Carl Laemmle opened his 230-acre Universal City movie-studio ranch to visitors on March 15, 1915, but the advent of sound in motion pictures forced the studio to close the lot to those noisy visitors. Universal reopened to visitors in 1961, outsourcing tours to the Gray Line bus company. Following a feasibility study by Buzz Price - the same man who helped determine the locations for Disneyland and Walt Disney World - Universal decided to start its own tram tour, and what is now Universal Studios Hollywood opened on July 15, 1964.
Universal Studios Hollywood stands atop the Hollywood hills and is divided into an Upper Lot and a Lower Lot, connected by a giant, four-part "Starway" escalator. In addition to its regular attractions, the park hosts Halloween Horror Nights on select evenings in September and October, closing early on those days for this after-hours, hard-ticket event.
Looking for discount tickets? Universal Studios Hollywood tickets
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Universal Studios Hollywood remains closed indefinitely due to the state of California's Covid-19 restrictions.
Ranking
Universal's big new attraction for 2021 will be The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash!, an animatronic dark ride located next to Despicable Me Minion Mayhem. Coming after that will be the first U.S. installation of Super Nintendo World, on the Lower Lot, featuring the Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge interactive dark ride.
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Other notable shows include Animal Actors on the Upper Lot and the Raptor Encounter next to Jurassic World on the Lower Lot.
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Universal Studios Hollywood is located just off US 101 in Universal City, California - 10 miles north of downtown Los Angeles.
We will be back with our visiting strategy when the park reopens - whenever that might be. Until then, get vaccinated as soon as you can, everyone!
