Universal Hollywood 1st Visit Help

[HIRyeDVC]

I mean, how long did this last in Hogsmeade/Diagonal Alley?

Good point. I have no idea though. I wasn't paying attention to this stuff back then.

Can you budget for the VIP tour? It might be cheaper for the 1 day VIP tour (and 2 night hotel) versus 1 day of general admission, one day of express passes, and 3 nights at the hotel. Normally I would say express passes are worth it but I don’t know how long it will exclude ride access to the new ride. In sneak peaks, I saw that there is an Express sign at the ride (I assume it’s the ride), so I think that will be the eventual goal. It’s just uncertain when that will be implemented.

That's actually not a bad idea to consider. One less night paying for a hotel and get everything done with VIP tickets might come out the same. The wording of the VIP doesn't specify if the new Mario Land will be included or not, which is interesting because the Express pass specifically mentions it.

 

[vacay77]

Good point. I have no idea though. I wasn't paying attention to this stuff back then.

That's actually not a bad idea to consider. One less night paying for a hotel and get everything done with VIP tickets might come out the same. The wording of the VIP doesn't specify if the new Mario Land will be included or not, which is interesting because the Express pass specifically mentions it.

I called the VIP tour number and was told that the tour does include access. I started panicking when I saw your post because I recently booked the tour for next month, lol. While I was on the phone with them, I also requested the tour guide mentioned above . Btw, I was able to get discount tickets to the VIP tour through a third party travel website (it was approx $50/person discount). So it’s definitely worth looking into!

 

[HIRyeDVC]

I called the VIP tour number and was told that the tour does include access. I started panicking when I saw your post because I recently booked the tour for next month, lol. While I was on the phone with them, I also requested the tour guide mentioned above . Btw, I was able to get discount tickets to the VIP tour through a third party travel website (it was approx $50/person discount). So it’s definitely worth looking into!

do you know if the VIP ticket includes access to the actual ride in Mario Land? Thanks for this feedback btw. If you're going next month, I think it's more compelling to get VIP. Might be a different story in November when I go but I'm not certain the demand will be down by then.

 

[vacay77]

do you know if the VIP ticket includes access to the actual ride in Mario Land? Thanks for this feedback btw. If you're going next month, I think it's more compelling to get VIP. Might be a different story in November when I go but I'm not certain the demand will be down by then.

I was told that it does include access to the ride. But I guess that could always change.

 

[HIRyeDVC]

I was told that it does include access to the ride. But I guess that could always change.

Really? That would be awesome. Sorry my post caused a panic. I hope it won't be too crazy for you when it opens next month. I'm more and more struggling when I weigh my options. 4 VIP tickets will cost almost $1350-$1650 for one day. An express pass and a regular day pass would cost around $1250. A 2-day pass would cost ~$700. Or I could get the lowest tier annual pass for $880 for the whole family and make another trip out of it. I hope my kids will hate this new Mario Land so we will just stick to Disney! haha.

 

[DLgal]

Really? That would be awesome. Sorry my post caused a panic. I hope it won't be too crazy for you when it opens next month. I'm more and more struggling when I weigh my options. 4 VIP tickets will cost almost $1350-$1650 for one day. An express pass and a regular day pass would cost around $1250. A 2-day pass would cost ~$700. Or I could get the lowest tier annual pass for $880 for the whole family and make another trip out of it. I hope my kids will hate this new Mario Land so we will just stick to Disney! haha.

The VIP is that cheap? Hmm...I was thinking Disney prices. Off to research what else VIP includes.

 

[HIRyeDVC]

The VIP is that cheap? Hmm...I was thinking Disney prices. Off to research what else VIP includes.

Right? I wouldn't call it "cheap" but being used to Disney prices has definitely skewed our view on costs. The fact that I can buy APs for my whole family with less than what I could get for just one at Disney tells me that Disney is at another level. And Disney isn't even selling them!

 

[vacay77]

The VIP is that cheap? Hmm...I was thinking Disney prices. Off to research what else VIP includes.

It includes parking and 2 meals . Definitely includes more than Disney’s VIP tour. My friend took the one at Universal Hollywood and raves about it. She said they got behind the scenes tour of the props etc. My family and I took the VIP tour in Orlando, too and loved it.

 

[DLgal]

It includes parking and 2 meals . Definitely includes more than Disney’s VIP tour. My friend took the one at Universal Hollywood and raves about it. She said they got behind the scenes tour of the props etc. My family and I took the VIP tour in Orlando, too and loved it.

Yeah, it does include a lot. It's a pretty good bargain.

Unfortunately, it's not private, it's a group with a set schedule, and my kids have zero desire to see any of the actual studio. So, this option won't really work for us.

 

[HIRyeDVC]

It includes parking and 2 meals . Definitely includes more than Disney’s VIP tour. My friend took the one at Universal Hollywood and raves about it. She said they got behind the scenes tour of the props etc. My family and I took the VIP tour in Orlando, too and loved it.

Yeah, it does include a lot. It's a pretty good bargain.

Unfortunately, it's not private, it's a group with a set schedule, and my kids have zero desire to see any of the actual studio. So, this option won't really work for us.

I too think it’s a great deal, perhaps for my wife and I in the future. But not worth it for my little kids because half the rides are too scary. I’m only considering the express pass because of the reservation free access to Mario Land. We also want to try different foods in the park.

 

[GBRforWDW]

we’re hoping to visit USH for the first time. Can’t wait to hear others experiences with Super Mario Land. It looks so cool but way small. Would love to know how early we need to arrive at USH to get towards the front of the line for quickest access to Mario. We’ll be staying near Disneyland, so I’m sure traffic will ruin our chances at getting there before the crowds tho

 

[bcla]

I think one possibility is that Universal Studios has a season pass for sale at Costco. Or at least I saw them for sale at my local one in Northern California. They were maybe $170? They have blackout dates, but mostly around major holidays. I don't remember all of them off the top of my head. Also - the activation date/first entry can be on a blackout date.

I found it for last year's version to get an idea. All of July is blacked out.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1506460707822264330

https://www.universalstudioshollywo...embers/black-out-calendars?calendar_name=GGC1

 

[magsnwonderland]

We’re adding USH onto our spring break DL trip also only for Mario land and omg the express passes are so expensive. Makes genie+ look like a bargain. Does anyone know how the land reservation system might work? Will it be in advance or day of?

 

[ADisneyFamilyof5]

Has anyone done the Nintendo World Early Access Ticket? We purchased it for the Sunday of spring break, so that means we can get in at 7 am. I was just hoping someone could detail their experience and advise on how early we should get to the park.

 

[magsnwonderland]

We haven’t done it yet, but I’m hearing to arrive a half hour before the scheduled time to allow time to get through security and the gate. They may allow you to go in a few minutes early so you’re down to the lower lot at the entrance of SNW right at 7am.

 

[DLgal]

Has anyone done the Nintendo World Early Access Ticket? We purchased it for the Sunday of spring break, so that means we can get in at 7 am. I was just hoping someone could detail their experience and advise on how early we should get to the park.

The only thing I saw was that a couple days, the Mario Kart ride has been unavailable during the early entry, which honestly would have really ticked me off if I had paid for it.

 

[ADisneyFamilyof5]

The only thing I saw was that a couple days, the Mario Kart ride has been unavailable during the early entry, which honestly would have really ticked me off if I had paid for it.

Oh man, the ride better be up! I'm going to be extremely upset if it's not operating.

 

[DLgal]

Oh man, the ride better be up! I'm going to be extremely upset if it's not operating.

It's extremely prone to breakdowns.

 

[mdmost]

We're planning to do just one day on a long weekend trip. We're also going to the Warner Bros Studio Tour as my oldest is a huge Pretty Little Liars fan. We would be flying into Ontario late on Thursday. How bad of a drive is it to the Burbank area? We plan on hitting Universal on Friday and WB on Saturday afternoon. Our flight back is Sunday afternoon. We've been to Universal Orlando so this mainly for Mario Land and the backlot tour.

Are there some good hotel options close by or that give you a deal similar to when we went to Universal Orlando?

Edit: so after doing some looking, I settled on the Hilton next to Universal. We are going to get 2 day tickets with an early entry for Mario Land on the Friday we are there. We're going to spend all day at Universal on Friday and then do a little in the morning on Saturday before heading over to Warner Bros for an afternoon tour. Then we can return that evening or just go over to CityWalk. We'll fly out on Sunday afternoon. Ontario had a really good deal on points with American so I'm hoping the hour drive is worth it. At least I won't have to deal with LAX. I was hoping for Burbank but there aren't a lot of flights into there.