Visiting Universal Studios Hollywood-California

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The familiar theme starts to play. Dun-Dun…Dun-Dun…DunDunDunDunDunDun…Thrilled that I am sitting on the right side of the tram, my heart beats with excitement. The shark pops out of the water. The tram group cheers. Moment over, I lean back into my tram seat, grateful for a first-time visit to Universal Studios Hollywood.

Where to Stay
When planning any trip, you often have to choose between saving money or saving time. Unlike Universal Orlando Resort, there are no Universal hotels near Universal Studios Hollywood. Most people either stay at The Sheraton or the Hilton. Both hotels are within walking distance of the theme park. The other option is to spend less money and stay at a Los Angeles accommodation, away from the theme park. I heard/read stories about people getting stuck in horrific, morning, Los Angeles, traffic, on their way to the park. Since we only have one day to spend at Universal Studios Hollywood, we book a night at the Sheraton, so we can walk to the park’s entrance. The stay is fine, but nothing that is theme-park special.

Super Nintendo World
Everyone at rope drop, has the same plan. Get to Super Nintendo World. Universal Studios Hollywood, is set in the Hollywood Hills. Hills being the important word. Though it is split into lands, it is more important to understand the different levels. The park’s main entrance is on the very top level. Super Nintendo World is located on the very bottom level. The way to get from park top to park bottom, is by riding several, very steep, escalators.

This makes rope drop less dramatic. There is no running or trampling, just a slow, so very slow, ride, down the escalator.
The river of visitors, flows through Nintendo World’s warp-tunnel entrance.

The colorful, blinking, tunnel lights, enhance the world immersion.

Through the tunnel, the video game world of Super Mario Bros., unfurls in a cacophony of music, coin dings, and delighted shrieks.

We are submerged into a sea of primary colors.
Pre-purchasing our park tickets online, we pondered whether to pay the upcharge for the early entrance. We decide to skip the extra fee and purchase the regular day-pass. Now as I approach Toadstool Café , to make an in-person reservation (at this time there are no online reservations), I am greeted with a disappointing sign.

The early entrance pass people, booked up all available reservations for the Mario themed café. No Bowser 1lb meatball for me. With no reservation to book, we head straight for the Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge ride.

It’s our longest line of the day. The queue is spectacular.

It’s detailed. You won’t get bored waiting in line.

If you grew up playing Nintendo, the nostalgia is intoxicating.

After the obligatory selfie in our Mario-ride-3D helmets, we board the ride.

The ride has a learning curve. Once you get the hang of driving, while simultaneously using your weapons, the ride is over. We get back in line in an effort to improve our scores. The ride is worth the line.

With our own Super Nintendo World in the works in Orlando, we forgo purchasing Power-Up Bands. The bands let you play games around the land, making visitors feel like they are in a live video game.

If you are familiar with the wands in Universal’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the Power-Up Bands are a similar concept. We linger in Super Nintendo World watching people use their bands to trigger special effects.

Lines for the games are long. If Super Nintendo World was our only goal for the day, playing with the Power-Up Bands seems fun, but there is much to accomplish.

Tram Tour

Our overall plan for Universal Studios Hollywood, experience all of the attractions that are not at Universal Orlando Resort. If there is time left over, we’ll explore the copycat sections.
The flaw in this plan…our goals are spread out across the levels, which means…escalators.

When visiting Universal Hollywood, the Studio Tram Tour is a must.

The tram tour is a mixture of backstage tour and ride. It’s entertaining as your tram tour guide tells stories and jokes.

You pass by recognizable movie sets. Have you visited Universal Orlando Resort and weren’t impressed by the Fast and Furious and Kong rides? That is because the rides are part of the larger story of Hollywood’s Tram Tour. They just copycatted them for Orlando without any context. The Tram Tour also includes an earthquake, flood scene, animatronic dinosaurs, and

a Norman Bates scare actor. The best part of the Tram Tour, Jaws!

Fans of Universal Orlando, still miss Jaws. The Tram Ride at Universal Studios Hollywood, is worth the price of admission, especially if you are a movie geek.

The ride takes about an hour, and that doesn’t include waiting in line, so don’t have important reservations that you have to get to, if you decide to take the Tram Tour.
To avoid hopping on an escalator, just after the Tram Tour, we head for the Secret Life of Pets Ride. This is an adorable, indoor dark ride, with barely a line. There is discussion about bringing the ride to Orlando. I’m more on the side of parks not having the same rides at every park location. It’s fun traveling and getting to experience attractions that are park-location specific.

Lunch

It’s lunchtime and sustenance is needed to keep up our theme park strength. Conundrum, the plan was to eat at Toadstool Café, now what?
Ordinary Adventurers (YouTube vloggers) to the rescue. Recalling their review of Jurassic Café, we head to the Jurassic Park themed area. But first…escalators. We order Brazilian inspired dishes.

The lunch is tasty, but the restaurant changes its menu frequently, so your experience may differ.

Waterworld

Not knowing that the film would be a flop, Universal Hollywood, unveiled the Waterworld stunt
spectacular show, to coincide with the movie’s, 1995, opening. The post-apocalyptic film was a critical and financial failure, but Universal Hollywood’s stunt show is beloved.
This isn’t our first theme park show, so we take the soak zone signs seriously. Safely distanced from the water of the Waterworld stunt show, we settle into our metal, bleacher, seats.
You can find countless Youtube videos of the show, so I won’t go through it scene by scene. The show is amazing. The show knows what it is. It’s not over-the-top silly, but it also doesn’t take itself seriously. The hammy acting is great, especially the Smokers (villains). The water-based stunts are mesmerizing in person.

If you have seen Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular at Disney World, it has a similar vibe, but Waterworld is epic. We agree it is the best theme park show we have seen so far. It was one of our favorite things at Universal Studios Hollywood.

Ice Cream

The original ice cream goal, visit Phineas Q. Butterfat’s, in the Simpson’s themed section. The plan changes however, when I see that for a limited time, Universal Studios Hollywood, created a Scoops Ahoy, from Stranger Things. Sometimes you have to make fangirl choices.
Aside from being entertained by the fact that I’m in line at Scoops Ahoy, I’m excited to get Eleven’s Waffle Sundae.

There is nothing spectacular about the taste, but visually, it’s a lot of fun. Universal Hollywood, doesn’t have much of an ice cream game. It’s all basic soft serve.

Other Park Lands

Determined to stay until closing, we visit the lands similar to Orlando. Since I try to make a point to get a photo with every Hogwarts conductor, I make a stop.

Universal Hollywood is more compact than Universal Orlando, and I agree with Shannon’s comment, “The ride we did the most today, was the escalator ride.” Despite our best planning efforts, we end up having to traverse between levels throughout the day. Our top three attractions are Mario Kart, The Studio Tram Tour, and the Waterworld show. If you are a theme park enthusiast, experiencing Universal Studios Hollywood, is worth the visit.