill for.
When to go
Fall and spring. Summer in the San Fernando Valley is hot and the upper lot has little shade. Weekdays outside school holidays are when the tram queue is a queue and not a picnic.
How to see it
Upper lot for the tour, Jurassic World, and the Wizarding World. Lower lot for Super Nintendo World and more rides, down a long escalator. Do the tour before you are tired, because it is seated and people waste it at the end. Nintendo and Harry Potter are the lands to enter with a ride in mind.
Tickets and time
General admission plus Express are the two products. Express is worth it on a Saturday and optional on a quiet Wednesday if you only care about three rides. The tram is included. Parking is expensive; the Metro and a shuttle are the other way in.
If you only remember this
- The hill between the lots is real. The escalators are the kind path.
- The Studio Tour is long. Use the bathroom first.
- Water world and Jurassic will soak you on a hot day and chill you on a cool one.
- CityWalk is the meal if the park food is not the plan.