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All things Universal Studios Hollywood
- Thread starter Darkbeer1
- Start date
Emmanuel
Well-Known Member
Celebrate 60 Years
Apr. 26–Aug. 11, 2024
Celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Studio Tour at Universal Studios Hollywood. Step off the tram and onto the studio backlot to visit an iconic film set, join immersive photo-ops, enjoy new themed food and merchandise, and much more.
The 60th anniversary celebration is included with valid theme park admission.
Pass Members can sign up for a preview of the new things on the Tour before April 26th. I was able to get one for April 18th. They assign you a time after you confirm and they assigned me 5:30 for that day.
Animaniac93-98
Well-Known Member
Thinking of visiting USH for the first time later this year, is there anything in particular I should know before going?
PiratesMansion
Well-Known Member
I would pay for SNW Early Entry if you want to do anything in the land beyond Mario Kart; otherwise I found the land too chaotic and the lines for the mini games too slow. You'll also have a jump on everyone else to do the other attractions in the Lower Lot, because at park open everyone else will still be headed for Nintendo, leaving reasonable queues for everything else down there for a bit. Not sure if it's still the case now, but EE did sell out early when I visited last year. If you want to eat at Toadstool Cafe, you need to get down to the land super early and scan a QR code, at which point you're given a time to return.
If you travel by yourself, do the regular line for Mario Kart at least once before you do it via Single Rider. It's a decent queue with a decent amount of scenery you'll skip through the Singles line, but it also explains what you're supposed to do much more effectively.
If you're a larger person, Forbidden Journey is more restrictive than the version in Orlando, and Secret Life of Pets, a dark ride, also uses weirdly restrictive restraints.
Unlike Orlando, CityWalk is outside of the security perimeter.
If you have any interest in comparing/contrasting movie studio tour experiences, the Warner Bros. Studio is very close by (you can see it from USH) and offers its own variety of tour options.
If you do the Studio Tour (as you obviously should), you are forced to experience F&TF: Supercharged.
Animaniac93-98
Well-Known Member
Thanks.
With Epic Universe opening next year, it's not as important to me to see the scaled down version in Hollywood. If it try Mario Kart, it will be with the single rider line.
The focus for me will be the things not found at the other parks like Pets, the tram tour and Jurassic World.
Right now I can't plan much more as I'm waiting to see how HHN will impact hours and dates in the Fall. Either I'm going to that event or on a day it's not happening, as I don't think it's worth it to visit when the park closes early.
PiratesMansion
Well-Known Member
While this may change, last year HHN started pretty much exactly in the middle of September and ran Wed-Sun most dates. I want to say hours last year for HHN were generally 7 til 1 or 2 AM, with Early Entry starting around 5:45.
Hollywood's HHN is not as good as the Orlando event (or Knott's Scary Farm, which I highly recommend if you haven't experienced it before), but better than some on here will say. Not sure I would do it without Express though, as lines were outrageous last year even on a Wednesday, and I waited about 45 minutes for the Chucky maze last year even WITH Express.
Phroobar
Well-Known Member
The express lane passes for HHN are a must. The event has gotten so popular that doing all the mazes even in early September is impossible without it. Their express to non-express ratio is a wacked out as Disneyland's. It shouldn't be 100 to 1.
Nirya
Well-Known Member
I did non-Express HHN last year and it was..ok? And this was on the Saturday of Halloween weekend, so it should not have been good at all. It just helped that we did 0 rides and were extremely strategic on what we did (for example, getting to the Terror Tram 30 minutes before it closed so we somehow experienced no wait). That said, I still highly recommend getting Express and if that hadn't been a last-minute trip I would have absolutely gotten Express.
Emmanuel
Well-Known Member
Same here. I did half of the mazes last year, Purge Dangerous waters twice and Terror Tram. Helped that I paid for Early entry in addition to having my complimentary ticket to the event due to being a Platinum Passholder
Phroobar
Well-Known Member
With the Express pass I did everything twice without early entry. We didn't use it for a first few but as the night went on, it was necessary. At the end of the night we redid certain mazes again. You have to know the crowd pattern and what they will hit through the night.
Or you could do it during the day and at night. Thats what I’m doing. HHN will be every weekend night, and I believe most Thur and Wed. Mon-Tues will be normal but still close early because it’s the off season.
Look into the VIP tour, semi private studio tour with stops, FOL on every ride with a guide and then unlimited express after the tour.
TheDisneyParksfanC8
Well-Known Member
According an insider on the IU forums, they ran into some problems with the foundation on the hill.
D.Silentu
Well-Known Member
I believe that's why I find the timeframe of this delay so shocking. For all appearances the site preparation looked finished and it wasn't hard to imagine construction being completed by year's end. I suppose my biggest hope is that this delay doesn't push back any other future plans Universal Hollywood may have.
But it would have many issues and probably only actually open for part of the year.