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.
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Super Nintendo World - The first U.S. installation of Universal's Super Mario-themed land includes the Mario Kart Bowser's Challenge augmented reality interactive dark ride. Opened February 17, 2023.
The land also includes several physical gameplay activities outside of the Mario Kart ride.
Toadstool Cafe in Super Nintendo World serves burgers, salads, a chef's special, and desserts in a Chef Toad-themed indoor restaurant.
Universal Studios Hollywood is located just off US 101 in Universal City, California - 10 miles north of downtown Los Angeles.
Universal offers a free shuttle bus up the hill to the park's entrance if you take the elevated walkway over Lankershim Blvd. from the Metro Red Line Universal City station.
Universal sells date-specific tickets but no longer requires reservations for annual passholders. Be sure to download the official Universal Studios Hollywood app before you visit, as you will need it to enter the Virtual Line that USH may use for Super Nintendo World as well as The Secret Life of Pets ride. The Universal app also allows you to link the park's $40 Power Up Band wristband that you can use to play games and track scores in Super Nintendo World.
Try to make your Virtual Line reservation through the app ASAP when you arrive at the park. Universal is selling early access to Super Nintendo World for one hour before park opening at $20 to $25 per person. If you think that's a good deal, go for it. Otherwise, go for the Virtual Queue as soon as you enter the park.
Universal is divided into an Upper and Lower Lot, connected by a long series of escalators called the Starway. Universal's official app will tell you current wait times for rides throughout the park, but you want to minimize the number of times you're on that time-consuming Starway during the day, and not chase slightly shorter wait times by going back and forth.
If you start at Super Nintendo World and the wait times for other Lower Lot attractions are not bad, stay on the Lower Lot after you have finished with Nintendo and go on Jurassic World - The Ride, Transformers and Mummy before returning to the Upper Lot.
If you do not get into Super Nintendo World first thing, go for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, then do other Upper Lot attractions before heading down to the Lower Lot for Super Nintendo World and the other attractions there. Universal Studios Hollywood is a relatively easy park to complete in one day without having to buy the upcharge Universal Express pass. But if your time is limited, Express might be a good investment.
The Studio Tour is the reason why Universal's theme parks exist. That should make it a high priority for first-time visitors, and its line typically moves swiftly, but it closes before the rest of the park, so do not leave it for too late in the day. Secret Life of Pets is a fun dark ride, but you might need to make a Virtual Line reservation early in the day on busy dates, as standby access might not be available then.
Otherwise, Minion Mayhem has two theaters here, making it a much shorter wait than in Orlando. Waterworld is a great show, and it has huge capacity, so pick a showtime most convenient for you and arrive about 20-30 minutes before then if you wish to avoid the soak zone.
If the Hogwarts Castle projection show is running on the day you visit, aim for a showtime later in the evening, as the crowd will mob the earliest showings.
