We visited Universal Studios Hollywood primarily to attend Halloween Horror Night. We wanted to do…read morea comparison of Hhn and Knots Scary Farm, which we did the night before. During the daytime, the park was fun. We've been here several times, and almost everything was the same, with the exception of the fantastic new roller coaster, Fast and the Furious. This may be one of the best coasters I've ever been on, and definitely one of the most intense. We saw many people getting out of line as they saw what was in their future if they got on this coaster! Halloween Horror Nights at Universal studio really give me mixed feelings. The truth is that if you do not pay the extra $200-ish dollars for the express pass in addition to your $85 ticket, you are going to spend the majority of night standing in lines surrounded by tons of other people standing in lines. HHN is crowded and the houses are so spread out that you'll also spend a lot of time walking from area to area. Because Universal Studios is located on a hill, there's a lot of riding escalators up and down, and the H Lot, which has two houses, is a longgg walk down a reasonably steep Hill. Of course that means it's also a long walk up as step Hill to get back. The houses themselves are done well. This year my favorite houses were three house that was a tribute to Ozzy Osbourne, the quinceanera themed house, and the house based on the movie Sinners. The sinner's house even had a flying Remmick, which was super cool. They had some less exciting houses including another year of Stranger Things (yawn). One of the things that I think works against Universal Studios is the sheer size of it compared to a place like Knott's Berry farms who also does Halloween nights. There are "scare zones," areas where scare actors walk around in costume interacting with guests. Basically, except for a few different colored lights, the scary zones at Universal Studios Hollywood are spread out and it really just feels like walking through the theme park on any other night with an occasional saw wielding maniac. I am a bonafide Halloween freak, but I have not come here every year, and I don't see that in my future either. To do it right, it's just too expensive for the payoff. Yes, it's fun, and I will be back for sure, it's just not the every year kind of place for me.

Visited Universal Studios Hollywood on a Friday for Grad Bash. We had an amazing time. I was…read morefortunate enough to be one of the parent chaperones for my child's school. This day was specifically for Grad Bash therefore Universal Studios was not congested and the wait times on attractions and rides were not too long. Staff at Universal Studios were helpful and courteous. The longest wait time we had which was not even that long was the tram. We waited about 10-15 minutes for the tram. We also had to stop thrice since our tram broke down and we had to wait for the replacement tram to arrive. We saw several attractions and went on several rides. It was a breeze for us. We didn't really that long to see the attractions nor get on rides. This was a fun and memorable day for all of us. Thank you Universal Studios Hollywood. Until next time.

I LOVE MINIONS. Like the beings themselves, I'm just okay with the Despicable Me franchise. This is…read morea small "land" but the theming is super cute and the merchandise that they have in the shop is pretty unique and great if you do like the franchise. There's a cafe, a small water park like attraction, the Minions Mayhem ride off to the side, a kiddie ride, some carnival games and the merchandise shop. You can meet a Minion near the Minions Mayhem ride entrance or you can do the photo op with the statues. I always make sure to take a picture with the little rubber ducky one. So cute. Short and quick visit if you don't have kiddos with you and just want to take a gander.

If you have kids or toddlers, you can't go wrong here, it's basically a playground paradise for…read morethem! Bonus points for the splash pad in the summer; the little ones will absolutely love it.

This is a very popular section of the Universal, gets crowded very quickly. There are two big rides…read morehere. One of the rides requires putting bags in lockers. The whole area is designed like Hogwarts, with artificial snow on roofs and brick footwalk alleys. There are several magic spell spots where fans swing their wands to caste their spells. In the area they also got couple of shops (one for wands and one for other merchandise products), one dessert/candy store, a standing cart serving butter beers and a replica of the Hogwarts Express Train with the conductor standing next to the train, ready to take pictures with the guests. After Super Mario World, this was my second favorite part of the park, despite not being a Harry Potter fan. It was fun to see people trying to use their wand and be like Harry. Others were busy trying out the butter beer. There was a also large shaded resting area for guests that attracted a lot of people taking a break.

Im writing a review that came from 2016. A month after it opened. Can you believe that. If you…read morebelieve in magic yes you do. I remember I wanted to go when it *slowed* down when it wasn't overly packed. We made the right call. Just like anything new in Los Angeles something this big of a magnitude its going to attract a lot of people and is should be. It's a decent size section in universal. They have a lot of the famous land marks and especially a lot of themes and attractions just like in the harry potter world. From Diagon Alley, to the Hogwarts Castle to the train station. I had so much fun when we went here. There are rides and lots of photo ops. They do have a show they host I remember. parking you pay just like anything and that's what i can remember from this trip. I wasn't a yelper back then but better late than never.

We definitely recommend WaterWorld! It's a really fun and entertaining show. The only downside is…read morethat it may not be the best fit for younger kids, it's more geared toward adults, in our opinion.

This show is amazing!!! We watched it twice while we were at Universal Studios for the two days we…read morewere there. Definitely do not sit on the green benches unless you want to get wet. The show kept us entertained the entire time. Cast did a phenomenal job. This is a must when you visit this park. Don't forget to show up early so you can get good seats! It gets packed.

Most fascinating part of the Universal Studio, it actually feels like being inside the Super Mario…read moreworld. There are rides, games, character meet ups, merchandise store and a restaurant. It is about 10 minutes walk from the entrance, requires taking escalator three levels down. Inside the Mario World, there's just one very popular ride. Then there are bunch of games that requires the Mario Band. Once connected to the app, it tracks the coins, stickers and other accomplishments throughout the park. There are 3 character meet up spots where Mario and friends appear on scheduled time. There's a big merchandise store, a restaurant and restrooms. Some shaded areas are available to escape the sun. The staff members are super friendly. They guided to get through some of the games and also taking pictures with Princess Peach. We spent about 2-3 hours during our first visit and came back on a second day to play again for couple hours. Overall it is one of the best part of the Universal Studio.

Finally able to find the time to go to Universal Studios Hollywood to check out the Super Nintendo…read moreWorld. Everything here looks so cool. Feels like you are inside the Super Mario World. We were in line for almost two and a half hours before we were able to enjoy the Super Mario 3D Cart Ride. Although the wait was long, the surrounding theme made it bearable. It was a cool and fun experience.

There's some recent food that I had at Universal Studios:…read more Luigi's Pizza Meat Hater slice This wasn't bad. It was one of the better things I had in the park that day. The pizza had fresh veggies! I liked that. There was a decent amount of cheese. The crust was alright. It could have been hotter maybe? But other than that, it was decent. I would eat this again. Toadstool Cafe Mushroom Soup This was horrible. It was the worst mushroom soup I have ever had. It tasted like mushrooms ground up and thrown in a broth. Just gross. I would not order this again. The cup is cool, and you can keep that. Tasted like garbage. Hogsmeade Butterbeer Actually, not too bad! It's bubbly and frothy lol Had an okay flavor. It tasted like root beer to me lol I would get this again! Power Up Cafe Veggie calzone This was not half bad! It is super cute, comes a mushroom head. It tasted pretty good. It had lots of veggies in it and I wish it had more cheese. It was edible though. I would order one again. The cafe itself was adorable! Toadstool Cafe Pirahna Salad The salad was very fresh. Loved the presentation. I would not order it again though. It was expensive for what you get and not very filing.

Everything we had at Universal on 10/10/2023 and their rating:…read more Big pink doughnut (simpsons land/lard lad) 4/5 kids loved it. a little dense but i've seen other peoples be fluffy. frosting was good. want to try the other flavors. Luigi's pizza 3.5/5 $10 a slice. big slices. flavor is okay. kids enjoyed it. whole pizza is $55 for 8 large slices. Loaded chicken nachos (minion cafe) 4/5 good but i was not able to pay for extra cheese which it could have used. big enough to share. Chicken strips & fries (wedges) 3/5 (harry potter) also came with purple grapes. good for the kids. small portions $10. Mac & cheese w/fries (wedges) 1/5 (harry potter) also came with purple grapes. greasy and no cheese flavor at all. kids wouldn't even eat it and my son eats everything. $10 Cream cheese pretzel (snack bar) 2/5 wanted to try the jalapeño and cheese one but they were out of jalapeños but after eating this one i might not bother trying it. it was super dense and not enough cream cheese and it tasted weird like maybe it was cooked to much (maybe they're better fresh) 10/11/2023 chicken sandwich (jurassic cafe) 4/5 pretty bomb. my favorite thing i ate the whole trip. they skimped on the aoili and cooked veggies but over all very good. came with wedges. burger (jurassic cafe) 3/5 according to my husband it was kind of dry but okay over all. came with wedges. chicken empanadas (jurassic cafe) 2/5 tasted nothing like traditional empanadas. similar to the filling of a pot pie and weren't great. the chimichurri sauce was also just okay, very thick. sticky toffee pudding (harry potter 3 broom sticks) 5/5 we loved it! reminded me of a warm apple cake with a crunchy outside & paired with vanilla ice cream made it perfecttttt ice cream soda (mario cart outside mario land) strawberry 3/5 & green apple 2/5 my kids were not impressed with either flavor and didn't finish them but they were cute and fun. they had flavored sode, vanilla ice cream & boba at the bottom.

We purchased the 10:30 am Studio Plus tour for $160 but used our local resident discount for…read moreadditional savings. A full Two hour guided tour riding around the back lot on a 15 passenger electric cart. Super knowledgeable driver / tour guide (Zack) talks you through the various backlot sets and sound stages with video presentations on the monitors mounted in the cart. There are several stops where you can get off to experience and hear details about shows and movies that used these specific sets. Very interesting seeing the building facades and landscaped grounds and the history of the studio. Our tour included a snack / continental breakfast and a lunch at the Friends Central Perk cafe restaurant. Both offered a decent selection of food and drink items. In the morning they served juices, coffee, tea, water, chips, cookies, danish to munch on before the tour started. Caveat is you only have 15 minutes to relax and enjoy before leaving for the tour. Lunch break happened at the end of our two hour guided tour. The tour package lunch included a hot or cold entree, side dish and drink. We were surprised at the selection and quality of the food. Various hot and cold sandwiches, salads, chips and a full selection of hot or cold, large or small coffee drinks. Even some blended coffee drinks. We ordered the hot Cuban sandwich, Cobb salad and a large iced coffee latte drink. The Cuban was hot but a little bit soggy but still tasty. Cobb salad super fresh and healthy. Coffee drink was solid with creamy topping. After lunch you begin the self guided portion of the tour which is inside stage 48? Where the restaurant was located. Film technology and costumes on display with various interactive display to participate. Harry Potter, Batman, Superman and other blockbuster movies artwork, costumes and videos on display. So much to discover. Easily spent 2 hours in there. Surprisingly they told us we also had entry into the Superman Experience. We did not know this was part of the tour. It is not mentioned in the marketing online. Unfortunately we ran out of time and had to skip this. Too bad as I think it is super popular. Regardless the tour was unexpectedly very entertaining and enjoyable. Weather was great not too hot. Highly recommended for folks looking for a break from the theme parks. Totally different in a good way from Universal Studio tour.

This is a classic Hollywood experience that takes you behind the scenes of active and historical…read moremovie sets. The tour is done in a group of about 14 people, with an electric cart taking you around facades, sound stages, and other parts of the studio. You can park in the studio garage for $20. We came on a Saturday and found plenty of free street parking nearby. We parked on Avalon Street, around the corner. The arrival experience felt somewhat disorganized. There are two sets of doors to enter the facility, but neither was clearly marked as an entrance. Inside, there is a Starbucks on the left, bathrooms, and what appears to be a ticketing area. We had purchased online tickets for $69 per person as California residents. After going through a metal detector--which went off because of both my wife's and my belts--we were hand-scanned. Several attendants asked to see our tickets without actually scanning them, which added to the feeling that the entrance process could have been better organized. The tour begins with an exhibit about the Warner brothers, who tried their hands at several businesses before becoming successful in the movie industry. The exhibit emphasizes their success in making movies about ordinary people and their everyday problems. I was surprised, however, that it didn't mention that the brothers were Jewish or the antisemitism their family experienced. Given the emphasis on their family background and connection to ordinary people, I thought that historical context was missing. Our guide, Divey, took us around several buildings and lots of facades where movies such as Spider-Man and Inception, as well as numerous television shows, were filmed. We went inside a sound studio and visited several Stage buildings. I ended up learning much more about how movies and television are actually made than I expected. The second part of the tour included a Central Park café surrounded by the Foley sound exhibit, a Friends exhibit, and a gift shop dedicated to the show. We enjoyed cappuccinos while admiring the incredibly realistic cake props. We then boarded an electric tram for the final part of the visit. This was where the signage became confusing again. There was no clear indication that the tram would take us to the Harry Potter exhibit but the line was for the Superman area, which required an additional ticket we didn't have. There was also a minor seating mix-up: an attendant initially told the four of us to sit on the same bench and then asked us to move because only three people were allowed there. The Harry Potter exhibit itself was excellent. Harry's cupboard-under-the-stairs, the chimney with Hogwarts invitations, the Sorting Hat, and especially the Potions shop were spectacular. Overall, we had a great time. Compared with the Universal Studios tour, Warner Bros. felt much less crowded and more contemplative. We also noticed far fewer children than we typically see at Universal, which contributed to the quieter atmosphere. If you're interested in how movies and television are actually made--and especially if you enjoy classic Hollywood, Friends, or Harry Potter--this is a very worthwhile experience. Just expect some confusing signage and a somewhat disorganized arrival process.This version keeps the review positive but credible: the criticisms are specific rather than overwhelming, while the strongest parts of your experience get more emphasis.

Really fun ride for people of have seen the movie and get the references presented during the ride…read more The car goes through long colorful setup playing a storyteller of the pets wreaking havoc in their apartments. My daughter liked it so much that she specifically requested to get on this ride on the second day. The ride is popular with kids and families. So there's a 20-30 wait during the day. With Express Lane passes, the wait time shortens to few minutes. The waiting line inside the building also has a good setup all around, enacting different scenes from the movie. Once the ride ends, the exit is through the merchandise shop where they have bunch of the pet characters plush dolls, toys and few other items.

The most adorable ride so far, here at universal studios. Especially if you are a pet lover or not…read more Looks just like the movie, and it's also very busy. It's summer time so is hella hot out here..... but the air is blasting once you reach the inside. Feels very nice thank you.

This is the only ride in the Jurassic World and it's super popular. When we went for the ride the…read morewait time was close to half an hour but we got to skip it using the Express Lane passes. The car navigates over the water going through some of the parks and ecosystems seen in the movies. In the later part of the ride Chris Pratt shows up in video recording trying to warn the riders about the dangerous T-rex from the movie. Then the ride goes into complete darkness, eventually ending with a semi big drop in the water. The splash from the drop is not too bad, I barely got any water sitting at the back row. I overall liked the ride, especially the surprise drop that came out of no where and they had camera taking pictures of everyone's reaction. After the ride, the guests exit through the gift shop. It has plenty of amazing Jurassic park merchandises, including some autographed by different personnels. The store also had products from few other franchises as well. The staff members, both for the ride and the gift shop, were very friendly.

I LOVE JURASSIC WORLD THE RIDE. AMAZING!!! I love going epically when it's a hot day and you need a…read morelittle cool down. Great ride and love coming to Universal!!!

We were so happy to have two vegan options! Vegan bangers…read moreand mash and vegan curry. Both were very good! The staff were a little scrambly and it was a long wait for food.

Amusement park food. Had the shepherds pie and salad. Washed down with a mug of ButterBeer…read more Ambience is nice. No problem with seating. Glad they have a good variety of food from standard burgers, fingers, or dogs. Shepherd Pie needed more gravy inside. Very dry. That might have bumped to a 4. SwansonsMeatPieInAluminumTinPalooza!